Leaving at Noon (15 page)

“
You ever sat down with
your dad, Zo? Agreed to meet with him when he asked?”

Zoey didn’t have to respond. Theo knew the
answer to that. Still guilt buzzed at her insides.

“
Your step-mum? Brother or
sister?”

Her belly burned as though poison were
spreading through it.

“
Ever meet up with any of
the friends you made in school? The boyfriends you had before
Levi?”

Zoey glared at him, hating that he asked and
hating that it made her confront a truth she had no interest in
tackling. But even as she glared, the ragged beating of her heart
told her Theo had a point. Zoey was a runner. If she didn’t know
how to solve a problem, she ignored it, hoping it would resolve
itself. And if it didn’t resolve itself, she walked away and never
looked back.

Her father and his new family were one of
those irresolvable problems. Having no idea how to deal with him or
with them, she’d turned her back and walked away, refusing to have
any contact apart from a polite letter once a year.

As for friends, before uni, Zoey hadn’t ever
had a group she could count on. She’d barely had a best friend. Her
mother had moved them around Sydney so often, Zoey changed schools
faster than most kids outgrew shoes. And though she’d never had
trouble making friends, keeping them was always a hardship. At the
first serious disagreement, she’d move on, befriending someone
else. Same with boyfriends.

Zoey had always blamed her dearth of
long-term social relationships on her frequent changes of address.
She’d believed she’d never had the time to nurture lasting
relationships.

The cold truth was Theo’s explanation made a
lot more sense, but it was a whole lot harder to accept. Instinct
told Zoey to refute his theory, turn around and sprint back down
the path they’d just run along—leaving him in her dust.

But wouldn’t that be the ultimate
confirmation of everything he’d postulated?

Feeling utterly pathetic and socially inept,
she forced her guard down. She wouldn’t have done it with anyone
else, but this was Theo. If they had any hope of sorting themselves
out, she needed to step up and acknowledge her destructive
behavior—no matter how much she hated the idea.

Her shoulders collapsed, and her body
sagged. “Well, shit.”

The words weren’t out of her mouth when
Theo’s supportive arm wrapped around her. He guided Zoey away from
the path, out of the way of other joggers and walkers. “I’m sorry,
babe. I knew you wouldn’t like hearing that.”

“
I hate it,” she admitted,
forcing the words around the lump in her throat. “But…you’re
right.” Zoey covered her face with her hands in a useless attempt
to hide from the truth.

Theo gently pushed them aside and lifted her
chin to face him. “Levi was the first person you didn’t run
from.”

Despite having not communicated with her
husband in months, he still had amazing insight into the way her
mind worked.

She gave a weak nod. “He was also the first
person I made an effort to be with—and to stay with.” Probably
because she’d adored him from the get-go. His infectious, funny
charm and easygoing attitude had reeled her in and held her
captivated.

Zoey had always suspected she’d fallen out
of love with Levi months before they’d broken up. She’d stayed with
him for the pure pleasure of his company.

He’d drawn her out of her shell and
introduced her to an existence she’d never known—one filled with
good friends and healthy, stable relationships. Zoey had thrived
with him. She’d changed, soaking up his affections and learning the
world could be a fun and exciting place. His rich, full life was
the perfect contrast to the cold, emotionless one she’d been
brought up in.

“
Levi and the other
members of the Dinner Club,” she expanded. “You were the first
group of people I wanted to be friends with for the long run. The
first people I’ve met who were worth the risk of investing my time
and trust.”

“
Our friendships are
strong,” Theo agreed. “Always have been. But you’ve never had any
reason to run from the Dinner Club. You’ve never had a serious
falling out with any of the other members. Even when you and Levi
called things off, there was no friction.”

“
True.” All of it. And
unlike with previous boyfriends, Zoey had held on tight to Levi’s
friendship. The bond that they’d developed had been too precious to
abandon.

“
But between you and I?”
Theo sighed. “There’s friction. Serious friction. At first, you
ignored it, hoping it would go away. And when it wouldn’t, you took
the only other step you knew to take. You went away.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“I didn’t stay and fight for us.”

