by Vivian Arend
Julia placed her mouth over the head of his cock then slowly sucked.
A stream of soft curses drifted from his lips, and the muscles under her fingers flexed where she clutched his thighs.
Zach’s hips jerked toward her, his fingers in her hair tightening in warning. “Coming.”
He instantly let go, and she could’ve backed away if she wanted, but she chose to stay where she was. She wanted to taste him, to continue to move around him as his cock jerked between her lips. Powerful? Undoubtedly. Happy? She swallowed then licked and smiled as he slapped his hands against the wall and fought to keep vertical.
“Holy fuck.” Zach said it on an exhale, reaching down to grab her arm and help her to her feet. Then he tugged her against him, blanketing his naked body with her clothed one. “Lean on me for a bit until my head stops spinning.”
Julia found herself grinning. “Okay.”
He snickered. “Cocky wench.”
“One of us has to be. I think you’ve been de-cockified for a little bit.”
Laughter bloomed, and he cradled her tighter against his body. “De-cockified? You’ve been hanging out around Lisa far too much.”
“Hey, don’t put down my sister’s amazing talent for wordifying.” She gasped as he swung her off her feet and carried her back toward their bedroom.
“You’ve still got enough energy to be sassy. I should do something about it.”
“You totally should,” she said encouragingly. Julia pointed at her duffel bag that sat on the nearest dresser. “Toys in the right pouch.”
He laid her on the bed and crawled over her, ignoring her directions. “Toys later. Me first.”
The statement would have set off warning buzzers in the past. Every guy she’d fooled around with seemed to think they had the magic touch.
But this was Zach, and as he stripped away her clothing, enough electric energy hung in the air she could’ve sworn there was already a vibrator strapped between her legs.
“Promise me you’ll only do what makes you happy,” Julia warned. “I want an orgasm, but I don’t want to—”
He whispered “shhhh” against her skin, soft and reassuring. “Trust me.”
She could do that this once, but the instant frustration began to slip in? She was totally nabbing her bag of tricks. “Okay, which this time means touch me.”
Zach was more than on board with that. He was also more than capable of setting her pulse pounding. Maybe it had something to do with that whole anticipation thing, but as he kissed and teased, her skin seemed to come alive.
He slid between her thighs, fingertips caressing from her ankles to her knees. His thumbs made small circles, moving ever closer to her core as he slowly pressed her knees into the air. Staring at her sex, hunger rising in his eyes. “Yes?”
The sooner the better.
Julia curled upright and caught him by the arms. “Touch me,” she insisted as she tugged him closer. “Everywhere.”
He willingly slid closer, fingers opening her, mouth covering her sex. His tongue teased, and his lips moved against her, a gentle touch but one she felt everywhere.
When his tongue hit her clit, her back involuntarily arched, pressing tighter to his mouth. Needing more. “I like that. You don’t need to be gentle,” she told him.
The words came out in a rush, because right now this felt good, and pressure was building, but there was no guarantee it would continue.
Zach was a quick learner. The gentle touch grew firmer. His tongue no longer teasing but flicking against her in a demanding rhythm that made her gasp. And when he closed his mouth and sucked, the hair on the back of her neck stood upright. “Oh. My. God.”
A soft chuckle sounded from between her legs, but he didn’t stop. Suddenly fingers ghosted the edge of her sex. Teasing, slipping in no farther than maybe his second knuckle.
When he continued to tease at that same depth, the tension that had shot in that he would break her concentration vanished and she focused down on all the good things happening.
His fingers rocked in and out of her even as he upped the pressure on her clit, sucking hard.
She came. Unexpected, hard and fast. Pleasure broke over her, and she drove her heels into the bed, hips grinding against his face.
Zach chuckled, but kept going, at least until she tangled her fingers in his hair and jerked hard enough to break the seal of his mouth.
“Slowly,” she gasped. “Slowly.”
He hummed, sliding back to kiss her folds delicately. Easing his tongue against her swollen flesh as endorphins continued to scream through her body.
When she’d stopped jerking with aftershocks, he crawled up on the mattress next to her, wiping his mouth before offering a huge grin. “That was fun. Round two in a few minutes?”
Dear God. “That just might kill me,” she warned him.
“We’ll go slow. But you brought all sorts of toys that we haven’t used yet. Plus, I bought you a new one. I can’t wait to try it.”
Julia jerked onto her elbows and stared at him in astonishment. Her previous boyfriends had all hated when she’d grabbed a vibrator. “You bought me a toy?”
He nodded, eagerness joining the happiness in his expression. “It’s called a Womanizer, and it’s supposed to be incredible. I need your take on it before I believe the advertising. Research is important, you know.”
