But not anymore.
The shackles were off. Just the idea that he was going to share this secret with her made him lighter. They continued down the path and veered right at the pond where a small cottage with a lone porch swing sat idle in the sunset.
They walked up the path, and he gestured to the swing. He wanted to do this out here. Once he brought her inside, the only talking he wanted to do was dirty talk.
She sat down, and he paced the length of the cozy porch, collecting his thoughts. He looked up and found her watching him. Those intelligent gray-blue eyes taking him in. Owning him. Trusting him. She’d taken one hell of a leap marrying him. It was time to own up to his promise.
“I told you Kara had found my journal.”
Zoe nodded, letting him speak.
“What she read was a letter I’d penned to her. I was going to leave her to be with you. I promised I’d help her raise the baby—provide for them financially and be a real father to the child. But I couldn’t stay married to her. Not when my heart belonged to you. I was going to talk to my uncle and see about getting a divorce or an annulment. I didn’t know what you’d think of the whole situation of me having a wife and a baby. I just had this feeling we could make it through.”
“Then it all went sideways,” she said.
He nodded. “Yeah. She came inside the house screaming and waving my journal. She grabbed my keys then took her own and left in her car. I couldn’t go after her on foot, so I ran to the main house. Conrad was there. I told him what had happened. I told him what she’d read and that she’d taken off. I saw something really terrifying in his eyes. You see, it turns out that their dad—the judge—had tried to leave their mom when Conrad and Kara were young. She was pregnant at the time, too. She’d gone and jumped off a bridge right after he confessed that he was leaving her for another woman. Conrad shared all this on our drive to the bridge.”
Zoe pressed her hand to her heart. “Oh, Sam.”
“I didn’t know any of this, Z. I knew Kara’s mom had passed when she was younger, but she’d told me her mother had died in her sleep of a heart attack—a health condition she didn’t know she’d had. But that wasn’t the truth. As soon as I told Conrad what she’d read, it was like he knew what she’d do.”
Zoe patted the spot next to her on the swing. “I hate that you had to carry that on your own.”
He joined her, and they swayed back and forth, the rhythm as calming now as when they used to swing side by side as kids. He released a tight breath. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. At first, I just didn’t want any of this craziness to touch you. I was worried you’d feel some sort of responsibility or feel like you played some unscripted part in Kara’s death.”
She took his hand. “I also didn’t let you talk when you found me in the hospital’s parking lot. I knew you had something you needed to say, but I wouldn’t listen to you.”
He shook his head. “No, I could have found a time to tell you. But then, I was so scared I’d lose you. When you came back to Langley Park after your sister-in-law’s death, at least, I had you as my friend. Over time, I felt trapped, like I couldn’t do the right thing no matter what happened. I didn’t want you to feel any guilt or pain over Kara and the baby’s death, but I knew I was hurting you by keeping you at arm’s length.”
“Look at me, Sam.”
He lifted his chin. He’d been staring at the ring on her hand.
“You are the kindest man I know. You have spent a lifetime putting others’ needs above your own.”
“But what about your needs, Z?”
She gazed out at the sunset. “I’ve learned quite a bit about life being a reporter. I’ve seen people at their best and people at their worst. I’ve met a lot of people in difficult circumstances. Life often gives you pretty shitty choices. People are forced to pick between terrible alternatives. But there’s one thing that separates the good people from the bad—and that’s intent.” She turned and held his gaze, those gray-blue eyes soothing him. “You never intended for Kara to do what she did. You tried to do right by her. You’d never abandon your child. You’re not your mother. You aren’t, Sam. Kara trapped you in a terrible situation. You did the best you could.”
“Still, I should have trusted in you, Z. I should have trusted your strength. I was just too weak. Too scared of losing you. Too scared of hurting you more than I already had.”
“You are not weak, Sam. Does it break my heart that you lost a child? Yes. But what hurts even more is that you had to carry the pain all on your own. From this moment on, whatever life throws at us, we carry it together.”
He cupped her face in his hand. “How did I ever get lucky enough to have you as my wife?”
She smiled as a lone tear trailed down her cheek. “I really have a thing for giant redheaded cock muppets, and I never have and never will love anyone the way I love you.”
That was it. The absolution. The pardon. The acceptance. The forgiveness.
There was the love he’d known had been there all along but had been too damned scared to risk losing. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, and she melted into his kiss just as she had the first time their lips had met, warm and cozy in her bed. All it took was one sweet sigh, and he was rock hard. He lifted her onto his lap, and she straddled him. He gripped her ass, and she pressed her breasts into his chest, swiveling her hips and rubbing against his hard length, their bodies falling back into the sensual rhythm they’d never forgotten.
He reached under her sweater and palmed one sweet breast. He applied pressure to her nipple, and she bucked her hips. It was as if no time had passed. The first time they’d made love hadn’t felt like the first time. Even back then, he’d known her heart. He’d known her body. And now? He’d spent the last five years memorizing everything about her. She was his every fantasy. He’d imagined every touch, every lick, every thrust. He could have died a happy man, dry humping on a porch swing, but they had an entire cottage to themselves, and he had years’ worth of pent up desire to unleash on her body.
