Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Cadence
Zane carries me into the house, kicking the door closed behind him. He lets go of me with one arm, supporting my weight with the other, before he flicks on a light.
I draw in the smallest gasp, as my head swivels around. The place is the perfect combination of homey and high-end.
The furniture looks expensive but comfortable, the kitchen full of top-of-the-line appliances and natural-stone countertops, but it’s small enough to not be overwhelming.
A small hall leads off the main room and that’s where Zane heads, me still in his arms. A door to the left reveals a medium-sized bedroom with a very large bed. Directly in front of us, a bathroom.
That’s where he takes me, turning on another light, before he lowers me to the counter, setting me down on the cool stone. “Open your mouth.”
“What?”
“I want to see what’s bleeding. Open.” It takes me a few seconds to adjust. I don’t do well with direct commands, and my automatic response is to argue. But this man just saved me and he’s trying to help me, so I part my lips unlocking my jaw without my usual arguing.
He looks inside, his brow furrowed. “Stick out your tongue.”
I huff the smallest breath before I do as he’s asked, using his inspection as an opportunity to assess the man I’ve agreed to spend the next twenty-one days with.
He’s hot. Like, really, really hot.
Even better looking than I first thought. His dark hair is short on the back and sides, but the top is longer and styled in a side spike that only accentuates the square line of his jaw.
He’s got gorgeous light gray eyes, strong cheekbones, and a crook in his nose that just makes him even more masculine.
I’m still wearing his tank top, so I’ve got a full view of all the muscles that ripple over his arms and down his chest leading to his six-pack abs.
“Your tongue’s tip isn’t severed. That’s good.” His eyes flick to mine and I forget to breathe.
I pull my tongue back into my mouth. “Good.”
“Tongues heal quickly, you’ll be fine.” He reaches up to cup my cheek with his hand, brushing his finger over the bruised skin on my cheekbone.
Then he looks at my neck where that fucker tried to bite me.
He tips my head, inspecting the damage. “I was worried we’d be spending our first night together in the ER. ”
My jaw works as his words wash over me. Would he really have taken me to the ER? It’s a really nice thought, but I doubt my own logic. Wouldn’t he be more interested in collecting the spoils from his win?
I don’t ask as he pushes back from the counter and then opens the shower door, leaning in to turn on the faucet.
The water pours from the rain-head shower, looking so inviting, I sigh. I’m covered in dirt and grime and I can’t wait to wash it off.
Zane moves toward me again, wrapping his arms around me, and lifting me off the counter to bring me to my feet. “I’m going to undress you so I can check for any other injuries.”
I quirk a single brow. “I thought you were undressing me because we’re supposed to fuck.”
His mouth twitches down into a frown. Does he not like the crassness of my words? I can have that effect.
“We only fuck when you want to fuck, Cadence. And between us, it will be something much deeper and better than fucking.”
My mouth opens to respond when he reaches for the hem of his tank top, pulling it slowly over my head.
Then he takes off mine, adding it to his on the floor. Finally, he unsnaps my bra. I’m totally naked in front of him in the harsh light of the bathroom and I have to force myself not to curl my shoulders in. I don’t do embarrassed.
His fingertips start at my neck, lightly running down my arms and then back up, tracing the plains of my body. His fingers are light, his touch so delicious that I lose myself in the feel of his hands, my head tipping back.
I turn when he instructs me to, his touch feels so good I forget myself and let him look all over my back. “Just a few bruises,” he murmurs.
“Mm,” is all I reply, wanting more of his hands on my skin. “Does that mean I can get in the shower?”
“It sure does.”
“Are you joining me?” I look over my shoulder where he’s bent down, inspecting a bruise on my leg.
“Do you want me to?”
We’re still doing that permission thing? Part of me rebels. We’re wasting time. But another parts of me likes it. It relaxes me. Here…with him…I’m safe. “Yes.”
He’s up in a second, kicking off his boots, shucking his pants down his powerful thighs. My mouth goes dry at the sight of those thighs and what’s hanging between them.
That’s all mine for the next three weeks.
If I don’t blow the whole arrangement up, that is. Which I’ll probably do, but that’s a problem for some other point in time in the near future.
Tonight, I’m going to enjoy the spoils of war. My very own warrior .
I step into the hot spray, sighing at the feel of the water as rivulets of dirt wash down my skin.
Zane steps in behind me, grabbing the soap and brushing it over my skin. His hands slide over my body, running up my back and over my shoulders.
I arch into his touch, my hands extending out to give him more access as he washes down my sides and over my ass to scrub my legs.
The feel of his hands, the fact that’s he crouched down, makes me throb with a need that steals my breath.
I can’t remember ever feeling a desire this strong. The organizers of The Hunt were right about that. The competition has created this heightened sense of connection between us.
