Page 24

Jareth

" H ey!" Zoya says, yawning into the phone. "I can't wait to see you in the morning."

"About that…"

"Jareth!" she cries. "You better not tell me that you aren't coming. You promised."

"I can't come tomorrow, princess," I say, leaning against the railing across from her front door.

She heaves a sigh. "It's only been two weeks, and you're already canceling on me. It's our first visit! Is this how the next five months are going to go?"

"I don't know. Depends."

"On what?" she practically growls, making me smile.

Fuck, I love her little attitude. I especially love that she's so pissed because she misses me.

The last two weeks have been hell without her.

Maybe I'm an asshole for being glad I'm not the only one suffering here, but I want her thinking about me when I'm not with her.

I want her missing me when I'm not by her side.

I want to be the only one she thinks about.

And when she sees me on her stoop, I want her to know that I will always move heaven and earth to give her what she needs.

And she doesn't need me out on tour. She doesn't need me back at home for the next five months.

She needs me right here, loving and supporting her.

Teaching her how to trust herself and listen to her heart.

She needs me , the same damn way I need her.

"On if my present wins me a stay of execution."

"What present?"

"It should be outside your door."

"What is it?"

"A present."

She huffs into the phone, making me chuckle.

"Stop being cranky and go see for yourself, Zoya."

"Fine, but just so you know, I'm not putting pants on before I open the door. If my hot neighbor sees my ass, you'll just have to live with it."

"What hot neighbor?" I growl, clutching the phone as I scan the complex, trying to figure out which of her neighbors I'm killing.

"The one who might see my ass because I'm not wearing pants."

"Don't make me spank you, princess."

"You could if you were coming tomorrow," she says, her voice falsely bright. "But you canceled on me so…good luck with that."

"Go get your present and stop torturing me."

Her soft laughter whispers down the line, and my fucking cock presses against my zipper. Christ, I can't wait until she's in my arms again. I can't wait until she's standing in front of me. I can't wait until I'm inside her again.

I hear her shuffling around inside her apartment and brace myself, anticipation curling through me. The deadbolt clicks and then the knob turns.

"Hello, princess," I murmur into the phone, grinning when she flings the door open. My gaze immediately skirts down her body. She wasn't lying about not having any pants on. But she is wearing my shirt, and it ends at her knees, so at least she's covered.

I flick my gaze back up to her face to see her staring at me in shock, the phone still clutched to her ear.

"Do you like your present?"

She drops the phone with a squeak, launching herself into my arms. I scoop her up with a laugh, my hands planted on her ass as she kisses all over my face.

"Oh my god! You're here!" she cries.

"Did you really think I'd cancel on you?" I ask, carrying her inside her apartment and then kicking the door closed.

"Hey. My phone!"

I set her on her feet long enough to retrieve the phone she dropped and then step back inside with her. She beams at me, her cheeks flushed.

"I can't believe you lied to me!" She jabs me in the ribcage with her finger. "I was ready to cry."

"I couldn't wait until tomorrow." I toss her phone onto the credenza before hauling her back into my arms. "I was losing my goddamn mind without you." My lips come down on hers in another hard kiss. "Longest two weeks of my life."

"Mine too," she whispers into my mouth as I press her against the wall, ripping my shirt off over her head. Her breasts spill out, her cherry nipples hard and begging for my mouth.

"Are you wet for me?"

"See for yourself."

"Intend to," I growl, dropping to my knees with her balanced over my shoulders. I immediately press my nose to her cunt, inhaling deeply. God, I missed her scent. I missed her taste. I missed everything about her.

I flick her panties to the side, parting her slit with two fingers. My tongue circles her clit, gathering up her juices.

"Fuck," I groan, her taste hitting my system like a drug. "You're even sweeter, princess."

"Jareth, please," she whimpers, clinging to my hair like it's the only thing keeping her from losing her mind.

I'm too damn keyed up to tease her the way she deserves for fucking with me about her neighbor, so I lift her closer to my face and feast. She shouts my name, pulling at my hair as I devour her, not being polite about it.

Within seconds, she's coming all over my face.

I lick up every drop she spills, greedy for it.

