Page 54 of Stripped

“Later. First, get in the shower and get clean.”

He bent his head, like he was going to go ahead with his plan anyway, but I dodged and hopped into the shower before he could get me. I stood under the warm spray and let it caress me. I was finally feeling like myself again and it felt amazing. “You should probably get the sticks out of your hair before you get in here,” I said. “I don't think they can go down the—”

Zane grabbed me and tickled my ribs until I was shrieking for mercy. “That's what you get for denying me,” he said, his breath on my cheek, his cock hard against my back.

I dropped to my knees, spun and had my mouth on him before he knew what was happening. He hissed in a breath. “Ah, fu… Right there, I'm…“ I almost laughed at how lost he was to the sensation. I had planned to tease him and not follow through, but his reaction… It made me want to find out how wild I could make him.

I pumped him with one hand and twirled my tongue around him as I sucked. He kept speaking, but the words became less and less intelligible until he said, “Aw, shit. I'm gonna… I can't… Sweet…”

I knew what he was trying to say, but I didn't give him any relief and he pumped his hips, pushing himself deeper into my mouth and then he came hard. I swirled my tongue over him one more time, pleased with the aftershocks and shudders, before I released him and stood. “Now, let's get you clean,” I said, like I wasn't nearly a puddle on the shower floor from how insanely turned on I was.

“I can't… Legs weak…”

“That's okay, baby,” I said. “Lean against the wall and I'll take care of you.”

“Pretty sure you already did that,” he said, his words finally intelligible, but breathy. He used one hand braced against the shower wall to hold himself up while I shampooed his hair and lathered every inch of his glorious body with soap. By the time I was done, he was hard again and I was on fire.

Once the last bit of soap was rinsed from his body, he grabbed my waist, lifted me and carried me to his bed, still dripping wet from the shower. He tossed me on the bed, dropped between my legs and put his mouth on me.

His tongue. And what he did with it. I couldn't even think straight. He teased and pleasured me until I reached a screaming climax. While I was basking in a pleasure haze, he stood and got a condom from the night stand next to his bed. He put it on and thrust into me, sending shards of pleasure exploding through me so fiercely it almost hurt.

I opened my eyes as he moved inside me. He met my gaze and the look in his eyes, the connection between us, it was too much. It was amazing and wonderful and utterly terrifying, because I could feel myself slipping away as I drowned in him. I let my eyes drift shut, needing to put some distance between us.

“Open your eyes,” he said. “I've got you, Abby.”

I kept my eyes closed, because I didn't take orders from him and because I couldn't handle the overwhelming emotions rioting through me.

He stilled above me. “Abby. Please.”

I opened my eyes and a smile lit his face. “There she is.” He thrust into me and his expression heated and filled with wonder. “So good,” he said. “You feel so fucking good, Abby.”

He brought me to another climax before he took his own. He kept his eyes on mine the entire time. Even after he'd pulled out and dropped down next to me, he kept looking into my eyes. It should have been weird and uncomfortable, but it felt just right. I never wanted to stop looking into his eyes and that's why I had to.

“You should get some sleep,” I said, looking at the wall behind his shoulder.

“Nap with me.” He grabbed my chin and turned my head until I was looking at him again. “Stay with me today.”

I squirmed, needing to get away. “I've been in bed most of the past thirty-six hours. I need to move.”

He didn't argue or even frown. “I don't blame you. If you want to go somewhere, you'll have to take Aron or Payne with you. When I wake up, I'll give you a proper tour of the town.”

“Okay,” I said. He rolled off the bed and went to the bathroom to clean up. I followed him in so I could get a proper shower and, by the time I was done, he was sleeping so hard, he didn't move when I kissed his cheek and tiptoed out of the room.

I paced the house, trying to think of a way to pass the time that didn't involve staring at a T.V. screen. Aron was on guard duty, but he said there was no pharmacy in Mule Creek. I wasn't yet desperate enough to ask him if he knew where I could get contraceptives or the morning after pill, I figured I'd just ask Zane when he woke up.

I borrowed Zane's laptop to do some research for Axel about his welding art. That took me all of twenty minutes.

After some more pacing, I found myself in Zane's yoga basement. I stood in front of the mirror and did a couple spins. When I was a kid, my grandmother had paid for me to have a year of dance classes. That ended when she passed away and my parents used the money she'd left us to buy me a beat-up car, one they couldn't afford to maintain or insure, for my sixteenth birthday.

I already knew Zane didn't have any music other than hippy, meditative crap and I wasn't going to dance to that. I closed my eyes, heard a song I'd danced to more than a hundred times on stage, and started to move. With each step, peace washed over me. Peace and strength. This would be okay. I'd figure it out and I'd keep moving. I'd take care of myself, as I always had.

I danced until the song in my head ended and then I danced some more. I danced until I was panting and worn out and feeling completely like myself again. Zane was fun. He was a sweet guy I'd always think of fondly, but I had bigger dreams than a love affair and getting trapped in another small town.

I didn't think about his offer to go to Denver with me. I pushed it to the dark corners of my mind where I could ignore it and pretend he'd never made the offer.

I trotted up the stairs, sweaty and smiling, and found Julie Jacobs in my kitchen. “Hi,” she said, her cheeks pink. “I knocked, but no one answered. I figured I'd just come in and wait for you, but I can go if—”

“Stay. I could use the company.”

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