Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Camille
I can’t believe he kissed me! Again!
Who did he think he was? Where the hell did he get off thinking he could do whatever he wanted and kiss me whenever the mood struck?
We weren’t a couple, and he needed to understand that!
I barely felt the freezing rain or the wind whipping at my face. All I could focus on was the damn door, getting inside, and locking it behind me.
He could stand out there and get drenched for all I cared.
“Camille! Wait!”
“No! Go home, Zach!”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m driving you home, remember?”
He was hot on my heels, and I picked up the pace. Bad idea.
My foot snagged on a fallen branch, and down I went, my ass landing directly into a pile of mud. “Fuck!” My pants and shoes were soaked, and I was covered in mud.
“Shit, shit, shit! Are you okay?” Zach was above me a second later and lifted me into his arms without hesitation.
“I think so. My ass hurts.”
“I’ll massage it later.”
“Zach! Put me down right now! This is what I’m talking about! You can’t just do as you please and help yourself to kisses and say things like that.”
Zach remained silent as he carried me the rest of the way to the diner. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
“How many times are you going to say sorry? I don’t want your apologies!”
He placed me down gently in front of the door. He was caked in mud now like me, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. “What do you want from me, then?”
“To leave me alone!” I yanked the door open, and I wanted to slam it shut in his face, but I couldn’t. I knew he wouldn’t leave, and the weather was awful.
Sure enough, he followed me inside. “You don’t mean that.”
I closed the door and flicked the lock. I bristled past him and hurried into the kitchen. I couldn’t take the feel of mud on my skin any longer. “Yes, I do! Yet you’re still here. Following me around.”
He continued following me into the kitchen, and when I got to the sink, he came up next to me. “I was an idiot, okay? A young, dumb, stupid idiot with a broken heart. You think it didn’t kill me to do what I did? I hated it. But I only wanted what was best for you. And fuck, sweetheart, I was miserable. So fucking miserable. I never touched another woman because there’s no one else for me. I thought about you every day. Every damn day, Camille.” His voice became thick with emotion.
I shook my head in hopes of erasing his words. No, no, no! I couldn’t do this again. I couldn’t trust what he was saying, that he wouldn’t break my heart again. I wouldn’t survive another one. I wouldn’t.
Tears poured down my face, and I choked on a sob. I had to do it. I had to let him go and be free of this love once and for all. I forced the words out even though they made me sick.
“It’s over, Zach.”
* * *
The look on his face sent a fresh wave of pain through me. What was happening? I wasn’t supposed to feel pain…I was supposed to be happy…to be free…
“Goddammit, Camille! It was never over, and it never will be! Now I’m going to kiss you, and you’re going to let me.”
I opened my mouth to say no, but the word wouldn’t come out.
“Please?”
That one simple word from his sexy as fuck mouth was all it took. I nodded my head and in one swift, precise movement, he grabbed my muddy face with his muddy hands and kissed me. And this time I let him.
We kissed and kissed, our tongues finally meeting again after so long, and in an instant, I became complete again.
When we came up for air, both of us breathless and panting, Zach looked deep in my eyes as he ran his thumb over my cheek and down my jaw. “I promise, I will never ever hurt you like that again. I can only hope one day in your heart you’ll find the space to forgive me.”
I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m still mad at you.”
“As you should be.” He kissed the tip of my nose like he used to do so many times before.
“I never stopped loving you, Zach, no matter how much it hurt when you left. I think that’s what made me the most angry.” I watched as he gathered some paper towels from the roll beside us and reached around to turn the sink on. He began wiping the mud off my face.
“I was angry, too. All I wanted was you, and I couldn’t…for so many nights, I lay awake and remembered our times together. The memories kept me company on those long, lonely days and nights.”
“Oh, Zach. I just wish you had wrote to me…or called… anything. ”
“I knew if I did I wouldn’t be able to let you go a second time.”
I kissed him as tears slipped down my cheeks. “I love you. So much.”
A huge smile stretched across his face. “I’ve waited so long to hear you say that.” He kissed me over and over again until we were breathless.
“I think it’s time we take these wet clothes off,” Zach growled into my neck. “Finish washing the mud off…and maybe…”
I waited for him to finish as he began removing his clothes and then mine. “Maybe…?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, sweetheart.” Zach winked. When we were down to our underwear, Zach lifted me onto the counter, and we finished washing the mud off each other.
It wasn’t long before our hands started exploring elsewhere and then our mouths.
Zach trailed his lips along my collarbone and over to my shoulder. He slid my bra strap down and then did the same with the other.
“You’ve only gotten more beautiful.” He slowly removed my bra, and when my breasts spilled out, he whistled under his breath. “Fuck, sweetheart.”
I pulled his face to mine and kissed him with everything inside me—the passion, love, anger, longing, and desire.
The kiss sparked a fury of fire between us. Zach groaned as his hands explored over every inch of my body and I did the same. My fingers ran over his hard pecs and toned, tight stomach, his body ripped from his time away. A flood of heat rushed between my legs. It’s been way too long.
“I need you. Now. ” Zach echoed my own thoughts. He ripped my string bikini panties off and pulled down his boxers. “I’ll replace those,” he muttered, and I chuckled to myself.
My eyes dropped down to his dick, and I gasped at the size. He looked larger than I remembered.
“The last time I had sex was with you, sweetheart. I’m as clean as a whistle.”
“That was my last time, too.” I grinned.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Zach lined himself up and plunged deep inside. My fingernails dug into his back as he pumped hard and deep. This was when I knew, without a doubt, Zach was my home.