“I’ll be fine, Zee. Thank you for letting me stay. I think I can get into the employee apartments. I’ll check to see what the waiting list is like,” Erika lifted her purse, pulled her phone out and made a note to herself there. “I’ll probably spend the first day or so in orientation and other information classes. They’re very organized.”
Zee let her ramble, the temporary road block in his plan not in any way causing him a headache. Not yet. He watched her point towards her car, the smile on her lips making his insides melt. He just had to work harder on his plan.
Motivation, he thought, watching her stride across the parking lot. The woman had a swing to her hips that had his brain shutting down. He felt the heat vibrate through him and put his foot on the gas, going forward and heading back to his shop with her luggage.
He had the cases in the spare bedroom before going below and tying on an apron, the Saturday lunch crowd filling up the fragrant room, especially now that the sun had come out. Hikers, runners, mom’s with strollers and toddlers and tourists all wandered in, attracted by the scents of roasting meats and baking breads.
****
Erika didn’t like the idea of unpacking. Unpacking meant she was staying with Zee. So she left them sitting in the bedroom and wandered into the kitchen, digging around and finding things and beginning to cook. She had garlic chopped and meat browning as she considered the options.
Dating Zee wouldn’t be a hardship. He was fun and made her laugh. And he listened as well as talked. And you were using him as a shield, her conscience said warningly.
Was she? She pulled a stool next to the stove and stirred, frowning into the sauce she was making. Water was starting to boil, the pasta cooking only partially before she built it into the lasagna layered with cheeses and sauce.
She didn’t want to use him as a shield. She didn’t need a shield.
She was perfectly capable of fending off someone like Adam Wayne. Okay, so maybe not until she realized what was going on, but now that she knew. Sure, she’d be able to dodge and weave. And no matter what some people might think, she was capable of being mean when she needed to be.
She had the pan sitting on the stove a couple hours later before going to the patio that opened on the back of the building and stood staring across the multicolored roof tops spread before her.
Several hours later Zee was positive he was dreaming.
The longest day of the week was Saturday when he stayed open until seven in the evening in the spring, summer and fall for the multitudes that visited the peninsula park and zoo. The whole time he was cleaning he swore he smelled Italian and he knew there were no other restaurants around him. When he locked up and climbed the inside stairs to the apartment, however, he remembered the French toast from that morning and the woman who cooked for him.
In between customers and more complex activities in the shop, Erika Vincent was there, waiting and watching him in his mind. He didn’t have an explanation for why she was necessary to his life, his future. That would involve believing in what his younger sisters called woo-woo. But at this point, he’d believe in whatever it took to keep her from walking out of his life.
He stopped at the wide opening to the living area and stared. She sat in the center of the sofa, cross legged and wearing a sweater that was one of those off shoulder types that had slid half way down her arm. The pale crème suited her and went past her hips, a pair of thin leggings beneath it. She held what looked like a textbook on her lap, a highlighter of brilliant yellow in the other hand as she read.
Zee moved into the room, her head up and watching him. He dropped to his heels before her, one hand up and one finger sliding the large round glasses back up the small nose.
“You wear contacts.”
“Sometimes,” she agreed, smiling at the expression on his face. She leaned a little closer. “You’re staring, Zee.”
“What have you been doing in my kitchen?”
“Cooking dinner for you,” she whispered back, her breathing suddenly seeming to vanish as she stared into his eyes. She felt her eyes widen, his hands up and carefully removing her glasses, setting them on the sofa before taking the book and marker from her fingers. “Zee…”
“Shhh…in the moment, Erika,” steady palms went to her feet first, slowly unwinding them until they sat on the floor. Then his hands were on her shoulders, aware of the rapid blinking and full lip she was pulling between her teeth. He let his muscles carry them cautiously to the floor, her body stretched purposefully over his.
As soon as her soft curves fit against him he heard the voice telling him he was tempting not only his control, but his sanity.
“Oh, Erika Vincent…” Zee groaned and slid his palms along her hips, over her sides and onto her face, cupping her cheeks and pulling her mouth down to his.
Suddenly Erika was sure she was floating on clouds. She felt each and every hard, solid muscle beneath her, including the one growing as her hips wiggled so she could be closer to his mouth. She groaned against his lips, her fingers brushing over the soft, short cut hair and her tongue out to meet his, the invitation to play issued and met by them both.
She tasted the tea he’d been drinking and the hot hunger that had nothing to do with food that radiated from him. In less than three days, Zee had managed to erase some of the doubt she’d been experiencing about herself as a woman. And it felt really good. But somehow she knew it was Zee, not just any man who’d come along in her life.
Erika decided she seriously liked kissing him and applied herself to the task. Tiny, hot kisses began at one edge of his full lips. She liked the husky groan from him when she nipped the full bow of his lower lip, dragging her tongue teasingly over it before repeating. A fiery shot of lightning burst through her when he growled at her teasing. His hands gripped the back of her head and he held her still, his hunger taking over.
