He pressed her against the cool concrete wall behind them and ran the fingertips of both hands roughly up the back of her thighs as he nibbled at her skin. As he did, her body clung to the now granite hard bulge that pressed against her. In unison, they began to latch onto each other, rocking their tender skin together in rhythmic, rough motions.
Zach grabbed her by the back of the knees and pulled her forward until he could feel her swell beneath him. His breath became ragged as the need to feel how wet she was competed with the need to keep grinding against her. With both hands he lifted her up and set her down, kissing her as his hands laced through the top of her pants, hungry to expose her skin to his.
As he undid her zipper, he heard her moan, and his own heart beating in his ears, but then something else. He heard keys in the door. Lindsey heard it too, because her hands tightened over his and her arms tensed. They froze in place as they listened to a voice bellow down the empty corridor outside the lab, and the lock turn.
“That chicks a butter-face. You can fuck her,” the voice said as the door began to swing open. “I can do better. I always do.”
Zach grabbed Lindsey’s hand and pulled her into the server room, closing the door quickly behind them. She squeezed his hand back as they leaned against the door and listened, trying to slow their breathing enough to hear what was going on outside. They stood together in the dark beneath the quickly blinking lights of the machines surrounding them. Zach opened the door just a sliver and they both peeked out. They saw James and an unknown friend walk into the lab. It was at least one o’clock in the morning. James couldn’t even be counted on to come to class, let alone pull late-night hours in the lab. “Is that guy everywhere?” Zach grumbled.
Lindsey giggled. “Terrible timing…terrible.”
“Look, dude,” his friend said, lingering by the door as he texted, “you might not think she’s hot, but I do. So whatever the hell this pit-stop is for, let’s get it done so we can get back to the party.”
“Keep it in your pants,” answered James. “I just have to log in and grab something.”
Lindsey and Zach watched as James walked over to Lindsey’s terminal and booted up her system. “What the hell…” Zach whispered, reaching for the door.
Lindsey pulled him back into the darkness. “It’s okay,” she said clutching his hand to keep him at her side. “I’ve got it covered.”
Zach scowled at her, his fist still curled around the doorknob.
“Trust me,” she whispered. “Shh.”
They looked back out and saw James plug a USB into the side of Lindsey’s computer. He typed something, switched out the USB and hit the enter key. “You want to bang something good, you should see the chick that runs this system,” he said.
“Hot?” his friend asked.
“Smoking. But I got a stable full of hotties.”
Lindsey felt Zach tense again beside her side and she rested her hand on his bicep, giving him a little rub. “Wait,” she said. “You’ll see.”
James pocketed his device and shut down her computer. As he did, he rubbed his crotch against her keyboard. “Poor Viper,” he said, “now you’ll get screwed.”
“Ew,” muttered Lindsey. “Now I need a new keyboard.”
James sauntered back across the lab and punched his buddy in the shoulder. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go get that tail.”
As the lab door closed and the lock turned, Lindsey and Zach opened the server door and crept back out into the dim lights of the lab.
Zach rushed over to Lindsey’s system and turned it on. “What the hell was that?” he asked, doing a systems check. “I’m going to kill that kid.”
Lindsey walked over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “It’s okay,” she said, resting her cheek against his back. “I have a fail-safe. Well, several, actually, but he isn’t good enough to see them.”
Zach turned and looked at her, his eyes wide.
“I like a good back-up.” Lindsey shrugged. “Anyhoo, wait until he tries to download that code into his own system.”
“Oh yeah?” asked Zach.
“Yup,” Lindsey said. “Game over.”
“Really?”
“Total annihilation.”
Zach laughed and reached out, his hands resting softly on both sides of Lindsey’s hips. “You are amazing,” he said as he kissed her softly on the side of her neck.
“Yeah.” Lindsey nodded as she leaned back. “I kind of am.”
Chapter 19: Lindsey
Flakes began to fall thick and wet against Zach’s windshield the moment they pulled away from the university, and as they drove, the path before them blurred. The heat of their breath fogged the windows. Lindsey sat huddled in the passenger seat, thinking. It felt so right to touch and kiss Zach in the lab, but now, in the cool night air, she considered the consequences. She glanced over at Zach and saw his beautiful jaw was clenched in thought, but then he turned to her and his face softened into a smile. He reached over and drew her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of her fingers adoringly as if he had been doing it for years. The intimacy made Lindsey’s heart flail suddenly between expectation and confusion. She pulled her hand back just as he spotted a place to park.
He turned off the engine without a word and darted around the car to open her door. His steady hand helped her onto the icy sidewalk before shutting the door behind her and curling his arm tightly through hers. As he hurried them along, fresh snow landed damp and cold against their cheeks and ears. The snow crunched beneath them with only the sliver of a new moon to light their way.
As they turned left toward their building, Lindsey stopped. She gripped Zach’s hand and looked up at the darkened apartment windows and ornate iron entry. The last time they had walked through these doors together it ended in disaster.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
Zach shrugged. “I don’t know. Starting over?”
