by Lexi Post
Gently, she covered his body with hers and spoke against his lips. “I love you.”
His arms encircled her and they shared a tender kiss. She had to show him how much she loved him.
Zach raised his hand to her cheek and stroked. “I love you too, Bea. More than you’ll ever know.”
Something in his words, his touch, had her wanting to cry, but that didn’t make sense. If only the fog in her brain would go away. Anxious to show him how much she treasured him, she inched her way down his body.
Lovingly, she kissed the stubble on his jaw, the tendons of his neck, the bulge of his shoulder. Her tongue came into play as she reached his nipple. She circled the small nub until it hardened tight, its salty taste from their love play an aphrodisiac. Taking his nipple between her teeth, she tugged before scraping across its tip.
His hand tightened where it rested on her arm and she could feel his heartbeat pulse faster.
Pleased to be able to excite him, she pulled the nipple into her mouth and sucked.
Zach’s chest rose against her lips and she grasped his shoulders as she worked her tongue on the nub in her mouth. When she let it go, he relaxed into the bed.
She ran her hands through the hair on his chest, mesmerized by the ripples of his abdomen as it moved under her touch. With her mouth, she pulled at the line of hair down the center of his stomach until she arrived at his thick cock.
She cupped that pleasurable piece of anatomy between her hands and glanced at Zach’s face. His eyes were closed, his breathing fast as he waited in anticipation. She wouldn’t disappoint him. Lowering her lips over his cock, she took as much as she could into her mouth before she surrounded it with her tongue and slowly sucked upward along his tight skin.
Zach groaned and buried his hand in her hair.
His pleasure fed her own and she continued her attention to his cock as she lifted his balls. She opened her throat to him, taking him as deep as she could. He tasted sweet from the whip cream they had used earlier. His cock moved against her tongue, causing her pussy to tense in response.
Zach’s hand held her still.
She moaned in frustration. She wanted to bring him to his orgasm.
“Bea.”
His roughened voice stilled her own need.
She loosened her mouth and let him pull her up to lie on top of him, his hard penis pressing against her inner thigh.
He brought her lips to his and devoured her with his tongue, his command clear. She belonged to him forever.
The message surrounded her heart. Blissfully, she moved her hips to position her slick pussy above his tip. With a sigh, she descended, his cock pushing through her thick folds, her tight walls, deep into her body, fully, completely, making her his.
He broke the kiss on a whispered word. “Yes.”
That one syllable rebounded through her limbs, fueling her desire. She pulled her hips up and rode him. Her blood pounded between her legs as her breaths grew shorter. Sharp shards of pleasure radiated from her pussy to the rest of her body as she pushed and rubbed harder and harder. Her nipples, caressed by Zach’s chest hair, added slivers of heat to her already heated body.
Zach sucked upon her lower lip, teasing her with his tongue, adding to her stimulation. He lifted his hips and pressed them to her groin.
She arched into him, rubbing her breasts against his hard chest as she wrapped one hand around his neck. “Zach.”
He gazed at her. “Yes, beautiful?”
“I need you.” She couldn’t help the catch in her voice. The desire to be closer to him far outweighed her lust.
His jaw tensed. The passion in his eyes caused her own to rise, but with a desperation she couldn’t understand.
He nodded. “Whatever you need, I will give you.”
He pressed her ass into his hips, helping her stay close. Bea ached with a need to crawl inside him. Tears slipped from her eyes.
Zach stopped. “Bea, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I just have to touch all of you.”
Zach kissed her cheek. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”
She grasped on to him, pushing her arm underneath him.
He lifted his other arm to hold her around the waist. “I’m all yours, Bea. Forever.”
She lifted her face to kiss him and poured every ounce of love she had into the mating of their lips. When he broke away, he gave her a quizzical look.
She stroked his hair at the back of his neck. She couldn’t explain how she felt, she simply had to hold on to him.
Zach turned his head and kissed her forearm. “You’re coming down, sweetheart. Don’t fight it. It’s the drugs Josh gave you. I’m right here. I won’t go anywhere.”
