If You Were Mine (20 page)

with this man? She’d thought she was tough enough to make a

pleasure-only deal with him...but if she’d known the way he was

going to make love to her last night, that it would feel like he was

giving his heart and soul to her, too, she never would have been

so stupidly arrogant as to think that she could be the one woman

on the planet not to lose her heart to Zach Sulivan. Adding in the

way he’d found her scars, and asked how she’d been hurt, like it

broke his heart to even think of anything happening to her—not

to mention the way she’d completely lied to him about how the

scars had come to be—had a shiver of warning skittering up her

spine.

And yet, even had she known al of that, would she have

been able to turn her back on the chance to feel his arms around

her, his lips pressing against hers, his hands rough and sure on

her skin?

No, she honestly didn’t think she would.

Beyond irritated with herself for having neither self-control

nor a big enough sense of self-preservation where he was

concerned, she began to lift his arm from where he was holding

her tightly to him.

Zach’s arm tightened around her waist. “I’ve been waiting

for you to wake up.”

His breath was warm, sensual, against her ear, his erection

pressing into her bottom as she took a deep breath. There was

nothing she wanted more than to stay here with him.

nothing she wanted more than to stay here with him.

Which was exactly why she needed to succeed at pushing

from his arms to slide off the bed. “I need to go.”

“Not yet.” His teeth found her lobe and tugged at it. “I need

you again.”

She barely stifled a needy moan as she felt the immediate

answering throb at her breasts, between her legs. She needed

him, too.

Only hours after he’d given her a shocking amount of

pleasure, she was desperate for more. For the slow caress of his

large, caloused hands over her skin as he lazily filed his hands

with her.

“You have the most beautiful body, Heather.”

Wanting to stop her stupid heart from sweling at his heated

praise, she made herself say, “How can you tel,” as if she were

cogent, rather than already sinking deeper and deeper beneath

his spel, “when you haven’t even seen it properly yet?”

She loved the sound of his soft laughter against her neck,

far too much.

“I can see in the dark, remember? But I could be blind and

know how beautiful you are. Just from this.” He let his fingertips

play across her breasts. “And this.” He slid his hand down over

her stomach muscles into the already damp curls between her

legs.

She couldn’t believe how desperate he made her feel with

his hand between her thighs and his lips plotting a course of

sensual destruction across her neck and shoulders. Thank God,

the next thing she knew he was shifting on the bed to reach for

the next thing she knew he was shifting on the bed to reach for

another condom.

When she heard the familiar tearing of the smal package,

she spun to yank it out of his hands in the dark. Desire gave her

perfect aim, even though she could stil barely see a thing.

Zach helped guide the condom in her hand to his erect shaft

and together they roled it down over the thick, throbbing length.

Last night she’d let him take control and it had been

amazing, but now that she knew the pleasure he could give her,

she couldn’t possibly sit back and wait for him to tease, to

tantalize again.

Laying her palms flat on his chest, she pushed him back

onto the bed and moved over him to straddle his hips. A breath

later, she was sinking down on him.

“You feel so good.” She’d never been a talker in bed, but

with Zach she couldn’t seem to hold back what she was feeling.

Not when being with him realy was
that
good.

Her inner muscles clenched around him and she loved the

sound of his almost-helpless groan as she began to move.

“So do you.” She felt him throb inside of her, growing

bigger with every word he spoke. “So good I can’t believe it.”

She loved the way he moved with her, loved the feeling of

hard muscles rippling beneath her fingertips as she braced herself

on his chest and stomach as she rode him. She loved the feel of

his big hands stroking over her flesh in the darkness, the way he

seemed to know exactly where to touch her to elicit even more

sighs of pleasure.

And even though a part of her desperately wished the sun

And even though a part of her desperately wished the sun

could rise quickly so that she could see him beneath her, coming

into her, the truth was that nothing had ever been as good as the

sweet carnality of making love with Zach, darkness al around

them creating a world that was pure sensation. If she could have,

she would have made it stretch on forever, where nothing existed

but their elemental connection.

But everything was tightening too quickly, building too fast

inside her again, heading toward the peak he’d sent her hurtling

over so many times already. And when he settled his large hands

on her hips to shift her pelvis slightly before thrusting up in a

secret place inside that sent her reeling even further, she knew

she had no choice but to give in to the mastery he already had

over her body.

“What did you just do?”

He did it again and she almost came right then and there.

“You like it, don’t you?”

Like
it? Was he crazy?

She freaking
loved
it.

But she couldn’t manage words anymore, not when he was

thrusting up into her again, right in that beautiful spot that took

her breath completely away. A quick learner, she quickly figured

out how to move with him to make it even better, the push and

pul of pure ecstasy as he withdrew, then came back to drive her

even crazier with every powerful thrust.

If that had been al there was, it would have been enough.

More than enough. Beyond amazing.

But Zach, she had quickly learned, never did anything by

halves. And if he was intent on rocking her world, by God, he

was going to al but blow it to smithereens.

The next thing she knew he was sitting up, his arms moving

around her waist as he adjusted her so that she was sitting on his

lap, her legs now crossed behind his hips. He was so deep like

this, deeper than she could have imagined she could take him.

