Page 34 of Bad Boy Done Wrong
Larry frowned. “Well, no need to be coarse.”
Zach stared him down.
“Have a nice day,” Larry mumbled and hustled back into his apartment.
Carrie looked up at him, incredulous. “What was that about?”
“Man thing.” He made no apologies for protecting her from the likes of Larry. Or any man that looked at her with lust in their eyes. Caveman behavior? Maybe. But he embraced his inner caveman. She should know that by now. He was all about the primal.
“He’s really harmless.”
Zach grunted. He wasn’t so sure about that and wouldn’t leave it to chance.
“Found it!” She held up her key.
He kissed her, a swift hard kiss, hoping it wasn’t for the last time. “See ya tonight,” he said gruffly, making sure to show zero emotion. He didn’t want her to know he was worked up that she might not stop by tonight. He especially didn’t like how vulnerable this whole thing had made him. He had to toughen up. Prepare for goodbye.
“I thought you wanted to talk to Ally?” She pointed toward the door.
His intention in that regard had him backing up a step. “Another time.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, bye.” She let herself in, not seeming upset in the least while he was damn near howling.
He trudged home, heart and limbs heavy, the cold slap of reality hitting him once more because hestilldidn’t know if he’d get to see her tonight.
~ ~ ~
Carrie sensed Zach wasn’t happy with her, and the last thing she wanted was to screw up the remaining time they had together. She had no plans to extend the time beyond her parents’ anniversary celebration for the simple reason that it would be too easy for one of them, namely her, to get hurt. It wasn’t that Zach wasn’t wonderful. He was everything she’d ever hoped for in a bad-boy lover. It was just the idea of a real relationship, of her heart so far gone that losing him would feel like a piece of her had died, she just wasn’t ready to go there again. And now that she knew they were heading in two very different directions, she knew it was better to end it sooner than later.
She texted him that night once she was freshly showered in the vanilla body wash he loved and then showed up at his door, planning to pretend everything was normal. Like no awkward conversation had ever happened.
The door sprang open and Zach gifted her with one of his rare smiles that made his light brown eyes somehow warm and sparkle at the same time.
His voice was deep and low and tender. “Carrie.”
“Back up.” Normally he turned and walked inside with no prompting. It was how she had the room to leap into his arms.
He shut the door behind her and backed up to the middle of the living room, his arms open. She took off, leaping at him. He caught her, but this time his arms wrapped tight around her in a close hug. She couldn’t even kiss him. His hand cupped her head to his chest, his other arm around her back in an unusual quiet embrace. Surrounded by his heat, his familiar spicy scent, his heart beating strong and steady under her ear, she was briefly, utterly content. Then she remembered herself. The limits of what they could have.
As soon as he loosened his hold on her head, she popped up and peppered him with kisses. His hands shifted to cup her ass, deliciously warm through her thin shorts. She kissed and sucked along his neck enthusiastically, so happy he was welcoming her back to his body. He walked with her in his arms and then her back hit cool wall. Desire spiked through her, soaking her panties, because she knew she was getting a wallbanger. One of his best moves, her feet couldn’t even reach the ground in this position. She was at his mercy and she loved it.
He lowered his head, but instead of his usual rough kisses, he kissed the corners of her mouth before trailing to her jaw, lingering on her throat and then her collarbone.
“Zach,” she moaned, “I want you.”
He kissed her gently. “I want to take my time with you.” He set her on the ground and stripped her out of her T-shirt and bra, his hands cupping her breasts, stroking over her hard nipples. She leaned against the wall, her head tipping back at the pleasure of his hands, and then he dropped to his knees, taking her breast into his mouth and sucking deeply. It was like a direct line of pleasure to her sex. She ached fiercely for what she knew he could give her. She wasn’t used to waiting this long for him to get down to serious business. She tugged at his hair, trying to pull him away and redirect him, but he merely switched to the other breast.
Just when she was about to scream at him to give her a wallbanger already, he shifted lower, first with his fingers, stroking down her belly, and then with his lips and tongue. He pulled her shorts and panties off and she nearly cried with relief, but then he started all over again, his fingers stroking her belly and then around the curve of her hips.
“Zach, fuck me.”
But that wasn’t what he was about tonight. He didn’t reply, merely stroked and kissed and tasted his way down her leg.
“Please,” she whimpered.
