by BJ Harvey
He lifts his head and gives me a slow, languid kiss. I love that he can be so soft and gentle after losing control like that.
So much for three dates.
ZANDER
This time it isn't going to be rushed. My tongue rubs against hers in slow, languorous strokes as I carry her in my arms into her room. I walk into her room and use my foot to slam the door closed behind me. Walking to the bed, I put my knee down and gently lay her underneath me. She loops her arms around my neck and stares up at me. Her bright blue eyes bore into my soul, branding this moment onto my very being. Her sex mussed hair and flushed cheeks give away exactly how good our kitchen encounter was for her.
Hell, I'm still coming down from the high myself.
“Hey you,” I say, bending down and kissing her nose before rubbing mine softly against hers, moving down until my lips are gently pressed against hers.
“Hi.”
I'm savoring the taste of her, the taste of us together. Relishing every single second of this moment. Kate, my firebird, finally with me in every way possible. I brace my arms on either side of her body, holding my weight off her as I continue to stare down at her.
I've always wondered what it would feel like to be this connected to someone.
My mother told me that she knew my father was the one within a few weeks of meeting him. I didn't believe her because my memories of my father are still so clouded by his behavior in the years leading up to his death. But she said that she felt something deep within her soul when she looked at him, touched him, kissed him...she said she felt claimed.
Kate has me, all of me. I feel claimed.
I'm totally caught. Hook, line and sinker.
KATE
A month later
I'm happy. I'm actually happy. Over the moon, deliriously jubilant, feeling as if I'm on top of the freaking world. It's been a month of togetherness. Proper, no holds barred, sexed up togetherness, and every time we're together it just keeps getting better.
I've never felt like this with someone. When I was with Liam, I thought I was in love, but that was naïve, young puppy love. Compared to what I'm feeling now, it was nothing. It was barely a pinprick in the soul.
It may be too soon; I may get hurt. But I could also cross the street tomorrow and get hit by a truck. Life's too short to worry about how long you've been with someone, and whether it's too soon to fall in love. I think a part of me fell in love with Zan the night he told me I was worth a lifetime of making love to. Most guys would have gone for the night of hot drunken sex. But not him.
And as you might have guessed, Zander never moved back to his apartment with Zach. When Zach finally called to say the apartment was ready, we talked about it, and I asked him if he'd like to stay living together. I took his tackle hug to the floor, and the subsequent three orgasms he bestowed on me as acceptance enough.
We've talked about fantasies. Things I've never had a chance to do with a man because I've never been in a relationship like this. We can both be ourselves. We don't have to hide or pretend. I don't want to jinx it, but I'm definitely considering the possibility that I've finally found what I've been searching for.
I've come home from work early to an apartment filled with the sounds of The Grind by Aerosmith. Intrigued, I follow the sounds to our room and stand at the doorway as my boyfriend dances his way seductively around a dining room chair that he's placed in the middle of the room.
I stand there watching him, his bare chest moving seamlessly as he rolls his delicious eight-pack. It's enough to short circuit my brain. I'm mesmerized. The only time I've seen him dance was at Sophie's party a year ago, and then that night at the bar.
His hips move in time to the music, his face full of concentration as he tries to move from one step to another sequence. Shaking his head, he starts again, repeating it over and over until it smoothly transitions into the next. I can't tear my eyes away from him, and when I catch his back muscles flexing as he stops to take a drink of water, I decide I've had enough watching; now I need to touch him. Actually, my legs have already started moving toward him, and my body is simply forced to follow.
He turns as I put my hand on his shoulder, his face breaking into a sexy grin. “Hey fire… babe. How long have you been home?” I look at him with a puzzled expression. It's not the first time he's almost called me something else.
I brush it off, winking at him as I reply, “Long enough to get hot and bothered watching you.”