Lindsey dropped her head and squeezed snowflakes from her eyes wishing his answer was more certain. Once they walked up these stairs, she knew nothing would ever be the same again, and she didn’t know if her heart could take it this time. She suddenly stepped away and drew her scarf away from her neck, exposing her flushed skin to the crisp, night air.
Taking a step forward, she tilted her head back to let the fluffy flakes of snow drop down and melt against her skin. They landed against her lips and eyelids and the base of her neck and she wished suddenly the snow would double in size. She wanted it to dump all over them and not stop until they were snowed-in forever. If only they could run up these stairs and lose themselves in the warm comfort of each other’s arms, she would go now and never leave. But tomorrow, the snow would melt and they’d be back in the lab, and she didn’t know what would happen then.
She dropped her head and opened her eyes to see Zach staring back at her. “My God,” he said, stepping forward and tracing his fingers down her cheek, “you are stunning.”
The delicate touch of his fingers made her inhale sharply and close her eyes again. “Is it even possible?” she asked. “Can we… can we just start over?”
“We can,” he said, taking her by the waist and kissing a fresh snowflake from her cheek. “We should.”
Lindsey heard a note of certainty she hadn’t heard before. She hoped that certainty would carry them both through, no matter what happened tomorrow. “I’d like that,” she said, nodding.
“That’s good,” Zach said, pulling her into his arms. “Because I don’t think I can stay away from you anymore.”
“Then don’t,” Lindsey said as her resistance evaporated. “Kiss me.”
Zach cupped her face gently in his hands and bent down to plant his warm, divine lips on hers. “You’re cold,” he murmured, kissing her again. “Let’s get you inside and out of those wet clothes.”
The thought made Lindsey even wetter.
Together, their feet crunched up the stairs and through the door of the building. As it swung sh
ut behind them, the heat from the foyer mixed with the heat rising in Lindsey’s chest. Once the door closed behind them, Zach turned. She felt certain he could see the steam rising from her skin.
She quickly undid the buttons of her coat and peeled it off. In seconds, she closed the gap between them and was just able to see the surprise in his eyes as her lips found his. The taste of him was so new, yet so familiar, she felt suddenly as if she had traveled a long distance just to arrive back home. “Finally,” she gasped, then kissed him again. She got so lost in the feeling rising within her that she was bewildered when Zach pulled back and buried his face into her neck.
Blinking rapidly, she realized another couple had entered the building and were shaking off the snow. Lindsey followed Zach’s actions and tilted her face toward his, waiting for the couple to leave. As they stood pressed together, they listened as four footsteps mounted the stairs, then entered an apartment with the turn of a key and the sound of a door shutting.
Immediately, Zach had her by the hand. Together, they practically ran up the stairs and seconds later he had opened a door and they were inside, alone in the dark entrance of his apartment. Before Lindsey could speak, he pulled off both of their sweaters and tossed them to the side before planting his lips back onto hers. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his back, relishing the slight prickle of the evening stubble that had grown around his mouth and chin. Her fingers gripped the velvety hair on the back of his head as she kissed him, her mouth hungry to taste him, to feel him against her, and inside of her.
As Zach tilted her head to plant tender wet kisses down her neck and chest, she felt her blood rise.
“You won’t leave this time?” She panted.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he said, switching to the other side of her neck.
“You did last time we were here.”
His head fell forward as his hands gripped her hips in despair. He took a labored breath as his eyes drew up and looked into hers. “This time is different,” he said. “You’re stuck with me. Plus, this is my apartment. You would have to leave me.”
Lindsey smiled. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Promise?” he whispered as he pushed himself all the way against her and let her feel the full length of his desire. He began to nibble butterfly kisses down her ear lobe and across her neck. “Promise?” he asked again, his breath hot in her ear.
“Yes, I—” Lindsey tried to say as he switched to the other side of her neck. “Yes—” His lips covered her mouth as she clung to him, urging him closer. Her mouth broke free. “Take me to bed,” she said.
In one swift move, he lifted her into his arms and carried her into a darkened bedroom, setting her down on the soft fabric of the sheets. Then he crawled across the bed and laid the length of his body against her. In the dark, she could just make out his eyes, shining and aflame at the vision of their half-nude bodies together again. The look of desire in his eyes made Lindsey pulse with a new, wet urgency. Her fingers rushed to pull off his pants, revealing the exquisite skin across his powerful thighs and groin.
He peeled off the last of her clothes, and within seconds, their skin was fully bare and touching. A desperation revealed itself that had been building for weeks. There was no preamble. She spread her legs to welcome him, the intense need to be one with him engulfing her. She clutched at the taut skin of his lower back and urged him closer. In turn, he laced his fingers through hers and pulled her arms high over her head.
“Lindsey,” he whispered simply, then slid into her, agonizingly slow so she could feel every inch of him. Electricity thrummed through her, making her clench and spin and her muscles tighten.
