Zev pressed his body to her back, his hands circling her middle. “What’s the matter, Carls?” he said huskily. He sucked her earlobe into his mouth as he unbuttoned her shorts and pushed his hand into her panties. They both moaned as his fingers slid through her wetness and he pressed his hard length against her ass.
“Yes” came out hot and needy.
She arched back, rubbing her ass against him, and grabbed his wrist, pushing his hand deeper. His fingers dove inside her as his teeth grazed her neck, sending bolts of lust to her core. He teased her, sucking her neck and stroking the secret spot inside her, until she went up on her toes, pleading for more. His thumb hit the sensitive bundle of nerves that made her thoughts fracture. She closed her eyes, grinding, chasing the explosion she craved. But he was holding back, she could feel it, ruthlessly keeping her on the verge of madness. He sealed his mouth over her neck, sucking harder.
“Zev…please!”
“Shirt off,” he gritted out as he stripped her bare from the waist down. “Hands on the desk.”
She’d hang from a chandelier if he asked her to. She leaned forward, spreading her legs wider. He claimed her breast with one hand, driving her wild between her legs with his other. His hot mouth blazed across her shoulders, licking, kissing, and biting just hard enough. Every stroke of his hand took her closer to the edge. He tasted his way down her back and over her ass, slowing to lavish her with openmouthed kisses at the top of her hamstrings. She lost her breath at the feel of his tongue sliding deliciously along her flesh. Her head fell between her shoulders, and she clawed at the desk. He pushed his fingers inside her, and she arched back, moaning as she thrust her ass out, giving him all the green lights he needed. But while her world was careening away, he was in total control, taking his time, feasting painfully close to her sex but not nearly close enough.
His hands left her for an instant as he stripped off his clothes. Then he grabbed her hips, pressing his hot, hard length between her legs, resting against her wetness as he dragged his tongue along her shoulder, practically growling, “You’re so fucking sexy. Touch yourself for me, baby.”
She put her hand between her legs, her fingertips brushing over the broad head of his cock as he pumped his hips.
“Where you need it most,” he demanded.
She moved her fingers to her clit, his cock moving quicker along her wetness. The friction was delicious, his commands addicting.
“Squeeze your thighs together.” His voice was low and greedy as he palmed her breasts. She obeyed, and he ground out, “Fuuuck,” pumping quicker, rolling her nipples between his fingers and thumbs. She was barely breathing, at the mercy of his pleasure. He gritted out, “Come on my dick,” and squeezed her nipples hard, sinking his teeth into her neck. She cried out, her body bucking and clenching. “That’s it, baby, come good and hard.” The mix of demand and gratitude in his voice made it even more thrilling as he coaxed her through the very last pulse of her climax.
He turned her roughly in his arms, taking her in a deep, penetrating kiss. She was shaking, barely able to think or see. He put his hand between her legs, drenching it with her arousal, and fisted his cock. His dark eyes bored into her as he said, “Watch me,” and dropped to his knees, stroking himself as he feasted on her.
Holy freaking hell. His talented mouth was a force all on its own, but seeing him stroke himself as he pleasured her was too much to bear. Her eyes slammed shut and she spiraled over the edge again, coming so hard her legs gave out. But Zev was there to catch her.
He carried her to the couch and laid her on her back, coming down over her, and said, “How am I going to leave you tomorrow?”
The love in his eyes and the torture in his voice pulled her from her lust-drunk haze. His love was an aphrodisiac, giving her a second wind. She didn’t want to think about him leaving and tugged his mouth to hers. His hips thrust slowly, entering her one inch at a time until he filled her completely. “Car-ly” came out with awe, as if she felt too good.