Her memory returned with the force of a Mack truck and with it the reason they were making love. Her heart cried out at what must have occurred. Had he seen her with the other men? She needed to show him how much he meant to her. She couldn’t lose him.
Zach must have sensed her tension because he began dropping soft kisses along her cheekbone, causing her mind to relax and her pulse to accelerate. Without warning, he rolled them over, his cock moving inside her at the movement.
Having him on top of her calmed her anxiousness. But as his mouth found her nipple another need increased. She dug her hands into his shoulders as he teased her hard tip. He left her nipple and gazed into her eyes as he pulled his hips back and pushed through her pussy to the hilt.
Bea’s world spun out of control. Her memory flooded back as her body began to peak. Fear pumped her blood as Zach’s cock sent electricity sizzling through her veins. She grasped his arms to hold herself together while she rocked into him to meet each deep thrust.
Zach moaned, his pace increased.
Grasping him hard, she rubbed against him, squirming to have every inch of her skin touched by his, meeting his pounding with her own.
He went rigid and as his cum flooded into her, he threw her into her own climax. She couldn’t breathe. Wave after wave of pure pleasure washed over her, starlight twinkling behind her eyelids, his love for her blanketing her with comfort.
Finally, she gasped for air and eased her hold on him, but he didn’t lift off her as he usually did. She smirked. He must have been as affected by their lovemaking as she. The lack of poison in her system had made her desperate, or maybe as Zach said, the drugs wearing off had colored her emotions. But she must have had sex with other men and even if she didn’t remember it, Zach would.
The need to reassure him surfaced hard. She turned her head and kissed him on the ear. “Zach?”
He didn’t answer.
She smiled. She had worn him out. Pushing on his shoulders, she shook him. “Zach, I know you’re tired, but can you move a little? I need to breathe.”
He gave no response.
Dread crept up her spine, feeding her adrenaline. “Zach?” She pushed him off to the side, his limp cock sliding from between her legs. Sitting up, she tapped his face. “Zach, wake up. Can you hear me? Zach?”
He lay as still and pale as death. Oh God. She shook her head. “No. No. Zach, what have you done?”
As denial left her, hysteria built.
She screamed.
* * * * *
Zach heard the whispers first, but the gentle touch on his cheek had him pushing away the dazed fog of his mind. As he opened his eyes, his gaze rested on…Josh?
“Hey, look who’s decided to join the living.” Josh set down his notepad, but not before Zach noticed his hands shook.
Was something wrong? Oh hell, he was in the hospital. He looked to his right to find the person who had pulled him from his sleep. Bea’s bloodshot eyes attested to her tears and he grasped her hand. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” She wiped her hand across her eyes, but her voice grew in volume. “What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. You scared the hell out of me. You lied to me and tricked me and then passed out. I thought you were in a coma.”
With quick insight, Z
ach grasped the horror he must have put Bea through when he’d lost consciousness. But in all honesty, he hadn’t planned to pass out. He squeezed her hand, but she pulled from his grasp. The motion left a pit of dread in his stomach as deep as a marsh. “Bea, I’m sorry.”
She stood and started to pace. He noticed Josh had beaten a hasty retreat. Great, just when he needed the backup. “Bea, listen. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let another man touch you. I would still love you, but it would have killed a part of me.”
She stopped and stared incredulously at him. “A part? I almost lost all of you. Damn it, Zach. Never mind the scare you gave me, Josh aged ten years in the last ten hours.”
“I know, I owe him everything.”
Bea spun around. “And what about me? If you died or even slipped into a coma, I’d die too. I love you too much to go back to sleeping with strangers just to stay alive.”
Zach shook his head. Wasn’t she cured? “Bea, even if I did die, you would still be able to live a normal life. Don’t you see, that’s why I did it. I’d give up my life if I had to so you could be normal.” A heady feeling of success rushed through him. “Though I’d much prefer to live it with you.”
