Zach dished the food onto her plate and then his. “Tell me more about your childhood.”
She shook her head. “It’s not something I like to think about.”
“There had to be some good moments.” He couldn’t believe she didn’t have any fond memories of someone in her past. “What about your parents?”
“What about them?” She pushed the food around on her plate with a fork.
“What happened to them?”
“I was told my mother was a teenager who got into trouble with drugs and the state took me away when I was three. I don’t know who she was, who my father or grandparents are.” Tears glistened in her eyes when she looked at him. “I’m a nobody. Not even sure if Baxter is my real last name.”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re someone to me. And to all the people in your life.” He placed a kiss on her temple. “Have you tried to figure out your birth parents or grandparents?”
She pulled out of his embrace and stared at him, her eyes wide and her mouth in a disapproving slant. “How could I do that when I can’t read?”
Her intelligence made him forget she had a reading disability. “Okay. I see where that would be a problem. But I could help you.”
Her ponytail swung as she shook her head. “I don’t want to know about them. I want to go forward not backward.”
He could understand her need to not dwell on the past. “Was there anyone who treated you well? Maybe even wanted to adopt you?” It was hard to imagine a pretty, intelligent girl like herself would have remained in foster homes.
Her lips quivered into a smile. “When I was four or five I was in a home where they were talking about adopting me. But Mom became sick and they couldn’t keep me. That’s where I fell in love with horses.”
That family had been good to her. Her whole body relaxed and he felt her happiness when she talked about it.
“What happened after that?”
“I was a flight risk. When they took me away from there, I tried several times to go back. I was put into homes with several foster kids.” She turned her head away from him. “I never felt loved or cared for at any of them.”
This time he slid off the stool and embraced her. “You don’t have to look for love or security anymore.”
Her arms wrapped around him, they stood this way for several minutes. His stomach rumbled, and he sat back down on the stool, facing her. “I will always be here for you.” He put a finger under her chin and tipped it up so he could peer into her eyes. “I will always love you.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kitty couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She blinked several times and stared into Zach’s eyes. Was that love she saw glittering in their depths? Her emotions tumbled over one another like puppies playing. No one had ever said they loved her. Her heart thudded in her chest.
She didn’t know what to say. To do.
His face lowered and his lips pressed against hers soft and brief.
“I do love you. Believe it.” His face hovered inches above hers.
Words wouldn’t come. She leaned in and kissed him, tentatively. It all felt like a dream.
He kissed her back, slow, wet, and open mouthed. The same kiss that had turned her legs to limp noodles before. Her body hummed with a need she’d never experienced before. She wanted closer to him.
She stood, pressing her body to his.
He drew out of the kiss. “Let’s eat and explore this later.” His hands rested on her hips. “I have a lot more ways to show you how much I love you.”
Ripples of anticipation rolled through her at the heat in his gaze.
She sat on the stool and spun to face the counter. Giddiness had never been an emotion she’d felt. Right now, she wanted to giggle. Someone loved her. She glanced sideways at the man beside her. Her heart thudded erratically. What she felt for this man must be love as well. Even when she was mad or frustrated with him, she couldn’t walk away from him. He held her heart and her future in his hands.
After the meal, Zach shooed her off to shower while he did the dishes. “You cooked, I’ll clean,” he’d said.
In the shower, she thought about the sincerity she’d witnessed in his eyes and his voice when he’d said he loved her. She put on her pajamas and sauntered out to the living room. The last rays of sunshine shone through the windows. Zach sat on the couch, a computer on his lap. The light from the device made his face appear ethereal. She padded across the floor and sank down on the couch beside him. Winnie’s nails clacked across the floor, and she plopped at Kitty’s feet.
“What are you looking up?” She peeked at the screen and saw more words than photos.
“I’m reading about the different types of dyslexia.” He glanced up from the screen. “Have you ever tried reading by using a paper to uncover each letter as you go?”
“No. I just figured I couldn’t unscramble the words.”
He set the computer on the coffee table and leaned over her. She didn’t mind his hard body pressing against hers. When he brushed across her breasts, only covered by her cotton tank top, they hardened and tingled.
The lamp on the side table clicked and soft light brightened her end of the couch. On his way back across her body, he dropped a kiss on her lips. She smiled. Being kissed for no reason other than the person wanted to, made her feel special.
He held the book he’d shown her the night before. “Let’s try something.” He opened the book and set a piece of paper over the first line on the page. “Concentrate on each letter as it is unveiled.”
She nodded and bit her bottom lip. He was trying so hard to help her, she wanted to be successful.
The paper slowly moved.
“Sound out the letters as you see them.”
She knew the sounds. Kindergarten when they learned the alphabet and the sounds had been the only school year she hadn’t felt like a failure.
“P-ee-t-ee.”
“Pete. The second e is silent.”
She nodded and the next word was revealed a letter at a time. “S-eight.”
“This is the aa sound. Sat.”
