Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Z oe didn't have that much to pack. If Mrs. Santiago was surprised by the fact that Carlos was bringing home a strange woman and boy, she didn't act like it. In fact, she seemed to be thrilled by the idea. Zoe didn't know what Carlos had told his mom about her. She and Jenna had gone to the trailer to pack up her meager possessions.

Jenna had been sweet enough to verify that this was what Zoe wanted once away from the men, especially Carlos.

Zoe had assured her that it was.

Carlos's house was a single-story with a small porch in the front. He lived in a neighborhood with kids playing on their lawns, dogs barking, and people who waved as they passed. Zoe was sitting in the front of his cruiser. They had borrowed a car seat from the club to get Kyle in the car. Mrs. Santiago was sitting in the back, listening to Kyle chat away about dinosaurs.

Kyle's eyes widened when they backed into the driveway. "Whose house is this?"

"Mine." Carlos put the cruiser into park and then turned in his seat. "You and your mom are going to come and live with us. Is that okay with you?"

Kyle crunched up his face for a moment before asking, "Do you have cookies?"

The adults all laughed. It was Mrs. Santiago who answered. "I make the best peanut butter double chocolate cookies," she told Kyle. Giving Zoe and Carlos a knowing looking, she then added, "How about you and I go make some?"

"Yes!" Kyle bounced up and down in his harness.

Mrs. Santiago got out and then walked around to unbuckle Kyle. "Take your time," she told them before she followed a running Kyle into the house. The sun was starting to set and the porch light turned on.

Once she saw her son was safely inside, Zoe took a moment to inspect the neighborhood.

Carlos reached over to take her hand, drawing her attention back to him. "He'll have plenty of kids to play with. This will be good for him." He brought her hand up to his mouth. "But especially for you."

"This is a big step," Zoe said carefully. "Two days ago, I was terrified of you. Now I'm moving into your house."

Carlos studied her for a moment. "Terrified of me or my badge?"

"Your badge," Zoe amended.

"My badge is now your shield, Zoe," he vowed.

A tear escaped her eye. She quickly wiped it away before he could. "I want to make this work," she told him. "I want Kyle to grow up normally. I don't want to teach him how to hide or to be afraid of a knock on the door. I want him to go to school and have friends and bake cookies and be a kid . That's all I've ever wanted for him."

"Trust me, sunshine," he squeezed her hand, "this will work. I can feel it."

"Why do you keep calling me ‘sunshine'?" she asked him.

He smiled widely. "Because you reminded me of the sun when you came into the diner yesterday."

"Probably a good thing I didn't come in wearing a brown dress then," she deadpanned.

Carlos burst out laughing. He reached for her and drew her close over the center console. "You're moving into my bedroom and we haven't even had a proper kiss yet."

Her heart start beating wildly in her chest. "Probably something we should amend."

"Definitely," he agreed, leaning in closer. "And frequently."

Zoe learned quickly the one downside to moving in with Carlos and his mom. There were now three adults and a toddler in the house and only one bathroom.

"I sent Cage a message," Carlos told her later on as they got ready for their first night together. Kyle, full of cookies and exhausted from exploring in his new bedroom, was passed out on Bulldog's old king-sized bed. They would need to go shopping for a more kid-appropriate bed. Carlos had also promised Kyle that he could pick out the color of his bedroom.

"Cage?" Zoe questioned. She was wearing a long nightgown…and nothing else. While she wasn't sure she was ready to go through another pregnancy, she was sure she was ready have sex again. She wouldn't have agreed to this arrangement if she wasn't.

"The club owns a construction company. Cage is one of their patched members who runs it for them. I'm going to have him stop by tomorrow to see if there's a way of adding a second bathroom to the house."

Zoe pulled down the covers. "Sounds expensive. I need to look into getting a job."

"How secure is your identity?" he asked her carefully.

"I haven't had to use it yet. Not officially, anyway. Why?"

