Mr. Big

by Nana Malone

  She kicked off her shoes and placed her hands on her hips, thinking that a shower with Zach was just the thing she needed. “Care if I join?”

  “I’d love for you to scrub my back,” he said, a glint of heat appearing in his eyes. She gave him a grin of her own and they walked to his massive bathroom, complete with a claw-footed tub and stand up shower with multiple shower heads along the wall. Zach turned on the water and Emma started stripping off her clothes, watching the appreciative look cross his face as he started to do the same. This felt unbelievably natural, being here with him.

  Zach tested the water and held the door open. “After you,” he said, his eyes darkening as she walked past. Emma felt her breath quicken as she stepped into the warm water stream, sighing as the showerheads hit her from all directions. “This is wonderful.”

  “One of the reasons I bought the place,” Zach said as he climbed in and closed the door, closing them into a cloud of steam before reaching for her. “Use it whenever you like as long as you send me pictures.”

  Emma laughed and kissed his chin, her hands threading into his hair. “I’d rather take advantage of it with you.”

  He leaned down and kissed her nose. “I don’t have a problem with that, but Ems, seriously, I, well, I want you to spend as much time as you want here.”

  Her heart melted. If that didn’t mean he was serious about their relationship, she didn’t know what would. “Same goes for my flat, but I like yours a heck of a lot better.”

  He laughed and spun her around against him, his cock pressing hard against her bum. “Don’t ever leave me.”

  The words were so soft that she thought she imagined it as he held her against him, his lips now nibbling against her neck. There was a hint of desperation with the way he said them and she felt a sudden rush of tenderness as she tried to turn around in his arms. His hands held her hips firmly, not allowing her to do so, his lips leaving her neck. “Promise me you won’t leave,” he said, his breath right above her ear.

  She gasped as his hands trailed up her front half and cupped her breasts, his fingers finding her nipples and stroking them to hard peaks. “I—I won’t leave you,” she said, panting. She had no intentions of ever leaving him. She loved him and there was nothing that would break them apart, not her family, not work, not her school. This was going to work.

  He groaned and allowed her to turn around where she could look into his eyes, seeing the aching tenderness there. “I won’t leave,” she said again, touching his face with her fingers. Something shifted in his eyes and he captured her mouth, his tongue pushing past her lips and tangling with her own. Emma groaned this time, her hands sliding over his wet arms, feeling the strength in his body. His words were worrying her, like he expected her to leave at some point. She knew his life hadn’t been an easy road, but she wanted to make his future one. She wanted to be his future.

  Reaching between them, she took the length of him in her hand, stroking lightly with her fingers as she traced the ridges of the head that was swollen with need. He growled in her mouth and his hand joined hers, stroking it before moving on to her slick center, his fingers delving into her opening. She gasped, the intrusion sudden and welcome as he slid a finger into the center of her, reminding her what was to come. It was far from the cock she held in her hands, but good nevertheless.

  “You’re so wet for me,” he said against her shoulder, biting it lightly with his teeth. “I want you so fucking badly, Ems.”

  “I want you,” she said, squeezing his cock with her hand and feeling him jump in return. “Condom.”

  He reached up into a bin that was hanging in the shower, pulling one out to her surprise. “You store condoms in your shower?”

  “Just this morning,” he said with a grin, removing his finger from her so he could roll it onto his cock. “Turn around.”

  She whimpered, her body more than ready for him, bending over with her hands on the shower stall. He stepped in behind her, his cock nudging at her entrance before pushing into her, filling her completely. “Yes,” he said, gripping her hip to bring her against him. “Hell yes.”

  Emma felt the pressure as Zach slid out and then pushed back in, biting her lip as she started to feel the fire spark a trail over her body, the warmth of the water heightening her senses. The sensation was amazing and when his sure fingers found her clit.

  With a lightning bolt of sensation, she screamed, the orgasm taking her by surprise. Zach swore under his breath and picked up the pace, every delicious stroke compounding her orgasm and making her wet with need. “Yes,” she said as he gripped her shoulder and helped her buck against him. “More, please.”

