Sophie tried to roll over but hit a brick wall instead. And part of that wall felt like it laid on her waist. Her hands grasped whatever it was... which was a hairy arm. And obviously it wasn’t hers.

Her heart jumped and pounded fiercely as she lifted her head, trying to see the person behind her in the dark. She was definitely still in her own bed and hadn’t been knocked out and kidnapped, waking up in some strange room. But whoever it was had her pinned to him.

“What...”

A nose nuzzled her hair and she stiffened. She jerked against his arm but he didn’t release her, instead tightening it around her waist, spreading the fingers of his hand along her lower belly. Low enough that a couple of his fingers were now below the elastic waist of her panties. She cursed at her body’s response. Which was her pussy clenching and her nipples pebbling.

Fucking Zak.

A sound formed at the back of her throat when the fingers dipped lower, brushing the top of her narrow strip of hair. The clench turned into a throb.

But no matter how much her body wanted him, her brain said he shouldn’t be here.

“How the hell did you not only get into my apartment but into my bed without me knowing? Are you a biker ninja? How did you get past the security system?”

“D gave me the code.”

She closed her eyes at the roughness of his voice. She had missed its low rumble. But she needed to stay on track and not let her wanting him get in the way of staying on that track.

Diesel. When he’d finished installing the security system, she should have asked him to show her how to change the code and then changed it to something no one would know but her.

But she didn’t. Her mistake.

And, now, that mistake was curled around her, his bare chest to her back, her ass to his groin, his knees cocked behind hers. His warm breath tickling the hair by her ear.

A shiver ran through her that turned to a quiver at her core when she felt him growing hard against her ass.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, cursing the catch in her voice.

“I know.”

His fingers slid lower, his middle one separating her now slick folds to find her clit. He pressed gently.

“I... I told you to get gone.”

His body jerked slightly at her words. “I know, babe.”

“But you’re here.”

“Couldn’t stay away any longer.” His words were so soft they were like a caress.

She needed to keep him out of her bed, out of her life. But when he pressed his face into her neck, his beard scraped her skin, his tongue traced a line along her jaw, she knew right then and there she was fucked.

And that she wanted fucked. Not just by anyone, but by the man who slipped into her bed in the middle of the night because he could no longer stay away.

She wanted this man who was not good for her. This man who may put her at risk, may put her business at risk.

She felt weak that she couldn’t push him away, tell him to stop, scream at him to get out of her house, out of her life. Claw at his arms and hands until he let her go.

She didn’t want him to let her go.

She wanted him to hold her tighter.

Which was crazy. Completely insane. In the last month, they spent less than a week together and then the rest of the time apart.

But she couldn’t get him out of her head. Out of her restless dreams.

Seemed like he couldn’t forget her, either.

At the moment, the way his fingers stroked her, teased her, pressed against her, made her hips dance, she was glad he hadn’t forgotten her.

Though, she’d probably regret it tomorrow.

He rolled her to her back, his hand deep in her panties, making her think about nothing but him being inside her, until he murmured, “babe,” against her skin and she completely melted.

He crushed his lips to hers and she opened to him willingly, the tips of their tongues touching as he explored her mouth, their tongues dancing, swirling, tangling, until she needed to pull away, gasp for breath when he rolled her nipple between his fingers, pulling hard, making her cry out.

“Zak,” escaped her on a breath.

“That’s right, babe, it’s me, Zak.” He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and gently bit down, before releasing her and moving down the bed, down her body, worshiping her breasts, her belly, one hip, then the other. He tugged her panties down her thighs, over her knees, sliding them off her feet and tossing them into the darkness.

“I want to see you,” he said, his voice rough, demanding, as he switched on the bedside lamp.

She squinted at the sudden light but studied the man who now straddled her hips, his body a work of art made up of both ink and muscle. His eyes were dark, his face hungry as he took her in, murmuring, “You’re so beautiful.”

Those words alone were beautiful coming from a man who was a badass biker who had spent the last ten years in prison.

He could be hard, but yet so soft, gentle. He cupped her breasts, stroking her nipples with his thumbs, then dropped his head until he could suck one deep into his mouth, flicking the tip, nibbling around the edge until she arched her back and dug her fingers into his hair, longer than it was a month ago, more to grab, more to pull. More to hold where she wanted him.

With a quickness she wasn’t expecting, he spread her thighs and settled between them. “Missed your sweet honey, babe.” Then she heard nothing else as his hot mouth found her, his fingers slid deep, and he drew an orgasm from her that made her fist her hands in his hair, holding him close until it was over. Her body fell back onto the mattress, but he wasn’t done with her yet.

Oh no. Nowhere near done.

