Page 10 of The Hotshot’s Prize (Praise Me Like Fire #2)

Zack

“I love you, Ella.”

I say it again, slower this time. Like repetition might make it more real. Like she isn’t just standing there with those wide eyes and stunned silence that’s starting to gut me more than any fire ever could.

Shit.

Did I mess this up? Is it too much, too fast?

Maybe I shouldn’t have said it…not yet. She barely knows me. We’ve only had one night. Sure, it was electric, and I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since the second she smiled at me in that cave, but that doesn’t mean she feels the same.

My heart thuds hard against my ribs, and I try to swallow down the heat in my throat. “Ella, I know that might’ve come out of nowhere. I just—I needed you to know. And listen, if you don’t feel the same way yet, that’s okay. I’ll wait. I’m not going anywhere.”

She blinks up at me, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. My chest tightens.

Then…she smiles.

It’s soft, radiant, full of wonder and emotion and something I’ve never had pointed at me quite like this. “I feel exactly the same, Zack,” she whispers. “I thought I was crazy. That it was too soon. But I haven’t stopped thinking about you either.”

My ears ring. I’m not sure I heard that right.

“Say that again,” I rasp, like I need to hear it to believe it wasn’t all in my head.

She steps in closer, placing her hands on my chest like they belong there. “I love you,” she says, stronger this time, her voice steady and sure.

I don’t hesitate. I crush my mouth to hers, devouring the words, the moment, everything. She tastes like hope. Like everything I thought I couldn’t have.

My good hand slides around her waist, gripping tight, while the other rests lightly against her cheek.

I deepen the kiss, sliding my tongue between her lips.

I feel her sigh against my lips, and I’m a second away from locking the damn office door and taking her right here when a loud ahem slices through the air.

We both freeze.

Ella jolts back, cheeks flaming. I turn, breath short, jaw clenched, and find a petite redhead standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and an enormous grin spreading across her face.

She’s short, wiry, with a shock of wild ginger curls, thick eyeliner, and a clipboard tucked under one arm like it’s part of her anatomy.

“Don’t stop on my account,” she chirps, clearly enjoying every second of our awkward scramble.

Ella groans. “Tessa.”

“Yup,” the redhead says, popping the p . “That’s me. Hi.” She flashes me a look up and down, and then shoots Ella a thumbs-up. “You must be the hot hotshot slash mountain man.”

“Zack,” I say with a smirk, already liking her. “You must be the infamous best friend.”

“The one and only. I’d shake your hand but—” She gestures to the flowers I’m still holding, the bandage on my other hand, and Ella’s death grip on my shirt. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full.”

Ella practically hides her face in my chest.

I can’t help the grin tugging at my mouth. “She’s not wrong.”

“I hate you,” Ella mumbles into my jacket.

Tessa waves her off. “Sure you do. Anyway, I came to check if you were alive, and clearly you are. So. Carry on.” She turns to leave with a dramatic flair, but pauses and glances over her shoulder. “Unless Romeo here is planning on stealing you away?”

“That’s actually what I came for,” I say, shifting to face Ella. “Come with me.”

“Right now?” she asks, her eyes widening.

“Right now,” I say, nodding. “I want time with you. Just us. Let me take you out.”

She glances down at her jeans and oversized flannel. “I’m not exactly dressed for a date, Zack.”

I smile. “What you have on is great—you look amazing. I know just the place.”

Her brows draw together like she’s about to argue again, but Tessa throws her a look, waving her clipboard. “Go. I’ll cover your shift. If I see one more photo of a goddamn owl I’m gonna scream anyway.”

Ella hesitates. Looks between the two of us. Then sighs and throws her hands up. “Fine.”

But I catch her smile before she turns, and my heart lurches. I take her hand and lead her out of the building. We don’t speak as we walk, but the silence is full…comfortable, tense, charged. Like something’s building again.

At the truck, I open the door for her, watching her slide into the passenger seat with a soft flush on her cheeks. I lean in, drop the bouquet in her lap, and kiss her. Quick, firm, but full of promise of what’s to come.

She looks dazed when I pull back.

I shut the door and jog around to the driver’s side, grinning like a fool.

Once I start the engine, she looks at me sideways. “So. Where exactly are we going?”

“My place,” I say casually.

She blinks. “Your place?”

“I’m cooking for you.”

A nervous little smile tugs at her lips. She fidgets with the flowers in her lap. “Are you…good at that?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” I smirk. “I wanted to take you out somewhere more exciting—a real date. But I figure we’ve both had enough excitement for now.”

She goes quiet for a beat, then murmurs, “You’ve really been thinking about this?”

“Baby,” I say, glancing at her with a grin, “I’ve been planning this since the minute I woke up in that hospital bed.”

Her blush deepens.

I shift into gear and take off down the road, tension crackling between us, growing heavier with each mile.

She chews her lip, gaze flicking toward me. “This isn’t fair, you know.”

“What’s not?”

“You looking at me like that while I’m dressed like a tired field intern.”

I reach over and take her hand again, squeezing gently. “Baby, I told you what you have on is perfect. I’m just gonna take it off anyway.” I wink at her, noticing the way her thighs squeeze together at my words. “I don’t care what you’re wearing. I care that you’re with me.”

