Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Rae

H e moved faster than I expected. Much faster.

I stumbled back with a yelp as he charged forward, but he was on me before I had a chance to fall on my butt, his lips sealing on mine and swallowing down the noise. The instant Zach fused his lips with mine, time stopped. The world around us disappeared. There was only him and me and the kiss .

His hands slid over me, making me feel dizzy as his tongue coaxed my lips open. I'd kissed my fair share of men, mostly after having a little too much to drink at whatever nightclub we were all at, but none of them had ever felt like this. Zach wasn't just a good kisser. He was a master. He could teach classes on how to properly kiss a woman .

My knees turned to mush, refusing to hold me up any longer, but before I could fall, Zach wrapped one of his thick, strong arms around me, molding my body to his. I felt so small and soft against all of his... large and incredibly hard.

I placed my hands on his stomach, gasping at the feel of all the ridges and indents beneath the soft cotton of his shirt. Now that I was finally touching him, I couldn't seem to stop. I slid my palms up, over his defined pecs and broad shoulders. I rose up on my tiptoes to get closer, looping my arms around his thick neck and holding on tightly. My fingernails scraped against the nape of his neck as his tongue swept against mine, causing a needy whimper to claw up my throat.

"God, I've been dreamin' about this." His voice was thick and raspy, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. "Could kiss you for hours, baby."

A thrill shot through me like a bolt of lightning at hearing that, but while I was enjoying kissing him too—more than I could possibly put into words—there was this persistent buzzing beneath my skin that was only getting worse as the seconds ticked by. With every brush of his hands over the dip of my waist and the flare of my hips, a need for... more ignited deep in my core, sparking to life like a small campfire before growing into a raging forest fire.

Kissing him wasn't enough. I needed more. I wanted more. Only, I didn't have the first clue what I wanted or how to ask for it. I might have kissed plenty of nameless, faceless guys over the past few years, but I'd only taken two of them to bed, and neither experience had been much to write home about.

The first one had been when I was twenty. I'd been in L.A. for a year by then and all my friends were hooking up. I'd done it mainly because I was tired of being a virgin and wanted to get it over with. It had been painful at first, then... underwhelming. I hadn't orgasmed, hadn't even come close, but I'd faked it because I thought I had to, to spare his pride. I might have been willing to give him another shot if he hadn't run and told all his friends about it, bragging like he was some kind of sex god.

The second guy was someone I'd been seeing for a couple months. I thought there was potential with him. I thought he was the kind of guy I could see myself being with for a while, if not the long haul. We dated for a little less than a year, and the sex was pretty hit or miss. Sometimes I'd climax, but that was only if I was on top and really focused. And if he didn't get off first.

Our relationship ended because I thought we could be adults and talk about how to make things better in the bedroom. He'd taken it as a personal attack and broke up with me. I felt sorry for whoever came next, because they were in for a boring, mediocre love life, for damn sure.

Neither of them had made me feel even a fraction of what Zach did. It felt like there was an inferno inside me, building and building. Part of me was afraid I might combust while the other part of me welcomed the explosion.

"Zach," I whimpered, that one word coming out a plea.

"I'm right here, Rae. I've got you."

I threaded my fingers through the short strands of his hair, trying to hold on, to get closer, to fuse with him. "I need..." I rocked my pelvis forward, sucking in a sharp breath at the feel of the steel rod prodding me in the belly. He was so hard and so big .

"What do you need, baby? Tell me and I'll give it to you."

I let out a little whine as I desperately searched my brain for the right words. God, I knew I should have watched more porn. At least then I would know which way my tastes leaned and how to vocalize those cravings.

"I—I don't . . . I'm not sure."

Zach pulled his head back, blinking his eyes into focus. His pupils were so big his irises were solid black. "I think I know what you need." He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, the pads of his fingers brushing against my temple and down my jaw. "You trust me?"

I nodded. In that very moment, there was no one I trusted more. If he didn't do something about this ache deep inside me, I wasn't sure I'd survive. "I trust you," I said on a rush of breath.

