Wrapped in You

by Jules Bennett

  Zach squatted down and played with the pups. One nipped at his wrist with those sharp baby teeth, another tugged on the shoelaces of his boots, while another tripped over the other boot and squatted to pee.

  “Seriously? I just let you guys out and you piss on my boot?”

  He stood up and glanced at the mom in the corner. She looked back at him as if to say I can’t control them.

  After Zach cleaned up the mess, washed his hands, and put out fresh water for the urinaters, he climbed over the child gate and figured he’d try to find something for dinner.

  Nothing appealed to him, so he opted to make a list of materials he’d need Macy to order for him for the immediate bathroom remodel. He needed to run by her store anyway and apologize for his asshole brother interrupting the other night, and tell her he had some new ideas for her house.

  Just as he’d settled onto his couch with pen and paper, someone knocked on his door. And not just a knock, but a pounding, like it was urgent.

  Oh no. No, no, no. If this was Ms. Barkley again, he was seriously going to have to just be rude. There was no other way he knew to manage her.

  Gearing up for a confrontation, and practicing a speech in his head, Zach flicked the lock and jerked the door open . . . and his guest wasn’t his annoying neighbor.

  Sophie stood on his porch, her eyes wide, her hand over her chest. “I wasn’t expecting such a rough greeting.”

  “I wasn’t expecting an FBI knock.” Zach’s shoulders relaxed as he gripped the door. “What are you doing here, Sophie?”

  Seeing her over and over was both a blessing and a curse. It hurt to look at her, but he’d die if he had to go without seeing her.

  “I-I’m not sure now.” On a soft exhale, she closed her eyes. “I was fine until you opened this door.”

  Confused, Zach opened the door wider, reached out to take her hand, and eased her inside before closing the door behind her.

  “You were fine before I opened the door,” he repeated. “So tell me why you came and why you look terrified now.”

  Those bright eyes came up to meet his as she shoved her hair away from her face. “I talked myself into coming here and seducing you, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I wasn’t going to beg, but you admitted that you want me. This doesn’t have to be any more than what it is.”

  Her words registered quickly and Zach had to take a second and really think, because they were teetering on the point of no return.

  “And what is it?” he asked, surprised his voice was strong.

  Passion stared back at him. If he thought the tension between them was high before this, right now the air crackled with it.

  “This attraction hasn’t gone away,” she told him. “In ten years, even with ignoring each other, whatever this is between us has only gotten stronger. I know you’re scared, you don’t have to say it. You don’t think I’m terrified? Coming here like this, risking rejection has me so nervous I can hardly stand it. But I’m willing to take that chance because I want this. I want you.”

  Rejection? The second he’d opened his door and pulled her in he knew he couldn’t turn her away. He’d pushed and pushed and there was no strength left in him.

  She’d come to him. His sweet, unwavering Sophie had put aside her fears and landed on his doorstep. He knew she came here to put everything on his playing field. He knew she presented herself to him because she had feelings for him, and damn, if that didn’t humble him.

  Sliding his hands over her face, his rough palms against her smooth cheeks, his fingers fisted into her hair as he tilted her head back.

  “Be sure, Sophie.” He stared into her eyes, so set with determination and desire. “Be sure of what you’re asking for and know this is all I have.”

  Could he actually do this? Could he selfishly take what she was offering and go into this so casually? He’d had casual sex before, but Sophie was different, special.

  “It’s simple.” She reached up, held onto his wrists. “You either want me or you don’t. I’m not looking for a ring on my finger or a declaration of love.”

  “What if you want more later?” he asked, needing to clear all the bases to avoid hurting her again.

  A corner of her unpainted mouth kicked up. “What if you want more?”

  Damn. Maybe that’s what he’d been afraid of this entire time. Because he did want more, but there was no way he’d take it.

  Right now, this was all they could have. And he was going to relish every single moment.

