Warm moisture dampened his chest. She was crying.
“Ahhh…baby, don’t cry.” Her tears were ripping his heart out. The darkness stole his ability to see if they were happy or sad tears. “I just want a chance to make things right. Will you give me that chance?”
Her voice was tight as she choked, “I don’t know if I can.” A knot of emotion formed in his throat. Then she said, “Just hold me for tonight.”
Relief washed over him. She hadn’t given him the answer he wanted, but at least she didn’t kick him out of her bed. He had the rest of the weekend to convince her of his love. He kissed her lips softly and then held her as though he’d never let her go.
Chapter Fourteen
Nice. Oh so nice. Zoë moaned deep and long, stretching to feel the aches and pains of yesterday’s events attempting to steal the delightful tingle shooting up her pussy. Morning light filtered through the trailer’s bedroom window. She squinted, noticing the pillow next to her was bare, but the sheet draped across her body tented at her hips. She couldn’t stop the smile that engulfed her as she stripped away the covering to unveil Drew positioned between her legs.
He looked up through dark, sexy eyelashes and licked his lips. The sensual act sent chills racing up her spine. Her pulse did double time. There was something about this man that made her lose all control. Especially positioned where he was with an expression that promised more of last night’s loving.
“Good morning.” His palms were on her thighs, massaging gently. She stifled the girlish giggle building inside her. “Good morning.” This was what she had dreamed of so many times, waking beside Drew. Well, not actually beside him. This was even better.
Eyes locked on one another, he dipped his head, licking a path along her folds. She gasped as the cool air met her now wet flesh. “Mmmm…” he hummed, the vibration setting her blood simmering. “You taste and smell so good.” He took a deep breath, pure ecstasy across his face.
Without a second thought, Zoë reached out and touched his cheek, smoothing her hand across his morning stumble. He had the bad-boy persona down pat as he greeted her with another roguish grin. It was his wildness that had attracted her from the beginning—and still made her weak in the knees each time she looked at him. Yet he had changed. Three years ago he had never professed his love nor would his words have been so heartfelt as they were last night. Could she believe him—should she?
Zoë might be crazy, but her mind was made up. If they couldn’t work things out, she’d take all she could get this weekend. Only a fool would pass up this chance. The selfish need to believe he wanted her was too overpowering to resist. “Don’t let me stop you.” She widened her legs and invited him to continue.
Gentle kisses fell on the inside of her thighs while he caressed her pubic hair softly. “Beautiful,” he whispered.
She felt beautiful this morning. Hell, he had always made her feel beautiful. From their first meeting he had looked at her as if he could eat her up—and now he was. Just the knowledge of what was to come made her breasts swell and her nipples grow taut. Moisture dampened her thighs. She couldn’t wait for the moment his lips touched her aching flesh.
A large finger pushed between her folds, causing her thighs to part further. It felt good as he pumped in and out of her sex.
“You’re so wet. Slick.” He extracted his finger and traced it along her slit and circled her clit before he entered her again. As he leisurely finger-fucked her, he nibbled and licked on the outer and inner lips of her sex. When he lightly flicked his tongue back and forth, barely touching her clit, she released a whimper of need. Heat coiled low in her belly. The spring drew tighter the closer he licked toward the sensitive bundle of nerves. A featherlight touch followed by a much harder sweep of his tongue, he varied his strokes to tease and build her arousal. As he lubricated the area with his saliva, he breathed warm puffs of air.
Zoe threaded her fingers through his hair. She loved the silkiness gliding across her thighs. Her hips rose and fell, meeting both the rhythm of his finger and tongue. Slowly, he drew the tip of her clit into his hot, wet mouth and sucked. She firmed her grip on his head, holding him to her as the slightest of spasms began to ignite, popping like fireworks. He must have sensed her oncoming excitement because he buried his face and growled, suckling and slurping with obvious pleasure.
Her body began to burn, the heat to rise. It felt if she couldn’t widen her legs far enough, his finger couldn’t get deep enough or move fast enough to outrun the blaze spiraling up her channel. The urgency with which she moved beneath him heightened his pace. His muffled growls were driving her wild.