“Well, in that case, instead of picturing me dancing for you, I think it's time I gave you your first lap dance.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I melt. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lean up and kiss him, easing my eager tongue into his mouth. His hands gravitate to my ass as they always do and squeeze as he meets my tongue stroke for stroke. It's as if he's fucking my mouth and it's freaking divine. Too soon for my liking, he ends our kiss.
“How was your day?”
“Better now.”
“I'd hope so.” He leans down and gives me a hard wet kiss. “Now, sit.” I sit down on the chair and lean down to pull my heels off. “No, leave them on. I'll take care of those.”
I look down and realize my black skirt has ridden up and is barely covering the goods. I look up at Zan whose eyes are glued to my newly exposed lace top stockings.
“Damn,” he growls. “You've had these on all day?”
I nod, biting my lip. “What are you going to do about it?”
“You're about to find out, babe. Prepare to have your world rocked.”
“Just my world?” I ask with a smirk.
He growls. “You're going to get it now, babe.” He walks over to his iPod dock and changes the song, the room suddenly filled with the sound of Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo.
He saunters toward me, throwing his hips out slightly as he takes long sweeping side to side steps until he's standing in front of me. He bends at the waist and leans into my space, dragging his tongue lightly around my mouth. I gasp, and he takes the opportunity to swipe his tongue inside my mouth, withdrawing just as I try to reach for him.
“Uh, uh,” he scolds me playfully, shaking his head. “No touching, or management reserves the right to spank you.” Well, fuck! That just sounds hot, making me question whether I should behave myself or not.
He grabs my hands and reaches around the back of the chair until they're touching. “Leave them there, naughty girl,” he says into my ear, nipping my earlobe before standing up and putting his hands on his hips. I'm almost panting; he's got me so turned on already, and he hasn't even started dancing for me yet. My heart is beating out of my chest, and all I can think about is bypassing the stripping and moving straight to the horizontal dancing festivities that I know are going to follow.
“What are you thinking about, dirty girl? I can see your brain is working overtime.” He stands and starts moving his hips in time with the music. His pants are sitting low on his hips, drawing my eyes to the muscular V lining his pelvis. I'm tempted to lean in and trace it with my tongue, but he's out of reach now.
With every twist and turn of his body, he moves his hips closer, bracing his arms on the back of the chair on either side of my body as he gyrates and thrusts his hips against me. I can see the silhouette of his erection, and I'm itching to grab it, but with a slight twitch of my arm he moves away again. “No touching, ma'am, or else I can't be held accountable for my actions.”
“Maybe that's exactly what I want.” I look up at his knowing face and can tell he's just as desperate as I am.
“Is this how you dance for everyone?” I ask with a raised brow. He's watching my chest as it rises and falls, my low, cleavage-baring V-neck top taunting him.
“Hell, no. This is all for you, baby. Maybe I should strip these clothes off you first.”
“Do it.”
He runs his hands slowly down my body, taking his time to knead my aching breasts with his fingers before reaching my hips and grabbing the hem of my shirt, lifting it up and over my he
ad, trapping my hands behind my back.
“Hey, I may need my hands.”
“Not for what I have planned. Maybe I like you like this. It means I can worship your body without any distractions.”
“I distract you?” I moan as he leans forward and sucks my nipple through my satin bra.
“All the fucking time,” he mumbles as he moves to the other side, repeating the action on my other breast. “Fuck, you smell good. All day I've been dreaming of this.”
He slips one hand up my skirt, which is now hitched around my hips. Suddenly, his big talented hand is down the front of my panties, and he's stroking me in time with Gorilla by Bruno Mars. I can barely keep my ass in the seat as I try to match his movements.
“Zan, don't stop.”
“Screw the dance,” he mutters before hooking his hand behind my neck and pulling my mouth hard against him. I suck hard on his tongue, making him growl into my mouth which just spurs me on even more. My hips lift up to meet his fingers, which are now deep inside me, while the tip of his thumb circles my clit. I feel the familiar pressure building deep inside me.
“So close, Zan.”
