Authors: Kimberly Dean
He turned and was at the door in three steps.
“Yes, you should.”
He pulled upright in surprise and stopped on a dime. For the first time since he’d stepped inside the house, her voice was strong. Assured. And oozing with just the sensuality her sisters had gushed about.
It was the slither of fabric pooling against the floor that made him turn. Maxie stood in the sexy chemise she and her accomplices had picked out this afternoon. She’d spent the last few hours worrying so much, she’d forgotten about all the time they’d expended getting her ready for this. Roxie had done her hair, and it hung in waves around her shoulders. Lexie had painted her nails, and they glowed a warm pink. Her skin was scented from the lilac bath wash, but her lips were probably bare. She’d chewed off her lipstick long ago.
But she was as confident as she could be standing before him.
The silk chemise hit high on her thighs, and it was cut to cling to her curves. The lilac color matched the scent she was wearing, but the black lace covering the bodice made the whole ensemble more daring than angelic. It was the right combination of sexy and sweet—just like the mixed signals she’d been giving him.
There was nothing mixed about this.
His gaze was hungry as it raked her from head to foot. Both her feet were firmly on the floor. She was nervous about this, but she wasn’t going to let it show. She knew what she was getting into. Her body warmed as his gaze slowly dragged back up, but the butterflies inside her stomach were swirling.
“I like you, Zac,” she said, her voice husky.
His eyes narrowed. “
Like
?”
“So much, it terrifies me.”
She moved before he made her say any more. It was easier for her to show than tell. Walking straight up to him, she pressed herself against him. His body was hot, solid and immovable. With that uniform on, though, it turned her on more than intimidated her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, went up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.
Open-mouthed…her fingers clenching in his hair…
She might as well have squeezed the trigger on the gun that was holstered at his hip. His response was that fast, that powerful and that explosive. He came at her with a lunge that pushed her back a step.
She nipped at his lower lip. “It was easy for me to make-believe with you,” she whispered, “but when you wanted to make everything real, it scared me.”
He started to pull back, but she tightened the grip she had on his hair and tucked her face against his. “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved, Zac.”
The tension about him drained away—the hard, angry kind. He shuddered once and then wrapped her in a bear hug that lifted her toes off the floor. “Beauty, I’m not going anywhere.”
She closed her eyes and held on tight. When he set her back on her feet again, she pecked soft kisses across his jawline. She hoped he understood. She’d
told
him she wasn’t good at this. Still unable to meet his gaze, she concentrated on showing him how she felt with her actions.
She’d done everything her sisters had told her, but this had to be all her.
She started undoing his shirt and then his belt. She hesitated when her knuckles bumped against his gun. Changing directions, she stroked a hand down the fly of his pants. “Could you take that off?”
He let out a choking laugh. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want anything to go off accidentally.”
She palmed his growing erection as he tried to get the buckle to turn loose. He nearly tore a hole in the leather before he managed to put the gun belt on the kitchen counter. By that time she had his shirt off and his pants undone. She stroked her hands over his chest to make sure he was all in one piece. “I can’t believe you climbed down under that bridge. You’re not invincible, you know.”
“I have a Kevlar vest in the car.”
She shivered. “Wear that for me sometime?”
The response she got was a growl, but she was already sliding down his body. Kneeling before him, she untied his shoelaces. He toed off the shoes, and she tugged at his socks. His feet looked so different from hers. Bigger and bonier. Curious, she gently pushed her pinky finger between his big toe and the one next to it.
The muscles in his calf spasmed. “Jesus, where did you learn that?”
She smiled softly. “I made it up.”
She was curious about what he liked, and what she liked doing. She’d never felt brave enough to be adventurous with a man before, but she was willing to make up for lost time.
“Heaven help me,” he muttered.
She pulled his pants off from around his ankles and sat back on her haunches to look at his boxers. They were tented in front. He was as aroused as she was. The shackles of timidity were slowly coming off. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to be confident in their feelings for one another.
If it didn’t work out, she’d be crushed, but she was going to at least try. She’d never know what could have been if she let him walk away from her.
She fisted her fingers in the waistband of his shorts and carefully worked them over the bulge. His cock sprang out, hard and erect. She let out a shuddering breath. That was for her…
about
her… Self-assurance cranked up inside her chest, and she spread her hand wide over his lower abdomen. His stomach clenched.
Walking forward on her knees, she eased up close, so close his cock rested in the cleavage of her breasts. Leaning forward, she kissed his belly button.
His hips jerked, and the tip of his cock bumped her chin. “Maxie.”
She kissed him again, lower this time. And lower still. He was breathing hard now, his chest and stomach inflating and deflating. He cupped his hand over her head, and she finally kissed the very tip of his erection. His groan filled the kitchen.
She nearly joined him.
She loved this. She loved the power that sang through her veins, the pleasure that warmed her chest. Moving with more purpose, she wrapped her fingers around his thickness. She pumped up and down while her mouth opened wider and took in more of him.
A blue streak of words filled the air, but it was hard to hear with her blood rushing in her ears. She cupped his balls and swirled her tongue. He tasted salty and rich. Her head bobbed, and his hips swung.
“Enough,” he said hoarsely. “Not this time.”
She grasped at his shoulders when he lifted her and circled her legs around his waist. He shocked her whenever he did that, reminding her how much stronger he was than her and how much he tempered that strength when he touched her. He carried her to the table and hooked his foot around a chair leg. It scraped loudly against the flooring as he pulled it out from under the table, sat and settled her atop him.