She was right there with him, swept up and wanting to remain lost in them, running from the reality tomorrow would bring. When he moved, she moved with him, hips rising, thrusting, grinding, fingers pressing into his skin, as if they could imprint each other’s bodies on their own. Their mouths connected, tongues battling, probing, consuming. He held her tighter, thrust harder, faster, the couch shook and rattled with their forceful efforts. He drove deeper, so incredibly good, she loved him harder than she ever had, squeezed her inner muscles tighter, sending them both into an agonizing world of raw, explosive pleasure. He ground out her name, his hips shooting forward as his release gripped him. Suddenly there was a loud crack. Carly shrieked as the couch pitched at an angle to the floor, sending them hurling as one wooden leg shot across the room. Zev clung to her, his body weight crushing her chest. Silence engulfed them, their bodies still connected, lying at an angle on the broken couch. In the next second laughter burst from their lungs.
“We…” She snort-laughed, making him laugh harder. “We broke it!”
He buried his face in her neck, his scruff tickling her skin as he laughed out, “I’ll buy you a new couch.” He lifted his face, his unstoppable grin making her laugh even more. He kissed her through her giggles and said, “I bet you’re regretting letting me come over tonight.”
“No way. Better a broken couch than a broken heart,” she choked out, hardly able to breathe between his weight bearing down on her and her laughter.
His eyes turned serious, his laughter silencing. “I’ll never break your heart again.”
“I want to believe you,” she teased, believing him with everything she had. “But if you keep lying on top of me, you’re going to crush all of my organs.”
He rolled off her and plunked onto his back on the floor, sending them back into hysterics. She tumbled off the couch on top of him. His eyes flamed, and he said, “It’s still early. Have any other furniture that needs replacing?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
CARLY WATCHED THE numbers ticking by on the digital clock beside her bed, wishing she could stop time. Their quasi plan had temporarily settled her worries, but she’d woken in a panic forty minutes ago, and her brain wouldn’t shut off. She was warm and safe in Zev’s arms as he spooned her, his heart beating sure and steady against her back. She shouldn’t feel panicked. But she had a feeling nineteen-year-old Carly was digging her heels in, making sure grown-up Carly never forgot how much it had hurt to be left behind. She’d never forget, the same way she was sure he’d never forget how it had felt when she’d taken off in Mexico. But they had both forgiven, and they weren’t those scared kids anymore. They were smarter, more careful with themselves and with each other’s hearts.
Bandit made a whimpering noise in his sleep. Carly wondered if he was feeling off-kilter, too. He was curled up behind Zev’s knees. He’d never climbed on the bed at Beau’s. Carly had been awake when Bandit had snuck onto the bed like a ninja, but she hadn’t had the heart to move him. She had a feeling Bandit sensed something was about to change, and he needed to be close to Zev, too.
Her gaze drifted to the pictures they’d hung on the wall of her and Zev, cliff diving back home in Maryland and bundled up in the snow holding snowboards on a trip they’d taken their first year in college. A picture of them with Tory and Beau dressed up for a middle school dance sat on the dresser across from her bed. Zev and Beau were decked out in button-down shirts, ties, and slacks. Beau wore dress shoes, his hair neatly brushed. Zev wore hiking boots. His tie was crooked, and his hair hung in his eyes. Carly still got tingles in her belly at the sight of her younger boyfriend just as she had back then. She looked at Tory, her childhood best friend, pink cheeked and glowing in a peach dress with a matching corsage and heels. Carly remembered them getting ready for that dance together. She and Tory had been all giggles and giddiness as they’d dressed. Carly had paired a royal-blue dress with flats, because Zev hadn’t yet hit his growth spurt and he’d been only an inch or
two taller than she was. He had made her a corsage using fishing line to string together all her favorite cereals. He’d looped and tied, creating funky flowers and bulky stems. Her friends had thought it was weird, but she’d thought it was the most magnificent thing she’d ever been given. She’d thought he was the most magnificent boy to ever walk the earth.
He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, his warm lips drawing her from her memories as he whispered, “Morning, gorgeous.”