All of a sudden, he extracted his finger. His warm wet digit circled her rosebud, once, twice.
God, it was amazing. She had never allowed anyone to take her there. Yet it felt so natural with Drew.
The pressure he exerted increased, little by little. Unconsciously, she pushed against his finger, wanting—needing. When he slipped inside her tight entrance, stars burst behind her eyelids. The pain was bittersweet, clashing with her explosive orgasm. It was a maelstrom of sensations racing in all directions. Fingers, toes, it was everywhere all at once. Then his lips closed around her clit and he began to suck, setting off yet another series of strong contractions.
“Drew,” she screamed. Her fingers curled in his hair. The sharp burn in her ass blended with the constrictions of her womb. It could only be described as euphoria. A throaty, sated groan pushed from her mouth. She had never felt anything so stimulating. It left her breathless.
Zoë’s heart raced. Her body a throbbing pulse as he rose on his palms with a thoroughly pleased expression on his face. Slowly his gaze burned a path up her length until their eyes met.
“I can’t wait to fuck your ass.” She swallowed hard with his admission. Just the thought made her ass pucker and her blood pressure soar. “Feel you tight around my dick.” His voice dropped an octave. He pushed to a kneeling position and then rested his butt on his calves. His fingers wrapped around his hard erection. He slid his palm up and down. “Come here.”
Damn. He was hot. The look in his dark eyes, the way the muscles in his arm flexed as he masturbated made her ache to lie there and watch him pleasure himself. Instead, she gathered her knees beneath her and awkwardly moved before him. He released himself, reached out, spearing a hand through her hair to cup the nape of her neck. With a jerk he pulled her to his lips.
His kiss was hungry, demanding. There was no gentleness in his touch. Their teeth meshed, tongues dueled. She tasted herself and felt a flush of heat surface. The intensity with which he ravished her mouth made her lightheaded. Chest to chest, she wrapped her arms around him, hardly noticing that he had moved his hands down her body and raised her so she hovered above his legs. Slowly he eased her down, his cock separating her folds. Each glorious inch of him filled her until he was buried deep within.
The remnants of her orgasm remained, leaving her feeling weak, vulnerable. She barely withheld the words, “I love you,” as he rocked her back and forth.
“I missed you, baby.” He slanted his mouth over hers again, but the kiss was brief as his lips found other places to caress—her earlobe, her neck and the hollow of her shoulder blade. His hands moved across her skin almost as if he were memorizing every curve and mound. He left no place untouched and then he grasped her hips bringing her down hard.
“Yes,” Zoë moaned, as he struck a particularly sensitive spot and every muscle inside her drew taut. Her nipples began to sting, her breasts heavy with need. “Fuck me hard,” she begged, wanting all of him in the most primitive of ways. The loss of inhibition with nothing standing between them was what she craved.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice was coarse like sandpaper. He held her braced against his hips, his fingertips vibrating against her skin. She felt his cock throb. Knew he was close.
It was true she was sore, but the sweet pain he offered was worth it. “You won’t and I need you, now.�
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A low rumble began in his throat as he maneuvered her off his lap and turned her so she rested on her hands and knees on the bed. Perched behind her, he thrust once, entering her so deeply she screamed, “Yes.”
A shiver raked her spine. This was what she wanted—needed. Zoë let her elbows collapse so that she could rest her head on the pillow before her. She raised her ass to enhance his caress. Hands on her hips, he rocked her back and forth, slamming into her so they came together creating a raw, fleshy sound that did more than thrill her. She hungered for it. It must have had the same effect on him, as the urgency of his movements increased along with his breathing. The scent of their lovemaking was thick in the air. There was nothing that existed except the two of them.
She glanced over her shoulder. Drew’s gaze was pinpointed on her ass, watching his cock slide in and out of her pussy. He made a hissing sound as he sucked air through clenched teeth. She loved the intensity of his stare. The way he arched back and then thrust vigorously.
