by Tia Wylder
With a happy flourish, Zachary sweeps me up from my chair and carries me across the patio and on to the beach. I look around, nervously. “Zach! What are you doing?” I ask in a panic.
“What I’ve wanted to do all night,” he says as he grabs a towel off a cabana stand. Zachary nuzzles into my neck as he throws the towel down on the beach. I can’t help but giggle.
“Zachary, what if someone sees us?”
He leans into me and gives me a long, slow kiss. When he pulls away, his eyes are dancing with passion. “Then I hope they enjoy the show.”
He pulls me tighter to his body, and I wrap myself around him, feeling so fortunate and so thankful, and then all at once, overwhelmed by nothing but the need for my sexy man. He lifts me up higher, and I latch my legs around his waist, then lean down to kiss him again, to taste the delicious peppermint-chapstick flavor on his lips.
He begins to set me down on the plush beach towel, and I pull at the bottom of his shirt as he moves around me, never letting our kiss break, even as he lowers me down the rest of the way to the sand.
He hovers ever-so-slightly over me and smiles down at me with his gorgeous, sexy grin. "You’re mine, Ava. Forever.”
I pause to savor every feature of this man who so adamantly wants to make me his own; to admire the beautiful face of a specimen who could have anyone he wants, and yet wants me. I take in his soft hazel eyes, the crinkles of happiness at their corners, the sexy stubble that is scattered across his perfect jaw. I know in my heart that I want to look at his face every day for the rest of my life. "Yours and only yours, forever," I say, and I use my legs to pull him down on top of me.
We kiss for a few moments more, our tongues dancing as the heavy weight of his muscular body presses into me, and I feel like I am burning alive from the inside out. I keep tugging at his clothing, surprised by my own lustfulness, by how much I desire him, but the truth is I’ve been feeling this longing for him since the first time I saw him and our escapade earlier in the afternoon wasn’t nearly enough to satiate my need for him.
Zachary finally relents and helps me pull off his shirt. I admire the beauty of his sinewy, hard muscled chest, and I can’t stop touching him. Every time I see him, I find something new and beautiful to admire. He’s like a statue, a work of art, and all I want to do is spend the rest of my life worshipping at the altar of his beauty. I suddenly realize that all of my life, I’ve been surrounded by boys, and Zachary is a man. He looks at me like a man. He takes me like a man.
All at once, Zachary becomes frustrated with my own clothes, and together we pull off my outfit and unhook my bra. As my breasts come free, he pauses and stares in flattering reverence.
"God, Ava. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life." His words are thick with lust, his voice a growl. "You are the most stunning creature in the world. I am honored that you consider me worthy." He turns his eyes upward, looking deeply into my own as he runs a hand through my hair. "I just want to spend the rest of our lives making you feel a pleasure like you’ve never known." He stretches out a strand of my hair, pulling the humidity-induced curl straight, extending it down to my chest, and then he lets it go to grasp one of my breasts.
His hand is soft and strong against my skin, and I want to feel him touch every part of me. He caresses a thumb over my already-hard nipple and brings it to a tauter bud before he envelops it with his warm, wet mouth.
"Oh, Zachary," I cry out and arch my back at the feel of his lips and teeth on my sensitive skin. He expertly gives the same devotion to my other breast. I writhe underneath him, then wrap my legs around him again, and my body thrills at the feel of his rock-hard cock pressing into me through his pants.
"Zachary, I need you inside of me," I beg, as his skilled tongue sends vibrations from my nipples directly down to the place where I desire him the most. I can feel that I am already hot and wet for him, and he still has far too many clothes on for my tastes. "I want you to fuck me, Zachary."
He grins, and gets back up to his feet, rapidly unzipping his pants, and sliding off his boxer-briefs. I slide off my lacy underwear, while never pulling my eyes away from the beautiful body in front of me. For a brief second, he makes me feel like a teenager again, all nervous and shy and confused. But Zachary is all man, the defined lines of his sexy chest leading down to broad hips and that thick, long cock. I don’t think I will ever stop being shocked by the sight of his perfect, massive manhood, or a little nervous at how totally he fills me up.
"I’m never going to get used to how gorgeous you are, Zach," I say, sure I’m blushing from top to bottom.
He smiles slyly in response, but his huge eyes are totally focused on me and my own naked body. I lean back on the beach town and watch him as he touches himself, making his already huge erection even harder. He slows before inching closer toward me, and I feel his eyes surveying my body, somehow making me hotter than I ever thought possible.
"You’re the gorgeous one, Ava," he says.
He stares at me for another protracted moment, then he prods my legs apart and crawls between them. He slides his palm across my stomach, gently over my hips, then down my thighs. He slowly draws his hands back toward my core, and I think I am going to explode from the anticipation. When his fingers tenderly brush against the outer folds of my pussy, I moan with need.
