Page 72 of Words We Didn't Say

“Me too, Denny Dee.”

And to prove it, I kissed her again.

19

She said, “You can talk to me.”

Eden

Apartment 15C loomed atthe end of the corridor.

The carpet smothered the comforting clickety-click of my heels, so it was my heart pounding the beat as I dragged my feet to the door. I glanced at my phone to read Zach’s message for the tenth time.

Zach

How about a night in? I’ll pamper you like a princess. We can get to know each other again. No pressure.

Except therewaspressure.

Not from Zach. He was a gentleman. He only popped a kiss on my cheek after whispering to ask for my permission, and even though I didn’t always say yes, he never grumbled, and it only made the next kiss all the sweeter. But tonight wasn’t neutralterritory. We weren’t meeting at a bar or treading the familiar boards of the coffee shop. The door at the end of the corridor was Zach’s apartment. His bed was inside, and I’d tumbled in his immaculately tucked Egyptian cotton sheets enough times to know it was worth diving back in.

My phone buzzed.

What was the point of checking? I knew it was Andie giving more of the ‘helpful’ advice she’d lumped on me at brunch about not rushing things.

I frowned at the screen.

Andie

Keep your vulva out of the conversation tonight.

Talking solves problems, not sexual intercourse.

I glared at my phone before stuffing it back in my bag and kept walking. Andie was trying to help. She was. And she wasn’t…wrong. I made no secret about enjoying sex. A man hammering between my thighs as he yanked my hair and made me beg to come—heaven. But I’d bawled my way through enough therapy sessions to confront the fact there were times I used sex to avoid real intimacy.

Pound my pussy but stay the fuck out of my heart. Use me tonight because your use-by date is tomorrow. I decided. I held the power.

Not with Zach.

Sex with him had always been different. Our first weekend in bed together had been heaven, but not the kind fuelled by the short-lived lust of chasing my orgasm. My shy sweetheart was an unexpected surprise. He was intense. Insatiable. He had the naughtiest little potty mouth when he fully let go, but he would kiss me so very softly as the rest of him did unspeakable things.When Zach was in control, sex was an intoxicating mix of rough but tender.

I was in trouble.

I gulped in a deep breath and raised my hand to knock, but the door swung open before my knuckles hit the wood.

There was no sign of Zach’s thoughtful scowl. His warmth hit me in two waves—the hug sweeping me off my feet and the kiss on my forehead. I snuck my nose into the soft cotton of his T-shirt and sniffed the familiar soap and cologne. My heart fluttered. I’d missed his smell on my pillow.

“You’re here.” He murmured the words almost in disbelief.

“I believe you promised to pamper me like a princess,” I teased.

“Oh, I’m going to pamper the pants right off you.” The skin under Zach’s glasses flushed a deep pink. “I—I didn’t mean it like…you know.”

Laughing, I kicked off my shoes and watched with amusement when Zach neatly lined them up beside his. I followed him inside.

Speaking of pants coming off…

I snuck a peek at Zach. Jeans and a simple striped T-shirt. Eh. Nothing special. But hot damn, even if he were wearing a sack, he’d be a fine example of a man. He had a presence, a quiet but powerful masculinity. Those shoulders. I sighed. And that booty…

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