Downunder Heat (11 page)

Chapter Seven

Kitty dragged herself up the stairs to her flat, her bag weighing far heavier on her drooping shoulders than its contents warranted.

At the top of the stairs, in the gloom caused by a blown light bulb, she stilled. Wasn’t it enough that she dreamed of Zakk, his hard body moving over hers? Night after night, she awoke aching for him, tears on her cheeks, the last echoes of her orgasm fading away. Now her dreams had turned to hallucination. Zakk’s fresh salt sea fragrance hung in the air, triggering memories she had tried so hard to suppress.

Gritting her teeth, she plodded down the hallway. Out of the darkness near her door a large figure loomed toward her.

“Hello, Kitty. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her bag fell to the floor with a crash. Her legs were frozen, her arms rigid by her sides. Zakk reached for her and swept her up into a tight, death-grip, body-slam of a hug. His mouth fastened on hers and he kissed her like he wanted to consume her, to draw her in and make her part of him. Her paralysis broke and her mouth opened, tongue tangling and dancing with his, her knees sagging from sheer joy and relief.

When they both came up for air, Zakk held her close, rocking from side to side as if for comfort. She leaned back and looked up at him. The three-day-old stubble didn’t hide the twitching muscle on his jaw. Strain flattened his eyebrows and carved a V between his eyes. “Don’t ever, ever run off on me like that again. I couldn’t survive it.” His voice sounded rusty and he held her so tightly she struggled to breathe.

The sound of voices in the stairwell reminded her that they were standing
outside
her flat. “Let me open the door,” she muttered, looking around vaguely, too dazed to remember where her keys were.

Zakk reached down with one long arm and snagged her bag off the floor. “Looking for this?”

She took it from him and searched around until she felt serrated metal.

“I even missed that,” Zakk said.

“Missed what?” she asked in confusion.

“Missed watching you dig through half of your belongings to find anything in that bag of yours,” Zakk replied. “I missed everything about you, Kitty. Everything. Every day.”

Her hands shook so much the key clattered against the lock until Zakk’s fingers closed over hers and steadied them. With a click the door swung open. The force of Zakk pressing her up against it from the inside swung it closed again.

“What are you doing here?” Kitty asked.

“Isn’t it obvious,” Zakk murmured between kisses.

“I meant here in the UK,” she gasped.

“Same answer,” Zakk replied. “This.”

If the air hadn’t rushed out of her lungs at the touch of Zakk’s hand, she might have had more questions, but her body had begun to respond in well-learned ways. Her skin grew tight and hot, flames curled wherever Zakk roving fingers stroked. Moisture flooded between her thighs and her pulse raced.

With clumsy haste, she tore at Zakk’s shirt. He laughed and held her away. “I can do this faster than you,” he said, and proved it by stripping himself and her in seconds. Kitty wrapped her fingers around his cock. His hard warmth filled her palm and she pulled it closer, wanting him inside her.

“The bedroom, Kitty. Where’s your bed?” Zakk groaned.

“No time,” she breathed. “Here. Now.”

In answer, he bent his knees and pushed up. Her head fell back against the door. Her legs circled his hips and her weight sank down. The warm salty scent of his skin soothed the pain of the time without him. The hard thrust of his cock filled her.

His beloved face grew tight and feral with the force of his need. Slowly they rocked together. This was not a race to completion but a celebration of the joy of reunion, long enough to erase the memory of the tears. Soon, though, almost against her will, the pressure built, a tight spiraling coil, and she rocked harder, lifting herself up, letting herself fall, faster and faster.

Zakk’s muscles flexed and he pushed into her, matching her rhythm, breathing a soft litany, “Missed you, missed you, missed you.”

His words tipped her over the edge and she convulsed into orgasm, her hips jerking forward, grinding their groins together. With a shout, Zakk followed her.

When her heart had slowed its wild pounding, she unwrapped her legs from around him and lowered them until she stood on tiptoe, still clinging to Zakk for support.

He bent his knees and withdrew, then leaned forward until his forehead rested against hers. “I had planned something a little more romantic for our reunion.”

