Zale

by Brynn Hale

  “How drunk are you?” I ask.

  “You want me to walk a line and say my alphabet backwards?”

  “Kinda…” I don’t get into bed with a trashed woman. Ever.

  She walks to the end of the drive and sashays down the sidewalk, those four-inch black heels doing fantastic things for her ass. Every step has a pop of butt cheeks and my eyes stay connected to each explosion. Then with every sassy step she starts saying the alphabet—and backwards!

  “Y, X, W, V, U, T, S, R…” Then she saunters closer. “Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A.”

  “You forgot Z,” I say as I grasp her waist, my fingers sinking into her glorious figure.

  “Nope, my Z is right here.”

  Well, fuck…

  What more can I say to her? I have to show her how much I am hers.

  I slip my hand into hers and walk her to the door. She enters the code into the programmed door lock. I lead her inside and without a thought, I’m pressing my body into hers, backing her against the door. The old hardwood door will be the perfect place to take her hard and fast. I need to be inside of her. I need to feel her pulsing around me. I need to hear her scream.

  I about slap myself.

  No. I need to slow it the fuck down.

  This woman isn’t some woman I picked up at a casino in town. She’s a goddess and she demands and deserves my full attention, not my dick’s brain to take over.

  I slip my lips down her neck, pulling the skin taut and biting her right at the top of her collarbone. “Where’s the bedroom?”

  “Down the hall on the left.”

  I reach down and cup under her ass and start to lift her.

  She wiggles out of my grip. “Zale! No! I’ll hurt your back.”

  I stop, but not because I couldn’t do it. I stop because this woman needs to hear what I’m thinking. What I’ve always been thinking.

  “Ella, babe, you need to understand you are beautiful.” I clasp her jawline and tip her face up so she’s looking me in the eye. “You are fucking beautiful. You aren’t more than I can lift and you’ll never hurt me, like I’ll never hurt you. Do you understand me?”

  “I’m scared for you.”

  I reach down again and in one motion, she’s in the air, her legs wrapping my waist. This is what all that time in the gym with Hemi has built up to.

  Could I lift one of those skinny girls like this? Sure. Did I ever? Not once. Because I didn’t want them in my arms. Hell, half the time I had them face down in the bed, ass up in my face, so I didn’t have to remember there was a person behind the moaning. And the other half, I dreamed they were the woman who is in my arms right now and now always will be.

  “You scared now?” I ask.

  “Fuck me, Zale.” Her mouth covers mine and my knees weaken slightly, but I steady myself.

  I carry her down the hall and inside of the room, I lay her softly onto the bed. Her bedroom is just like I imagined. A gold chandelier hangs from the ceiling and everything is painted white. The bedding is a dark purple with a gold design embellishing the fabric. It’s almost the same color as the drink I created for her this evening.

  I lift her legs and slide off her shoes, separating her legs just a little so I can see what’s in the black cavern of her skirt and my breath catches.

  “Oh, baby…”

  Fucking commando.

  Ella

  “Every week, Zale. After that very first week, every week, never once did I have panties on. Hoping you’d drag me back to your office, bend me over that wood desk and drive your way home.”

  “Ella, I never thought you’d want someone like me.”

  “Like you? You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re talented. You’re sweet. You’re sexy. You’re kind. And thank God, you’re here.”

  I thrash on the bed as he slides a hand up my leg and under my skirt. His fingers brush over my dripping center, my shaved pussy waiting for him. His other hand lifts my grey silk blouse and pulls a bra cup down his lips center on my nipple, sucking, and I call out his name as every inch of my skin sizzles.

  His finger slides inside of me and I still. I just want to feel him playing my body. Making me feel like I’m flying. My stomach prickles and my thighs stiffen. I’m positive that the impending release is either going to make me cave into a void or explode into a hundred pieces.

  “Zale, suck on my clit, please.”

