Dear Diary, he gives a wild ride!
Zach screeched to a stop beside Maddie’s driveway.
She jumped out of the car and stormed toward her front door.
Zach’s car door clicked open. Slammed shut. “Maddie, wait.”
She didn’t look back.
“I want to apologise for the other night.”
That was it! The last straw.
The atmosphere vibrated with electricity between them as she spun around, ready to rip his head off for being such a ... man!
Zach was right behind her, looking way too tempting.
“Let me give you some advice, pal.” She poked a finger in his chest, right in the middle of the Wild. “Save your apologies. I neither need nor want them. Furthermore, I can pick up fifty billion guys in fifty million juice bars, and it’d be none of your business.”
Zach captured her finger in one hand while he rubbed at his chest with the other, withstood her glare with one of his own.
Maddie poked him with her other hand.
He imprisoned her other finger. “What is your problem?”
She tried to yank her hands back. “You! You kissed me, then apologised. Twice! And now you’re trying to add insult to injury by doing it again.”
Zach glanced at the few houses around them, their security lights giving a good view of Maddie’s driveway. “Keep your voice down.”
“What’s the matter, Zach? Afraid to let everyone find out you’re a tease?”
He made her blood fizz, filled her with an effervescent excitement she could barely contain even when she was angry enough to throw something. Zach had always made her feel that way. Would she ever get to the stage of familiarity when the sensation didn’t move her to want to jump him whenever she clapped eyes on him? She doubted it, hated him for having this effect on her.
But why did the flame causing every female organ below her belly button to burn with need surprise her? Zach seemed to have possessed the ability to trip her hormones into overdrive from the first day they’d met. That he continued to do so even after all these years was both disappointing and immensely exciting.
She swallowed past the desiccation in her throat. It had gone dry the second Zach had closed his hand around her finger. She tried again to pull out of his warm clasp.
In an effort to relieve the discomfort of her dry lips, she moistened them with the tip of her tongue.
Zach’s eyes darkened. For the life of her Maddie couldn’t stop repeating the action, fascinated by Zach’s hypnotized stare.
When she bit down on her bottom lip to deny her tongue access to it, he dropped her hands and took a hasty step backwards.
“I can’t talk to you when you’re angry.” His voice sounded unusually gruff as he turned, shoved his hands into his jean pockets, and headed back to his car.
Maddie had never felt so frustrated in her entire life.
~*~
AN OBJECT whizzed past Zach’s head and bounced off his car’s shiny roof.
Maddie’s stiletto.
He turned slowly to face her. Did she have any idea how much effort it had taken for him to walk away when he wanted to toss her over his shoulder, kick down her front door, and show her what a Neanderthal he could be?
“You’re going to have to stop doing that, Botella.”
Maddie shrieked in aggravation, stomped the foot still wearing a shoe, and slammed her front door with a mighty swing.
The bang unglued something in him. He snatched his hands out of his pockets and thundered toward Maddie’s door. It was time she heard a few things.
He threw open the door to find her standing in the hallway with tears tracking her beautiful face. The image yanked on a part of his heart he never wanted to expose again, yet each tear wetting her face skewered through his chest into the locked down chamber of his heart where hope, love, and trust resided.
“For the record,” he said through gritted teeth, angry that she’d managed to burrow beneath his strategically guarded defences. He snagged her around her waist, and tugged her against him. Maddie’s lips parted on a shocked gasp. She clutched the front of his T-shirt as something untamed splintered between them. “Amber is not my girlfriend.”
That he’d caught her off guard awarded him a healthy dose of primal satisfaction. Zach gave into the desire he’d been fighting all night, and slammed his lips down on Maddie’s in a devouring kiss that unleashed all the pent-up emotion he’d endured since seeing her again.
Her eyes fluttered as his thumbs smoothed the tears from her face.
