His mouth caressed along her shoulder, his free hand cradling the gentle curve of her br**sts just before his mouth found one perfect peak. A moan vibrated through her chest, against his mouth, building to a gasping cry of release until her head fell back on the door.
Finally, he allowed himself to plunge one last time, deeper and harder, his hoarse shout of completion muffled into the soft curve of her neck as he flew full-out into the clouds and Julia.
Sprawled over Zach on the sofa two hours later, Julia listened to the steady thud of his heart against her ear. No doubt hers raced at double the speed.
She wished she could attribute the pattering pace to his hands massaging along her back.
Or the scent of musky sweat and sex linking their bodies. Or the memory of their mind-tingling encounter against the door.
But she knew better.
Her heart hammered out of fear. So many emotions pulsed through her, confusing yearnings to cuddle with Zach through the night, to wait until he fell asleep and shed a few more tears over his battered, beautiful face.
She hadn't expected to feel so much. Wasn't sex just a physiological need? She hadn't been with anyone other than Lance for comparison. Their sex life may have been physically satisfying, but it was nothing like this.
Being with Zach had gone beyond fulfilling some basic urge, transporting her into a wild, unknown territory. Like flying over those bridges with him on his motorcycle, there was nothing below or above them, just the two of them holding onto each other as they hurtled into the night.
No safety net.
While she had reconciled her past with Lance, that didn't mean she planned to risk entrusting all her tomorrows to another man. She and Lance might have patched their marriage, but the price had been so very high to her heart.
She was scared. Already, Zach stirred more within her than Lance ever had.
Damn it, Zach was supposed to have been her friend and friend-sex should be warm and fun, not this tumultuous turning her mind and body inside out with feelings. She didn't want the desperate need to do it all over again while wondering if there would ever be enough. She could lose herself in this feeling, and she'd vowed to never lose herself in a man ever again.
She needed space and time to regroup. She couldn't think with his hands on her skin and his heart beneath her ear. What would happen to her emotions if they shared a bed, so much more intimate than what they'd done together against that door?
On the floor.
On the couch.
Oh damn, she was a mess. Julia listened to the steady thrum of his heart and couldn't make herself roll off him. She would just be honest with Zach. They'd always had that between them.
He dropped a kiss to her shoulder. "Well, Jules, we can't camp out here forever."
"Not unless we raid the snack bar," she answered absently.
"I have a desk drawer full of junk food, but I think you'd grow tired of Little Debbie cakes after a while." His gravelly voice rumbled against her, enticing her to avoid the world a while longer. "Are you about ready for us to find our clothes and go home?'
"I guess so." For five seconds she actually considered telling him she wanted to stay the whole night in his office, indulging in each other and that box of Little Debbie cakes.
Not a chance would he understand why she was too terrified to share a bed with him.
How could he when she didn't understand herself?
She only knew one thing for certain. Wild, escapism fantasy was easy. Facing the reality awaiting her at home scared her all the way down to her do-me-flyboy heels.>The image settled in his mind so damned right his chest tightened.
She linked their fingers. "We're standing with the rest of the families. Ivy's holding a poster she drew for you, and I have a bottle of champagne ready to pour over your head the minute you reach the bottom step. Shelby's pretending to be mad because I made the kids all wear Welcome Home Dad shirts and she vows they're lame. But I know she's kept a picture of you on her dresser the whole time you were gone."
Zach squeezed her hand, knowing that image only stood a chance of ever coming true because of Julia.
"Then you're right there in the middle of us and we're all hugging and laughing and crying a little, too." She brought their clasped hands up to her face and skimmed away fresh dampness with the back of his wrist. "But that's okay because tears are a part of a hero's welcome home. You deserve them for what you've been through."
Those tears soaked into his skin clear to his soul, soothing a raw place he hadn't even known existed. He'd lived through those two weeks of captivity. Survived it. Dealt with it.
But afterward? He'd been too busy working to salvage his marriage to do anything but move forward. Discussing those two weeks with Pam was never an option.
"When we get home, there's a gourmet dinner waiting that I cooked just for you." She tapped his lips. "Shh. Remember it's my fantasy, okay?"