He nipped her inner thighs, one then the other, then worked his way down to her ankles and back up the other side before flipping her over and doing it all over again, finally kissing, sucking and gently biting her ass cheeks, separating them, teasing her hole with the tip of his tongue, then moving up her spine. Finally, he pushed her heavy hair off her neck and bit the top of her spine as his cock nestled in the cleft of her ass. He rocked against her, tempting her to push back against him, to encourage him to take her there, her pussy, anywhere she could get him.

She felt him shift and heard his belt buckle jingle as he snagged his jeans off the floor to grab a condom.

“Can’t wait, babe. You ready?”

Oh, fuck, yes, she was.

She shoved her face into her pillow and tilted her hips, and he accepted that as her answer. Within seconds, his cock was there, hard, hot, gliding between her soaked folds, asking for entry. She gladly gave it, digging her fingers into the pillow as he slowly drove deep. She wanted all of him and he gave it to her, thrusting hard enough to make her ass bounce with the force.

Then he stopped, yanked her hips back and up until she was on her knees, and without breaking the connection, he leaned over, dug into her nightstand and grabbed her small vibrator.

Her nipples hardened and ached at the hum of the toy. Reaching underneath her, he pressed it to her clit and began to move again. It took only seconds, milliseconds until she climaxed around him once more, her toes curling, her inner muscles squeezing him tight and he grunted, his hips hiccupping.

“Fuck, babe. Feelin’ you come around me is sometimes better than my own release.”

With a tighter hold on her hip, he moved to press the vibrator against her again, but she stopped him. “Too sensitive. Not there.”

He stilled for a moment, then shifted once more to dig into the drawer. And when she heard the snap of the lube cap, she realized he understood what she wanted.

The cool liquid against her heated skin made her press her forehead deeper into her pillow and grasp the sheets tighter within her fingers. Then she felt it. The vibrations pulsating around her sensitive flesh.

“Yes, baby,” she groaned.

“Fuck,” came his strangled answer.

The vibrator was small and smooth and she accepted it easily. As he glided it in and out of her, he began to move again, slowly at first, then faster, softly at first, then harder.

“Beautiful, babe,” he groaned. “So beautiful.”

She moved with him, her body flowing with his as he took her once more to the cliff. She hovered until he pushed her over. She free fell, her core rippling around him blending with the vibrations of the toy. Her eyes rolled back, and she cried out his name.

“That’s it, babe. That’s it. Call my name,” he grunted, his fingers digging into her hip, holding her tighter as he began to slam her harder, their skin slapping together, their sweat mingling.

And when she thought he was there, about to follow her over, he stopped, slipped the toy and himself from her. She glanced over her shoulder in surprise.

“On your back. I want to see you.”

Good idea. Best idea ever. She wanted to see him when he came, too. She wanted to watch the pleasure overcome him, take him under.

She rolled over and reached out a hand. “Come to me, baby.”

Something flashed behind his eyes and then he was there, inside her, curved over her body, thrusting hard, deep, making them one. He sucked a nipple into his mouth but his eyes remained tipped toward her face. And she didn’t close hers, didn’t look away, she kept her gaze locked to his. He smiled around her nipple and snagged the other between his fingers to twist. Her neck bowed and her mouth gaped, but she fought to hold his eyes. She desperately needed to stay connected in all ways.

“Come to me, baby,” she pleaded again.

He did. Pressing his forehead to hers, they both lost focus, but didn’t break their connection, their bond. His lips a hair’s breadth from hers he groaned, “Fuck, babe, gonna come.”

“Yes... me, too. Come with me, baby.”

“Fuck, Sophie. You’re so hot, so wet. Want to give you everything. Everything I have. Everything that is me. It’s all yours, babe. I’m all yours.”

His words swirled around inside her head as the orgasm began at her toes, landed in her core, and exploded outward around him.

“Coming inside you now,” he grunted. “Here I come, babe. Ah... fuck.” His body tensed as he stared into her eyes and drove deep one last time.

She gripped his ass, holding him tight against her as his cock pulsated inside her with the last of his release. Then he dropped as if he no longer had any strength and even though most of his weight was on her, she didn’t mind. She didn’t want him to move.

“Babe,” he groaned. “Gotta move. Crushin’ you.”

“Stay,” she whispered, raking the hair out of his face with her fingers, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead with her thumb.

He buried his face in her neck, tasting her damp skin, making little sounds against her that made her squeeze her pussy tight around his still-hard cock. “Can’t do round two yet,” he murmured.

Sophie smiled at the ceiling. Though she shouldn’t since things just became more complicated again.

* * *

“Babe.”

The whisper in her ear made her blink. The digital clock on her nightstand appeared blurry so she blinked again. 5:15.