“Sat.” She stared at the word and the letters started rippling together. Closing her eyes, she washed away the movement.
“Here’s the next word.”
Focusing on the sliding paper she sounded out the word “down.”
“Pete sat down,” she said and smiled at Zach.
“Yes. You just read a sentence.” He kissed her on the lips. “Want to read another one?”
She nodded and concentrated on the sliding paper and sounding out each letter as she saw it. At the end of each sentence she would repeat the words to form the thought for the string of words.
They did this for an hour until her brain was frying.
“That’s enough for tonight.” Zach closed the book and once again leaned across her.
With the stimulus to her brain from reading, she wasn’t prepared for the jolt that coursed through her when his arm scraped against her nipples. The fabric of her shirt enhanced the scraping of his arm hair.
This time instead of ignoring the jolt, she was mindful of the aftershocks that quivered her belly and set her squirming on the couch trying to ease the ache between her legs.
His hand lingered on her waist. He pulled her over against him. She pressed her chest to his and straddled his lap, pushing her aching center against the bulge in his pajama bottoms.
His hands captured her head, and he pulled her into a deep, tongue tangling kiss that fueled her already throbbing body.
She moved her body back and forth, rubbing on the part of him that was hard.
He tore his mouth from the kiss. “Woman, you are going to kill me if you keep that up.”
His words stopped her motions, but her body continued to throb and heat. “Kissing you will kill you?” She panted as she caught her breath.
“Yes. No. The way you’re rubbing against me.” He released her head and slipped a hand under her
tank. “You’re making me hornier than I already am for you.”
She knew what he meant. He wanted to have sex with her. Any other time a man had put his hand under her shirt she’d felt dirty. Tonight, she wanted Zach to touch her all over. She grasped his arm and moved his hand up to cup her breast. She moaned at the feel of his hand cupping her and rubbing the nipple.
“You’re making me horny, too,” she said on a sigh.
His mouth captured hers again. His hand squeezing her breast and flicking her nipple caused her to groan into his mouth.
He drew away from the kiss. Kissing her neck and nibbling on her earlobe, he whispered, “Do you want to take this into the bedroom?”
Her heart stuttered in her chest. He already had her heart, it felt natural to give him her body as well. “Yes.”
He stood, holding her tight. She wrapped her legs around him and giggled as he carried her into his bedroom.
The clacking of nails caught her attention. “Stay,” she ordered Winnie as Zach closed the bedroom door.
He carried her to the bed and leaned as if placing her on the bed. When her back touched the bedspread, she released her hold and he straightened. There was enough light filtering through the bedroom window, she could watch him undressing beside the bed. Her heart fluttered and her breathing quickened. He was a magnificent man.
He knelt on the side of the bed and leaned over her, kissing her open-mouthed as his hands slid up her sides, capturing both breasts. She gasped at the touch and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of her.
“You taste wonderful,” he said, kissing the sensitive skin of her neck.
She ran her hands down his muscled back and grasped his firm cheeks. “You feel wonderful,” she said, squirming, trying to get the same pressure against the V of her legs as she’d had while sitting on his lap.
“I want to touch all of you.” He raised up, sliding a hand under her shirt and slipping it over her head as she raised her arms.
His head lowered and he drew a breast into his mouth. Her body arched, presenting both her breasts for his attention. His skill had her nipples tingling and sending similar sensations to her throbbing parts.
“More. I need more,” she begged, unsure what the more was.
Zach thought he’d explode when Kitty begged him for more. She was even more receptive to him that he’d thought she’d be. He’d never wanted a woman as he wanted her, but he also didn’t want her to regret giving herself to him when the bliss of making love wore off.
He slid his hand inside her pajama shorts. His finger encountered the thin strap of a pair of bikini panties. A vision of her standing in this room wearing only the pair of panties had his teeth grinding. He had to control his need. From all she’d said, this would be her first time, and he wanted it to be a first she remembered.
Raising his lower body, he pushed the shorts and the panties down her long legs. She kicked her feet, sending the garments flying across the room.
He laughed as he lowered his body down on hers. He didn’t fear hurting her with his weight. She wasn’t fragile.
“What are you laughing at,” she asked, her body going still under him.
“The way you launched your panties and shorts off your feet.” He kissed her soundly. “I like your enthusiasm.”
She skimmed her hands down his chest, bringing his mind back to why they were lying in bed naked.
“Make my body stop throbbing,” she whispered in his ear.
He slid a hand down her lithe body as he resumed teasing her breasts with his mouth. Her instincts surprised him. As his hand neared her curls, her legs spread, welcoming him. Continuing to seduce her breasts, he worked a finger into her center, getting her accustomed to the feel. She moaned and grasped his head, drawing his mouth to hers.
His need had grown. His cock felt like it would explode any minute. He pulled out of the kiss and reached for the box of condoms he hadn’t used since breaking up with Cheryl.
“What are you doing?” The tremor in Kitty’s voice drew him back to the bed and the moment.
