Sensual Stranger (9 page)

His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. He spoke in a
choked voice. “So what if I am?”

“So do something about it.”
Please.

A pulse in his throat jumped. His chest expanded with his
fitful breaths.

Never had Toni seen a man struggle so hard to control the
male animal within. With the other men she’d known, especially Joe, there had
been little concern over crossing boundaries.

Why Zach was so different, Toni wasn’t certain. Nor did she
care.

Passion sang in her blood. Her body buzzed with energy. She
advanced another step, determined this moment would play out even if she had to
goad him. “What’s the matter, Zach?” Cocking one brow, she reduced her voice to
a sultry purr. “What’s the real problem? Don’t you know how to satisfy a
woman?”

He went completely still, not even finishing his breath.

Several moments passed. The only sounds were the hush of the
air-conditioning and the rapid thumping of her heart.

Lowering his head, Zach met her gaze with hooded eyes, his
expression changed. He wore the look of a rutting animal, male, feral. He spoke
through his teeth. “Sweetheart, you have no idea what I can do to you.”

Excitement snaked through her. Her cunt felt heavy and achy,
needy of his cock. “You’re right.” She held his gaze. Challenge rang in her
voice. “So why don’t you show me?”

Zach’s lids slipped down, hiding his eyes. As he opened
them, danger continued to flare in his expression and voice. “That’s enough.
This conversation is over.”

“We’re not finished.”

“I said, knock it off.”

“Make me.”

Swearing, he crossed the room to her so quickly that Toni’s
initial reaction was to step back. She did not. Head lifted, pulse racing, she
stood her ground, looking at him looming above her. Formidable. Aroused.

“Make me,” she whispered.

Breathing hard, Zach slung his arm around her waist, using
its weight and strength to haul her into him. His free hand went to her throat,
his thumb beneath her chin, tilting it up. His powerful voice rumbled, “You
have no idea what you’re asking.”

Imprisoned, with her mouth so close to his, Toni could
barely breathe. Her lids snapped closed as he gave her a deep, brutal kiss,
taking exactly what he wanted, precisely what she craved.

On a guttural moan, Toni sagged into his hard length,
slipping her arms around his broad shoulders. With her anchored to him, he
lowered his hands to her buttocks, cupping them, pulling her up until she’d
wrapped her legs around his lean hips, her ankles crossed.

As he turned a slow circle, favoring his good leg, they each
fought for control of the kiss. Zach triumphed, crushing her lips with such
force the edges of Toni’s teeth bit into her flesh.

She dug her fingers into his tee, making fists around the
fabric. With a muffled groan of pleasure, he took several steps forward, his
uninjured thigh bumping into the table. Its legs skittered across the tile
floor, plates and utensils clattering.

Breaking their kiss, he snuggled his face against her
throat, his lips suckling it, tongue stroking.

Toni gasped in delight, the sensations he created nearly too
much to endure. Sucking air, she shoved her fingers through his thick, wavy
locks and lowered her face to his neck.

Zach’s body trembled as she licked his clean skin. He said
something crude beneath his breath and moved his head, trying to get her to
stop.

She would not.

On a new oath, he tightened his arm around her waist as he
leaned forward, using his free arm to push the plates and utensils aside. A
knife or fork fell to the floor. Its metal tinged against the tile, followed by
the whap and rapid rattling of a plastic plate.

Lowering her to the edge of the table, Zach broke Toni’s
hold on his neck and unwound her legs from his hips. “Lie back,” he ordered,
his voice gruff, “arms above your head.”

Toni swallowed. The muscles in her sheath pulsed. With one
elbow on the table, she slumped to a prone position, pulling her arms above her
head. The edge of her tank top wiggled with her rapid breathing. She mewed as
he slipped his long fingers beneath her cutoffs’ waistband, deeper than they
needed to go, making his actions deliberately intimate as he unbuttoned and
unzipped the garment.

Intent on stripping her, Zach breathed hard as he lowered
the denim, each inch showing more of her skin. At her pubic hair, he stopped
and looked up, his expression one of surprise and supreme pleasure that she
hadn’t worn panties.

“Fuck me,” she begged.

