“No, not me. A serial monogamist, maybe.”
“You and my sister, Cin. I knew you were twins separated tragically at birth.” She smiled up at him, then arched a brow. “So, is this bedroom suite teak?”
Zach nodded. “With a bookcase in the headboard.” He carried her across the room and blew out the flame on a candle. Jen blew out another and between the two of them, the candles were quickly extinguished. The light changed from gold to cooler blues, but Jen's smile and the welcome in her eyes didn't waver.
Zach strolled into the bedroom, watching Jen check out his acquisition. He kicked the door shut behind them, saying goodnight to Roxie, who settled on the floor outside the door with a thump of bones on the hardwood.
“Nice,” she said, and reached out a hand to stroke the headboard.
“A person could put her knitting on that bookshelf, come to think of it.”
“Any particular person?”
“I only know one who knits.”
Jen was pleased by that, Zach could see it in her smile. “I thought you'd say that a person would have better things to do in bed than knit.”
“Good point. I should have said that.”
“I'll forgive you this time.”
“Provided I show you what better things people can do in bed,” he teased.
“Be still, my heart,” Jen said. “There's nothing sexier than a man who knows what a woman wants.” Before Zach could comment on that, she pulled his head down for another searing kiss.
When they stopped for breath, he heaved a sigh. “If I walk into the wall and give us both a concussion, it'll be your fault,” he teased.
Jen laughed. “You won't.”
“You're trusting me a lot already.”
“I wouldn't be getting naked in your bedroom otherwise.”
Zach looked pointedly at her clothing. “I don't see you getting naked. Yet.”
“You could help.” She smiled and looked at him through her lashes, as provocative as he'd ever seen her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen, her hair tousled. Her expression was even more seductive because he knew she didn't realize how she looked.
“I'm taking that as an invitation,” he said, then rolled backward onto the bed, carrying her with him. Jen gasped, then laughed as they tumbled together across the mattress.
Zach rolled her beneath him, his hand on her shoulder, and her laughter stopped as she looked up at him.
There was a beat when they eyed each other, when he saw her trepidation and wanted nothing more than to make it go away.
Jen swallowed and Zach kissed her again. It was a gentle, lingering kiss, but he knew he didn't imagine the electricity thrumming beneath it. He unfastened the top button of her blouse, then kissed her temple, her ear, her throat.
She was gorgeous and her uncertainty of that tore at his heart. He worked each button loose, leaving the shirt closed until they were all unfastened. Jen stared up at him, her breath coming fast, his hand rested on the indent of her waist beneath her shirt. The light of the snow poured through the window, painting her vulnerable expression with silvery light.
He smiled at her, wanting only to reassure her. “You could, you know, just be giving me a cover story here.” She snorted and would have argued, but he dropped a finger over her lips. He replaced his finger with his mouth, finding that a much better solution. Jen seemed to like it too.
“No story,” she said when he lifted his head.
“I don't know. You're always putting people on, with this deadpan expression.” He eased the top of her shirt apart with one fingertip, revealing her collarbone to his view. The light played in its curves lovingly. He bent and kissed it, liking how she caught her breath and arched against him. “I mean, Amazon warriors are a mythic race and all that, but there's nothing saying that they didn't really exist. Or even that they don't continue to exist. You hear stories, you know, about an underground society of women...”
“Living in the dark?” Jen demanded. “With spiders? I don't think so.”
Zach chuckled. “Work with me here. What if there were Amazon warrior princesses still? They'd be tall and athletic and gorgeous. They'd keep their hair short.” He shoved a hand through her cropped curls, swept his hand down her throat and eased the shirt open a bit more. “And they'd kiss like goddesses, for sure.” He ran a line of kisses along her bared shoulder, then kissed her mouth again. “I'll bet they could really sing, too.”
She was smiling. “You're making this up.”
“But it sounds good, doesn't it? They'd face any obstacle fearlessly, they'd spit in the eye of Death.” He pushed back the shirt and exposed her left breast.
