Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Either Saylor had lost her mind, or this was love.
Based on the way Zain stared down at her, his gorgeous blue eyes burning bright, all that heat she’d thought they’d extinguished flashing to life, she had no doubts it was the later. Even if she only admitted it to herself.
Zain dropped another kiss on her mouth, dipping inside when she sighed, reveling in the taste of him. Sweet with a side of fierceness. He didn’t rush, drawing the kiss out as he slowly eased over her, bridging his weight on his elbows.
Her muscles tensed as her breath caught, a hint of that night bleeding through, until he nipped at her ear.
“Right here, sweetheart. We’ll take it slow. If it gets too much, just say the word.”
She focused on his voice, on how her body molded perfectly to his as she wrapped her legs around the small of his back. He waited, kissing her, again, before slowly inching inside until he bottomed out and everything clicked into place.
He grunted, the rough sound edging on pain. “I forgot the condom.”
Those few words shouldn’t have affected her the way they did. Had her heart racing from the thought of feeling all that silky skin move within her.
She reached up — smoothed out the furrow above the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been on the pill religiously since…” She took a breath. “I know there’s always a chance, and we can stop and grab one, but…”
Zain squeezed his eyes shut, and for a moment, she wondered if she’d crossed some line.
Assumed a level of trust that wasn’t quite there.
Like when she’d been tasting him. The way he’d said her name and paused, the clench of his muscles suggesting he’d been a breath away from asking her to stop.
Taking the safer route and pleasing her.
Allowing himself to maintain a connection to the room — to her safety. When he’d bowed his head…
Something inside her had settled into place. Like a key tumbling over a lock. She hadn’t needed him to reveal how he preferred to stay engaged. That he rarely allowed himself that form of pleasure. The fact he’d taken that leap…
It had touched her in a way she couldn’t describe. Given her back some of the control she’d had ripped away over the past year. First with Watson, then with her mind. Feeling grounded from that simple act, meant more than token words.
It proved she was more than just a passing fling .
That maybe, he’d fallen, too.
Saylor looked up at him, waiting to see if he’d pull away — grab another condom — when he crushed his mouth over hers as he started moving. Not quite as frantic as before but not slow. What he’d likely intended when he’d told her they wouldn’t rush.
The thought only heated her skin more. She’d pushed him to his limits. Had all that precious control hanging by a thread. He shifted his weight to one side and slid his other hand under her ass — hit that sweet spot.
She inhaled, all her nerve endings burning white-hot. Taking her to the edge of that cliff, close but not quite over. How she knew he wanted her. Desperate. So insane with need nothing from that night would survive the inevitable implosion.
Zain kept moving, inching lower until he brushed her skin with every thrust. Every breath. A hint of whiskey and sweat wafted around her, a ghostly version of her name sounding inside her head.
“Saylor.”
Her chest heaved as she stared up at Zain, heart racing, a hint of panic clawing its way in.
He shook his head when she looked away. “Eyes up here, sweetheart. It’s just us. I’m not gonna let him near you, again.”
She palmed his face — held that blue gaze — as he stopped, muscles strung tight. His body pressed against her. He tilted his head, obviously waiting for some kind of sign as the memories faded. Lost amidst the heat simmering between them. What she swore was love shining in his eyes.
She drew him closer, smiling as it pushed him just a bit deeper. “More. I need more.”
Another grunt, like when he’d realized he’d forgotten the condom, then he started pumping.
Long, deep strokes that stole her breath.
Left her hanging off that edge, again. She wrapped her arms around his back, using him as an anchor as she rocked into every thrust. Matched his need stroke for stroke.
He clenched his jaw, that muscle in his temple pulsing before he lowered his head — mouthed her shoulder. “You’re just so damn beautiful.”
She broke.
Shattered into a million pieces as heat billowed out from her core, burning away every thought but how perfectly they fit together.
How comforting his weight felt holding her down.
Time stalled, nothing registering but the beat of his heart.
Her name sounding above the numbing haze as he stiffened above her, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as he emptied inside her.
Stabbing strokes that sent her over that edge, again.
Had her clinging to him as everything shifted, those old memories burning away beneath the press of his body on hers.
The lingering brush of his lips across her mouth.
