“Fuck the others,” I growled, still pissed at the way they’d rushed to put the blame on Annabelle about Mieke. They had all tried to call and text me, but I wasn’t up for hearing their voices let alone a cheap-ass apology. Noah raised a brow at me but didn’t say anything as he silently continued to drink his beer.
“Is that why?” she murmured, as if trying not to be overheard. “Because of what happened the other night?”
“No, Nat. This has nothing to do with them.” And it didn’t. The decisions I’d made earlier that day had nothing to do with my bandmates. “This is just something I need to do. For myself and only myself. Fuck everything else.”
There was a long pause on Natalie’s end and I could almost see the wheels turning in her beautiful head. Blowing out a tired-sounding sigh, she started grumbling to herself. “Fine. I’ll take care of this. I don’t want to have to be the one to tell Em, though.”
“So don’t. I’ll tell her.” At this point I wasn’t scared of Emmie Armstrong… Okay, I wasn’t as scared of her. That fierce little redhead would always scare me a little. I’d rather face a raging Wroth than her stormy green eyes any day.
“Good luck with that,” Natalie muttered half under her breath before her voice rose up a little louder. “Did you hear? Of course you did. You’re out there with Annabelle…pregnancy brain… whatever.” I didn’t try to sort out what she was saying. In the last few weeks I’d realized that pregnant Natalie spoke to herself. A lot. It was better to just go with it. “Emmie and Annabelle are official partners as of an hour ago. Hopefully my life is about to get a whole hell of a lot easier.”
I blinked, thinking I couldn’t have just heard her right. I hadn’t slept in more than twenty-four hours, so my mind must have been playing tricks on me. “What did you say?”
Natalie repeated herself and I dropped my bottle of beer on the table, hard. Annabelle hadn’t breathed a word about going into business with Emmie. She hadn’t mentioned anything about any partnership. Fuck, I hadn’t even seen her since she’d made pancakes for Mieke and me that morning and then rushed out the door for a meeting she’d claimed was important.
The whole time I’d been making plans for my future, she’d been making some of her own. I gritted my teeth, knowing I had no right to be upset that she’d made a huge decision like that without talking to me first. Didn’t mean it didn’t sting like hell.
“I’ll talk to you later, Nat.”
“But—”
“I have to go.” I tried not to snap at her, but it came out harsh anyway.
“Damn it, Z—” was the last thing I heard before I hit disconnect and stood.
“Problems?” Noah asked with a grin.
I shrugged, swallowed the rest of my second beer—or was it my third?—and headed for the door. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, sure. If my sister keeps you around that long,” Noah called after me, sounding way too amused with himself. I flipped him the finger without pausing as I left the man cave. I didn’t go through the kitchen to say goodbye to Chelsea, just left through the back door and crossed the yard to Annabelle’s back patio.
Inside the house, I called out for her, not even sure if she was home yet or not. “Just a sec,” she called back from upstairs and I stomped my way up to her bedroom.
The door to her room wasn’t completely closed and I pushed it open to find her standing by her open closet, pulling a baggy T-shirt over her head. Yoga pants replaced the skirt she’d been wearing the last time I’d seen her. Turning to face me, she put a smile on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Chelsea texted me saying you’ve been hanging out with Noah.”
I didn’t respond, too busy taking in the sight of her in comfortable clothes and her face washed free of any makeup. Fuck, she was so damn beautiful—even more now than she had been seventeen years ago. How had I been so stupid as to walk away from her and the life we could have had together?
Pulling the shirt completely over her hips, Annabelle walked toward me. I didn’t move as she tried to step around me. Lifting her brows at me, she started to push past me but I reached out, catching her wrist and pulling her against me. Hard.
Blue eyes widened as she lifted them to meet mine. “What are you—?”
I swallowed the rest of her question as I covered her lips with my own. For a second Annabelle went completely still against me, but I continued to kiss her, drinking in my fill of the sweet taste of her mouth. How had I forgotten how delicious she tasted?