He reached behind his neck to grab my wrists where they were linked and pulled my hands down, bringing them to my sides as he slowly started walking forward, forcing me back step by step. "Good, because you have to know I'd never do anything to hurt you. I'll make you scream, hell, I'll do my best to make you cry tonight, but none of that will be in pain."

His words were like a bolt of lightning shooting straight to my clit. My center throbbed, the emptiness excruciating. I pulled in a gasp when my back collided with the wall, and at the sound, Zach gave me a smile I'd never seen before. It was wolfish and dark and full of the most tantalizing, forbidden promises.

"You're so fuckin' pretty," he said, his tone reverent as he slipped his fingers beneath the sash holding my robe closed at my waist and sliding them to the knot at the front. The touch felt sinful and worshipful at the same time.

Nerves jittered in my belly. A million doubts suddenly flooded my head. What if I was the problem? What if the reason I'd never had the kind of sex I read about in romance novels was because I wasn't any good at it? What if he decided I wasn't worth it after tonight and took off again?

"Hey." He took me by the chin and forced me from those dark thoughts by lowering his face to mine. "Whatever you're thinking, stop it right now. Get out of your head, baby. You're supposed to be here with me."

I gave a wobbly nod and licked my lips. "I'm here."

"Good." His gaze traveled down to where his fingers were toying with the knot in my robe's belt. I'd seen those same fingers tie a rope more times than I could count, and I suddenly understood why I'd always found watching him do that so damn fascinating. "Because I need your focus on me. I need you to pay attention to every single thing I do to you." He tilted my chin up with his free hand. "You following me, Rae?"

"I follow," I answered without hesitation.

His gaze penetrated mine, making it impossible to look away. "And if there's anything I do that you don't like, I want you to say so right away and I'll stop."

He went silent for a beat, as though he was waiting for me to tell him to stop. That wasn't going to happen. Not when I felt like I was holding on to a fallen powerline and he was the only thing capable of grounding me. He smiled with approval when I returned his silence and gripped the sash with both hands, making quick work of undoing the knot and sliding the two ends free of each other.

His molten gaze slowly traveled downward as he toyed with the silky lapels between his fingers before finally letting them go so they could fall open.

The sound he made was like something you'd expect to hear in the wild, sending a pulse straight to my center. I clenched my thighs together, spreading the wetness that was dripping from me across my upper thighs. I'd never been so drenched in my life. I wasn't sure if it was normal or if I should be embarrassed. The air conditioning played across my exposed skin as he pushed the robe open farther, exposing everything. My nipples tightened painfully as goosebumps spread across every inch of my body.

"Damn it, baby. I knew you'd be perfect, and just look at you." The need to cover myself that I'd felt only a moment ago disappeared as his heated gaze dragged over me like I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. "You're even better than I imagined. And I've imagined a lot ."

My lips parted on a shaky exhale when he reached out to drag the backs of his fingers over my skin from my belly button up toward my breasts. I hissed when he dragged a knuckle over an aching nipple, pulling my lips between my teeth on a whimper as my back arched off the wall.

Zach hummed appreciatively. "Look how responsive you are." He did the same to the other nipple, garnering a similar reaction. Each brush of my nipples shot straight to my clit like there was an invisible thread tied to both, connecting them. Everything he did to my breasts, I felt in my core. I could feel myself clenching around nothing, trying to get relief, but it seemed Zach was intent on torturing me.

"The moment you opened the door, I wondered what color your nipples were. I tried to guess if you kept your pussy bare or trimmed." He trailed his fingers back down, making my lower belly quiver as he passed it on his way farther south. He didn't stop until he cupped my mound in his large hand, letting out a groan while I cried out at his intimate touch. "Love this patch of pretty curls," he breathed against my lips, using his body to pin me in place against the wall as he slid his fingers through my slit. Back and forth, back and forth. "Love seeing them glisten with your wetness." He leaned in, nuzzling the crook of my neck before dragging the tip of his nose upward and whispering against my ear. "Tell me I can come inside, Rae. Tell me I can push my fingers inside this tight, drenched heat. That I can drop down to my knees and worship you with my mouth until you come on my tongue over and over, so much you have to beg me to stop. Tell me you'll let me make you feel like a goddess, Rae. Say yes, baby. Please."

