Chapter 12
12
Zara didn’t understand why she was so intensely delighted that Saint had come. She was no longer dependent on any man for her happiness. She had worked hard since her breakup with Maurice to assure that. However, she didn’t feel her independence was threatened by the fierce need she felt when it came to Saint. As strange as it might seem, being with him only enhanced it. Mainly because with him she could be the woman she was. She could be herself with no limitations.
Since her breakup with Maurice, she’d become strong-willed, determined, and didn’t play nice when she didn’t want to. She didn’t put up with anyone’s crap and had no problem going after what she wanted and turning her back on what she didn’t. And today, right now at this very minute, she wanted Saint.
From the huge, hard bulge pressed against her midsection, she could feel he wanted her, too. She leaned into him and when he whispered in her ear just what he wanted to do to her, his words were like an arousing melody that caused a throbbing in her core.
“Saint...”
Instead of answering her, he pulled her even tighter against him. It was as if he needed to hold her. That was all good because she needed to hold him as well. Maybe she should seriously question why but she couldn’t. The only thing she could do was enjoy being held by him. With his arms wrapped around her, she felt emboldened by his strength and closeness. And as if he knew what she needed, he leaned down and kissed her. Had it been nearly two months since she’d last shared this type of intimacy with him? Two months since being kissed by him, touched and made love to?
He released her mouth and then, taking her hand firmly in his, he escorted her out of the living room to her bedroom. “I like seeing you in my shirt, Zara. In it you look like an angel. My Angel.”
His Angel.
Hadn’t she convinced herself weeks ago that no man would ever consider her his again? However, for some reason she knew Saint didn’t mean it that way. This handsome and sensual man didn’t want her to belong to him any more than she wanted him to belong to her. He was merely caught in the moment. It was understandable with this degree of passion between them.
She looked up at him, marveling at how he stood towering over her as he removed the T-shirt from her body. He didn’t seem surprised to see she was totally naked underneath it. How had he known?
When she asked him, he said, “There are some things a man can tell. I take it you knew I was on your property.”
“Yes. I knew the moment you put in the access code. There’s a buzzer and a camera that alerted me. I guess I never mentioned that to you before.”
“No, you’ve never mentioned it,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt.
She watched the slow movement of his hands. There was just something arousing watching a man remove his clothes. Especially this man. Her body was aching for him. Did he know it? And why did he have to look so damn sexy? “Now you know.”
“Yes. Now I know.” He tossed his shirt aside.
His shoulders were massive and masculine, and his abs were tight and impressive. She was tempted to rub her hands over his chest. Just thinking about doing such a thing sent an intense sexual greed through her. He must have seen the deep longing in her face and removed his pants and briefs rather quickly. Or it could have been seeing her naked had made him want to speed up. Whatever the reason, she was totally appreciative. They reached for each other at the same time and ended up tumbling onto the bed in each other’s arms.
Their mouths joined in a kiss that made her head reel. It was as if he needed her as much as she needed him. The wildness and hunger of his kiss revealed as much, and bone-melting heat began spreading throughout her body. If the manner in which he was making love to her mouth was indicative of the way he intended to make love to her body, she wasn’t sure she would survive the experience. It was a good thing she’d eaten well today. She had a feeling she would need her strength.
When he ended the kiss, he stared down into her eyes a second before whispering, “You’re beautiful and you taste delicious.”
She had news for him. She thought he was handsome and just as delicious. In her mind, beauty wasn’t just in one’s looks but in the way a person carried themselves. The times she’d spent with Saint had always been special, which was why she always wanted more.
He leaned closer and his warm lips moved across her cheekbones, her chin, and nuzzled her ear before returning to her lips.
Then Saint’s mouth was on the move again. With toe-curling determination, his lips moved toward her chest and captured one nipple in his mouth. She moaned at the sucking sensation—gentle and then strong—as he began to devour it.
“Saint...”
He paid homage to the other breast as his hands traveled down her body to comb his fingers through the damp curls between her legs. She wasn’t sure how long she could last and when he inserted a finger inside her and wiggled it around a few times, she came, climaxing hard against his hand. He quieted her scream with a kiss.
Releasing her mouth, he moved away from the bed to get a condom packet from his slacks. After sheathing himself, he returned and placed his body over hers. He leaned down and kissed her again. When he broke off the kiss he stared into her eyes as he joined their bodies. She was certain that she felt him all the way to her womb.
His skin was hot against hers. He was just as hot for her as she was for him. When he lifted her hips, she clasped her legs around his waist. That was when he began thrusting hard in a rhythm that had her purring while at the same time her thighs began to quiver.
How was he able to do this to her, make her want and need him to the point where his thrusts into her body and roll of his hips against hers had her shuddering inside out? His head dipped to her breasts and when he captured the other nipple in his mouth, she fought back a scream. He should know by now that his mouth on her breasts did things to her. It was her hot spot. That was fine, because she had discovered his.
Reaching her hand up, she caressed the side of his face, right below his ear. He released her breast to stare down at her, and when her fingertip caressed him in that spot again, she saw the glaze of intense desire in his eyes just seconds before he let out a deep groan. Then he threw his head back as he increased his thrusts, pushing her to heights of rapture she’d only ever experienced with him.
“Saint!”
“Zara!”
His hips rocked against her as he thrust harder, over and over. Together, they came before he collapsed on top of her. Prior to him shifting their bodies to lie side by side, she had felt his heart pounding against hers. Now the room was filled with a deep silence, except for their heavy breathing. That had been some lovemaking. Every woman should have such an experience in her life at least once. She’d never felt this hot for a man before and wanted more.