Zachary’s touch is perfect. He is gentle to start, but I am gasping for air after only a few delicate strokes of his lithe fingers. He turns his focus to my clit, spins around it, and then presses against it. I grow increasingly light-headed from the combination of desire and pleasure.
Then he slips a finger inside of me, and he makes an exclamation of pleasant surprise. "God, you're so wet, Ava," he says as he maneuvers the wetness back on to my throbbing clit.
"I'm just ready for you, Zachary,” I say, though it comes out as more of a growl than a sentence.
I grab his arm and drag him back toward me, encouraging him to enter me. I watch him as he aligns himself with me, and I feel the thick head of his cock push at my entrance.
"Oh, Zachary," I groan, as he inches into me gradually and gently. He is so big. I stretch to adjust to him and moan at the magnificent friction between us. He fills me completely, but he is still moving inside of me, slowly, and when his hips crash into mine, I feel wonderfully whole.
He pauses inside of me and lingers there for a long moment. I feel myself adjusting to the size of him all over again, and he twitches tantalizingly against my inner walls.
"Do you like that, Ava?" he asks, his face colored by his own passion. He stares deep into my eyes and pushes my hair away from my face, his touch against my cheek causing another thrill of sensations down to my toes.
"I don’t think I’ve ever liked anything more in my life." I lean up and kiss his perfect lips, and he begins to move inside of me again. He slides his massive length almost entirely out of me, and so I lift my hips to follow him, not content to allow him to leave me empty.
He starts to increase his speed, and eventually, we are moving in perfect rhythm, the lyrical music of the ocean and the warm summer breeze a soundtrack to our love.
Zachary is hovering over top of me, but I am desperate to feel as much of his strong, muscled body against my own as I am able. I grasp his powerful arms and encourage him to lay down on top of me. His sinewy chest presses onto mine, and I wrap my entire body around him, hoping we can stay like this for the rest of our lives.
I feel my breath becoming more labored, and I know I am approaching a peak. Zachary seems to feel it coming too because he increases his speed, then leans over, his mouth close to my ear, and he whispers into it enticingly.
"I love you, Ava. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you walk into my office," he said. "I’m never going to let you go now that I have you. I love you more than you can possibly imagine."
He loves me, I think as I open my eyes and look up at his perfect face. I am nearly drawn out of the moment by the weight of wha
t he is saying, by the realization that he well and truly loves me, but he keeps going…
He turns my neck so he can rain kisses up and down my jaw, then he runs his tongue along the side of my neck. "I’m going to make you come, Ava. And I want you to come while I’m buried inside of you."
And that is all it takes to push me into a place even more out of the reality than I could have imagined. His words send me falling over an edge of bliss, and I am dissolving into a cloud of pure ecstasy. I grab on to him and hold on for dear life, as my mind feels like it is drifting off into another plane of existence altogether.
Zachary kisses my neck and my forehead and whispers honeyed reassurance as I continue to drift off in pleasure. He keeps thrusting in and out of me as my inner channel throbs around him. He seems entirely focused on only my pleasure, and I’m not even sure how long I have been riding these peaks and valleys when I finally start to come down.
"Oh, god, Zachary," I choke out when I finally find my words again. "You are… That was…” I find that I’m not actually able to form coherent thoughts, but I'm quite confident that look on my face is more than making it clear how I feel about him in this moment of pure elation.
"It definitely was," he agrees. He brushes my sweaty hair away from my forehead, then rolls off me, pulling me on top of him, so I’m looking down at him. He holds me steady on top of him and reconnects, pushing his rock-hard shaft into my waiting sex. My body is still completely sensitive from my last orgasm as he begins to pump inside of me again. Each movement sends another wave of desire through me.
Zachary wraps his large hands around my hips and looks deep into my eyes as we move in unison. Then his eyes close, and I watch his face, the most gorgeous face I’ve ever seen in my life, as he loses himself to pleasure and comes deep inside me…
* * *
I’m not sure when exactly we fell asleep, but I am woken up by the call of a seabird as it flies overhead. I roll over on the beach towel and see Zachary, curled up, still asleep. His lithe, beautiful body is bathed in moonlight, and he is snoring ever-so-gently. I still can’t believe he wants me, that he loves me. It’s a concept I can’t entirely wrap my head around yet.
I don’t want to wake him, so I grab a towel from the cabana stand and wrap it around my naked body as I begin to walk down the beach.
I look out over the sparkling teal of the ocean, and I think about Zachary. And Josie. Josie would have loved it here. I remember all of the time we spent at the beach with my parents when we were little, how my mom and dad used to call her a mermaid because she would never come out of the water. I think about how lonely she must have been at the end, how she didn’t have the support she needed, and how different her life may have been if she had been given that support. I think about Zachary, and how much I love him for trying to be there for her, even if she couldn’t accept his help.