Zee wanted her playful. He wanted her sexy and whimpering for his kiss, his touch. What he didn’t want was her regret. He tasted the sauce she had been cooking; savored the excitement inside her that she was sharing, excitement that she wanted as much as him. Their tongues twined and stroked until his palms slid to her shoulders, reluctantly lifting her away.
“Erika…” His voice was low, filled with a tremor that made her shiver.
Bright blue eyes met his, blinking the thick pale lashes curiously.
“Zee? What’s wrong? Did I…”
“Honey, you didn’t do a thing wrong,” Zee closed his eyes for a long minute, the look in her eyes making his thoughts fragment.
“Then…” Erika tried leaning closer again, her hands on his chest, wrapped around the edges of his shirt. “I like kissing you, Zee. You started this and to just leave a girl wanting more…I’m sure there’s a rule against it.” She scowled at him when he inhaled deeply and stared at her.
“I’m not Wayne, Erika.”
“Not…” Erika relaxed her grip, instead she sat upright, the wince crossing his features making her wiggle a little more, her knees on either side of his hips and holding tightly. She pulled his shirt, slapping at his palms when he reached for her. “Believe me, Zee,” she pressed the apex of her body against his, rotating her hips and leaning back enough to grip the edge of her sweater. “I know you aren’t Adam. When you kiss me, I forget anything but being a wicked, sexy woman.”
“Erika…that’s not what I meant…”
She sat at a little bit of an angle, her hands going to his wrists and holding them in place with her knees.
“You don’t want me to kiss you?” Her fingers went to the buttons down the front of his shirt, opening the top one and dragging her nails over his flesh.
“I don’t want you to regret, Erika. I don’t want to think I’m not much better in leading you where you don’t want to go,” Zee flipped his palms, gripped her knees and caught her when she squealed and jerked away with a laugh.
“I don’t think you’re anything like them, Zee,” she said when she finally had cont
rol over the laughing, still sitting astride him. “This is me saying so right now. If I didn’t want to kiss you, I wouldn’t. If I didn’t want to…” She glared at him, her hands moving quickly, pulling her sweater over her head and dropping it to the sofa behind her.
Zee felt his mouth to dry. There was nothing beneath the sweater but Erika. His palms were itching and his control snapping, one thread at a time. He was positive he was staring at the perfect pair of breasts. Just barely a handful and each topped with a tiny, perfect pink nipple.
Erika let her fingers trip button after button free, her palms pressing over his chest. A lot of strong, muscled male chest, she thought with a sigh of appreciation.
“You have an amazing chest,” she whispered, leaning down and kissing his collar bone, along the bare shoulder and lower to draw her tongue around one flat, male nipple.
“Funny…I was thinking the same thing,” he murmured when he managed enough spit to talk.
“You believe I’m weak,” she said softly, lifting her head and moving to the other male nipple with a sharp bite. “No one is leading me here, Zee. Just me. And you.”
“Erika…” Zee groaned when she stretched out against him, her toes stroking over his calf and chest against his. “You’re killing me.”
“I’d rather think of it as seducing you,” she whispered against his mouth, her tongue sweeping over his lips before she straightened over him. “Is that allowed?”
“Will you still respect me in the morning?” Zee let his palms slide over the silk of her skin, one hand up and pulling the band from the long braid. His fingers tangled in her hair, the long golden strands unraveling and falling around her shoulders. Loose curls tickled her nipples and the back of his palms when his hand circled one, cupped her, felt the weight and roundness and let his thumb rub heavily over the pucker forming in her arousal.
“Are you brave enough to take that chance, Zee?” Erika gasped at his touch, her breath hitching and back arching, thrusting her breast into his palm.
“No running from me, Erika. Not now,” he told her gruffly, both palms sliding behind her and down, inside the stretch leggings and over her behind. Zee’s hips thrust against hers as their mouths met again, his kiss savage, hungry in the knowledge of her acceptance.
She pushed him back, her hands on his chest and stroking lower. A shiver raced through her as he sat up slowly, her thighs parting to sit on his legs. He pulled on her legs, wrapping them around his waist.
“Do you know how much I want you, Erika?” His voice shook slightly.
“I think…” she teasingly rotated her hips against his cock. “Very good evidence here…”
“Fuck…” he groaned when she continued stroking him with the fabric between them.
“It’s a good thing I haven’t stuck dinner in the oven yet,” she answered softly, stroking her palm along his cheek and pressed against him. “I think we need a bed, Zee.”
Erika slid back, unfolding her legs and slipping to the side on her knees. Her hands went to the button at his waist only to have her hands removed and pulled higher as he stood up. One arm snaked around her waist, his feet moving forward and forcing her to backup as he walked.
Erika giggled, her head tipped back.
“Don’t embarrass me…I need time to get my finesse and control back,” Zee teased gruffly, groaning softly when her hands pushed the sides of his shirt further apart and down his arms.
“You’re over dressed,” but she yelped when he released her waist, his hands moving with more speed than such a large man should be able to. Before she knew it, the leggings were down her legs and she was stepping out of them to avoid falling on her face now that her feet were on the floor again.
“Darn…guess that means I’m still losing,” Zee knew his heart was hammering, his gaze taking in the narrow waist and gentle curve of her hips surrounded by a three inch strip of black lace and nylon. “You’re beautiful…soft…damned sexy.”
