Actually Love - Jessie & Zach (24 page)

Zach wasn’t in his room or on the first floor either, so that meant that he was either not home or he was down in the basement.

Mmm, the basement.

Jessie knew that the basement in this brownstone would forever be etched in her memory. Every time she thought about that six hundred or so square feet, a little thrill ran through her. Not because anything scandalous had ever happened in the confines of its dim walls. But that’s where she’d been the first time she met Zach, so it would always hold a special place in her heart.

As she stepped into her room and shut the door behind her, Jessie’s mind began to wonder what her life would look like right now if she had decided to come to the fateful open house in the morning or at lunch instead of after work. If she hadn’t gotten delayed by Martin with a hundred questions that needed her attention, but at the time, she’d been more than a little frustrated with their timing.

If she’d arrived at the house even an hour earlier, would she have had her basement moment? Would she have met Zach? Would she be undressing to go soak in her love-of-her-life clawfoot bathtub?

No. She didn’t think so.

After slipping off her shoes, she placed them heel to toe in their cubby. Just seeing her shoe cubbies made her happy. Structure. Organization. Those things were like therapy to Jessie.

Some people emotionally ate. Some people emotionally shopped. Some people emotionally drank. Jessie emotionally organized.

Once she’d unzipped the back of her skirt, she felt the silky smoothness of her stockings as she slipped her skirt off. She then unbuttoned her lemon-yellow blouse, removed it, placed both items on hangers, and hung them up in the dry-clean section of her small walk-in closet.

Moving across the room, she decided to start her bath water filling so that, by the time she finished undressing and washed her face, she would have a relaxing, hot bath waiting for her. If she lived alone, tonight would include a couple of glasses of wine, but with the temptation that lived ten feet down the hall from her bed, feeling the fuzzy warmth of lowered inhibitions that a nice glass of red gave her was the last thing she needed.

That’s weird,
she thought as she turned the knob to the bathroom door.
Did I shut this before I left this morning?

Stepping through the doorway, she lifted her eyes and jumped at least a foot off the ground as she gasped in surprise. When she reached out to steady herself on the counter as she stumbled back, she hit the wooden handle of her barrel brush and sent it sailing across the room like a spiral football. It landed with a loud splash in the bath water, which was currently inhabited by a very
naked
Zach Courtland.

Zach’s eyes flew open and he stood up with a start, the water sloshing wildly as he did. She was vaguely aware of the white strings that fell from his ears and the soft thud of his earbuds hitting the tiled ground.

“What the—” Zach stopped mid-sentence as his green eyes met hers. He froze in place, his face in shock.

Beads of sweat formed on the base of Jessie’s neck as her eyes traveled down Zach’s body. She wasn’t intentionally staring, but how could she
not
look? Heated arousal spread through her entire body as she slowly studied every sinuous line of his muscular body. She stood perfectly still, visually feasting on the chiseled, dripping-wet masterpiece that was displayed in real-life 3D before her.

Every muscled contour was highlighted in moisture as drips of water ran down and fell from his powerful chest and rippling abs. Her stare followed one of the droplets down past his narrowed waist to the impressively thick erection jutting out from the sprinkled patch of dark hair that covered his groin area. Her eyes widened as she watched his manhood grow even
larger
before her eyes.

Wow.

“Sorry.” Zach’s gravelly timbre washed over her, sending a shiver down her spine.

Jessie watched, totally captivated by his overwhelmingly male form, as his long, strong arm reached out and grabbed a towel while he gracefully stepped out of the tub.

“I thought you were working late.”

Jessie barely registered his explanation.

“I’ll get out of your way.” Zach’s baritone voice sounded strained as he quickly dried off his legs, causing his arms to flex as he moved the towel up and down the steely leanness of his legs. There was an air of efficiency and vitality to Zach’s movements that fascinated Jessie and drew her to him like a magnet.

Straightening, he wrapped the terrycloth towel around his waist. After picking up the clothes—that she hadn’t even noticed—lying beside the tub, he began walking purposely in her direction, causing a tingle in the pit of her stomach.

Jessie felt her chest rising and falling rapidly as her breaths came in choppy pants. Her breathing grew more and more shallow. She’d never hyperventilated in her life, but if anything could cause her lungs to cease working properly, it would be this.

Stopping directly in front of her with a smoldering flame in his deep-green eyes, he spoke her name, and it held as much promise as it did warning. “Jessie.”

The air around them felt electrified with stimulation. Jessie’s head was spinning with a light and airy sensation, and she knew she had to ground herself in this moment or she was likely to pass out or float away—probably the former.

Centering herself in the environment, Jessie concentrated on the feeling of the cold, hard tile beneath her nylon-covered feet as she tried to tame the dizzying current running through her. She listened to the erotic sounds of their labored breathing echoing off the walls in the small, enclosed space. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she breathed in the masculine, clean scent of his soap.

As she began feeling connected and present, she instantly became aware of the pulsing heartbeat of desire deep in her core. Jessie knew that this moment was her chance. Her chance to take over as the writer of her own screenplay, which was shaping up in her mind’s eye to be a porno.

“We need to talk.” Her attempt at sounding bold and in control had been a massive failure. Her words had come out sounding timid and unsure. Still, she had been able to string four words together, and she wasn’t sure how many other women in her position (standing half naked in front of a recently naked, now only-towel-clad Zach) would have even been able to pull that off. So bravo her.

“Now’s not a good time,” Zach spoke through gritted teeth.

“Yes, it is.” Jessie wasn’t trying to be intentionally disagreeable, but now was the perfect time.