She swore she felt her heart smile. That old adage about time healing wounds wasn’t as true as she’d once believed. She’d had years to heal from her heartbreak, and she’d thought she had. But now she knew that she’d still had wounds that had needed tending and could only be healed by her and Zev working through pain and tears together, talking, loving, accusing, and accepting. Now, on the other side of all that, she saw parts of her future so clearly. She and Zev might not be perfect by other people’s standards, but they were honest, and their love was truer and deeper than any she’d ever known.
As she turned in his arms, knowing all of his faults and weaknesses as well as she knew her own, his sleepy eyes met hers, and she still thought he was the most magnificent creature to ever walk this earth.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said softly, holding her close. “I arranged for two horses at the ranch this morning so you wouldn’t miss your Sunday horseback ride. I know you have a huge day of festival prep planned and need to be at the shop early, so they’ll have the horses ready by six.”
Her Sunday-morning horseback ride was the last thing on her mind. How could it be in the forefront of his? “Were you always this thoughtful?”
“I don’t know, but I promised to add to your life here, not take away from it, and I meant it.”
She loved him so much. How was she supposed to go back to her life without him by her side and maintain her sanity when she didn’t know how long they’d be apart? The void his presence and his love would leave behind felt like a villain waiting in the wings.
“It means the world to me that you thought ahead and arranged all of that, but would you mind if we skipped riding?” she asked. “I really want to just be alone with you until you have to leave. I don’t care if we go to the inn to feed the chickens, stay in bed, or take a walk. I just want to be selfish a little longer.”
“Is that why you’ve been up for the last hour?” He kissed the bridge of her nose. “I’m going to miss those freckles.”
I’m going to miss the sweet things you do and say, like seeing all the hidden pieces of me when so few people ever try to look past the person I show them.
“You were awake?” she asked.
“Of course. If you’re up, I’m up. I could feel you worrying. Are you still anxious about the hows and whens of our plans?”
“A little.”
His brow furrowed, and she knew he didn’t believe her.
“Okay, more than a little,” she confessed. “I thought I was okay without having solid plans, but it’s kind of driving me batty.”
“That’s okay, babe. The new Carly plans much more specifically than the old Carly did. I respect all the changes you’ve gone through. Look how far they’ve gotten you. I’m not sure I can give you all the answers you want, but don’t stress in silence. Let’s talk about it and see how far we get.”
“I’m just wondering what you’re thinking about when we’ll see each other again. Two weeks? A month? Longer? Sooner?”
“Considering that it’s going to suck being apart, my hope is that we’ll be able to find whatever the magnetometer detected and get it on dry land quickly. Once I know what we’re dealing with and have everything in order, when I see a chance to take a break, I’ll steal a few days and come back. Hopefully within the next two weeks. But I don’t have any idea how things will pan out. You know how this kind of thing goes. It could take weeks just to dig up and locate whatever’s beneath the ocean floor, or we could find out that it isn’t even part of the wreckage, in which case we’ll have to start over. But I’ll be in touch every day, and I’ll head back as soon as I can, for as long as I can. I’m working with a small window of time here, and once the colder weather comes, that window closes.”
“I know. I’m not asking for exact dates. I just wanted to get a better idea of your plans.”
“Our plans,” he corrected her. “What about your shop? Do you have any slow periods coming up?”
“Not really. Summer and fall are pretty busy with the town festivals, and then we’re into the holidays. But it might be easier for me to plan time off than it will be for you.”
“This isn’t all going to fall on your shoulders. I won’t let that happen.” He trailed his fingers down her back and said, “We’ll figure it out together. We’re pretty creative. I’m sure we’ll find ways to make it work. I didn’t have a chance to tell you last night, but when I called Noah to make arrangements to ship the concretions back to the island, he brought up the idea again of holding a special shipwreck exhibition at the discovery park for a few weeks over the winter, and changing it up each year. I thought it might be worth discussing, since I can’t dive at the Pride site in the colder months, and you’ll want to be here taking care of your shop.”