Her grin felt like it would never end. “Do you hear me complaining? That was
smoking
.” She sobered a little. “What are you doing here? And how did you find me?”

“If you give me a second to get my breath back”—he smiled—“we’ll talk.”

“We
do
have to talk,” she said. “I think we’re going to need to get some clothes on.”

“We could spend a couple of days in bed and then talk if you want,” Zakk said, his eyes twinkling. “I’m good with that.”

The idea of having Zakk naked in her bed weakened her resolve, but she stiffened her spine. “There’s the bathroom.” She pointed at a door. “I’ll make some coffee.”

Kitty donned a robe and put the kettle on. By the time Zakk emerged, wearing his jeans and shirt, she had coffee made and was putting together some sandwiches. “I thought you might be hungry,” she said.

“I can think of about a dozen answers to that, but they are all too obvious,” Zakk replied.

Kitty blushed. “If you mean… We just… So you shouldn’t still be…” With a shrug, she gave up her tangled attempt to explain.

“Kitty, I am always hungry for you, and once will never be enough.” He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it tousled.

Kitty swallowed. “I’m really glad you’re not mad at me for the way—”

“Not mad? I was so furious I was dangerous,” Zakk said, narrowing his eyes. “I thought I was still angry right up until the moment I saw you walking down the corridor.” He blew out a hard breath. “Then I discovered that wanting you trumps every other feeling I have.”

Too emotional to speak past the lump that closed her throat, she pushed a coffee mug in front of him. He grabbed her wrist and held it, not hard enough to hurt, but too firmly for her to pull away. “It hurt, Kitty. You left me as if it didn’t mean a thing, after I told you I loved you.”

Tears stung her eyes. “It meant something.”

“If it did, I deserved more than a quick phone call from the bloody airport.” The hand holding her wrist shook a little. “I certainly deserved more than to have you attempt to disappear from my life forever.”

Shame thickened her voice. “I thought it was for the best. I had to go and knew I wouldn’t be back. I didn’t think there was any chance you’d come over here.”

“You didn’t ask me what I thought, did you? Didn’t give me any opportunity to offer any suggestions for how we might work things out.” He let go of her hand and scrubbed his hands across his face. “I don’t want it to be over and I don’t think you do either. So here I am. I want to hear you say it to me in person. Tell me you don’t want us to be together and I’ll go.”

It was impossible to lie to him. Not when ten minutes ago she’d been so desperate she couldn’t wait to get him inside her. But she couldn’t explain herself, couldn’t take the next step, either. So she focused on an easier topic. “How did you find me?”

“The Internet. It wasn’t hard. Answer the question. Do you want me to go?”

“No,” she breathed. “I want you to stay with me. I always did.”

His mouth turned down in a thin line, and his fists clenched. “Then why did you do this?”

“I did it for Cassie—and because in the long run I thought it was best for you.”

“You’re wrong.” He looked up at her, his eyes bleak. “I will always want to be with you.”

“You say that now, but what if you change your mind?”

“What if you do?” he retorted. “I’m prepared to take that risk. I took leave from my job and traveled halfway around the world for you.” This time when he grabbed her hand, he laced his fingers through hers, clinging to her. “I’ll do whatever you want me to. All you have to do is let me love you.”

His hand, linked with hers, was strong and brown. Zakk was right. The risk wasn’t great at all. She’d lied to herself and tried to pretend she didn’t love him, but time had shown her how empty her life would be without him. Why shouldn’t she have what she wanted? Cassie had needed her for a brief time after her accident, but now she was back living her own life. Kitty didn’t have to go on making sacrifices for her.

Her lips curved into a small smile. “That’s all I have to do?”

His answering grin lit up the room. “There are a few more things you could do if you wanted to,” he replied. He tugged on her hand until she toppled into his lap. “But for now that will do. I love you.”

“I love you too, Zakk,” she said with a sigh. “And I have missed you so much. I won’t leave you again.”

“Promise?” he asked, and although he still smiled there was a hard edge to his words. “Promise me that if you start thinking your happiness comes second, or that someone else’s wants are more important than yours, you’ll talk to me before you go rushing off somewhere.”

