“Hungry?” he asked.
Starving. She’d never experienced need and want like this before. She could hardly think straight. Throbbed everywhere.
“Sophie?” He cupped her cheek. She leaned into his hand. Could he see how much she wanted him? “Let’s eat dinner and then…”
“Then?” she managed to squeak out.
“Then I’m all yours.”
She pouted. Just a little. Because she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it through dinner.
He smiled. “Trust me. It’s killing me not to lift that sexy dress and take you right this second.” He dropped his arm. “But we have all night. Come in the kitchen and let me feed you first.”
“What if I said I wasn’t hungry?” She trailed after him. Holy Toledo! He wanted her right this very second? Even her toes were tingling now.
“You will be once you see what I’ve got for you.”
Okay, he had her curious about something besides his body now. No, not besides—in addition to. Maybe she could eat whatever it was off his very sexy abs?
The kitchen smelled delicious. Two place settings were arranged on the kitchen island, and he pulled out one of the barstools for her. Their arms brushed. His breath tickled her neck. She went a little weak.
“Rachel from the Beach Café was nice enough to help me with some ingredients and a recipe for a special meal,” Zane said, grabbing a potholder off the counter and opening the oven. He pulled out a plate and brought it to her, carefully putting it on the place mat. “She was one of the chefs in the Battle of the Burger competition.”
“I remember.” She remembered every second she’d spent with Zane. “And thank you. No one’s ever cooked for me before.”
“You’re welcome. We’ve got lamb chops with a huckleberry chutney sauce, mashed potatoes, and sautéed spinach.”
Sophie’s mouth fell open. She loved huckleberries.
“I told her you were from Montana and asked if she had any ideas that would remind you of home.”
Tears filled the backs of her eyes. “Zane,” she muttered, blinking away the emotion his gesture prompted. “This is one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.”
His face lit with pleasure, and he went to get his plate. She watched him, and when he sat down with their knees touching, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“It’s the huckleberries, right?” he asked.
She nodded. “They’re big in Montana. I could eat them nonstop. They’re sweet and juicy and really good. Have you ever had them?”
“This is my first time.” He gave her a crooked smile that showed off his dimple before turning his head to cut into his meal. He took a bite. “Not bad.” But the way he said it sounded more like, “This is awesome.”
Happy he liked his first taste, Sophie dug into her own meal.
“I had a great lunch with Jon Waldron and his wife today.”
“Is it official?” She had no doubt Zane would be SHE’s ambassador. Everything about him, most notably his heart where giving back was concerned, shone and touched everyone within shouting distance.
“Not yet. But unofficially?”
She put her fork down and twisted to give him her full attention. He took another bite of his food, delaying his news and making her crazy. “Zane, tell me already.”
“They want me to start in October.”
“Congratulations!” Unthinking, she leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. The second their lips touched, she meant it to be a quick kiss in cheers, but when she pulled away, Zane palmed the back of her head and brought her in for a deeper kiss.
An enthusiastic kiss.
A kiss that felt different from their other kisses.
More voracious. More wolfish.
The sweetest sensations ever rolled through her as his lips crushed against hers and his tongue twined with hers and then…then his other hand caressed her thigh.
She did a gaspy, moany thing. He groaned and let her go.
“Jesus,” he rasped.
“Mmm,” she murmured, liking that for the first time ever, he seemed out of control. From kissing her. Her head swam at that. Peeking at him under heavily lidded eyes, she wondered what would happen when they went past all the kissing to other things.
“Sorry about that. Got a little carried away.” He put his arms on the counter on either side of his plate.
“I didn’t mind.” She ran her hands down the skirt of her dress and shifted back to her food.
“I wanted you to have a special meal tonight.”
“It is. And it’s delicious. Should we finish?”
“Yeah.” The sheepish look she caught in his profile only made her want him more.
