Page 33 of The Hotshot's Prize
“Ella,” I whisper, brushing my knuckles over her cheek. “This isn’t just sex. Not to me.”
Her fingers slide through my hair, pulling me closer until our foreheads touch. “It’s not just sex to me either.”
I kiss her again as I push into her, slow and deep. Her mouth parts on a gasp, and I groan low in my throat at the feel of her. Perfect. Tight. Hot.
Like we were made for this moment.
We move together, falling into a rhythm that’s more than just physical. She clings to me, whispering my name, her legs wrapping tighter around my waist with every thrust. I kiss her everywhere…her neck, her shoulder, the curve of her breast, memorizing every inch of her.
The pace builds, the heat climbs, and then she comes, with a breathless cry of my name that sends me right over the edge after her. I bury my face in her neck as I fall apart with her.
It takes a while for my heartbeat to slow. For our breaths to even out.
We lie tangled together in the aftermath, sweaty and breathless and so full of everything we haven’t had time to say.
Her fingers trace idle circles on my chest. “So…I guess this is happening.”
I laugh softly, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Yeah. It is.”
She shifts to look at me, her eyes shining with something soft…something good. “What if we mess it up?”
I brush a strand of hair out of her face. “Then we learn. Grow. Try again.”
She smiles. “You make it sound easy.”
“It won’t always be. But I’d rather figure it out with you than without you.”
She takes my hand, threading our fingers together. “You really mean that?”
I turn toward her fully, pulling her close, so our noses brush. “Ella, I don’t just want you now. I want you tomorrow. Next week. A year from now. I want the fights, the laughter, the awkward holiday dinners. All of it.”
She bites her lip, smiling brightly at me through the tears forming in her eyes. “Oh, Zack…”
“We’ve got time,” I murmur, kissing the tip of her nose. “Our whole lives to figure out the details.”
“And in the meantime?” she asks.
I smile, brushing her lips with mine.
“We keep falling in love.”
Epilogue
Ella
One Year Later
The woman staring back at me in the mirror doesn’t look like the girl who once trekked through the Grand Canyon with more camera gear than sense.
She looks…poised. Confident. Elegant.
The silk gown hugs my curves in all the right places, a soft shimmer catching the lights in the dressing room. My hair is swept up in a classic twist, makeup tastefully done. I look like I belong here.
But my heart is still the same. Still wild and full of wonder. Still beating like crazy, even after everything we’ve done…everything we’ve become.
It’s been a year.
A whole year since Zack crashed into my life, both literally and emotionally, and I haven’t looked back since.