"Well, I need a new secretary. Mine is…utterly useless," he said in the nicest way possible. "What do you think about coming to work with me?"

Zoe perked up immediately. "Really? You'd hire me?"

He crawled onto the bed and knelt next to her. "Of course. Though, I probably should start calling you ‘Clara' again. I can also ask Keys to get you an entirely new identity. One that we know is secure."

"He can do that?" she gasped.

He nodded. "Pretty sure there's not much that man can't do with a computer."

Zoe bit her lip. "I miss being Zoe. Not Davis's Zoe or Zoe Rutterson. I miss feeling like me . Just Zoe."

"We'll talk to Keys in the morning," he promised her. "Figure out your options, but I would love for you to come to work for me." He ran his hand down her arm, leaving goosebumps in his wake. "Though I might have to install shades in my office. Not sure I'd be able to survive a full workday with you without needing some private time."

Zoe leaned up and pressed her lips to his. "I'm not on birth control. Do you have condoms?"

He nodded. "I do."

His kiss was soft but filled with devotion. Slowly, he brought his arms around her. Zoe pressed closer and opened her mouth for him. Carlos dipped his tongue inside, deepening their kiss. She couldn't help the whimper of desire that escaped her.

In a way, despite the fact that they had only been on one date and their first kiss had only been a few hours before in his cruiser, Zoe felt closer to Carlos than she ever had Davis. Carlos was real in a way Davis never was or could have been. For Davis, it was all about him. If he did this, then he got that. With Carlos, though, it was all about her . If he did this, then she got that. Call her selfish, but Zoe could do with a bit of pampering in her life. Not too much, but just enough to make this feeling of cherishment last forever.

Carlos separated from her for only a moment to take off his undershirt. Zoe's hand raised as if magnetized. She wasn't expecting him to have so much chest hair. She ran her fingers through it. He let her play for a moment before drawing her back to him.

Together, they stood up on their knees. A shiver ran threw her as his hand journeyed downward to her breast.

He paused. "Are you okay?"

Zoe had to take a deep breath and assessed her reaction. Finally, she nodded. "Yes. I… It's been a long time. I think I just forgot."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't ever hesitate to tell me ‘no' or to ask me to stop. I will never take what you are not willing to give, Zo. I am here," he pressed a kiss to her shoulder, "for your pleasure. Not the other way around."

Another shiver went through her—only this one was for an entirely different reason. "How about we pleasure each other?"

Carlos's smile was sinful. "Fuck yeah."

Zoe sat back and lifted the hem of her nightdress over her head. She knelt before him completely bare. Her breasts weren't overly large, but bigger than before she'd had Kyle. She still bore the stretch marks from her pregnancy as well as some flab around her middle. Davis had hated the fact that she had not gone back to her one-hundred-and ten, size three body following his birth. But Carlos?

The look in his eyes as he stared at her naked form… Zoe felt nothing but beautiful. If it wasn't so soon for them, she would have sworn she also saw love.

Carlos reached for her breasts again. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of emotions she saw on his face, wanting to concentrate on the feel of his touches. His tongue on her nipple surprised her and she nearly jumped.

He left a trail of kisses along her breast to the valley between and to the other. He continued upward to her shoulder and neck then switched to her other side.

Slowly he laid her back onto the pillows. He carefully arranged himself between her legs and she was so grateful she'd shaved that morning.

"You deserve to be worshiped every day of your life, Zoe, and I plan to be the man who falls at your altar."

He dipped his head down, running his tongue up and down her slit. Zoe let out a low whimper. "Carlos, I've never…"

He picked up his head. "Never what?"

She refused to say that bastard's name. He had no place in bed with her and Carlos. "No one's ever gone down on me."

"No one?" Carlos looked stunned and Zoe shook her head. "Utter fools. I plan on going down on you multiple times a day."

