by Zara Cox
“Fuck.” He cupped her nape and lifted her into his lap. Once he’d settled her comfortably, his hand returned to its position between her thighs. “You know what he is?” he grated out.
The tears that had gathered at her throat made it hard to speak. She shook her head.
“He’s a coward and an asshole. Any guy who needs moral support to break things off doesn’t deserve you. And any guy who can't see what a priceless treasure you are didn't deserved to have you in the first place.”
The rush of tears surprised the hell out of her when it really shouldn't have. She was going through a whole new level of experiences with Zach. Experiences that she knew would shock the hell out of her before this thing was over.
Blinking back the threat of tears, she tried to laugh but only managed a croaky cough. “You’re earning yourself serious brownie points right now.”
He grimaced. “I’ll take them. But I don’t need them to tell you how beautiful you are. How utterly gorgeous and sexy and generous and warm-hearted. How incredibly giving and endlessly mesmerizing. He couldn’t see that, so it’s his loss.”
This time she couldn't stop the flood. Cursing, he brushed them away with his thumb.
“Don’t cry, baby. Not for a dickhead like that.”
“I’m not crying for him. I’m crying because…because…” She shook her head. “Thank you.”
“For stating the truth? For wanting you to see that you deserve to be worshipped? I intend to tell you that often and consistently. Until you believe it.”
“You make me want to believe it. When you touch me, I feel beautiful.”
“That’s because you are. Every. Single. Inch. Of you. Every time I’m with you, I want to show you how beautiful you are. Hell, Peaches, I walk around with my dick hard enough to hammer nails. I’m surprised there’s enough blood left in my brain to be able to put one foot in front of the other.”
She laughed, and the intensity in his eyes eased but not the hunger. The hunger was always there. And the fact that it was aimed at her turned her on so hard she trembled.
“You’re getting that look again,” he mused.
“What look?”
“That glazed look that tells me you’re thinking naughty thoughts.” His hand slipped from her nape and into her hair, caressing her scalp before fisting his fingers in a possessive hold.
“Can you blame me? I can feel your thick, beautiful cock underneath my ass. You’re saying beautiful things to me. Between your mouth and your cock, I’m hopelessly lost and shamelessly addicted. I want you so much, Zach. So very badly.”
He groaned and rested his forehead against hers. “I want you, too. But as much as I want to do something precise and pleasurable about it right now, we can’t. We’re landing in less than ten minutes.”
She jerked upright. “Really?”
Craning her neck, she looked out of the nearest porthole. All she could see was arid, hauntingly beautiful desert interspersed with isolated clumps of greenery.
“Yep. And don’t look so disappointed. I intend to satisfy every single craving you’ve ever had.” He returned her to her seat, leaned across and secured her seatbelt. “Now repeat after me. Often and thoroughly.”
“Often and thoroughly.”
He smiled. “Good girl.”
***
Zach watched Bethany closely as she got her first glimpse of Marrakech. It wasn’t for everybody. Certainly, when he’d brought Sadie here, she’d complained long and loudly about the humidity and the heat.
Whereas he didn’t mind. Growing up in Louisiana had meant long sultry summers. And while he had wished himself away from his birthplace long before he escaped, there was something about heat that he’d found deeply arousing and almost spiritual.
The summers he’d spent with his mother when she’d been lucid enough to function had been special.
Pain sliced through him, but he pushed it away and concentrated on the woman next to him.
The woman he was beginning to suspect could burrow under his skin if he let down his guard. The woman he couldn’t get nearly enough of no matter how much they fucked.
And boy, did he love fucking her.
“Where are we now?” she asked as their air-conditioned, partitioned Jeep drove through streets teeming with jellebah-clad locals and eager tourists.
“We’re passing through the Old Town. Over there is the Medina, the historical district.”
Her head whipped toward where he pointed, her eyes wide with pleasure.
“You like it?”
She smiled. “I love what I’ve seen so far. How far to your place?”
He nodded towards the snow-capped Atlas Mountains that soared in the distance. “Half an hour away. The chopper would’ve been quicker, but I wanted you to see the city up close.”
“Why Marrakech?”
Zach hesitated, ingrained self-preservation triggers kicking in. The thought that perhaps Marrakech wasn’t the right destination choice fleeted through his mind. When her smile began to dim, he gritted his teeth. “I backpacked through Africa six years ago. Morocco was one of my stops. It grew on me, so I bought a place down here.”
Her face brightened again and he realized he’d been holding his breath. He released it and moved closer to her. It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that he floundered every time he revealed a little bit more of himself. Parts of himself he’d never revealed to anyone he suddenly felt obliged to share, not because he wanted to but because he saw how much it meant to her.
“I can’t imagine you backpacking.”
His smile felt tight. The backpacking itself was no big deal. It was the reason behind it that he didn’t want to reveal. “Well, I did. All the way down the flip-flops.”
“Hmmm, flip flops…sexy.” She swayed toward him. He closed the distance and rubbed his thumb over her lips. When her vivid blue eyes darkened he groaned and pulled back.
