Page 27

TWENTY-SEVEN

SAVANNAH

“THANK YOU SO much.” I take the pajamas Lydia’s lending me and tuck them against my chest. “I really am sorry for just showing up like this.”

The pretty blonde waves me off. “Don’t feel sorry. We actually have a decent number of guests who drop in on us.” There’s something odd in the way she says it, and it has me wondering what sort of guests they host.

“I’m not sure I’d love that.”

“I…” She clears her throat before continuing. “Christian helps women get out of bad situations. A lot of them stay with us for a few days while we help them get set up somewhere new.”

I’m a little stunned by the confession. Not only by what she and her husband are doing, but also by how similar it is to what my sister does. “That’s a really commendable thing to do.” I chew my lower lip before admitting, “My sister and her husband do kind of the same thing.”

Sadie’s changed many lives with what she does, including mine. I’m proud of her in spite of all the pain it’s caused me, and I would never want her to stop what she’s doing. Finding out Lydia and Christian are also helping women in desperate need makes me like them even more than I already do.

Which still isn’t as much as I like their house.

There isn’t a bit of it I don’t love. From the soaring ceilings of the masculine master suite, to the stone faced gas fireplace in the bedroom where Zeke and I will be staying, the place is stunning.

“How’s it going?” Christian appears in the doorway to their bedroom where I stand with his wife. He leans against the jam, eyes dragging over the woman beside me. The way he’s looking at her makes my stomach flip, so I can only imagine what it’s doing to Lydia. It’s for sure time for me to get the heck out and give them some privacy.

“Good.” I hurry to the hall, ducking past him. “Thank you again.”

“Let me know if you need anything else,” Lydia calls after me.

“I will.” But I won’t. I know how to read a room, and that one is about to get very steamy, so I have no problem making myself scarce. I would want someone to do the same for me.

Rushing into the well-appointed guest room Lydia showed me earlier, I close the door behind me and go straight for the attached bathroom. I’m still a little flustered from the blatant way Christian’s gaze devoured her. As a result, I’m not really paying attention to much around me. So when I fling open the bathroom door and a wall of steam slaps me in the face, I’m a little thrown off.

But not nearly as thrown off as I am by the sight of a naked, wet Zeke stepping out of the shower.

“Holy crap.” The words slip out as a whisper while my eyes go all sorts of places they shouldn’t. And this time they’re the ones doing the devouring.

But while Christian’s gaze was intense and sexy, mine is more in line with a gaping fish. My eyes start to water because I’m not blinking and my mouth hangs open as the pajamas in my hands drop to the floor.

I was lucky enough to experience Zeke’s hard, heavy body against mine last night, but the amount of clothing between us left a lot of room for interpretation. And boy is there a lot to interpret.

“Uhhhh.” I can’t come up with anything coherent to explain my intrusion. I just keep staring at the monster between his legs. Zeke is big in general. He’s tall and broad and muscular. It makes sense all of him would be large, but this is…

Ridiculous.

Zeke’s brows pinch together in concern. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?” He snags a towel from the bar on the wall and whips it around his waist. “Is everything okay?”

I mean…

“Yeah.” I get a whole word out before the hard plane of his abs and that scatter of chest hair make my brain go stupid again.

He steps closer, bringing the fresh scent of whatever body wash he just used along with him. It’s not the way he normally smells, but it’s still nice. Not as nice as everything else about him, but that’s fine. Probably better given the situation. I’d likely drop of an aneurysm if he also smelled divine.

“Are you sure?”

“Yup, uh-huh.” I lick my lips, eyes zeroing in on his nipples. Why in the hell do I find them so fascinating? Maybe because of the way he reacted the first time I accidentally touched one.

I guess it was the only time I accidentally touched one. And accidental is relative.

One big hand comes to brush my hair back, pushing it behind one shoulder. “Everything is going to be okay. We’re safe here. I promise.” His voice is deep and soothing. “Christian and his brothers have cameras set up everywhere. No one will get close without us knowing.”

I don’t care about any of that. Was what happened today scary? For sure. But I always knew I was safe. Always knew Zeke would do whatever it took to protect me.

“That’s nice.” I step closer to him, lured in by the temptation of his damp skin. The bandage on his shoulder is still there, but the waterproof seal around the edge is starting to loosen. I trace the peeling plastic. “Does this still hurt?”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“That’s good.” I finish my path around the rectangle then accidentally keep going, letting my finger trail across one well-developed pec. “Thank you for keeping me safe today.”

Zeke’s dark gaze is on my face. “I will always keep you safe, Savannah.”

“I know.” I lift my eyes to meet his and my breath catches, because the way Christian looked at Lydia has nothing on the way Zeke is looking at me now.

He’s looking at me like I’m the only thing that matters. The only thing he sees.

The only thing he wants.

Catching my hand, he pulls it from his body and lifts it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the center of my palm. “You should take a shower and get ready for bed. You had a long day.”

I nod in agreement. “Okay.”

He releases my hand and steps out of the room, giving me one more of those looks that has my body throbbing, before closing me into the space.

The air is still warm and damp from his shower, so I don’t shiver at all as I race to strip out of my dress and tights. I pause to switch on the water before peeling off my bra and panties. After quickly pulling my hair up at the top of my head, I step under the spray.

The glassed-in space is stocked with a few scented shower gels. I sniff a couple, deciding on one before scrubbing down at record pace. Once I’m clean, I jump out and use the other towel on the bar to dry myself off. My heart is racing as I untwist the band holding my hair up and shake the lingering curls loose around my shoulders.