My tongue slipped out, teasing her bottom lip and making her open her mouth for me. Taking advantage, I dove deep, exploring her mouth the way I’d been aching to from the moment I’d seen her again. With a small gasp, Annabelle melted against me. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her soft fingers thrusting into my hair and pulling my head down farther as she kissed me back.
Groaning at how amazing she tasted and felt in my arms, I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her several inches off the ground. Using my foot to close the door, I carried her to the bed and dropped her on the edge before pushing her back, never once breaking my lips away from her own. Lying on top of her, I could feel every shiver, every tremble of her body as she arched into me, wanting every caress of my seeking hands—as greedy for more of my touch as I was to relearn every angle of her amazing body.
Finding her breasts, I sucked in a deep breath through my nose when I realized that she was braless under that baggy T-shirt she wore. I kneaded each fleshy globe before finding her nipples, already diamond-hard and begging for my attention. Breaking the kiss, I pulled her shirt up to expose her full, tight tits with the puckered nipples. Unable to control the growl that escaped my throat, I sucked first one nipple into my mouth before turning the same attention to the other.
Annabelle’s fingers tightened in my hair, holding me against her as her lower body pushed up against me. I could feel the heat of her scalding pussy even through her yoga pants and my jeans. My dick flexed against my zipper, pleading to be set free and allowed entrance into the hot little body withering under me.
Still sucking on one ripe nipple, my hands reached for the top of her yoga pants and started tugging them down. As soon as I’d exposed her pussy, the scent of her desire lifted, filling my nose and making my own desire burn hotter. Pulling away, I muttered a vicious curse as I trailed kisses down her flat stomach to her drenched pussy. Shoving the damn yoga pants out of my way, I heard a ripping noise as I finally got them completely off her just as my tongue found her delicious pussy lips.
The last time I’d tasted this pussy, it had been sweet as honey. Now, it was pure nirvana. I loved the taste of her on my tongue, her cream flooding down my throat and overflowing, washing my face in her essence.
Her hips came completely off the bed as she ground her pussy against my face, offering me all of her juices in a meal I was starving for. “Oh, God. Oh, God,” she whimpered as I thrust two fingers into her tightness.
The extent of her tightness surprised me. It felt just as tight as it had when I’d first made love to her seventeen years ago. Mentally shaking my head, I knew she couldn’t still be that tight. There must have been other men who had gotten to taste…
I quickly put up a mental wall to stop that particular thought from continuing. No way was I going to be able to handle thinking of her with some other jerk-off. The thought of some faceless man taking what I’d given up enraged me. Not wanting to go down that road, I laved my tongue over her pulsing clit before sucking it deep, nipping at the little bundle of nerves with my teeth as she convulsed under me. With her pussy walls contracting, trying to suck my two fingers deeper, I lifted my eyes to watch her come apart for me.
As she slowly came down from the rush of the release I’d given her, I stood and pushed my jeans down my hips. Too far gone to stop and think about protection, I thrust into her still convulsing pussy. Blue eyes snapped open and a mixture of pain and pleasure crossed her face, telling me that maybe I should have questioned
her tightness after all.
Buried in her, balls deep, I realized something that made me grin down at the girl who still owned every inch of me. Heart and soul. The grin was smug, cocky even, and I sucked in a deep breath and fought for control over the need to start pounding into her even as I let a new contentment wash over me. “You okay, babe?”
A small mewling noise left her throat and she nodded her head quickly, letting me know that she wanted more. “You sure about that?” I didn’t want to hurt her, but the way her walls were clenching around me, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to control myself for much longer.
“Plea-please,” she breathed and I pulled back until I was nearly free from her tightness before thrusting back into her, my balls bouncing against her perfect ass. Her eyes closed and she let out a small moan in pleasure. “Z,” she whimpered. “More.”
