If You Were Mine (The Sullivans #5)(35)
Author: Bella Andre

If that had been all there was, it would have been enough. More than enough. Beyond amazing.

But Zach, she had quickly learned, never did anything by halves. And if he was intent on rocking her world, by God, he was going to all but blow it to smithereens.

The next thing she knew he was sitting up, his arms moving around her waist as he adjusted her so that she was sitting on his lap, her legs now crossed behind his hips. He was so deep like this, deeper than she could have imagined she could take him.

“Hold still.”

She was glad for the momentary pause, for the chance to appreciate being so close to him.

Oh!

The slow slide of his tongue over the tip of one breast had her sucking in a breath before he moved to the next and it whooshed back out of her lungs. Back and forth, he aroused her with his lips and tongue and teeth, the bristles across his chin an utterly delicious scraping against her sensitive skin.

He hadn’t told her she could move again, but there was no way to stop her hips from rocking against his. Everything inside her drew up so tight she thought she would shatter.

And then, on the next strong pull of his lips against her, she did.

Chapter Nineteen

Zach had to pull Heather closer, had to try to erase any space left between them as he followed her over the edge. He continued to hold her close as they fought for breath in each other’s arms. He didn’t want to let go of her, would happily have held her on his lap forever, but when she shifted over him, he forced himself to loosen his hold as she began to lift herself from him.

The sun was just starting to rise, and even though his night vision was good, seeing Heather’s incredible beauty in the light of day took away the breath he’d finally regained.

“Let me look at you.”

“The dogs need to be let out.”

He wasn’t willing to let her use them as an excuse just yet. “They can wait a few more minutes.”

Pulling her firmly back onto his lap, he began to get hard again as he let his gaze rove over her br**sts, her waist, her hips. “Next time, we’re going to have every light in the house on.”

She went still for a moment, before laughing out loud. He loved the way she felt—and looked—as her body bounced above him.

“I think I just might be able to stomach looking at you,” she said as she scanned his body with her intelligent, appreciative eyes. “I really do have to go, though.”

She pushed off his lap and he watched her walk naked toward the bathroom. The door closed behind her and he heard the lock click before the shower came on.

If she hadn’t just locked him out, he would be in there with her, showing her how much fun they could have with the custom water jets that he’d had installed on the back wall of his shower.

Zach got out of bed and reached for his clothes. Sex with Heather had been phenomenal. But instead of feeling relaxed, he was wound tight.

He’d never, not once in his life, felt the urge to pin a woman down on their next date. But Heather didn’t act like any other woman he knew, all of whom would have been pulling out the stops this morning to try and nail him down for another evening together.

Hell, even letting her fall asleep in his arms last night had been outside the bounds of his rule book. And he never took women to his place. It was easier to throw on his clothes and head out if he went to theirs.

But he hadn’t thought twice before bringing Heather to his house. Not when he’d been fantasizing about the way she’d look in his bed since the moment he’d set eyes on her.

The craziest thing of all, though, was the fact that he’d loved falling asleep with her. Almost as much as he’d loved everything that had come before…and after.

What was happening to him?

The only thing he knew for sure anymore was that he didn’t have a prayer of keeping his hands off her. Not after the hours they’d just spent together had completely blown his mind. Only an idiot would willingly give up that kind of pleasure.

Zach wasn’t an idiot. Not by a long shot. And he knew he needed to be extra careful about the complications that clearly went hand in hand with such extreme pleasure.

He liked Heather, and that wasn’t going to change. But loving her was still out of the question. Now, more than ever.

Because the thought of making a commitment of forever to Heather, and then leaving her behind to mourn him when he died suddenly just like his father had made Zach’s blood run cold in his veins.

He never wanted anything to hurt Heather ever again.

Especially not him.

He shoved on his jeans and headed into the kitchen, where Atlas and Cuddles were curled up with each other on his rug. Atlas looked up hopefully, then sighed when he saw it was only Zach.

“She’s in the shower. You’ll get her back soon.”

And he shouldn’t be jealous of the fact that her damn dog was going to get to spend the whole day with her. Slamming his coffee pot into the machine, he heard a crack and swore.

Cuddles freaked out at the loud sounds and started barking just as Heather walked into the room, her hair wet around her shoulders. She had on one of his clean button-down shirts, which hung to her knees. Her face was makeup free, her feet were bare…and she looked more beautiful to him than any of the perfect starlets that hung from his brother Smith’s arm at his movie premieres.

“Poor baby,” she said as she bent down for Cuddles to run into her arms. “Did that big, foul-mouthed man scare you?”

Zach shoved away his envy at how naturally Heather opened her arms for his puppy. What if he’d run to her like that? Would she have been that receptive? Would her eyes have lit up and would she be kissing him now instead of the little fur ball?

“It’s all an act,” he told her, “the whole I’m-just-a-little-defenseless-puppy thing.”

“I don’t care.” She pressed a kiss to the top of Cuddles’s head. “I love her anyway.” She looked up and pinned him with a knowing glance. “And so do you.”

“If counting down the days until I can give her back is your definition of love, then yeah, she’s the dog I’ve been waiting for my whole life.”

Her mouth moved up into a wide grin. “You’re going to be lost without her.”

Not bothering to dignify that ridiculous statement with a response, he plopped four pieces of bread into the toaster.

“So, were you impressed?”

She looked momentarily surprised by his question. She put down Cuddles before going to kiss Atlas on his long muzzle, then moved to the sink to wash her hands before eating.