Before she has a chance to come down, I've got her pinned to the floor beneath me, my cock sliding through her swollen folds. I yank her leg up over my thigh, growling as I sink into her all the way to the hilt.

"Goddamn, I missed this pussy, Zoya."

"It missed you, too!" she cries as I fuck into her, pounding out two weeks of sexual frustration. The little minx has been torturing me on the phone every night, playing with herself while I listen. I damn near said to hell with the plan a few times and caught a redeye.

I'm glad I didn't because this was worth the wait. She was worth the wait.

She's wild beneath me, crying my name as she rocks her hips into mine and claws down my back.

I wrap my tongue around her nipple, sucking hard.

She flies apart with my name on her lips.

I plant myself deep, groaning as I follow behind her.

As soon as I can breathe, I pull her up from the floor, worried she'll end up with carpet burn. I run my hands across her body, just reveling in the fact that she's in my arms again.

She's reveling too, staring at me like she can't believe I'm really here.

"I should be so mad at you right now," she says. Her smile tells me mad isn't even on the radar.

"Yeah? Why is that?"

"Um, because you told me you couldn't come!" she huffs. "I thought you were canceling our very first weekend together."

"No, I said I couldn't come tomorrow. And I've been thinking about this whole weekend visit thing…I don't think it's going to work out for me."

Her brows furrow in confusion.

"Two days of you isn't enough, Zoya. I need more time."

"H-How much more time?"

"I was thinking five months."

She slow blinks at me. "What?"

"Five months," I murmur, tracing along her ring finger. "At least to start. I'm willing to renegotiate after that."

"Jareth!" She lunges for me, tackling me to the floor beneath her. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I missed you too goddamn much to spend the next five months away from you, Zoya," I say, grinning. "So I won't be doing that."

Tears spring to her eyes, her bottom lip quivering. "You're staying? Tell me that you mean it."

"Yeah, princess, I'm staying." I tuck a curl behind her ear before brushing a tear from her cheek.

"We've been working out the details since the day after the wedding.

Nadia is bringing on a new guitarist to finish the tour, and I'll be here, looking for a manufacturer for the vineyard's new venture. "

Zoya squeals, flinging herself down across my chest. "You're staying!" she shouts.

I laugh quietly, rolling her beneath me. "Did you really think I was going to let you spend five months over here by yourself?"

"Well…yeah."

I shake my head, tsking at her. "You've got so much to learn, princess. There's not a chance in hell that was happening."

"I'm so happy," she says.

"Yeah?" I slip my hand into my pocket, my fingers closing around her ring. "Think I can make you happier?"

"Oh, I can think of a few ways," she says, a wicked laugh rolling from her lips.

I tug the ring from my pocket, holding it up in front of her face. "Is this one of them?"

She gasps, her eyes widening. "Jareth, is that…?"

"Hell yes," I growl, grabbing her hand to slide it onto her finger. "And I'm not asking, princess. I'm telling you. As soon as you graduate, you're marrying me."

Her lips curve into a smile that damn near splits her cheeks in two. "Wow. You've gotten bossy in the last two weeks."

"Is that a yes?"

"I guess so." She shrugs casually, only to laugh wickedly again when I growl at her. "Yes, it's a yes!" she shouts. "Are you kidding me?"

I groan, leaning down to kiss the breath from her lungs. Christ, she's finally wearing my ring. She said yes.

"You get to break the news to my dad," she murmurs when I finally let her up for air.

"You really don't know me at all, do you?" I chuckle, shaking my head. "I made a pit stop on the way here. Your dad said to tell you congratulations." He also said some bullshit about not getting her pregnant before the ink dries on the license, but I'm ignoring that strongly worded suggestion.

"Wow," she whispers, impressed. "You thought of everything."

"Yeah, I did." I haul her up from the floor, standing her in front of me. "Now…you want to tell me about this hot neighbor of yours?"

"Hot neighbor? What hot neighbor?" She blinks innocently and then pats me on the chest before turning on her heel, her round ass swaying as she strides across the room.

I growl, taking a step in her direction. She sees me coming and squeals, darting down the hall. I grin, letting her get a head start before I chase after her…the same goddamn way I have been since the very beginning.