She straddled him, with only her toes touching the floor.
He slid his hands under her chemise, and his fingers clenched. “You’re not wearing anything underneath this.”
She shook her head, watching him steadily.
His eyes became heavy lidded. “You know how I feel about you, don’t you?”
She thought she did. She’d laid it all on the line on a hope and a prayer, but it would be nice to hear.
He pushed a hand between her legs. It disappeared under her short skirt, but found its way unerringly to its target. Maxie bit her lip when his finger tickled her clit. He teased her for a long time, circling her opening before penetrating deep.
Her head fell back as pleasure poured through her.
He pressed open-mouthed kisses against her throat. “I’m so crazy about you I can’t see straight.”
He couldn’t think straight, talk straight or breathe right either. Zac knew he was a lost cause, but she’d just told him what he’d wanted to hear.
He rained kisses across her chest until his nose bumped against a strap that held up the silky little confection she was wearing. He loved the thing. Black and soft purple, it was naughty and nice at the same time.
Her body was outrageous. He’d known it from the sundresses she liked to wear and the shorts that showed off her legs, but stripped down, she nearly sent him to his knees. Her curves cushioned all his hard places, and when her thighs locked around his hips…
His vision started to narrow, and he pushed aside the strap until it fell off her shoulder. The bodice of the frilly thing frustrated him. It sagged, but kept her covered. Letting go of her bottom, he flicked the material aside, cupped her breast and lifted it to his mouth. He sucked her hungrily, feeling the tip harden against his tongue. A cry of delight hit his ears, and he added his thumb.
She twisted in his lap, bumping up against his cock. He was so hard he felt like he could pound nails, but he wanted someplace softer to bury himself. Her mouth had been too exotic; he never would have lasted this long.
He didn’t have much left as it was.
Her body arched as he suckled her. Her hand cupped the back of his head, holding him to her until her whimpers became cries. Then the hold changed and became a pull.
He sat back, confused and just a bit desperate. She contorted in his arms, and he caught her waist to keep her from falling, but she wasn’t trying to get away. She was reaching for his pants. The light bulb dawned when she snagged them with her toes and dragged them closer. Her hands were shaky as she searched his pockets.
He watched, getting even more turned on when she ripped open a foil package.
She wasn’t shy at all as she placed the condom over the head of his penis. He couldn’t stop his hips from lifting. Her touch drove him wild. He reciprocated by working another finger into her tight pussy.
Her hair fell forward, and her body bowed. “Zac!”
He buried his face in the crook of her neck and wound his arm around her hips. He pulled her to him and savored the feel of her body against his. “Hurry up and get it on.”
Her fingers shook as she finished, and his balls tightened up dangerously.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He was hard as iron, and she was wet as rain. He gripped her hips. She was already lifting and positioning herself over him. When she started settling down, he had to close his eyes at the sensation.
Like velvet. Tight, soft and giving.
He ran his hands over her thighs and felt them straining. His gaze went to her naked breast. It swayed and juddered as she began moving. He jerked the other strap down too. He wanted to watch her. He wanted to see the natural beauty of her body as she took him.
The straps caught at her elbows, binding her. She worked them off sensuously and caught his shoulders. The filmy material pooled around her hips. It felt sexy as it draped over his lap. Instead of shying away, she watched him back. Her eyes were so deep a brown, they looked almost sable. Pleasure, need and possessiveness were written all over her face. He fisted his hand in her hair and kissed her voraciously.
Sitting there on the chair together, they took and gave from each other until their muscles were tense and their bodies were sweating. Urgency had taken over Maxie, and she was pumping up and dropping down fast. Her feet arched as she braced her weight on her toes.
Zac buried his face between her breasts. She smelled incredible.
“Ohhhh,” she gasped.
He cupped his hands under her butt to help her move. With each thrust, he lifted and released, lifted and released, until she tensed around him. Her fingers pulled the hair at the nape of his neck, and the sharp little pain pushed him over the edge. They orgasmed together, with her body wrapped around his, little sounds erupting from the back of her throat.
“Ah, ahhhh!” she cried.
It was nirvana. It was sexy as hell. And
it was real
.
The moment came and went too quickly. When air became a vital need, Zac sucked it in with a ragged breath. His muscles released, and he was glad for the chair underneath them. It was the only thing holding them both up. All he could manage was collapsing against her and burying his face in her wavy hair.
She was gorgeous. She was open, and she was his.
“Hoorah for privacy,” he muttered into her ear.
“Zac, will you go steady with me?”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
She snuggled against his chest, warm and sated. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“I’m sorry I rushed you,” he returned. “I know it’s only been a few days, but I didn’t want you to get away. I knew your sisters wouldn’t be here much longer, and then what reason would I have to insist you keep me around?”
Her fingers were gentle as they rubbed his scalp. “They’re going back to Cobalt City tomorrow.”
“So soon?”
“We’re going to the doctor’s office first thing so I can have a DNA swab test. Then we’re going to breakfast together. I want them to stay longer, but they have to get back to their jobs and their lives.”
She sounded sad. He placed a kiss against her temple. “You can find sometime soon to get together, or you could go down there.”
“Would you come with me?”
There was no way he’d let her leave him now. “I’ve got some vacation time coming my way.”
She rested her cheek against his chest. “Or we could visit Chicago.”
His arms tightened around her. “We could do that too.”