She smiles at me again and it feels like a deadly punch to my guts. I’m down bad for her but I don’t mind one bit.

The rest of the drive is a blur of climbing lust and anticipation. I can barely think straight, my body burning for her all over again. Soon, I pull up in front of my house and I get down to open the door for her. She thanks me with a shy smile, blushing adorably when I take her hand in mine.

I lead her inside, and the second the front door clicks shut behind us, I lose all sense of restraint.

I turn on her like a man starved, pressing her back against the wall with my body, my mouth crashing down on hers.

She gasps into my mouth, her fingers already tugging at my jacket like she needs it off as much as I need her naked.

Fuck, I’ve missed this.

I’ve missed her.

She clutches the front of my shirt, pulling me closer, like there’s even a single inch left between us. Her lips part, and I take advantage, sweeping my tongue into her mouth, tasting her, claiming her. Every soft sound she makes, every moan, every breathy whisper sends heat rocketing through me.

I grip her hips, grinding her against the door, needing her to feel what she does to me. “I’ve thought about this,” I growl against her mouth. “Every damn night since the last.”

“Me too,” she whispers, tugging at my shirt now, desperate and frantic. “Zack…please.”

God, that please could undo me.

I yank my shirt over my head, tossing it somewhere behind me, and her hands are instantly on my chest, trailing over my skin like she’s learning me all over again. Her touch burns. I slide my hands under her flannel, over bare skin, making her arch into me with a soft cry.

She’s not wearing a bra. That detail nearly makes me come undone.

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” I murmur, brushing my thumbs over her peaked nipples, making her shiver.

“Shut up and kiss me,” she pants, and I do, groaning into her mouth as I drag her flannel down her arms and let it fall to the floor.

I cup her ass, lifting her without warning. She wraps her legs around me instinctively, and I carry her through the hallway, bumping into the wall once, then again, because I can’t keep my lips off her long enough to navigate properly.

She laughs breathlessly against my mouth. “You’re obsessed.”

“Damn right I am,” I growl, tightening my hold as I shoulder open the bedroom door. “You’re mine.”

Her eyes flare with heat and something deeper, something that steals the air from my lungs. I drop her gently on the bed, standing at the edge for a second just to take her in. Her flushed skin. Her wild hair. The look in her eyes that says she wants this just as much as I do.

I lean over her, kissing her again, slower this time. Not because I’m calming down. Hell, no. I’m just savoring it. This. Her.

My hand finds the waistband of her jeans, and she lifts her hips, helping me peel them off. I trail kisses down her neck, over her collarbone, my fingers dipping between her thighs to find her already soaked.

Jesus.

“You’re killing me,” I murmur, dragging my fingers along her slick folds, watching her fall apart beneath my touch.

“Then hurry,” she breathes, tugging me back to her. “Zack, I need you. I need all of you.”

I oblige, stripping the rest of my clothes in a hurry. I grab a condom from the drawer, out of habit, but she stops me, hand on mine, her eyes trusting.

She doesn’t need to say a word.

I mutter a soft curse and toss the condom aside, then settle over her again, pausing for a beat. I raise my eyes to hers, our gazes clashing. The tension shifts, burning hotter, but deeper. Real.

“Ella,” I whisper, brushing my knuckles over her cheek. “This isn’t just sex. Not to me.”

Her fingers slide through my hair, pulling me closer until our foreheads touch. “It’s not just sex to me either.”

I kiss her again as I push into her, slow and deep. Her mouth parts on a gasp, and I groan low in my throat at the feel of her. Perfect. Tight. Hot.

Like we were made for this moment.

We move together, falling into a rhythm that’s more than just physical. She clings to me, whispering my name, her legs wrapping tighter around my waist with every thrust. I kiss her everywhere…her neck, her shoulder, the curve of her breast, memorizing every inch of her.

The pace builds, the heat climbs, and then she comes, with a breathless cry of my name that sends me right over the edge after her. I bury my face in her neck as I fall apart with her.

It takes a while for my heartbeat to slow. For our breaths to even out.

We lie tangled together in the aftermath, sweaty and breathless and so full of everything we haven’t had time to say.

Her fingers trace idle circles on my chest. “So…I guess this is happening.”

I laugh softly, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Yeah. It is.”

She shifts to look at me, her eyes shining with something soft…something good. “What if we mess it up?”

I brush a strand of hair out of her face. “Then we learn. Grow. Try again.”

She smiles. “You make it sound easy.”

“It won’t always be. But I’d rather figure it out with you than without you.”

She takes my hand, threading our fingers together. “You really mean that?”

I turn toward her fully, pulling her close, so our noses brush. “Ella, I don’t just want you now. I want you tomorrow. Next week. A year from now. I want the fights, the laughter, the awkward holiday dinners. All of it.”

She bites her lip, smiling brightly at me through the tears forming in her eyes. “Oh, Zack…”

“We’ve got time,” I murmur, kissing the tip of her nose. “Our whole lives to figure out the details.”

“And in the meantime?” she asks.

I smile, brushing her lips with mine.

“We keep falling in love.”