Or where her left breast should have been. The pink and purple striped knitted ball was in her bra cup. It was a simple bra, a plain white one with under wires, no lace or frills. The cup was solid fabric so he could only see the edge of the knitted ball.
Something clenched deep within Zach, because he didn't expect what was beneath the prosthesis to be pretty. He felt Jen watching him and knew he had to be really careful.
He met her gaze. “They'd be independent and noble and opinionated,” he murmured, then reached beneath her to unfasten her bra clasp. “They'd keep their steely gazes focused on what was really important.” She seemed to be holding her breath, even as she arched her back a bit to give him access.
She wanted him to see, or more accurately, she wanted him to see her and not be revolted. Zach hoped he could do it. He eased the strap from her shoulder, lifted away the knitted prosthesis and put it on the bookshelf above them.
He looked down at her, seeing her uncertainty and fear. “And they'd ruthlessly use men for pleasure, kind of like an inverse harem.”
She tried to smile. “Is that what you think I'm doing?”
“It's a risk. I'll just have to do my best, so you don't throw me back. You could give me a hint or two, you know, maybe out of pity.”
“You don't need any hints.”
“Good.”
Jen almost laughed, then Zach swept her bra aside. She caught her breath and froze. He looked down at her scar, knowing she was watching, schooling himself to not flinch at the sight of it.
It wasn't as bad as he'd expected, but then, he had a ferocious imagination. It was odd, though, to see this roughly horizontal line where her breast and nipple should have been. The scar curled toward her armpit, smoothly healed but an inescapable reminder all the same. It looked savage and wrong, and he wished on some level that he'd seen her whole first.
But then, it was part of her, part of where she'd been and who she was. The cancer had reshaped her, as surely as the scar reshaped her chest. And when he thought of it that way, as a symbol of her strength, he could see beauty in its harsh line.
“Still think it was worth it?” she asked, her voice catching on the words.
He nodded. “I wouldn't miss your being here for the world.” He met her gaze. “What about you?”
She swallowed again, then nodded quickly. “I'm glad, too.”
“Does it hurt?” he asked and she shook her head.
“Not any more.” Her brow puckered. “Not physically, anyway.”
He ran his fingertip gently along its length and she shivered. This was part of Jen. He wanted to know it, as he wanted to know everything about her.
“Don't pretend it isn't gross.”
“It isn't.”
“Don't lie to me. You chase beauty.”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you've heard that.”
“Was that yours?”
He grinned, letting his fingers gently learn the shape of her wound. “You know, most warriors consider scars to be honorable.”
“How so?”
“Scars are a mark of triumph, just like this one is. Scars mean survival and persistence and victory. Scars mean strength and power.” He nodded at her with confidence. “I'm sure the Amazon queens saw it that way.”
“I thought I was supposed to be an Amazon. Shouldn't I be telling you how we think?”
“Don't give away all of your secrets. I only ask that you be gentle with your love slave,” he teased and she smiled a little, despite the tears in her eyes.
“Maybe I'll have to lock you up until you learn to do it right.”
“Promises, promises.” He bent then and kissed the scar gently. He felt her breathe deeply, then exhale, then whisper his name. He didn't let her distract him from giving her pleasure. He wanted her, but he wanted her to really want him.
She felt precious to him. He felt lucky to be with her. He wanted her to know all of that, yet he didn't know how to tell her in words.
He'd have to show her.
Zach inhaled her scent, let his hands slide down around her waist. He ran a trail of kisses down the center of her chest, tucked his nose into her navel, then and undid her pants with his teeth. He smoothed the pants off her long legs, using his tongue to tease her through her underwear while his hands were busy. The smell of her desire sent an electric jolt through him, made him peel off his own clothes in a hurry.
But this was going to take some time.
This was a moment to savor. There would never be another first time between them, and Zach was determined to persuade Jen of her desirability and her beauty before the sun rose.
