by J. S. Scott
That moment was pivotal for Zane. It was the instant that he knew that he was utterly and completely screwed. “I won’t.” He cared about her way too much not to try to keep that promise.
The holidays flew by, and after a few months, she and Zane fell into a routine. He’d work in his lab during the day, but he’d show up by dinnertime. She cooked, and had slowly organized his entire house except for his lab.
Zane couldn’t find anything, which she found pretty amusing. Not that he’d been very good at finding things before she’d organized, but when she was done, he was completely lost.
Ellie slowly started working on her aromatherapy business again, making candles and scents that made her happy. Her Internet sales weren’t miraculous, but it was enough to pay for her hobby with a little left over.
Eventually, she’d gotten used to driving the BMW Zane had gifted to her, even though she thought it was ridiculous for a woman like her to be driving any kind of luxury vehicle. Slowly, she’d desensitized herself, feeling less and less afraid to be out and about, even when Zane wasn’t around. With Dr. Townson’s help, she was inching closer to a normal life, but she knew it was going to be a while before she was completely recovered…if she ever did.
Her body was filling out, and she’d already had to go buy a few new clothes. Hopefully, she’d reach a point where she didn’t feel like she was starving all the time. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten to that particular stage yet. Having been deprived of food for so long, Ellie acknowledged unhappily that she was making up for lost meals.
Maybe that was why she was currently munching on an enormous plate of nachos at two a.m. Having been awakened by a nightmare, one of many of the side effects of her traumatic experience, she hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. She’d gotten up and turned on all the lights to chase away the shadows once she reached the kitchen, not wanting to disturb Zane with her insomnia by turning on lights in the hallway. Then, she’d promptly went to work on making an enormous batch of nachos. No doubt she’d pay for it with heartburn later, but she’d topped them off with a very liberal amount of jalapenos and salsa.
Now, she was at the other end of the enormous house, kicking back in the family room, eating nachos and focused on one of her favorite crime shows. Lucky for her, Zane had on-demand television, so whenever she had a chance, she caught up on her forensic true crime stories.
“It’s not the husband,” she said to the television irritably as she watched the police go down the wrong trail to find a woman’s murderer. “There’s no motive, no life insurance, and his grief wasn’t fake,” Ellie concluded, shoving more nachos into her mouth.
“What the hell are you doing?” A loud baritone boomed over the sound of the television.
Ellie squealed, almost upsetting the bowl of nachos on her lap as she turned to look at Zane. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think you’d be able to hear the TV.”
Frantically, she glanced around for the controller so she could turn the show off. She couldn’t find it. Setting the bowl down on the table in front of the couch, Ellie started feeling down the cracks in the couch.
“Ellie…stop,” Zane grumbled, grabbing her by the shoulders. “You didn’t wake me, and the TV didn’t bother me. I woke up on my own and went to the kitchen for something to drink. I just wondered what the hell you were doing up. You went to bed early.”
She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat as she met his confused gaze. “I had a bad dream. I couldn’t go back to sleep. It happens sometimes, and I know I’m not going to get back to sleep quickly, so I just get up and watch some TV.”
He nodded as if he understood and then plopped down on the couch, snatched her nachos, and pulled her back down beside him. “What are we watching?”
Ellie loved the way that Zane just accepted whatever she was doing as normal and joined her in her insanity.
“True forensic cases,” she answered breathlessly, her eyes unable to stay away from his muscular bare chest.
Zane might amuse her at times, but mostly, he made her entire body ache to get closer to him. He looked perfectly comfortable dressed in only a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. Ellie was fairly certain no guy looked as edible as Zane right now. His hair was artfully mussed, like he just crawled out of bed, which he had. But no man should look that good with bedhead. She thought it was completely unfair.
Ellie combed her fingers through her hair, knowing she had errant locks sticking out all over the place. Between that and a highly unsexy pair of Tinker Bell pajamas she had tugged on at bedtime, she was pretty sure she looked downright scary.
Strangely, Zane didn’t seem to notice or care if she was a mess.
She snuck a sideways look at him, but he was focusing on the show now, one of his brows rising in the adorable way that happened when he was concentrating.
“You’re right,” Zane said as he shoved more food in his mouth, and then reached for her soda on the table and took a slug. “It’s not the husband.”
Ellie relaxed and leaned her back against the couch. “I know I’m right.” She reached out and grabbed her soda. “He didn’t have any reason to kill her.”
Zane shook his head. “It’s not just that. The forensic evidence doesn’t implicate him. They need to move on and look for the real killer.”
Ellie reached for a chip as she answered, “They will. But they always seem to need to clear the husband or boyfriend first on this show.”
“You mean there are more of these types of programs?” he asked curiously.
Ellie laughed. “Tons of them, and I’ve watched them all. I’m an addict. I’ve slowly been catching up on the episodes I missed.”
Getting comfortable, Zane sat through two more episodes, the two of them bantering back and forth about who committed the featured crime. Ellie was right both times, but he agreed with her in both episodes.
As the second show ended, Ellie stood up and took the empty bowl and soda can to the kitchen. After flipping off the television, Zane followed.
