34. Zane

34

ZANE

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Hollis looks at me over the stack of freshly-signed papers. He holds them like he's ready to tear them in half at the tiniest sign of indecision from me.

But I've been absolutely sure since the moment I scheduled this meeting.

"Would you stop asking me that?"

"Never," he laughs, sliding everything into a folder labeled Whitaker, Z . "Do you know how often I deal with people who are pissed off because Daddy signed his estate over to his side piece and cut his children out of it?"

"How often?"

He considers it for a second. "Twice. But that was two times too many. I have to make sure you are of sound mind so that I can look your descendants in their faces and tell them it was your decision, not mine. I need my conscience to be clear."

"Consider it clear then. First, because I'm of sound mind. Second, because Mira is not my side piece." I narrow my eyes in warning. "And third, because I didn't cut Aiden out of anything. Everything we've done here is standard stuff."

Hollis arches a brown in disbelief. "Nothing about you and Mira is ‘standard.'"

He has no idea how right he is.

Though I'm sure Hollis is referring more to the fact that I made sure Mira will become Aiden's legal guardian if anything ever happens to me. And that she'll have access to all of my accounts, including the money set aside for Aiden in his guardianship trust.

"Are you expecting some great tragedy to befall you or something?" he asks. "Do I need to be worried?"

"I'm not expecting anything. Then again," I add, "maybe we should all be expecting something."

It's been a week since Mira's accident, but all I've been able to think about is the fact that I didn't have access to any information about the most important woman in my life because we weren't "family." As if the government gets to tell me who my fucking family is.

What would've happened if something had happened to me? Where would Aiden have gone? Would Mira have been taken care of?

Mira was released from the hospital the next day, Owen assured me everything was as it was supposed to be at the house and with the security system, and life has been quiet and peaceful for the last week.

But I couldn't relax until I knew I'd done everything I could to take care of Aiden and Mira.

For the first time in seven days, I can take a deep breath.

Hollis smiles and crosses his arms. "I'm not going to tell a client of mine to be less prepared, but I have to ask again…" He leans across the desk, his eyes boring into mine. "Are you sure about this woman?"

I lean forward, matching his intensity with my own. "I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life."

It's later than normal when I get out of Aiden's room. He talked me into reading two extra chapters of his book, but we both dozed off during the second one.

I stumble out of his room towards the living room, rubbing my eyes. But Mira isn't on the couch where I left her.

Or in the kitchen.

And I smile—because I know exactly where she is.

I smell the lavender bubble bath before I even open our bedroom door. In the ensuite, candles flicker and I can hear the gentle lapping of water.

I cross the room and lean against the doorway. Her eyes are closed, her head resting on the lip of the tub. The water is up to her chest, but I can still see the soft swells of her beneath the surface. My cock twitches.

"It's not safe to bathe alone," I warn.

She smiles, still not opening her eyes. "What a shame. It's my new favorite thing."

She's taken a bath every day since the accident. The doctor told her it would help with the muscle aches, but it's not doing a damn thing for me. I've been purposefully gentle with her since we left the hospital—a task that has become almost impossible when I have to see her naked in my bathtub day after fucking day.

"Do you want some company?" I ask.

Her eyes snap open. The way she tugs at her lower lip with her teeth makes me wonder if I'm not the only one who has been undergoing a kind of torture. This is the longest we've gone without touching since I tracked her down to that dingy motel.

It's been too long.

"You're a little overdressed," she remarks.

I respond with the dramatic unbuttoning of my pants, and her laugh does as much for me as the sight of her. Knowing she's here and happy… I can't think of anything I want more than that.

She watches with hungry eyes as I peel my shirt off and toss my clothes in a pile. She sits up to make space for me, her breasts rising out of the water like she's fucking Aphrodite. Water streams over her shoulders and down her chest. By the time I sink below the surface, I'm rock hard.

Mira notices.

She swirls her finger over the surface of the water. "Did you want a bath, too?"

"No." I catch her hand and pull her gently towards me, helping her straddle me. "I want you."

