“You’re not making this easy,” I mutter, crossing the room. “I’m trying to be respectful.”
Her eyes lift to mine. They are steady and sure. “Respect doesn’t mean denying what you want.”
There’s silence. Thick, crackling. And then she’s moving toward me.
It’s one step and then two, until I’m standing at the edge of the bed. Zara shifts to her knees and cranes her neck to look up at me. My dick twitches with need, and I can’t stand the tension crackling between us for another minute.
“Are you sure about this?”
She nods. “I’ve been sure since the moment you rescued me.”
She’s half joking, but still, her words do something to me. All of a sudden, I don’t want to hold back anymore.
I reach for her in an instant, ready to give her exactly what she wants. She rises up on her knees to meet me. My fingers slide into her hair as I tilt her head back. She sighs into the kiss before my mouth even touches hers. When it does, it’s fire.
Parting her lips with my tongue, I slip my tongue inside of her mouth. She kisses back with a hunger I don’t expect. It’s a flood of everything we’ve been holding back, and I lose myself in time and space. I work my way down her neck and up to her ear.
Her hands fist in my shirt. Zara pulls me closer as our mouths crash again. It’s harder this time. Desperate. Breathless. Her legs wrap around my waist and I lift her like she’s made to fit against me. Her thick thighs grip tight, and her breath comes hot and fast against my ear.
I lower her to the bed and brace myself over her. Every nerve in my body lights up like the storm outside. She runs her hands along my chest and tugs at the wet fabric clinging to me.
“Off,” she says, already working the buttons.
I tear the shirt over my head and toss it aside. Her hands are on me in an instant. She’s trailing over my chest and stomach. It’s like she’s memorizing every detail.
“You’re ridiculous,” she whispers. “Who looks like this in real life?”
“I could say the same to you.” I roam every inch of her curves, grasping at skin and planting frenzied kisses.
My hand slides down her thigh and up beneath the hem of the shirt she’s wearing…myshirt. When I find nothing underneath, I groan.
“Zara,” I say her name like it’s a warning.
Her eyes meet mine, wide and dark. “Take me.”
Something inside me snaps. I pull the shirt up and over her head in one fluid motion, leaving her bare beneath me. My breath catches at the sight of her. She’s all curves and confidence, soft skin and raw want. Zara reaches for me and pulls me down until I’m pressed against her.
We move together like we’ve done this before. Like our bodies remember each other from some other lifetime. I wrap my fingers around the curve of her waist as I line myself up with her opening.
She gasps my name when I finally push inside her, and I have to fight for control. Zara arches against me. She’s slippery and I’m desperate to push inside. I feel her breath catch against my neck. Her walls stretch around me as I rock into her.
I move slowly at first, savoring the way she clings to me. I take in the way every roll of our hips drags a moan from her lips. Her nails dig into my back. She presses her mouth to my throat.
We move slowly at first, then the tension builds. Time blurs. There’s nothing but the slick heat between us. Everything about her drives me toward the edge. The way she whimpers my name. The storm screaming outside and the storm building between us.
She wraps around me tighter. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
“There’s not fucking chance. You're mine now,” I growl.
I thrust deeper and faster. Her hips meet mine with a rhythm that sends my blood pounding. Zara’s body racks with tremors, and she chants my name into the dark room. It takes everything in me, but I don’t let up.
When she comes, she’s shaking and breathless. Her lips are against my ear, and her walls collapse around me. I follow fast and hard, thrusting into her like she’s the only thing keeping me tethered to the earth. When I release hot streams inside of her, Zara milks me to the last drop.
All I can do is pull her closer and breathe her in like she’s the first bit of air I’ve had in years.
I can’t move. I don’t want to move. So I stay inside of her. Buried in the moment. Buried in her.
CHAPTER 5
