by Debbie White
“Kiss me,” she ordered.
Zach furrowed his brows. “Is this for your book?”
Cierra nodded. It sounded totally plausible to her.
“We’ve kissed before. Didn’t you take notes then?” Zach positioned himself closer to the edge of the cushion. He smiled. “I’ve done a lot of things, for a lot of reasons, but I have to say I’ve never kissed anyone for research.” He reached out and pulled her onto his lap. It surprised her. She wasn’t expecting that at all.
“Oh … okay … kissing on the lap works.” She reached up and secured her arms around his neck. She felt herself being pulled in with his dreamy eyes. She lightly moistened her dry lips and then she leaned in for the kiss. His mouth was tender and sweet tasting. She tried to figure out what it was, then it donned on her—it was the margarita. She detected a little salt, too. They mashed their mouths together for a few seconds and then pulled apart.
“Are you rating me?”
She playfully smacked him on the shoulder. “No, silly. I was trying to find the words on how to describe that kiss … for the book,” she added.
She pulled herself off of his lap and plopped down on the cushion next to him.
He eyed her up and down and then he brushed his hand along his chin. “I don’t know how you’d describe it, but I found it sensual, warm, soft, and… and I’d like another one,” he said as he leaned in for another kiss.
This time she pulled him down on top of her. She felt the hardness of his thighs as they pressed against her own. She rubbed his back up and down and lightly brushed her nails against his flesh. He let out a low growl. Her heartbeat quickened and she felt her pulse race.
He pulled himself up and brushed his hand through his hair. “Okay … that? That was hot.”
She pulled herself upright and brushed out her hair with her fingers. “Yes. Yes, it was. I think I have enough testing for my book.”
Zach shot her a look. “I hope you are being serious. I told you … I’m through with playing games, Cierra. What the hell are you doing?”
Now she’d made him angry. Not at all what she wanted. She had to think fast. How was she going to fix this?
“I love your kisses. They’re very special to me. I’m not leading you on, really. You’ll see. I promise. But right now, I have to finish the book and all I was waiting for was the kissing scenes. I had to experience them in order to write about them.”
Zach stood. “Cierra Ward,” he grumbled shaking his head.
“Let me walk you to the door.”
He held out his hand. “No. I got it. You go write your kissing scenes.”
Cierra smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’d say anytime, but I don’t want to be your little boy toy that you use just for kissing scenes,” he said, grumbling again.
She playfully smacked him. “Good night, Zach,” she said softly.
He dropped a kiss on her forehead before making his way out of her house. She quickly ran to her keyboard and promptly typed out the rest of the story. She smiled when she thought of Colton and Zach. They were being such great sports about all of this. It was a huge undertaking for Cierra, but Colton and Zach had a big stake in it as well. She pushed herself back from the keyboard and stretched. She looked over and her little peanut Dash was curled up in a ball sleeping on his blanket. I think this is one of my best books ever, she mused. Then she reached up and turned off her desk light.
Chapter Seven
Happily Ever After
Cierra stumbled into the kitchen and started the coffee. She would need an extra cup this morning. She gathered Dash’s dog bowl and filled it with his breakfast kibble. As Cierra watched him devour his food, she smiled at the thought of her book ending. She knew it was the right choice. Now Cierra waited for the response from her sister. She should be getting the email any moment.
“OMG. OMG. That’s all I can say,” Courtney blurted as she flung open the front door and came rushing in.
Cierra smiled. “Did you like it, or are you just sugarcoating it?” Cierra asked.
“It’s your best work yet. I loved how I was drawn right into the story. I mean I didn’t know who the female character was going to choose. One minute she was drawn to the Army guy …”
“He was in the Marines,” Cierra corrected.
“Army, Marines, whatever. Anyway, the hot military guy, and the next minute she was digging the baseball hottie,” she roared.
“Okay. So I get it. You loved it. What about the ending, though? You say you never figured it out?” Cierra asked.
“Nope. I sure didn’t. I was convinced you were going to pick …”
Cierra quickly placed her finger on her sister’s lips. “Shh. Don’t say his name.”