  He scrambles and in seconds his head is under my skirt. Wet, soft lips clamp around that hard nub and in seconds my back arches as the searing burn begins in my stomach and my toes round, reaching for the earth as I shoot into the stars.

  “Fuck…Zale!” I scream so loud that I wonder if the neighbors will call the cops.

  His hands slide under me and in seconds, the skirt is gone. And with one rip the shirt is open. In another the front clasp on the bra is open and I’m climbing out of my clothes. Bare assed and damn happy about it. And yet…he’s still dressed.

  WTF, Zale!

  I reach to the end table and turn on the lamp. I need to see him.

  My chest still rolls gasping for air and the same heaviness that was there when he laid me on the bed remains in my stomach. My body is primed for him.

  For…

  He pulls his Def Leopard T-shirt over his head and his jeans down in two quick steps. He’s perfect. Those Adonis-lines on his hips. His cock has to be a good eight…no, nine…nine fucking inches. Sweet baby, Jesus. His abs, you could make a cheese board on them. I’d fucking eat it all. And those tats…

  My eyes take it all in. A huge black ink fox head on his chest. A beautiful red rose on his shoulder and down his left arm that says something about music. And a saying on his right obliques.

  Only God can judge me.

  I read it twice and the second time reality hits me. I scramble for the bedding, trying to cover up. Zale saw me naked. He’s perfect and he’s seen all my flaws. The pink divot of my C-section. The excess rolls that speak to my obsession with great food. The spare everything.

  His hand lands on mine. “Oh, no you don’t. I can see the fear in your eyes, Ella. I told you you’re beautiful and I meant it.” His long fingers brush over my bruise. “No one will ever touch you like this again. Babe, every inch of you is amazing. It’s exactly what I want… forever, Ella.”

  I freeze. He did not just say that, right?

  His fingers sink into my hair as he lays on top of me, our bodies meshing. “I’ve loved you for two years. That Thursday in June that you walked into Graffiti Street, I remember it like yesterday. You were wearing those tight black jeans and a gray T-shirt that looked like a werewolf had sliced open the arm and those fucking dick-hardening red heels. Every time you come into the Graffiti Street I have to stay behind the bar because my cock is instantly hard, baby. I’m like fucking Pavlov’s dog for you. My dick knows the heaven that awaits him. And if I get a whiff of that perfume you wear… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to go into my office to beat off because he just wouldn’t go down. I started wearing tighter briefs to help keep him hidden. Nothing works. Nothing but this.”

  He lifts my legs over his shoulders, my wide thighs resting against his hard chest and he kisses them before aligning his long, thick cock with my pussy.

  I can’t tell him how many times I had to come home and get myself off because he’d said something funny and every time I walked my pussy zinged from that moment on.

  “You with me?” he asked.

  I swallow hard. “Fuck me, Zale.”

  “No, Ella, I’m making love to you, tonight.” The large head of his cock enters me and I gaspe. “But I promise, baby, I’ll fuck you in the morning.”

  And with that he drives deep, so deep that I wonder if he’s ever going to stop. But soon he’s pulling out and every inch glides back inside of me.

  My pussy is as tight as ever and I keep her that way with lots of attention and exercises. I have great internal control and I squeeze around him as he�
�s thrusting.

  “Fuck!” His arms shake. “What the hell are you doing to me, woman?”

  I reach up and hold his face in my hands. “I’m letting you know that I’m here. I’m all here and I don’t want to ever leave.”

  His hips piston forward and back. In and out. Faster and deeper. Harder and longer. His jaw tightens. I reach between us and rub my already sensitive nub.

  “Ella, I love you.”

  And with those words we both hit the moment we’ve been dancing around for two years now. The tango is complete. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to hear from him. Two years we lost because I believed I wasn’t good enough. That he’d never want me. And all the time all he wanted…

  Was me.

  Five

  Zale

  I’d love to say that I slept last night, wrapped in her arms, but not at all. I laid there and watched her sleep, running my fingers through her hair and pulling her closer to me.