He came to his feet with her still in his arms. “Where’s the key?”
“Pocket,” she breathed, kissing a trail to his earlobe.
A rush of warmth filled his chest, remembering that first night he’d carried her inside her parents’ place. Except now, he wasn’t carrying his friend’s little sister he’d been tasked with keeping an eye on. He was carrying his wife, and he didn’t need to feel any guilt over every filthy, delicious thing he wanted to do to her. Nope, she was his, and he was hers, and not a damn thing could come between them.
He fished the key out of her pocket. “Do you remember those little jean shorts you had on the first night?”
She took his earlobe between her teeth, and he sucked in a tight breath. “Yeah, I know the ones you’re talking about,” she purred.
“Do you still have them?”
She smiled against his neck. “They’re in my dresser at my parents’ place. Why?”
“We’re getting those shorts the minute we get back to Langley Park,” he growled, pressing her back against the door.
She met his gaze. “The boots are still there, too.”
He tightened his grip on her ass. “Christ! I love you, Z.”
“Open the door, husband,” she whispered. “I’ve got something on beneath my clothes that I think you’ll like.”
She didn’t need to say that twice. He’d love her in a potato sack. But the naughty glint in her eyes told him not to expect burlap. He unlocked the door, banged it shut behind them, and pressed her back against the wall, peppering her neck with nips and kisses. It was dark inside the cabin. He patted the wall, looking for a light switch. He wanted to take in every inch of her. After a moment, his hand hit a switch, and he flicked it on.
“Holy shit, Sam! Look at this place!”
He turned his head and nearly dropped his wife. He’d never seen a honeymoon suite before. But this place looked part love shack and part horror movie.
A giant heart-shaped bed sat in the corner of the main room. The walls, painted blood red, were affixed with chains and shackles. A stripper pole gleamed in the light next to a table covered in some of the scariest looking sex toys he’d ever seen.
He shrugged. “At least we’re getting to use it before the Cobbledicks.”
He set her down, and she walked over to the stripper pole. “We can’t say our wedding night won’t be memorable.”
“I plan on making this one of the most memorable nights of your life.”
She ran her hand down the pole. “I have a little experience with this. Jenna dragged me to one of these places.”
“A strip club?” he asked, completely blown away. Ben’s wife, a reading teacher and a rather prim and proper gal, did not seem like the type to be tucking dollar bills into G-strings.
Zoe hooked her leg around the pole. “No, a pole dance fitness class.”
“A stripper exercise class?”
She slid down the pole. “No! Well, yes, sort of. It’s quite a workout. Making this look good isn’t easy.”
He wished he’d brought his wallet. “You’re making it look easy.”
“I’ve only gone to a few classes with her.”
“How did I not know you were taking stripper classes?”
Zoe hooked her leg around the pole and leaned back, meeting his gaze upside down. “A woman needs to have a few secrets.”
He nodded. The connection between his brain and his mouth didn’t seem to be working.
She gripped the pole. “I know a few moves. Do you want to see them?”
Another nod.
She gestured to her yoga pants and fleece jacket. “All these clothes make it hard.”
“You should definitely take them off,” he suggested. Thank fuck his brain was working again—especially since all the blood was rushing to his cock.
She unzipped the fleece, tossed it onto the floor, and revealed a red lacy bra. A rush of heat went straight to his cock.
But she wasn’t done.
Inch by inch, she slid her yoga pants down her legs, uncovering the sexiest G-string he’d ever seen. She kicked the pants over to join the fleece and did another spin on the pole.
That was it. He officially had no blood traveling to his brain. His cock had taken over this ship and wasn’t relinquishing control anytime soon.
She gave him a sexy smile. “Here’s how it works. Up on your tiptoes. Hold the pole with your dominant hand.”
“I knew that.”
“Oh, yeah? You’re a pole dance fitness expert?” she teased.
“No, I know you’re right-handed. When I fantasize about you, that’s the hand you always use on me.”
She traced her fingertips down the pole. “You don’t have to imagine this anymore.”
His breaths came in tight gasps. How the hell was he going to make it through this lesson?
She gripped the pole, took a few steps, and started spinning. Clad in the sexiest lingerie he’d ever seen, he undid his pants and took his cock into his hand.
“Sir,” she said with a purr and another backward glance. “That kind of behavior is reserved for the Champagne Room.”
“Do they have a Champagne Room at your class?”
“No, I’m just going with this whole seduction stripper thing. How am I doing?”
“I’m about to explode here—so I’d say you’re nailing it.”
She did another turn. This time, spreading her legs into a wide V as she worked her way down the pole.
That was it. If her sexy stripper show went on one second longer, he was going to lose it. He closed the distance between them and ran his finger across her collarbone. “We need to get to this Champagne Room right now.”
“You look like a big spender, mister…”
“Stein. I’m Mr. Zoe fucking Stein.”
She giggled. “Hell, yes, you are.”
He’d never tire of that glint in her eyes. Baiting him. Challenging him. He wrapped his hands around her slim waist and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with a hunger he knew all too well.