Sophie had the impression he wanted to do right by her. Not that she’d had much experience with guys doing that. But Zane had turned out to be nothing like what she’d expected. And he had no idea he could do no wrong in her eyes.
“So tell me more about Montana.”
“Um, the capital is Helena and its nickname is Treasure State?”
He cocked his head. “That’s not what I meant, smarty-pants. I meant what do you do when you’re not working?”
“Oh.” She pushed her mashed potatoes around. “I volunteer at the ACS, but you already knew that. I read. I do a little kickboxing. And I love to watch movies.”
“Who’s your favorite director?”
“Quentin Tarantino.”
Zane dropped his fork. “You’re shitting me.” She shook her head. “He’s my favorite, too.”
“Really?” She sat taller and in her best German accent said, “Oooh, that’s a bingo! Is that the way you say it? That’s a bingo?”
“Inglourious Basterds.” Zane’s dimple winked at her, and then he got a serious look on his face. “That makes three of us. And at this range, I’m a real Fredrick Zoller,” he said, quoting from the same film but in a much better German accent than she had.
She bounced in her seat. “Okay, okay.” She cleared her throat. “That’s thirty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Pulp Fiction,” he said without hesitation.
Oh my goodness, he loved Quentin as much as she did. She almost fell off her stool.
He pushed his plate away and turned so his thighs bracketed her knees. “I’m curious what makes you so curious.”
“Django Unchained.” She rolled her eyes. “Easy.”
His eyebrows arched and he thought for a second. “You know, I bet I could fry an egg on your head right now if I wanted to.”
Shoot. Her mind went blank. She dropped her gaze to the floor and repeated the line in her head. Zane started to say something, but she pressed two fingers to his mouth to keep him quiet. “Kill Bill!” Her bottom lifted off the seat.
Zane broke into a wide smile. “I can’t believe you love Tarantino films.”
“I can’t believe you do, too. I mean I can believe it, but I have to go see his movies by myself because no one will go with me.”
“I pictured you more a romantic comedy kind of girl.”
“Oh, I like those, too. And I know what you mean. Someone like me liking all that language and violence and stuff? But that’s why I love it. It’s so far out of the realm of nice and disciplined that it intrigues me. Plus the writing is fantastic and the acting is always amazing.”
He was staring at her like she had a huckleberry mustache. She wiped her hand across her mouth. Nope, nothing on her fingers. “What?”
“Nothing.” He gave a tiny shake of his head, but his intense blue eyes never left hers.
“Okay, one more. This might be my most favorite line.” She took a breath. “You got two jobs. Kiss good and make sure my hair don’t get wet.”
His lips pursed in a very sexy tight line, his eyes narrowed. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, which brought him much closer to her, uh, center. The ache that had quieted between her legs and in her breasts and in her womb after their kiss sparked back to life.
“Want a hint?” she asked on a swallow.
“Death Proof.”
“You knew it right away, didn’t you?” She gave his shoulders a little push.
“Maybe.” He inched back. But only a little.
So she put her elbows on her thighs, bringing her nose close enough to his to Eskimo kiss, and said, “I ache to have you inside me.”
He jumped to his feet so fast his stool scraped the floor as he pushed it back. He took her hand and helped her stand. “You sure about this?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
That got her a bone-melting smile. It was the truth. On her way to his house she hadn’t been sure she’d be bold enough to say what she wanted, but all her inhibitions fell away when she was with him. He made her feel comfortable and desirable and unashamed to say whatever was on her mind.
He led her out of the kitchen, through the living areas, and up the stairs. Each step down the hallway toward his bedroom brought more sparks. And even more certainty.
Tonight and hopefully tomorrow were all that they had, and Sophie wanted to take this short but very important relationship all the way. Come Monday, she’d love him from afar.
White curtains billowed at the open window next to Zane’s very large iron-framed bed. An armoire, slip-covered chair and ottoman, and stationary bike took up one half of the huge room. A media center with a desk and computer and big-screen TV took up the other.