  As soon as she starts to stretch, I’m under the covers and feasting on her pussy like a starving man. My long and dexterous tongue, I’ve been told, is one of the un-named seven wonders of the world. Her nails dig into my hair, pulling the strands and holding me right where she wants me. She bucks and I grab those round hips to keep her still. I slide a finger in her pussy and search for her G-spot. That spongy little spot toward the front under her clit.

  “Oh, shit…” She inhales.

  And I’ve hit it.

  I chuckle. “Just let it happen, babe.”

  “I feel like I’m going to piss myself, but in a good way, if there is one.”

  “You won’t. I promise, just relax. If it’s too intense, just let me know.” While continuing my attention, I return to her clit and the tiny bud stands on end, so hard, so reactive. I flick it with my long tongue, making sure to hold it still until it slips off of my tongue.

  “Yes, like that…” Her chest rises and falls quickly.

  I repeat it, slowing down and slowly motioning inside of her body.

  “Oh, fuck…” Her fingers dig into my hair. “I’m so close.”

  And that’s when I suction my lips to her clit and suck for everything I’m worth.

  “Fuck!” Her body shakes, and while still continuing my actions, I look up to see her face. The blonde hair spread out in long waves around her head. Her face flushed and her mouth open. Her neck arching with her release.

  As soon as she’s coming down, I flip her over, lift her to her knees, and slide deep into her. She’s still throbbing inside. Still in the throes of her crest while I thrust quickly. A nice quick fuck in the morning is just what I told her I’d give her. My thighs burn and my body buzzes. I grab handfuls of her ass and hold on while I’m driving deep and fast.

  “Woman, you’re so tight and hot.”

  “And you’re so fucking big and hard.” She spreads her legs a little farther, bending her chest to the bed. I tip my hips knowing I’m going to hit that sweet spot again.

  “Zale!”

  “Baby, just let it happen.”

  And in another breath, it does. She’s bucking against me as I thrust like a wild man to come with her. Her sweet essence coats my cock, making her insides a hundred times slicker. Everything I have is released inside of her while her pussy flutters around me.

  I slow and just still inside of her. My heart pounding hard.

  In the light of day, I know that that last night has consequences. Probably not the ones she might think. We need to have a conversation and as much as I want to believe that she’ll still be all in for us, I won’t blame her if she can’t be.

  I pull the covers up and over us. The air conditioning kicks on and chill cuts the air. Or maybe it’s my fears.

  “’Morning. How’re you doing?” I ask as I pull her onto my chest and she runs her fingers over my abs.

  “Good morning. How are you?”

  “Ella, I’ve never been so happy in my life.”

  “I’m right there with you, sexy.”

  “But I need you to know something before we go any further.”

  She sits up. “What?” A line creases between her eyes with her worry and I want to do anything I can to take it away. Ella should only be smiling.

  “Do you want more kids?”

  She giggles. “Zale, I know we shouldn’t have gone without protection last night, but I’m pretty sure I’m not anywhere near my fertile period and I’m going to trust you’re clean.”

  “Yes, I’m clean. Tested two weeks ago, but you didn’t answer my question.”

  “Oh…” She bites her lip, considering the question. “Well, I love kids and with the right guy… yeah, I’d love to have a couple more babies and carry on his…I mean, your name. And having a baby growing up at the same time as Hemi and Cece, that would be pretty amazing.”

  And there it is. I might be the right guy, but I can’t give her what she’d want…love.

  She leans over me, her chest pressing to mine and her hand brushing into my hair. “But again, I think we’re safe. It was in the moment and I don’t want you to worry about it, okay? And I don’t regret it. At all.”

  I go to open my mouth and her phone interrupts.

  “Need to make sure it’s not Walker or the kids.” She reaches to the nightstand. “Ugh,” she grunts out the word and rolls onto her back to answer. “What Jack?”

  I can’t hear what the other person’s saying because my head pounds with fear.

