Always & Forever (25 page)

“What makes you think he’s after your money? Maybe Charles is pissed you tried to have him killed.”

How typical. Still, she called to warn him. She wasn’t ready to give up yet. “I got that blackmail note last year. Of course this person is after money.”

“You’re exactly like your mother. You don’t think rationally. It’s no wonder you can’t find a man to love you. You never were good enough for Charles. I hope you can trick some dope into taking care of you, Kat.”

His words stung, and Lilly blinked back sudden tears. “For your information, I’m seeing someone, and he’s really good to me.”

“Does he have money? Maybe you should come out for a visit, honey. What’s his name?”

Lilly sighed. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter. I called to warn you about Charles, and I’ve done that. Watch your back, Daddy.”

Lilly gently clicked the phone shut and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. What had she thought she would accomplish? That phone call was definitely a misguided effort. Deep down, she knew Stewart wouldn’t appreciate her warnings or heed them.

She opened the phone and looked at her contacts. Zach showed more caring for her in the past few days than Stewart showed her whole life. Lilly took a deep breath. Letting men walk all over her was not the woman Lilly wanted to be anymore. She’d started her new life to escape that kind of treatment.

Before she could think about what she planned, Lilly selected ‘erase’ over Stewart’s phone number and pushed confirm.

She looked toward the bedroom door where Zach waited for her. Maybe Zach didn’t love her, but he did care. Tonight, she would make love to him. She would pretend it was more than sex for him, too. If only in her imagination, she could spend tonight in the arms of a man who loved her without counting her flaws.

Zach looked up as Lilly entered the room. He shut the TV off and set the controller on the nightstand. “Are you okay? What’d he say?”

Lilly shook her head and crawled onto the bed. She cuddled against his side. “It doesn’t matter.”

Okay. It must not have gone well.
Zach rubbed his arm down her back, and she snuggled closer.

“The cop called me,” he said. “No one seems to know how the package got to our doorstep. He’s going to check the security tapes and get back to us tomorrow.”

“Hmmm. So there’s nothing more we can do about it tonight.” She looked at him and fiddled with a strand of her hair. “What should we do?”

Zach arched an eyebrow at her. “What do you want to do?”

She shrugged. “Anything is fine with me.”

Although she might not want the same thing he did, that didn’t stop a guy from hoping. He ran a hand through her hair and kissed her forehead. Perhaps he could get her back in the mood. “I could give you a massage.”

A grin passed her lips and she shook her head. “I think it’s your turn. After all, you rubbed my shoulders yesterday.” Lilly pulled away from Zach and her finger rubbed against the top button on his shirt. “Let’s get this off you.”

Zach swallowed hard and nodded his head. “That sounds like a plan.” He closed his eyes and considered his next words carefully. He could spoil everything by moving too fast, but she seemed to be encouraging him.

“I don’t think this is fair,” he said as Lilly unbuttoned his shirt. Her soft hands against his chest drove him crazy.

Lilly pulled his shirt off his shoulders. “What isn’t fair?”

“Well, you still have all your clothes on, and I don’t,” he replied.

Lilly cocked her head to the side. “I suppose that’s true. That’s not fair at all.” She got off the bed and grabbed the hem of her blouse. “So, would you like me to remove this?”

At Zach’s nod, Lilly smiled and hitched up the edge of the shirt. Her flat stomach slowly came into view, a fine tracing of white lines crossed the skin. Her shirt slowly inched up, giving way to the sight of her black bra, until finally she drew the garment over her head.

Zach longed to stroke the delicate skin she revealed, but he didn’t know what Lilly was up for, or how much was too much. He slipped the rest of the way out of his own shirt, in order to keep his hands to himself.

“Is that better?” she asked.

Zach nodded, taking in the sight of her beautiful body. “It was great before, but yeah, I like that.”

She grinned. “Right answer.” Lilly climbed onto the bed. “Now roll over.”