He sucked her earlobe into his mouth and she felt that pull all the way to her toes.

“Babe,” he whispered again in her ear.

“Yeah?” she whispered back, turning in his arms to face him. “What’s the matter?”

He drew a finger along her brow, pulling her hair away from her face. Then he grabbed a handful of it in his fist and planted a kiss on her lips. He snagged her wrist with his fingers and pressed her hand to his erection.

“You do this to me,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “It’s early.”

“Yeah, gotta go.”

“Now?”

“Yeah. Needed to talk to you first,” he said softly.

His face was unreadable, his eyes serious. Sophie’s heart skipped a beat.

“Now?” she asked again.

“It’s important.”

She nodded, feeling the tug of her hair still in his grip. “Okay.”

When he hesitated and his eyes searched her face in the early morning light, the blood rushed into her ears.

After last night, she had no idea what he was going to say. They had fallen asleep exhausted, sated, but with things unsettled.

Neither of them had wanted to ruin what they had with words, with the possibilities, or even the impossibilities.

And Sophie wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear them now, either.

But Zak said it was important, so if it was important to him, it was important to her.

She realized at that moment that she not only lost her damn mind, she’d lost her heart.

To a badass, tattooed, ex-con biker. So not the bring-the-boy-home-to-mom-and-dad type. Not that he was a boy.

He proved time and time again that he was all man. The ache between her thighs from the hours they spent getting down and dirty reminded her of that.

He cupped her cheek and said, “Hear me out, ‘kay?”

“Okay,” she said again.

“Askin’ for time, babe... Sophie. Askin’ you to give it to me. I’ll come after dark. Drive a car no one recognizes. Won’t bring you to the clubhouse, won’t tell anyone. Warriors won’t tie you to me at all if that’s your worry.” His voice lowered. “Won’t claim you. All I ask is you give me the same time I gave you. If after three weeks you don’t want me, I’m not for you, then I’ll respect that. You won’t see me again. Promise you that.” He traced a finger over her eyebrows, down her nose, over her lips. “You can have your days free of me. Just give me your nights. That’s all I ask.”

Then he got quiet. And she waited. When his eyes got a worried look, she realized he was waiting for her answer.

As she didn’t know how to say what she felt, she asked him a question instead. “Bella know you’re here? That you were coming to talk to me?”

Of course she knew, after their conversation in the bakery yesterday, she had no doubt that Bella said something to Zak. She didn’t blame her. She’d known Zak her whole life. She only knew Sophie for a month. Her loyalties lay with the club members. Zak, especially.

“Yeah, she’s the only one. I promise.”

“My business can’t be at risk. Neither can my life.”

He blinked slowly, and then touched his nose to hers, murmuring, “Don’t want to risk you, either. Don’t think I can live without you.”

All the oxygen left her lungs, her chest ached, her heart thumped all the way up into her throat.

“You don’t know me, Zak,” she whispered shakily.

“Keep tellin’ you I know you.” He pressed a flat palm to his heart. “Know you here.”

Oh, God, he was killing her. “I don’t know you, either.”

“You do. But that’s why I’m askin’ for time. Take those three weeks, babe. Get to know me. You happy at the end, great. You’re not, fine, I’ll go.”

She studied him, he was trying desperately to hide his emotions. But she could see it. In his expression, in his eyes. That uncertainty was there. Here was a man who liked to take what he wanted, not have to ask, or even beg. This was going against the very fiber of his being.

This was costing him.

He wanted her that much.

And, goddamn, that ripped her in two. Tore at her heart, spun her mind.

And deep down, she suspected there was fear, though he’d never admit it. Fear that someone else wouldn’t want him in their life.

Shit he had to deal with for most of his life since the day he decided to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. For most people, the family would see that as an honor. For his, not so much. In fact, not at all.

He took one fork in the road, they took the other. Which one would she follow? The question was, which one should she follow?

And once again, her heart and her head warred. “Three weeks?”

His nostrils flared and his body got tight as he anticipated her answer. “Yeah, babe. Just three.”

“You got it. But you will honor my decision at that point.”

His body relaxed, and a spark flashed in his eyes. “Yeah.” He leaned closer, pressing their mouths together, touching the tip of his tongue to hers for a moment. Before it could intensify, he pulled away reluctantly, giving her a grin. “Now I gotta go.”

He rolled from the bed, grabbing his clothes, quickly pulling them on. And as she watched him cover his body, shrug on his cut, she observed all that softness she just witnessed disappear as he became Z the badass biker, instead of Zak the thoughtful lover.

He leaned over the bed, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and whispered, “Tonight.” Then he was gone.