  Zach backed her up against the narrow wall between the door and the window. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Capturing her mouth like a man starved for a taste of perfection, Zach aligned his body with hers. Sophie’s hands slid up his arms to grip his shoulders as she opened for him.

  Nothing else existed in his world. Sophie in his arms, in his home, was all he needed. How could every single thing in life be absolutely perfect when she was with him? How did all the anxiety and worry just fade to nothing with this vibrant woman in his arms?

  As much as his body ached for her, as much as he needed her, Zach knew this was a night he didn’t want to forget, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to rush. Sophie deserved more. They deserved more.

  When he pulled his mouth away, she let out a moan in protest. Without a word, he lifted her into his arms, a move he’d never made before because there seriously wasn’t a romantic bone in his body. But holding Sophie like this seemed . . . right. That word seemed to keep popping up in his mind. He couldn’t think of that now. He refused to let anything else take up space in his mind other than Sophie and the fact that he was carrying her to his bedroom.

  As he started up the steps, she laid her head on his shoulder. “You don’t have to carry me.”

  Zach froze on the second step. Yes. He did. “I know you can walk, but I know you also hurt more at the end of the day. Let me do this.”

  Lifting her hand to his jaw, she stroked her fingertips along his coarse beard. “Do whatever you want.”

  Zach closed his eyes and willed his self-control not to snap. Did she have a clue what her soft tone, her trusting words did to him? Did she have any idea how sexy it was that she’d humbled herself and put her fears aside, coming to him with her eyes wide-open?

  With his heart pounding a bruising rhythm in his chest, Zach continued up the steps toward his master bedroom. Had he even picked up the dirty clothes lying around? Not that anything could be done about it now, and he honestly didn’t care about his underwear on the floor, but . . .

  Damn it. He was overthinking again. He had the woman of his dreams in his arms and his thoughts had drifted to laundry? He needed to get a grip before he totally screwed this up.

  Sophie’s fingertips continued to stroke his beard. Just that slight tingling sensation shot waves of pleasure through him. He wanted those delicate hands on his body. He wanted them there now.

  “You’re trembling,” she muttered.

  He hadn’t even realized.

  “It’s me, Zach.” Her gentle hand went to the side of his neck. “Don’t hold back, don’t treat me like I’ll break. I’m here for you, your needs. Because fulfilling those will fulfill mine.”

  How did she have all the right words, all the comforting words, when he had a jumbled mess in his head? He couldn’t even form a coherent thought because he was so damn scared right now. This had to be perfect for her. How could he not treat her like she’d break? Hadn’t he nearly broken her before? He was a shattered man and she still wanted him.

  Zach entered his room and winced at the disaster. “I, uh, wasn’t expecting company.”

  Gently he put her on her feet and she laughed. “I grew up around you guys,” she said, taking in the unmade bed and random clothes in piles. “I’m used to a little chaos.”

  Sophie was in his bedroom. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

  “This is it,” he told her. “Your last chance to back out.”

  Smile wide
, she shook her head. “You think I came this far, waited all this time for you, just to leave?”

  Zach slid his hands around her waist, his pinkies sliding under the waistband of her skirt to encounter smooth, warm skin. “I’m barely hanging on here, Soph,” he muttered as he rested his forehead against hers. “I want to do this right, but I’m about to snap.”

  Sophie shoved her hands beneath his shirt and started yanking it up. “I’ve been wanting you to snap for years. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

  With her bold declaration, he helped her to jerk the shirt over his head and throw it onto a pile of other discarded clothes. When her hands went to the button on his jeans, he stopped her.

  “I’ll do this part.”

  The last thing he needed was for her to touch him there right now. He wasn’t joking when he told her he was hanging on by a thread.

  Sophie slid out of her cardigan, sending it silently to the floor. When she reached for the hem of her silk tank, Zach gripped the material.

  “I’ll do that too.” No way was he going to miss an opportunity to undress Sophie.

