“I say yes.”
Sutton grinned like a Cheshire cat. “What about New York in the summer?”
Zoey punched his shoulder, encountering rock-hard muscle under the shirt. “Slow down, sport. Let’s take care of Miami before we go to New York.” Fat drops of rain splattered the windshield and Sutton activated the wipers, turning them to the fastest speed.
“Do you want to go to Coney Island and discover why Nathan’s hot dog is the best in the world?”
“I have a lot of things on my must-see and to-do lists, but all in good time.” Sutton needed to know that as a teacher he had a school calendar with designated dates for teacher-student-parent conferences, and holidays, while she’d insisted on a Monday-through-Friday schedule that did not include evening or overnight cases.
She knew a relationship with him would mean she didn’t have to wait years to cross off the items on her to-do and must-see lists. Sutton had moved into her longtime neighbor’s house and into her life with the force of a tornado touching down and sweeping up everything in its path. And as much as she tried to ignore him, her body threatened to betray her, and Zoey knew she had to stop fighting the inevitable.
She stared out the side window, unable to make out the passing landscape. The rain was falling sideways, obliterating everything outside the vehicle. A soft gasp escaped her when she felt Sutton’s hand on her thigh, the warmth burning her skin through the delicate fabric of her dress. It moved higher and her knees parted of their own volition. She was on fire, the area between her legs thrumming a desire that needed to be assuaged.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?”
Zoey’s heart was beating so fast as her heated blood threatened to incinerate her. “No, I’m not all right,” she whispered truthfully. Sutton had lit a fire and her whole being seemed to be filled with a wanting for something she desired and needed to experience as a woman.
She closed her eyes and swallowed a moan when she felt a rush of moisture bathe the area between her legs and she pressed her knees together to still their trembling.
His hand stilled. “What’s the matter?”
She opened her eyes and briefly met his in the glow coming off the dashboard. “You can’t touch me and expect me not to beg you to make love to me.”
Sutton removed his hand. “You don’t have to beg, Zoey. All you have to do is ask,” he said after a pregnant pause.
Zoey closed her eyes again and expelled a breath. It had been a month since Sutton had introduced himself to her as her neighbor, and she had spent countless restless nights fantasizing about the man who made her crave him like an addictive drug. Perhaps if she’d had a relationship or relationships with other men over the past decade, her reaction to Sutton wouldn’t have bordered on a need to share her body with his.
However, tonight was different. It would be the first time she would make the initial overture and ask a man to sleep with her. In the past, it had been by mutual agreement between two curious virginal teenagers.
“Will you please make love to me?”
Chapter Fourteen
Will you please make love to me?
Sutton repeated Zoey’s entreaty to himself over and over to make certain he wasn’t hallucinating. She was unaware that he’d found himself enthralled with her the instant he saw her on her porch wearing a revealing tank top and shorts. He’d felt like a voyeur when unable to pull his gaze away from her delicate features and long legs. In the past, it had taken time for him to get to know a woman before even contemplating sharing her bed, yet that hadn’t happened with Zoey Allen.
He was no monk when it came to sleeping with women; however, there hadn’t been so many before and after his marriage that he could not remember their names or faces, and he became even more discriminating following his divorce because of his recognizability. Despite being a public figure, Sutton did not want to establish the reputation of being linked to a revolving door of women.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
He smiled when she rested her hand atop his, gently squeezing his fingers before removing them from her thigh. She was still breathing heavily as his respiration kept tempo with hers. He had aroused her and in turn she had aroused him. Sutton shifted into another position on the seat to attempt to conceal the swelling bulge in his groin. He chanced a sidelong glance at Zoey and found her staring out the side window, praying she wouldn’t look at him because she would have noticed his hard-on. Tapping a button on the steering wheel, he turned on the satellite radio, tuning it to a station featuring jazz. Dave Brubeck’s classic hit, “Take Five,” filled the interior of the car. His college roommate’s uncles were professional jazz musicians, and they had turned him on to the music genre.
