Chapter Twenty-Three

Cupping both of her cheeks in his palms, Zach’s heart actually ached with the need to be closer to this woman. She turned him inside out in a way he’d never known. Instead of just making him feel like part of something—a feeling he’d craved his whole life—Stella made him feel like he was something. His hands stroked over her body once, then found their way into her hair. The scent of it teased him, made him want to bury his face in her neck. Pulling back enough that he could see her heavy-lidded gaze, Zach forced himself to slow down. She had to be sure. He was preparing to ask her if she was when she stepped back and took his hand. Without a word, she pulled him through the door and their hurried steps over the gravel toward the main house covered the sound of his heavy breaths. Fuck. There’d be no walking away from this. Stella Lane was going to ruin him for any other woman. He hadn’t even gotten her naked yet and he felt like he was shaking.

The dogs didn’t even raise their heads when Stella and Zach moved through the living room toward her bedroom. At the door, she turned and looked up at him with so much affection, his heart did one of those double beat things. He’d had enough sex to know when it was more. Everything about Stella Lane was more. And he wanted her to be his. Slow down. Don’t go there. Live in the moment. But he’d spent so much of the last ten years working toward his goals, trying to get back to the place he started that he hadn’t even considered the place he’d end up belonging, was not a place at all.

“Zach?” That one whispered syllable asked so much. Was he sure? Hell yes. Did he want this? More than anything. Would it change things between them? Damn right it would. But they could deal with that later.

Stroking a finger along her jaw, he pressed his lips there, trailing his mouth along the delicate skin there. He smiled against her when her breath caught. The tension in her stance, in her ragged breath, told him she wanted this as much as he did. He kissed a path to her ear, nipped at her lobe, and whispered, “Breathe, Stella. Let go. I’ve got you.”

With his hands on her waist, he backed her into the bedroom. The evening light slipped through the part in the feminine curtains. Lifting his head to take in his surroundings, he smiled. She was so tough on the outside, but in here, and inside of her, there was a softness. In her room, it came through with pretty pillows, a light, flower-patterned quilt on solid, four-poster bed, and a trio of fat, short candles on the sturdy wood dresser. Outside of this room, her gentle center shone through in the way she treated her friends, her animals. Other people’s animals. The way she gave people everything they needed, even when it meant leaving nothing for herself.

When he looked back at her, he saw she was fidgeting, her fingers clasped together over her stomach. Unwilling to let her retreat or pull away, he took one hand, ran his thumb over her palm.

“Your bedroom is sexy. Feminine. Bold. Like you,” he said.

One side of her mouth tipped up. “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

Feeling too far from her, he pulled her back against him so their bodies were perfectly aligned. “I like you.”

Pressing her hips forward as she wrapped her arms around his neck, she smiled. “I can tell.”

His laugh turned into a harsh groan when she kissed him, anchoring her hands in his hair and taking what she wanted. As long as what she wanted was him, he was more than okay. Running both hands down her back, cupping them over her jean-clad bottom, he boosted her up and stepped forward at the same time. He fell with her onto the bed and braced himself on his forearms so he didn’t squash her. Her small physical stature made it easy to forget that she was one of the strongest people he’d ever met.

Zach brushed her hair behind her ears with his fingers, letting them linger on the outer shell of her ear. Stella turned her face into his hand and exposed the sexy column of her neck. Pressing kisses there, he reveled in the feel of her underneath him, restless, wanting. She was caught up in what had sparked between them from the beginning. Letting his hands roam, he swallowed every sigh, every gasp, and marveled at the feel of her hands on his skin. She pulled at his shirt, wrestling it up between them when neither of them wanted to part. Taking a quick second to remove it, he lowered himself into her waiting arms. When she pulled him closer, it did what nothing else could, what he’d already fooled himself into believing he’d attained; she made him feel like he was finally home.

…

Yup. Definitely ruined for any other woman. Stella curled into the crook of Zach’s arm, her nose brushing against his skin, sending mini aftershocks through him. His heart continued to race as fast as his thoughts. He shouldn’t even be capable of thought, but his mind was spinning. He’d made it thirty-two years without having his heart broken by a woman. Sure, it had been jostled around by a couple of women. It had been flattened when Travis died. But, so far, it had never been in jeopardy of being mangled. Until Stella.

