Always & Forever (26 page)

“Yes, yes!”

Zach tossed back the sheet and fit his body between her legs with a feeling of coming home. He captured her left leg in his hand and raised her heel across his shoulder. Very softly, he kissed the scarred skin of her thigh and looked into her eyes. “Nothing could diminish your beauty.”

Lilly was beyond caring what he saw. She grasped his hand and shoved it between her legs. She arched her back and squirmed from side to side. “Please, Zach. Don’t let me lose this. It’s
so
good.”

A grin stretched across his face. Lilly made no further protests as he found her once again with the pad of his thumb. He guided himself to the opening of her tight, moist passage.

He tried to go slowly, tried to keep from hurting her. She was so small, so tight.

Lilly wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in deeper as her hips rose to meet him. There was no way to slow the pace. Her moans of pleasure reached a frenzied pitch and broke any control he thought he had. Zach withdrew time after time, only to hammer back into her with a satisfied grunt. Lilly’s cries of pleasure intensified and her fingernails dug into his back. Small tremors radiated through her, and she tightened around Zach’s member. As the second orgasm descended on her, she pulled the pillow over her face to muffle her screams.

Zach plunged into her once more and collapsed on top of her. He shouted his own victory into the mattress as he followed Lilly over the edge of their shared passion.

***

Lilly pushed the pillow away from her face some time later. Zach’s deep, even breaths puffed against her neck, as he rested on top of her. It excited her almost as much as the climax of their lovemaking. And better still, her leg hadn’t repulsed him. Zach hadn’t stopped and turned away from her.

As if they were one person, joined for this brief time, Lilly still had her legs wrapped around his midsection, and Zach had not bothered to disengage himself from her. The weight of his body drove her into the mattress.

This part of sex had always been something she feared with Charles. Trapped beneath him until he chose to move encompassed some terrifying moments in Lilly’s life. She hated knowing he was bigger and stronger. Hated knowing he could do anything he wanted, and she couldn’t stop him.

She pushed that thought away. This was different. With Zach, everything was different. He promised never to hurt her, and she believed him. Zach put her at ease and made her feel cherished. She knew she was safe with him, safe
beneath
him until he chose to move.

“I never knew it could be like that,” she whispered.

Zach’s eyes opened and he smiled. He stretched his neck to place a lazy kiss on her cheek. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“You must have heard that I did.” She stroked his shoulder, unable to get enough of him. “I’m pretty sure the people in the next room must have heard that I did.”

He laughed. “Mission accomplished.”

“What about you?” she asked. “Was it okay? I mean, I know I’ll get better with practice.”

“If you get any better, baby, my heart might stop. You’re the best ever.”

Warmth spread through her at his words.

Zach’s hand trailed up her side and cupped her breast gently. “Do you feel like another round of practice?”

Lilly ran her hand through his hair. “Now? You can’t possibly be ready.”

He propped himself up with an elbow on either side of her head, caging her. His lips met hers and Lilly felt desire stir.

Zach broke off the kiss and looked down at her. “Oh, I promise, I’m ready. Since the moment we met, you’ve been doing crazy stuff to me.”

He spent the rest of the night proving the truth of his words.

Lilly woke to the low rumble of Zach’s voice in the next room. She stretched, luxuriating in the feel of the high thread count sheets against her skin. She had slept on the cheapest ones available for months now, and even they were preferable to the scratchy linens she endured during her stay in jail.

She basked in the afterglow of the night before. No wonder so many people rushed a relationship right to sex. Lilly’s wildest dreams never came close to the reality of making love to Zach. She didn’t want to get her hopes up early, but she really liked where things headed with Zach. Only one problem diminished her joy. He planned to return to Seattle in January.

She had four short months to spend as much time with him as possible. Then, he planned to go back to his life. Would a relationship with her be enough for him to stay? Would he dump her and move on to a woman more acceptable to his position in society?

Zach walked into the room, stretched his muscular body, and smiled. “Good morning, honey. How do you feel today?”

“Wonderful.” Lilly forced herself to smile back at him.

Zach hadn’t bothered to pull on anything but his pants when he got out of bed. Lilly reached out to stroke the chiseled contours of his abs. “What have you been up to already this morning?”

“I called the police station to see if they were able to discover anything.”

Lilly sat up and wrapped the soft sheet around her. “I wouldn’t have believed this possible, but I totally forgot about that.”

He kissed her and flashed a feral grin. “Why’s that? Did something distract you?”

She winked. “And it was so terrific, I’m willing to be distracted again.”

Lilly swore she saw fire light his eyes for a moment before he shook his head.

“I made plans for us today, Lilly. A few pictures left on our doorstep aren’t going to change that.”

“You’re not afraid of Charles?”

Zach sat on the bed next to her. “We don’t know it’s him for sure. The officer didn’t have anything useful to offer. It looked like a man, he thinks. The person who dropped off the package had a hat pulled down over their face and kept turning away from the cameras. The only fingerprints appear to be ours.”

She sighed. “So, essentially, we have nothing to go on?”

“I’m sorry. Should we call Detective Spalding and let him know about this?”

What would Spalding do, besides accuse her of lying and try to twist this around and make it her fault? She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s outside of his area, and we have no way of telling who it was. I’m sure he’d yell at me for wasting his time.”

“Well, you need to talk to the cops in Serenity when we get home. They can do something.”

“They’ll probably have a hard time catching him if there isn’t much to go on.” She held back sudden tears. “I’ll understand if you want to stop seeing me, Zach. This has to be more than you bargained for.”