Amusement struck in a flash. “Really? Checking out sex toys is your third research topic?”
“Of course.” He rolled over her, their naked bodies slicking with heat and the promise of some very fine memories. “I’m a thorough researcher,” he warned. “I hope you took your vitamins this morning.”
18
Julia was on her way out the door, headed to work, when Zach popped up beside her. “Here you go.”
She took the envelope he extended toward her. “What’s this?”
“My homework. I sent Alan an email to let him know that I have delivered the first of our monthly letters as required.” He rolled his eyes dramatically, in a fair impression of an angsty teenager. “I’ll give you his email so you can do the same later.”
She’d nearly forgotten that part of the rules. “I don’t have mine done yet.”
Zach waved a hand. “We got married on the thirty-first, so it’s not as if we’re late. I figured it was easier to remember to do it by the end of the month rather than the start. Either way, there’s mine.”
Julia shook it. “How long is yours?”
He snickered.
It was her turn to eye roll. “You’re such a goof. I meant the letter.”
“I’m still laughing, darlin’. Doesn’t matter how long mine is, your letter is your letter.”
She pretended to pout. “Does that mean I’m not allowed to read yours first?”
“Do what makes you happy.” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek then took the stairs off the porch two at a time, whistling as he headed farther onto the ranch. “See you later. It’s Cooking Adventures with Zach tonight. We’ll attempt to not burn Asian noodle bowls.”
“Sounds great.”
She tossed the envelope on the dash where it haunted her the entire drive into town.
Pulling into the parking lot at the fire hall the same moment the doors went up on the fire engine exit meant everything vanished from her brain except joining the rest of her team as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t until after lunch when they were finally back at the hall after putting out a bushfire that Julia had time to deal with her dilemma.
Do her homework first, or read Zach’s to see how upfront and open he’d been?
She tapped the envelope on the table in front of her, the mental debate raging loudly before she sighed and dropped his letter, pulling one of her ever-present notepads toward herself. Truth was, she was in the very wonderful position of being able to have her cake and eat it too. She could write a note, then read Zach’s, and if necessary, rewrite to match his tone. It was only kind of cheat
ing.
Since she was going to rewrite no matter what, she didn’t bother to make it fancy. Just tossed out what needed to be said.
September 30.
* * *
After falling into an impossible situation, I can look back on this first month and say it has not been terrible. I still can’t believe that we ended up here, and just to be clear, tequila shooters are out of the question ever again.
* * *
This is the part of the letter where I’m rambling so that it’s at least one page long. In case you couldn’t tell.
* * *
Positive things: our to-do list has been entertaining. All three of my activities have been enjoyable.
* * *
Yoga is a solid eight for me, because it’s physically challenging, but also entertaining to watch you. Thank you for being a good sport. If you want to start wearing tighter clothing, or less clothing, yoga might even make it up to a nine.
* * *
Riding on a regular basis has been so wonderful. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it. Karen also said that she would let me help train Moonbeam when the time comes, so that’s something to look forward to.
* * *
Fooling around— this has been far more interesting than I expected. That’s about all I want to say about that topic for now. Yes, I’m blushing even as I write this.
She went on a little more, mentioning his three items, but when she was done rereading what she’d put down, it was more than a page and—to be honest—pretty dry.
What she’d shared was a very factual report with the tiniest touches of the truth dashed into the mix.
Did she want to say anything more? Did she want to talk about how the times they’d spent with his friends and her sisters had felt bigger than just random gatherings?
That somehow for the first time in her life she was beginning to understand a never-before experienced level of family. That it both thrilled and terrified her, and she wasn’t sure why.
Julia pushed aside the trembling in her gut and decisively reached for Zach’s letter. She all but ripped it from its envelope, slapped it out on the table in front of her and dove in.
Zach’s familiar messy writing covered two sheets of paper.
September 30.
* * *
One month ago, minus a few days, you agreed to make a big sacrifice to save my butt. I’m very thankful.
* * *
I know this whole setup is a lot. You have to write a letter on top of putting up with my stupid ass on a daily basis. That’s just evil—the letter part, I mean. My ass isn’t evil, it’s just annoying.
* * *
I was thinking about what to write. I figured you’d probably do a detailed analysis of our past month based on notes from your journal, maybe with numbers or bullet points. Therefore, this month, I’ll try to speak your language.
THE RULES
• no further addendums at this time.
* * *
I do think you should still date that original page and make a new one that’s a little less messy. Really, Julia, I don’t know how you can keep track of things when you keep changing your mind :-)
* * *
(note—I am very glad you changed your mind.)
