Page 62 of Dark Memories
“Zach. Please.”
Hearing her say his name, her voice raw with passion, almost sent him over the edge. He kissed a path down her stomach, and when he reached his goal, he lost himself in the taste of her. Then her legs squeezed his shoulders, and she cried out his name again. He inched up and pressed his face against her belly, feeling the tremors rolling through her.
When she exhaled a breath and went limp, he kissed his way back up her body. Bracing himself on his elbows, he stared into her eyes, seeing lust and desire. And maybe love? Or was he wanting what she couldn’t give him? He’d told her he still loved her, but she hadn’t returned the words. Still hungry for the taste of her, he covered her mouth with his. Her sighs, her scent, the way she welcomed him in, the slide of her tongue against his filled his heart and soul.
He spent long minutes kissing her before pulling away and reaching for the drawer of his nightstand. She watched him roll the condom on, and he wondered what was going on in her mind. He was good at reading her, but that talent escaped him now. The desire was still in her eyes, but he was clueless beyond that.
As much as he wanted to ask, even beg her to love him, he couldn’t bring himself to. What if she didn’t love him, if for her this was nothing more than lust? She was his other half, the part that made him whole, his need for her so great that he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again.
“Do you want this?” That was as close as he could come to asking the question he needed an answer to.
She grinned. “Only if I can put my hands on you.”
So she wanted to play? Pushing away his disappointment that he wasn’t hearing the words he needed from her, he said, “If you must.”
“Oh, I absolutely must.”
As he knelt between her legs, his gaze traveled over her. There wasn’t a thing about her that didn’t call to him. It had been like that from the first day he’d seen her, when he’d watched for a few minutes before walking out to help the pretty blonde girl lugging the ugliest flower-upholstered chair he’d ever seen up the sidewalk. How could he not be interested? She hadn’t had any taste then—in furniture or clothes—but he couldn’t love her more, no matter that she agreed with Kali that purple was the best color in the world.
His heart thumped in his chest as he lowered himself over her. It had never been like this with any other woman, this intense need to sink himself deep into her heat until he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began.
She hooked long legs around his ass, and he groaned as he slid into her, the blood pumping under his skin feeling as hot and thick as molten lava. He thrust deep, eased back and thrust again, beginning a rhythm that both felt familiar and different, as if he’d come home to a place he’d loved and remembered, but changes had been made in his absence. He roamed his hands over her, relearning every delicious curve.
“Zach,” she whispered, her fingers delving into his hair.
“I know, Laney. I know.”
When she trailed her hands down his back, her nails scraping over his skin, he buried his face against her neck, reaching for control. It didn’t work. He wanted her too much, had waited too long to have her back in his arms.
He reached between them, dipping his fingers into her curls, finding the spot that he knew would send her over the edge. Her breath hitched, her core muscles clenched around him, and her hands latched on to his shoulders, her fingers digging into his skin.
“That’s it,” he said. “Come for me, baby.”
They cried out each other’s name at the same time as the intense pleasure he’d only ever felt with her crashed through him, stealing his breath. Their bodies trembled together as they both sucked air back into their lungs. He could feel the rapid thumping of her heart against his chest, and he put his palm on her breast.Mine. This heart belongs to me.
After a few minutes, when their heartbeats eased along with their breaths, he lifted onto his elbows and stared down at her, wanted her to see the truth in his eyes. “I’ve missed you… missed us.” He dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “I love you.”
She cupped his cheeks. “I love you, too. I do. But—”
“No buts.” She’d finally said the words he needed to hear, and he didn’t want them qualified. He rolled over, bringing her with him, tucking her under his arm. He wished they could stay cocooned in his bed because he was afraid if he let her out, she would find reasons to leave.
“I’m not what you need, Zach,” she softly said.
He knew what was coming, and to delay the conversation and give him a few minutes to think, he said, “Don’t move.”
After tossing the condom in the trash, he put his hands on the bathroom counter, looked in the mirror, and said, “You’ve closed million-dollar deals. You’ve found a way around every objection thrown in your face to make happen what you want. You can do this.” No deal he’d ever closed had been as important as keeping Delaney in his life.
What he would do in any transaction would be to learn what the objections were, and then find a way to obliterate each one until he got what he wanted. And he wanted Delaney like he’d never wanted anything else in his life. He had to get to the bottom of her fears so he could obliterate them.
He slipped back into bed and pulled her close, desperate to hold on to her. “Tell me why you don’t think you should be in my life when you’re everything I need.”
“I used to be, but we’ve changed, or you have. You move in circles now that require a woman on your arm who understands your world. That woman is not me.”
“I call bullshit, Delaney.” When she tried to roll away from him, he held tight and turned onto his side to face her. “What are you afraid of?” Because that was it. She was afraid.
“I’m not afraid. I just don’t see myself hanging on your arm while dripping in diamonds and making small talk with people I don’t like. I’d end up embarrassing you, and then I’d end up mad at myself. Or you. When you were still a beer-and-pizza kinda guy, I could see us making a life together. Now, not so much.”
Finally they were getting somewhere. “Okay, let’s take your worries one at a time. I will never ask you to hang on my arm. It’s true that sometimes I have business dinners or charity events that I have to attend. I’d love to have you by my side, but it’s not a requirement. I don’t go out just to socialize and be seen. Most nights I’m home with Kali. Next, I promise to never drip you in diamonds.” Except for the ring he was buying in the morning, but he’d keep that to himself for the time being.