Zoe gasped out in shock and then in pleasure as he took her clit into his mouth. He devoured her sex like he was a starving man and she was a three-course meal. Heat rose from her core as he sucked and lapped at her wet folds. Carefully, he slid a finger into her center, searching, searching…

Zoe cried out as he found her sweet spot. Her inner walls trembled around his digit as she experienced her first orgasm.

Carlos withdrew his finger, placing kisses on her stomach and all the way up to her mouth. He lay on the bed next to her side, keeping her close as she came down from her high. He continued to devour her neck, patiently waiting.

Zoe blinked, her euphoria like a buzz under her skin. "That was… I didn't know it would be like that."

He nibbled on her earlobe. "Get used to it, sunshine."

Zoe pulled his face to hers, tasting herself on his lips. She could feel his thick cock in his sweatpants pressed against her hip. Zoe knew that there would be a lot that she would be taking from this relationship that would not be even. But there was something that she could do for him that would show her appreciation.

"Roll onto your back," she instructed him.

When Zoe had told Carlos her past, she'd told him all of it. Including how she had tried to persuade Davis to use her mouth in place of vaginal sex following Kyle's birth.

He knew what she had in mind. "You don't have to," Carlos told her softly.

"I know." She smiled at him. "That's the difference. I want to."

Carlos smiled back at her. Then rolled onto his back. He lifted his hips so she could pull his sweats down his long legs. She flung them onto the floor.

Carlos was tall, over six feet, with long, thick legs. It was no surprise his cock fit him proportionally too. Zoe reached up and wrapped her hand around his thickness. He spread his thighs wider to give her more room.

Zoe dipped her head down and ran her tongue along his mushroomed tip. Then, looking up his tall body and making sure his eyes were on her, she dropped her mouth over his thick cock. She was careful to avoid her teeth touching his sensitive skin. He let out a long groan, his hand going into her hair.

"Fuck, sunshine, just like that."

Zoe worked her tongue up and down his long shaft, rubbing her hand in unison with her bobbing head. She placed her other hand on his balls. They were tight and heavy as she rolled them carefully between her fingers.

Knowing she was giving him pleasure, gave her pleasure in return. She could feel the wetness between her legs increase.

"Zoe, love, stop. I'm going to…" He hissed. "I want to come inside you."

Though a part of her wanted to keep going, she backed off of him. "Where's the condom?"

Carlos pointed to his nightstand.

Zoe hopped off the bed and walked naked to it. She opened the draw…and blinked. There were a few condoms in the drawer. Three, to be precise, along with some wet wipes, but there was a couple of items that Zoe did not expect.

She reached inside and pulled out the large orange dildo. She turned towards Carlos, holding it up.

He stared unabashed back at her. "Straight men can enjoy anal sex too."

A shiver ran through Zoe as the image of her using the toy on Carlos came to the forefront of her mind and a feeling of power she'd never felt before. Taking the dildo but leaving the condoms, Zoe crawled back onto the bed next to him.

"You have no idea how much I want to use this on you."

He grinned wickedly at her. "Sunshine, you can do whatever the fuck you want to me." He tipped his head towards the nightstand again. "But the use of lube is nonnegotiable."

Carlos had never shared his secret with anyone before. He wasn't ashamed of the fact that he liked to masturbate while stimulating his prostate. He'd done it for the first time on a dare while visiting Jasmine and Sophia at their college. He was so drunk, he didn't really remember the experience, but he did recall liking it.

He'd never had the time or the inclination to share his kink with a woman. Generally, his experiences were quick fucks or out-of-town one-night stands. He'd even been with a few of the club Honeys because he knew it wouldn't mean anything to them but a night of shared pleasure. There'd been no passion.

The idea, though, of Zoe fucking him with that dildo? His balls tightened at the very thought. Carlos wasn't a domineering man. Dominant, yes, but not controlling or manipulative. He did not see himself as weak or less of a man because he liked anal sex. The fact that it was turning Zoe on made it all the more appealing.