His Adam’s apple bobbed with his hard swallow. Beads of
perspiration dotted his forehead. He seemed ready to burst…ready to love.

Maneuvering the shorts past her hips and thighs, he pulled
them from her legs hurriedly, dropping them on the floor, then turned back to
her.

At the untamed lust in his eyes, Toni forgot to breathe. The
room spun crazily. Squeezing her fingers for some measure of control, she
stared at his fly, expecting him to unzip it and free his ponderous cock,
tunneling the organ inside her, burying his sex to its root.

To her surprise, Zach sank to his knees, his head between
her legs, his voice another command. “Put your feet on my shoulders.”

Spread wide, she shivered at the cool breath of
air-conditioning falling on her damp pussy. With the heels of her feet against
his shoulders and her toes curled down, Toni struggled to pull in a full
breath.

Just as she succeeded, Zach stole it.

Back curved, she mewed in delight at his fingers burrowing
into her opening, not stopping until he could go no farther.

Trapping and holding her with his indecent embrace, Zach ran
his tongue up her moist cleft.

Toni cried out, the sound seeming too large for this space.
She gasped at his tongue flicking her hard nub—his mouth’s wet, silky heat, the
sensations it engendered. Ribbons of delight coursed through her, tightening
the muscles in her shoulders and arms, the tension becoming so unbearable her
body surrendered, growing limp, yielding. Relaxing her fingers, she gave
herself fully.

Zach abandoned her clit, tracing the contours of her vaginal
lips with his tongue, lapping her juices noisily, growling in pleasure. He
worked her sheath with his fingers, pulling them out, driving them back inside
as he returned to her nub. With his mouth latched onto it and his fingers
invading her depths, Toni ground her teeth, wanting to hang on to the delicious
feelings, unwilling to come too quickly.

Zach made certain she did not.

He kept pausing to suckle the inside of her thighs, which
trembled with her arousal and struggle against climax. He licked her dark curls,
catching a few between his teeth, tugging them playfully.

After too many minutes and her choking pleas, he returned to
her clit.

Toni lifted her chin to the ceiling. Heels digging into his
shoulders, her toes splayed, then curled with his steady suckling, the tip of
his tongue flicking her small rise of flesh, his fingers driving in and out of
her sheath, mimicking the actions of his cock.

In a burst of sound, Toni shouted, cursed, whimpered as her
orgasm crested and broke.

With the climax’s undeniable force, her body shuddered
uncontrollably. Held captive by pleasure, she couldn’t manage any control or
propriety, allowing her legs to bow outward, exhibiting her partial nudity.

Zach took full advantage, nuzzling his face against her
thatch of hair, making her want him more than any man she’d known.

After three tries, Toni forced down a swallow, then begged
once more, “Fuck me, please.”

He stopped kissing the sensitive skin near her upper thigh
and eased his fingers from her. With his mouth to her cunt, he spoke, his
strained breaths warming her skin. “No.”

Her heart fell. Hadn’t he believed her about being
protected? If so, didn’t he have any condoms? How was that possible for a man
his age with his obvious sexual appetite?

Disheartened, she asked, “Why not?”

“I’m saving that for tonight.” He licked her still too
sensitive clit, then promised, “All night.”

Chapter Six

Unsettled and distracted, Zach went through the morning,
opening the shop, handing out work orders, adding up receipts, taking payment,
his mind continually unfocused, snagging on what had happened this morning at
his house and his subsequent promise to fuck Toni all night.

You have no idea what you’re asking,
he’d said to
her.

Zach had no idea what he was doing. One minute, he’d been
ready to flee the kitchen and all the complications she represented, the next
he was feasting on her and enjoying it as he had nothing before.

He rubbed his aching shoulder, trying to relax the muscles
and stave off a tension headache. Since he’d lost Meg, he’d contented himself
with lovemaking that was relaxing and enjoyable, not reckless, wanton, wild.

There wasn’t anything dainty about Toni. She held nothing
back, except her past. She was guileless, blunt, earthy, sensuous, alive.