“You would consider spending a few weeks at a time here?” Her hopes soared. “I thought you’d lose your mind if you weren’t always on the move.”
“I honestly have no idea how I’ll adjust to staying in one place, or on dry land, for long stretches of time without a project to keep me busy. But I want to be with you, and having an exhibition to run would give me something to focus on. Noah’s talking about offering hands-on areas for kids and having me give talks about diving, shipwrecks, and treasure hunting. It could be fun.”
“But you travel in the winters, and it sounded like sometimes you travel with Randi and Ford.”
“True, but now that we’re together, I want to travel with you, with or without the team. Trips won’t mean anything without you by my side, which brings up another thing I think we should talk about. The Pride is ours, babe. I hope at some point you’ll have time to dive with me again.”
“You’ve really been thinking about all of this, too? I thought you were giving me off-the-cuff answers about coloring outside the lines.”
“They weren’t off-the-cuff answers. I just meant that we’ll have to be creative.”
“It sounds like we have a lot to think about now,” she said, feeling much better even though they still didn’t have solid plans. “I love the idea of you hosting exhibitions and working with your cousins. That sounds right up your alley, but only you know if you can handle being trapped inside in the winter.”
“This is Colorado, babe. You still ski, right? Snowboard?”
“Yes,” she said happily. “I see where you’re going with this. We could have a lot of fun. I’ve been wanting to go cross-country skiing.”
“That’s definitely going on our one-day list. My cousin Ty and his wife, Aiyla, love to cross-country ski. We’ll hook up with them. What about diving for the Pride?”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it since we left the island. I’m dying to get back there, so yes. I’ll make time for sure. I assumed if I went there, we’d dive and do whatever else you wanted or needed to do, and if you came here, I’d probably still have to work at least a modified schedule, but we would fit in other things, too.”
“Then it sounds like we’re on the same page, but you still don’t have any clearer idea of a timeline than you did last night.”
“I know, but I do feel better knowing you might be willing to spend time here in the winters.”
He looked at her skeptically. “That’s great, but I still see questions in your eyes that weren’t there last night. What is it, Carly? What’s really bugging you?”
“I don’t know,” she said in a pained, frustrated voice.
Concern riddled his features. “Are you worried about how a long-distance relationship will work when we’re
apart, or are you afraid I’ll disappear again if there’s a crisis?”
“I’m not worried about either anymore,” she said too quickly, not wanting to try to sort out the difficult questions.
“Good, but it would be understandable if you have doubts about my commitment, and I don’t want to be one of those couples who harbor secret worries. I lost a decade with you because of that mistake. There’s no way I’m letting it happen again.”
She snuggled closer. “Me either. I don’t have secret doubts about your commitment, or your love for me. I don’t think you would do that to me again, or to us. Not after everything we’ve been through.”
“I know I wouldn’t,” he said emphatically. “But that doesn’t mean you have to take my word for it. I know I handled things wrong, and I’ll never stop proving to you that I am the right man for you and that you can count on me.”
“You don’t have to keep proving anything, Zevy. I believe you and I believe in you.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead and said, “Thank you, babe, because I love you with all that I am and all that I have, and I want you to know that.”
“Wait.” Her heart raced. “What did you say?”
“That I love you?”
“No. The rest.”
“That I love you with all that I am and all that I have?”
She couldn’t stop grinning. “Yes. I said that same thing to Birdie about you, word for word. At the wedding Jilly said we’re two sides of the same coin.”
“Guess that solidifies it. You’re stuck with me.” He kissed her and said, “I was going to let you find this on your own timetable, but I think you need to see it now.”
“See what?”
He went up on his knees, bare assed and beautiful, and Bandit leapt to the floor. Zev opened the curtains behind the bed, revealing an envelope with Carls written across it taped to the inside of the window.
Searching For Love – the Bradens & Montgomerys (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls) Page 32