“Are you going to be okay now?” he asked quietly as he leaned a hip against the kitchen counter.
“I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve had a forensic marathon when I couldn’t sleep,” she confessed, smiling at him.
“Why didn’t you wake me? I would have sat with you before tonight. You don’t need to be alone.”
Ellie shook her head. “I didn’t want to disturb you. It’s my strange little issue. I eventually go back to bed.”
Truthfully, there had been nothing she wanted more than Zane’s company on those sleepless nights, but it was safer for her to just sit it out alone. He was her boss now, and she needed her job. Somehow, she needed to get over her desire to climb up his ripped body like a mountaineer and ride him hard on the way back down.
“Next time…wake me up,” he demanded, slowly backing her against the kitchen counter.
His body surged into hers, and Ellie could barely crane her head back enough to look at him. “Why?” she asked simply.
“Because I’ll try to make you forget all your bad dreams.”
“How?”
Zane’s eyes flashed like molten silver, making Ellie’s heart start to gallop.
Kiss me. Please kiss me.
She’d yearned to have him devour her like he had the day he’d brought her home. Only now, she never wanted him to stop. She’d become so connected to him in every way but the physical, and she yearned for that, too.
He leaned down, so close that she could feel his warm breath on the side of her face, his breathing so fast and harsh she could actually hear him.
“Fuck! I can’t do this!” Zane growled as he smashed his fist against the counter beside her. “You need a friend right now. The last thing you need is a man who wants to fuck you so damn much that his balls are blue.”
Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck as he went to pull back from her, stunned by Zane’s confession. “You want…me?”
He nodded slowly. “I don’t want to want you, but damned if I don’t. I shouldn’t want you because you’re my friend, now my employee, and you’re healing from an emotional trauma most people can’t even understand. I can keep bullshitting myself forever, but I can’t change what is and probably always will be. I can’t rationalize it or make it make sense. But I want to bury my cock inside you and lose myself in that pleasure more than I want to take another breath.” He speared a hand into her hair and fisted some of the locks. “I want to hear your moans of pleasure; hear you scream my name when you come. I want to be the next man to fuck you until you don’t even know your own name.”
His voice was dangerously graveled and rough, as though every word he spoke was being dragged from some deep cavern inside him. Ellie shivered as he pushed his hard body against hers, the feel of his engorged cock brushing against her pelvis. “You’d be the only man,” she whispered softly, right before Zane swooped down and captured her mouth with his.
He plundered her mouth like she was his sustenance and he was starving. Ellie felt her core clench as their tongues tangled together, both of them desperately trying to get closer. As she tangled her hands in his hair, she struggled for breath as Zane nibbled on her bottom lips before soothing it with his mouth again.
“I want you, too,” Ellie confessed as she buried her face in his neck, nearly sobbing as she inhaled Zane’s masculine scent. “So much it hurts.”
His hands strayed down her body, one landing on her ass as the other slid down the front of her ragged pajamas and under her panties. “Jesus, you’re so wet for me, Ellie, and so damn hot. Do you have any idea how hard it is not to fuck you?”
She felt like she was incinerating, her entire body jerking as Zane searched and found the sensitive bundle of nerves, his thumb sliding easily around and over it because the area was so slick with moisture.
“Zane!” she cried out, her body humming with pleasure.
“Come for me, Ell. I can’t fuck you because you’re a virgin, but I need to see you come,” he rasped right beside her ear before flicking his tongue over the sensitive skin of her neck.
Gasping as his fingers invaded her pussy, making her feel things she’d never felt before, Ellie tightened her hold on his hair and yanked until he finally yielded and kissed her, his mouth ravenous as he continued to torment her with his fingers and his wicked tongue.
The urge to crawl inside him grew stronger, and all Ellie could do was helplessly whimper against Zane’s lips while she lost every thought in her head except him and what he was doing to her body.
Without thinking, she hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, almost begging for him to replace his fingers with his cock.
“I need more,” Ellie begged.
“I don’t think so, baby. I think you just need to come,” Zane demanded, his fingers still working her clit as she pushed her hips hard against his palm.
Ellie moaned as the knot in her belly began to unfurl, the sensation going straight to her core. Holding onto Zane for dear life, she let her body take control, unable to do anything but allow him to push her over the edge.
Her entire body quivered as she flew apart, hands still clenching Zane’s hair as she screamed his name. “Zane. Oh, God. I’ve never felt like this before.”
“Just ride your climax,” Zane commanded. “I’m here. I’ll keep you safe, Ell. I promise.”
She trusted him as her body bucked in pleasure. Zane moved his hands and let her use his muscular abs to rock her hips against him as she rode out the most incredible orgasm she’d ever experienced.
Her hands moved down to stroke over his back, her nails digging into his skin as she held on tight, her hips surging against him as she moaned with unbridled pleasure as her climax peaked, and she began to float back to Earth again.
Forcing her hands to relax so she didn’t scratch up his bare back any more than she already had, she let her head drop on his shoulder, her body completely spent.