“Hold stil.”

She was glad for the momentary pause, for the chance to

appreciate being so close to him.

Oh!

The slow slide of his tongue over the tip of one breast had

her sucking in a breath before he moved to the next and it

whooshed back out of her lungs. Back and forth, he aroused her

with his lips and tongue and teeth, the bristles across his chin an

utterly delicious scraping against her sensitive skin.

He hadn’t told her she could move again, but there was no

way to stop her hips from rocking against his. Everything inside

her drew up so tight she thought she would shatter.

And then, on the next strong pul of his lips against her, she

did.

Zach had to pul Heather closer, had to try to erase any

space left between them as he folowed her over the edge. He

continued to hold her close as they fought for breath in each

other’s arms. He didn’t want to let go of her, would happily have

held her on his lap forever, but when she shifted over him, he

forced himself to loosen his hold as she began to lift herself from

him.

The sun was just starting to rise, and even though his night

vision was good, seeing Heather’s incredible beauty in the light

of day took away the breath he’d finaly regained.

“Let me look at you.”

“The dogs need to be let out.”

He wasn’t wiling to let her use them as an excuse just yet.

“They can wait a few more minutes.”

Puling her firmly back onto his lap, he began to get hard

again as he let his gaze rove over her breasts, her waist, her hips.

“Next time, we’re going to have every light in the house on.”

She went stil for a moment, before laughing out loud. He

loved the way she felt—and looked—as her body bounced

above him.

“I think I just might be able to stomach looking at you,” she

said as she scanned his body with her inteligent, appreciative

eyes. “I realy do have to go, though.”

She pushed off his lap and he watched her walk naked

toward the bathroom. The door closed behind her and he heard

the lock click before the shower came on.

If she hadn’t just locked him out, he would be in there with

her, showing her how much fun they could have with the custom

water jets that he’d had instaled on the back wal of his shower.

water jets that he’d had instaled on the back wal of his shower.

Zach got out of bed and reached for his clothes. Sex with

Heather had been phenomenal. But instead of feeling relaxed, he

was wound tight.

He’d never, not once in his life, felt the urge to pin a woman

down on their next date. But Heather didn’t act like any other

woman he knew, al of whom would have been puling out the

stops this morning to try and nail
him
down for another evening

together.

Hel, even letting her fal asleep in his arms last night had

been outside the bounds of his rule book. And he never took

women to his place. It was easier to throw on his clothes and

head out if he went to theirs.

But he hadn’t thought twice before bringing Heather to his

house. Not when he’d been fantasizing about the way she’d look

in his bed since the moment he’d set eyes on her.

The craziest thing of al, though, was the fact that he’d

loved faling asleep with her. Almost as much as he’d loved

everything that had come before...and after.

What was happening to him?

The only thing he knew for sure anymore was that he didn’t

have a prayer of keeping his hands off her. Not after the hours

they’d just spent together had completely blown his mind. Only

an idiot would wilingly give up that kind of pleasure.

Zach wasn’t an idiot. Not by a long shot. And he knew he

needed to be extra careful about the complications that clearly

went hand in hand with such extreme pleasure.

He liked Heather, and that wasn’t going to change. But

He liked Heather, and that wasn’t going to change. But

loving her was stil out of the question. Now, more than ever.

Because the thought of making a commitment of forever to

Heather, and then leaving her behind to mourn him when he died

suddenly just like his father had made Zach’s blood run cold in

his veins.

He never wanted anything to hurt Heather ever again.

Especialy not him.

He shoved on his jeans and headed into the kitchen, where

Atlas and Cuddles were curled up with each other on his rug.

Atlas looked up hopefuly, then sighed when he saw it was only

Zach.

“She’s in the shower. You’l get her back soon.”

And he shouldn’t be jealous of the fact that her damn dog

was going to get to spend the whole day with her. Slamming his

coffee pot into the machine, he heard a
crack
and swore.

Cuddles freaked out at the loud sounds and started barking

just as Heather walked into the room, her hair wet around her

shoulders. She had on one of his clean button-down shirts, which

hung to her knees. Her face was makeup free, her feet were

bare...and she looked more beautiful to him than any of the

perfect starlets that hung from his brother Smith’s arm at his

movie premieres.

“Poor baby,” she said as she bent down for Cuddles to run

into her arms. “Did that big, foul-mouthed man scare you?”

Zach shoved away his envy at how naturaly Heather

opened her arms for his puppy. What if he’d run to her like that?

Would she have been that receptive? Would her eyes have lit up

Would she have been that receptive? Would her eyes have lit up

and would she be kissing him now instead of the little fur bal?

“It’s al an act,” he told her, “the whole I’m-just-a-little-

defenseless-puppy thing.”

“I don’t care.” She pressed a kiss to the top of Cuddles’s

head. “I love her anyway.” She looked up and pinned him with a

knowing glance. “And so do you.”

“If counting down the days until I can give her back is your

definition of love, then yeah, she’s the dog I’ve been waiting for

my whole life.”

Her mouth moved up into a wide grin. “You’re going to be

lost without her.”

Not bothering to dignify that ridiculous statement with a

response, he plopped four pieces of bread into the toaster.