THE ACTIVITIES
* * *
• Yoga: I would like to request a few less of those moves where we’re on our stomach. Especially if you insist on wearing those pale-pink yoga pants. Ahem. Too blunt?
* * *
• Dancing: zero changes to our dance card.
* * *
Wait—scratch that. I will warn you that if Trevor Daniels tries to cut in on me again, there will be hell to pay. It’s not so much that I don’t want you to ever dance with other guys, it’s that he’s absolute shit at it. Chances of you getting smashed into another couple go up exponentially every time the dickhead tries. Don’t make me stage an intervention where I have to dive across the dance floor to save you.
* * *
• Horseback riding: no changes.
* * *
Getting a deeper appreciation of Red Boot ranch every time we go. Damn, it’s pretty out here.
* * *
• Cooking: sorry about the meatloaf. It was truly gross, but in my defense, the recipe called for oats. I didn’t realize the package I had was peaches-and-cream flavoured.
* * *
• Research: heads-up. I’d like to go to the States at some point. You want to wait until November? Once you’re done with your EMT shifts? Discuss. Other than that, I really appreciated having you along. You’re good company, and your comments about the brew and food are helping.
* * *
Regarding the other kind of research? Heh-heh. See next note.
* * *
• Fooling around: definitely a complaint to register.
I have yet to see the blue or the neon-yellow vibrator in action, and frankly, that’s a bit of a travesty.
* * *
Onward to October. I hope you enjoy the final month working with the team down at the fire hall. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to make things easier for you, whether it’s in the transition for work or anything else.
* * *
You’re a rockin’ fake wife, and a really good egg.
Julia stared down at the paper then her own letter.
He’d hit the nail on the head with her making her comments in an orderly fashion, although he’d one-upped her by using actual bullet points.
She folded his letter small enough that it would fit in the expandable pouch at the back of her journal
Then she rewrote her own note simply to make it neater then reused his envelope. Only she hesitated, pulling out her coloured pens. She proceeded to decorate the outside with tiny little images and words.
When she was done, from a distance the entire surface looked as if it had brightly coloured confetti sprinkled on it. It was only from close-up that the tiny words in capitals became clear. YOGA and RIDING and the rest of them, including the one that made her giggle—RESEARCH.
And the images? Her yoga mats were clear, although some of her miniature horses looked like dogs. The tiny little vibrators, however, were perfectly identifiable.
Julia made sure to stay as casual as possible when she handed the envelope to him at the dinner table that night. “Back at you, baby.”
Zach paused in the middle of picking up his soup spoon. He raised a brow but accepted the envelope, his smile growing wider as he brought the envelope in for a closer look. “That’s hysterical.”
She grinned back, focusing on the savoury broth and the bowl in front of her as he carefully brought out the paper and gave it a quick read.
With a quick nod of his head, he tucked the letter back in the envelope and rose, placing it carefully on top of the fridge before returning. “I’m having fun too. But obviously, you read that in my letter.”
“I thought your bullet points were very well executed,” Julia said primly.
“Why, thank you.” He leaned forward, staring into her eyes with mischief written all over him. “I think your vibrators are a little bit disproportionate in size, though. Maybe our next research session we should break out a ruler and—”
“Oh my God,” Julia said with a laugh. “What is it with guys and rulers and dicks? And that’s not even really a rhetorical question, because you would not believe how many times down at the fire hall this topic comes up.”
A hearty laugh burst from him. “I don’t think I want to know.”
Julia changed the topic, but only slightly. “Speaking of research…”
Zach’s expression turned lusty.
She leaned forward as well, lowering her voice. “When’s our next scheduled outing? I have a craving for some lager.”
His chest rocked with silent laughter, and he shifted back to fold his arms over his chest. “Now that was just mean. Getting a guy’s hopes up and then casting him off into a cruel vat of hops and mash.”
“Deal.” He said it instantly, nabbing the barely started October calendar off the fridge and adding RESEARCH to the next Tuesday. Right between Monday’s RIDING and Wednesday’s YOGA. “You bring the toys, and I’ll bring a ruler. We’ll meet in the shower—don’t be late.”
It was easy to be with him. To enjoy a touch of silliness, even as she knew damn well waiting for Tuesday to roll around would be another opportunity for the whole anticipation thing to prove, once again, the right kind of tension did wonders for her libido.
One month down, eleven to go. It wasn’t going to be boring.
By this point in the game, Zach no longer thought he was simply imagining things. Nope. Somewhere around the middle of October, it had become clear that no matter how often he fixed the toilet paper roll, it always ended up facing the opposite direction.