Bea halted in her tracks. “Oh God, Zach.” She ran to him.
He gladly embraced her. She felt so good. Her citrusy smell enveloped him and filled him with completeness. Yup, now his life was perfect. He’d finally beat fate. He stroked her hair, loving the texture of its fine silkiness on his palm. But something nudged his brain, sending fear through his limbs. Did she finish the cure? “Bea? Did Josh give you the large dose of antidote he said he would?”
She nodded, but didn’t lift her head to face him, instead she kept it buried against his chest. Her assurance calmed his initial fear, but as he held her, he noticed a growing wetness on his hospital gown. “Bea, what is it?”
After a few moments, she lifted her head. “Josh doesn’t know if I’m cured yet. He said he can’t know. The only way to be sure is for us to make love and see how you feel.”
Zach grinned. “I can do that.”
She pulled out of his arms and sat back in the chair next to the hospital bed. “Or we can wait over a week and see if I collapse, and what if that happens? What if I’m not cured? What if this didn’t work? Don’t you see, falling in love with you has messed everything up.”
Zach gazed at his stunning woman and tried not to laugh. She loved him and stubbornly wanted to keep him safe. What man could ask for more? He took her hand. “Beatrice Rappaccini, will you marry me?”
Joy lit her eyes before her body slumped and her hand slipped from his. Another tear slid down her cheek. “I can’t. Not unless I’m cured.”
He tried to sit up and found he could, though he’d admit to a weakness he’d never had before. “Come here.” He lifted his hand.
She sat on the bed and faced him. He brought her hand to his lips. “Don’t you see, I don’t care if you’re cured. I love you. I want you in my life forever. I almost lost you once and I can’t risk that again. If I have to be sick once a week, then so be it. Maybe Josh can work on that antidote. He needs a project anyway.” He cupped her cheek. “Marry me, Bea.”
She turned her head and kissed his palm before meeting his gaze. “Zach, I love you too, which is why I can’t marry you until I’m sure being together won’t endanger your life. After I met you, I knew I couldn’t hurt any more men. I’m certainly not throwing that decision out the window now that I have you. You mean everything to me.”
He searched Bea’s eyes for any sign she might weaken in her decision, but she had made up her mind. He sighed. “Very well. Then I guess we better test this cure of Josh’s and see where we stand because,” he snaked his hand behind her neck and pulled her to within inches of his lips, “I’m never letting you go.”
He closed the distance between them and urged her to open her mouth. When she did, he claimed her as he claimed her soul, with everything he had in him. This woman was his life. She would be his forever. As her hands rifled through his hair, her tongue mated with his and his cock responded. But his head swam with lightness and he fell back upon the pillow.
“Zach!”
The panic in Bea’s voice had him fighting the darkness. He opened one eye. “Sorry, just need a little more sleep.” With no more strength left, he let himself be carried away to dreamland.
* * * * *
Bea parked her vehicle next to Charlie’s Escalade. Josh had kept Zach in the hospital for two full days, claiming dehydration and nutritional needs, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze when he gave his explanation, which had her wondering what he hid. She stepped from her car and picked her way through the soft ground. Though she wore hiking boots, thanks to their latest stretch of warm weather the mud was far worse than the first time she’d arrived at Zach’s. At least she wore more practical shoes this time.
She’d meant to give Zach time to settle into his old routine, but she couldn’t stay away. She had no idea whether it was because she loved him or her body craved him. But it didn’t matter because she couldn’t resist his unique pull on her.
The two men were huddled around Zach’s Harley when she came to the valley opening. Charlie was on his haunches using a tool of some kind and Zach hovered over him, making sure Charlie fixed her up right. Of course, Zach had to be shirtless and sexy as if she needed more reason to be attracted to him.
He spotted her and a huge smile lit his face. “Hey, Bea. About time.”
He left his prized Harley and strode through the muck to grasp her in a bear hug and twirl her around.
She couldn’t help her laughter. “Zach, put me down.”