He swallowed and looked at the time. Only ten o’clock. Hours
and hours before the day’s end and the promise of her stripped bare, spread
wide, her cunt wrapped around his cock, her flesh yielding, demanding.

Elbows on his desk, Zach bunched his shoulders and hung his
head, wondering what tomorrow would bring after tonight. Just as quickly, his
mind shut down, not wanting to go there and consider the consequences.

Why not have some fun?
she’d said.

Made sense. As she’d pointed out, they were both adults.
They’d enjoy each other for a month.

Are you worried I’ll want something more than just sex?
she’d
asked.

Zach pressed his fingers against his forehead, rubbing it
hard, wondering about the answer. Not for her, for himself.

She kept changing his mind about things. Hiring her.
Allowing her to stay in a house that should have belonged to Meg. Wanting a
measure of happiness and peace he’d once craved and hadn’t really allowed
himself for nearly two years.

Indecision crowded him, making his snug office seem
claustrophobic.

Through the glass window facing the shop, he heard its
intrusive noise. Machinery whirred, engines raced. Toni, Angel and Robbie
bantered, shouting their comments above the din and the top ten Country-Western
hits blasting from the radio.

Her earlier words whispered in Zach’s mind.

This isn’t about my past. It’s about here and now. You
and me. Having some fun. Then I take off. No harm done. You go back to your
life. I go back to mine.

Leaving his office, Zach went up the street to walk off his
tension, to avoid thinking. Agitation would have pushed him clear past the town
limits if not for his bum knee and leg. Just short of the Last Chance Diner, he
had to stop, his injured muscles hurting like a son-of-a-bitch.

One of the surgeons who’d operated on him had warned he
might never be the same.

The fool had no idea.

The diner’s door opened, its bell tinkling as an elderly
couple left. Snatches of conversation and chilled air poured out. The day’s
heat wrapped around Zach, the breeze so dry his skin stung.

Hissing air through his teeth, he entered the diner to sit
down and cool off.

At the counter, Em delivered a customer’s order and looked
up, her smile halting when she saw his face. Instantly, she rounded the counter
and went to him. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked, her tone worried. “You look
weird.”

“Leg’s hurting.”

Her brows arched at his admission, something he’d never done
before, always pretending he didn’t experience any pain.

“Let’s get you a seat. You can have your choice of booths in
the back.”

“A table up here’s fine.”

“A booth’s better.” With her arm wound through his, Em
directed him to the same table he’d shared with Toni, where she’d eaten a
chocolate chip waffle topped with mounds of whipped cream and after it, an
omelet.

Affection—unexpected and intense—swept through Zach at his
memory of her hunger, the pleasure on her face as she sated it. Unable to stop
himself, he smiled.

Em studied him as he eased into the booth. “How about a cup
of coffee and Danish?” she asked. “Made fresh this morning.”

Not hungry at all, he lied with a nod. “Sounds good.”

Em didn’t move. “How’s your new mechanic working out?”

Better than he might have imagined in his horniest dreams.

Fuck me, please.

Tonight. All night.

Desire buffeted him, snatching his breath. On its heels,
fear of new loss and its resulting sorrow returned, squeezing his heart.

“That good, huh?” Em asked.

Zach scrubbed his face with his hands.

Didn’t stop her. “So, you two going to be dating?” She spoke
in a motherly voice even though she was only three years older than him.

Dropping his hands, Zach slumped against the seat’s vinyl
cushion. “She’s an employee, Em, and only for a month.”

“You’re actually going to let her go back to that daredevil
stuff?”

Zach couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of her
question and how appalled she sounded. “It’s not my choice.”

“Sure it is. You can hire her permanently.”

His heart squeezed again. He shook his head. Even if he were
nutty enough to consider such a thing, Toni made it quite clear she’d be
heading back to the circuit, continuing with her own life, leaving him to his.

After a month of sex. Nothing less. Nothing more.

“I don’t know why you’re denying yourself,” Em said, cutting
into his thoughts.

Zach looked past her at the street, recalling how he and Meg
once sat in here, discussing their hopes, their dreams.

Too quickly, his wife’s remembered voice faded beneath his
memory of Toni’s. Throaty. Arousing. Filled with life.