If You Were Mine (30 page)

even higher to the needy flesh between her thighs.

Emotions crashed into her as his tongue slid over, then into

her, until the combination of heart and body, mind and soul, had

her release going on and on until she was begging Zach to stop

with one breath, and for more the next.

She was lost—and then, miraculously found—as he slid his

mouth and hands from her to replace them with such hard heat it

took what was left of her breath away.

She was amazed by the beauty of their connection, the way

her body had always recognized his as its mate every single time

they’d come together, even when her head, and her heart, had

wanted so desperately to remain unsure.

His mouth covered hers again as they rocked together, their

bodies slipping and sliding in a perfect rhythm of strength. And

surrender.

To love
.

* * *

Heather’s hair spiled around them as she came over him.

Even caught in his need to possess her, Zach could feel her need

to possess him right back, to claim the heart he’d given her. As

they shifted together so that he was lying beneath her and she

was sitting up on her shins to take—and give—so sweetly, so

beautifuly, he could barely do anything but stare in wonder at the

woman who had rocked his world so completely.

Her hands were pressed flat on his chest, her head thrown

back as she rode him, and he shifted his legs so that she could

lean back against his thighs to go deeper, to fly higher. Her gasp

of pleasure at the smal change, and then at the feel of his hands

on her breasts, her bely, between her thighs, was almost more

than he could take as her body tightened around his.

“Heather.”

At the sound of her name, she opened her eyes to look

down at him.

“I need to hear you say it.”

Her eyes darkened with passion. And with al the emotion

she’d finaly stopped holding back from him.

“I love you.”

They were the three most beautiful words he’d ever heard.

“Again,” he demanded, even as he tightened his hold on her

hips and slid in deeper.

“I love you.”

“Give me more.” He would never grow tired of hearing her

say the words, of having her become one with him like this.

“I love you.” She leaned down to kiss his mouth. “I love

you,” preceded another kiss on his shoulder. “I love you,”

you,” preceded another kiss on his shoulder. “I love you,”

landed on his chest along with her lips.

Everywhere she could reach, she whispered her love for

him, then sealed it with a kiss. Throughout, their bodies were

joined, moving together.

“Don’t stop loving me,” he begged her, even though it

wasn’t fair to ask her for this. “No matter what happens,

promise me you won’t ever stop.”

Her smiled wobbled at his request as she leaned down so

that her breasts were pressing against his chest and her mouth

was almost on his.

“How could I stop loving you,” she said so softly he could

barely hear her words over the blood rushing in his ears, “when

I’ve never been able to do anything about the way you make me

feel? I’l love you forever, Zach.”

He could hear the surrender, but also the joy, in her

admission, as their passion hit its sensual crescendo. Knowing

just how much the words cost her, he wanted to give her more

than just another climax, more than just the pleasure he knew

she’d found in his arms as she lay soft and supple over him while

they both worked to catch their breath.

He wanted to give her the same gift she’d just given him.

He wanted to give her a promise of
forever
.

But he couldn’t.

Al he could give her was what he felt today. Here. Now.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear.

And this time, she whispered it right back.

And this time, she whispered it right back.

Heather had never been able to sleep during the day, not

even back in colege after puling al-nighters to finish a paper.

But as she lay sprawled across Zach’s bare chest with early

afternoon sunlight streaming over the bed, she was so physicaly

spent that she knew she could have closed her eyes and kept

them that way until the next morning.

Of course, there was no way that was going to happen with

the dogs pawing at the bedroom door.

On a groan, Zach pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Go take

a shower. I’l go take care of the fur bals.”

Now that she was awake and temporarily sexualy sated,

her worries about Zach’s reaction to the anniversary of his

father’s death came right back.

“Can I ask you something?”

He took her hands in his, brought them up to his mouth for

a kiss. “Yes,” he answered, “I’l be ready for another round

soon.”

It would have been easy to use their incredible attraction to

skip over the hard stuff, but she didn’t want that. And she was

pretty sure he didn’t want that, either.

So even though she couldn’t help but smile at his teasing,

she stil said, “This is a hard day for you, isn’t it? Despite the

baby,” she clarified, “and us. Because of your father.”

baby,” she clarified, “and us. Because of your father.”

His hands tightened on hers for a split second before he

shrugged. “It’s a good thing that we have something to celebrate

now, instead of being bummed every year on this day.”

The dogs were al but throwing themselves against the

door, and when he pressed one more kiss to her knuckles, then

let her go to let them out, she realy couldn’t stop him.

Wishing that love came with instructions, she went to the

shower and got under the warm spray. If only she knew how to

heal him over his father the way he’d helped her with hers.

She sighed as she faced the truth. Yes, she’d been brave

and had opened up her heart to Zach. But just because she’d

said “I love you” to a man for the first time in her life, didn’t

mean there wasn’t more to say.

And how could she expect him to be completely open with

her when she hadn’t been completely open with him?

When she’d told him a flat-out lie.

Zach found her forehead-to-wal as he joined her in the

shower. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Already regretting it al?” he teased against her neck, but

she could hear the real worry beneath his joking words.

