Fire drill? Her heart thumped a nauseating pace. Don't think. She stuffed thoughts of fire drills and crash preparations deep into the mental trash where they belonged. Julia drew Zach's head back down to her as he strode into the room, kissing him, drinking the heady mixture of Zach and the lingering taste of his beer.
He stopped at the foot of the narrow daybed. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
She traced his ear with the tip of her tongue. "I haven't made love with you, Zach, not yet," she whispered an altered echo of his words to her from two months ago. "But I still know I want you."
He growled his appreciation against her mouth, reaching down to swipe aside a pile of pillows.
One knee on the edge of the bed, he lowered her. She inched up the fluffy comforter, urgency pulsing through her as she extended her arms for him to join her. Zach's solid weight pressed her into the downy softness.
Three mind-numbing kisses later, he seared a path down her neck with gentle nips that sent her arching up, frenzied for more. He worked his way down with the methodical attention to detail she'd known he would shower over her. Her shoulder, the hollow of her neck, already her br**sts tingled in anticipation, strained, yearned. His mouth closed over her, leaving a damp circle on her T-shirt before he lingered along her stomach.
He gently snapped the waist of her pajama pants with his teeth. "You ready for more?"
"Yes," she gasped, tearing at his shirt. Damn it, she wasn't thinking warm and gentle, not tonight. She burned with a do-me-baby desperation born of a need to forget the hurt.
Zach tugged her pajama pants down and off, flinging them away, leaving her in nothing more than her white T-shirt and tangerine panties. He devoured her with his eyes, melting every inch of her with heat, desire and a crooked smile. "That scrap of orange has haunted my dreams for months."
"The real thing's always better than dreams," she whispered, all the while longing to shout for him to hurry. She raised up on her elbows, lifted her foot to trail her toes down his chest.
He caught her foot before her path dipped lower and pressed a kiss to her ankle. "Do you know how crazy you've been making me for months? How much I've wanted to do this."
Strong hands with callused fingers rasped a path from her calf, up further, dipping behind her knee, then along her thigh to travel further still. "No one should be allowed to have legs this long."
His husky growl slid over her with a heat equal only to that of his body stretching on top of her. The power of Zach, the words, his warmth pulled her into the moment as she'd hoped. She tugged at him, draped her legs over his and locked him to her, showing him just what those legs could do for them both.
He edged to the side, cool air wafting over her, too cool after the heat and musk of his body blanketing her.
"Don't stop." She clutched his shoulders. "Even for a minute." Make me forget.
"Just bringing some birth control into the equation."
"In a minute. We haven't even finished undressing." Something she planned to change.
He clasped her hands to stop their restless motion and pinned them over her head.
Linking her wrists overhead with one hand, he slid his fingers under the edge of her shirt.
"Slow down. We have all night."
"So glad you came home early."
"Me, too."
"But you're here. And you're warm. Really warm." On fire like the coil of need unfurling in her belly and spreading through her.
Her hands trekked a frantic path into his jeans. "You scared me at first, though."
His fingers paused just shy of her breast. "What?"
She tightened her legs around him, needing to bring him closer so she would stop babbling things that brought questions. Geez, what was she trying to do, sabotage this before they even started? "Let's back up. Forget I said anything and keep doing exactly what you were doing two seconds ago."
He released her hands. "When did I scare you?"
Zach wasn't going to let it go. One slip threatened to ruin everything, something that promised to be so very perfect, something they both deserved so much.
Her head fell to the side. "I asked you not to stop."
"When, Julia," he insisted, "when did I scare you?"