“Morocco isn’t a strict no-PDA country, baby, but we need to watch it. Especially since I won’t be able to control myself once I start kissing you.” He couldn’t indulge his need for her right now, but the jeep’s windows were tinted enough that he could slide his hand down her thighs to rest between her legs, in that place where he most desired to be.
When she jerked against his touch, he grew harder. God, he’d couldn’t remember when he’d been this hard this constantly. If he didn’t love fucking her so much it would be a damn inconvenience.
“Maybe we should’ve taken the chopper after all,” she murmured, her gaze on the very telling evidence of his excitement beneath his jeans.
“Trust me, Peaches, I won’t make that mistake again.” Grabbing her hand, he placed it over his erection then groaned again when the pain threatened to eviscerate him.
Out of sight of Philip, who was behind the wheel, he pressed her hand harder onto his straining hard-on and worked her hand up and down.
He watched her face, watched her excitement grow as he grew thicker in her hand. When her tongue circled her lips he bit back a filthy curse. He caught her nape and dragged her close.
“Stop doing that,” he warned in her ear.
“Zach, you’ve trapped my hand under yours,” she whispered back fiercely.
“I don’t mean that. I mean what you’re doing with your tongue. It makes me think you want to suck my cock all the way to the back of your throat and thoroughly enjoy doing it.”
Her free hand clamped hard on his thigh. “What if I want to do just that?” she responded boldly. “You have an exceptionally beautiful cock.”
“Then I say you’ll get your chance sooner rather than later.”
He pulled away and pressed the intercom that connected to the front. “We’re done with the scenic route, Philip. Get us to the house asap.” He sat back and watched a delicate wave of heat wash over her face. “Now’s not the time to be coy, Peaches. You’ve stated a wish, and it’s my duty to fulfill it.”
She laughed, a husky sound that triggered
a pleasurable hum inside him. “You’re about to get a blow job and you’re make it sound like you’re doing me a favor?”
“I intend to make a pleasurable experience for both of us. And never doubt it baby, I’ll take care of you before we’re done.”
He watched her swallow and take a deep breath. He tried a few of those himself and felt marginally more in control of his violent hunger.
“How long before we get there?” The strain in her voice was exactly how he felt.
“Ten minutes.”
“Okay, I need a distraction. So you sent Keely champagne and flowers. Care to discuss?”
“There’s nothing to discuss. I meant what I said. I wanted to show her my appreciation.”
“But you don’t know her from Eve. What makes you think she wouldn’t have run to the nearest tabloid to sell her story once she knew you sent her the present?”
“I trusted that you wouldn’t be friends with someone like that.”
She sucked in a breath as her stunning eyes connected with his. “I…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He refrained from telling her he’d had Keely quietly vetted. He didn’t regret taking the precaution. He’d been too badly burned in the past to take risks on faith any more.
But he trusted Bethany. Something about her made him want to let go of his rigid trust issues.
“You’re still looking at me as if I have an ulterior motive,” he said.
“It’s not that. I’m guess I’m a little puzzled that I found next to nothing about you personally on the internet when I searched for you, and yet here you are, three days after meeting me, putting yourself out in public with little care for the risk involved.”
“Some risks are worth taking.”
Her eyes widened. “And I’m one of them?”
“I’ve only known you for three days and yet I’ve taken risks with you I’ve never taken with anyone else. I could get seriously burned here, but I’m willing to take the step.”
“Zach…I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything. Just keep giving me what you’re giving me—your companionship and that gorgeous body.”
“You have it,” she breathed out her response with such fervor that he felt lightheaded.
Jesus. She was so amazing. So giving. The hunger that had had almost consumed him when he first set eyes on her intensified. At this rate, he’d be on his knees day and night for her if he wasn’t careful.
With relief, he saw Philip turn onto the long private dirt road that led to his place. Of all his homes, this was the one he was most proud of. He couldn’t wait to show it off to Bethany. Right after he’d fucked her. And came in her mouth. And fucked her some more.
His hand tightened on her nape. She jerked but didn’t pull away. He liked that. Loved the fact that she wasn’t scared of how demanding he could be. She wasn’t scared of his hunger for her.
It would make the next several days all the more enjoyable, knowing that he didn't have to hold back.
Even more so once he’d shown her the delights of his toy room.
***
Zach’s place was more like a palace.
It was stunning. There was only one drawback.
There was water everywhere.
The old fear slammed into Bethany with the force of a hurricane and kept slamming into her when with each room they passed, all she saw was a view of the various water features outside.
Zach was too intent on reaching his destination—his bedroom, she suspected—for him to notice her tension. Bethany was glad of that because it was one way of combatting the fear and anxiety rushing through her.
Rich tapestries and gleaming marble floors whizzed by as they almost jogged through rooms filled with history and beauty.
And once they reached there, his suite was equally breathtaking. The raised bed, one of the largest she’d ever seen, made a bold statement that set her pulse racing.
Beyond the wide muslin curtained windows, the sound of a fountain tinkled in the air.
Inside, the tension grew as Zach tracked her to where she dropped her purse and kicked off her shoes. His chest heaved as he took deep breaths.
Taking her time, she plucked her Oliver Peoples sunglasses off her head and placed them on the tall boy nearby.