Zach’s jaw ticked, and Jessie couldn’t quite read if it was from desire or irritation. So, to be able to properly classify it, her eyes took a quick trip down south and she saw that Zach’s impressive shaft was straining against the white bath towel that covered it.

“You want to
talk
?” he rasped.

Jessie’s eyes lifted to Zach’s and she saw that the black circles of his pupils had dilated more in the last few seconds. His green irises looked starkly vivid against the rounded black they surrounded beneath his heavy eyelids, framed in long, thick lashes.

“Yes,” she breathed.

He moved forward, closing the distance between them so that there was only a small gap of space separating them. She stared directly at his muscular chest, which was mere inches from her face. His nearness made her senses spin and caused a swooping pull between her legs.

For some reason, the same shyness that had overtaken her the first morning they’d met in the basement had decided to come back for a visit. Her mind was telling her to take control of this situation. Spell out exactly what she wanted to happen, enjoy the encounter, and walk away a satisfied woman.

Look up
, her inner voice screamed. It would be a little difficult to get this party started if she couldn’t even make eye contact with Zach.

She felt fingers gently cup her chin as Zach tilted her head up so that she had no choice but to look into his eyes. When she did, she saw a hunger there that made her core clench with need.

“Do you know what I want do?” Zach’s voice sounded like he was on the razor’s edge.

“No,” Jessie spoke in a barely audible whisper.

Zach slowly brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “I want to lick every inch of you until you come so hard that you can’t remember your own name. Then I want to spread your legs and watch your body stretch as I slide into you, filling you up until you take all of me. Then I want to fuck you until I feel your thighs trembling and your body shaking as you come apart in my arms, calling my name.”

Jessie felt like her entire body was one raw, exposed erotic nerve that Zach’s words had just caressed. Her heart jolted and her pulse pounded with excitement. She wanted to do
everything
Zach had just mapped out. They just needed to get some ground rules in place first.

“That’s what I wanted to talk about.”

There was no way she could know what Zach had expected her to say, but she didn’t think that was it because he looked truly stunned by her admission.

Always one to seize the moment, Jessie took advantage of this momentary shift of power to forge ahead. “I think we should do this. Just get it out of our systems.”

With each word she spoke, she felt bolder and more empowered. This was happening on her terms. Jessie wasn’t just going to be an overwhelmed damsel. She was going to actively participate.

“My attraction to you has been affecting my job, and that’s unacceptable. So I propose that we have sex. Tonight. Then tomorrow, everything goes back to normal. I think we should have a one-night stand, if you will, to alleviate the unbearable sexual tension that has built up between us.”

Zach’s eyes were searching hers. She couldn’t tell if he thought she was crazy or onto something. Only one way to find out.

“What do you think?”

She swallowed tightly as the clothes he held in his hands dropped to the floor in a thud. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Adrenaline mixed with arousal coursed through her, and it was a heady combination. She could feel her legs shaking beneath her, and she knew that Zach wouldn’t have to lick her all over her body to achieve his objective. Jessie was almost certain that the second his tongue touched her flesh it would shoot her into the orgasmic hemisphere.

“I think we’re on the same page. My version just sounded sexier.” The arrogance in his tone should have irritated her, but it didn’t. He was right. His version sounded a whole lot sexier.

She was going to concede his point when she felt his large hands slide against her cheeks and frame the sides of her face. A delicious shudder infused her body. Needing to steady herself, she reached out, and as she placed her hands on his lean hips, his muscles jumped beneath her touch.

Jessie closed her eyes and let herself feel the smoothness of his skin beneath her fingertips. Zach was hot,
literally
, to the touch. Heat radiated off the smooth skin of his sculpted body. Her fingers spread as she began exploring him, grazing over the hard planes of his abdomen. As she did, his towel slipped from his body.

Zach’s warm breath fanned against her mouth a moment before his lips touched hers. His soft, firm lips kissed hers with authority and demand, sending a wave of passion flowing through her. First he concentrated his attention on her lower lip, then her upper, building a desire for more to rise up inside of her like a tsunami. Without hesitation, she parted her lips in an open invitation. His soft, velvety tongue swept inside her mouth. Jessie’s knees buckled beneath her at the seductive invasion.

Her hands moved to his shoulders for support as his hands moved over her backside down to her thighs. Zach effortlessly lifted Jessie off the ground, her legs automatically wrapped around his waist as her arms encircled his neck. She whimpered with need as her core pressed against his rock-hard length. Through the damp fabric that covered her aching center, she could feel Zach’s erection pulsing with need which sent shockwaves of pleasure rioting through her.

The sting of strong fingers dug into Jessie’s hips as Zach’s kisses swallowed her moans. Urgency consumed her as she rolled her hips against his engorged flesh. Her arms and legs clutched around Zach even tighter. She wanted to get closer to him. She needed to feel more of him.

Fear bubbled up inside of her that
more
with Zach would never be enough. That her need for him was a bottomless pit deep in her soul. That desperate feeling just made her hold on to him even tighter and kiss him even deeper.

*     *     *

As Zach sealed his lips over hers, his tongue moved inside the silky warmth of her mouth in languorous licks. With every sweep of their tongues, their tantalizing kiss became more and more insatiable. Hot. Hungry. Aggressive.

Never breaking their passionate kiss Zach stalked across the bedroom, carrying Jessie in his arms. Every fantasy he’d had of what her lips would feel like against his own, paled in comparison to reality. His jealousy over straws, forks, even her own thumb had been totally warranted.