She parted her lips, but only enough to sandwich his bottom lip between hers. Heat shot straight to his groin. He wanted more ... so much more. He brushed his tongue against her mouth, encouraging her to part her lips further. When she opened for him, touched her tongue to his in a tentative caress, she nearly blew his mind.
He walked her backward until he pinned her against the wall, reached out, and pulled the band from her ponytail so her hair spilled around her shoulders in curls. Her lips softened beneath his, her body stimulating delicious warmth where she pressed against him.
Zach wasn’t prepared for the ardour with which Maddie kissed him back. She groaned a desperate sigh into his mouth; eager lips clung to his in a long passionate kiss, her hands buried in his hair held him a willing prisoner.
Zach may have initiated the kiss, but Maddie controlled the outcome.
This was a bad idea. Why wasn’t she slapping him stupid for kissing her? Why wasn’t he stopping? Bad, bad decision. He should’ve kept going. Should’ve ignored the shoe, and kept right on home. Now here he was, feeling up his friend—friend, for goodness sakes.
Zach discovered to his amazement, the word had lost its platonic power.
While he fought to control his wandering hands, Maddie’s took up some wandering of their own. Her fingers tugged at his T-shirt until she could sneak her hands beneath the material. The sensation of her fingers trailing over his stomach on their way to his chest clenched every muscle in Zach’s body, highlighting how out of hand this thing had become.
He broke the kiss. “Wait, Maddie.”
He buried his hands in her hair with the purpose of gaining her attention, his breathing laboured as he tried to make himself do the right thing. The silky curls teasing his palms had his imagination tossing up images of the satin locks trailing over his naked chest. Just the thought sent anticipation through him.
He forced himself to be the sensible one. “We have ... we have to stop.”
“Not yet,” she whispered on a husky sigh, sunk against him, and rolled her head to the side. Zach couldn’t ignore the invitation. He tracked succulent kisses down the graceful arc toward the place where her neck and shoulder met. Once he got there, he couldn’t resist the urge to sink his teeth into the soft flesh that had teased him all night.
Maddie shivered, moaned, and fitted herself tighter against him. When she moved her hips in a slow grind against his arousal, he stopped breathing.
This was insane. What was he doing kissing, nuzzling, and enjoying titillating hip-grinds with his friend? In front of an opened door in full view of all their neighbours, no less!
He grabbed her hands and pinned them to her sides. “Maddie, stop.” Her eyes snapped open. “This is—we can’t ... we have to stop before we do something we’ll regret.” Ragged breaths that matched hers left his lungs parched.
Huge, passion-glazed eyes blinked sincerity at him. “You may regret this, but I won’t.”
He had to find a way to put her back in the friend zone.
Zach was proud of himself for the strength of character that allowed him to put a stop to the kiss, when it was the last thing he wanted to do. Maddie may not think she would regret sleeping with him now, but she’d soon see he was incapable of loving her the way she deserved.
And she’d regret it then.
His eyes strayed to the rapid rise and fall of her breasts beneath the pale pink T-shirt she wore. He dragged them back to her face. He was strong. He could resist the urge to eyeball Maddie’s chest—even though the memory of his hands on that part of her anatomy drew his gaze like a magnet.
She compressed her lips, bit down on the kiss-swollen lower one until he had to fight the urge to kiss her again. Soft pink crawled up her neck and flushed her cheeks, crumbling his resistance. Her reaction told him he wasn’t the only one reliving the few moments of pleasure they’d shared.
How did any sane man turn his back on that?
Her eyes, dark green with residual passion, trapped him in a cocoon of sensation. She had him feeling things he’d never experienced before. Not with any of the women he’d drifted in and out of relationships with—not even with Kimber. Jealousy was new to him. He’d never considered himself a jealous or violent man, yet he’d wanted to smash his fists into Jack every time he’d touched Maddie.
She stirred up needs he didn’t want to crave—visions of a future with a wife and children. The type of forever afters that should have him running out the door.
So why couldn’t he bring himself to leave?