Courtney shrugged her shoulders, and then gently removed her sister’s finger from her mouth. She looked around—it was just the two of them in the room. “What? You mean the guy doesn’t know yet?” Courtney asked.
Cierra shook her head. “I haven’t told him yet. I made a call to him, though. I got his recording. I need for Colton to read the story first. It’s important he is the first one.”
Courtney smiled. She agreed.
Cierra drove up to the youth center where Zach worked. She was proud of the work he was doing. She’d be interested in helping him—if he ever wanted her to help that is. But after last night she wasn’t sure he’d even want to see her ever again. She opened the large metal doors and peered in. He was sitting on the bleachers with a group of young boys. It appeared they’d just finished a game of basketball. She could hear him talking to them about being team players and having each other’s back. She liked what she heard. She tiptoed across the floor and when he lifted his eyes to see her, she waved. He stood up and walked toward her.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I thought I’d surprise you.”
“We just finished a pretty good game of basketball. I was just giving them my daily advice.”
Cierra nodded. “I heard. I think those are great words of wisdom you’re sharing with them. You’re a great role model. Would you like to go somewhere … have a drink, maybe a bite to eat?” she asked, hoping he’d say yes.
He fixed his face with a puzzled look. “Sure. Where do you want to go?”
The two agreed on a small Italian restaurant that the locals loved. With its red-checkered tablecloths and green vinyl booths with brown lacquered table tops, the restaurant had a quaint atmosphere, with delightful hosts and servers. Cierra picked up the plastic coated menu and looked over the choices.
“Let’s order a bottle of wine,” she said peering over the menu.
Zach nodded. “What’s the special occasion? Did you finish the book? Is that why we are here together … celebrating the ending?” Zach asked.
She smiled. She lowered her voice to a low whisper. “Yes. The book is finished. Completed. The End.”
He smiled back. “Good. Now maybe you can start living again.”
“Are you kidding? I’m already thinking about the next book. An author never stops writing. And as far as living goes, that’s what is so wonderful about this occupation. I get up every morning and am so blessed to have this as a career. I write about life, pursuits, and challenges, and it is what I actually live for,” she told him.
He relaxed his shoulders and gave a shrug. “I stand corrected then. You do live each day,” he said.
She reached out for his hands. He took the gesture and clasped hers with his. She looked into his eyes. “Zach—the book has an ending.”
She searched his face for some sort of expression that maybe he knew what she was about to say.
He looked down at her hands clasped with his. “This isn’t about more role-playing for another book idea is it?” he said, trying to hold back the sarcasm with little luck.
Her mouth felt like the Sahara Desert, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She drew the water to her mouth and sipped. She pursed her lips and blinking t
wice she swallowed once and then steadying her gaze on his eyes, said, “I have my happily ever after ending. Don’t you see? It’s us. It’s you and me. That was always the perfect ending to the book, and it’s the beginning of our future. I choose you. I want you by my side as I write every ending to every book. I want you to be a part of my life as we follow the journey to happiness, our journey to happiness.”
Zach reached for the glass of water, sipping it slowly. Cierra watched as he swept his tongue across his lips catching the drops of water. “Perfect Pitch was about us?”
Cierra smiled. She nodded. “It took me a little while to figure things out, but yes, pitching the idea of a romance book to Colton, as perfect as it may have been, only led me to realize you were the perfect match for me. Not Colton.”
Zach briefly looked around the restaurant, and then he narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. “Cierra, I don’t know what to say, except … have you told Colton?”
Cierra pushed her wine glass out of the way and leaned over the table, getting as close to him as she could. Smiling at his humor, she said, “Colton has a copy of the manuscript. He’s approved all content matter. He’s happy for us.”
Zach grinned. Cierra started to pull back, but Zach caught her wrist. “Wait a moment,” he whispered. He lifted slightly out of his chair, leaned across the table, and planted a kiss on her mouth. He pulled away and leaned back in his chair, sporting a Cheshire grin.
Cierra could feel her heart pounding and her face warming from the arousal she felt from his kiss. They locked gazes, and Cierra studied every inch of his face. Her face softened and a small smile pulled up on the corner of her mouth.
“To be continued,” he said.
