“I’m sorry I made you mad at me, but I’m here now, and everything is going to be fine, baby. You’ll see.”
Before she could respond, he licked his tongue across her lips slowly with deliberate strokes. He toyed with her mouth by sliding his tongue in and out between her parted lips. Her traitorous body let out a moan.
There were some things a woman couldn’t get over, and that was how skilled a man could be at seduction. Zane was an ace. He could kiss the panties off a woman, and she of all people should know since he’d proved that skill on her a number of times.
Moments later, he lifted his head from her mouth, and she could hear his heavy breathing. But what made her breath catch were the dark brown eyes fixed on hers. He was staring at her in a way that made her insides melt.
“I want you,” he whispered huskily against her lips.
Channing tried to ignore how quickly he had gone from loving her to wanting her. It was obvious Zane Westmoreland didn’t know the difference between love and lust. And, for now, she didn’t want to know, either. There was no denying she wanted him, and as long as she knew that love wasn’t a part of the equation there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy him.
Hadn’t she told her grandmother a few days ago she was locking up her heart and throwing away the key? Zane showing up like this didn’t change a thing. As far as she was concerned, his declaration of love was nothing but words. Words she refused to believe in.
“Channing, say you want me, too,” he said throatily, holding her gaze with his dark eyes.
What he was asking of her was easy. “I want you, too, Zane.”
A smile touched his face, and he drew her closer, putting his hands on her rounded bottom, cupping her in a way that placed an arch in her back and made her press tight to his middle.
She felt him, the heavy bulge of his erection through his jeans. Even through the denim she could feel him throbbing. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and they stared at each other as sexual heat surrounded them, stimulating them, charging the air. Erotic tension vibrated between them, and a gigantic craving rushed blood through her veins.
Then, soundlessly, he lowered his mouth back down to hers.
* * *
Zane felt his world rocking the moment their mouths locked. Tongues touched, entwined, twirled with a hunger that tugged mercilessly at his groin. Damn, he had missed this. He had lain in bed plenty of nights remembering. Channing had a mouth that was made to be kissed, and he had taken great joy in doing so. She had a taste that was unique, and his tongue was greedy ready to make up for lost time.
She was kissing him back, tangling her tongue with his in a heated duel, a sensuous motion that made his erection throb harder. There had never been a time when she hadn’t met him on a primal level. There had never been a time when she hadn’t both fueled and satisfied a need within him. Even now, his stomach muscles quivered as raw desire took control of him.
He shifted his stance so the apex of her thighs made better contact with his erection. He wanted her to feel it, to know what she was doing to him, to know just how much he wanted her.
Zane deepened the kiss, and the moan that came from deep within Channing’s throat told him all he needed to know. He wouldn’t have to grovel as he’d thought he would have to do. Like he’d been prepared to do. Like him, she was ready for them to move into the future together.
He pulled his mouth from hers and stared down into eyes glazed over in passion. How could he not have known he loved her? How could he have missed the truth when all signs pointed to those emotions he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge? She had been the one even when he’d convinced himself that she was not.
He loved her. He needed her. And he never intended to let her go again. Derringer was right. The thought of not having Channing in his life far outweighed the fear of losing her to some tragic event.
Filled with love to a depth that was mind-boggling, he cupped her face in his hands. She looked absolutely beautiful, staring up at him with hazel eyes. Suddenly, something clenched in his gut. He saw desire in her eyes, but where was the vibrancy that was always there when she looked at him? He recalled seeing it that night at McKays. Perplexed as to why he would imagine such a thing, he asked softly, “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
Good question. Zane grew thoughtful. But before he could dwell on her response any further, Channing placed her hands on his shoulders. At her touch, his heart pounded furiously in his chest. Needing to have his mouth connected to hers once again, he leaned down and feasted on it like a desperate man. The only times he’d ever been this hot for a woman had always been with Channing.
He moaned deep in his throat when he felt her hips grind against his hard length, sending rapid sensations rippling through him. The sensual pull between them was too strong, more overpowering than ever before, and he needed her now.
She released a startled gasp when he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Glancing down at her, he asked, “Where’s the bedroom?”
“Straight ahead on your right.”
He walked at a brisk pace, feeling the urgency in every step. When they reached the bedroom, he placed her on her feet beside the bed. “Do you have any idea how I feel?” he asked, letting his fingers tenderly stroke the side of her face.
“No.”
Zane paused. She’d given him a quick and simple answer. “Then let me show you.”
The one thing he’d always enjoyed during their time together was his ability to pleasure Channing. Her body would respond to him in the most sensuous ways. She loved the taste and feel of him as much as he did her.
He murmured gently, telling her in plain terms just what he planned to do to her. He heard how breathless she became with every explicit detail.
He removed several condom packets from his wallet and tossed them on the bed. Then, without wasting any time, he quickly shed his shoes and socks before yanking his shirt from his jeans and removing the rest of his clothing.