  “I’ve got you,” he said, his pace quickening. Emma bit her lip, her body slamming against Zach’s cock as she rocked herself to another orgasm, her legs weakening slightly and threatening to collapse. She held on as his cock stroked over her g-spot, stars exploding behind her eyelids as pleasure poured over her body. “Shit,” he gritted out, stiffening with a roar as she felt him let go.

  Their movements slowed under the stream of water. Emma could barely catch her breath, not sure if she was going to actually be able to walk out of this shower under her own power, her already sore body now deliciously sated and looking forward to the next go-round. Sex with Zach was never going to be boring.

  Zach extracted himself and she stood, the blood rushing to her head and making her feel a bit light-headed as she sagged against the shower stall. “Well,” she said as he disposed of the condom and closed the door, “I don’t think we’ve gotten clean yet. You distracted me.”

  Zach gave her a wolfish grin before reaching for the showerhead above her head. “Let me rectify that immediately.”

  Emma blushed as he soaped up his washcloth and spread it over her body, gentle with her tender flesh. She held onto his shoulders and allowed him to do the washing, grinning like she had just won the lottery. “This is really nice. If your investments don’t work out, you can take up shower washing as a business.”

  His rag stilled for a moment before he chuckled. “There’s only one body I want to wash other than my own, thank you very much.”

  She stepped back and grabbed her rag, holding her hand out for the soap. “Me too and it’s my turn.”

  25

  Zach

  Zach pulled the popcorn out of the microwave and dumped it into a bowl, carrying it over to the couch where Emma was seated. For the first time in a long time, he felt fucking happy, like nothing could compare to this time he was having with Emma. Their time together today, the fucking hot scene in the shower—it all was part of the best damn day of his life.

  And she was the cause of it. He knew it, in his heart, way deep down that Emma was the reason he was like this. He loved her. The thought wasn’t as startling as he had imagined it would be, falling in love with Emma Welsh.

  It was a stirring emotion, his chest tightening as he sat down next to her on his couch. He shouldn’t love her. He’d been serious when he’d said he wasn’t good enough for her. It wasn’t that he couldn’t support her or provide the best life and future for her. He could. It was more about the guilt that gnawed at him. What would she say when she found out?

  He had to tell her. He knew he had to. Yeah, he was selfish as fuck for not telling her yet. But he didn’t want to see the light go out of her eyes. Liar. Okay, yeah, so he didn’t want to lose her light either. The way she looked at him. He’d do anything to hold onto that.

  But he knew that was a dream. He wouldn’t be able to hold onto that. Ben was gone because of him. And she would hate him soon.

  But even knowing that, he couldn’t let her go. Emma pressed up against him, her head on his shoulder as she started the movie they had picked out, some chick flick that she had specifically wanted to watch and he was inclined to keep her happy. He imagined there would be many chick flicks in his future with Emma and he didn’t care. As long as she was happy, he was happy.

  Zach placed the popcorn in h
er lap before putting an arm around her, pressing a kiss into her hair that smelled like his shampoo. He was going to give her a drawer or two in the wardrobe and in the bathroom. It was sudden, but he knew he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He was going to have to tell her about his businesses, he knew that. He would ease into it, test the waters and hope to God that she wouldn’t abandon him because of the clubs. You’re kidding yourself. This is temporary. When the two weeks is over she’ll run from you.

  No. He’d promised himself he was going to commit to the two weeks and that meant no more of his father’s thoughts were allowed to intrude on his mind. The truth was even before Emma had come back into his life, he’d been considering pulling back from the clubs. He didn’t need them anymore. He’d lost the love for the nightlife after Ben. He just hadn’t been nudged in the right direction until now. Until her.

  Zach

  “What the bloody hell is this?”