  He removed her hands from her tank and glided the flimsy material up and over her head. Zach swallowed at the sight of her standing there in a pale pink bra and her skirt. She was everything his fantasies were made of, and so much more that he didn’t know he’d been missing.

  “Stop thinking here, Zach.” She smiled and stepped out of her flats. “The way you keep stopping is making me nervous.”

  Control snapped as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his chest. She arched her back, and Zach kissed a path down the column of her throat. Her hands fisted in his hair as she threw her head back. With a skilled move, Zach flicked her bra open and quickly removed it without taking his lips off her heated, silky skin.

  This was the moment he’d been craving. Her chest against his with no barriers. Zach’s hands roamed all over her, and in the process he found the tiny side zipper on her skirt and got rid of that problem fast. By the time he got her fully undressed, he was beyond the point of no return.

  Sophie did her own exploring over his bare chest, and her touch was anything but gentle. This woman knew what she wanted, which just bumped her up another notch on the scale of sexy . . . as if she needed a boost.

  Zach made quick work of his jeans, shucking those and his boxer briefs to the floor. Stepping out of them, he hoisted Sophie up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist, her arms around his neck.

  “Tell me if I hurt you.”

  Sophie kissed him. “You’d never hurt me.”

  Now wasn’t the time to start that debate. He followed her down onto the bed, resting his hands on either side of her head.

  He couldn’t get enough. He couldn’t touch her, taste her, or explore her enough to satisfy this craving he’d had for so long. He wanted to take everything in all at once, but savor each second at the same time.

  He rained kisses over her shoulders, her breasts, down her abdomen . . . where he encountered scarring.

  He’d not noticed moments ago when he’d fully undressed her because he’d been kissing her. But now, up close, he couldn’t ignore the sight before him.

  “Don’t,” she told him, coming up on her elbows. “They’re in the past and we aren’t. We’re right here, right now, so don’t go back there.”

  Swallowing, Zach forced himself to remain in the present. He had to do this, for Sophie. Later, when he was alone, he could torture himself with what he’d done to her. His careless, ego-inflated actions had left her physically and emotionally scarred.

  “I know they’re ugly,” she went on. “I hope that—”

  Zach placed a finger over her lips. “They’re not ugly. Nothing about you is ugly.”

  It was damn hard not to relive that night right now, but he wouldn’t bring that nightmare into the bed with them. Zach traced the surgical scars across the skin below her belly button, then moved to the puckered scar along her hip. After he’d fully committed them to memory, he kissed each one.

  Too many emotions pulled him in different directions. He could easily be overtaken by any of them, but he refused to allow hurt and guilt to steal this moment. Sophie was naked and trembling beneath him—nothing else mattered.

  Crawling back up her body, Zach settled between her legs and captured her mouth. His hand trailed down her side, her body trembling beneath his touch. He loved the feel of her beneath him, loved knowing his sheets would smell like her long after she was gone.

  When he reached for the bedside drawer, she gripped his shoulders. “No.”

  Zach froze. “No?”

  “If you’re clean, I know I am,” she told him, her gaze darting away as if this was uncomfortable for her to discuss. “I’ve only been with two guys and that was years ago. I’ve had physicals since then. There’s no risk of me getting pregnant, either.”

  So she was on birth control, yet hadn’t been intimate with anyone? That she hadn’t slept with Martin shouldn’t have thrilled Zach as much as it did, but he couldn’t help it. He was human and he was a jealous bastard.

  “Unless you’re not sure,” she added as she brought those wide eyes back to focus on him.

  Making love to the woman he’d wanted for years with nothing in between? He’d be a fool to turn this away.

  “Look at me,” he demanded a moment before he joined them.

  Words didn’t even describe this euphoric state. Everything he’d ever fantasized about was absolutely nothing in comparison.

  Kissing Sophie, having her moving in unison with him, was everything he’d ever wanted and everything he didn’t deserve to have.

  “Stay with me,” she murmured against his lips. “Just us, Zach.”

