Chapter Ten
Church woke throbbing hard, restless and already aware of Zee.
She lay in a pool of shadows, one bare shoulder beckoning his lips even after he spent most of the night worshipping her body.
They’d fallen into each other’s arms the instant they stepped through the door of the loft suite and hadn’t surfaced from the haze of passion until she was crying out his name.
Twice.
He ached at the memory of her liquid heat gripping him so damn tight, and for a second it dragged him right back under.
He swung his legs out of bed and turned his head toward the open bedroom door. His gaze landed on the coffee table.
The package sat there, a dark shape in the low light. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
Not because of Matt. Matt had been his friend. His brother in every way that mattered. Church wasn’t jealous of what Zee had shared with him either.
But the box didn’t sit right with him. Nothing about it stood out, yet it felt out of place—like it didn’t belong in this time.
He’d heard about letters and shipments getting lost—about things following people from place to place for years. But this showing up now, here, didn’t feel like a coincidence.
Did you have something to do with this, man? he asked Matt.
A colder thought followed, sharp and immediate.
What if they hadn’t been tracking Zee for the things she had in her possession? What if they’d been tracking whatever was in this box? And now it was sitting here like a ticking bomb.
With silent steps, he walked to the living room and grabbed his phone where he’d dropped it after carrying Zee to bed. As the screen lit in his hand, the photo he’d snapped of the package—when Zee wasn’t looking—came back to him. He’d already sent it to Theo.
Even though it wasn’t close to sunrise, he followed up with a text.
Church: Get any reports back on that package?
Theo: Still in the system. Why—something off?
He stared at the box, jaw tight.
Church: Nothing new to report. Just doesn’t sit right.
Theo: Then have her open it.
He let out a slow breath.
Church: Not pushing her on that. She’s had enough thrown at her. She opens it when she’s ready.
A beat passed.
Theo: Someone’s been tracking her. We can’t let that slide.
His gaze burned into the package, and he wished he had x-ray vision.
Church: I’m not traumatizing her over a maybe.
Theo: Understood. But keep eyes on it.
Church: Already am.
He set the phone down and climbed back in bed. He didn’t mean to drift off to sleep again since he had bigger plans, but Zee snuggled up against his side and she felt so good…so right.
When her alarm went off, she shot out of bed and practically jogged to the bathroom. He got up much slower, reaching for clean clothes.
Before long she hurried back out of the bathroom, wearing activewear pants that hugged every inch of her curves and a top that zipped clear to the throat. She’d placed her hair in a thick ponytail that made her look too young for him. Not that she needed much help with that.
She was too young for him.
But right now, he didn’t give a damn. Hooking an arm around her waist, he yanked her up against him. She issued a huff of surprise, then melted into him.
“You coming to my first class?” she asked.
He curled his fingers around her ponytail and let the length slip through his palm. “Got things to take care of.”
“Okay. Maybe the next one?” She pulled back to search his face.
He nodded. “Definitely the next one.”
She went on tiptoe and crushed her lips to his. Then she was gone.
He listened to her feet on the stairs for a moment, then the barn door closing behind her. He waited a full minute, giving her time to come back if she realized she’d forgotten anything. Then he grabbed a sweatshirt and headed out to his very first yoga class.
The early morning air was crisp as he stepped outside. The sky was still a faint gray-blue stretching over the mountains. As he approached the patch of lawn behind the lodge where Zee was holding her class, quiet voices reached him.
Her back was turned as she set up the small plaque with the sun painted on it and lit a candle. Several vets were already sitting on their mats, stretching.
Church grabbed a mat from the stack and headed toward an open stretch of grass, eyes fixed on Zee. The way she moved…every line of her body…hit him low in the gut.
Christ. The woman was amazing.
She turned and froze, surprise flashing across her face.
He gave her a sheepish grin and unrolled his mat. When he straightened, she had made her way to his side.
Her eyes glimmered with happiness. “You said you had things to take care of.”
“I do.” He stepped close enough to feel her warmth. “You.”
Her breath hitched, and her pupils dilated the same way they did when he was moving inside her and she was on the verge of—
He cut off the thought before his sweats gave away exactly what she did to him.
She pressed her lips to his ear. “Stop looking at me that way.”