“
Hey.” He pressed his
forehead to hers. “I’m just as guilty. I let you go.”

“
But you came after
me.”

“
Eventually.”

“
You still came.” Long
before Zoey would have considered going back to him—if she’d have
considered it.

“
I couldn’t let you go for
good, Zo.”

“
Thank God.” Zoey fisted
handfuls of his T-shirt. Like hers, it was damp with perspiration,
but she didn’t care. She used it to pull him closer.

“
Never letting you go,” he
murmured huskily.

“
Never running from you
again,” she promised. And then she said no more, because her lips
had found his, she was kissing her husband, and the poison in her
belly began to dissipate.

“
Fuck, that feels good.”
Theo clasped handfuls of Zoey’s wet hair, tugging at it, making her
scalp tingle.

She smiled, flattened her tongue against her
lower lip and ran her relaxed mouth up the length of his cock and
back down.

Body language was the best way Zoey could
think of to communicate with Theo. The best way to show him her
gratitude and to prove she wanted their marriage to work as much as
he did.

Theo wasn’t going anywhere, and he wasn’t
letting her go again. He was staying and fighting for her. For
them. Yes, he was still hurt and upset by their fighting—they both
were—but he refused to let that interfere with them being together
as a couple.

They’d barely stepped inside Fiona’s empty
flat when Zoey rid her husband of his boardies.

“
Oh yeah, babe.” Theo
began to rock, guiding his shaft over her open mouth, using her
tongue to lave its sensitive underside. His musky scent made her
breasts swell, and the briny tang that clung to his skin from their
dip in the ocean—to cool off after the run—gave him a saltier taste
than usual.

As far as Zoey was concerned, going down on
her husband was like feasting on the finest buffet. The salt from
the sea only added spice to the meal. She’d tucked in from the top
and made her way slowly downward, pressing soft kisses over his
eyes, nose and cheeks before helping herself to a healthy serving
of his mouth. The banquet improved as she’d made her way down his
body, nipping at the sinew in his neck and the muscles in his
shoulders and gorging on his hardened nipples.

His stomach and chest made for a delicious
entrée, and her appetite increased incrementally as she dipped ever
lower, hitting pay dirt.

Theo’s skin may have tasted like the richest
dessert, but his cock… Dear Lord, his cock made her mouth water.
Sampling it never sated her appetite. She needed a full serving of
him every time, one that culminated in several frenzied
swallows.

When it came to blowjobs, Theo loved a slow
build. A quick glimpse at his face, with his eyes closed, his head
thrown back and his jaw open, told Zoey the slow, leisurely pace
was working wonders. She slackened her mouth, and he dipped the tip
of his cock inside at an angle, pushing it against her inner cheek
while sliding the rest of his shaft over her tongue.

“
So good,” he sighed and
tugged her hair a little harder. He spent long, languorous moments
thrusting shallowly, his deep moans filling the air. And then Zoey
switched it up, leaning in to lave his balls, tonguing every inch,
stopping only to suck one and then the other into her mouth before
reaching for his cock once more.

This time she cupped his sac as she licked
him, massaging softly while running her other hand up his thigh and
onto the firm cheek of his ass.

“
Babe.” His voice hitched
and his hips jerked.

Following his prompts, Zoey hollowed her
cheeks, retracted her tongue and drew his erection into her mouth
one inch at a time, until she couldn’t get more of him in. Then she
wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft and pulled off
before swallowing him down once again, a little faster this
time—and a little deeper.

“
Oh yeah. Just like that.”
His voice was a low purr.

The muscles in his legs turned rigid, and he
held himself still, letting Zoey do the work. She bobbed her mouth
up and down, sucking him in, releasing him and sucking in all over
again. All the while she pumped the base of his dick, synchronizing
her hand and mouth.

Her pussy pulsed and liquid seeped onto her
bikini bottoms. She had to squeeze her legs together to ease the
ache. Sucking her husband got Zoey as hot as it got him.