“Getting a condom.” He raised up on his arms to peer into her face. He could barely see her in the moonlight from the window. “From what you’ve told me I didn’t think you were taking birth control.”
Her head moved side to side. Her body went rigid under him.
He kissed her forehead. “I want to make love to you, but we’re both not ready for you to become pregnant.”
She squirmed as if trying to get out from under him.
Zach rolled to his side, allowing her to escape. She started to roll for the side the of the bed. He wrapped an arm around her, holding her on the bed. “Don’t run. I won’t make love to you if you aren’t ready.” He kissed her shoulder. “But don’t leave. I meant it when I said I wanted to make love to you.”
Her face turned his way. “Why do you say love instead of sex?”
He pulled her next to him. Just the feel of her body pressing against him started his cock throbbing again. “Because we were in the act of making love. I don’t want your body to ease a hard-on. I want your body, your mind, and your heart to meld with mine.” He kissed her temple. “That is why I say I want to make love to you.”
She spun under his arm and pressed her body to his, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want to make love with you.”
His heart spun with happiness. She’d resisted her urge to run and had admitted even if not in the three words he wanted to hear, that she loved him. It was crazy to think he had this strong of feelings for a woman he’d known less than a week, but he felt as if he’d known her his whole life.
He rolled her underneath him and seduced her mouth as he slowly entered her body. She stilled a moment when he breached her virginity. A couple more strokes and she moved with him, moaning and pressing, drawing him deeper. His control lapsed when her fingers dug into his butt cheeks and she cried out. He stroked deep and released. “Kitty,” he moaned, dropping across her. It took several minutes for his head to clear and his body to gather enough strength to roll off her.
When he rose up to draw out of her, her muscles clasped him like a warm, wet hand. The sensation started blood flowing to his cock. He’d never rallied this soon with his ex- fiancée. It also made him realize he’d forgotten to put on a condom.
That deflated his engorged appendage.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, rolling off the warm, loving woman.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Kitty had drifted off on the sea of sensations rippling through her body. Zach’s whispered apology hit her like a slap from a hand.
She rolled to her side, facing away from him. Had all his talk of love been just that…talk? Was he feeling remorse for making her think he loved her so he could have sex with her? I’m so stupid. She’d kept her heart safe all these years and one person says they love her and look what she does. I persuade myself I love him, too. Her heart squeezed. There was no persuading done. She did love him.
His hand rested on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I forgot to put a condom on.” He kissed her shoulder. “Where are you at in your cycle.”
She flopped over, facing him. “My what?” She knew what he meant but couldn’t believe he was asking her something so personal.
He rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “I’m trying to figure out the chances of you getting pregnant. When you acknowledged you wanted to make love, too, I lost my head and forgot about protection.”
That’s what he was apologizing for. Her chest ached with happiness. It wasn’t because he’d used her.
“When did you have your last period?” he asked, pulling her close.
“Last week.” She didn’t know why he wanted to know.
“How many days is your cycle?”
She pushed on his chest. “Why?”
“We can figure out if our love making will produce a child.” He kissed her chin. “I didn’t think I was ready but if it’s with you, I’m ready.”
/> She stared at him through the dim light. His eyes twinkled. He meant every word he said. She peered down at their touching bodies. Could they have just made a baby? She didn’t know if she was happy or scared.
“How many days?” he urged.
“Usually twenty-eight. Sometimes a little longer.” She peered into his face.
“Then chances are we’re safe.”
She sensed his disappointment. “Do you really want to have children with me?” She couldn’t believe a man would want to have children with a person who couldn’t read.
“Yes, I do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Kitten, you make me feel alive and happy.”
He kissed her until her body heated and she needed the throbbing between her legs alleviated, again. This time he slid a rubber on. She didn’t like the feel of the condom. But she enjoyed the ways Zach brought her body to life and sent her reeling into an abyss of pleasure.
*~*
Sunshine warmed her face. Kitty opened her eyes and stared at the room. A body next to her moved. An arm looped over her, drawing her tight. She smiled, remembering the blissful night spent in this man’s arms. She snuggled against him.
Whining at the bedroom door, sat her upright. Winnie! She swung her legs over the side of the bed and looked around for her pajamas. She couldn’t find them, but Zach’s T-shirt lay on top of his pajama pants at the side of the bed. She slipped that over her head and exited the room.
Winnie sniffed her legs and touched her cold wet nose to her butt cheek. “Don’t.” Kitty giggled and led the dog to the back door. “Go out and do your business. I’ll feed you when you come back in.”
She stood at the door watching her dog lope to the end of the yard and sniff along the back fence. Her heart and mind had never felt so light. The handsome veterinarian loved her. She’d never though a man as knowledgeable as him would give her a second glance.
An arm snaked around her middle, pulling her up against a body she’d become intimate with last night.
“A kiss for your thoughts.” Zach’s raspy morning voice triggered desire.
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