17. Chapter 17 – Zach #2
“Yes.” Her expression was fierce with need that echoed my own.
I hoisted her higher, penguin-walking my way into her bedroom, kicking the door shut behind me.
The bedroom was dark. Gently, I eased her onto the bed and flicked on the bedside lamp.
Rae sprawled across the comforter, her arms relaxed above her head, her thighs spread wide, her expression soft and hazy.
The picture of abandon. An invitation to sin.
“You have the most beautiful mouth I’ve ever seen,” I said huskily. “It’s so puffy for me right now. So pink. So wet. Are other parts of you just as ready for me?”
Her mouth pursed, a playful tilt of her chin my only other warning. She reached for the hem of her shirt, stripping it and the tiny shorts away in seconds, leaving her in nothing but tiny bikini underwear. With my face on them.
I must have looked as shocked as I felt.
My chuckle took me by surprise, filling the room with soft laughter.
After waiting so long for her, I had convinced myself there was nothing new to uncover.
That we knew each other completely. But she had surprised me again with her boldness. With her underwear.
“Rae,” I said gently when I got my mirth under control. “Do you want to explain?”
She bit her lip, suppressing a grin. The flare of mischief in her eyes nearly stopped my heart. “Do I need to? ”
“How long have you been walking around with my face on your pussy?”
“Technically… this is just your face on my underwear. I’m hoping your face on my pussy comes later. The underwear was a Christmas gift.”
I scrubbed a hand across my face. “I’m afraid to ask from whom.”
“My Secret Santa.”
“Secret Santa or Satan ?” Her smirk was a silent dare. “Never mind. I definitely don’t want to know. That’s Future Zach’s problem.”
“Oh yeah? Then what’s Current Zach’s problem?” She arched on the bed, reaching for me.
I winced, remembering one important detail. “The fact that I don’t have any condoms.” I held her gaze. “Not that we need to take things that far. I’ve waited half my life for you—what’s a bit longer?”
She huffed a small laugh, the kind that sounded like it should come on the heels of a sob.
“We’ve both waited so long already… I hope I’m worth the wait.”
“Hey.” Her gaze skipped past mine, staring over my shoulder. Like she didn’t want me to see the uncertainty lurking there. “Hey,” I stroked her cheek, “I have no doubts, Rae. Not about that.”
She bit her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth. That small sign of doubt cracked my ribcage, gripping my heart and twisting it until it threatened to pop loose and tumble into her hands.
“I don’t have a lot of experience,” she blurted. “Sexually,” she added abruptly, as if her meaning had been in doubt.
I threaded my fingers with hers, rubbing her knuckles. Some of the tension in her jaw relaxed, and I counted it as a victory. “I’m not worried. I think, when it comes to us, it’s going to be like breathing.”
“Sometimes I’m not that good at that either,” she muttered.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m CPR-certified, both ready and willing to provide mouth-to-mouth.”
She squeezed her eyes closed. “ Zach .”
I dropped a kiss on her nose, following it with one on her right cheek. Then her left. I rained more and more kisses on her cheeks, chin, her ear. Any bit of skin I could access, until she was buried in affection, laughingly batting me away.
“That tickles — I give,” she bit out between giggles.
Brushing her lips in a gentle kiss, I smiled against her mouth, delighted when she opened hers, seeking a deeper connection.
Part of me wanted to rush her to orgasm.
Bury my face in her sweetness and get her off quickly.
Prove to her once and for all that friends and lovers was an unstoppable combination.
But it warred with the need to pause. Savor.
Sip from her sweetness. Roll it on my tongue.
Revel in the freedom to finally— finally make her mine.
Years of restraint. Of boundaries. Poof . Gone.
I traced kisses from her delicate neck to the swell of her breasts, pleased when she clutched me to her, just as eager for my attention.
“Captain, you’re going to have to tell me what you want.”
“You.”
Her quick answer drew a rolling chuckle from me, turning my amusement raw when she shivered beneath my lips.
“Good answer. There are no bad ones. But I was hoping for something more specific.” I propped my chin on her sternum, glancing up coquettishly through the valley between her breasts. Idly, I stroked from her hips, nipping in at her waist, up her ribs toward the rosy peaks.