Zach went very still beside her on the bed. “Is that what you want?”

She entwined her hand with his and squeezed it tightly. “You’re so wonderful, and I love spending time with you. You’re a caring, patient man and a terrific lover.” She took a deep breath, determined to make him think about the risk he took in dating her, even if that meant she might lose him even sooner than expected. “Spending more time with me must be a big choice for you. I have a stalker out there, who might decide to hurt you if you continue seeing me.”

“And none of that is your fault.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’ll ask again—do you want to stop seeing me?”

Lilly shook her head. “No, of course that’s not what I want. But I also don’t want you hurt by some maniac.”

Lilly felt his shoulders relax.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

Lilly flushed and an entirely different image came to mind than the one he intended. “A
very
big boy.”

He laughed and stood up, tugging on her hand to urge her off the bed. She complied and the sheet fell away to reveal her naked form. Zach looked her up and down before taking her in his arms.

“Let’s not talk about this again. Subject closed, okay?” he asked.

She nodded, lost in the musky scent of his body. She’d agree to anything he asked of her at this moment.

His arms tightened and his clear green eyes met hers. “I love the way you look first thing in the morning. I could get used to this.”

He
loved
the way she looked? It wasn’t the same as loving her. But, he loved the way she looked. That was something.

She leaned up to kiss the hollow of his neck, and Zach’s hands slid down her body. He squeezed her bottom, and Lilly smiled.

“You need to get dressed.” He released her and stepped back.

“Why? Let’s go back to bed,” she said, eager to repeat last night’s experience.

“I can’t wait to get you back in to bed tonight, and we can spend all day there tomorrow,” he promised. “Today, I’ve made a lot of plans for us. And you promised to wear that little black dress.”

“We can’t go out! What if Charles does more than take pictures today?” She leaned her forehead against his chest. “I couldn’t handle it if he hurt you.”

“I refuse to live in fear, Lilly. I’m not hiding in here. The best thing we can do is continue living.” His hands ran across her naked body, and Lilly shivered. “Your stalker, whoever he is, will have to deal with that.”

He was the one who brought up the possibility that it could be Charles, but now Zach acted as though she shouldn’t be concerned. She clenched her hands into fists, struggling against her anger. She knew it was actually fear, and she didn’t want to lash out at Zach again. She didn’t want to say anything that would ruin the slight foothold into her first relationship based on caring rather than greed.

Zach must have sensed her continued resistance. “I want to do something like a real couple, honey. I’d planned a whole date for us today in the hopes of impressing you. Don’t let him ruin that for us. Don’t let him scare you.”

A real couple?
Lilly melted as her emotions tipped back to pleasure. “I
am
scared though,” she admitted.

“Maybe you’ll feel better after your massage?”

“Massage?”

He smiled. “I scheduled you an appointment down at the spa. Full body massage and two other treatments of your choice. Your appointment starts in a half hour, so you really need to put on some clothes—as much as I hate to cover up your beautiful skin.”

A spa treatment? He’s so thoughtful.
Lilly had rarely indulged in that kind of thing. Before she came into her inheritance, she never had access to much money, and Daddy wouldn’t have agreed to send her to do something so frivolous. Once she got together with Charles...well, she couldn’t risk revealing bruises she worked so hard to conceal.

“I have an errand to run,” he continued. “I’ll be gone a few hours. When I get back, I have a full day planned.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“It does?” He sounded surprised. “You’re not mad that I’m taking so much control?”

Lilly shrugged, not blaming him for being worried when she thought about her actions over the past week. “A girl does enjoy being courted.”

Zach hugged her and smiled. “This is going to be a great day.” He moved to the dresser and grabbed some clothes.

Lilly selected a tank top and jeans for herself, excited by the prospect of the spa staff pampering her. And it was all because of Zach’s thoughtfulness.

Everything he said and did sounded as if he believed they were in a relationship. Lilly would take that as a good sign. Maybe it meant he
would
want to continue with it. She had until January to chase happiness.

Zach paced across the room as he waited for Lilly to return. He had finished his errands a half hour earlier and expected Lilly to be waiting for him. He told the staff to keep an eye on her. She was safe in the hotel. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check. Zach rushed to the phone to call the spa. Before he could press a button, the door to the suite opened.

Lilly breezed into the room. “Just let me slip into my dress, big boy,” she said with a wink. “I’ll be right out.”

Zach sighed with appreciation as he watched her retreat into the bedroom. She must have been to the beauty parlor. Her hair swept away from her face, held against the back of her head with a crystal barrette. Curls tumbled down her back in soft layers. A hint of strawberry caressed his senses when she sauntered past him.

Zach sat down and looked at the packages he obtained. Either gift might tip Lilly to the pissed side of the equation. The cane he’d ordered yesterday turned out as good as Zach imagined. It was custom made to Lilly’s exact measurements. Zach’s coconspirator was a helpful sales clerk who copied Lilly’s information and handed it to Zach when Lilly was busy in the dressing room. The cane maker assured him with those numbers he would create something that would fit Lilly like an extra limb.

As soon as he spotted the shop, Zach knew he needed to purchase one of the handmade walking sticks. It was beautiful, just like his lovely little temptress. Zach paid the man double—incentive for him to work through the night and produce the cane first thing this morning.

As much as the cane might anger her, the other package was the one he worried about most. Zach would insist she carry it, whether she wanted to or not. He wasn’t about to let her go around without any protection when Charles might be after her. Even if it wasn’t Charles,
someone
was stalking Lilly. As much as he tried to hide it, the stalker had succeeded in frightening Zach too.