Saylor tightened her hold, drifting in the aftermath until Zain sighed and dropped a kiss on her neck. She pried her eyelids open, smiling up at his ridiculously handsome face .
He frowned as he brushed his thumb across her damp cheek. “You okay?”
“Better than okay.” She took a shaky breath, leaned into his touch. “Unburdened.”
“That’s my girl. Can I interest you in a shower? I have a distinct feeling Kash or Chase will enjoy finding a way to wake us just to get a reaction.”
“You did promise me one, earlier.”
“Can’t have you thinking I’m not a man of my word.” He rolled off the bed, offering her his hand once he’d stumbled to his feet. “C’mon.”
She laughed as he picked her up, stealing a kiss before covering the short distance to the ensuite. It only took a minute to gather a couple towels and heat the water before he ushered her in, gathering her in his arms as soon as he stepped in behind her.
She’d been wrong. Zain wasn’t just safe.
He was what she’d been missing. That sense of belonging she’d lost since leaving the Coast Guard.
He was what forever felt like.
Zain sighed. “I know we should make this fast, but I can’t seem to get my arms to move.”
“Good, because this is perfect.”
“You might not feel that way when we run out of warm water.”
Saylor eased back. “Then, I guess you’ll have to find another way to warm me up.”
He narrowed his eyes, all that intensity from the boat chase burning back to life. As if she’d suddenly become his next mission. “Dangerous, sweetheart, when I’ve already told you that once I commit… ”
She tiptoed up — got lover close. “It’s only dangerous if I’m not on board with whatever you have in mind. And I’m pretty sure I’m a hundred percent on board with you testing to see if we can make the wall of this shower work.”
Zain held her gaze, then moved. Crowded her against the side, studying her as if searching for any indication she felt trapped. “You still okay? Trusting me on the bed is one thing. Holding you against the wall…”
She waited, breath held, all that muscled strength pressed against her.
She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
“I’m not naive enough to think I’m close to getting over that night.
To reacting to triggers that inevitably crop up.
And if it was anyone else holding me like this, I’d be knocking them on their ass.
But with you…” She smiled, the weight of that night starting to ease.
“I just feel safe. So, let’s see what you’ve got. ”
He stood there, still scouring her face for what felt like forever before he leaned in — took her lips in a kiss so damn soft, her chest ached. Right in the center.
Drawing one finger up her side, across her shoulder, then behind her head, he held her close as he kissed his way down her neck then back. “You taste so damn good.”
He smoothed his other hand along her hip then tapped on her thigh. “Wrap this around my waist.”
Saylor wasn’t sure if she actually raised her leg, or if Zain simply placed it there, everything blurring into that red-hot need as he lifted her ass and plunged home. No seduction. No teasing. Just his hands all over her body, then him moving deep inside her.
Her head fell against the tiles, the cold bite against her back a stark contrast to the heat burning off Zain. As if he’d lighted a fire, and it was consuming him from the inside out. Or maybe it was just him. Zain Everett. The man who’d slayed her demons.
Zain stayed close, one hand locked around her uninjured shoulder, the other holding her ass, as he set up a punishing rhythm. In, out, again and again, until her throat ached from begging him to take her over. To shred the last of her defenses — give that guarded part of her heart to him.
His breath rasped beside her ear, every rough exhalation sending her higher. Holding her captive as he grunted, every muscle tensing. “Shit, I can’t…”
His head fell to her shoulder as his pace increased, every thrust slamming her ass against the wall. She gasped, holding that breath as lights burst behind her closed eyes, her release sending her headlong into that numbing haze.
Zain shouted something in the background. Her name or maybe just, “Yes.” Either way, it pulled her under, and she relaxed against him, trusting he wouldn’t let her fall.
The water had already begun to cool by the time she managed to open her eyes, take stock. Zain hadn’t moved, his mouth still locked around her skin, his body holding her captive against the wall.
She smiled, wondering if they could actually sleep that way when he lifted his head — gave her a killer smile.
She smoothed her hand along his jaw, loving the layer of stubble shadowing his skin.
What took him from gorgeous to knockout.
“I’m glad those muscles aren’t just for show because if it’d been up to me, we’d both be in a heap on the floor. ”
“I’d never let you fall.”
“Too, late.”