At that one word, I couldn’t hold back a second longer. My body took over, vetoing my brain altogether as I thrust into her over and over again with the force of a speeding train. The bed groaned and squeaked as I pounded into her harder, faster. Her hands brushed up my back under my shirt and I realized I was still partially clothed. Stopping only long enough to pull my shirt over my head, I went back to work on sending us both into oblivion.
Annabelle’s nails dug into my back, signaling to me that she was holding on by a thread. Thank fuck. I was seconds away from exploding inside her soaking wet, almost-as-tight-as-a-virgin pussy. No sooner did her walls start contracting around me than her back arched and she started begging God for more. My jaw clenched as my balls tightened, and I went still over her. Closing my eyes, I let her quivering pussy suck the release from me.
“Anna.” I whispered as I fell on top of her, her body shivering from the force of the orgasm I’d just given her.
It felt like hours later before my heartrate started to return to normal, but it was only a few minutes. Finally able to breathe again, I lifted my head, unable to keep from grinning down at the beauty I was still buried deep inside of. “Tell me the name of the last man who tasted your pussy, Anna.”
Pink filled her cheeks and she turned her head to the left, avoiding my eyes. “No,” she whispered in a voice roughened from screaming as she had come all over my dick.
Lowering my head, I nuzzled her ear with my nose. “Tell me the name of the last guy who put his dick in you, Anna.”
“Fuck you,” she muttered, still refusing to meet my gaze.
I didn’t need her confirmation. I already knew the answers to my questions. It had been me to last taste her. I was the last man to touch her, taste her. Make love to her. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so happy about knowing that, but I was. Brushing a soft kiss over her cheek, I pulled out of her body, making us both moan as I left her tightness. Fuck, I wanted back in there already.
Reaching for the shirt I’d taken off earlier, I used it to first wipe off the rest of my come from my dick before gently wiping away the thick, hot, white fluid that was flooding out of her wet pussy. Seeing the evidence of what I’d done on the dark shirt I’d been wearing, I bit back a curse. “I didn’t use anything,” I told her, lifting my eyes to hers.
Blue eyes widened and she finally met my gaze. “What?” she cried and pushed against my chest as she looked from my bare dick to the cream that was on the shirt in my hand. “You…?” She shook her head as if she couldn’t even form words before shoving me back a little more. “Are you clean, Z?”
“The one thing you’ll learn from working with Emmie Armstrong is that she makes her clients do random drug screenings and STD tests. I had one six months ago, and it was clean. I haven’t had sex since before then, so you’re safe.”
Her eyes turned skeptical. “You haven’t had sex in more than six months?”
I shrugged. “It’s probably closer to two years, but yeah.” I didn’t hook up with the groupies that hung around after shows, and only went looking for some action when I couldn’t fight the need for some kind of release. Every girl I’d ever hooked up with never looked anything like Annabelle, though. I couldn’t handle that shit. I didn’t go looking for a type, just someone that didn’t remind me of her in any way.
“Whatever,” she muttered and stood. I was momentarily distracted from seeing her bare ass as she walked away from me, but her next words instantly caught my attention. “I think we’re safe. My period is due any day now.”
Why that disappointed me, I couldn’t tell you, but it did. It stung like a hornet’s nest was attacking my chest.
Grabbing my jeans, I pulled out my wallet and set it on the nightstand beside the bed as Annabelle went back to her closet, keeping protection within reach this time. She started to pull out another pair of pants, but I stopped her as I crossed the room and lifted her into my arms. She slapped at my chest as I carried her back to the bed, but once I had her flat on her back once again, I made sure she didn’t want to go anywhere anytime soon.
“Mieke?” I growled our daughter’s name, wondering where the kid was and when she would be home. I loved spending time with my kid, but right then I wanted her as far away from that house as possible.
“She’s at her test-prep study group. She won’t be home until late,” Annabelle said, her voice coming out breathless because I was already sucking on her berry-ripe nipples again. “She might even spend the night over at…her…Z, that feels so good…Her friend’s house.”