  “No, I’m taking a mental health day.” She rolls her eyes. “Because I can.” Ella climbs off the bed and paces. Her shoulders rising with every word. “You know that all of it is on the video camera and that’s kept off site.” She screams into the phone. “Because I knew you were slime!”

  Ella’s chest rises and falls quickly. “I’m taking the day and I don’t know if I’ll be back and no, I’m not sorry for clocking you and I hope your dick is broken from my kneeing. Go to the fucking doctor you asshole!” She throws the phone onto the bed after hanging up. Spinning so her back is to me, I can hear the breaths rushing in and out.

  “Ella, are you okay?”

  She doesn’t answer so I stand and walk around her.

  The strength is finally gone. Her walls have crumbled, and she sobs into her hands. My chest burns for her. I keep my cool. She doesn’t need another man getting out of control in front of her.

  “Baby. Hey,” I say as I slip my arms around her and her body falls into mine. “Ella. There has to be a better way. You’re too amazing to put yourself through that shit.”

  Her sobs slow. “I’ve interviewed a couple of places, but I still have bills to pay.”

  I consider offering her money, but that’s just another slap in the face. She’s strong. She’s resilient. We’ll figure this out.

  “Let’s go get some breakfast and talk.”

  “I can’t. I have to go into work.”

  “What?” I step back.

  “He can’t find the file he needs for court today and if he doesn’t have it and he loses this case it’s millions of dollars down the drain for the firm. And I’ll definitely be fired and then he’ll really give me a bad reference.”

  “Is this the asshole who did this?” I brush two fingers over her temple and she winces away.

  “I’m going to go shower.”

  I don’t like her avoidance, but she didn’t have to answer the question for me to know the truth. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened?”

  “I doubt it, Zale.”

  I follow behind her, my dick swinging side to side. “Ella, we can’t start a relationship with secrets like this.” And then I realize I’m doing the same. “Ella!”

  She stops and turns to face me. “I just need to do this, Zale. I need to prove to him that he didn’t break me. That I’m still me and I’m not afraid of him. That I’m stronger than him.”

  My gut says she shouldn’t go, but my heart understands her.

  I wrap her up in my arms and sigh. “I’m worried. Can
you let me call someone?”

  “No. I don’t need back up. I’m not telling you that I’m being smart. I’m telling you that this is just something I have to do. I’ll find a new job, but I can’t just quit this one.”

  “Tonight. Tonight you will tell me what happened over dinner.”

  “Don’t you have to work the bar?”

  “I’ll get Snake to cover for me.”

  She chuckles into my chest. “Is that his real name?”

  “No, but he’s kinda like Cray.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think that’s his real name either. Why do they do that?”

  Because they’re hiding something, baby, I can’t say it out loud.

  “Maybe they just like the name?”

  “I always thought that Cray was for ‘Crazy’.” She starts the shower.

  “That’s a good bet, but nah. I know his real name, but I really think he tortured people in the military, so I’m gonna keep it to myself.”

  She laughs. “He’s a big softie inside. I can tell it.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on that.”

  The shower’s not really big enough for two, but we’re going to make it work. I’ll have my buddy Copper come out and help me rework the bathroom. But maybe we could move into my…place…

  “What are you smiling about?” she asks as she lathers her hair.

  “Just thinking about the future.”

  “Our future?”

  “Maybe.”

  I guide her under the warm water and the suds traverse her body, over the curves and down, down, down and when they’re out, I claim her mouth, slowly tangling my tongue with hers.

  I know I’ll have to tell her soon, but for now, I just want to hold her in my arms and imagine that everything will be okay.

  Six

  Ella

  I have on my red power suit, black kitten heels, and a white lace short sleeve top with a bow in the front… and some Audrey Hepburn-Breakfast at Tiffany’s-style glasses to hide what’s now a lovely shade of green-grey with a wine-colored splotch near my eye. I probably should’ve turned Jack’s ass in, but I liked getting the best of him.