She turned in his arms so she could press her face to his

chest and hear his heart beating strong and steady in her ear.

“Have I ever told you that I love the way you make me laugh?”

Maybe that was why she knew she could tel him anything;

because he wouldn’t let her take anything too seriously, would

always find a way to show her the joyful side of life.

“You mean like this?”

“You mean like this?”

He tickled her ribcage until she was giggling as the water

splashed down on both of them and made everything too slick

for her to get away from his teasing fingertips.

And when laughter inevitably turned to passion and he

pressed her back against the wal, she welcomed the chance to

clear her mind of anything but the sweet ache of taking him inside

her yet one more time, letting him fil up al her empty spaces with

his heat, his kisses.

And his love.

* * *

because if it were a choice between hanging out under the engine

of a car or spending time with Heather—naked or not—Zach

would happily blow off every future day at the office. He was in

the bedroom puling on a T-shirt when he heard Heather

speaking to Cuddles.

“Uh-oh, did you find another yummy shoe?”

He walked into the living room just as she picked up a

slobbery hunk of brown leather.

She gave him a crooked, very cute smile. “I suppose we’ve

been a little lax with training her the past few days.”

“I’ve got this,” he said as he grabbed a tiny chew toy from

the floor and held it out for the puppy, who immediately latched

onto it with her sharp little teeth. Cuddles shook it with her tiny

mouth, her fur flying around her face, and he told her what a

mouth, her fur flying around her face, and he told her what a

good girl she was.

Heather leaned back against the counter. “It used to realy

annoy me how good you were with her. The fact that she so

easily accepted that you were the boss.”

He grinned at her. “I liked annoying you.”

She laughed. “Liked? Don’t you mean you stil like it?” Her

laughter fel away as she asked, “You’re not going to give her

back, are you?”

He gave the other side of the chew toy to Atlas so he could

take over. “She’s not my dog.”

Heather made a face. “I know your niece-to-be wil

probably be disappointed, but she only had her a couple of days.

It’s incredible the way the two of you have bonded.” She pinned

him with a serious look. “Cuddles is your dog, Zach.”

As he washed his hands at the kitchen sink, he reflected on

the fact that two weeks ago he’d been a bachelor with nothing

bigger to worry about than where he was going to drink his next

beer.

“Two weeks. I was going to watch her, keep her fed, take

her on a few walks, and then hand her back.” He figured he

should have felt grumpier about it, and made himself say, “This

wasn’t how it was supposed to work out.”

“Things don’t always work out the way they’re supposed

to.”

He knew that firsthand. His father dying so young shouldn’t

have been in the cards for his family. But it had happened

have been in the cards for his family. But it had happened

anyway.

Heather looked realy serious. The same way she’d looked

in the shower when he’d thought she was regretting loving him.

“There’s something I need to tel you,” she said softly.

His gut twisted. She wasn’t going to leave, was she? She

hadn’t decided it was a big mistake after al?

But when she held out a hand for him to take, he gave silent

thanks. If she’d been planning to tel him she’d changed her mind

about the two of them, she would have kept her distance.

He puled her closer before threading his hands into her hair

and leaning his forehead against hers. “You can tel me anything.”

“I lied to you,” she whispered before lifting her eyes to

meet his. “I didn’t get the scars on my arms in an accident. I

made them myself. With razor blades.”

Just the thought of anything hurting Heather tore up Zach’s

insides. But knowing she’d done it herself? “Why would you hurt

yourself like that?”

“After I found out about my father, I was stil keeping it

together in school, pretending with my mother, but every time he

came home from a trip I found myself locked in my room.

Almost like I was trying to bleed out the pain. Trying to control

something. And to find a way to distract myself from al the

anger.”

Zach had to reach for her hands, had to press kisses to the

soft skin of her pulse, along the tendons and muscles on her

forearms. He’d heard about kids cutting themselves, but he’d

never known anyone who did it.

never known anyone who did it.

At least, he’d thought he didn’t.

“You don’t have any new scars, do you?”

“No.” She shook her head, almost smiling at him as she

said, “I’m sure you would have found them by now if I did.

There was a guidance counselor at school who could tel

something was wrong. We al had to take one of those vocation

tests and she suggested I should try working with animals. So

instead of going home to cut myself that day when my father was

coming home from a trip, I went to the local animal shelter.”

“That’s why you do so much for them,” he said in a low

voice as he now realized what she’d been through. And how

brave she’d been to come out on the other side so strong.

Braver than he’d ever been. “Those dogs and cats in that shelter

helped you the way you’ve always helped them, didn’t they?”

Finaly, a tear fel. The first he’d ever seen her cry.

“I never trusted anyone with the truth about my scars

before. I never thought I could.” Her mouth wobbled at the

corners as she tried to smile. And failed. “Until you.” She shook

her head, half laughing as she said, “I stil can’t believe it ended

up being you.”

“Thank you for teling me. For trusting me.”

“I don’t know why I’m stil crying,” she said as her tears fel

one after the other. “Especialy when teling you has made me