He turned, closed the door ... and locked it.
~*~
MADDIE EXPECTED Zach to run out on her, had started to prepare herself for the anguish of him walking away and leaving her churning again. But when he shut the door and pulled her into his arms for a core-humming kiss, it was all she could do not to rip his clothes off in the middle of her hallway.
He groaned a guttural vibration and deepened the kiss, his tongue gliding with hers in a primordial rhythm. He shifted slightly, positioning his hard, muscular thigh between hers as he cupped her butt and held her snug against him.
The sensation of his thigh pressed against her teamed with the evidence of his arousal wound her into a tight, needy knot. To her consternation, a groan of raw hunger escaped her.
Zach broke the kiss, leaned his forehead against hers, his breathing laboured as though he had trouble gulping in air.
“Maddie ... Lord help me. I can’t not make love to you. I want you so damn much, I can’t think straight.”
They made it to her room amid a lot of frantic kisses, and careless tussling against every wall that knocked objects from shelves and tables. Maddie didn’t spare a thought for the broken items littering their wake.
She just wanted Zach.
Her skin tingled where he slid his hands over her body as he pressed her against her closed bedroom door. The savage kisses changed to something tamer, sweeter. Maddie savoured the slow, profound caress of his lips that stole her breath and melted her.
“Do you have any idea how crazy you make me? What you do to me?” Zach’s heated blue gaze held hers as he slid his hand down her arm, leaving goose bumps on the trail. He slid his fingers over hers. Holding her hand in his warm clasp, he pressed it to the front of his jeans.
Like a programmed reaction, Maddie moaned a deep sigh as her palm moulded to his hard length. Zach held her snug against him, curling his fingers over hers until her hand curved around his impressive size.
He leaned close, his warm breath tickling her ear, sending carnal shivers up and down her spine. “That’s what you do to me, Mad,” he whispered as he released her hand to cup one of her still fully clothed breasts. The stroke of his thumb over the hard nipple sent hot jolts directly to her core.
“That’s what you do to me. Every. Single. Time. I see you.” Each word ended with a nip of his lips on her ear, sending sensuous tremors through her. “You have no idea how unbelievably close I came to taking you on that sidewalk outside the jazz club.”
His admission sent an aphrodisiac thrill through her. “How close?” Her voice came out hoarse as she stroked him through the denim.
Zach groaned.
As if possessed with the power to read her mind, he pushed her hand out of the way then pressed his hips to hers, the steely pressure gratifying.
“Damn close...” He pulled back, locking her in the intensity of his stare as his fingers dug into her hips. “By stopping I was practically a saint.”
A bolt of exhilaration at the discovery that he’d wanted her to that extent, when she’d thought he hadn’t, shot through Maddie. Her mouth landed on Zach’s in a moist, ravishing kiss that tore a hungry groan from him as her hands went to work on his belt. He helped her undo the fastener and unzip him, as anxious as she was to get him naked, then he yanked at hers.
And just like that, they were back on the wild ride.
Maddie undulated against him, trying to find release from the pressure building inside her.
“You’re driving me crazy.” The black T-shirt straining across his chest muscles made her yearn to get it off him. She pulled it up, wanting to touch him everywhere. “I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
Zach tugged off her T-shirt, flicked open the clasp of her bra with surprising one-handed dexterity, and sent it to join their mounting pile of discarded garments.
He plundered her mouth with a new level of urgency, as if up to this point he’d been holding back, his fingers creating arrow point sensations that travelled a direct course from her nipples to her womb. When he released her to pull his shirt over his head and throw it across the room, taut muscles bunched on his broad, tanned shoulders in a way that spoke of leashed strength.
Even those few seconds were too long to be out of his arms. Maddie reached out, dying to touch his chest, to delight in the rasp of hair and play of lusty muscle.
He caught her hands just before she reached her target. “Honey, if you have any second thoughts, tell me now.”