He let her feet sink into the ground, but he held on. “Uh-uh. Not ’til you give me a kiss to rival my hug.”
A challenge to her mind had to be met. Pulling on his neck, she brought his mouth to meet hers and slipped her tongue between his lips. As she devoured him, his hands roamed her body. The heat in her rose and found the place between her legs. She wanted him inside her. Now.
“Ahem. That’s my daughter’s throat you have your tongue down, boy. I’d have to say I’m not that pleased by it.”
Bea pushed away from Zach as her cheeks heated in shame. How could she have forgotten Charlie? He stood with a large wrench in his hand as if he thought he might need to use it.
She forced a laugh. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” She gave her father a kiss on the cheek.
He wrapped her in a bear hug of his own. “You be glowing, girl. I do like that.”
She gave him a genuine smile. Though he refused to be one of her mother’s lovers anymore, he still liked being her dad. “If I’m glowing, it’s because of this man.” She stepped next to Zach to link her arm around his waist, but her feet went out from under her.
Zach never let her hit the ground. Holding her aloft in his arms, he brought her to where the bike stood parked on solid, dry earth.
Charlie followed. “Yeah, I guess if he makes you happy, I can let it be. He obviously has good taste both in women and bikes. But if he ever makes you unhappy…”
Bea sensed Zach stiffen beneath her at the threat. She looked her father in the eyes. “Don’t worry about that, Dad. He’d never test the wrath of my six fathers again.” She smirked at Zach. “Right, honey?”
He gave her a lopsided grin that told her she would pay later for teasing him, but he nodded. “Anything you say, beautiful.”
The warmth that spread through her had nothing to do with his magnificent body and everything to do with his heart. “Uh, Zach, you can put me down now.”
“Right.” He let her feet hit the ground, but kept a possessive arm around her waist.
She didn’t mind at all. “What are you two doing with the Harley?”
Charlie wiped down his tools before loading them in his toolbox. “What didn’t we do? I’ve got this baby purring like a kitten.” He looked at Zach, who moved to help Charlie pick up. “You’ll find you get better g
as mileage and an extra burst of RPMs in fourth gear. Bring her up to speed next time you ride and then let her rip down a good mile straightaway and she’ll take care of you all season.”
Zach handed Charlie his tire pressure gauge. “Thank you. I owe you one.” He extended his hand to shake.
Her dad shook his head. “Naw, we don’t carry debts among family.” He gave Zach a quick hug before bending to pick up his toolbox.
Zach moved forward fast. “Here, let me bring that to your vehicle.”
“Fine with me.” Charlie turned to Bea. “You take care, girl. Let me know how things turn out.”
She nodded solemnly. Charlie understood what she was up against. How did other women manage with only one or two fathers? She needed every single one of hers.
Zach returned as Charlie backed out of the driveway. “Did I pass father test number five?”
She took his hand in hers. “Yes, you did, as long as you keep me happy.”
“Oh, I know how to keep you happy.” Zach picked her up and strode toward the house.
Bea grabbed hold of his neck and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. “Does keeping me happy include strawberries and whip cream?”
He brought her to the door and let her feet go, but held her close against his chest. “It includes anything and everything, Bea.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his sincerity and a niggling fear wormed its way into her brain. “All I need, Zach, is you.”
His lips brushed hers. “And all I need is you.” His eyebrow raised. “However, I did buy these new vibrating nipple clamps I thought you might like to try. But if all you need is me?”
Bea laughed before she hit him on the arm.
In a flash, he spun her around and pinned her against the basement wall. “Hitting me already? Does that mean you like it rough, beautiful lady?”
The tone of Zach’s voice had her libido going from zero to sixty in half a second. Her limbs melted against his hard body as he pressed her against the concrete wall. “What I like is you, rough boy. It’s been two long days.”
He reached his hand beneath her Henley and unclasped the front of her bra. Licking her neck, he answered, “Two days and sixteen hours, but who’s counting? All I know is I need to slide my cock into your moist pussy right now.”