A burst of light flashed outside the window and a string of booms sounded. Fireworks.
“Perfect timing,” Zane said over his shoulder. They walked across the room and he unlocked the French doors that opened up to a private balcony.
The sky lit up with sparkly color. Zane pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her chest in a hug from behind. She laid the back of her head on his shoulder.
They stood like that for a few minutes and then he dropped his arms. His hands went under her dress to her outer thighs. His mouth grazed the side of her neck.
She shivered.
“You cold?” he asked.
“No,” she breathed and tilted her head to the side to give him better access.
He dropped tiny kisses behind her ear while his hands moved inward and up, exposing her thighs as he lifted the dress higher.
She quivered at the idea of what he had in store for her. Being outside excited her. Having his hands inch closer to her heated center overwhelmed her. So many feel-good vibrations assaulted her that she barely stayed standing.
“God, Sophie.”
His kisses grew hungrier down her neck. He nibbled and stroked her with his tongue, kissed back up and softened his touch at her jaw. His hands caressed her thighs and her legs shook. She spread them a little wider apart.
“Zane,” she moaned. “Please touch me.”
“I will. I’m going to touch every inch of you until I know what makes you sigh and what makes you giggle and what makes you beg me to never stop. I’m going to make you shudder and scream so that long after tonight you’ll remember the feel of my hands and exactly where they were on your body.”
“I’m going to die if you don’t get on with it.”
He spun her around and his hands cupped her bottom. Massaged and kneaded over her thin lacy panties. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ground against him. The feel of his arousal excited her, inflamed her. He stared deep into her eyes, taking her someplace else. A place she never wanted to leave.
Rather than kiss her like she expected, he rubbed his nose against hers. Nibbled her bottom lip and pulled away. She did the same to him. He did it again. She did it again. The fun, playful face touches drove her wild in the happiest way. Below the neck they moved in perfect sync, writhed, pressed their hips together in slow, seductive, fluid rocks.
This wasn’t just sex.
She connected with Zane in ways that went beyond the need to touch each other. He made her feel safe and cherished. Treasured. His words filled her with amazing contentment, and when he let his heated glances and sexy smiles do his talking, her heart swelled.
“I’ve never…” she started to say, but he was pressed against her in such a skin-tingling way that her eyes drifted shut for a moment and she just wanted to lose herself to the sensations.
“You’ve never?” Zane’s hands, still under her dress, slid up her back.
“No man has ever made me…orgasm.” Why was she telling him this? He no doubt would be the man to remedy her situation. She’d never been more turned on in her life, and they weren’t even naked yet.
She’d never been more in love.
And knowing that her time with him ended so soon was tragic, and so she wanted to completely bare herself. Body. Heart. Soul.
He stilled.
Dang it. She should have kept her mouth shut. She looked away.
His arms dropped to his sides and then one warm hand turned her chin back to face him. “Thank you for trusting me enough to share that.” He softly kissed her lips. “I’m going to rock your world tonight, and then I’m going to do it again. Only different. You’re going to come undone, Sophie, every which way you can, and I won’t stop until you do.”
“O-Okay.”
“Turn around.”
She did. Fireworks exploded in the sky.
“Tell me if I do anything you don’t like, okay?” he whispered in her ear. “And tell me the things that you do like so I can keep doing them.” He palmed her breasts over the material of her dress, and she melted against him.
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to like everything.”
He kissed the side of her neck. “I am, too.” Then he slid her dress down and unhooked her bra, completely exposing her breasts. His hands cupped her, his thumbs rubbed across her nipples.
Bared to the fresh air, she moaned in pleasure as he massaged and kneaded. Her eyes closed and she arched into his touch.
“God, you feel good,” he said, the stubble on his jaw grazing her cheek and making her hot. “Everywhere I touch with my fingers, I’m going to touch with my lips and tongue.”
“Yes, please,” she got out on a shaky breath.
