Carefully, she stepped past him, but her foot knocked against his outstretched leg. Before she had time to wonder why she hadn’t seen that limb earlier, she stumbled awkwardly as not to fall on him. Unfortunately, she was unable to stop herself in time, and she landed on Zack’s lap. His body jerked, and immediately, his arms slid around her, imprisoning her.
It was her first reaction to stiffen, but when he dropped his face into her neck where his hot breath caressed her, her body melted like chocolate in the middle of the summer.
“Mmmm...” He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. “You smell so good.” He grasped a lock of her damp hair. “And you took a shower.”
Inwardly, she groaned. This wasn’t the way she wanted to end her night. She didn’t want him on her mind, and especially in her heart. Not until after the trial.
“Now this is how a man likes to get awakened.” He kissed her throat.
“Zack...” She’d meant for her voice to be stern, but instead, it came out a passionate sigh. Good grief! Being like this with him had affected the way she talked, too.
She tried to get out of his hold... Well, okay, maybe she didn’t trythathard, but every time she turned, he used his arms to move her toward him a little further. “I... I thought you were asleep.”
“Mmmm,” he moaned again as he continued to kiss her neck. “I still am, and I’m having the best dream ever.”
The wordsplease stopwas on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say the words. The decent thing would be to tell him to stop, because she knew he would, but deep inside her heart, this was exactly what she wanted. This was what sheneeded.
Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to relax... And enjoy. She tilted her head back to give him better access. She stroked his smooth beard that rubbed across her collarbone as his mouth trailed kisses all over.
Her mouth dried, and although the pleasure was almost too much to stand, she wanted his mouth fused to hers. She wanted to shower him with love as she kissed him mindlessly. She wanted him to feel – even if it was a little bit – what electric current zipped through her body every time they kissed.
“Oh, Zack,” she sighed as she withdrew enough to find his mouth with hers. The moment their lips met, fireworks burst inside her. She tightened her arms around his neck and held on tightly to him. He cradled her in his arms as his mouth passionately slid across hers, reminding her how glorious it felt to be kissed thoroughly by this incredible man.
His hand traveled all over her back, then around her waist before moving up her arm to cup her face. Warning bells chimed through her head, but she pushed them aside. She knew how far she wanted to take this intimate moment, and she knew she wouldn’t gothatfar. But the more they kissed urgently, the hotter the temperature inside her body climbed, nearing the point of no return.
Zack was the first to break the kiss. He buried his face in her neck as his heavy breaths turned up the heat that much more.
“Whitney,” he said raggedly, “I need to know something.”
“What,” she whispered huskily.
“How do you feel about me?”
His odd question brought her mind jerking to a halt and she opened her eyes to look at his face. That’s when she realized they hadn’t turned on the light.
“What do you mean?”
He rubbed her back. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
She shook her head. “No, because when I first met you I wasn’t even attracted to you and I knew you weren’t attracted to me.”
“Then tell me why I feel this way now? Why does my heart feel like it’s going to jump right out of my chest whenever you kiss me? Why do I feel like I don’t ever want you to leave me? Do people really have these feelings when they’ve only known each other for a few days?”
Sighing, she caressed his beard, letting her thumb trail to his swollen lips. “Then how about love at second-sight?”
Chuckling, he pulled her tighter in his arms. “Whitney, do you love me?”
She hesitated before answering, not wanting to lie to him. But she really didn’t need to think this over. She’d never felt this way about any guy before and yet, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was madly in love with Zack Greyson. “Yes.”
His shoulders relaxed, and his mouth stretched into a grin. “No other woman has brought out these feelings in me before. The way I feel around you makes me want to be your protector, your friend – your lover – but most importantly, your companion.”
Tears of happiness spiked her eyes, and she tried to hold them back, even though he probably couldn’t see her. “Zack, I need to know something, too.”
“What?”
“Do you love me formeeven when I wear ugly, plain FBI clothes?”
“Oh, my precious love.” He brushed his mouth across hers briefly. “I’ll admit that I don’t like seeing you in those clothes, but it’s only because it changes your personality. When you’re in agent mode, it’s like you don’t have a heart. I love you the best when I can see your heart in your beautiful hazel eyes, and I can see the love by the way you speak to others and treat them with kindness and respect.”