“And you cheat,” she gave his chest a hard shove and watched him fall to the bed, amusement in his eyes.
“I don’t cheat,” his hand whipped up and grabbed her wrist, giving it a sharp pull until she fell toward him, right into his arms where he wanted her. “The one with muscles wins.”
“Hmm…I was thinking the clever one wins,” she smiled at him, her hand between them and gripping the length of him in the center, squeezing and watching his head go back, his eyes closed and groan loud. Her palm opened slowly and she pressed it down the hard length to the base, her nails scraping firmly against his crotch.
Zee lifted his head just enough to see the passion flare brightly in her eyes, one palm on the opening to his jeans, sliding the brass zipper lower. A little bit at a time. His teeth ground together, the delight in her eyes sending another shudder through him.
It amazed her how good she felt with Zee. Perhaps even more than good, she thought fleetingly, her thoughts shutting down when she moved the sides of his jeans apart and he groaned. Just from her touch.
“Zee…” Erika found herself looking up at him, his hands on her shoulders and holding her against the bed.
“You’re making me crazy,” he growled. “And turnabout…makes it my turn…”
“I think we need a timer,” she laughed, a soft sound that froze in her throat when his tongue drew a slow, hot circle around one nipple before he nipped it with his teeth and plucked it firmly into his mouth. “Oh…um…”
“Problem?” He widened his circle before settling his mouth over the puckered circle, pulling it between his teeth, hard. He listened to her suck in a quick breath, her back arched against his mouth.
“No…it’s good…oh…really good…”
Concentrating was difficult and she didn’t pay attention when he tipped her to the side and quickly stripped out of the rest of his clothing. His palms stroked along her thighs while his lips moved down her stomach to the neat, short amber coils. Her hands were against his head and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind she meant to stop him. He looked up, stretching at her side and studying the panic in her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Erika?” His mouth moved against hers, soothing, calming and arousing as his fingers twined and explored the amber coils. He could feel her heat and drew one finger along the cleft to sink into the moisture collecting there.
“Wrong?” her voice was higher than normal. Just a little, she thought vaguely, her body responding to the strokes of his fingers. She wasn’t a virgin. And god knows she’d read tons of literature regarding sex but the two lovers she’d had weren’t overly adventurous. “Oh, no…nothing’s wrong…”
“You’re nervous,” he whispered, sliding one finger inside, following the path of the female dew through the small opening.
“I…wasn’t…No, not really…maybe just a little…” After all, she’d read a lot. She knew about oral sex.
“Me tasting you makes you nervous,” he concluded softly, trailing kisses to her breasts again.
“A little…maybe…”
“Why?” His mouth covered one nipple, teasing and arousing while her body reacted. The sexy little sounds she made tossing another level of hardness to his cock.
“You want to talk…about oral sex now?”
But the ability to communicate in full sentences was leaving, she realized with the combination of his fingers and his mouth. There was something wild and intense sweeping through her, something new that held her suspended for a long minute before he’d slipped another finger inside her, stretching and stroking.
Zee was positive he had hand prints permanently in his shoulders, his head lifting when he felt the contractions begin, felt the absolute heat flood through her. Her eyes were closed, her head back and panting desperate. He slipped his arm beneath her waist and held her, helping the waves build and crash before reaching behind him to the nightstand. He rummaged, swearing softly until his free hand found the packet.
He was sheathed and between her thighs as the final waves settled into
pulsing tremors, her breathing almost normal when he moved against her.
Her eyes opened, a soft, sweet look that made him groan. Or maybe it was the tight, snug velvet walls he was pushing himself into, widening, spreading the heated moisture that had flooded with her orgasm.
Yeah, it might definitely be that.
Erika thought she’d died. It had never been that good before. Never that powerful and she could still feel her body pulsing when he positioned his cock at her entrance. He pushed gently at first, testing and easing inside before backing out and repeating. It was the repeating that was getting to her. Oh, and the occasional bite he gave one nipple. And his scent. She loved the way he smelled.
Sensory overload were the words that came immediately to mind and then fled.
Her hands moved from his shoulders to frame his face and pull his mouth to hers with a low, demanding groan. Her tongue thrust between his lips at the same time his body surged forward, sinking the hard, thick length of him inside her.
His hands slid over her hips and beneath her, lifting and pulling her closer with each thrust.
Zee felt her body arch, felt the tremors increase and her muscles clenched him, throbbed and tightened sharply before he heard her call his name in surprise. A bigger surprise struck him when his body suddenly tightened. Considerably. He had control. He wasn’t ready for this to end. But his body had other ideas as her muscles clamped down on him hard and sucked him deeper.
Large hands tightened on her ass, holding her in place while his body shuddered hard and repeatedly, her name on his lips and shout of release echoing in the room. Instead of collapsing on top of her, he rolled to his back, refusing to let her go. His body wasn’t finished with the pleasure and when she wiggled and sunk a little more of him deep in the hot heat of her, he knew his brain had shut down.
WindSwept Narrows: #22 Erika & Vianne Page 6
