Chapter Eight #2
Zee’s breath hitched as Church drew his tongue free of her pussy and dragged it through her folds.
Her insides clutched, and juices squeezed out in a rush of heat.
Anticipation coiled low in her belly, and the pulse roaring in her ears silenced as he looked into her eyes and sucked her clit into his mouth.
Passion drummed in her veins, and her heart could barely keep up as she watched the focus on his face, the way he touched her like he already knew exactly what she needed.
His hair was soft under her fingers, and though she couldn’t see the strands of gray, she knew they were there and she knew how damn hot they were.
Using the tip of his tongue, he circled her clit once…twice…then pressed down on the bundle of nerves until her hips jerked. He gripped her outer thighs, spreading her wider, and she lost herself in sensation.
Wet heat. Blazing pressure. Rough, delicious beard. When he sank his finger in her channel again, she lost her mind. Heart fluttering like a wild bird about to be given freedom, she let the feel of what he was doing consume her.
There was only Church. And bliss. His tongue moved over her, grounding and undoing her at the same time. Her body responded instantly, opening for him, crying for more.
Electricity set her nerve endings ablaze, and she gasped as her release struck, hard, hot and without warning, ripping through her in waves.
Ohh, it had been so long, and everything felt heightened and raw and overwhelmingly intense.
“Grant! I’m—” She clutched at him, fingers raking through his hair as she rode the orgasm to the very last.
Zee’s thoughts scattered, and a second later, his mouth was replaced by his hard length. Her body clenched again, needing his thickness inside her. Stretching. Moving.
“Tell me to stop and I’ll stop, Zee.” His gaze burned, and he sounded like he’d been dodging missiles.
She gripped his ass, dragging him closer. “Don’t stop.”
She didn’t know how he moved them to the bed so quick. Or how many drugging kisses he delivered before he placed a condom in her hand.
Stopping, she lifted her head and looked at him. She was aware that he was giving her the choice—put it on him or don’t.
Let this moment continue or not.
He watched her closely.
She fumbled with the condom—it felt foreign in her hands—but somehow, she managed to slide it over his impressive length.
When he poised over her, he stared deep into her eyes. “Zee…”
Her heart squeezed, and she surged upward to capture his lips again. The endless kiss drew a groan from him and she matched him with soft moans. As she hitched her thigh around him, he pressed the head of his cock to her entrance.
Their gazes met.
Neither of them breathed.
In one slow glide, he filled her.
The world narrowed to sensation. He slowly withdrew, and her hips lifted, chasing him, needing more, unable to stop the desire stealing her mind.
It wasn’t just physical. It was everything underneath it.
It was Church.
He took care of her, he made her feel safe. He looked at her like she wasn’t broken, and that made her body react as much as the feel of him moving inside her.
He thrust harder, faster, and their tongues tangled as the pressure built. It coiled tight inside her, and she soared higher and higher until she couldn’t hold on anymore—
But Church had her.
Her body shattered around him, and she cried his name at the same time he stiffened.
Her insides contracted hard, and his muscles turned to steel.
For a moment, their gazes held.
Then he was moving again, his orgasm crashing over him. She rode the aftershocks with him, heart slamming violently as she watched his handsome face transform into something even more beautiful and vulnerable.
Long minutes passed—or maybe it was hours. Their breathing slowed and he raised his head, brushing a tender kiss over her lips.
She shivered.
“You okay?” His voice was low and rough.
More than okay. She nodded, unable to form words.
He shifted his body, and she wrapped her legs around him, holding him close, not wanting to lose even a fraction of the connection.
At the edges of her mind, guilt flickered—Matt, the life she’d lost, the future that had never happened—but it couldn’t compete with the present. With the man above her or the way he made her feel alive again.
She buried her face against his shoulder, and he let out a rumble, the vibration rolling through her body.
He pulled away slowly and pressed a kiss to her temple before pushing off the bed. He walked into the bathroom, and she heard the sound of water running. A minute later he returned. His weight on the bed felt good and right and like all things safe.
He hovered over her, studying her face. “You’re perfect.”
She smiled. “So are you.”
They shared a smile followed by a lingering kiss. When he drew back, he brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “How about some tea?”
She nodded, trying to catch her breath.