“I promise I’ll never leave you again without telling you where I’ve gone and without promising to come back,” she said, leaning her head against his solid chest. “And I promise if I have questions or doubts, I’ll talk to you before I make any decisions that affect us.”

“Good,” he mumbled, dropping a kiss on her hair. His voice rumbled again, and Kitty turned her head to ask him to repeat it, but, as soon as her lips parted, Zakk’s mouth closed over hers.

Desire, so recently sated, stirred again.

“Bed this time,” Zakk breathed against her lips.

“Hmmph,” she replied, too hungry for the taste of him to break the contact.

He stood, arms still wrapped around her, carrying her up with him, and started walking.

Kitty flung out one arm in a gesture she hoped indicated the direction he needed to go. He spun on his heel and headed that way, so she assumed he’d figured it out and threw her energy back into kissing him senseless.

And he kissed her right back as if he were drowning and the only air in his world came from her. The soft cushioning of her mattress hit her back as Zakk lowered her to the bed and followed her down. The robe she’d put on earlier slipped off her shoulders as Zakk tugged at the knot and pushed it aside. His jeans and shirt were thrown across the room to land in a heap, but, when he turned back, he held himself away from her. “I’m staying in the UK for a while, Kitty,” he murmured. “I have a job lined up. I start next week. This is serious and permanent. You got that?”

“Permanent?” she whispered. “How permanent?”

“Permanent as in forever.” A fire burned deep in his brown eyes. “I want us to get married.”

“You want to get married?” Her chest tightened and she had to force out enough air to speak.

“Yes.” Zakk locked gazes with her. “From now on I’m telling you exactly what I want so you don’t come to any more mistaken conclusions. And now you get to tell me what you want.”

For a moment she stared at him, this gorgeous man who had come halfway across the world to find her, whom she wanted with every beat of her heart, whom she loved. Happiness would be going to sleep wrapped in his arms each night, waking with him in the morning. She didn’t need the formality of vows and legality.

No, she didn’t need it, but… “I want that too,” she said. “I really do. Yes, let’s get married as soon as you’d like. But when you’ve seen enough of the UK, when you’ve met Cassie and done the things you want to, let’s go back to Australia, because that’s where we met and it’s where we bel—”

Zakk kissed her once more and slid home inside her. The soft drag of friction as he pulled back then thrust forward again drove any conversation from her head. The only thing that mattered was the sight, the scent, the feel of Zakk—here in her arms, now and forever.

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

Her Lord’s Table

Alysha Ellis

Excerpt

Chapter One

The man taunted her. His tongue stroked slowly over the slick surface of his lips, his pupils darkening as he savored the taste. Susan couldn’t stop herself. She moaned.

Desperate hunger gnawed at her insides. The sight of the rotund older gentleman in the corner, gorging himself on his luncheon of cheese and bread, almost made her weep. Even the pungent aroma of the raw onion he crunched between his yellowing teeth smelled good.

Everyone in the swaying coach turned to look at her. Heat mounted in her face. To set the seal on her humiliation, her stomach gave a loud, inelegant growl.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt full. With three sisters and her widowed mother at home, their supply of money gone, they had to eke out what little food they had. They never had enough.

Now there would be even less. The coach fare to London had taken the last of their available cash. Mama and the girls had stores of enough vegetables and oats to last another week or two, but Susan had brought nothing with her, assuring them she wouldn’t feel hungry on the long, stuffy coach ride. The man sitting opposite her, devouring his packed lunch, had proven it to be a lie.

Once she got to London and found her brother, she’d be able to eat as much as she wanted. As soon as Charles understood their plight, Mama and the girls would be able to buy the food they needed. He surely wouldn’t begrudge spending a little of his sizable fortune to support his stepmother and half-sisters. They weren’t asking for fripperies like smart dresses or horses or carriages, just enough money to ensure they didn’t starve.

The extra expenditure shouldn’t be too irksome. As Papa’s only son, Charles had inherited all the estates entailed to the male line, including the income that went with them. Not long after their father’s death, on Charles’ twenty-fifth birthday, he’d also gained control of fifty thousand pounds from the estate of his late mother. Her half-brother was a wealthy man.