“Do you want me to change the station?” Sutton asked Zoey.
“Please don’t.”
The drive from Charleston to Wickham Falls was accomplished with cool jazz competing with the sounds of the wipers sweeping rain off the windshield and the slip-slap of tire on roadway. He knew sleeping with Zoey would change both of them. Her brother had dropped hints about her not dating anyone, and while she’d admitted having a high school boyfriend, that was a little more than a decade ago.
The rain had accumulated more quickly than it could run off and a few of the local roads had become small rivers, forcing him to turn around and find another route. He encountered several detours where cars and trucks were partially submerged in the rising waters. Meteorologists had hinted of the possibility of precipitation, not severe thunderstorms.
The hour’s drive took twice that long when Sutton activated the remote device to the garage door Sharon Williams had left behind for her tenant. “I’m going to back in enough for you to get out without getting too wet. The door to the kitchen is unlocked.” He waited until Zoey went inside the house and then backed the sports car into the garage, got out and tapped the button on the wall that lowered the door.
The courage Zoey had summoned up to ask Sutton to make love to her dissipated like a drop of water on a red-hot skillet. She stood in the middle of the kitchen watching like a rabbit, frightened and frozen with no means of escape when cornered by a deadly predator. At that moment she did not wonder if he could please her but whether she could please him. Would he know immediately that she lacked the sexual experience other women her age had achieved?
He came closer, and she could see from the light he’d left on over the stove his gaze going from her eyes to her shoulders and still lower to her breasts that rose and fell heavily with each breath. Zoey wanted him to say something, anything that would shatter the spell that held her in limbo as to whether she should reach out and touch him. Her eyelids fluttered wildly as she forced a nervous smile, and she wasn’t disappointed when he returned it.
“I’m not on any contraception.” Damn, she thought, where did that come from? It was the same thing she’d said to her first and only lover.
Sutton’s gaze was as soft as a caress as he took the evening bag from her punishing grip. “Don’t worry, babe. I have protection.”
Sutton’s revealing that he had protection jolted Zoey into the realization that she’d asked a man to have sex with her while assuming he had condoms. While she knew how to run a household and budget her finances, she still had a lot to learn about relationships. Sutton’s touching her hand sent shivers up her arm. She took a step, bringing them inches apart. Her left hand touched his jaw and then moved down until her arm circled his neck. Leaning in, she pressed her mouth to his, swallowing a moist breath when his lips parted under hers.
Sutton’s arms circled her waist, bringing her closer. “You have to let me know what you want,” he whispered, his voice lowering until it resembled a growl.
Zoey was mute for several seconds. He was asking her what she wanted as if she had a sexual repertoire.
* * *
Gathering Zoey in his arms, Sutton picked her up, wal
ked out of the kitchen and headed for the staircase. Zoey had buried her face against his neck, her breathing quickening. He knew it had been a long time for her, and he wanted their coming together to be special—for her and for him. He hadn’t been celibate as long she had been, but it was long enough that he was glad he had waited for her.
Night-lights in several outlets provided illumination along the hallway. He stopped at the bedroom where he slept and walked in. A bedside lamp cast a warm glow in the room. Bending slightly, he placed Zoey down on the bed as if she were a piece of delicate crystal. Her eyes seemed larger when she stared up at him looming over her. He smiled at her while he slipped off the sexy heels. Bringing her bare foot to his mouth, Sutton pressed a kiss on each of her groomed toes. Sitting on the side of the bed, he removed his own shoes and then lay beside her. Lacing his fingers through hers, he shifted on his side to face her. Her hand was icy-cold.
“Are you frightened, love?”
Her breathing sounded unusually raspy. “I don’t think so.”
His nose nuzzled her scented neck. “Relax, babe. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”
“It’s okay. I trust you.”