“
Almost forgot how amazing
your lips feel.” Theo began to thrust, as though the effort of
holding still was too difficult. “Don’t want to forget this.
Ever.”

She would have dipped her hand into her
pants and touched herself, but she couldn’t bear the idea of
releasing his gorgeous butt. Her palm was cupped around one cheek,
massaging it.

He thrust harder, hitting the back of her
throat, and she had to relax muscles she hadn’t relaxed in months
to accommodate the spongy head of his cock.

“
Your tongue ties me in
knots. Feel it…everywhere. Here.” He patted his stomach. “Here.” He
tapped his head. “And here.” He laid his hand over his heart.
“Always here,” he said leaving his hand on his chest. “You’re
always here. No matter how…bad things…get.”

He yanked on her hair, tilting her head back
slightly, and Zoey opened wider as Theo fucked her mouth ever
faster. Drops of liquid tantalized her tongue, their tang hinting
at the treat to follow.

“
H-hard to talk.” His cock
seemed to thicken in her mouth. “Harder…to breathe.” He pistoned
his hips. The muscles in his ass were rock hard. Zoey clasped his
hips with both hands to hold herself steady.

“
Love
you…babe.”

Love you too, Hughesy.
She looked up
again, this time catching his gaze with hers, and warmth filled her
chest. He watched her with so much love in his eyes it seemed to
shimmer through the air around them.

“
L-love you, so
f-fucking…much.” Theo’s voice trailed off on a long moan. “God.
Fuck. Zoey!” His hips jolted, his rhythm faltered and Theo was
climaxing, strands of come spurting straight down her
throat.

“
Mm-mph,” she encouraged,
loving his loss of control. Savoring his release.

Every jerk produced another burst of salty
come until Zoey had to swallow to keep it from spilling from her
lips.

Theo gasped, his cock pulsing and spilling
until he had nothing left to give. Even then, he jerked several
times until finally stilling between her lips.

When Zoey swallowed again out of necessity,
Theo growled. She sucked along the length of his cock until her
lips released him with a pop.

“
Jesus fucking Christ,” he
gasped. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving.

Zoey tried to sit back on her haunches to
proudly inspect her handiwork, but Theo yanked her up, pulled her
into his embrace and held her tight until his body stopped
trembling.

Apparently, patching up a shaky marriage did
wonders to the sex drive. Zoey couldn’t get enough of Theo, and it
seemed her husband couldn’t get enough of her.

As she stood in the kitchen, making sliced
turkey and mayo sandwiches for lunch, Theo came up behind her,
slipped his hand in her bikini bottom and buried his fingers in her
pussy. Zoey came before she’d placed the turkey on the mayo. She
came again a half an hour later, attempting to pack away the mess
from lunch. Theo tackled her to the floor and took her right there
in the kitchen. It was quick, it was hard and it was so satisfying,
afterward Zoey couldn’t find the strength to get up for a very,
very long time.

Her third and fourth orgasms were sneaky,
taken a little later—in public, with the blue waters of the ocean
their only cover.

She and Theo were swimming again. The swells
of the waves were gentle and the two bobbed together, her legs
wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck. He took them
far out, away from other swimmers, and she ground against his cock,
frenziedly trying to calm what had become a persistent throb in her
clit.

Within seconds the throb turned into an
unstoppable need. Her hunger for him was relentless. She freed
Theo’s erection from his boardies as he shoved the crotch of her
bikini bottom aside, and then he was driving into her once
again.

Screams of ecstasy built in her throat, but
Theo kissed her, swallowing the sounds of her passion. The salt on
his lips reminded her of the saltiness of his dick, and she sucked
on his tongue like she’d sucked on his cock.

The thrill of their location, mere meters
away from other, oblivious swimmers, spurred them on. Zoey climaxed
quickly, her orgasm stimulating Theo’s scalding release. His seed
bathed her inner walls, its warmth a heady contrast to the cool
waters surrounding them.