His hands slid down her stomach and back under her dress. With a featherlight touch, he stroked up her thighs, inching closer to the spot she so desperately wanted him to touch. And then lick. She leaned more heavily against him as her legs fell open. The feel of him so turned on behind her made her dizzy. She was overcome with desire.
Breathless and excited and so, so willing.
With her dress now bunched around her middle, his fingers tenderly rubbed over the front of her panties. Her legs shook. He applied a little more pressure. Then he took his thumb and caressed her center and she nearly came right there.
“Jesus. You’re already so fired up for me.” He slipped a finger under the material.
Her knees buckled. He quickly moved one arm under hers to keep her upright, and his big, warm hand cupped her breast while lower, he added more fingers to his ministrations on her swollen flesh.
She panted for more, rocked shamelessly against his hand. She liked. She really liked. But couldn’t find her voice to tell him so.
Because at that moment, he slid a finger inside her and all she could do was call out, “Oh God!”
Pleasure so sweeping she was delirious with it made her light-headed, and the fireworks this time were behind her eyelids. Pretty much everything she’d experienced before this was nothing like this. The way Zane pinched her nipple and took her fullness in his hand at the same time he moved his finger inside her put every cell in her body into an unbelievable frenzy of red-hot elation.
Breathy sounds fell from the back of her throat.
And then she heard his breathing. Quick and shallow like he was equally out of his mind with pleasure. She reached her free arm behind her and grabbed his butt, bringing him tighter. She loved feeling him, thick and hard, and then he rocked against her and holy hot sauce, she was going to come undone.
“You are s
o unbelievably sexy,” he rasped. He kissed her neck and she slowly rolled her head to the side. “And I’m about to make you come, sweetheart.” He added a second finger inside her, and somehow knew exactly where to touch because exquisite pressure made her legs jelly. A wild wave of pleasure and a dizzying explosion of feeling set off a climax she’d never experienced before.
She yelled out his name.
He worked her until she stopped shuddering, and then he gently spun her around, smiled that devastating smile of his, and pushed her back until she sat on a cushioned chair. She watched him get down on his knees in front of her. Her heart, barely recovered from her orgasm, pounded in double time when he slid her panties down her legs.
“Zane?”
“Time for different,” he said, a devilish glint in his eye. He palmed her knees and spread her legs so she was completely exposed to him. “Scoot your bottom closer to the edge.” She did. He glanced down at her, and she was sure her blush reached between her legs. But it didn’t stop a jolt of arousal from hitting there. She spread her legs wider and arched her back, feeling gutsy, wanton.
“Damn,” he muttered and jumped to his feet. He whipped off his shirt and undid the buttons on his jeans so he sprang free.
Oh my God. He was big. And rock hard. And she couldn’t stop from staring. She also couldn’t wait to feel him buried deep inside her.
He dropped back down and kissed the inside of her thigh. “Your skin is so unbelievably soft,” he whispered. “And I love the pink flush of arousal that does indeed spread everywhere.”
Her head fell back, and she closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the edge of the seat cushion. Her swollen flesh pulsed with need and she bit down on her bottom lip so she didn’t beg him to hurry.
His warm breath and even warmer lips moved closer to her center. Then he stopped and she sensed him looking up at her. She opened her eyes.
“Watch me taste you,” he said.
“Okay,” she breathed.
And she watched him dip his head and pleasure her. She nearly lifted off the chair at the first swipe of his tongue. Being intimate with Zane was like running through the sprinklers for the first time—exhilarating and naughty. She relished it. His every touch boosted her confidence and shattered her worries, and her affection for him deepened. He was the best kind of love because he made her feel whole. For the first time in her life, her head and heart were in perfect sync. He kept that talented tongue of his on her, but just when she was about to unravel for a second unbelievable time, he pulled back.
Keeping Mr. Right Now: A Kisses in the Sand Novel (Entangled Bliss) Page 17