That was exactly what she’d been trying to show him. In his desire to comfort her, help her through her pain, he’d been suffering through his own discomfort alone. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you again,” she answered breathlessly, trying to take away the fear that was the most acute for him.
He’s afraid. He’s worried that I’ll disappear again.
It wasn’t a rational fear, but Ellie had learned that very few things that she was still anxious about made sense.
She imploded the moment she felt Zane’s fingers stroking over her pussy and then over her clit, his hand having moved from her hip to the pulsating nub.
Zane took over as Ellie’s climax consumed her. “Come for me, Ellie. I can’t wait any longer,” Zane insisted in a graveled voice.
He didn’t need to tell her to lose it. The muscular walls of her sheath were already clamping around his cock in spasms she couldn’t control, signaling to Zane that she was already climaxing…hard.
“Christ! There’s no better feeling than you coming around me,” Zane groaned.
Ellie dropped to her elbows, unable to keep herself supported on her hands as her orgasm peaked and Zane spilled himself deep inside her with a tormented groan.
Lowering himself over her, Zane kissed the back of her head and both sides of her face, and then rested his forehead against her hair.
She could hear and feel his labored breathing, the warmth of his rapid exhales ruffling her hair, his chest rising and falling against her back.
Ellie finally collapsed completely, and Zane rolled to her side.
When she could finally get the words out, she whispered, “I’m hot.”
“Already?” Zane teased as he played with a lock of her hair.
She slapped his arm playfully. “You know what I mean. I’m sweating like a pig.”
“Me, too,” he agreed as he rolled to his feet at the side of the bed. “Let’s go.”
She shook her head. “You wore me out. I need a few minutes.”
He didn’t say a word as he bodily picked her up and made his way out of the bedroom and to the indoor pool. He lowered them both into the water slowly, cradling her nude body against him, submerging them slowly so it wasn’t a shock to her system.
As she lowered her feet lazily to the tiled floor of the pool, Zane took her wrists gently and turned them over and back again, inspecting the flesh. “Thank God. No marks,” he mumbled, and then put a gentle hand on her butt, stroking over it tenderly. “But your ass is a little red.” He didn’t sound particularly remorseful that he’d left some kind of brand on her.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she teased, “It was worth it. I don’t think I’ve ever come quite that hard.”
A relieved grin lit his face. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Ell. Thank you for trusting me that much.”
“You’d never intentionally hurt me.” She stroked a hand over his shadowed jaw. “I know that.”
“I don’t want to do it unintentionally either,” he grumbled, tightening his arms around her waist, and then lowering his head to kiss her.
Unlike their wild session in bed, his kiss was tender and sweet, an affirmation of how much he wanted to cherish her. Ellie’s heart melted as his lips gently roved over her mouth, licking and tasting every inch.
When he finally lifted his head, she sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, the water lapping around them, steadily cooling her body down. “The house looks amazing. Thank you,” she whispered huskily into his ear.
His gesture had touched her more than she could explain.
“Our house,” he corrected. “I want it to feel like home to you.”
“It does.” Ellie was starting to feel like anyplace was home for her as long as Zane was there with her.
“Good.” He nodded. “I think it finally feels like home to me, too.”
Stepping back, she dunked her head to completely cool herself off. She surfaced, pushing her wet hair from her eyes as she reminded him, “It’s always been your house.”
Zane followed suit, plunging beneath the water before answering. “Maybe. But it was never a home. Maybe that’s why I never gave a damn how it looked. It was a place to sleep, a place to stay, a place to be near my family. But it was just a house then.”
Ellie’s heart pounded wildly. “But now it feels like a home to you?”
“It is with you here. It feels like us.”
His comment was so endearing that she hugged him, and then clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She savored that moment of intimacy as Zane hugged her to him, both of them bonded tightly together.