  Pressing his lips to that tender spot below her ear, Zach concentrated on Sophie. His Sophie. His everything. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders as her back arched. Her body sliding beneath his, on his bed, was every single fantasy come to life.

  Sophie’s soft pants and moans nearly undid him, but he held her, made love to her, and focused on her needs.

  He didn’t know who was comforting who here. He had no idea if she was rescuing him from the ugliness that consumed him from within, or if he was giving her something she’d wanted from him for so long . . .

  There was just too much to think about, and all he wanted was to get lost in her touch, her soft cries, her body wrapped all around him.

  Just as Sophie’s body tightened and she cried out, Zach followed her over the edge. He trembled against her, forced himself to keep his eyes locked onto hers, and staring back at him was one emotion he feared would enter this scenario . . . love.

  But more than being afraid of her loving him, Zach was terrified she saw the same thing staring back at her.

  * * *

  Flowers. He was surrounded by a field of flowers.

  Zach shifted beneath his sheets, pulling in a deep breath of that familiar scent. Sophie. He wasn’t surrounded by flowers, he was surrounded by all woman.

  The bed shifted and her hair tickled his bare shoulder. Just the slightest touch had him smiling. But he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want to be removed from this moment, didn’t want to face the reality that their night was over.

  Zach eased closer, reaching out and encountering . . . more hair?

  His eyes flew open and Sophie wasn’t in his bed. A sleeping, furry Lab was.

  Seriously? What the hell was the mama dog doing in his bed? Where was Sophie?

  He glanced around, not seeing any of her clothes, but his eyes landed on the dog bed and the puppies. Sleeping puppies.

  Confusion hit him hard as he rubbed a hand down his face and glanced at the clock on his nightstand. No wonder he’d slept so well. Between the sex and the lack of barking, he’d caught up on some much needed sleep, but where was Sophie and why were all of these dogs in his bedroom?

  Having Sophie in his bed had been beyond amazing, but he’d never expected to wake
to canines.

  Had she left? She’d obviously put the dogs in here because that dog bed didn’t climb the stairs. Why had she done that? There was no way he was going to start letting these dogs sleep in his room. They could stay in the laundry room where they . . .

  Zach eyed the pups, all curled and intertwined with each other, sound asleep. Okay, so maybe they didn’t like the utility room. There had to be another option. He wasn’t a dog person.

  Yet here he was waking up to eight dogs after he’d spent the night with an amazing woman. Here he was keeping these puppies until they were ready to be adopted out. He’d brought them in when he could’ve left them out.

  Okay, fine. He was a dog person. Who knew animals could reach into your heart so quickly and fill areas you never knew were empty?

  Glancing back to the Lab in his bed, Zach laughed. Yeah, seriously not how he envisioned waking up today.

  Zach showered and threw on clothes to head over to the Sunset Lake property. When he came back into his room, the pups were awake and the mom was sitting beside them as if to try to keep some type of control. She glanced at him and just stared.

  “Hey, I’m new to this too,” he told her, then shook his head. “And now I’m having a conversation with you like it’s perfectly normal.”

  Definitely a dog person.

  After letting them out, feeding them, and giving them fresh water, he put them back in the utility room and arranged the gate back in place. The room was big enough for the pups to play in and he’d made it a point to stop back home every couple hours or so to let them out to run a bit.

  Another reason he needed to find a home for them as soon as they were old enough to be adopted. He was losing time on projects by rushing home for bathroom breaks.

  As Zach climbed into his truck, he knew his biggest issue wasn’t the dogs. Was he ready to face what had happened last night? Was he prepared to see Sophie and pretend everything was as before? Because as much as she’d said she wasn’t getting any more involved than physical intimacy, he doubted she felt the same this morning.

  Sophie was loyal, she was loving, and she was completely open with her heart. There was no way she could go into this so casually. Hell, he wasn’t so sure he could. Not with Sophie. Not with the only woman who’d ever truly mattered.