“Fuck,” Drew rasped, as his trembling hand found her clit. With a single pinch her world shattered. While her womb contracted rhythmically, spasms moved in waves toward her cervix, his fingers dug into her hips and he went rigid. Her body was ablaze, lost to sensation as they tumbled into heaven together. In that spectacular moment, she was complete. For once she didn’t have a care in the world. Her mind and body were finally at peace.
Drew couldn’t remember ever being this sated. He sat up and reached for a wetwipe off her nightstand and wiped his hands before settling back beside her. Blissfully, he rolled to his back, pulling Zoë atop him. In silence they lay wrapped in each other’s arms. He brushed back her long hair and kissed her neck. She was so beautiful and damned if the woman didn’t taste sweet. Her essence still lingered on his tongue. He could smell her on his face.
“How about we head for Phoenix today?” He didn’t want to share her with anyone. Locked in a quiet hotel room with Zoë was something that really appealed to him. It would also keep her safe until they could address the problem at hand.
She jerked out of his arms moving off him. “What?” He didn’t miss the surprise in her voice. A frown pulled her brows together. He could almost see her bristle.
“I just thought maybe we could go to my apartment.” He tried to pull her back into his embrace, but her resistance made him withdraw.
“I don’t need a keeper,” she snapped. The pretty flush of her orgasm turned to red-hot resentment. This was not the way he wanted to end this morning’s loving.
“Baby, no one said you did.” He smoothed a palm up her arm. “If you want to stay, we’ll stay. I just thought—”
“That you’d keep me safe—off my bike?” she interjected sharply. “Wasn’t that your and Josh’s plan?”
Well, she had him there. A lie would only hurt the progress he had made with her so far. Instead he chose to toss a question back at her. “What’s going on here?” He sat up, coming face-to-face with her. “Why is it that your employer is so concerned? Why do you feel the need to take so many chances?”
“Just because I take risks doesn’t mean I have a death wish.” She swiped her hand across her face, pushing an errant curl out of her eyes. She nibbled on her bottom lip. He took it as a good sign that she fought to keep control of her temper. “You have to trust me that I know what I’m doing.” Drew wished he could, but he had seen firsthand her unsafe behavior. “I’m good,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s not just me boasting, but the truth.”
Her expression went thoughtful. “There’s a rhythm to a bike, almost a camaraderie between us—we’re one. I can’t explain it.” She paused, staring at him, but giving him the feeling she looked through him. “It just is,” she concluded before her eyes brightened and he felt she really saw him. “I know when the moment is right. I feel it in my bones. There’s nothing like the escalation of pushing the limits.” She released a blissful sigh as if for a moment she had been soaring through the air or challenging a mountain.
“Dammit, Zoë.” He grabbed her by the arms and held them out before her. “How do you explain the scars over your beautiful body?” Road rash was sure to blame for the discoloration of spots on her arms and shoulders. Not to mention the obvious scars left by stitches. He couldn’t forget the bruises and raspberry spots left from the yesterday’s accident, an accident that had two men in the hospital. A shiver slid up his spine with the thought that the outcome could have been much worse for Zoë. She could have broken her fucking neck.
Zoë broke eye contact, looked away. “Risk doesn’t come without some kind of payment.”
He wasn’t letting her off that easily. He released her arms and caught her chin between his index finger and thumb, guiding her attention back to him. He raised a brow.
“Okay.” She released an exasperated breath. “Yes. Sometimes—maybe—I go beyond the limits. Sometimes I feel as if I can’t help myself, but it’s always ended fine. I’ll be just fine.”
He knew they couldn’t get to the root of the issue now. Getting her angry wasn’t going to help either. “Is it wrong to worry about you, Zoë?”
She reached out and stroked his cheek. “No, but don’t try to suffocate me. I’ve been too long on my own for a man to start riding roughshod over me. I won’t have it. And I won’t give up riding. It’s who I am. I love it,” she said with so much passion that he knew it was true.
What a quandary. Drew speared his fingers through his hair. Zoë was an adult. He had no hold on her. The woman she had become was complex. He’d already seen what playing the overprotective he-man had accomplished—absolutely nothing, but pissed her off. So he said the only thing he could. “Promise me you’ll think before you do anything dangerous.”
