Page 117 of Bountiful
Zara clutched her wineglass and giggled, and I had to kiss her to calmherdown.
ChapterThirty-Four
Zara
Maybe it wasn’tDave that I didn’t trust, but happiness itself. As we kissed, my eyes burned with emotion even as my body heated up. Strong arms encircled me, and I straddled himhappily.
It was so very good between us tonight. But could we really survive a lengthyseparation?
In my gut, I just didn’ttrustit.
Dave lifted my skirt right there on the lounge chair and pulled my panties down. Wordlessly, I unzipped him. It wasn’t two minutes later when I pressed up on my knees so he could line up his cock beneath me. But instead of filling myself with him the way that I wanted to, I teased him mercilessly, lowering myself centimeter by centimeter. It was torture for both of us, and I eased myself withkisses.
He groaned into my mouth. “Quit this teasing and fuck yourself on me.” He grabbed my hips, but I clenched my thighs and stayedstrong.
“The way I see it,” I whispered, “You just volunteered for a lot of self-torture this fall. Now’s your chance to practice.” I slid down anotherfractionalinch.
He leaned his head back on the chair and sighed. “Is it all gonna feel like this? Maybe I won’t mindatall.”
It wouldn’t, though. We both knew it. So I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I lowered my body over his until I’d taken him as deeply as I could, and then paused as we stared into each other’s heavy-liddedeyes.
“Need you, Zara.” His voice was strained. “Nobody elsebutyou.”
Oh, wow. Those heated words were impossible to ignore. I kissed him deeply, and my hips set a pace that pleased us both. “Sweet-talker,” I murmured againsthislips.
“It worked, right?” he panted, then smiledatme.
That smile, damn it. I missed himalready.
“Don’t think,” he whispered, punctuating the command with a kiss. “Justfeel.”
It was good advice, soIdid.
Iopenedthe bakery the next morning. Now that Audrey had been back a little while, it was a pleasure because I wasn’t so tired. Griffin had sent over the first half-bushel of early apples, so I peeled and diced them into muffin batter that I’d seasoned with ginger andcinnamon.
The kitchen smelledwonderful.
I wasn’t the only one on the early shift. Dave and Nicole would wake up together again today, as they’d done several times lately, sparing my brother Alec the early morning babysittingshift.
I had hoped Alec appreciated it, but he’d never said so. He still hadn’t said one nice thingaboutDave.
Because I didn’t enjoy drama, it was still my habit to leave Kieran in charge behind the counter and relieve Dave of babysitting duty just before my mother showed up for her babysitting shift. If my mother had wondered why I was waiting for her instead of Alec, shedidn’task.
But this morning we’d had a rush of espresso orders. As Kieran and I hurried to shorten the line of caffeine junkies at the counter, I’d lost track of time. I was late getting out the door—late enough to bump into my mother in the parking lot as she got out ofhercar.
Whoops.
“Morning, sweetheart,” she said, tucking her keys into her bag. “You need somethingupstairs?”
“Well, no.” I cleared my throat. “I was just going to say goodbye to Dave beforehegoes.”
“Oh,” she said, stepping backward suddenly. Then, “I see.” And a sigh. “Are you sure that’s whatyouwant?”
Do you really have to ask? “If I didn’t want him upstairs, he wouldn’t bethere.”
“Yet he’s leaving inthreedays?”
“Yes. For now. We’re probably going to make some plans to see each other soon.” I hated the hopeful sound of those words as they came out of my mouth. “I know it won’t be easy. Maybe I’m setting myself up fordisaster.”