Zach obeyed and turned onto his stomach. He stifled a groan when her thin legs straddled him and Lilly sat down on the small of his back. He could feel the heat from her crotch against him, and his manhood bulged uncomfortably in his pants.

Her small hands went to work, kneading the muscles on his shoulders. She trembled against him, and he knew her display of confidence had been mostly an act. It was so important to go slowly with her, to wait until she relaxed.

Zach tried to enjoy the movements of her fingers and not hope for anything more, but her gentle caresses turned him on. All he could think about was how she might respond if he tumbled her off him and took her right then. He sat through her unintentional torture as long as he could. “I think it’s your turn now, honey.”

“Hush.” Her hands went through his hair, and Zach felt her shift against him.

Something dropped onto the bed beside him, and Zach touched the bit of fabric. As he made the connection between the fabric and her bra, Lilly’s firm breasts pressed into his back. Her mouth found his shoulder. She kissed the top of it, and Zach groaned as her nipples rubbed against him.

He reached behind him, grabbing for any part of her he could get. His hand landed on her calf, and Zach stroked it, desperate to feel some piece of her.

Lilly’s kisses changed to bites, and pleasure raced through Zach’s body. He ached to take her. He longed to please her, and be pleased in return.

“Let me up,” he got out in a ragged pant.

Lilly slipped off his back, and before she had a chance to settle on the bed, Zach pushed her against the pillows. He captured her mouth in a hard kiss. With her body slightly turned, he was free to let his hands roam her pert bottom.

Lilly moaned and her hand moved against his pants. She rubbed at the expanding bulge and slid her mouth off Zach’s to suck on his earlobe. Her accelerated breathing tickled his ear, and Zach worried he might disgrace himself by finishing too soon if she continued stroking him. She made him feel like a teenager again.

He caught her hand up with his and moved it away from his pants. “Not yet,” he whispered.

Lilly nodded her understanding and rubbed his abs instead. A small gasp escaped her lips as Zach stroked her chest. Her nipples tightened into little buds beneath his fingers, hard with desire. It amazed him the way she responded to his touch.

She sighed and looked up into his eyes. “I want you, but I’m not any good at this. I mean, being close to you will be nice.” She looked away and her cheeks reddened. “But I’ve never been able to finish, and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Zach paused. What kind of assholes had Lilly slept with? “You’ve
never
found...completion?”

“Is there something wrong with me?” she asked.

Zach captured Lilly’s face between his palms. He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “Baby, trust me, there’s nothing wrong with you.” Her eyes fluttered closed, and Zach kissed each lid softly. “It’s the men you’ve been with who have the problem.”

“Man,” she corrected without looking up.

Man
. Well, that explained things.

Zach determined to change her outlook on making love tonight. No matter what, he would make sure Lilly found satisfaction with him.

He moved his hands to her waist, fumbled with the button at the top of her pants, and lowered the zipper. He stroked back along the length of her stomach.

“I love your hands against my skin,” she whispered.

Zach hooked his thumbs beneath the band of her panties and tugged the clothing down over her hips. The tuft of hair hiding her most precious secrets came into view. Zach’s desire intensified as more of her body became visible. He paused to drop a kiss into the downy bounty of hair. The scent of her womanhood filled his nostrils, and Zach inhaled deeply, hot lava filling his insides. Those pants were definitely in the way. He tugged at the waistband again.

Beneath him, Lilly stiffened and put her hands on top of his. “Wait, wait!”

Zach groaned. He’d promised himself he would do whatever she needed, be the man she needed. But why did she keep doing this? “Don’t say you’ve changed your mind.”

“No. It’s not that. It’s just...you’ll see me naked.”

He shifted position to kiss her stomach, and ran his hand across her torso. “That’s the idea.”

“Yes, but, my leg. You might, you know, lose the mood.”

Reassuring words were on the tip of his tongue, but Zach looked up at her pinched face. She was nervous, more so than he had ever seen her. She truly believed the sight of her injury would turn him off.