She trusted him but Sutton wanted more than her trust. He wanted her love. Releasing her hand, he curved an arm around her waist and shifted her body until she lay on his chest, her legs nestled between his. He had tempered his desire for Zoey so she would feel completely comfortable with him.
His right hand slipped down her spine, fingers splaying over the firm roundness of her hips. He managed to swallow back a moan when she moved sensually against his groin. His left hand moved down and he cradled her bottom, squeezing gently each time she shifted her hips. Sutton searched for her mouth, tongue easing behind her parted lips, and she opened it to receive all he was willing to offer.
* * *
First Zoey was cold, then she was hot, as Sutton’s tongue moved in and out of her mouth in a rhythm that sent her pulse racing and her senses spinning out of control. This kiss was nothing like the chaste ones they’d exchanged before. Her mouth and tongue were as busy as his when she caught his upper lip between her teeth, pulling it into her mouth before giving the fuller lower one equal attention. Her fingers massaged his scalp, his ears, trembling as she felt the fires of desire settle between her thighs, and bring with it a rush of liquid.
“Sutton!” she breathed out when he reversed their positions and straddled her body. Closing her eyes, she felt rather than saw him undress her. What seemed like long, agonizing minutes were only seconds when he divested her of the dress. He went still, and she opened her eyes to find him staring at her black lace strapless bra and matching thong.
Supporting his greater weight on his forearms, Sutton lowered his chest to her. “Why did you even bother to put on underwear? They’re pretty but hardly practical.”
Her gentle laugh floated upward. “I’m not one to go commando.”
“Yes, you can,” he crooned in her ear. His hands went to the front clasp on her bra, and with a quick motion he released it, baring her chest. “Whenever you’re with me you can ditch the bra. Your breasts are too beautiful to cover up.”
Zoey felt a surge of confidence with his compliment. “What about the panties?”
Hooking his fingers in the narrow bands of elastic, he pushed the tiny triangle of lace off her hips and down her legs. Dangling the thong from a forefinger, he lifted his eyebrows. “You call this panties?” Shaking his head, he tossed it at the foot of the bed. The bra followed, leaving her completely naked to his hungry gaze. He sat her up as he went to his knees. “I undressed you, and now it’s your turn, sweetheart.”
The heavy lashes that shadowed her cheeks flew up. “You want me to undress you?”
A smile played at the corners of Sutton’s mouth. “Yes. I’m not going to make love to you, and you’re not going to make love to me. We’re going to make love with each other.” He removed his tie and unbuttoned his collar. “I’ve given you a head start.” Beckoning to her with his right hand, he whispered, “Come on, love.”
Zoey rose on her knees and placed a hand in the middle of his chest. She wanted to scream at him to take her and end her frustration, but decided to play along. It was apparent he wanted their first time together to be a memorable one. The heat from his large body nearly overpowered her as she undid the buttons on his shirt. Even though she wasn’t looking at Sutton, she could still feel the heat from his gaze as he watched her every move. Pulling the hem of his shirt from the waistband of his pants, she pushed it off his broad shoulders. Her hands were steady when she finished undressing him, but Sutton did not give her time to admire his magnificent body when his mouth covered hers in an explosive joining that swept away any apprehension that she had made a mistake to ask him to make love to her.
Soft moans filled the room as his kisses left her mouth, moving down her throat, over her breasts, belly. The harsh, uneven rhythm of her breathing changed, becoming gasps when the heat from Sutton’s mouth seared her mound.
Passion catapulted the blood through her head, chest and legs, making it impossible for Zoey to think. Sutton offered her a sweet agony that teased relentlessly while refusing to release her from the erotic torment. His name was locked away in the back of her throat.
Zoey felt the first ripple, soft and pulsing, then the second, and a third. She lost count after the fourth orgasm, and there was no way she could stop her screams of fulfillment as divine ecstasy shook her uncontrollably until she lay motionless, spent, as tears flowed down her face. She was oblivious to Sutton opening a bedside table drawer for a condom to protect her from an unplanned pregnancy. Then she felt his erection easing into her.
