And maybe she did. Maybe his secret was as big and painful as hers, and she was the refuge he never saw coming.
There was this loud voice in her head telling her that she should maintain a bit of distance between them. He was keeping his problems to himself, with, as far as she could tell, no inclination to share.
But there was also this quieter voice, whispering to her that it was okay to take what she wanted. To be brave and embrace whatever goodness she could find.
She listened to the whisper.
Without taking her gaze off him, she climbed onto his lap. She didn’t lower her head right away. Instead, she pressed her palms to his cheeks, feeling his warmth. The stubble of his day-old beard.
“I don’t like needing other people,” she whispered, her lips barely an inch from his mouth. “But I like needing you.”
“You have me.”
She lowered her head and kissed him. And the second her lips touched his, it was like the weight that had been sitting on her shoulders, pressing her to the floor for the past hour, suddenly lifted.
She swiped her mouth across his. His lips were soft. In a man who was all hard edges, this felt like the only soft part on him.
His hands slid up her bare thighs to grip her hips, and the second she parted her lips, he slipped his tongue inside.
And Jesus Christ, he tasted good. Like whiskey but also something so infinitely Zane.
She swirled her tongue around his, slipping her fingers into his hair and tugging at the strands. But it wasn’t enough. She wanted to feel more of him. She wanted to know this man as well as she knew herself.
She reached for the hem of his shirt and tugged it up. Their mouths only separated for a second before they found each other again and his tongue dove straight inside.
The feel of his hands slipping up her body made her skin burn. She wanted more touches. She wanted this man to feel every inch of her. It was only when he pulled his mouth from hers that she felt the cool air over her breasts. With her shirt bunched up high, he took a naked nipple between his lips.
The cry that fell from her throat was loud and anguished. He ran his tongue over her hard bud, tormenting her. And it felt like he was everywhere.
Her chest heaved and she grabbed his shoulders like that could somehow steady her. He swirled her nipple with his tongue then sucked, making her lower belly ripple in pleasure.
Need. It was all she felt. It consumed her body and soul. Need for this man and his body and everything he had to give.
When he switched to her other breast it was the same torture. The same swirling of his tongue on her hard nipple. The same sucking that drove her wild.
She dug her fingers into his shoulders, sure she was close to breaking skin. Her hips started moving of their own volition. Grinding against him. Trying to dull the pulse between her thighs.
He went to stand up, but she shook her head. “No. Here.”
His brows flickered.
“I want you,” she whispered. “Now.”
She pulled her sweatshirt over her head.
His eyes flared and darkened to a rich blue, like the color of the ocean when it was too deep to see to the bottom.
She reached for the button then the zipper of his jeans. And the second she pulled him out, her entire body shuddered.
He was big. And tonight, he was hers.
She wrapped her fingers around him, feeling the muscles strain in Zane’s thighs. Then she slipped her palm up to his tip.
He growled, his fingers digging into her hips, his head touching her chest. “Bonnie…” Her name almost sounded like a warning.
When he looked up again, she took his lips, and he plunged inside her mouth, kissing her. Devouring her.
She continued to touch and explore until his growl cut through the room, and he rolled her back to the couch.