* * *
The man was going to kill her.
Zach touched Jen with his tongue, teasing her to climax with embarrassing ease. Each time she got close, he stopped, cheating her of release, then started again. Her skin was on fire, she was writhing on his bed, she was ready to beg him to finish her off, and she didn't care.
He did this three times.
“I'll going to have to kill you for insurgency,” she threatened, breathless and agitated.
He grinned. “It's worth waiting for.”
“I'll remember that when it's your turn.”
He chuckled, then moved behind her. His muscled strength was against her back, his arm wrapped around her waist. His busy fingers coaxed her to a frenzy again. Jen had never felt such desire. She arched back against him and moaned. He kissed her ear, whispered to her of what he was going to do to her, demanding to know what she liked best.
His erection pressing against her butt, and Jen liked knowing that he was as aroused as she was. He was huge and hard, so huge and hard that he couldn't possibly be turned off by her scar.
In fact, Jen forgot about her defect. There was only pleasure and Zach's wicked whisper and his dancing fingers and the heat building inside of her. As the heat rose again, she twisted and squirmed, but he held her tightly. His fingers were relentless and she loved it.
“Don't you dare stop,” she managed to say.
“Me?”
“Promise me,” she demanded, breathless.
“Or what?”
“I'll have you flogged, love slave. Bread and water for a week. You'll be locked in the dungeons with the spiders.”
He laughed, his fingers flicking so surely against her that she gasped. She reached behind herself and grasped his erection, caressing him so that he choked a bit. “Okay, warrior queen, I promise,” he murmured into her ear.
“Don't let go,” she said, not letting go of him.
“Promise.” Zach's arm tightened around her waist, his fingertips moved against her again and Jen felt her every muscle go taut. She struggled as the orgasm rolled through her, arched back and dug her fingers into his arm with the fullness of release.
She was dizzy.
She was disoriented.
And she had to give serious credit to her mother's conviction that an orgasm was good for a woman's world view. Jen's world view was improving by the moment.
“Okay?” Zach asked and she smiled over her shoulder at him, uncertain how he could have any doubt.
“I think I woke the neighbors.”
“No chance. I paid for extra soundproofing.”
“For moments like this?”
“What can I say? I'm an optimistic kind of guy.”
“Yes, I can feel your optimism.” Jen closed her hand around his erection again and he caught his breath.
“Don't go playing with the toys unless you plan to buy,” he growled and Jen laughed.
Jen rolled toward her stomach and slipped him inside her from behind. He muttered her name with a surprise that made her smile, then he swore a little.
“Do I need a credit check before I shop here?” she teased.
“Well, if that's how it's going to be, then I demand a view,” he said, then pulled out of her. Jen had a beat to be disappointed before he rolled over, and lifted her atop him. He winked at her. “C'mon, honey, take me. I'm all yours.”
Jen hesitated. He'd have a full view of her damaged chest if she sat astride him. It seemed to her to be a perfect recipe for erection failure. “Not like this?”
“Exactly like this. Nothing like a lady in charge. Or a warrior queen triumphant, as it were.”
Encouraged by his easy manner, Jen sat astride him, taking him inside her in increments. She liked being able to watch his expression, liked how his eyes closed and he caught his breath. He wasn't faking his arousal, that was for sure.
And that meant that she didn't have to worry.
There was a lot of Zach and it had been a while since Jen had slept with anyone. It took her some time to accommodate him, but other than gritting his teeth and begging once for mercy, Zach didn't complain. She teased him a bit, getting her own back, liking how obviously he was pleased.
By her.
Once he was fully inside her, she leaned against his chest. She would have been content to kiss him and finish in that pose, but Zach wasn't having any of it. When their kiss broke, he caught her around the waist and lifted her back to a sitting position. Before she could argue, his fingers slipped between her thighs again.
“You'd forfeit this, the other way,” he said, his smile wicked. “And it's my job as a love slave to ensure your pleasure every time.”