  Zach woke out of a dead sleep, opening his eyes to see the angry face of Steven looming over him. For a moment, he tried to think of when Steven had even arrived or where he was at until he looked over to see Emma just waking up. Oh, bloody hell. Steven grabbed the front of Zach’s T-shirt and hauled him off the couch before Zach had a chance to react, lifting him several inches off the floor. “I asked you to look after my sister,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Not fuck her.”

  “Steven?” Emma asked, her voice groggy from sleep. “What are you doing here?”

  “The question is, what are you doing here?” Steven said harshly, shoving Zach away from him. Zach stumbled over the chair before Steven was on top of him again, his fist colliding with Zach’s jaw, pain exploding on Zach’s face.

  “Stop!” Emma said, grabbing Steven’s arm as he raised it to hit Zach again. Zach took the opportunity to get off the floor, standing behind the chair in an effort to put something between him and Steven.

  Steven shook off his sister, shoving his hand through his hair roughly. “I can’t believe this. My best mate and my fucking sister. I asked you to look out for her Zach. Not fucking use her.”

  “I’m not using her, Steven.” Zach took several deep breaths, wincing at the pain in his jaw. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Oh really?” Steven said with a harsh laugh as he looked at Emma. “And she’s wearing just your fucking shirt because she got hot?”

  Zach looked over at Emma, taking in the sight of her in his T-shirt, tits hanging free beneath the thin fabric to allow him easy access. Damn it all. He had given Steven a card to his flat years ago, telling him to come stay whenever he was in town and not get a room at one of the hotels. Steven had taken him up on the offer a few times, but never had Zach thought that tonight he would be looking at his best mate and explaining himself in this capacity.

  “Steven,” Emma said, laying her hand on her brother’s arm. “It’s good to see you.”

  Steven looked over at his sister, giving her a slight smile. “I— It’s good to see you Ems, just not here.”

  She looked over at Zach, who gave her an encouraging nod even though he felt slightly ill. He had wanted to tell Steven in his own way, not have him find out like this. “I, can we sit down and have a drink? Talk about this?”

  Steven turned his attention back to Zach. “Are you fucking serious? There’s nothing to do but kick your arse for shagging my sister.”

  “Steven,” Emma started but he waved her off.

  “I can’t believe this, Zach. You, of all people, touching my sister.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Fuck, mate. You talked about keeping her away from the fucking predators. And you’re the biggest one of all.”

  Zach swallowed, that old feeling of not being good enough rearing its ugly head. There was no way he could fight Steven on that account. He wasn’t good enough to touch Emma. He knew that.

  “What does that mean?” Emma asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at her brother. “This is Zach. Of all people for me to be with, I would think he would be good. We’ve known him forever.”

  Zach sucked in a breath, her faith in him surprising yet burrowing a hole in his heart. He loved her so damned much and he was going to lose her. Love wasn’t enough and she was about to hate him.

  Steven shook his head. “Emma, there are things you don’t know about Zach.”

  Emma, God bless her, raised her chin. “Quit treating me like a child, Steven. I am a grown adult and am able to make my own decisions. I want to be with Zach. I will be with Zach. You can’t stop me. Tell him Zach. Tell him you want to be with me.”

  He wanted to. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Steven to go fuck himself and to take Emma away from here, to tell her that he loved her and whatever her brother wanted to say didn’t matter. But life wasn’t always what it should be and he couldn’t do what Emma wanted him to do. So, though it was fucking killing him inside, he shook his head. “I can’t do that, Emma.”

  “See?” Steven said, eyeing Zach. “Zach knows that you shouldn’t be together Emma. He’s not good enough for you.”

  Emma put her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing with anger as she stared at them both. “Give me one reason.”

  It was over. He knew it was over. No way he could have her now. “Because I’m the reason your brother is gone. It was my fault.” The words hurt worse than he had anticipated, saying them out loud. He couldn’t let this drag on anymore. It was time that she knew why he couldn’t be with her.

  Zach watched as her eyes widened and she took a step back, like someone had pushed her hard. “W—what?”

