“Zach,” she whispered, opening her eyes, sensing they had headed into uncharted emotional territory.
He misread the hesitation in her eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said. “God knows I’m in no hurry to jump into anything serious. But…” He looked up to the sky, the filtered sun through the trees mottling his face. “I like what’s going on here. I think it’s worth pursuing.” He trailed his hand down the side of her neck.
Something worth pursuing, she repeated silently. He leaned toward her, his warm breath fractions away from her mouth. His lips touched hers.
The tender and searching kiss inspired Audrey to explore this new territory with him…but as Audrey. Not as Ava.
“Zach.” Her stomach muscles tightened as he swirled a lazy finger around her belly button. “I’m not who you think I am.”
“I like who you are, dollface.” He pushed her shirt up, and released the clasp of her bra. Moving the pink lace cups and gel falsies aside, he said, “You won’t be needing these up here.” The cool mountain breeze brushed across her bare breasts, teasing her exposed nipples into hard peaks. His lips closed over one, sucking it fully into his hot mouth.
She arched off the warm rock. “I’m serious. You need to-” She suspended her breath when his hand slipped into her pants.
“I know exactly what I need.” He nibbled at her breast as his fingers played with her sex. Her hips writhed beneath his touch. After a few minutes of heaven, he rose over her and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling them off along with her shoes, then tossing them onto the bank. He cupped her knees and spread her legs, then lowered his face between her thighs. She closed her eyes as he kissed her there.
His tongue found her center. Her buttocks tightened on the hard rock beneath her. She should make him stop. He pushed two fingers into her hot sheath. She was already wet, and her slickness wrapped around his digits.
She wouldn’t stop him now, nor did she want to. She wanted him, any way she could get him. She would figure out later how to prove to him that he could trust her. She speared her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer.
“I want you inside me,” she gasped out as his fingers drove her relentlessly toward climax.
“I’m not done tasting you yet,” he said, his words vibrating against her. Her hips bucked in response.
“Zach, please.” She needed that connection, and she needed it now.
“If you insist.” He kissed her sensitive nub, then withdrew from her. He sat on his heels and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He extracted a condom, and held it between his teeth as he slipped off his shoes and jeans. He quickly sheathed himself, then lay back on the rock in all his naked glory. “Come on up here, baby. Climb aboard.”
She straddled his hips, watching his eyes. Reaching between them, she positioned his straining penis at her opening. His lids grew heavy, his irises darkening to midnight as she lowered herself onto him.
“Holy hell, you’re hot…and tight,” he said between gritted teeth. He reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.
As she shrugged out of the unclasped bra, she said, “You’re sure we’re alone up here?”
“Except for the occasional wild animal, yeah.” He fondled her breasts as she rode him. “God, I love being inside you.”
And I love you, she thought, angling her face to the sky, eyes closed, enjoying the sensation.
Wait. She loved him?
Sure, he made her feel things she’d never felt before, sexually and otherwise, but love?
He caressed her swollen clit, the juices from their lovemaking allowing his finger to glide easily. “You keep doing that, mister, and this’ll be over before we’ve barely begun.” She braced her hands on his thighs behind her hips, arching her breasts toward the sky.
“That’s what I want, baby,” he said, changing the angle of his caress. “I want you to come for me.” He pinched her nipple hard between his thumb and forefinger.
“Mm, yes,” she cried. Pressure welled inside her, warming and tickling her limbs from the inside all the way down to her toes. Her bare knees dug into the hard rock beneath his body. “I’m going to-”
She exploded in orgasm. As she tightened and pulsed around him, he cried out his own release, digging his fingers into her hips.
She collapsed on top of him, and his arms wrapped around her. “My knees are all scraped up,” she said, breathless.
“Yeah, well, at least your ass and back aren’t rubbed raw,” he said, kissing her neck.
She giggled against his chest. “This was your idea.”
“I’d do it again for you, baby. But let’s get off this rock first.”
Chapter Nine
Zach enjoyed the next few hours more than any he could recall in recent memory. After catching four trout in the stream, he and Ava gutted the fish and cooked them over an open grill. To his surprise and shock, she’d helped clean the fish, and didn’t seem too grossed out by it.
Ava confused him. On one hand, she was the Ava Divine of old, with her perfectly manicured nails and flawless makeup and hair. On the other hand, she was down-to-earth, laid back, and genuine. And hot damn, both sides of her personality turned him on.
He glanced across the barbecue pit to where she collected a bouquet of wildflowers from the surrounding meadow. Warmth gathered in his stomach just looking at her, and not all of it lust. When had he last felt so comfortable around a woman, so able to be himself, flaws and all?
A cool raindrop splashed on his lap, and then another. The temperature dropped noticeably. He checked his watch. “Hey, dollface. We’d better get going soon. We don’t have a lot of light left.”
She looked up from her bent-over position, the neck of her T-shirt gaping just enough for him to see down her shirt. She’d delighted him by ditching the bra and falsies when she dressed after their romp on the rocks. Her rosy nipples hung like bells on her gently swaying breasts. He stuffed his suddenly itchy hands into his jeans pockets.