“What way?” He brushed his lips over her temple.
She shivered. “You know what way. I have a class to teach.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” He raked his gaze over her body, taking his good old time.
She threw him a look before sashaying away, hips swaying a little more than usual.
She reached the front of the group and clapped her hands lightly. “All right. Let’s get started. I’m Zee, and we’re going to begin with some easy stretches while we enjoy the beautiful view.”
Oh, he was enjoying the view, all right. A little too much, if his stiffening cock was any gauge to go by.
The class moved into motion, following her directions. Church did his best to keep up, but his attention kept drifting to Zee.
The slow glide of her movements, the point where her waist bent. Her thigh muscles, toned and strong, reminding him of how she gripped him and rode him to completion.
She walked around the group, adjusting the guys’ posture, offering a soft word of praise or instruction. When she reached him, she paused.
“Relax your shoulders,” she murmured, stepping close.
Close enough for him to grab and make better use of his mat.
His jaw flexed. “I am relaxed.”
She circled to stand in front of him and a pink flush settled high in her cheeks.
“Is there a problem with my pose?” he rumbled.
“How am I supposed to concentrate on teaching when you’re in gray sweatpants?” She dropped her gaze to the front of his sweats. Though they were loose, his not-so-little problem was more than evident. The length snaked down his thigh.
He huffed out a low breath. “You’re the instructor. You tell me.”
Her lips curved and he saw the pulse flutter faster in her throat before she moved on. But the damage was done—his focus was wrecked.
Every stretch, every shift, every movement made his body react. By the time the class ended, he was throbbing hard and on edge.
She clapped her hands again. “Nice work, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the sunrise and moving your bodies.”
The group began to break up, rolling mats and heading off. Church stayed where he was.
Zee glanced over at him, a knowing look in her beautiful eyes. She drifted over to him.
“Come on.”
That was all the invitation he needed.
Their walk back to the loft was quick. The moment the door shut behind them, energy sparked between them.
He didn’t give himself time to think. He wrapped his hand around her nape and pulled her mouth to his, the kiss urgent and deep as everything he’d held back throughout the class broke loose at once.
She gasped and gripped his shirt as she pressed herself into his rock-hard cock.
Heat flared, all-consuming. She made an urgent sound against his mouth, nudging him farther toward insanity.
“Shower,” she murmured.
He nodded once and lifted her, claiming her mouth again as he carried her into the bathroom. With one hand on her breast, he twisted his body to switch on the shower. Steam filled the small space and even more heat surrounded them.
They tore at each other’s clothes, dealing with stretchy material in seconds.
She hooked her thumbs in the waist of his sweats. “These…are unacceptable in my yoga class going forward.” She shoved them and his boxer briefs down his hips.
His cock sprang free. He started to rumble a reply but lost every thought in his mind as Zee dropped to her knees and sucked his cock into her sweet, hot, tormenting mouth.
His groan was long and loud, his fingers finding their way into her hair and shifting her ponytail loose.
She took him to the root in one long, sucking pull. His mushroomed head hit the back of her throat.
“Fuck!”
She was—
He couldn’t finish the thought as she withdrew on his length then sucked him in again while she traced the muscles of his hips and dug her nails into his ass to drag him a fraction closer.
He didn’t know how he managed to come to his senses but the shower spray hit their bodies. He kissed her deep, teasing her with his tongue until she was making those little noises he loved.
He spun her to face the wall and pinned her to the tile, working his mouth over her nape, her shoulder, the crease between her shoulder blades and down, down her body.
When he dipped his fingers between her legs, her knees weakened.
He banded his arm around her waist and plunged two fingers into her from behind.
She rose on tiptoe, crying out as he curled his fingers and found the precise spot that would send her over the edge.
But that move put him at a big disadvantage.
It sent him—and his heart—over the edge too.
* * * * *
Steam plumed thick around them, clinging to Zee’s skin, turning every breath heavier.
She’d been aching for this ever since she glanced over and saw Church in those gray sweats and the unmistakable outline of him, thick and hard and already stiff for her.
Now his fingers were buried deep in the place where she wanted his cock, but it was so mind-blowing that she shot higher with every thorough plunge.