I love him. It seems crazy to consider, after so little time, after everything that has happened. But I think Zachary was right. When you know, you know. When I look at him, I’m not afraid. I feel joy at spending my life with him, of building my future, of cultivating a career. My body delights at waking up next to him every morning, and I can’t imagine ever wanting anyone else by my side.
I make my way back to where Zachary was sleeping, and find him awake, yawning and stretching as he looks out over the water. When he sees me, he smiles and winks.
“I thought maybe you’d started swimming for home.”
I laugh. “Hardly. I’m barely a good enough a swimming to make it to the next island. Did you have a nice nap?”
“It would have been better if I’d woken up with you beside me. Where did you go?”
I sit down next to him and wrap the towel around his shoulder, so we’re both inside of it. He moves closer and snuggles up next to me, then gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“I was just taking a walk. Thinking about you, and Josie. Everything that’s happened these last few days.”
Zachary lets out a sad sigh. “I’m sorry for everything I had to tell you tonight, but I didn’t want to move forward without a clean slate. And I thought it was only fair that you know the truth, the whole truth. I hope you can believe that I only want the best for Josie.”
I nod and set my head on his shoulder. “Of course, I believe you. And I’m glad you told me. Because of that, I need to tell you something else.”
Zachary pulls back and looks at me with panic in his eyes. “Oh, god. You’re not still planning to dump me and break my heart, are you?”
I chuckle softly. “No, no. Of course not. Zachary… I don’t want to be an entertainment lawyer.”
Zachary’s jaw drops. For a moment, I think I’ve said the one thing that will be too much, that this will be the thing that pushes him over the edge. His face is a blank slate. And then, he starts laughing. He starts laughing so hard, he doubles over, and I think he might stop breathing. I cross my arms over my chest and huff.
“Well. I didn’t think it was that funny.”
He sits back up and wipes a tear from his eye. “After everything we’ve gone through today, you thought this was going to upset me? Ava, I don’t care what kind of lawyer you want to be. You can practice whatever kind of law you want! I know why you came to me initially, but what exactly are you looking to do?”
“Well, my goal was to go into some sort of non-profit work, helping a charity or a civil rights cause. I want to do good when I get out of school, find a way to help people.”
Zachary squeezes my hand under the table and gives me a grin. “You know, you can do that while you work for us. And probably have better access to money.”
I scrunch up my face. “That’s what Bethany said.”
“She’s a smart girl,” he says with a smile. “Listen, I would never presume to tell you what to do with your career, my love. I think no matter what you do, you’ll be brilliant at it. But if you come work for us when you get out of school, you can head up your own division of the firm, focusing on aiding our clients with their charitable causes, and forcing our attorneys to do pro bono work. Lord knows most of them don’t do enough to give back to the community. Is that something you’d consider?”
I am quite sure that I am not doing a terribly good job of hiding my shock. “Zachary, are you sure? That’s crazy. I need to graduate, pass the bar. And even then, giving a whole division of a huge law firm to a nobody? Is anyone going to be happy about that?”
“Screw ‘em. Donovan hired his last girlfriend to man the main switchboard, and she couldn’t pronounce our last night properly. If I want my brilliant, accomplished, skilled girlfriend to do something amazing at our firm to help people, then it’ll happen.”
I throw my arms around him, and the towel falls off both of us, leaving us naked in the moonlight. When I pull back, Zachary raises his eyebrow and smiles.
“Miss Webber, you make a man think such thoughts…”
I barely have time to register his movements before he whips me on to my back and starts kissing me.
I don’t know much about heaven, but if it exists… this could be it.
Chapter Ten
Morning arrives before either Zachary or I am ready to welcome it, yet we had no choice but to get out of bed. After the second round of glorious lovemaking on the beach, we had to find a gold cart to “borrow” to get back to the house. We crawled into bed, covered in sand and ocean salt, and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep…
That is until the alarm went off at 7 am, forcing us to crawl out of our pleasant slumber. The day will start early, and record executives will be clamoring to sign Bethany, so Zachary doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. That means getting back to the main hotel before anyone else has a chance to approach and try to talk her into anything without his guidance. We’re in the shower, getting ready for the day, and I can see the stress in Zach’s forehead.
“What’s on your mind?” I ask as I hand him the shampoo. He glances down at my soap body and smiles.
> “Well, now that you mention it…”
I smack him with a loofah. “Be serious for a second.”
“I just want to make sure we get Bethany hooked up with the best possible label. Someone that can find her a better producer. I feel like shit for sending her to that Sam asshole, and I want to make sure nothing like that happens again.”
I give him a quick kiss and brush some soap off his nose. “You are a sweet man, Zachary Graham. And I love how much you care about Bethany’s well-being. But you never could know anything like that would happen. And you can’t protect her, or me, or anyone else from the world outside. All you can do is be there for people when the worst happens. Because it does happen sometimes.”
Zachary sweeps me up in his arms and gives me a long, slow kiss. “You’re really amazing, Ava. Did you know that?”
I wink. “I know.”