“Now for you to join me,” he said, laving his tongue across her jaw. He then stripped her of her T-shirt, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside. He cupped her breasts through her lace bra, and his entire body felt an electrical charge. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the front clasp was undone and gorgeous twin globes were free, making his mouth water with heated male appreciation as he gazed at them.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, heat stirring in his gut. Her breasts were perfectly shaped, enticing to the eyes and delicious to the mouth. Lowering his head, he buried his face between them and inhaled the luscious scent of her flesh.
Breathing thickly, Zane’s mouth latched onto a swollen nipple and licked it with the tip of his tongue before sucking greedily. He felt and heard her body’s response when she shivered and moaned, which triggered a similar reaction in him. Blood pulsed through the veins of his engorged shaft, making it ache that much more.
A thrill of intense pleasure ripped through Channing, and she held Zane’s head to her breasts as his mouth had its way with them. Her nipples throbbed while being devoured by his tongue, and her belly quivered with intense arousal that moved lower, to the apex of her thighs. It was only a matter of time before he took note and gave her the kind of attention that only he could give.
Moments later, he lifted his head and inhaled deeply. She watched how his nostrils flared as they picked up her scent. In anticipation of his next move, thunderbolts of pleasure consumed her.
“I need to get inside you, bad,” he said softly, reaching behind her to ease down the back zipper of her skirt. He gave it a little tug, and the denim slid down her thighs to pool at her bare feet. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest when he lowered to bended knees and removed her panties, easing them down her legs.
Instead of standing back up, he remained on his knees. He touc
hed the curly hair covering her femininity. His fingers slid back and forth through the curls before parting her folds and easing inside of her.
Desire shifted into an urgency that Channing felt all the way through her bones. And when he added another finger and began working inside of her, stroking her with mindless precision, she threw her head back and moaned. She wasn’t just wet; she was soaked—exactly the way Zane liked.
“I can’t wait to taste you again,” he whispered, his voice reaching her just moments before his tongue slid inside of her. Then, with his ardently skillful and proficient mouth, he licked, sucked and nibbled her right into an explosion.
But he didn’t let up. All through her orgasm, he swirled his tongue inside of her, lapping her greedily as he held on to her with his mouth.
She cried out, screaming his name while bucking her hips, holding on to his firm, broad shoulders. She thought the same thing now that she’d thought the first time he had taken her this way. Zane Westmoreland’s tongue should be outlawed and his fingers shackled.
It was only when the last spasm had left her body that he got to his feet, cupped her face in his hands and held her gaze. “I love you.”
Channing’s mind blocked out his words. She didn’t want to hear them because they weren’t true. He didn’t love her; he loved this. He wasn’t in love with her; he was in lust with her.
He kissed her, and she tasted herself on his lips while his engorged length pressed hard against her stomach. Licking her lips, she pushed Zane down on the bed with the intention of savoring every inch of him. It had been two years, and she’d missed his taste.
He lay flat on his back as she eased over him, using her tongue to lick all the way from his ankles to where his shaft lay thick and swollen in a dense bed of curly hair. She used her fingers to stroke him before lowering her lips to his throbbing erection.
As soon as her mouth took him in, he let out a guttural groan. The sound sent heat surging through her. Her mouth tortured him, and she enjoyed the feel of him pulsating against her lips. Blood raced through her body when she felt him swell even more. He jerked, bucked and arched off the bed, but she refused to let go. This was what she wanted, what she craved, what she’d missed.
“Channing!”
Her mouth stayed locked on him even when he screamed out her name and his release flooded her mouth. She felt his hands in her hair, trying to pull her mouth away, but she refused to let go. His taste was setting her entire body on fire, preparing her for what was coming next.
She slowly eased her mouth off him, and before she could catch her breath, he had pulled her up and flipped her gently onto her back. Parting her legs with his knees, he looked down at her before reaching for one of the condoms he’d tossed on the bed earlier. He opened the packet with his teeth and quickly sheathed himself.
“I need this,” he whispered before easing into her. He then thrust hard, and she wrapped her legs around him. He rode her, moving in and out, using powerful strokes, sensuous thrusts and a steady pace that had heat drumming through her at every angle.
The room filled with the scent of hot, sweaty bodies. Hard, gritty sex. And Zane was relentless. She responded by lifting her body to meet his downward spiral over and over again.
And then she went crashing over the edge, taking him with her. His body continued the steady strokes until the last remnants of climax had left her body, leaving her totally drained. She was convinced that what they’d shared today felt different from all those other times. She’d never experienced anything like it.
Moments later, Zane slowly pulled out of her and then eased out of the bed to go to the bathroom. When he returned, Channing lay stretched across the bed with her arms thrown over her eyes, pulling in deep breaths.
She lowered her arms so she could look up at him. He had put on his jeans but not his shirt. The woman in her couldn’t help but appreciate his muscular chest. When he made a move to sit on the edge of the bed, she said, “You need to leave, Zane.”
His brows rose in surprise. “Leave?”