It was too easy to imagine waking up wrapped around this woman, and wasn’t that a landmine waiting to be stomped on? Stella shifted in his arms, and Zach rolled to his side so he was facing her. He brushed a lock of hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear.

“You okay?” He needed water. He felt like he’d spent a month in a desert.

“Okay is probably too mild a description for how I feel. Boneless might be closer,” she said, a smile tugging at those gorgeous lips.

“That’s not a bad thing.” He leaned in, kissed her softly, thinking how much he’d like to just stay in this bed with her all night.

He’d worried she’d close up once they’d had sex. Face it man, you were worried she’d regret it. All the reasons not to still hung between them, and he’d been certain those were the thoughts that would pull her out of her lust-filled haze and break the mood between them. So when she sat up, he braced himself, held his breath.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

A laugh burst free and he tugged her back down over him. She pressed her nose into his neck and inhaled, turning him on again. Basically, all she had to do was breathe and he was there, ready. But the fact that he’d been worrying while she was thinking about her stomach was damn funny.

“I’m glad I amuse you,” she said against his skin.

He ran his hand up the length of her back, over her spine, and enjoyed the tremor that wracked her body.

“You do that and a whole lot more,” he admitted.

Stella lifted her head and folded her arms across his chest, staring at him. When he didn’t expand, she asked, “Such as?”

Zach tapped her nose with his index finger. How could someone be cute and jaw droppingly sexy at once? “You amuse me. Confuse me. You inspire, motivate, and frustrate me.”

Her lips pressed into a pout, and he kissed her, quick and fun before flipping her so he was looking down.

“You also turn me on, drive me crazy, make me think about things I didn’t know I wanted.”

Her eyes widened. “Zach.”

Too much, too soon. Rein it in. He kissed one cheek. “You make me want to be more, Stella.” He kissed the other cheek. “You’re an amazing woman.”

When he looked at her again, he saw the worry still clouded her gaze. Hoping to distract her, lighten the mood, and loosen up the knots forming in his chest, he ran his hand down her side. “You also have an incredible body.”

She smiled. “As do you.”

He was happy she thought so, but he still needed to get them back to the light, easy place they’d been a moment ago. Running his hand over her stomach, his heartbeat ramped up at the way she sucked in air, so sensitive and aware of his touch. Stella tunneled her fingers into his hair, trying to pull him back for a kiss. Instead, he pulled back and smiled at her look of surprise.

“Thought you were hungry,” he said.

Scowling, she yanked the sheet up over her and he laughed again. Having her cover her body was a definite punishment.

“I could wait to eat,” she said. Her brow arched in challenge. One he was definitely up for.

“I don’t want to wear you out.”

“As if you could,” she said.

“I could try,” he whispered.

She nodded. “Do that.”

Fuck, she was adorable. He leaned down, pulled the sheet from her curled fingers, he pressed a featherlight kiss to her neck as his hand traveled back down. “Hmm,” he murmured against her. “I changed my mind. I think I’m hungry, too. Your skin tastes like strawberries and honey.” His fingers squeezed on her hip as he nipped at her shoulder, soothed the spot with his lips.

Stella tilted her head to the side, encouraging him to take his fill. “It’s my body soap.”

“It’s my new favorite.”

Stella smiled up at him and ran her hand over his jaw. “Probably won’t smell the same on you, but you’re welcome to try it later when we shower.”

“You’re pretty funny, Doc.”

Her leg brushed along his and then wrapped around his thigh, pulling him tighter against her. He groaned and lowered his head to kiss her.

“I have my moments. Though right now doesn’t feel like one of them.”

“No? How do you feel right now?” He was almost scared to hear her answer.

She stroked her hands up his back and met his gaze, her own unguarded. “Happy,” she whispered.

He vowed then and there to be the reason for that happiness as often as he could. As often as she’d let him. For as long as she’d allow. Hopefully, by the time she realized she’d let him all the way in, she’d be as far gone as he was and wouldn’t be able to untangle herself without a fight. Zach didn’t want to think that way, but if she tried to put her shields back in place, he was confident in his own ability to fight for what he wanted. If he wasn’t capable, he wouldn’t be here now. And there was absolutely nowhere else on the planet he wanted to be.