Being Zolt (8 page)

Irelyn sweetly kissed my lips. “So, can you help me?”

“Uh, yeah, I can help you.”

“Good.” She turned around, presenting her back to me as she curled her long legs under her.

She lifted up the lace top, revealing her naked back. Most of the welts had healed, and only one still needed attending to.

I growled low in my throat when I saw it; I couldn’t help myself. He marred my woman’s beautiful, perfect skin.

Irelyn glanced over her shoulder at me. “It’s better, Zolt, promise.”

“I know.” I ground out then cursed myself for my lack of control.

Putting some ointment on my fingers, I gingerly applied it to the last welt.

She winced a little, though I tried to be as gentle as I could. To ease the sting, I kissed all around the spot.

“How much does it hurt?” I asked her as I continued to kiss her back.

Irelyn sucked in a breath and shivered. “Not much.”

She turned around, and her eyes—dark with desire—stared deeply into mine. When she kissed me, the need and desperation we both experienced turned molten, liquefying my insides.

She lifted her arms and took off her shirt, revealing her luscious tits to me.

“Are you sure, Irelyn? I don’t want to hurt you,” I asked, breaking our kiss.

“I need you. Need you to take me, make me yours again.” She straddled my lap and pressed her naked chest against mine.

“You never quit being mine. You’ll always be mine.” I sucked in a breath, loving the feel of her silky skin.

“Zolt,” she whispered, and her head fell back as I kissed my way down her neck toward her nipples. At her tits, I took each one in, sucking and nipping, making the pink nipples pearl with desire.

I gently pressed her back until she lay on the bed, then I continued my way down her body, nipping and licking, making her moan, stopping when I reached the waistband of her shorts.

Her gaze trailed down my shirtless body, landing on my hard cock. The black track shorts I had on did little to hide my excitement.

She continued to stare at my hard-on with lust in her gaze.

I shook my head, guessing her thoughts and desires. As much as I wanted her lips on me, I didn’t want this to be about me. I needed this to be about her and about us.

With Irelyn on her back, I tugged her lace shorts off, stripping her bare. Fuck, she was too hot for words, and I wanted her. Scratch that, I needed her. But more importantly, we needed this. Needed to reconnect with each other, to reclaim each other. Take back what Marcus tried and failed to destroy.

I took off my shorts and took myself in hand, stroking my cock as I drank in the naked woman I loved, sprawled out on my bed before me.

“Fuck, Zolt.” She squeezed her thighs together and bit her bottom lip. When she cupped her full tits and squeezed, I almost came on the spot.

“Fuck, Irelyn,” I growled, returning her sentiment as I climbed back on the bed. As much as I wanted to climb on top of her and slide in, I refused myself. Instead, I kissed her ankle and worked my way up each of her legs, alternatively kissing and licking my way up her body. When I got to her inner thighs, I stopped.

“Open for me, baby. I need to taste you. Now!”

Irelyn’s legs fell open, and she gasped as I positioned myself between her legs. I kissed first one thigh, then the other, working my way to her pussy.

“Mmm,” I moaned, and then licked one long stroke up her center to her clit. God, she was as sweet as I remembered. With the tip of my tongue, I worked her, swirling my tongue around her most sensitive part. With my fingers inside her, I continued my sensual torture until she screamed her release and thrashed her head back and forth.

“Oh, God, Zolt!” she cried, her hands fisting the sheets.

I looked up at her grinning, loving that I could make her fall to pieces. I licked my own lips, savoring the taste of Irelyn on my mouth. Then, I continued my way back up her body, stopping again to lave each breast.

Irelyn moaned and squirmed, her hands skimming my back. When our mouths finally met, the kiss was explosive. A sensual union of two people pulled apart, and who, by the grace of God, Fate, or whomever, had found their way back to each other despite the evilness at play. I vowed, at this moment, that Marcus would never tear us apart again.

We kissed languidly, maddeningly, playing off the other until our intense need overtook us, and I entered her. Our gazes caught, sable-brown into blue.

Finally, I had come home.

“I love you, Irelyn,” I said as I began to slowly move inside her, intensely watching each other.

“I love you, too, Zolt. So much.”

I squeezed my eyes closed as she wrapped her long legs around me, pushing me in deeper. God, it felt too good being inside of her, making love to her. I wanted to make this last forever, but I couldn’t.

We moved in perfect time together, with our fingers intertwined as I started to move faster. With decadent sweetness, we kissed, hot and desperate. I didn’t need to ask her if she was close; I knew from the quickening of her breath and the way she pulsed around me.

“Open your eyes, baby. Come with me.”

“Yes,” she panted and lifted her knees, plunging me impossibly deep and sending us both over the edge, crying out each other’s names.

Tenderly, I kissed her as we both came down. We had needed this—needed to erase what Marcus had done. Beyond that, I wanted to make sure she knew how much it meant to me.

“Irelyn.” I stared deeply into her eyes. “Marry me.”

“What?” I asked, not sure I’d heard him right.

Zolt was still inside me, and my body hummed from my last orgasm. Perhaps my scrambled brains interpreted his words wrong.

“I love you, Irelyn Wilkes. Heart. Mind. Body. Soul. There will never be anyone else for me. Marry me. Be my wife. Have my babies. Let me love you for the rest of my life.” His eyes glittered with hope as he waited for my answer.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I nodded while I tried to find my voice. “Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes.”

