Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Pippa
Z eke’s lips were soft and sweet against mine, with an edge of heat the promised so much more behind his restraint. He wouldn’t push. I knew that about him as well as I knew my own name—though I was rapidly forgetting it in the spell of lust he was weaving with his mouth. I could leave this here at a truly lovely snog. Or…
Behind that “or” lay his confession, the words still vibrating through me. He hadn’t stayed friends with me just for my cheese. And he wouldn’t have laid a hand on me if his feelings were strictly platonic. I realized now that this whole setup of needing help to transport a horse had probably been a ruse to spend more time with me. Maybe to gauge how I felt.
Neither of us had expected things to end up as they had. In this out-of-the-way village, sharing a room—and a bed—for the night. But here we were. And after all those hours of close proximity, all of Saoirse’s cheerleading and encouragement, all the years of secret longing for more, that “or” was more than I could resist.
I wanted this man. Even if only for tonight.
I wiggled closer, and his arms snaked around me, dragging me flush against that long, lean body. Wanting skin, I slipped my hands beneath his jumper, finding him warm. The dips and ridges of his abs jerked a bit at my touch, and I hummed appreciatively.
His lips curved against mine. “Find something you like?”
“Not yet.” Rocking back, I wrestled the jumper up and over his head, which required that he stop kissing me.
We locked gazes, and for three agonizing heartbeats, I thought the spell was broken. That he’d come to his senses and stop this madness before we irrevocably damaged our friendship.
Instead, his hands came up to frame my face. “Don’t want these to get damaged.” Gently, he slid off my glasses and set them on the nightstand.
I was incredibly grateful that I could see well enough up close without them to still recognize the unmistakable heat in his blue eyes. I didn’t want to miss a moment of this.
“All yours, darlin’. Anything you want.”
He spread his arms, putting his well-muscled chest and torso on display. Skimming my palms over him, I understood none of this had been built in a gym. He had the sort of lean, rangy build that came from years of physical labor. This man hadn’t had life handed to him. He worked. And God, I wanted those callused hands on me.
To be absolutely clear I was on board with this, I tugged at my own shirt, only to have it get snagged halfway off.
“Er… a little help?”
“Can’t leave a lady in distress.” With quick, skilled movements, he relieved me of my shirt, and then my jeans in short order.
I had a moment of hesitation. I wasn’t the sort of woman who wore lace or satin. My very practical cotton underwear didn’t even match. But Zeke didn’t seem to mind. He was taking me in as if I were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Damn, if that didn’t give me a boost to my ego.
Riding that little high, I pressed closer, so we were skin to skin. And oh, that was glorious. It was even better when his lips came back to mine, and he plundered, dipping his tongue into my mouth until the dark flavor of him overtook the lingering taste of our simple meal, and I wanted more.
My hands groped at his waist as he devoured my mouth, then I gave up and simply slid my hands down, beneath the kilt, until I had a handful of his deliciously firm bum.
It was my turn to smile. “You know, I’ve never fully appreciated the easy access this particular aspect of the apparel of my countrymen before.”
“I definitely can’t argue. I meant what I said. All yours, darlin’.”
That drawl wrapped around me like velvet, stroking along my senses and settling low in my belly to stoke the fire he’d already kindled. Taking him at his word, I snaked my hand around to find what else was hidden under that kilt. As my palm stroked along the length of him, he cursed and arched into my touch.
“Yep. Definitely have to buy me one of these,” he choked out.
Delighted by his response, I began to explore, enjoying the tortured sounds of pleasure he made. Then he managed to pop my bra and slide it down far enough to get his mouth on my breast, and it was my turn to curse and arch closer.
We tormented each other with hands and mouths until we were both mindless and wild. He’d managed to divest me of the last stitch of my clothes, but I couldn’t wait to get him out of the kilt, so I merely shoved it up, out of the way. There he was, hard and hot and ready for me. I was more than ready for him. Nudging him to his back, I climbed up his body to straddle him.
“Wait!” He flailed toward the nightstand, managing to lay hands on his wallet to grab a condom.
With shaking hands, he sheathed himself. Then he took my hand, holding me steady as I balanced over him, notching him at my center and sank down, down, down. We both moaned but didn’t take eye contact as I took him inside me. There was more than heat, more than humor as we came together.
“Pippa.” The way he said my name in that tone, thick with affection and respect and something deeper, made my heart skip a beat.
We held there at the edge, as close as it was possible to be, and suddenly I wasn’t at all sure about this because I wasn’t sure I was capable of just a simple shag with him. There was nothing simple about this at all.
Then he laced our fingers together and squeezed, as if to remind me we were in this together. That simple, sweet gesture grounded me. I put my doubts out of my mind and began to ride, chasing my pleasure and stoking his. Those hands tightened on mine, tugging me down until he could take my mouth again. I lost myself in the thrust of his body, his tongue, giving myself over to the spiral of pleasure that carried me up and up, until, at last, I shattered. And as my body quaked, I felt Zeke thrust into me one last time, his body going rigid, his face buried against my throat as he groaned out his own release.
We lay there in a silence broken only by our own harsh breathing as we struggle to catch our breath. And I thought of the T-shirt buried in my dresser. Damn if that didn’t make me start to giggle. My efforts to control it were an abject failure, and then I was full on laughing.
Zeke took a firm grip on my hips and gritted out. “Christ on a cracker, woman, if you don’t stop laughing, I’m gonna come again before we even get to round 2. What’s so damned funny?”
I snort laughed. “It’s not you. I swear. It’s just… my friend knew I had a bit of a thing for you and she gave me this T-shirt that I’ve never worn. Now, I suppose I can.”
“Uh huh. Why is that?” His brows had drawn together in confusion, but I was relieved to see no offense in his eyes.
“Because it says Save a horse, ride a cowboy. Now I have. ”
His lips twitched, and those eyes sparkled. “And you did it damned well.”
Heat leapt into my cheeks. “I believe it takes two to pull off that particular feat well.”
“I’d say we’re a damned good pair. I gotta go take care of some necessities here, but give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to prove it again.”
I went brows up as I rolled off him. “Only five?”
He looked over his shoulder as he headed for the bathroom to take care of the condom. “I mean, I’ve finally found something I crave even more than your cheese.”
With those parting words and a wink, he sauntered into the bathroom.