Page 85 of Caged Bird

He’d never gotten to his knees the way Zane was now, and soaped up his hands with fruity-smelling body wash, ready to lather it over my skin.

I closed my eyes as I sank into the hot water, every inch of it a blissful delight I hadn’t felt in so long. I sank right beneath the water, letting it wash away the fear, if only for a little while.

When I surfaced, Zane’s soaped-up hands slid over my back, gently massaging with every swipe of his palms.

I brought my knees up to my chest and laid my head down on them, twisting to watch him wash me. “I’m sorry about my brother and sister.”

He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry for. They’re protective of you. I get it.” He sighed. “I’m not innocent in this whole thing. I deserve their anger. And I need to earn their trust.”

But I knew my siblings better than he did. “They might never give you that. It doesn’t come easy to them. It’s not their fault, my parents raised them to only ever rely on themselves, and that trusting anyone else was foolish.” I trailed my fingers through the water. “Maybe they were right. I rebelled against that so hard I trusted the first man to ever pay me any attention. Look where that got me.”

Zane paused, his fingers on the back of my neck. “None of that was your fault. It’s not a character flaw that you have an open heart, Fawn. No matter what your family says, or my brother did.”

I wasn’t so sure I believed that. But I also didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so I changed the subject. “Do you know what I’ve missed? French fries. I haven’t eaten French fries in years. Eddie never let me even make them.”

“He was probably scared you’d throw the hot oil at him.”

“It would have been tempting, that’s for sure.”

He ran his hands down my arms. “What else have you missed?”

“Besides my friends and family?”

He nodded.

“TV. Movies. Books. Entertainment of any kind really. All I’ve had the last few years is the stories I made up in my head or told Otis at bedtime.” I thought on it a bit more. “I missed dancing. I missed holidays, especially Christmas. And going on hikes. Augie, Eve, and I used to walk a track along the Saint View bluffs. It was always miserable and hot for the first mile or two, but then it turned inland and opened up into this shady glen with a waterfall and a swimming hole.” I sighed, remembering the feel of the cool water on my skin, blissfully washing the sweat away. “The best birthday I ever had was spent there. I went back a bunch of times, always hating the walk but loving the end destination.”

“Sounds nice,” Zane said quietly. “I’ve never been there.”

“When we get Otis back, I’ll take you.”

His thumb grazed over my bare skin. “I’d like that.”

My breath hitched a little. “I would too.”

He leaned in to kiss me, and I brought wet hands up to the back of his neck, fingertips sliding into his hair, holding him to me. He groaned into my mouth when I scratched my fingernails against his scalp, and then his hands were in my hair too, him taking control of this kiss in a way that made my heart beat fast.

“What else did you miss?” he asked, voice hoarse with need.

“This,” I mumbled. “I missed being kissed.”

He lowered his mouth to mine again, taking his time, tasting me, exploring me. He kissed slow and soft, letting the heat between us kindle until I was a fiery ball of need that wanted so much more than just kisses.

I’d missed sex. Orgasms. Feeling wanted.

Zane gave me all those things, and I clung to all of it. I clung to him.

When he picked me up out of the tub, I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him there, letting him know exactly what I wanted from him.

He moaned at the way I sucked and bit him, letting my teeth just graze the sensitive skin that turned him on. With one hand supporting me, he used the other to grab a towel, dropping it onto the bathroom countertop and sitting me on top of it.

Instantly he got to his knees, spreading mine wide so he could fit in between.

The first splice of his tongue into my pussy was divine. My eyes rolled back, and I shifted my behind right to the edge of the countertop so he had better access. His tongue rasped over my pussy, sucking and licking me like I’d just done to his neck.

But this was so much better. The feel of his lips wrapped around my clit sent needy shock waves of pleasure through my system, my body aching for more.

Like he’d been working my body for a lifetime instead of just days, Zane knew what I needed without me telling him. His fingers slid into me, stretching me just a little, plunging deep and angled just perfectly so he hit my G-spot with every thrust.

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