“So soon? I’m not ready to go yet,” she said.
He grinned, and his heart swelled. Whenever he was here, he didn’t want to leave either, never knowing when he’d get back again.
The rain fell faster. She shielded her eyes and looked at the gray clouds overhead. “What about the rain?”
He shrugged. “A little rain never hurt anyone.”
“No, I mean what about the rain and flying? I don’t want to fly in a storm.”
He looked up. Heavy gray clouds had darkened the sky. “If we leave now, we should beat the worst of it.”
“The worst of it? I don’t want to fly in the best of it, Zachary.” She wrapped her arms around her body. “If this is anything like Boise, it will blow through real quick. We could wait.”
“That’ll mean flying in the dark, which is okay with me, but…” He met her worried gaze.
The distant sound of thunder ripped over the mountain peaks. She gnawed her lower lip. “Can’t we just stay here until morning?”
“There’s no running water, no electricity. None of the amenities you’re used to.” Not to mention just one bed. The thought of holding her in his arms all night thrilled him and freaked him out at the same time. The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her. The more he liked her, the tighter his heart squeezed in his chest. He didn’t know if he should run with that feeling, or run away.
She looked to the sky again. “I really don’t want to fly in this. Flying in nice weather was bad enough.” Her brows furrowed, and her lips thinned. “I’m sorry, Zach. I know I’m a wuss about this. But-”
He held up his hand. “No apology necessary. We’ll stay. I wasn’t ready to leave yet either.”
Her smile lit up the darkening skies. “Thank you.”
He shrugged off her thanks, not minding in the slightest that he was going to be holed up in a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere with a woman whose beauty rivaled their surroundings.
He would just ignore the little voice in
his head telling him to run for the hills.
*****
A chill settled over the pristine valley, and Audrey wished she’d brought something warmer to wear.
She stood beside the cabin and watched Zach gather a stack of firewood. Rubbing her arms and feeling goose bumps, she asked, “Won’t your family be worried when we don’t show up?”
“I radioed the airport and told them of our situation. If the family gets worried, they’ll call the tower. Besides, it’s not like I can’t take care of myself.”
“Can I help?” She motioned to the firewood.
He shook his head. “You’ll scratch your arms.”
“So will you.”
He met her gaze. “Ava Divine wants to carry firewood.” One corner of his mouth turned upward, as if he couldn’t decide whether to smile or frown. Guilt nagged Audrey’s conscience. He shook his head. “Thanks, though,” he said.
“In all the time you’ve known me,” she asked, knowing she had to tread cautiously, “have I really come across as so helpless?”
He straightened with his load of firewood. “In some ways.”
“Are most of the women you date helpless?”
“In the ways I think we’re talking about, yes.”
“Do you find that attractive in a woman?”
She held the door for him, and he paused to shoot her a long look. “I find you attractive, dollface.” He kissed her on the mouth before brushing past her into the tiny cabin. “I think everyone should do what they’re capable of, and not always rely on others to do it for them.”
“Well then, I can certainly carry firewood. I’ve even been known to start a fire or two in my fireplace at home.”
He dumped the logs next to the wood stove, then began stacking them. “Two days ago, that would have shocked the hell out of me. But now-” He grinned at her.
She grinned back. “You know, it sounds to me like you need to find a new place to meet women. Most of my girlfriends can carry firewood, too. Then there is, um, my sister, who insists on heating her entire house with her wood stove each winter rather than turning on the heat, because she thinks it’s cozy and romantic.” She forced herself to breathe normally, as if she didn’t care one way or another how he reacted to a glimpse of her true self.
“Imagine that,” he said without looking at her.
“She actually went into the hills with a friend to cut her own firewood last fall.”
Zach brushed his hands off on his jeans, then squatted in front of the fireplace and began piling twigs and kindling. “Your sister sounds like quite the trooper.”
Not quite the romantic description Audrey would have liked. “She is. She’d love this place, too. She’s a nature girl.”
He didn’t respond as he stacked logs atop the kindling, and lit the stack with a long matchstick.
Audrey watched him a moment longer before grabbing their empty water container and heading outside. As she knelt beside the stream and scooped up some clear water, she couldn’t help thinking that her Audrey-self and Zach seemed to have a lot in common. Maybe she was too self-sufficient for him. He might say he wanted a woman who could do things for herself, but when it came right down to it…
She wondered if Zach really even knew what he was looking for. He’d been handed his life on a silver platter. He had more than enough money to buy whatever he wanted, yet something seemed to be missing from his life.
She’d have liked to think it was her.
Giving herself a mental shake, she headed back into the cabin. Zach stood before a blazing fire, hands on hips, the amber light casting the front of his body in bronze and gold. He glanced at the water container in her hands. “What’s that for?”
“I saw some packets of hot cocoa on the shelf. Doesn’t a warm drink sound yummy?”
He grinned, the firelight dancing off his jet-black hair. “As a matter of fact, it does.” His gaze raked her body, stopping at her chest.
She didn’t need to look down to know her nipples strained against the white cotton shirt. They were still tender from their lovemaking beside the creek. The soft material had been chafing against the sensitive peaks for the past couple of hours. “I’ll, uh, see to the cocoa.”