She bit down on her bottom lip. She didn’t have words to express how much she wanted this—how incredibly long she’d waited for this very moment with him ... how much she loved him. “I want you, Zach. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember.”
With a low growl, he swept her into his arms and captured her mouth in a feral kiss. Maddie’s hair tumbled down her back as she wound her arms round Zach’s neck, curled her fingers in his short silky hair, and kissed him as he carried her to the bed, his hard abs deliciously naked against her as he walked.
He laid her among the silky throw pillows, followed her onto the aubergine and lilac-coloured covers, and claimed her lips in another searing kiss.
She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his chiselled back. She loved the living dream leaning over her. His hair mussed from her hands, desire colouring his cheeks, his torso inviting her to eat him up, jeans undone, giving her a glimpse of his black boxer briefs.
She pushed at his jeans. “Zach, I want ... I want...”
“I know.” He stood, hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his jeans then paused and reached into one of the pockets, pulled out a couple of condoms and tossed them beside the lamp.
Maddie stared at the metallic squares. Why did it surprise her Zach would carry protection? Or had he simply been prepared for a night with Amber? Her chest squeezed with jealousy.
Zach came back down beside her, tipped her chin, and urged her to look at him. “If you’re thinking those were meant for Amber, stop. I don’t want her.”
“You said that about me, too, but here we are.”
He kissed her until she was breathless. “I never said I didn’t want you.”
“You said you weren’t interested.” She couldn’t hide the hurt.
His hand slid around her hip and cupped her bottom. He drew her tight to him so her breasts pressed against his solid chest and her hips against his. She couldn’t fail to notice how turned on he was.
“As you can see, I’m plenty interested.” He took and gave more pleasure in a lingering kiss before whispering—“do you want to stop?”—against her lips.
“No way!”
She’d waited ten years for this moment, and she’d be damned if she let it slip away. Even if he’d intended the condoms for Amber, the point was, he was here with her.
When Zach shucked the rest of his clothes, tossing his jeans and briefs behind him, Maddie couldn’t help but gawk. Every inch of his body well-defined with hard muscle, he was any male-loving woman’s fantasy.
“Oh, my...” He was better than that, he was ... amazing ... there was no other word that would do him justice.
He grinned. “I’m glad you approve.”
His attention slid over her naked breasts, down her flat stomach, and stopped at her jeans. He climbed onto the wide bed, pushed her hair out of the way to nuzzle the curve of her neck. She angled her head for him.
“I think one of us is definitely overdressed, don’t you?” he murmured against her shoulder.
“That does seem to be a problem.”
“I think I might have a solution.” He deftly removed her jeans, then his fingers closed on the flimsy material of her panties. “Hmm ... nice.” He pulled the black thong down her thighs.
Maddie groaned in response to the erotic contrast of his blunt fingers grazing her flesh and the silky slide of her panties against her skin.
Zach shuddered as if he felt her pleasure.
She delighted in the unrestrained hunger she saw on his face as he took in every inch of her naked body. His gaze burned, his expression captivated as he moved over her.
“Why did it take me so long to notice how beautiful you are?” As if he couldn’t help himself, he reached out a hand to caress her cheek. Then cradled her nape and drew her close for another scorching kiss. “You can make a man forget his name.”
He cruised soft, hot kisses over her ribs. Her stomach muscles flexed with each touch of his lips. He pressed his open mouth to each breast in turn; the pad of his thumb teased one nipple while he suckled the other, torturing her with leisurely tongue strokes and expert nips of his teeth that sent electric sparks of pleasure zinging through her.
When he move up to take her mouth again, Maddie smoothed her hands up his chest and locked them around his neck. His compliment, the way he loved her, made her feel incredible and sexy enough. She would have never imagined she had the power to make Zach feel a fraction of the desperate ache she felt for him.
She gave him a wicked smile. “Just as long as you don’t forget mine.”