“I know, babe. Let me hear you. I wanna hear you cry out my name as you come all over my hand. Then I'm going to make love to you hard and fast until you scream all over again.” His voice is husky and deep, and I know he must be dying to be inside me.
“Zander. Fuck. Yes!” I cry out as my orgasm crashes over me. He continues to plunge his fingers inside me, prolonging the pleasure as it courses through my entire body. When I come down, I'm still sitting in the chair, Zander leaning over me and watching my face intently.
“I love you.”
My eyes widen as I take him in. The look of sincerity on his face is my undoing. My eyes fill with tears. “I love you too. And if I could, I'd touch you everywhere right now.”
He looks at me with wide eyes. “You love me,” he says in disbelief.
“You love me.” I smile at him and lean forward, softly kissing his lips as if we have all the time in the world.
I pull back and we sit there, grinning at each other like a pair of idiots.
“Can you let me go now?”
ZANDER
It's the day before my police academy graduation, and today I finally get to see my mom and sisters again. It's been four months since I saw them last, and that was before Kate. So as you can imagine, Kate is a nervous wreck about meeting the other four important women in my life.
She's been tidying the house for days. Anything out of place stresses her out, and I swear she's rearranged the entire house three times in the past week. It's cute that she wants to impress my family, but I wish she'd just relax and go with the flow. Yesterday, I decided she needed to calm down, so I went all caveman on her, carrying her over my shoulder and putting her into a cold shower. She forgave me once I joined her in the shower and relieved the tension in other ways...first with my mouth, then with her back against the bathroom wall and her legs wrapped around my hips.
What can I say? I'm a caring boyfriend who always looks out for his girl.
Zoe texts me when they are an hour out of Chicago. Mom still thinks I have no clue they are coming, so we didn't want to ruin the 'surprise' for her sake. They're going to be staying with my Aunt Jen for a few days after the ceremony before heading back to Indiana.
Kate has taken the morning off work so that she can meet my family. She's already changed her outfit twice, telling me that she has to look nice without coming across as trying hard. That, and she really wants my sisters to like her. I explained to her that Danika is fourteen and will like her regardless, but especially because she's a hairdresser and can do her hair for free. Mia will be the same, and Zoe is just a female version of me. Apparently, I just don't understand. Must be a girl thing.
I hear a knock at the door and look at Kate who has wide eyes and is fidgeting. I walk over and cup her face in my hands before our lips meet and I give her a soft but deep, probing kiss. I pull back before kissing her nose. “It's going to be fine, babe. You look gorgeous, and they'll love you.”
“Says the God of Gorgeousness…”
“God of Gorgeousness?”
“You.” She blushes and I want to take her all over again.
“As long as I'm your God of Gorgeousness I'm fine with that.”
“And, you have four women who already love you unconditionally.” She grumbles.
“Only four?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Oh, you know what I mean. Of course, I love you. Maybe I just have some conditions that include unfettered access to your man parts and a lifetime of orgasms.”
“Deal. Where do I sign?”
“Oh stop and go open the door,” she says, laughing.
Mission accomplished; she's smiling and not as nervous now. Perfect.
I open the door, and Mom tackle hugs me immediately. “Mom, what are you doing here?” I say, totally playing it up.
“Zander Jeremy Roberts, let me look at you. Oh my beautiful boy. You're looking too thin. Have you not been eating? I promise you, if you're not eating, I'll kidnap you and make you come home until you fill out again.”
“Mom, leave Zan alone. Hey, big brother,” my sister Zoe steps forward and gives me a hug once mom lets me go. Zoe is tall for a woman at 6 foot and is pretty much a beautiful female version of me. You can't believe the number of times we were confused for twins as kids. She's got long, wavy blonde hair and aqua-blue eyes that have always gotten her attention with the guys. Those guys, in turn, always got attention from me in the form of my fist if they treated her badly.