She'd told him what her husband had done to her. Ring or no, it had been a violation. If Zoe wanted him to buy a strap-on and fuck him for the rest of their days, he was more than fine with that. Her cute mouth wrapped around his cock would just be the cherry on top.

Zoe grabbed the half-full lube bottle from his nightstand. Her eagerness showed in her haste, which Carlos could only agree with. One of the downsides of having to share a bathroom with his mom and brother was the fact that he had to keep certain things in his bedroom and not readily accessible in the bathroom, like his enema treatments.

"I've never done this before."

"I have," he assured her. "I'll walk you through it."

"And you're…" Zoe hesitated, glancing down at the dildo in his hand. "I mean, you'll come. Which means we won't…"

"Love, I told you that you can do whatever you want to me and I meant it. If you want this, which it seems like you do, then I'm all for it. If you want to grab one of those condoms, I'll make love to you so sweetly, you'll never question my devotion to you. The choice is yours."

Zoe bit the inside of her lip. Then she got a devilish glint in her eye that made Carlos shiver in anticipation. "Tell me what to do."

Zoe opened the lube bottle and dribbled some onto the tips of her fingers. "Shouldn't you, you know, turn over?"

Carlos shook his head. "I want to see you when you make love to me."

She personally considered what she was about to do to him ‘fucking', but it certainly romanticized it when he said ‘making love'. She had no idea why the idea of getting him off by anal stimulation was so intoxicating to her. Maybe it was the reverse roles or the fact that he was letting her have free rein of his body? Zoe didn't know and, frankly, she didn't care.

She brought herself closer between his bent knees. Carlos was watching her, so trustingly, that it made her feel powerful. For the first time in her life, she felt in control. That was the gift Carlos was giving her. More than a home, more than a safe haven, he was giving her a chance to find herself. To be Zoe .

She reached her lubed fingers forward between his ass cheeks. As soon as her fingers found his puckered hole, Carlos moaned low from his throat. She would have wondered if that was a good sound, except he pushed his hips into her hand. Her finger pressed inside.

"Fuck, Zoe. You're killing me."

She looked up at him in slight panic. "What? Am I hurting you?"

He chuckled low. "No, but if you don't hurry up, I'm going to give you a show on what to do."

That perked up her ears. "I think I'd like that." He raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled. "But not today."

He met her smile. "Agreed. You don't have to go slow or gentle with me, love. I can take it."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," he promised.

Zoe pushed her finger further inside, and she saw him automatically relax. He said she needed to open him up and spread the lube around inside too. Zoe worked her finger in and out of his ass.

"Add another." His voice sounded strained but she complied.

Zoe pressed her middle and pointer fingers into his tight hole. Carlos groaned. "Are you sure this is okay?"

He nodded. "Very. Keep going, love."

Zoe continued to work her fingers in and out of him. All the while, she watched for any signs of his discomfort.

"Lube up the dildo," he instructed.

Zoe pulled her fingers from his body and he groaned. He brought his hand to his cock and started to pump himself as she got the lube bottle again. "How do you normally do this?"

"You mean what position or in general?"

Since she didn't know the answer to either, Zoe said, "Both."

"Here in my bed. Generally on my back because I'm not flexible enough to be in any other position. As to the other question, I've always been alone. You're the first person I've shared this with."

She looked up from where she was running her lubed palm up and down the silicone shaft. "Really?"

Carlos nodded. "You're the only person I've wanted to share this with."

Zoe crawled on top of him, straddling his belly. Careful of her sticky hands, she draped herself over him and took his lips. "I don't know why this turns me on so much, but I love that you're giving this to me."

He smiled up at her. "Anything to make you shine."

Zoe couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "You really need to stop comparing me to the sun."

"Never," he vowed.

"Probably not a good time to point out that I'm a natural blonde?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded. "I dyed it to match Kyle's. I used to keep it really short too, but I let it grow out while we were in the mountains."

He reached up and pulled on a lock of her brunette hair. "I'd love to see you as a blonde."