But I’m not even thinking about that now. I’d just take some really good sex.
And I already know it’s going to be amazing with Zane.
My body follows the thought, my ass pushing back in clear invitation even as he reaches around, beginning to wash the front of my legs, then up my thighs to my hips and belly.
His hands slide over my ribs and then to my chest.
Like I said, I’m slender. Which means I don’t have the biggest rack. In fact, they’d probably be classified as small. Sometimes I can fill a B cup but most of the time, I’m an A.
His hands, which are massive, swallow my bee stings, completely covering my boobs and a fair bit of my chest too.
My nipples peak against his palms even as he nuzzles my neck.
It’s the first time he’s touched me under the hot spray with anything other than tender efficiency.
I fall into the touch, pressing my back to his front, tilting my head to give him more access as I push my chest into his hands.
“You’re going to get dirty again,” he rumbles into my skin. “I haven’t washed myself yet.”
“I don’t care,” I answer, sliding my soapy ass over his pelvis. His thick cock swipes against my butt cheeks.
If my boobs are slight, but my ass is full—easily my best feature—and I use it to tempt and to invite.
He takes the invitation. His left hand leaves my chest to slide back down my belly to dip between my thighs. I’m so ready, that when his finger slides over my clit, I cry out, my whole body pulsing with the pleasure that radiates out from my core.
“Does my girl need me?” he rumbles in my ear.
“Yes,” I cry back, pushing against his erection. This time, I don’t care that he’s asking again. It feels natural and a bit like dirty talk.
He moves his hand deeper between my legs, spreading me open as he bends his knees so that he can push back up inside me.
He feels so good, his thick cock filling me so full that he pushes on every nerve ending, and I’m shaking before he’s even all the way inside me.
I lean toward the wall, my legs threatening to give out, but before I reach it, his arms tighten around me, holding my weight.
With the change in angle, he slides even deeper inside me, hitting me everywhere that feels good, and I let out this high-pitched gasp that doesn’t even sound like me as I lose control of my body.
I’m so wrapped up in the pleasure, I don’t notice my feet coming off the floor until they wrap around his calves, my weight one hundred percent held by him.
I’ve never had sex like this. Zane is this unique mix of tender and strong and it’s like a drug. My every need and want is being met, where I’m so filled with pleasure, I’m not even aware of breathing.
I reach back, my hands fisting his hair, which causes my back to arch so that he’s finally fully seated inside me.
He hits that spot I seriously thought was a myth and I scream out my pleasure, never wanting him to leave my body.
I flex my feet, causing the smallest movement of his cock, which rubs me in that perfect spot again, and my body hums as the sensation multiples.
We’ve hardly started and I’m already panting. “Zane,” I beg, not even sure what I’m asking for. Faster? Harder? More?
But he knows.
Using the hand that’s cupping my sex, he pushes me back off his cock, putting all the right pressure on my clit. And then he relaxes the arm, allowing me to slide back down his cock .
I tip my head forward, as my body shudders from the slide of his thick cock.
My face dips into the spray, water filling my mouth and nose.
I’m so lost I can’t pay attention to breathing, apparently.
But before I can correct, his biceps flex to pull me tighter to his chest, so that my face is back out of the water.
But I can’t thank him as he hits my G-spot again, the trembling in my limbs redoubling.
“Oh. My. God,” I gasp out as he lifts me again, pushing back into me faster this time. The extra speed causes the whole reaction to come at me quicker and I know I’m not going to make it very long.
He pumps into me again. Once. Twice. Three times and then I start to orgasm. It hits me with a force that steals my breath, the pleasure so intense I can’t even speak, can’t even push out a moan.
But he doesn’t slow down. Now he’s like a piston, pumping into me, causing a riot of fireworks to light inside me.
I finally scream out, every muscle in my body completely taut, as the pleasure overrides every other function.
He doesn’t let up, though, slamming into me as I ride every ripple of pleasure. And then his own orgasm starts, a roar ripping from his throat as his body shudders, his cock jerking inside me.
It’s gorgeous and I wish I could hold him, but I’m like limp spaghetti in his arms, so wrung out all I can do is close my eyes and just feel him.
He sags into my back and we both tip forward so that I’m pressed between his chest and the tile wall. “Wow,” I manage to push out, the cooler surface feeling amazing against my cheek.
“You aren’t kidding,” he rasps into my neck, his hands splayed out on my skin.
“I’m not even sure I’ll be able to walk after that.” I’m joking. Mostly. Then again, I haven’t tested my legs, which feel like jelly.
“Baby girl,” he kisses up my neck to the sensitive spot just behind my ear, “I’ll carry you any time you like.”
I hum out my approval. I hope I can keep it together long enough to enjoy this man. Because I’m really going to lose something when I blow this up.