Reveling in the exquisite pleasure of Zoey’s tight flesh stretching and closing around his erection, Sutton breathed in and out through his open mouth. He was so light-headed that he feared he would pass out before he achieved his own gratification in her fragrant softness. Her hands slipped down his back, her fingers tightening on the flesh on his buttocks, and he knew he’d revived her passion. Slowing his rhythm, he slid in and out of her body with a strong, powerful thrusting of his hips. A moan slipped between her lips, lingering against his throat. The sensuality he found in Zoey’s body took him beyond himself as he surrendered to the explosive ecstasy that had come from a place where he’d never been. The throbbing in his lower body continued, leaving him as weak as a newborn.
His head cleared, his respiration slowed, and he finally returned from his exhilarating free-fall flight. Tightening his hold on Zoey’s body, he reversed their positions and cradled her to his chest. Placing kisses on her hair, he recalled his vow never to fall in love again, yet Zoey Allen had unwittingly made him a liar. Zoey wanted a career, marriage and children, and he knew with her they could have all three.
He breathed a kiss on her scalp. “Thank you.”
She chuckled. “I should be the one thanking you. You were wonderful.”
His hand made stroking motions up and down her spine. “That’s because you’re wonderful.” He paused. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, Sutton.”
“Then why were you crying?”
She raised her head and rested her chin on his breastbone. “Because it was so good.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “It was better than good, Zoey.”
She was good.
And they were good together. He knew it would be several more days before they would be able to make love again, and he would take her suggestion he not fast-track their relationship. They had time—almost nine months before Sharon Williams returned to Wickham Falls to reclaim her house. And that was long enough for Sutton to convince Zoey to marry him, live together and secure Harper’s future.
* * *
Students were standing around in small groups and some were sitting on the tops of their desks when Sutton entered the classroom, closed the door and
wrote his name on the board. It had taken three weeks following his initial interview for his appointment as a permanent substitute to be approved. He had passed the time going over the curriculum and logging countless hours researching topics for his lectures, visiting his mother, who’d urged him to bring the Allen girl to Sunday dinner so the family could meet her, and also reconnecting with Langston Cooper, his former baseball teammate who was also dating his cousin.
Sutton still rose early every morning to jog with Harper, who along with his friend Jabari had made the basketball team. As incoming juniors, they would sit on the bench, but the excitement of suiting up, practicing and traveling with the team left them optimistic they would eventually become starters.
Zoey was assigned a new client and schedule, her workday beginning at seven and ending at three in the afternoon, and although she did not say it, he knew by her refusal to discuss her client with him that it hadn’t been an easy assignment, making him aware that taking care of the elderly or infirm was demanding and challenging.
Sutton gave her time to wind down once she returned home, and then brought her dinner, which appeared to lift her lethargy. When he’d ask if she was feeling well, her answer was always the same. She hadn’t been sleeping well. She was eating less, and this alarmed him, yet again she professed nothing was wrong. The notion that perhaps she was pregnant had nagged at him, but he dismissed it as soon as it entered his mind. There was never a time when they’d shared a bed that he hadn’t used a condom.
All thoughts of his relationship vanished the instant the late bell rang. Standing at the front of the room, he watched a dozen students take their seats. He hid a smile when he saw recognition on the faces of some of them. It was apparent they knew who he was.
“I’m Mr. Reed, and I will be filling in for Mrs. Sellers for the next four months. I have the notes from your previous substitute teacher, and he indicated you’ve covered the first two decades of the twentieth century, and now we’re going to concentrate on the events covering post‒World War I through the Great Depression.” Sutton leaned against a corner of the desk. “Before we cover the major events of 1920 to 1930, I’m going to give you a pop quiz about what you’ve learned for the prior decade, so I’ll know what we have to review.”
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