Then she released her button and took off her Capri pants and the dark gold linen and lace sleeveless top.
Cool air from discreet air-conditioners washed over her heated skin as she stood in the indigo bra she’d bought in Paris and changed into after their sex session on the plane.
Zach’s gaze took in the color, dropped to her panty-less crotch, and his breath hissed out. “You’re wearing my favorite color.”
“Do you like it?”
He started unbuttoning his shirt. “Come over here and I’ll let you know.”
Before she’d taken a step he was shrugging off his white shirt. The sight of his glorious torso made her insides melt and her mouth water. He was so gorgeous. His face was a work of art and his body made hers sing in worship. She still had a hard time believing he was truly this into her.
She reached him and stopped. He continued to watch her as he worked his jeans button free and lowered his zipper.
“What do you want to do, Peaches?” he rasped.
She wet her lower lip. “I want your cock in my mouth.”
He closed eyes for a few control-gathering seconds as he pushed his jeans off and kicked them away. When she stepped closer and grasped his waist, his eyes flew open.
Keeping hers on him, she slowly sank to her knees.
He groaned long and hard. “God, seeing you on your knees makes me so fucking hard.”
Her fingers whispered over the erection tenting his boxers, and she smiled. “You’re already hard, Zach.”
“Harder then. So much harder. I feel as if I’m about to explode, baby.”
Fervid fingers freed her loosely held hair from its clasp as she ran her hands up his thighs, felt the warm, corded muscle beneath her fingers. “Not just yet. I want to taste you for a little while.”
“Fuck, yes.” His fingers worked through her hair to cradle the back of her skull. “I need you so much, baby.” His face was a stark mask of raw need.
She cupped his balls and felt them tightened in her palm. “I need you too.”
Wetting her lips some more, she took his wide head in her mouth. He jerked against her mouth and cursed.
She played her tongue over the ridged edge and felt the blood surge under the velvety skin.
“Christ!”
Having learned very quickly that Zach didn’t like losing control for very long, Bethany decided to move fast. She swirled her tongue over him and took as far into her mouth as she could. He filled her, pulsing with power and vitality as she worked him over. Thick veins filled her mouth as she sucked him.
She smiled in feminine pride as he groaned his appreciation. “Oh, Peaches, you’re so very good that.” As she’d known he would, he soon took over. With both hands cupping the back of her head, Zach rocked his cock into her mouth, soon establishing a rhythm that had him hitting the back of her throat over and over again.
It was so decadent, so beautifully filthy, liquid heat dampened her sex and her clit swelled from the hotness of it.
“Look at me, Bethany.” She tilted her head and looked into heavy-lidded, aroused eyes. “You love having me at your mercy, don’t you? Love seeing me this undone?”
“Hmm.” Her hummed answer made him jerk harder as her vibrating glands hit his sensitive head.
“God, you’re going to make me come!”
“Hmmm,” she tried again.
His thighs shook and his balls contracted. The first gush of semen made her almost gag. She struggled to swallow as much of his warm, salty taste as she could.
He drew back long enough to make her gasp in air.
She grasped the root of his cock. “More,” she demanded.
“Jesus! How f
ucking greedy are you?” He slammed back in and stayed there, spurting harder into her mouth. His chest heaved and his mouth was open as he gulped in air. Deep shudders shook him from head to toe as he emptied himself into her mouth.
Bethany couldn’t get enough. Hollowing her cheeks, she sucked every last drop until he pulled out of her mouth with a pained grimace. But she noticed he was still full and semi-hard. Zach never went completely soft. It was almost as if he was primed at all times to fulfill her every need.
“Baby, I think you’ve sucked me dry.” Tilting her chin, he took her mouth in a hot kiss before he lifted her up off the floor. “I think it’s only fair I reciprocate.”
His tossed her onto his bed then watched with hungry eyes as she wiggled on her back to the middle. “Take off your bra. It’s so pretty, and I don’t want to ruin it.”
With shaky hands, she unclipped her bra and threw it at him. He caught it with his teeth and pretended to maul it. Laughing despite the desire snaking through her belly, she settled deeper into the bed.
He flung the bra away and prowled onto the bed. Nuzzling the crook of her neck, he inhaled deeply. “You smell so good. And I bet you’re soaking wet, too. Did you get that way from sucking me off, Peaches?”
“Yes,” she said breathily.
Grabbing a pillow, he placed it next to her hip. “Turn over and lie on the pillow for me.” He waited until she complied. “Now I want you to spread your legs. As wide as you can.”
Heart pumping loud enough to deafen her, Bethany spread her legs. But he wasn’t satisfied.
“Come on, baby. You can do better than that,” he encouraged.
She stretched wider, until her legs were almost perpendicular to her body, and her sex was wide open to his scorching gaze.
Bethany flushed with embarrassment and acute anticipation. She was unbelievably wet from having him at her mercy, from feeling his life force pump down her throat. She’d never felt more exposed. Or more excited.
Zach made a sound of approval in his throat and positioned himself between her legs. His hands slid over her ass and slapped both globes. She gasped as the sting of pain mingled with her excitement to make her even wetter. He slapped her again then groaned.