Expecting His Secret Heir(11)

No matter how many times he told himself it couldn't happen between them  again, his urges were steadily drowning out the voice of reason.

"You don't have to do this," Sadie said in the same sexy drawl that  featured in his memories of that one emotion-charged night five years  ago.

"I take my job very seriously," he said as he unlocked her room and led her inside.

"I see that," she said, swaying slightly where she stood. Apparently  Sadie couldn't handle pain meds very well. "You've always gone above and  beyond."

Zach didn't deny it. That was a part of his nature he couldn't get rid  of. Whether he was writing a grocery list, doing a job or taking care of  his family, he was usually in whole hog.

A cute frown scrunched up Sadie's usually open features. "But I can take  care of myself," she said. She shuffled toward the dresser. "After all,  I've been doing it all my life."

He refrained from pointing out that she would have been driving impaired  if he had let her go home alone, and watched her pull out pajamas. She  shuffled to what he assumed was the bathroom and shut herself inside.

Right, he'd conveniently forgotten about the stubborn streak.

Dropping the overnight bag he kept stowed in his SUV, Zach strolled over  and sank onto the couch to wait, banging his knee against the little  coffee table in the process. The laptop before him sprang to life.

Four pictures filled the screen, all of him. These weren't the classic  survey pictures he was used to seeing. Each one was artistically  composed with strategic lighting and showed him absorbed in some task.  Except for the one in the bottom right corner, in which he stared  straight ahead with a sad look on his face.

The pictures had an indefinable quality portraying not just his emotion  but the photographer's as well. Almost a wistful, yearning feel.

Looking at them, it hit him-Sadie had missed him after all.

The bathroom door opened. Somehow, Zach knew Sadie would not want him to  see these pictures. With a flick of his wrist, he closed the laptop.

He looked away so he could avoid seeing the sway of her breasts beneath  the short, fitted nightie she wore. Unlike the oversize T-shirts his  sister had preferred as a teenager, Sadie was all girl when it came to  pajamas and underwear.

Nope. Don't go there.

She plopped onto the bed then dropped back onto a mound of pillows. The minute her head made contact, she winced.

But her sleepy eyes met his defiantly. "See. I'm good."

Yes, you are. He smothered a smile. "Sure you are."

She ignored him, rolling onto her side. He could have been offended at  her presenting her back, except he knew from experience that was the  side she slept on.

He stood for a long time in the middle of the room, almost able to  pinpoint to the second when she sank into sleep. His gaze traced the  familiar S curve of her body he was desperate to curl around once more.  He looked out the window at the darkening sky, then at the alarm screen  on his phone that told him when he would need to wake her next.

And finally, the laptop.

He didn't have to open it to know what was inside. Those pictures were  imprinted on his brain. Mixed with the yearning he'd seen on her face  when they'd stood in the alley this morning, he knew deep inside that  Sadie still wanted him, too.

Then he stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed beside  Sadie. At some point, his body made up his mind for him. He might be a  selfish bastard, but if this was his chance to have one more taste of  the only woman who had tempted his heart, he wasn't going to turn it  down.





Seven

Waking to the feel of strong arms and Zach's scent wasn't unusual for  Sadie. He remained in her dreams no matter how many days they were  apart. She let herself hover there between wakefulness and sleep,  wishing the feel of him would never disappear.

Ever so slowly, the mist started to recede. "Zach," she whispered, her mind still not comprehending. "Zach, is that you?"

"Yes," he murmured. "I'm here."                       
       
           



       

"Please don't leave me."

"I didn't leave you. You left me."

"But I never really wanted to."

Only the sudden stiffening of the body beside hers awakened her enough  to realize that he was real rather than a figment of her imagination. So  warm and alive she could have wept in gratitude.

The confusion dissipated in a rush of fever as desire swept through her. She'd denied her need for too long.

His groan filled the air. The rough scratch of hair and smooth heat of  skin graced her palms, telling her she had reached out to touch. To test  whether the apparition of her dreams was indeed real.

And that's when reality returned in an unwelcome rush.

She shouldn't. She knew she shouldn't, that deep down it made what she  was doing that much more despicable. Her betrayal then, and her betrayal  now.

Her fingers curled, digging into the warm flesh as if to keep him with  her just a moment longer. His quick catch of breath signaled a change in  the air, a breach of a barrier that shouldn't be forgotten.

But it was too late.

Her mind cried out with joy as his body rolled against hers, sweeping  over her to take control. He was the same Zach she remembered. His  familiar scent and bulk enveloped her. Her need exploded deep inside.  For this moment she would let go of the past, not worry about the future  and do the one thing Sadie never did: enjoy the present.

For the first time in five years, she felt his lips against hers. Not  the barely there brush from the mill, but a full meeting of lips that  conveyed passion and want. Sadie's palms found the bare skin of his  shoulders, tracing muscles bulked by years of true labor. For long  moments his lips distracted her. It wasn't the tentative touch of new  lovers, but the eager reunion     , the rediscovery of each other.

Just as her hands traced sinewy muscle over his ribs, he dipped down.  The heat radiating from him blanketed her, left her aching for more. She  wanted freedom-freedom from her clothes, from her fear, from the  secrets that stood between them.

The tips of his hair, much longer than the last time they were together,  brushed her cheeks. It tickled, lightening her mood a little. She  smiled against his lips. Her hands automatically burrowed into the silky  strands, and she savored the thickness, the new weight that signaled  his complete return to civilian life.

Her hands in his hair ramped up something for him, because his movements  took on a frantic edge. A powerful purpose that plunged her into  heaven.

He stripped her of her nightgown, then panties. His thighs settled  between hers as he assumed possession. Then he traced her ribs with his  palms, reminding her of the first time his hands had explored her body.

Time coalesced in a surreal effect, mixing this moment with a night five  years ago when Zach had introduced her to an ecstasy she'd only ever  dreamed of before. Now, as then, he touched every part of her as if  committing her body to memory. Fingers kneading her muscles. Nails  stimulating her skin. Palms controlling her hips.

From somewhere deep inside her a whimper erupted. His hands tightened at  the sound, keeping her from lifting against him. The inability to move  only ramped up her need. Her core melted in liquefied heat.

Suddenly his warmth receded as he crouched between her thighs. It took a  moment of disoriented disappointment to realize he hadn't left her.  Then he pressed his open mouth to her thigh. She tensed. Each sucking  kiss brought him closer to the apex of her need, but never close enough.  Her gasps filled the silence.

Just when she'd thought he would end her suffering, his mouth moved to  her belly button, then out along her ribs. This time her breath caught,  then she giggled at his touch. He growled, his approval obvious as he  rediscovered every spot that made her laugh, sigh and moan.

Finally he stretched out over her once more. He buried his hands in her  hair. The long strands wound around his fingers, and he took full  advantage, tugging until her chin lifted. Sadie wanted to weep as  control and guilt swept away from her. All she could do was enjoy.

His kiss against her neck was firm, demanding. This time there was no  stopping her hips from lifting, her hands from clutching him to her. His  mouth worked its magic while his other hand guided his hardness to her.  The stretch right to the edge of fullness made her wince. It had been  so long.

Too long.

But her nails dug into the cheeks of his ass, pulling him into her with  devastating effect. Her entire body exploded into tingles as he moved  within her. It was exactly as she remembered, and so much more.

His body demanded her response. She gave him her all. Hips clashing.  Skin rubbing. Breath mingling. Until the night erupted into a million  points of light and emotion.