“For instance, your breasts are gorgeous handfuls. Do you like them stroked?” At her shy nod, I continued, “How about licked?” She nodded again. “Hmm… ”
I traced soft fingers across her flesh, swirling around her areola. Watching her carefully for a reaction. Pleased when she shifted restlessly beneath me.
I dipped, catching her nipple between my lips, rolling it gently. Running a trail of kisses to her other breast to repeat the caress.
Her hands fluttered restlessly at her sides. Like what she wanted was just out of reach. Or was something she wasn’t sure she should have.
“You set the course. I’ll follow your lead.”
“I want…”
“Yes?” I paused my attention to her left breast.
“To touch you.”
“My body is yours to command.”
“You’ll tell me what feels good?” she asked, voice soft.
“Pretty sure my answer will be all of it, but yesss.” The last syllable came out on a hiss as she wrapped her hands around my length, stroking easily from base to tip.
“Fast learner,” I panted, choking off a chuckle when she grinned wickedly, gripping me tighter. Her strokes were bossy. Greedy. And I loved them. Far from tentative, she tugged at me like she meant it. My breathing was ragged with the effort it took to maintain control.
“That feels too good,” I husked. “Much more and I’ll finish first.”
She stuck her tongue out one side of her lush mouth, concentration in every line of her features. “That’s a bad thing?” she teased.
“For my pride? Yes.” Gently, I disengaged her. “Let me pleasure you, woman.”
My voice was rough to my own ears, but I didn’t care anymore. She’d tempted me long enough. I slipped my fingers beneath the sides of her underwear, gently tugging them off over her thighs.
“I think these have served their purpose.” Our eyes locked. “Time to replace them with the real thing. ”
Gently, I nudged her thighs further apart, making room. I slid my cheek up one thigh, enjoying the way her flesh trembled beneath my touch. She smelled earthy and sweet, soft notes from her body lotion underlying the essence that was all Rae.
She quaked harder beneath my gentle fingers as I petted her softly. She was already pouty for me. Ripe. Flushed and ready.
“Zach. Please .”
“Anything you want, honey. It’s yours. Do you want my fingers?”
Her chin bobbed. I held her gaze, letting her see into my soul.
Giving her the truth. She might be the one fairly vibrating off the bed with need, but my desire was no less gut-wrenching.
I was just used to hiding my feelings around her.
Now I let them out. Let the lust for her sweet body leak out of my pores, soaking every inch of my skin in the sultry drug that was her.
I dragged a finger down her slit, stroking slowly, carefully. Watching her expression for cues. She arched under my touch, begging for more, and I obliged, concentrating on the places that brought her the most pleasure. Eager to watch her bloom beneath me.
She sighed, the gentle sound one I wanted to sip from her lips. As if I could feed off her gratification. Use it to assuage my own lust. But each twitch beneath my fingers only made me hungrier for her. She was slick. Wet. So ready for more.
I pulled away, popping my fingers into my mouth. Sucking off the lingering evidence of her arousal, holding her heavy gaze.
“And now? How about my mouth?” My tone was huskier than usual, but Rae looked like she was beyond caring about the way my voice broke in the middle, simply dipping her chin again in a silent yes .
Running my palms over her hips and her thighs made her squirm beneath me. She’d spread herself wider, anticipating my attention. Eager for it .
The lax, slumbrous look in her eyes as she lay sprawled beneath me, open and wanting, sent a fresh surge of hunger through me.
I dipped down, holding her gaze as my tongue flicked out. “Delicious.”
Her eyes darkened, and she arched toward my mouth, a silent offer. So sexy. So real. So mine.
She gripped my hair, and I explored her folds with the attention of a starving man, tasting and stroking.
Needing to bring her pleasure. To make her incoherent with need.
With every lap of my tongue, I felt her winding tighter, reaching for the pinnacle, until she went crashing over, shaking gently beneath me.
I dropped a kiss on her hipbone. One on her abdomen. Sneaking a quick suck of one delectable nipple before nuzzling into her side and pulling her into my arms. She flowed like water, boneless and damp against me. Placing one last kiss on the top of her head, I held her.