  Zach swallowed hard, his throat tightening as he forced the words out. She deserved to know. “I’m responsible for his death.”

  The silence that followed was deafening and Zach wanted to throw himself at her mercy, but instead stood there, his body rigid as he waited for the onslaught that was to come.

  He watched, devastated and feeling like an arse, as Emma turned around and headed for the bedroom, where he could picture her gathering her clothes in disgust, trying to figure out what she ever saw in him to begin with. Each thought, each rejection was like a dagger to his heart, knowing that this was the only alternative that could happen.

  Suddenly the room became smaller, his chest tight and unable to take a deep breath, the pain more severe than the pain in his jaw. He had to get out. He couldn’t watch her walk out of his life. Grabbing his keys, Zach turned his back on his mate and walked out of the flat, destination unknown. He couldn’t do this. This was why he was better off alone. The problem was, the damage was done. Emma was in his blood, in his heart and Zach knew it was going to be a long time before he was able to get over her.

  26

  Emma

  Emma wiped away the tears as she gathered her clothes, sliding her jeans on but refusing to discard Zach’s shirt. She wanted to cling to this shattered image just a little while longer. Her life felt as if it was over in an instant, the mere mention of Ben’s death bringing the emotion and loss flooding back. And to know that Zach had seen him that night, had the chance to stop him from getting into his car and crashing it off of that bridge, it was downright horrible.

  A sob escaped her throat as she shoved her feet into her shoes, grabbing her purse that was on Zach’s dresser without gathering the rest. Screw it. She couldn’t be here right now. She needed to think, to sort out what she had just learned. And Zach. Oh, how she felt for him. Despite the pain she was feeling at the moment, the heartbreak and pain etched on his face was ten times worse. So what if he owned clubs? Why hadn’t he told her the first day they had encountered each other in London? No wonder he was always available in the clubs she had been to. He owned the damn lot.

  “Em? You okay?”

  Emma wiped the tears from her face and turned toward her brother, whose lean body was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. “I was just getting my stuff together.”

  He leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. “I just need to kno
w one question.”

  She slung her purse over her shoulder, stopping before him. “What?”

  “Do you love him?”

  The pain lanced through her chest then, thinking of how much she really did love Zach. He had slowly become her world, but how they were going to get past this, she didn’t know. “Why does it matter to you?”

  Steven cleared his throat, suddenly looking embarrassed. “I admit, I couldn’t hold my shit together when I saw you two curled up on his couch like that, but now, hell, I’m not sure what is going on here, Em. What is Zach to you?”

  She shook her head, tears crowding her eyes once more. She didn’t want to discuss this with her brother right now. It didn’t matter what Steven thought. What mattered was between her and Zach. The rest of the world could go to hell for all that she cared. “I need to think.” She needed to sort out her feelings, but first, she wanted to see Zach, to tell him not to worry. They would work this out. “Is he still in the living room?”

  Steven shook his head. “He’s gone, Em.”

  So he had just bailed. Without a word, without as much as standing up for himself. He had just walked out. “I—I see,” she said, her voice shaking with the tears she was going to shed when she got home to her own flat. She had thought that he had wanted her never to leave him, yet he was gone, leaving her behind. That hurt worse than anything she had learned this evening. Zach was gone without so much as a concern of how she was dealing with this new revelation. What the hell did that mean?

  “Em, I’m sorry,” Steven said before she held up her hand, her nerves shredded.

  “I don’t want to hear this. I just want to go home.”

  “I’ll walk you there.”

  Emma shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” He looked at her for a moment before he moved aside, allowing her to pass. Emma held her head up high as she exited the flat, her vision clouding with tears before she reached the first floor. Why had it all just fallen apart? What had gone horribly wrong with her and Zach? Hadn’t he loved her? She had felt it in his touch tonight, had heard it in his words yet he had up and left her because of Steven’s accusations. It didn’t make sense and she definitely did not like this massive hole in her chest that had opened up because of this. Zach was her future, but she wasn’t so sure he wanted to be now.