“What’s the fun in that?” she asked making his gut clench until she smiled and leaned in to brush a kiss across his lips. “I’m kidding. Yes. I’ll think before acting. Now what do you say we get dress and see what Josh is cooking? I think I smell sausage.”
Drew got the message loud and clear—conversation over.
Except for the bruises and scars that marred Zoë’s body, she was gorgeous scooting off the bed. There was such confidence in her stride as she went to her closet and pulled out a riding ensemble like the red one she wore the first day. Obviously, she intended to ride. Drew sighed as he got to his feet and moved toward his clothes lying on the floor. Guess he couldn’t ask more than her promise to be careful. Of course, he would be right there with her, because he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
Chapter Fifteen
The musty scent of dirt filled the air as a quad raced by Zoë, spraying gritty sand from its back tires. A cloud of dust engulfed her along with the irritation that she wasn’t creating the haze. She never rode at the back of the pack. But today was different. Josh rode on one side of her quad, Drew on the other. They had her boxed in at a subdued pace as they cut through the Dunes. The gentle swells they guided her over made her think of a carnival ride, controlled and safe.
Talk about having your wings clipped. The need for speed crawled across her nerve endings, making her teeth clench. Great. Now she had a mouthful of dirt. She spat the nasty taste from her mouth. She knew the boys meant well, but this wasn’t who she was. She didn’t do casual riding—it was no less than balls to the wall for her. Her need for an adrenaline rush could almost be described as a junkie needing a fix. Zoë felt like she was itching to climb out of her skin.
When she sped up, so did Josh and Drew. Their proximately made it difficult to maneuver without taking a chance of running into them. No way could they be having fun. Fun was tackling the tallest mountain, soaring over a cliff, leading the crowd or racing. This was child’s play and she’d had enough.
Zoë gassed it and they followed suit. The roar of the engine was something that had always turned her on. She couldn’t explain it, but perhaps it was the vibration filtering through her body, between her legs. Josh and Drew weren’t expecting her sudden slow do
wn as they rushed past her. Both of them cut the gas at the same time, snapping their hooded gazes back at her. Immediately, she made a sharp turn and headed in a different direction. They made no hesitation in making an about-face, but now she determined the pace and decided where they would go.
Covered from head to toe in her red riding gear, gloves, helmet and goggles, the cool breeze caressed only her bare neck and cheeks. She felt free, invincible as she left the ground and caught air. It was an awesome feeling. She controlled the three hundred pounds of metal beneath her that landed and continued to rip through the sand. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Josh take the jump and then Drew. Both made a solid landing that made her smile. They were ready to try something a little more challenging. Perhaps it was time for China Wall.
There was always approximately two hundred feet between her and Josh and Drew as she raced up and down one mountain of sand and then the next. She rode hell-bent, cutting grooves in the sand, loving the high arc the sand made diffusing from beneath her back tires. She didn’t stop until she came to an enormous swell of sand. Quads, bikes, rails, Rhinos, and even a truck or two aligned the base of the peak. A rider on a 250 Honda CR was trying to climb it.
As Zoë pulled her goggles and helmet off she murmured, “Not enough speed. Wrong gear. He isn’t going to make it.” She called it right. His engine choked as he tried to switch gears, and his bike began to lose traction, slowly slipping back down the mountain.
Josh and Drew pulled up next to her. If the concern looks they shared as they removed their helmets and goggles meant anything, they weren’t happy with her. Oh well.
As a quad approached the steep incline, she grumbled, “You’re sitting too far back.” In disbelief, she watched him jerk back on the handlebars. “Wrong thing to do, buddy. Argh…” Everyone gasped as the quad flipped backward, thankfully tossing the rider aside and out of harm’s way. In a dramatic roll both quad and rider tumbled head over heels down the mountainside. She prayed both stayed on their separate paths and didn’t meet. When they finally came to a stop, several men quickly made their way to the rider, while others to the quad. When the rider rose and began to walk, she inhaled a breath of relief. “Stupid sonofabitch. That could have been nasty.”
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