“Good.” I’d make every free minute we had that night count.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Annabelle
My phone was ringing from somewhere close. I reached for it blindly, hoping it was on my nightstand. Finding the noisy thing, I half lifted one lid. I’d only answer if it was Mieke, or so I promised myself. Then I saw Emmie’s name flashing across the screen. Groaning, I lifted the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“I’m looking for Zander,” Emmie said in greeting, her tone a mixture of agitation and exasperation. Even in the few weeks I’d known the chick, I knew those weren’t the emotions anyone wanted to deal with when facing Emmie. “Have you seen him?”
I lowered my phone and saw the time on the screen—11:34 p.m.—before glancing at the man on the bed behind me. He was lightly snoring and his arm was anchored around my waist tightly, not letting me get more than an inch away from him. Swallowing down my curse, I lifted the phone to my ear once again. “No, I haven’t seen him.”
“When you do, you tell that motherfucker that I want to talk to him. Immediately.” Emmie’s tone was full of ice but, before I could question why, she hung up on me.
Still trying to blink sleep from my eyes, I put the phone back on the nightstand and rolled over. I cuddled against Zander for a full minute, soaking up the feel of him all around me, his heartbeat under my ear. It felt good. Right. Just like it had all those years ago when I would sleep in his arms every night, safe from the outside world.
I allowed myself only that one minute, though. Breathing in deep, I lifted my head and pushed on Z’s chest. “Hey,” I muttered. “Z, wake up.”
His eyes didn’t move, but he turned on his side, strong arms wrapping even tighter around my waist as he pulled me closer. Zander buried his face in my hair and his breathing evened out even more. I bit my lip to keep it from trembling, enjoying this moment so much that I knew when he left again it would completely eviscerate my heart this time.
Shaking my head, I shoved against his chest, harder this time. “Z, wake up.” I said the words loudly, right in his ear.
Grunting, he lifted his head and looked down at me through half-open eyes. “Babe, I’m exhausted. I want you again, but give me a few more minutes of sleep. Okay?” He brushed his lips over mine in a small but nonetheless passionate kiss before lowering his head again. I didn’t doubt he was exhausted. We’d made love—no, I quickly chastised myself, we’d fucked—four times before falling asleep in each other’s arms around eight thirty. “Just a few more minutes, Anna.”
“No. Z, you have to get
up. Emmie is looking for you. She wants you to call her.”
His eyes lifted a little farther this time. Seeing the seriousness on my face, he blew out a frustrated breath and reached for the phone. My phone. Leaning over me, his weight pressing me into the softness of my mattress, he swiped his thumb over the screen of the phone and lifted it to his ear. It obviously didn’t take long for her to answer because Zander spoke after only a few seconds.
“Nope, not Annabelle. It’s me, Em.” He paused, listening to whatever his manager had to say. I couldn’t hear what she was saying and I had no clue what she was telling him. His face was still relaxed, his eyes still only half open as he listened. “Yeah, I know. I told Nat I’d tell you myself, but I got distracted… Well, you know now, don’t you?” Another pause and this time I could hear that Emmie’s voice had risen, but I couldn’t make out anything she said. The look on Zander’s face told me he was getting bored with the conversation. “I don’t really give a shit what the other guys want. I’m over it. Over them. This isn’t even about them, Em. It’s about me. I’m out. Done…. Why?” Hazel eyes looked down at me then, a smile tilting at his lips. “I need something else. Trading one dream for another.”
From the phone, I could hear Emmie saying something, but Zander didn’t pay her any attention. He disconnected and dropped the phone back on the stand before lowering his head and kissing me again. I was confused by the one-sided conversation I’d just heard, but any questions I might have wanted answered were quickly forgotten as I surrendered to Zander once again.
The sound of the doorbell woke me. Moaning, I pulled the covers over my head and cuddled closer to the warm body wrapped around my own. A small smile teased at my lips as I inhaled the scent I remembered all too clearly as belonging to Zander Brockman. Mixed with that slightly spicy scent was the muskiness of our lovemaking. My entire room smelled of sex, and I loved it.