She busied herself with the thoughtless tasks of cleaning the teakettle and mugs, and hunting down a spoon.
A few minutes later, the kettle whistled. She poured the hot water into the waiting mugs and stirred in the cocoa powder, the sweet chocolate scent mingling with the smell of woodsmoke. With mugs in each hand and a couple of granola bars under one arm, she headed to the fireplace, where Zach had scooted the chairs from the table.
“Here you go,” she said, handing him the drink and snack.
She shivered as she sat down and took a sip of hot chocolate. The fire popped and crackled in front of her. “Mmm. I was getting cold.” She stretched her feet toward the warm flames.
Zach set his cup on the table and stood. He returned with a quilt from the bed. “Here,” he said, wrapping it around her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t think of this earlier. You’re probably freezing.”
As he sat next to her, she said, “I have two working feet. I could have gotten it myself.”
He sipped his drink, the steam rising above the mug and shielding his face. “Touché, Miss Divine,” he said, lifting the mug in a mock salute.
As the sun finished setting behind the mountains around the cabin, the last vestiges of light faded from the small room, save the flickering firelight.
Audrey stifled a yawn with the back of her wrist. “What time is it?”
He tilted his watch toward the fire. “A little past ten.”
Together, they put clean sheets on the bed and covered it with the thick quilts. Zach had some clothes hidden in the cabin, so he lent her one of his Tshirts for sleeping. When he went outside to visit Mother Nature’s little boys’ room, she quickly shed her clothes, slipped his shirt over her head, then jumped into the bed. She’d no sooner pulled the quilt up to her chin when he reentered the cabin.
He added more wood to the fire, then approached the edge of the bed. He stripped off his shirt. Even in the dim light, his body stunned her, all angles and planes, muscle and bone. Not an ounce of flab. She resisted the urge to lick her lips, turning her head away instead.
“You’re either nervous, or cold,” he said quietly.
“Actually,” she cleared her throat, “I’m both.”
Silence pervaded the cabin. Finally, he said, “Actually…I’m both, too.”
She met his gaze in the dim firelight. “It’s not like we haven’t-like we’ve never…” Man, she couldn’t even get out a complete sentence.
Zach sat on the edge of the mattress. “Sharing a bed is probably the most intimate act between a man and a woman. You’re completely vulnerable when you’re asleep. You have to really trust the person you’re with.”
She stared up at the dark ceiling as rain began to batter the roof of the tiny cabin. “I want you to trust me, Zach.”
“I do trust you, dollface.”
“No, you don’t. Not completely.” She rolled onto her side and propped herself onto an elbow. “But I know what would help.”
“What?”
“You have to get naked first.”
A slow grin moved across his face. “I like the way you think, Miss Divine.” He stripped off his jeans, revealing his growing erection.
“Now lie down in the middle of the bed.” She climbed off the mattress to make room. He started to pull the quilt over his body, but she stopped him.
“Sweetheart, cold air does disastrous things to a man.”
She grinned, and crossed the room to the shelves on the opposite wall. “So I’ve heard,” she called over her shoulder. “Lucky for you, you have a lot to work with.”
“Thank you for that.” He chuckled.
She scanned the shelves, and found what she’d seen when she’d first come into the cabin this afternoon.
“What ar
e you doing way over there?” he asked, his voice playful and pouty.
“Good things come to those who wait,” she said. She stalked toward the bed.
When he saw the rope in her hands, he shook his head and sat up. “Sweetheart, I don’t trust anyone that much.”
“Please, Zach,” she said in a soft voice as she knelt on the bed. “I really need you to trust me.”
Something in her voice made him believe her, despite all the warning bells in his head. He realized he’d rather face his demons than hurt her with a refusal. When she pushed at his chest, he obeyed and lay back down.
She reached for one of his hands, holding it up to her face and drawing each finger into her mouth one at a time, all the while not breaking his gaze. The gentle suction of her lips around his digits had him growing harder by the second. She stretched his arm over his head, and tied his wrist to the bedpost. She followed the same sexy routine with his other hand. The moment both his wrists were bound, adrenaline and something else-anxiety?-shot through his body. He tugged against the restraints, and found her knots solid.
“Ava…” His voice was strained.
She leaned over him, her long hair tickling his face as she kissed him long and deep. “Trust me,” she whispered against his lips.
He hated not being able to wrap his arms around her. She left his mouth, and trailed hot kisses across his jaw and down his neck. Her tongue swirled around one of his nipples, pebbling it immediately, then she moved to the other. He gasped as her teeth bit gently into the sensitive skin.
“Ava.”
“Shh,” she murmured, moving lower. Her tongue dipped into his belly button, and he lifted his hips in response. She giggled. “My, you’re sensitive, Mr. Banister. And I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”
The good part pointed straight in the air as she approached it. She kissed against his pubic hair. She kissed and licked around the base of his shaft, reaching between his legs and fondling his balls as she moved down to his thighs.
She reached his foot and started to wrap the rope around his ankle.
“No. Tying my arms is one thing, but-” His words cut off when she took him into her mouth. God.
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 132