Zolt’s mouth descended on mine as he began to move inside me again. I arched into him, pressing my breasts into his firm chest as I felt him grow harder inside me. This beautifully fucked-up and wonderful man had possessed me in every way, and I wouldn’t have it any differently.

With my eyes closed, I said a silent word of thanks to God that Zolt had seen through my lies and had rescued me from Marcus. It didn’t matter to me that we’d been together for less than a month; Zolt Hamil was it for me.

He clasped my face with both his hands and kissed me deeply before rolling us both over, leaving me to straddle him and take my pleasure as I might. Leaning down, I kissed and devoured the dark shadow of his beard that covered his strong jawline.

We kissed again, and I moaned into our kiss as Zolt bucked his hips and thrust deep into me. I could feel the beginnings of another release, one that promised to be even more intense than the last one. With the dizzying pleasure mounting, I threw my head back, meeting each one of his thrusts stroke for stroke.

“Fuck,” Zolt rasped out and I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment.

I bit my lips and cupped my breasts as he continued his punishing rhythm. Then, Zolt sat up, making us nose to nose. At that moment, we were both exposed to each other; our emotional rawness no longer masked by fear of what we felt for each other.

With a breathless whisper, we said each other’s names, a litany of the love we had for the other.

I closed my eyes, overcome by the intensity of it all.

“Don’t close your eyes, Irelyn. I need to see you come.” Wrapping a fistful of my hair around his hand, Zolt gently pulled my head back so I had no choice but to meet his gaze.

“I fucking love you,” he said and then started a slow, tortuous path with his mouth to my breasts where he took in each nipple in turn.

“Oh, God!” I cried out as my orgasm approached. I wanted to keep my eyes open; to fix my gaze on his as Zolt perfected his pace, making sure to grind my clit against him. But it was too delicious—too intense emotionally and physically, and my eyes fluttered shut.

Just as I began to unravel, Zolt’s mouth found mine again as we started our free fall into orgasmic bliss.

We laid there both sweaty and spent as the wave ebbed and fell away. I felt undeniably lost to him and to the emotions loving him provoked. I buried my head in his neck, not wanting him to see more of my damn tears.

Lazily, he ran his fingers up and down my spine as we stay connected, sitting in the middle of the bed. Shivers and small quakes shot through me at his touch; our electric connection unfailing.

“Irelyn,” he said softly as he lifted my chin.

“Zolt.” One errant tear escaped and fled down my cheek.

“Mine. Forever mine,” he said as he brushed the tear away.

“Yours.”

Zolt lay down, taking me with him, finally breaking our contact as he withdrew from me.

I found my favorite place on his chest, just between his pecs and his shoulder, and snuggled in. We stayed that way for a while as our bodies recovered.

Zolt softly petted my hair, and I couldn’t remember every being this happy.

“I have something for you. Close your eyes,” he said and moved away from me.

I closed my eyes and felt the bed shift and dip with whatever Zolt did. The drawer on the bedside table opened and closed, and then he came back to me.

“You can open your eyes.” There was a slight tone of nervousness in his voice, and I slowly opened them.

“Oh. My. God.” My hand flew to my mouth as I first stared at the open, black-velvet box in his hand, and then stared into his sparkling eyes.

“Zolt, it’s beautiful. I—”

“Do you really like it?” He carefully removed the diamond and emerald ring and slid it on my ring finger on my left hand.

I splayed my hand in front of my face, admiring the ring. Then, I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

“It’s perfect, Zolt. Just perfect. You got it at Kavanagh’s, didn’t you?”

“I did. Rachel went with me. It just so happened that this ring had come in from Ireland. He said he instantly thought of your mother when he saw it. Once he said that, I knew I had to have it for you.”

“I love it.” I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. The ring sported the perfectly sized diamond for me, and I adored the Celtic knot work of the band. It reminded me of the cross both Chris and I used to wear.

“It’s not too much like the cross you and Chris used to wear?” Zolt asked, holding my hand and tracing his finger over the band.

I shook my head in answer and in shock that he knew about the crosses. “No.”

“I don’t want you to be sad when you see it.”

“It’s so beautiful. But…” I trailed off as Kenna’s face filled my mind, bringing with it a surge of guilt. It wasn’t fair for me to be this happy while Kenna remained in Marcus’s control.

“I know what you’re thinking, baby. Don’t,” Zolt said, turning my face to his. “We’ll get Kenna back, I promise.”

“And Delaney, too?”

“And Delaney, too, if that’s what she wants.”

I nodded, feeling a little better, but knowing true relief wouldn’t come until this was all over.

“To that end, I need to talk to you about Chris’s laptop.”

“Oh.” My heart skipped a nervous beat. T-bone had obviously recovered the laptop’s password, and now it was my turn.

“T-bone found a video you need to see.”

I cringed and let out a long sigh. This was good in one sense. I’d be able to do something useful to help them with recovering Kenna. But it didn’t lessen the sudden need I had to puke. Whatever Chris had to tell me would not be sunshine and teddy bears.

“Okay. I’ll do it tomorrow. But for the rest of the night, can we just forget about all of this?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Zolt reached for the bottle containing my Ambien. He shook one into his palm and handed it to me.

I smiled at him and popped the tiny pill into my mouth, and then took a sip of water from the bottle Zolt held out for me.

“Thank you.” I gave him back the water and settled under the sheet. I was exhausted on all fronts and ready to sleep in Zolt’s bed with his arms wrapped around me.

He snuggled next to me, pulling me into his strong embrace. Spooned tightly against him, I fell into a deep, restful sleep.