He chuckled and the vibration did delicious things to her as he made his way back down her body. She sunk her fingers in his hair as he kissed and suckled her, intensifying the throbbing ache deep inside. Her whole body ached with a feverish desire, no doubt evident in the hot flush radiating from her. She squeezed her thighs together in an ineffective attempt to dull the hot urgency pulsing expectation deep in her pelvic muscles. Zach coaxed her legs apart, positioned himself between them, and continued the sweet bombardment with skilful play of his mouth and tongue to take the edge off her need, forcing her to release the cries of intense pleasure she’d been biting back.
Heat flooded through her. She drew in a sharp breath. “Zach. Please. Now.” She felt so very hungry for him.
Lost in sensation, Maddie kept her eyes closed, balanced on the edge of the wonderful place Zach had taken her to, hanging on by her fingernails to keep from falling off the edge without him.
The sounds of Zach ripping open a condom packet and sheathing himself seemed dreamlike. Even the warm, drugging kiss against her mouth as he parted her legs felt too incredible to be real.
Zach tensed.
“Look at me, Mad.” She obeyed to find Zach’s gaze burning into hers. “You know you mean the world to me, right?”
She could only nod as she tangled her fingers with his, letting him pin her hands next to her head on the soft pillows. What was he doing? Trying to drive her completely out of her mind?
“Zach. Please.” She nipped at his mouth, instinctively tilting her hips, eager for Zach’s hard length. When her slippery entrance caught the delicious tip of him, his sharp indrawn breath thrilled her.
Just that tiny contact with him seemed to light her entire body with sentient pleasure. Enveloped them in a sensual cocoon she never wanted to leave. If she could stay right here like this with Zach forever, her world would be complete. But if this was all she’d ever have of him, she’d make it count.
She stilled, waiting for the moment when Zach would make her dreams come true.
His gaze held hers as he slid into her in a single, bold thrust. She cried out, arching beneath him, closing her eyes against the absolute intensity of the moment—the incredible sensation of him filling her so completely for the first time. Making love with Zach was far more overwhelming than she had ever imagined—so much more potent.
He gave her a moment to adjust to him before he initiated a rhythm that swiftly built a tornado within her. Each heady glide of his solid erection tore a pleasurable moan from her and from Zach, too.
When she opened her eyes, he held her prisoner. The wonder in his regard told her beyond doubt that he had never experienced this level of togetherness. Her heart sang with the discovery. She was responsible for that look of utter shock on Zach’s face.
She gasped as he thrust hard and deep, filling her with the thick steely length of him. To stop herself from screaming with the ardent pleasure, Maddie pressed her open mouth to Zach’s shoulder, tasting the delicious salty tang of his skin. Filled with his intoxicating scent, she kissed every available inch of his jaw, neck, chest and shoulders, her hands sweeping over him in frantic evidence of her mind-blowing experience.
Seismic waves of delicious release shuddered through her, freeing Maddie from her last trace of reserve, forcing her to cry out his name on a satisfied moan. She sunk her hands in his hair as an eddy of unbearable pleasure swirled through her.
“Zach ... oh, Zach! Yes ... oh ... yes!”
Zach cupped her bottom, tipping her hips for a deeper penetration. She arched beneath him, consumed with indescribable sensation. Incapable of thought or reason. Only able to comprehend sensation—an oneness she’d never experienced before. A focused rapture that centred from the inside out.
Powerless to do anything else, she cried out her climax in complete abandon, pulsating in tight spasms around him. She had a moment of pure ecstasy when she heard the powerful shout of his release.
Encircled in Zach’s arms in a haze of spent love, she kissed him, hoping to convey without words how much she adored him. She’d given him everything of herself. More than she’d ever given to any other man.
His smile tender, he smoothed the damp hair from her forehead with a reverence she would’ve never imagined him capable, then gave her an equally tender kiss.
When he broke the kiss, his gaze searched hers with a scrutiny that unnerved her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a virgin, Maddison?”