The pajamas Lydia gave me are still where I dropped them, and I step over the pile on my way out the door. Zeke is now dressed in a pair of pajama pants and propped against the headboard, his phone pressed to his ear as he speaks in a quiet voice to whoever’s on the other end of the line. His eyes come my way and stop, slowly dragging down my body and the towel wrapped around it.

I take a shaky breath, then let the fluffy terry cloth drop.

Zeke goes still, his big body frozen in place as goosebumps prick my skin and pull my nipples tight. I’m not cold. I’m actually hot. Flushed in anticipation and want.

Deep down I thought I might never feel this way again. Might never want to be touched. Pleasured. Held. And for a long time I didn’t.

But then Zeke showed me how safe I could feel. How powerful I could still be.

“I’m going to have to call you back.” He doesn’t wait for the other person to respond, just disconnects the call and carelessly shoves the phone in the general direction of the nightstand.

The seconds tick by as his gaze rakes over me, slowly tracking every inch of my body from head to toe. His eyes finally come to mine. “Come here.”

My legs might as well be jelly as my bare feet pad across the smooth wood floor onto the plush rug positioned under the king-size bed. With every step, the tension in my belly curls tighter. Anticipation settles lower, heating the parts of me desperate for Zeke’s attention.

My body is humming when I reach his side, and I barely stop myself from climbing right on top of him?—

But should I stop myself from that?

Without giving myself time to second guess, I press one knee into the mattress and swing the other over and across, letting it meet the blankets on the other side of his hips. Resting my hands on his chest for balance, I lower myself until I’m sitting, the hard length of him pressing against the steady pulse of my clit.

Zeke’s hands come to my legs, warm and a little rough as they stroke over my skin. His hands wrap around each thigh, and a finger brushes over the puckered scar marring the back of one. The flare of his nostrils and the set of his jaw make him look angry.

Because he is. He’s angry for me. For what happened to me.

And likely angry he wasn’t there to protect me from all of it.

I trace the flat line of his mouth as the warmth I always feel when I’m with him blooms, igniting a heat that spreads throughout my limbs, stoking the flames of lust and desire and need. While I might have pretended they weren’t there when I was a younger woman, out of shyness and sometimes shame, now I’m so darn happy they still exist that all I want is to indulge them.

To prove they belong to me again.

“I want you to touch me.” I know Zeke well enough to understand everything that happens between us is up to me. I also know he won’t do anything without me making it very clear I’m more than okay with it. “Please.” I rest my hands over his, guiding them up my body until they curve over my breasts.

But the second I let them go, they move away, coming to curve against my face. I start to protest, but Zeke pulls me in, bringing my mouth to his, making me sigh instead. I love the way he tastes. The glide of his tongue against mine. The gentle nip of his teeth as he works his way along my jaw.

I lean closer, the pressure of him between my thighs not nearly enough as the hair on his chest teases against my nipples. I grind against him, chasing the sort of contact I want. The kind he gave me last night.

Zeke chuckles against my skin. “Relax, Sweetheart.”

“I don’t want to relax.” I growl a little as his hands slide down my back. “I want to feel good.” I almost leave it there, but decide to be even more specific. “I want you to make me feel good.”

Zeke’s mouth is hot on my neck as his hands palm my ass, fingers digging into my bare skin. “You should have said that to start with.”

I gasp when we suddenly roll, his big body bracing over mine. For a second, I think I’m going to finally have what I’m after. But then Zeke shifts, making his plan clear.

And it’s very different from mine. But also much better.

My back arches off the mattress when his lips close around a nipple, drawing it deep into his mouth as one big hand clamps onto my leg, lifting it up and out, spreading me wide as he continues his downward trajectory.

The sound I make when his tongue flicks my clit has never come through my lips before, but I have a feeling it will be playing on repeat. Because when Zeke hooks both arms around my spread thighs and pulls me closer, I lose all control of my vocal cords.

Along with the rest of my body.

One hand flies to his hair, gripping tight as the other fists in the blankets, looking for purchase as Zeke circles the tiny bundle of nerves currently ruling my world. “Don’t stop.” I rock against his face, desperate for anything he’s willing to offer. “That feels so good.”

My vision narrows when one long, thick finger presses into my body, curling just enough to reach that magical spot inside, the movement coordinated with the pinpoint accuracy of his tongue. In what feels like seconds, I’m coming, his name a chant as the room spins out and I lose all focus besides the pleasure he’s bringing.

I’m still trying to catch my breath when Zeke gets off the bed. I blink a few times and my eyes start working just as he comes back.

“Sit up, Sweetheart.” He gently tugs me upright then pulls the shirt Lydia gave me over my head, settling it into place before laying me back against the pillows.

“What are you doing?” I’m still pretty boneless, so I can’t do much to resist as he works the soft pants up my legs. “I’m not ready to get dressed yet.”

“Too bad.” He situates the elastic waistband then pulls the covers down, easily dragging them under the weight of my body before tucking them around me.

“But I wanted to?—”

“I know what you wanted to do, Sweetheart, but there’s a few things we need to take care of before that happens.”

I frown, disappointed that I might not be as in control of this as I thought. “What things?”

His eyes come to mine and hold. “You need to decide if this is really what you want, and what your plans for the immediate future are.” Zeke leans close. “Because my plans are starting to get real involved. So if you aren’t ready for everything, we need to decide what we’re going to do to make sure we don’t end up with a little sidekick until you want one.”