“Yes. I enjoyed the sex as much as you did. We both got what we wanted, so there’s no reason for you to stick around.”
A dark frown settled on his face. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the reason you came here.”
“I told you why I came. I wanted to apologize and to tell you I love you.”
She shook her head as she eased out of bed and began putting on her clothes. She glanced over at him as she tossed her hair aside to slide her T-shirt back over her head. “I don’t believe you.”
He watched her every move. “What don’t you believe?”
She eased her skirt up over her hips. “That you love me.”
Zane was taken aback by what she said. “And why don’t you believe me?”
“Because,” she said, pulling her hair back and fastening it with a clip. “If you tell someone something often enough, eventually they’ll get smart and believe it. You didn’t love me a few days ago. I got that admission from your own lips. So why on earth would I believe that you love me now, Zane?”
Seven
Zane stood there with his gaze fixed on Channing. He could not believe she was questioning what he’d told her. The first time he’d ever admitted his love for a woman and she didn’t believe him? What kind of crap was that?
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear Bailey gloating. “The kind of crap you got yourself into.”
Drawing in a frustrated breath, he said, “The reason you should believe me is because I don’t have a reason to lie about anything like that.”
She gave a short laugh. “Sure you do. You’ve got it in your mind that nobody can have me but you.”
He took it as an affront at what she said. “I don’t think that!”
“Don’t you?” Her eyes turned stormy. “Did you not seduce me in McKays to prove a point?”
“Yes, but I—”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, interrupting. “You’ve explained yourself. You came to apologize, and you have. But please don’t get love confused with lust, Zane. You can never love a woman. I get it.”
No, she didn’t get it. How could a man tell a woman he loved her and she not believe him? He drew in a deep breath when the answer slapped him in the face. Easily, if it was the same man who’d told her over and over that he didn’t love her.
They stood there, eyes locked, while seconds ticked by. He needed her to understand. “I was afraid to love you until now.”
Her brows rose. “Afraid? Please. Certainly you can do better than that. Zane Westmoreland isn’t afraid of anything.”
Boy, was she wrong. He rubbed his hand down his face in frustration. “Look, Channing—”
“No, you look,” she said, her tone hardening as she tossed him his shirt. “You might not know what love is, but I do. I loved you, but you couldn’t love me back. You wouldn’t love me back. So I left Denver, and I stayed away for two years. Two years, Zane. And you didn’t so much as pick up a phone to see how I was doing.”
Her heart twisted, remembering the nights when she first got to Atlanta when, for some stupid reason, she actually thought he would come after her. She thought that he’d realize he loved her, he couldn’t live without her and he would show up one day with a confession of his feelings. She had been so wrong, and when she’d finally accepted that Zane truly didn’t give a damn about her, she’d tried moving on.
“I wanted to,” Zane said and immediately knew it sounded lame.
Evidently she thought so, too. He could tell when he saw fire flaring in her eyes. “You wanted to? The Zane who does whatever he wants to do wanted to call me and couldn’t? Why?” She held up her hand before he could answer. “That’s right, you were afraid,” she said, mocking his earlier statement. She cros
sed her arms over her chest. “And just what were you were afraid of, Zane? Were you scared that I would pressure you into marrying me?”
Zane knew women, and he knew you couldn’t make them see reason when they believed there was none. And you definitely couldn’t out-talk one who thought she had a case to make.
“You’re upset, Channing. Maybe we should continue this conversation tomorrow.”
“Don’t count on it. Why don’t you just head back to Denver? After that to-prove-a-point stunt you pulled in McKays, I don’t want you around.”
A dark scowl covered his face. “What do you call what we just did in this bed, Channing? We made love.”
She gave him a smirking look, one like he’d never gotten from her before. “No, we didn’t make love. We had sex. I’m sure you’re very familiar with the act.”
“Damn it, Channing. I could never have just sex with you!” he stormed.
“Then let me inform you that you just did.” She slid her feet into a pair of flat shoes. “Put your shirt on so I can walk you to the door.”
A nerve ticked in Zane’s jaw. Not only did she think so little of what they’d just shared but she was kicking him out! He opened his mouth to say a few words, but when he saw tears welling in her eyes he muttered a curse under his breath instead. Tears she was fighting like hell for him not to see. At that moment, he was filled with remorse that he had hurt the one woman he should have protected from all harm.
“Channing, I do love—”
“No,” she lashed out, halting his words in midsentence. “Just leave, Zane. Please, just leave.”
Feeling helpless on one hand and like a total ass on the other, Zane pushed out a deep breath and put on his shirt. He kept his gaze on Channing. “You’re wrong about me, Channing, and I intend to prove it.”
“Don’t waste your time trying to prove another point, Zane. I’ve taken off the rose-colored glasses and tossed them away. I did the same thing with the key to my heart.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets, refusing to go down in defeat. “Then I guess my job is to find both and return them.”
Brenda Jackson The Westmoreland Collection: ZaneCanyonStern Page 7