She cradled him with her legs and arms, taking him deeper as he began to glide in and out, their bodies creating a swelling, hot friction that she felt might make them both explode into a million pieces. Joy grew within her as the slow, aching rhythm increased, and her fingers ripped from his and gripped his lower back and buttock, urging him deeper. She circled her hips up into him, making them both wet and slick with sweat as they charged together into the warm waves of pleasure.
Then, he slowed. With a whimper, Lindsey opened her eyes. Zach was staring down at her, his soul bared. She was right, nothing would ever be the same again. She craned her neck and kissed him, her chest swelling as another sweet layer was added to a moment that felt already perfect.
Zach kissed her across her face and neck then sunk his arms beneath her back, holding her totally as he began to grind into her again, the vibrating sensation of heat and friction growing between them as their bodies rocked. He was so deep, and she felt so safe and loved, that a profound throbbing began to overwhelm her whole body. With every motion, Zach was telling her something she had always wanted to hear, and her body blossomed in response. A cry she had never heard escaped her lips as she arched up and almost bucked him off the bed and exploded beneath him. As she did, his body went rigid and then suddenly still against her until they remained motionless against each other, their breath jagged and rushing with the beat of their two hearts.
Chapter 20: Zach
“No,” Zach said. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” Lindsey said, stroking the back of his bare leg with the delicate tips of her fingers. “That happened. So funny.”
“A pole? An actual stripper pole?”
“Yup, that’s my mom,” Lindsey said, pulling the sheets over them and beginning to trace the tips of each of his fingers with her own. “Actually, I’m happy for her.”
Zach curled his arms around the soft, naked skin of her torso and pulled her closer, sinking into the sweetest feeling he had ever known. Their torsos and limbs cupped together perfectly. He quieted his breath to listen to her heart beating steadily beside him, keeping time with the words of thankfulness streaming through his head.
“It’s just her time,” Lindsey said as her hands flattened softly against his back. “I just don’t know what comes next for me, you know? I thought I would just go back home after I finished here. Now, there is no home.”
“You have a home now,” Zach said, kissing her temple.
“Sure, today. But I have to figure out what to do after graduation, when the project is over.”
“Baby,” he said, enjoying the word on his lips, “opportunities are endless for you.”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “Maybe...”
“Maybe? Are you kidding? You’re amazing. The things you can do with code, it’s…it’s remarkable.”
“I’m great in my lane, sure. But let’s remember, the first time I tried to get my degree, I cracked.”
“You were a kid,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “And you’re doing it now.”
“I am.” She smiled against his neck. “I finally got unstuck, you know?”
Zach nodded. He knew how she felt. He was stuck, and didn’t even know it until Lindsey arrived and changed everything. In a rush, he bent down and kissed her, feeling her lips open and slide against his own. She was a lush, moist oasis in the arid desert that had become his life. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until he tasted her. “You are so much more than you give yourself credit for, Lindsey,” he said gently. “The world needs you.”
“The world, huh?” She giggled, tossing the sheets off of them and revealing the bright morning light.
“Yes, the world,” he said, sitting up on one elbow. “You are special, don’t you realize that?”
Her face fell and she shook her head against the back of her pillow. “You’re the special one. You care so much about helping people.”
Zach shot up in bed. “What time is it?”
Lindsey turned and grabbed her phone. “7:47. Why?”
Zach swung his legs over the bed. “I have a meeting. Gotta go.”
Lindsey reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait, Zach,” she said. “Not yet.”
He looked back at her, her dark hair ruffled against the white of the sheets.
She s
tretched out her arms. “I want to hold you for five more minutes.”
Zach looked at the door, then at Lindsey’s skin, and couldn’t leave. He swung his legs back under the sheets and stretched into her arms. He curled himself so tightly around her that, for a moment, he couldn’t tell whose limbs were where. In the silence he pressed his head against hers and drank in the warmth of her skin.
“You know,” she whispered, “all this pressure you feel, this burden you carry, you don’t have to do it alone.”
His heart swelled. “I have to say something, Lindsey.”
“Okay,” she said, stroking his arms.
“That first week, when you said someone bleached the files. I thought that was—I thought you were hacking me.”
Lindsey’s body stiffened beside him, but she did not speak. Zach pressed himself against her and cradled the back of her neck with his hand. “I’m sorry, I was wrong. I can trust you. I know that now.”
She sat up and held the sheet to her breast. “Don’t apologize. I’ve done things—”
“I know, but everything you do is to help people, too.”
She shook her head, her fists balled up in the sheets. “No…well, yes. Listen—”
Her phone dinged. She reached for it then turned the screen away from him. “Oh no,” she said.
“Is that your mom?” Zach asked, jumping out of bed. “More drama about the new boyfriend?”
Lindsey frowned before nodding. “Uh huh.”
Zach bent down to kiss her. “See you later?” he asked.
Loving Lindsey (An American Dream Love Story Book 2) Page 10