He held her in his arms, kissing the dampness from her forehead. “I’m so glad our paths crossed again today.”
“I’m glad, too, Saint.”
She was certain he didn’t know the half of it. He hadn’t a clue just how much she’d meant those words. Her cautious side warned her to pull back some, slow down and think logically of where she might be headed if she didn’t. But then another part of her knew she would be fine since no man would ever have her heart again. No emotional attachment, no commitment and no expectation of anything other than the moment.
As he gathered her closer into his arms, Zara knew while it lasted, she wanted many more moments with him.
Saint slowly opened his eyes to the bright sunlight coming through the cottage’s bedroom window. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, he saw it was a few minutes past seven.
The bed was empty, but he could smell coffee. He could also smell the scent of Zara all over him. He closed his eyes and bit back a groan as he remembered all they’d done last night. When they’d made love a second time, he had barely slid inside her before she began raising her hips to entice him into a fast rhythm. Then there was the time the tip of her tongue had grazed the head of his shaft. And he definitely couldn’t forget when she’d ridden him. Hard.
Stepping out of bed, he slid into his slacks and left the bedroom to head for the kitchen. She wasn’t there and he looked up when he heard movement in the loft. After pouring a cup of coffee he went up the stairs and paused when he saw her sitting in front of an easel with her own cup of coffee close by. She was wearing his T-shirt again and he thought her sitting there, with the hem having ridden up her thigh, looked so damn sexy and he felt another boner coming on.
When she’d opened the door yesterday wearing that shirt, the first thing that crossed his mind was that since that shirt was his that she was his, too. But he quickly quashed that notion. Zara was a free spirit who didn’t belong to anyone. She’d played that game before with some asshole and she wouldn’t do it again. He thought that was a pity. She was a beautiful, warm and loving person who had a lot to give a man. The right man.
“Good morning.”
She jerked her head around and smiled. “Good morning, Saint.”
He loved hearing her say his name. “Did you plan to wake me up?”
She shook her head, making a mass of hair spread around her shoulders. He could recall exactly when he’d set it free and had run his fingers through the glossy tresses. “I figured you would eventually wake up on your own. Besides, you looked good sleeping in my bed.”
He wondered if she knew that sounded pretty much like an invitation for another time. But then hadn’t she practically insinuated that at breakfast yesterday morning? “Thanks.” He took a sip of his coffee, tempted to say he would love to see how she looked in his bed one of these mornings.
Instead, he asked, “What are you painting?”
She smiled at him. “Come see.”
In his bare feet he crossed the room to stand beside her and gaze at the picture. “That’s one of your shops?”
“No,” she answered. “On my walk to the Witherspoon Café yesterday morning I passed this storefront. It was vacant and for sale. My mind suddenly envisioned how it would look if I were to turn it into one of my boutiques.”
He lifted a brow. “I didn’t know you were entertaining the idea of opening a shop here.”
“I’m not. I just saw it vacant, and my mind went to work.”
“Well, you did a great job. You’re a gifted artist, Zara.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I pass by that vacant storefront all the time and never envisioned it looking like this. You’ve painted it to look like a shop that would be in Paris somewhere.”
“That’s the way I imagined it.”
Saint studied the painting again. She had used radiant colors, and the flowers in the box looked real. Just knowing she had painted this from an image derived from her thoughts was both impressive and amazing.
And it had him thinking.
“Are you sure you don’t want to consider purchasing it?”
She tilted her head to look at him. “Purchasing what?”
“That vacant storefront.” He figured the thought must have crossed her mind.
She shook her head. “I’m not interested.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “Why would I be?”
“Long-term investment. You would qualify for Reid’s low-interest loan if you decide to go that route. I personally think it would be a good move with the interest rates as low as they are. For you it would be a win-win situation.”
She continued to paint, and he had a feeling she would give his suggestion some thought, although she hadn’t said that she would. He’d discovered Zara was a good businesswoman, and he appreciated that whenever he gave her advice, she listened. On that note, he decided to give her more to think about. “I think it would make good business sense to place another boutique in this area instead of everything being in the New England area.”
She set aside her paintbrush and turned to him. “I have a boutique in New York.”
“Yes, and that, too, was a great business move. Why did you do it?” He knew his question would get her to thinking.
“It was time I branched out into an area other than New England. That also gave me an opportunity to diversify. In addition to my fashion designs, that particular boutique also sells shoes and handbags.”
“I see.” He did and had a feeling she eventually would, too.
When she remained silent, he then said, “Then you can make that dream you’ve put to canvas a reality, Zara.”
She frowned. “This is not a dream, Saint. Catalina Cove stopped being my home a long time ago.”
“For years I thought the same thing. I bet so did Vaughn, Kaegan, Sierra and Vashti. But we all came back, and you know why?”
“I know why Vaughn came back.”
“Let’s look at Vaughn, then, as well as the others. I think at some point they realized something they’d heard for years was true.”
“And what’s that?”
“When the going gets tough, there’s no place like home.” He leaned down and placed a kiss across her lips. “I’ll be leaving town later today for New York. I won’t be back until Saturday.”
“In time to attend Jaye and Velvet’s engagement party?” she asked.
“Yes, and I hope to see you there.”
“You will,” she said, sliding off the stool.
He stroked his knuckles across her cheek and said, “There’s something I’d like to do before I leave, though.”
“What?”
“Make love to you again.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Then do it, Saint.”