As she slowly lowered her legs to the floor, Zane scooped her up and carried her back to her bed.
Ellie was mute, her body and mind still shaken up. What the hell could she say? Um…sorry I just climaxed while I humped your perfect body? Nope. That probably wasn’t the correct thing to say in this awkward situation.
Zane stroked her hair as he tucked the sheet and comforter around her. “Can you sleep now?”
Ellie stifled a yawn. “Yes.”
He sat down on the bed. “Ellie, why didn’t you ever tell me you were a virgin?”
“It never came up in conversation,” she answered defensively. The state of her cherry was personal. It wasn’t like they exactly had deep, intimate conversations about sex. In fact, it was the one thing they generally never discussed.
“I’m glad you told me before it was too late. You must be saving yourself for someone.”
Her heart sank. “I guess you don’t do virgins?” she asked curiously.
“No,” he answered enigmatically. “Get some sleep.”
He stood and clicked off the dim light from the bedside lamp before striding to the bedroom door. Turning, he said matter-of-factly, “I have to go back to Denver tomorrow for a charity ball because it’s hosted by Colter Labs, and then I’m staying in the city for a while to work on some stuff at the lab. Will you go?”
Ellie swallowed hard, confused by his rejection which was then followed with him asking her to go with him to Denver. “Of course. I’m your assistant.”
“I’m not asking you as an employee to accompany me to the ball,” he said ominously. “I’m asking you to be my date. Will you go?”
Her heart lifted, but she still didn’t know what to make of Zane’s behavior. It was dark, and she couldn’t see his expression. “Yes,” she answered softly. “I’d love to go. I’ve never been to a ball.”
Maybe that made her sound pathetic, but it was the truth. Chloe’s mom had hosted events at her resort, and Ellie was always invited, but she’d never attended.
“Good. At least I’ll be your first for something,” he answered in a satisfied tone before he turned and headed toward his own bedroom.
Ellie sighed. He could have been her first lover; he hadn’t wanted that. But he was happy about having her going with him on a party date?
Shaking her head in the dark, she wondered if she’d ever understand exactly how Zane’s mind worked. He was a genius, but he was also a man. Did regular men think the way that Zane did?
Somehow, she found it highly unlikely. After listening to years of Chloe talking about her brothers, Ellie knew that Zane was probably unique. Ellie knew she’d never met anyone like him.
As her eyes fluttered closed, she smiled. Somehow, it pleased her more that he’d offered to take her out on a real date than it would have if he’d taken her to bed. Somehow, that was significant, but she was so tired that she fell asleep still wondering exactly what Zane was thinking.
Ellie couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt more out of place.
However, she wasn’t about to let her nerves spoil her fantasy evening with the most handsome guy at the ball.
She’d had exactly one day to get ready for Zane’s charity fundraiser once they’d arrived at his Denver home. Luckily, she didn’t find as much organizing that she’d need to do at his place in the city, but there were still piles of paperwork everywhere that needed to be filed and put away.
The Denver mansion was gorgeous. Not that she’d expected it not to be, but it wowed her just the same. Unlike his home in Rocky Springs, the bedrooms were all upstairs, making the downstairs living space enormous. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she’d even seen every room in the house yet. They’d arrived last night, and she’d been busy most of the day.
> Earlier, she’d treated herself to a makeover, getting her hair put up in an elegant style, the short locks almost refusing to be tamed into a sophisticated style. Her makeup had been done by a professional, and she’d chosen a simple cocktail dress in black, a garment that was pricey enough to make her squirm. But she’d bought it anyway, after hanging it back on the department store rack several times because she wasn’t sure if she could justify spending that kind of money on a dress. After the dress, she’d needed accessories. All in all, she’d spent more money today than she had in several years in Rocky Springs.
But somehow, she couldn’t regret it.
As she’d stood in front of the mirror earlier, Ellie had done a full assessment of herself, and not just the physical body in the reflection. Yeah, she had admitted that she looked nice, but mostly she recognized that she was changing the way she looked at herself. She felt stronger, freer than she’d ever been. Maybe it was her harrowing experience she’d been through, but she had an inkling that Zane was beginning to make her see herself in a whole new way. He liked her. He cared about her. He pointed out things that he really admired or liked about her, and she’d started to take notice of things about herself that she’d never even considered.
She was getting stronger.
She was learning to handle her fears.
She wasn’t letting what happened to her shape her life.
She liked what she was doing, and she liked…herself.
Ellie sighed and swiped another glass of champagne from a passing waiter as she made her way back from the restroom, eager to find Zane. She had the most handsome, most intelligent date at the ball, and she wasn’t about to let him hang out alone, waiting for her.
He’d made it very clear that she was his date, and he’d treated her like a princess. Zane didn’t miss the opportunity to tell her how beautiful she looked, and he’d given her a beautiful bouquet of flowers before they left the house because he knew how much she loved them.
Dinner had been amazing. Zane had taken her to a fancy steakhouse, and the food was so good she had a difficult time not moaning with pleasure as she consumed way more than she should have, including the rich dessert.
