Page 68 of Ruined
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nodded, and then realized Holden couldn’t see. “Positive.”
“Does she know what you’re planning?”
Holding the phone with one hand, I pinched the bridge of my nose with the other. “Not yet, I’m going to tell her tonight.” I was apprehensive to clue Zoe in on my plans for John Hammond for various reasons. She’d confided in me that she’d been in such a dark place at one point, she’d gone looking for a gun.
I could still see the smile on her face when she told me that since she hadn’t heard anything from him in a while, she figured he’d finally given up and moved on. She was also positive that TCPD would prove he was the one who had started the gallery fire.
I, on the other hand, still wanted the bastard to pay for all the hurt he’d made my woman feel.
“Eli? You there, man?” Holden’s voice broke through my vengeful thoughts.
“Yeah, sorry, what did you say?”
“I said, you’re cutting it fine.”
Fine wasn’t the word. I had to be in TC by tomorrow night. Zoe was going to flip when I broke the news, I knew it. I only hoped she’d understand why this was the only way.
“Extremely,” I agreed. A knock on my office door had me lowering my voice, “Listen, I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, I stabbed the red button on my phone and then loudly said, “Come in.”
I was expecting to see Ester, maybe even Liam, definitely not Zoe sauntering into my office wearing my uniform shirt. Holy shit, she looked all kinds of hot; my shirt hit her about mid-thigh and the belt she had cinched around her waist drew my attention to her chest and hips. I had the sudden urge to hold on to those sinful hips while I bury—
The sound of the door clicking shut broke through the x-rated movie playing in my head. After a few rapid blinks, her gorgeous image came back into focus. As if she knew exactly where my thoughts had gone, she gave me a salacious grin before her tongue darted out to glide along her crimson-colored lips. Blinking slowly, she sucked the bottom one into her mouth then dug her teeth into the plump, wet flesh. “Hi.” Her breathy voice and the come-hither look in her slightly darker eyes registered straight between my legs.
Shifting in my seat, I cleared my throat. “This is a nice surprise.” Zoe pushed off the door. Hips swaying, she strolled toward me. Her index finger slid along the wooden surface of my desk as she rounded it. “I like your…outfit.”
“I wore it specially for you.”
Shit! This was a side of her I had yet to see and, damn, I would not survive it. She was in full-on vixen mode, causing my blood to pump that much faster. “It’s nice.” I wanted to roll my eyes at my stupid response, but it wasn’t my fault; she’d turned me into a gawking idiot the moment she stepped into my office looking all kinds of sexy.
“Nice?” She cocked her head while wrapping and unwrapping a strand of hair around her finger. “Just…nice.” When Zoe reached me, she perched herself on the edge of the desk, her eyes stayed trained on me while she ran her fingers down the buttons of the shirt she was wearing.
I was having a hard time getting oxygen to my lungs, not to mention the fact that my pants felt about three sizes too small. “You look like a tasty treat I want to unwrap and devour.” My confession was gruff.
Her hands lowered to the belt. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Nimble fingers undid the strap of leather, dropping it to the floor with a softthud. Clearly not in the mood to waste any time, Zoe immediately started working on the buttons.
One by one they popped open, teasing me with just a hint of the creamy flesh that lay beneath it. If I wasn’t enjoying the show so much, I would’ve jumped up to take over. The instant she was done with the last one, she looked me dead in the eye while shrugging out of the fabric.
I was almost positive that my eyes bulged out of my head. There on my desk sat my Zoe wearing nothing but the skin she was born in. Placing her hands behind her, she leaned back, setting a foot on each of the armrests.
Swallowing hard, I wrapped my hands around her ankles then glided them up her calves. I was careful not to break the touch as I pushed to my feet to slide my palms over the back of her knees, then around to her thighs. Higher and higher I went until I could finally dig my fingers into her hips.
“Damn, sunshine,” I breathed out as I lowered my mouth to her collarbone. As it always did, the smell of apples hit my nose with every inhalation. Peppering small kisses along her skin, I worked my way to the hollow of her throat before sliding my mouth down to her breasts.
Usually, I had no trouble taking my time in tasting her, savoring her. Today, though, want overruled everything. The need to have absolutely nothing between us was so strong; it almost felt like I needed the warmth of her body more than I needed my next breath.
The urgency in Zoe’s movements when she sat up straight and reached for my pants clued me in to the fact that I wasn’t alone in my desperate need. Two seconds later, our bodies joined together at the very moment my mouth crashed down over hers.
A groan sounded from the back of my throat as her fingers curled around my nape and raked through the hair there. My tongue greedily lapped and coiled against her while we frantically moved together.
I should’ve been worried about where we were and the level of noise we were making, I just couldn’t bring myself to give a damn. Not when being with Zoe felt so good, so right. It didn’t take long for her to slip into a state of pure bliss, the sound of my name on her lips as she did pulled me right along with her.
I dropped my forehead to her shoulder, my breaths coming hard and fast. She had one hand lodged in my hair and another draped over my shoulder. Banding my arms around her waist, I held her close.
“That’s another first for me,” I finally managed as soon as my breathing became less ragged. Lifting my head, I looked into her beautiful eyes, “What are you doing to me, sunshine?”