Her smile was a little sad, because they both knew that it was safer to keep her hair dyed. "Maybe one day I'll buy a wig." Zoe scooted off of him and retook her place between his legs. "You ready?"

"Wait," he said. She paused, the tip of the fake dick nearing his cheeks. "Grab the condom."

She did as she was told, though confused. Why would he have her lube up the dildo if she needed to put a condom on it? Why would a dildo need to have a condom on it if it was clean?

"Put it on me," he instructed.

"Why?" Unfortunately, her hands were too slippery that she wasn't able to open the packet. She tossed it to him.

As Carlos ripped it open and slid it down his erection, he explained, "I still want to come inside you."

Maybe Zoe needed to go back to anatomy lessons, because she was not understanding what he was getting at.

"When I tell you to, climb on top of me and sit on my dick."

Zoe still had no idea what was about to happen, but she was too turned on to be overly curious.

She picked up the lubed dildo again. Carlos moved his legs back, holding them open wide with his hands behind his knees. This gave her a very clear view of his sheathed cock, his heavy balls, and his lubed pucker.

Zoe positioned the dildo at his entrance and carefully pressed inside. She'd never been the penetrator before, and it was exhilarating to watch his body take the fake phallus. She leaned in, adding her weight. Completely mesmerized, she watched his face as his breath changed and his eyes dilatated.

"Keep going," he encouraged.

Zoe pushed in further. It was nearly halfway inside him. She pulled back out before pushing back in. His head rolled back on the pillow.

"Carlos?"

"It's fine!" he gasped out. "I'm fine. It's so different when it's someone…" He stopped and picked his head up off the pillow. "It's so different because it's you."

Zoe thought her heart was about to burst out of her chest. "I know the feeling," she admitted. She shifted her weight on the bed and incidentally pressed the dildo further inside him.

"Oh fuck!" he panted. "Do that again."

Zoe pulled the cock out and then pressed her weight into him as it reentered him. A part of her wished she had her hands free. What would it feel like to fuck him with her hips? There were strap-ons with clitoral stimulators too. Zoe really needed to get a job so she could go shopping for one.

"Whatever the fuck you're thinking about, I'm a hundred and ten percent behind you," he gasped out. "Oh fuck. Keep going."

She repeated the action, over and over again, all the while imagining what it would feel like to be over him, kiss him, to play with his nipples… His utility belt and weapon were stored in his safe, but the man did have handcuffs. What would it be like to cuff his hands behind his back, put him on his belly, and take him from behind?

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Hurry," Carlos pleaded, releasing the hold he had on his legs. "Get on my cock."

Zoe didn't bother to take the dick out of his ass. She scrambled up over his hips. She was so turned on that there was no preparation needed on her part. She slid the top of his penis through her drenched folds before sinking down on top of him. Zoe was so grateful for his foresight to put the condom on ahead of time.

Her groan from the fullness inside of her was cut off by her gasp as she was suddenly flipped over onto her back. They were now horizontal on the bed, her hair hanging off the end. He claimed her lips as he pounded into her. Zoe opened her legs wider, tipping her hips up higher, trying to get him deeper inside.

Hindsight, they were not being quiet. Neither of them seemed to remember that his mother and her son were in the surrounding rooms. If the universe was looking out for them, they were both sound asleep and would know nothing of what took place inside the new couple's bedroom.

Neither of them lasted long. Zoe could not recall ever feeling so frenzied. They both shouted out their releases, clinging to the other like they were their reason for living. Zoe zoned out, riding her high of endorphins and oxytocin. She vaguely recalled Carlos getting up and hurrying across the hall. He came back with a warm washcloth, using it to clean her and then himself up. He dressed her back in her nightgown and pulled on his sweats.

As Carlos curled himself around her, pulling the covers up, she felt his mouth at her ear. She heard his words and wondered how in two days she'd gotten so lucky to be falling in love with a sexy small-town sheriff.