Summer Love by Piper Rayne

Chapter Eight

It took another hour to put the inside of the food truck back together and tidy everything up. The entire time, Zoey’s mind swirled. Mack had agreed to one night and she could scarcely believe it. She wanted more from him, of course—more than one night, more than casual. But she also knew that Mack never jumped into anything without first doing his research.

Tonight be would that—an opportunity for him to see that they were compatible, inside the bedroom and out.

After Gwen and her brothers headed home, she and Mack went back to his place. The last thing she wanted was Sean interrupting them again when he came home from work, and frankly she didn’t want to rush things.

She had not waited seventeen years for a quickie.

The drive was torture, with Mack’s eyes staring straight ahead and her being too afraid to open her mouth in case he backed out. But within ten minutes they were walking through his front door and Zoey’s hands were almost shaking with anticipation. This was it.

It was really happening.

As Mack bent over to take off his boots, she couldn’t help but stare. She’d imagined this so many times, but something told her fantasy would never compare to reality. His T-shirt clung in all the right places—sticking to every muscle in his work-honed body, from the rounded “fix any problem” biceps to his broad shoulders and trim waist. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was like sandpaper.

Sweating looked good on him. Everything looked good on him.

“You’re staring.” He looked up as he yanked one boot off and then the other.

Her heart fluttered in her chest. “I am.”

“Getting your fill?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Uh-huh.”

He chuckled and the sound was low and rough and wonderful. “Be careful what you wish for, Zoey. You wanted this, so there’s no being shy now.”

Crossing the barrier of agreeing to sleep together was clearly a big deal for him. It seemed to have unleashed something in him—there was no hesitation. No doubt. When he made a decision, he owned it.

He ripped his T-shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor, his eyes capturing hers in silent challenge. A cocky grin tugged at the edges of his lips. The tables had turned.

“I’ve shown you mine,” he said, walking towards her. “Now you show me yours.”

Flushing, Zoey suddenly felt like a first timer, but in the best way possible. It was almost as if the chance of being with Mack had erased every memory in her head and she was getting to experience the world anew.

She slipped off her Havaianas and nudged them to one side as she divested herself of the T-shirt she’d thrown over her bikini top for the ride over. When her hands fell to the denim shorts slung low on her hips, she noticed the growing outline of him behind his shorts. The sight almost took her breath away. Her whole body hummed, like her every cell was a tuning fork and he was the reason for it all.

“Wait.” His voice was hoarse as he closed the gap between them.

Before she had the chance to open her mouth, he pulled her close and brushed his lips over hers, the kiss so soft and sweet it had no more weight than a feather. His thumb smoothed over her jaw and she melted into him, winding her arms around his neck and letting her head tilt back.

“That’s good,” he murmured against her lips.

This time he kissed her deeper, his tongue sweeping the inside of her mouth as his hands slipped over the curve of her backside, fitting her hard against him. She gasped into his kiss. He tasted warm and smooth, like a fine wine, and his chin was rough with stubble. When he nuzzled the crook of her neck, it was like being showered in sparks. Everywhere, he was hard… everywhere. He walked her back until she hit the wall of the living room, and pinned her there.

“Yes.” The word hissed from her lips.

“You knew exactly how much you were teasing me in this tiny thing.” He traced a fingertip along the strap of her bikini top and then palmed her through the thin material. “You’re perfection, Zoey.”

Physically. He may find her attractive enough to be here now, but it was who she was that caused issues. She was too wild, too spontaneous, too… much.

We’re not thinking about this now.

She was going to enjoy the moment. No doubts. No fears. No worrying about tomorrow. If there was anyone who knew how to live in the moment, it was Zoey.

She reached behind herself and tugged on the string holding her bikini top together until it gave way, falling to the floor. Darkness grew like storm clouds in Mack’s eyes and his stubble made delicious sparks inside her as he peppered her with kisses. The friction was heaven against her hot skin, and her nipples ached. Everywhere ached—her sex, her breasts, the pit of her stomach…

His mouth closed around the peak of her breast and she gasped. He rocked against her, the seam of his fly rubbing at her most sensitive part while his tongue and teeth and lips stoked the fire burning inside her. She was bright and hot and wanting. When the heel of his palm slipped between her legs, mercifully giving her pressure right where she wanted it, she almost wept with relief.

“Fuck, Zoey.” He kissed up the side of her neck as he slipped his hand inside her shorts. “The noises you make.”

He ground the heel of his palm against her sex and she rocked, rocked, rocked against him. When his finger pressed against her entrance, slipping inside, she splintered. Her orgasm was swift and strong, and she buried her face in his neck, screwing her eyes shut, blotting out the world. She only wanted to feel. Only wanted him. Nothing else.

When she floated back down to earth, Mack lowered himself to a crouching position and placed a kiss at her navel, working her shorts over her hips. Then her bikini bottoms followed, and she was naked. Exposed.

And yet she felt safer than ever.

“You have to get undressed too,” she said, as she soaked him all in. “I want to see every part of you.”

His belt buckle clanked as he yanked it open and the sound of his zipper lowering was like a knife through the thick air. Everything felt dialled up to eleven, all of her senses humming and vibrating. Her knees almost gave way as he shoved his shorts over his hips, because he was even more glorious naked.

It wasn’t only his body. It was the darkness in his warm brown eyes that she was most attracted to—the detailed, driven, intense nature of him. Proof she knew there was a passion, even if others chose not to see it.

Scooping her up, he strode through the house and into his bedroom, where he laid her on the bed. Soft covers cradled her. She’d been in this room before, and she’d always imagined. Always hoped.

He reached for the top drawer of his nightstand, hunting for a condom. The hard jut of his cock left her mouth dry, because the way he handled himself… goodness. So confident, so sure. He rolled the rubber down his length. Awareness raced through her veins as the bed shifted under his weight when he crawled forward, muscles tensed and eyes like wildfire.

“I have wanted this, Zoey,” he growled. “I have wanted this for so bloody long. Too long.”

“Really?” The word was a mere whisper. “I thought you only ever saw me as a responsibility.”

He swore under his breath. “You have no idea how hard I’ve been fighting it.”

The revelation made her heart swell. All the times she thought he’d overlooked her, he was fighting it? Fighting his desire for her?

She reached out, pulling him towards her with an instinctive need to have him close. To be comforted and consumed by him. Her body sank further into the mattress as he came down on top of her, and muscular thighs parted her softer ones.

“Mack,” she breathed. “I’ve wanted you forever, too. From the moment I first saw you.”

As he pushed inside, her body gave in to him, softening and yielding and accepting. The way he held her like she mattered… it made her heart so very full. But she didn’t have long to dwell in that feeling, however, because as he began to move inside her, rocking back and forth, she clung to him. The sensation was intense, rhythmic. So good she lost her breath.

She felt… cherished. Seen.

Cupping his jaw with one hand, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him with everything she had. With everything she felt for him. Nothing else mattered in this moment. Not their differences. Not even their similarities. There was no past, no future. Only the glorious, fiery present.

“Mack, I’m close.”

He drew her legs behind him and she locked her ankles together against his lower back. The change in angle made him plunge deeper, harder. Each stroke brought her closer to bliss. To release.

Her head lolled back against the pillow. “I’m so close. I can’t…”

“Shhhh.” He covered his mouth with hers. “Just feel.”

His fingers tangled in her hair as he kissed her deeply, like it meant something. Like it meant everything. Then the feeling burst like a bubble on a needle, and she was lost to the rolling waves of pleasure. A moment later, he followed her over the edge.

Clamping her eyes shut, Zoey held him, wishing with everything she had that this wouldn’t be the end.