Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-four
Zara
I couldn’t see straight. The ceiling blurred, snapping in and out, closing in, whipping away. My head was a Tilt-A-Whirl, spinning and spinning. I clutched Cormac’s hair so I didn’t fly away.
He was between my legs, licking me, sucking me, devouring every inch of my pussy like he already knew exactly what I liked, what set me off—like he knew my body better than I did.
The scrape of his stubble, the heat of his mouth, the slow, deliberate way he touched me, overwhelming in the best, most terrifying way.
I wasn’t used to this.
Not like this.
Not having my pleasure treated like the main event. Like the most important thing that could possibly happen today…or ever.
My thighs trembled around him, and my free hand fisted in the sheets, desperate for something solid. Everything else felt like it was dissolving.
“Cormac—” I choked out. There were a million other words on the tip of my tongue, none of which I could identify or make sense of. His name was the only thing that was clear, and I said it again and again.
He answered with a low sound that vibrated straight through me, sending another dizzying wave over my body. My back arched off the mattress, chasing the sensation, chasing him. I wasn’t thinking. I couldn’t. There was only the heat coiling low and bright and impossible.
Once wasn’t enough for him. He brought me over and kept going until I was writhing wildly, sweaty, hoarse from crying out for him—until I was oversensitive and so wrung out, my arms and legs went limp. Only then did he crawl over me and drop his forehead to mine.
“Okay?” he whispered.
I nodded. “So okay. You’re really, really good at that.”
His laugh was a warm gust across my chin. “I really, really like doing that to you.”
Moments passed, and my affection for him bloomed so big in my chest I couldn’t lie still. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist, trying to pull him down on me.
He chuckled into my neck. “I’m going to crush you.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do. I happen to like your body. I don’t want it flattened.”
I nipped at his ear. “Roll us over. I want my skin on yours.”
He shifted to his back, taking me with him, and I lay my head on his chest, over his rapidly thumping heart. He stroked along my spine, up and down, then lower, cupping my cheeks. He was rock solid under my belly, but he didn’t ask me to do anything about it.
I wanted to, though. He’d made me feel so good I needed him to have that too.
Bringing my knees up, I rocked against him once, twice. Cormac sucked in a breath and clutched my thighs, stilling me.
“No, Zara.” His jaw was tight as he looked up at me, his gaze imploring. “We can’t.”
“We can.” I cupped his cheek, rubbing his bottom lip with my thumb. “You won’t go inside. I just want to feel you and make you feel good. Let me?”
He stared up at me, his brow furrowed, then slowly exhaled. His grip on my thighs loosened, but his hands remained, like he didn’t quite trust me to keep my promise.
Fair.
I wanted nothing more than to feel him inside me.
I wouldn’t do it, but I was sorely tempted.
Instead, I kept rocking over him, aligning him in the center of my slick, swollen flesh. He’d made me so wet I was dripping. Our bodies met and slid easily, the head of his cock bumping against my sensitive clit.
“Fuck,” he whispered, his fingers digging into my thighs. “Zara, god, that feels so good.”
“Yeah,” I murmured against his lips. “So good. You’re going to make me come again, you know that? We keep doing this, there’s no way I won’t.”
“Let me see it.” One hand moved to my ass, his fingers delving along my crease and lower, finding my entrance. “Can I?”
I nodded, my forehead knocking lightly on his. “Fuck me. Please.”
Without a stutter in his rhythm, he thrust a long finger inside me, and I gasped, throwing my head back as I rode him harder.
“More?”
“More,” I panted.
He added another finger, hooking it to press my front wall, and my body shook like an earthquake. Out of control, I gave in and let him move me. He ground me down on his thick length, hitting my aching clit again and again. Cormac had control over my body, inside and out.
I couldn’t stop shaking. My limbs vibrated. My inner muscles twitched and clenched in time with the plunge of his fingers. His grunts in my ear as he rocked his hips and speared me with his fingers made me hotter, turning me on to a level I hadn’t known existed.
I grappled with his shoulders, his sides, his scruffy face, kissing his lips and jaw and neck, then licking his sweat-dampened skin. We moaned each other’s names, staring at one another in the dark. His jaw was tight, but his eyes were wild with wonder.
I leaned down to kiss his eyelids and whisper his name.
His groan was a violent thing, a crash of thunder running through his body, shaking me.
Hips pumping under mine, unleashing a torrent on my clit.
I was falling, and he was rising, meeting me in a sharp upheaval.
My body heaved and hollowed as I cried for him, and his gave me groans and violent jerks, coating my inner thighs and swollen lips with his pleasure until I was soaked through.
I fell, and he caught me, one arm wrapping around my back. His fingers lingered inside me for a long time until he carefully slid them out, leaving me achingly empty.
I lay on him until I caught my breath. He didn’t say a word or seem in any hurry for me to get off, so I relaxed, tucking my head beneath his chin, soaking up every second of having him like this.
My Mac.
Eventually, he rolled me onto the mattress and went into the bathroom, returning a minute later with a warm washcloth. Kneeling on the floor by the bed, he parted my legs and cleaned the mess he’d made off me, then placed one soft kiss on my cleft before disappearing back into the bathroom.
I thought maybe he’d leave, especially when he threw on his shirt and briefs, but he sat on the bed beside me, his long legs stretched out in front of him, fingers wrapping around a lock of my hair.
“I should probably get home,” he said after a while.
“Probably,” I agreed, in no hurry for him to leave.
“I want to take care of your tattoo before I go.”
That made me smile. “Of course you do.”
He cocked his head. “Should I read into that comment?”
“Not at all.” I pushed myself upright, my shoulder bumping into his. “You’ve always taken care of me. I’m not surprised you want to take care of this.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I suppose I can’t help it when it comes to you.”
My heart slammed against the wall of my chest, fighting for the chance to get even an inch closer to him. But he was already off the bed, gathering supplies from my bathroom. While he was gone, I shuffled to my dresser, finding a baggy T-shirt and a fresh pair of panties.
When he came back, he paused for a second at seeing me dressed, then he was all business, flipping on a light so he could inspect my tattoo.
He knelt in front of me, his brow furrowed, and removed the bandage as carefully as possible.
After cleaning my skin, he slathered on a thick ointment, lightly dragging his finger along the words.
Before he stood, his lips ghosted over my hip, right above the ink.
“What about yours?” I tugged on his sleeve. “Who’s going to take care of your tattoo?”
“I’ve been through this a few times. I’ve got it.” He palmed the back of my head and pressed his lips against my forehead. “Thanks for looking out, though.”
“How’d you take care of the one on your back by yourself?” I followed behind him like a shadow. He bent to tug on his jeans, and my stomach sank with each inch they rose.
He paused when they were all the way up, still unzipped and unbuttoned, and I nearly forgot my question. Then his cheeks flushed pink, and I was enthralled.
“Uh…my grandmother, mostly.” He gripped the back of his neck. “Not the sexiest thing to admit, but it’s the truth.”
With a laugh, I stepped into his space, throwing my arms around his middle. “I love how you are with your family. It’s sexy as hell.”
It took a beat, but he hugged me back, and I felt his smile against the side of my head. “Do you want to run with me in the morning?”
I tilted my head to look at him. His eyes were crystal clear and locked in on me in a way that nearly took my breath away. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was new or if I was just noticing.
“To the river and back?” I asked.
His exhale brought a grin with it. “Always, Zara. To the river and back.”