He kissed her again, a soft peck between her brows—and she realized that kiss had started it all hours and hours ago. Ever since that kiss, her body started to wake up.
She watched him move around the room, pulling open drawers and getting dressed. Her body hummed with leftover pulsations and her mind was whirling after what had happened.
What it meant. Or didn’t mean.
“I’ll be back with that tea.”
“Thanks.” After she watched him walk out of the room and heard the door click, she got up and went into the bathroom to clean up. Then she put on her nightgown, purposely leaving her panties off.
A soft knock sounded at the suite door, jerking her to attention.
Church wouldn’t knock.
She hurried to the door, heart pounding even as she knew she was completely safe here on the ranch.
“Zee?” a woman’s voice projected through the door.
She whipped it open and blinked at a woman who looked like a model.
“Uh…hi?”
The woman laughed. “I’m Willow. I’m sorry we haven’t met before. I’ve been so busy.”
She cast around in her mind for where she’d heard the name, thankful it only took a moment. “Rhae told me about you. It’s great to meet you.”
She held a small box packaged in brown paper. “I’m sorry to bother you so late.”
If she’d been a few minutes sooner, Church would still be moving inside her.
Warmth crept over her skin.
“This package came for you today. I’m late going through the mail, but I wanted to bring it to you right away.”
She frowned. “For me?”
Willow held it out, so Zee took it. “Thanks for bringing it.”
“No problem. I hope to catch up with you soon, Zee.” Without another word, she turned and ran back down the stairs to the barn.
Zee stared down at the package, her insides wobbling. She carried it to the coffee table and set it down. Church had left his phone, and it came awake when she jostled it, the screen flashing that it was almost midnight.
Then she focused on the box. The label was written in Matt’s old military format.
Her heart stuttered, then battered hard against her ribs. For one wild moment, she wondered if he could be alive. Rhae told her Denver was ghost ops, so deep that he was dead to the world. Could the same be true for Matt?
Her hand fluttered to her chest but it did nothing to slow her slamming heart.
No. She’d seen Matt’s body when they returned it to the States. She saw his face.
She didn’t know how long she sat there, staring at the box with so many stamps from all over the world, tape layered over tape, the corners battered and dirty from being in the system for three years. Maybe longer.
Could this be the thing she’d waited for all this time? After he died, she’d waited for any sign he’d thought of her at the end—that he hadn’t just left her behind to figure it out alone.
Church stepped back into the room, two mugs in hand.
He saw her and stopped.
“Zee?”
She couldn’t speak around the thickness in her throat.
“Do you regret what we did? I can sleep out here tonight.” His question made her gaze snap to his.
“No,” she whispered.
He saw the package and rushed forward to set the tea on the table. Leaning over, he read the label.
She felt when Church recognized it for what it was. Her hands started to shake.
He straightened with a jerk.
“It’s from Matt,” she rasped.
He didn’t respond.
“It took three years to reach me.” She stared at the label addressed to her, replaced several times as it was rerouted. Under the corner of the new address for the Black Heart Tactical Training Facility, the address of the base she’d lived on with Matt peeked out.
Church dropped heavily to the cushion beside her. “It kept getting forwarded.”
She nodded. “They finally found me.”
He plastered his hand over his mouth as if holding back what he wanted to say.
She traced the label. “It was originally sent to the base where we shared the house.” She turned the box around and around in her hands, staring at the words, maybe even the last things Matt ever wrote.
Cities, states, countries.
Her name.
She blinked through a haze of tears.
“Do you want me to leave so you can open it?” Church asked.
She stared at the package for another long beat. “It’s the last thing I’ll ever get from him. I can’t open it yet.”
Church nodded once. He reached out and took the box gently from her hands, setting it on the coffee table. “It’ll be right there when you’re ready.”
Receiving this package smacked her with another reality—that she had to deal with her lingering feelings soon; so she could be honest about her feelings toward Church.
He turned back to her, and without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms.
She pressed into him, resting her head against his solid chest. He brought his arms around her, tethering her to the present in a way nothing else could.
So many emotions rocked her body. Grief. Relief. Fear.
And something warm and unfamiliar that was tied to the man holding her.
She didn’t regret being with him, not even a little.
He led her to bed and she lay in his arms, listening to the steady beat of his heart, realizing that for the first time in years, she felt safe.
She just hoped there weren’t any more surprises.