Oh my God . He had a way with words; that was for certain. I wanted everything he said and so much more.

My breaths were coming at a rapid pace. I felt like something inside me was only moments from detonation. He pulled back, meeting my eyes, and I gave him what we both wanted so badly.

"Yes," I rasped. That one word carried off on a loud cry when Zach leaned in, pulling one of my nipples into his mouth and sucking deeply as he speared two fingers inside me.

The sharp sting of pain quickly faded into a pleasure I'd never experienced before. As Zach's mouth tormented my nipples in the best possible way, his fingers thrust into me, those long, thick digits sliding against a spot deep inside that no man had ever touched.

My whole body started to quake, pressure building from somewhere deep. The intensity of everything my body was experiencing was almost too much. I'd had orgasms before, but none of them compared to what was brewing.

My eyes fell closed, my head dropping back against the wall on a low moan as I felt Zach's mouth move to the valley between my breasts before traveling down. His tongue licked a scorching path, circling my belly button and traveling lower, lower, lower.

"Open your eyes, beautiful," he ground out, his words like sin and honey and the finest wine. I blinked my eyes open, forcing my heavy lids to half-mast to find Zach on his knees in front of me. It was the most intoxicating sight I'd ever seen, this big, strong, rough cowboy on his knees for me, all for my pleasure. "There she is." His lips curved upward when my hazy gaze collided with his. "I want you to watch as I devour you. I want you to see exactly who's making you feel so good."

On that order, he buried his face between my thighs, his magical tongue joining his fingers in raising me to heights I hadn't thought I was capable of reaching.

"Oh God, yes ," I called out, my hands slapping against the wall behind me as Zach sucked my clit between his lips, the tip of his tongue flicking over the swollen bundle of nerves while his fingers continued to drive inside me, rubbing against that place that made stars burst in front of my eyes. "Zach," I panted, my voice sharp. My hips began to rock forward, chasing every sweep of his tongue as he continued to play with me. He grabbed one of my legs and threw it over his shoulder, opening me wider for him and groaned loudly against my folds as he lapped up my arousal .

"You taste like heaven and hell in one perfect package." Those brown eyes of his were like velvet when he looked up from between my legs. "I could die a happy man with your taste on my lips, baby."

"Don't stop," I pleaded as that screw deep inside me twisted tighter and tighter. "Please, Zach," I begged, his name coming out in a sob as my voice cracked. "I'm so close. I need to come."

He growled against my bare skin, turning his head just enough to sink his teeth into my inner thigh. "You can always count on me to give you what you need."

He dove back in, burying his face in a way he couldn't possibly be able to breathe, but he seemed perfectly fine with that.

His mouth and fingers worked in tandem, building me up to the point the sounds I was making became incomprehensible.

I felt my release closing in, the pressure mounting so much it almost scared me. Unable to hold myself up, I bent forward, bracing one hand on his head and the other on his shoulder, my nails digging in as my orgasm blazed through me, the raging inferno burning me alive.

I did exactly as he'd insisted, screaming his name, first as a benediction, then, as he continued to coax my release on and on, dragging it out, as a sob. I couldn't possibly take any more. I hadn't understood until that moment what people meant when they said you could have too much of a good thing. I didn't know if it was a million smaller orgasms all lined up or one cosmic one, but by the time Zach lowered my leg from his shoulder and stood in front of me, I felt destroyed. He'd wrecked me completely, and I didn't think I would ever be the same.

His mouth came back down on mine in a hard, demanding crash, the taste of my release still on his lips. His breaths were sawing in and out of his lungs, each one jagged and harsh when he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. "I need to feel you, baby. I need that heat of yours wrapped around my cock."

I needed that too. More than anything.

Looping my arms over his shoulders, I gently brushed my lips against his, once, twice. "Then take me to bed."

And that was all the permission he needed.