Mira plants her palms on my chest, and everything about her is soft. Her hips, her touch, her smile. Her hair is twisted into a knot on top of her head. Dark strands slip free, sticking to her neck.

"You're perfect."

"Tell that to all my bruises," she mumbles.

With a frown, I lift her arm to look. A deep purple bruise rises out of the bubbles and stains her ribs. I gingerly press my lips to it, tracing the edges with my mouth and my breath.

She tips her head back in a sigh. "How are you making a bruise feel sexy?"

"Because it's proof you're still here with me." I work my way around her ribs, swirling her nipple in my mouth and nipping across her collarbones. "Do you have any idea what went through my head when the police showed up to tell me about your accident?"

She curls her fingers through my hair, pulling me closer. "I'm so sorry."

I press my tongue to her pulse point, feeling it jump when my hand slides between her legs. The water is warm, but I can still feel how hot she is. "What have I said about apologizing?"

"I'm sorr—I mean…" Her lips part on a sigh, but she's smiling. "I don't know what else to say."

"How about: Please, Zane, have mercy. Fuck me. " I wrap my hand around myself and slide through her folds, back and forth and back and forth. I tease her with my dick, driving us both nearly to the edge faster than should be possible. But it really has been a long time.

Mira rocks against me. "Please, Zane. Have?—"

That's all she gets out before I slide into her.

Inch by inch, Mira sinks onto me, sealing our bodies together until I'm drowning in her.

I'm shaking with the need to pin her against me and fill her hard and fast, but I move slowly, gently.

"The second I felt you like this, I knew there'd never be anyone else. I knew no one would fit me the way you do."

It's not just the sex, even though the sex is genuinely unbelievable. It's the way we fit in everything. The way her body settles against mine when we're sleeping. The way we move around the kitchen on sleepy mornings.

"If I'd known it was a test, I would've tried harder." She grips my shoulders and rides me slowly, setting the pace.

I spread my hands across her hips. She gives into my touch, arching against me and mewling. I flick the pebbled point of her nipple with my tongue.

"You're so goddam edible. There's nowhere I don't want to taste."

"Then do it." She moves faster. The water laps against the edges of the tub, threatening to spill over, not that I give a shit. The entire place could be underwater, and I'm not sure I'd notice.

"Oh, I will," I tease, kissing the slope of her throat as I pulse into her, meeting her rocking thrusts. "But first, I want to feel you come."

She gnaws at her lower lip. "Oh, yeah? Then what?"

We die, I think. That's what it feels like now—dying in some glorious final bang, pun fully intended. I'm not sure how anyone survives the heat building between our bodies.

"Then I carry you to our bed," I pant, "and lick you until you come again."

She cries out, her body beginning to pulse around me. "And then?"

The fact she wants more is why we're perfect. We can't get enough. We never will, either of us.

Black creeps into the edge of my vision. I'm half out of my body already, absolutely lost in her. But I manage a breathy laugh. "Then I press you back against a wall, wrap your legs around me, and fuck you. The way we did the first time. The way we did when I found you in that motel."

Mira wraps a hand around my neck and bends backward. "Sounds like you have it all planned out."

I close my eyes, a stupid smile I can't hide spreading across my face. "You have no fucking idea, Mira. I've had more than enough time to think about it. I know exactly what I want to do with you."

"Tell me every last detail," she breathes.

"I will." I slip my hand from her hip and press my thumb to the point directly between her legs. "But not until you come."

On the next roll of her hips, her breath catches.

And she dissolves like sugar in the water.

Mira melts against me, her face buried in my neck as her chest heaves and her thighs tremble. I wrap my arms around her, pinning her close, and drive into her. Again and again until I'm groaning into her skin.

"Perfect." I lick the water from her shoulder and she rises up to look at me. Her eyes are bright, like she's glowing. "Fucking perfect."

"I didn't realize poetry was on the schedule. You're a natural talent." She smiles and smooths her fingers across my chest. She has to know what she's doing to me. When her lips tilt in a half-smile, I'm positive she does. "Okay, I came. Now, it's your turn. What are you going to do with me?"

The words slip out without any hesitation, as easy as breathing. "I'm going to marry you."