Riding Home

He began to pant. “Damn, you feel incredible. If you didn’t feel so great I could hold off, but I...I can’t... I have to... I’m...” With a soft curse, he moved faster yet.

His excitement fueled hers. She kept up with him as he pounded into her, and when at last he cried out and drove home, she erupted at the moment his spasms hit. She held on tight as his body shook in time with hers. His groan of satisfaction brought her overwhelming joy, the kind of incandescent happiness that made her toes curl.

She had no idea how long they lay on the floor, but she had no inclination to move. She’d slept on beds that weren’t as cushioned as this carpet.

Eventually Zach propped himself on his forearms and gazed down at her with a smile. “You know, this is funny.”

She reached up and traced that smile with her fingertip. “Why?”

“I booked this room so our first time together could be on a high-end mattress on a king-size bed. And look at where we are.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Never.” He leaned down and kissed her on the nose. “But since we’ve had the floor experience, I vote we conduct the next round in bed.”

“And when do you anticipate the next round will start?”

Levering himself higher, he swept a glance down her naked body. He rested on one arm and cupped her breast. Her nipple responded to the lazy brush of his thumb. “Might not be long.”

Deep within her body, she felt the twitch of his cock.

He continued to play with her breasts, and the twitch came again. “Might not be long at all.” He looked into her eyes. “If we don’t have much time together, I don’t want to waste any of it.”

“I don’t, either.” But now she saw the fatal flaw in his otherwise excellent plan. They’d created a ticking clock, not unlike lovers had in wartime, where every moment could be their last. That might make this time with Zach seem more significant than it was. She’d have to guard against that kind of delusional thinking.

5 (#ulink_cf0e87e0-0b36-5180-8966-8c50a79827be)

ZACH TALKED JEANNETTE into staying put while he disposed of the condom in the half bath off the living room. He buttoned and zipped his jeans but decided to take off his belt and his boots. They would only be in the way for his next maneuver. Glancing around, he located the bedroom door.

After his somewhat ungentlemanly behavior, taking her on the living room floor, he hoped to redeem himself by masterfully carrying her into the bedroom. He was pretty sure he could manage it. He’d always kept in shape, and he’d just spent a month doing manual labor. But when he crouched down and started to scoop her up, she protested.

“Never mind. I can walk.”