Kate comes up beside me, and I immediately wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close to my side. “This is Kate, my girlfriend. Please play nice.”
“Oh, please, Zan, she puts up with you. She deserves a medal.” Mia surprises Kate by hugging her without warning. “I love this dress. You'll have to tell me where you got it from.”
Kate looks up at me in surprise, and I just grin and shrug my shoulders. “Told you so,” I whisper, making her giggle. “And Danni, c'mere squirt. How's tricks?”
“Good, although Mom has stopped letting me answer the phone. Our vegetarian neighbor wasn't happy when I answered, '"Mike's House of Meat, What's your beef?" Apparently it wasn't funny.”
I burst out laughing, earning a puzzled look from Kate. “Squirt, don't ever change.”
“Not planning on it, Zan. So...are you nervous?”
“About what?”
“Your graduation tomorrow! You've got to get up in front of everyone.”
“Yeah, but it's cool because I'll be doing it with all the people who have worked their asses off like me to graduate and become police officers. So you better behave or else I'll have to arrest you.”
“Like you would!” She stands there defiant, hands on hips. Typical fucking Roberts woman. I love it.
I look over and see Kate and my mom talking closely. I wrap my arm around Danika's shoulders. “All of my girls under the same roof. I'm a happy man. Now, who's ready to get some lunch. This Roberts is hungry.”
“Let's go then. My boy must be kept fed. You're still growing.”
“Mom, I'm twenty-three years old. I'm not a teenager anymore.”
“Almost twenty-four. Your birthday is next month.”
“What?” Kate says loudly. “You didn't tell me that, Zan.”
“It's okay, Kate. I'll give you my phone number. You can call me anytime and ask about my Zander.”
“Sounds like a plan, Helen.” She winks at me, and I just grin. I want to kiss the hell out of those smirking lips, but it might not be the best idea in front of my sisters.
I look at Zoe's back in front of me and stop walking when I see the smallest bit of ink peeking out the top of her shirt. “Zo, what's that?”
“What's what?” she asks, pretending to be clueless.
“The tattoo on your back?”
“Well duh! Of course, I have a tattoo on my back. My bo
yfriend's a tattoo artist. I designed it, and he put it on my back. It's only small.”
“Hmm. Next you'll be covered in them.”
“Oh, sorry Dad. Next time I'll ask permission, shall I?”
“Don't be like that, Zo. It was just a shock. That's all.”
“Remember, you're my brother. Stop being so damn overprotective.”
“Zoe, I think he just cares about you. It's the big brother thing. I have two of them,” Kate explains. I see Zoe's shoulders relax, and she slowly smiles at me.
“Sorry, Zan. I'll tell you when I get the next one on my hip done.” She giggles and runs ahead to catch up with Mom and the girls.
“You're amazing. Have I told you that lately?” Using the arm around her waist, I spin Kate in front of me and kiss her hard and fast. “I'm lucky to have you.”
“Don't you forget it, buddy,” she replies playfully.
“Never will,” I murmur as I kiss her forehead and move her back to my side as we head towards Kate's first Roberts' family lunch.
KATE
Lunch with Zander's family is awesome. His sisters are friendly and down to earth, just like him, and his mom is the sweetest woman I've ever met. I was stressing over nothing, but I won't admit that to him. He's got his last gig tonight. Ever. The last time he'll ever strip in front of a bunch of horny, drunk women. I plan on being the only drunk, horny woman who sees him naked from now on.
I leave Zander to spend time with his family, and hurry to the salon to work the late night for Nathan. He called me this morning begging me to cover him, and Zander said it was okay as long as he could swing by the salon at closing for a haircut.
He strolls through the salon door just as I'm cashing out the register. I bid Georgia, our new apprentice, goodbye and lock the door behind her. She makes sure to get an eyeful of Zander as she walks past him, and it grates on me.
I hear him chuckling behind me as he sits down in one of the chairs, linking his hands behind his head and stretching out his long denim clad legs in front of him.