He carried her to the bed and laid her body on the silky surface. She bit her lip as he traced a finger down her stomach and hooked it into the band of the tiny scrap of fabric posing as underwear. “You look like Christmas.”
“I wondered why I needed to give my measurements when I signed up. Turns out, lingerie and the little sex toy party you guys walked in on is part of the retreat. This little number and that giant glass cock are both coming home with us.”
His cock twitched. “We’re going to hit all the retreats. All the time.”
Another sweet giggle. “Is that so you can add to your glass sex toy collection?”
He whipped his sweatshirt over his head, pulled off his pants and boxers, then climbed onto the bed. “On second thought, I think we’re pretty good in the attraction department. I don’t think we need Intimacy Now retreats to help us reach our peak sexual plateau.”
“Fancy talk, Mr. Stein. How are we going to do that?”
He kissed a line from her earlobe down her body and settled between her thighs. “I thought I’d start here,” he said, removing her G-string.
“That’s a great place to start,” she gasped as he ran his tongue over her delicate folds.
So fucking sweet. Her arousal coated her core, and he licked every drop before gripping her ass and going to work. Zoe came up onto her elbows, her gaze meeting his as he set a pace licking and sucking her most sensitive place. There was nothing hotter than watching his wife bite her lip and moan with pleasure. She was utter perfection, and she was all his.
“Yes, Sam!” she breathed.
He slid a finger inside her wet heat, sending her over the edge. Her body bucked against him, riding wave after wave of pleasure. After he’d tasted every drop of her pleasure, he met her gaze and licked his lips. With a sated gaze, she ran her hand through his hair then twisted the locks and pulled. The sensation went straight to his cock, aching with desire.
“Kiss me,” she said, guiding him up the length of her body.
With her taste still on his tongue, their mouths met in a heated exchange of wanton need. She reached down and took him into her hands, stroking him slowly. “I think I like this one better than the one I held when I married you.”
He smiled against her lips. “Did you…”
“Use it,” she supplied, tracing her tongue across the seam of his lips. “No, not yet. All I want is this.” She stroked him harder.
Just how he liked it.
But this night wasn’t about to end with a hand job.
Gently, he stopped her, taking her wrist and pinning it above her head. “And all I want is this,” he said, thrusting his cock inside her. She was on the pill. He knew that. He’d seen the small case in her bathroom, and he wanted her bare, just like he’d had her when they’d made love in Lake Boley.
She arched into him, and he pinned her other wrist above her head. Her breasts had come free of the lacy demi-cup. Her nipples were tight from arousal, perfect pearls atop her luscious breasts. He pulled back and thrust again, watching her breasts bounce as he drove into her over and over, pumping and thrusting.
He increased his pace. “I’ve never forgotten the way you feel. We fit together perfectly, Z. You’re my perfect match in every way. You’re my perfect everything.”
She licked her lips, watching him, eyes dark with desire. He kept her slim wrists above her head with one hand as his other skimmed down her body and gripped her hip. She gasped, and her gaze moved past him, then her eyes went wide.
He looked up. Of course, this place had a mirror on the ceiling. He watched himself fuck her, muscles tightening and rippling as he moved above her, grinding and pumping. Her legs wrapped around him. Her breasts bobbed with each movement. They were glorious, but the real show was beneath him. He released her wrists and pressed his thumb between her thighs, finding her sensitive bundle of nerves
, slick with her arousal.
“Sam it’s…” she moaned.
“It’s us. It’s everything. It’s forever, Z,” he growled, voice strained from exertion.
She called out, body tensing, gaze glued to the mirror. She liked watching. What a fucking insane turn on! He doubled his pace, so close but also hell-bent on wringing out every drop of pleasure.
She threaded her fingers with his. “Yes!”
He couldn’t hold back. He had to join her. With another series of hard pumps that had the bed springs creaking and the headboard banging against the wall, he found his release. In a rush of lust and all-consuming love, he met his orgasm like a tornado meeting a tidal wave. Heat surged through him as their sweat-slick bodies moved in perfect harmony. He cupped her face, catching her gaze, sharing this moment, this unspoken promise that they’d always be the only one for each other.
“It all starts now, Zoe,” he breathed, brushing a few loose strands of hair from her forehead.
She cupped his cheek. “What starts now?”
“Our lives together. Our story. A new chapter starts today. A chapter where I show you how much I love you and start worshipping this amazing body every day for the rest of our lives.”
She gave him a sweet smile. “How could a girl say no to that?”
He gazed into her eyes, and he was home. From this day forward, he’d wake up to these eyes, the same gray-blue eyes of the girl he’d loved his entire life.
15
Zoe stroked Sam’s cheek. Warm and safe in his embrace, she stared at his beautiful face. How many nights had she gone to sleep with the image of his easy smile floating through her mind as she hovered on the cusp of consciousness? Too many to count. She ran her fingertips over the hard plane of his abs, and a rush of heat went straight to her most sensitive place. Everything about this man was big and hard and strong.
The Complete Langley Park Series (Books 1-5) Page 122