He sighed. “That’s really not something you need to worry about, but I know you’re going to.” He wracked his brain for a way to make her comfortable, unable to come up with a plan. “What’s your solution to our little problem?”

“Turn around.” She pushed him gently off her. “I’ll get undressed and get under the covers.”

Zach stood from the bed and reluctantly turned his back. The air conditioner ran full blast, and he shivered, hoping she hurried. While in the bed, Lilly kept him hot. He wanted to be back in that bed, making things even hotter.

He grabbed the foil packet out of his pocket before he slipped out of his pants and briefs. He could hear her moving on the bed as he opened the wrapper and sheathed himself. “I hope you realize how silly you’re being.”

Her sexy laugh sounded behind him. “Maybe so, but if we’d done things your way, I wouldn’t have seen you from this angle. I have to say, it’s most intriguing.”

At least she sounded confident again. They could argue about how ridiculous this was later.

The bed creaked behind him as she moved on it, and Lilly’s hands brushed against him. She stroked his back, caressed his butt, and continued down to massage the backs of his thighs while he stood beside the bed with his back turned to her. Lilly’s fingers trailed to his neck, and her breasts brushed against his back as she kissed his neck beneath his hairline. Zach took in a shallow breath when her arms circled him.

Her fingers skimmed his waist and plundered lightly through his pubic hair. She grasped his erection and stroked along its length. “Oh, Zach!”

At her startled exclamation, he whipped his head around, meeting her round eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She chuckled. “Nothing’s wrong, but you’re so large.”

Zach grinned at her and a jag of pride mixed with all the other sensations. “Can I get in bed now?”

Lilly snatched the sheet up and hid her leg from sight. She leaned back into the pillows and patted the space next to her. “Climb on in, big boy.”

“Big boy, huh?
Now
you decide to stroke my ego?”

She batted her eyelashes. “That’s not all I’ll stroke.”

He slid under the covers next to her. “You’ll have to wait, baby. It’s my turn to do the stroking.”

He propped himself up on an elbow and looked at her. He marveled that this wonderful woman actually wanted to be with him. Lilly was as perfect in life as she was in his dreams, in both body and spirit. The desire to see her entire body tempted him to peek under the covers, but he didn’t want to upset her.

He took her breast in his hand and tweaked the nipple between his fingers. He captured the other in his mouth and sucked on it, grazing it with his teeth.

Lilly moaned and ran her nails down his back.

Zach slipped his hand off her bosom and made lazy circles across her belly as he trended ever downward. Goosebumps broke out under his touch and Zach smiled. He took her mouth in his once more, delighted at the passion her body revealed to him.

Her hands ran across the muscles in his back. They dipped down and grasped his butt before moving up to caress his shoulder blades once more.

Zach took a deep breath and reminded himself to go slow. He wanted Lilly to find pleasure in the act. But he wanted to take her so badly, to feel her wrapped around him; it was almost too hard to contain the excitement she provoked within him. He brushed his hand across the cleft between her legs, stroking the hair there, and her legs fell open, coaxing him, inviting him to explore deeper.

His fingers found the moist heat between her legs. She was so wet, so ready for him. He flicked his fingers up slightly to find the sensitive spot that would bring her to mind-numbing pleasure.

She gasped and arched against him. “Oh, yes.”

The movements of her hands across his back became more erratic, her breathing shallow, as Zach’s fingers quickened the pace. She gyrated against his hand. Her pivoting hips spoke of total abandonment to the moment. Zach complied with her unspoken demands as he continued the intimate caress. Lilly reached above her and grabbed at the pillow under her head. She pulled it around her ears and held her breath.

Delicious shudders ran through her body as the orgasm raced through her. Zach covered her mouth with his and swallowed her shriek of pleasure. As soon as she recovered, he plunged a finger into her while he continued to stroke her clit with the pad of his thumb. After the first experience, her body was ready for more and she rocked with the motion of his hand.