Cierra widened her smile. “To be continued,” she echoed.
With locked lips they stumbled into her apartment. He kicked the door closed behind them as she held on. She could feel the tingling sensation all through her body as he kissed her. He momentarily broke the kiss staring into her eyes sending another wave of warmth through her body.
He moved back in for another round of steamy kisses but Cierra blocked him by pressing her hand to his chest.
“Let’s slow down. I can’t breathe,” she said trying to steady the rapid breaths that spewed out.
“I want you, Cierra.” He trailed sweet kisses down her neck as they made their way down the hall.
She stopped just short of bringing him all the way in. She had to quickly think about what was happening here. It was a whirlwind of emotions sweeping her right into his arms and in her bed!
“Zach, are you sure about this?” Her eyes searched for the answer in his eyes.
“I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.” He walked her back until the bed stopped her.
She swallowed down the lump and tried to quiet her nerves but it was of no use. Zach’s smooth talk and moves had her like putty in his hands. She nodded.
“Okay, because once we do this…”
His mouth captured hers not allowing anymore words to be spoken. He picked her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing and gently laid her on the bed. As she watched with wide eyes, because she didn’t want to miss a thing, Zach moved over her. The intense depth of his eyes as they bore through her made her writhe, deepening the desire for him. She pulled in her bottom lip and held her breath once more, and as his face drew closer to hers she closed her eyes and gave in to him.
With eyes fixed like some star struck fans he circled his thumb over hers and she playfully rubbed her foot up and down his leg. No words spoken just soft touches and soft moans. She finally spoke but because her throat was dry from so much… ahem, kissing, the words came out more like a croak. She cleared her throat and sipped the now very cool coffee that sat by the cold breakfast that he’d cooked for her.
“It’s like a dream, huh?” She laced her fingers in his.
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. The way it all played out, I suppose,” she said heaving her shoulders and sighing.
“Call it fate, call it whatever, but I prefer to think of it as the better man won.” He tipped his head and a coy smile pulled up on his lips.
She giggled at his confidence. “I’d say that accurately sums up the situation.”
“So, where do we go from here, Cierra?” He focused on her eyes then lowered his gaze to her mouth where he lingered, making her feel warm all over.
She pushed back the chair and moved over to him.
He pushed his chair back as if he knew what was coming.
She eased down on his lap sliding her hands around his neck.
He leaned and kissed her mouth then pulled back just slightly. When he went to move back in for another kiss she stopped him.
“Can I ask you something?”
He nodded.
“When did you realize something was happening between us?”
“On the Ferry ride to the ballgame.”
She knitted her brows. “Seriously? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I was shy. Then as time went on, it was obvious you were conflicted—although I don’t really know why.”
She jabbed him in the stomach making him flinch.
“Well, it did take you long enough.” He looped his arms around her waist.
“I just wanted to make sure I was making the right decision.” She peered at him through half closed lids.
“And I wanted to make sure that you had all available statistics and data at your fingertips so you could make an rational decision.” His smug look made her smile.
“In other words, research?”
He nodded.
“Well, Zach, let me just say…my favorite part about being a writer is the research. She climbed off his lap and urged him to stand.
He looked back at the table where breakfast still sat mostly untouched. “What about food? We need our nourishment.”
Shaking her head she led him down the hall. “Who needs food?”
Epilogue
Cierra went on to become a New York Times best-selling author. Zach gave her inspiration to write, and write she did. When she wasn’t writing, she helped Zach with the disadvantaged youth program he was so proud of. Colton gave them season tickets so they could be at all the games, and there were never any hard feelings between the three. After the happy couple had dated a few months, Zach presented a beautiful diamond ring to Cierra, and she accepted his romantic proposal. They haven’t decided where to hold the wedding yet—but someone floated the idea of an outdoor wedding. Immediately, Cierra and Zach had the perfect place in mind. Can you guess where?
* * *
I hope you enjoyed Perfect Pitch! If you did, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased it at.
About the Author
Debbie currently lives in northern California with her husband and two rescue dachshunds, Dash and Briar. She avidly supports animal rescue and happily donates a percentage of book sales to local shelters and rescue organizations.
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