Emme
“Hey, what are you doing in here?” I asked Zane as I walked into one of the guest bedrooms.
After we returned from Cunningham Security a couple hours ago, Zane told me he wanted me to unpack my suitcases and put my things in his closet and dresser since I was going to be staying there for the foreseeable future. I started preparing for dinner first and then after we ate I took to unpacking. Zane left me to it, and when I finished he still hadn’t joined me so I went in search of him. I found him surrounded by stacks of snowboards and tons of snowboarding gear.
“Just getting my gear prepped for tomorrow. I have all my pants, jackets, gloves, and hats already packed, and I just started tuning the boards. Want to have a couple that are fully prepped so I won’t need to do it before the weekend again. The team normally has a guy that will prep the boards for us, but I have my own way and it’s been working for me, so I’m sticking with that.”
“I see. And what exactly are you doing to the board?” I asked.
“I start by sharpening my edges like this,” he began as he showed me. He had a hand-held sharpener that he ran up and down all of the metal edges around the entire board.
“And if I remember correctly the edges are used to stop, right?” I asked.
He looked up at me, smiled, and confirmed, “That’s right.”
“So, this part is easy, then. It’s like filing your fingernails or sharpening kitchen knives.”
Zane chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Well, why do you have an iron?” I asked, noting the smaller than average sized iron off to the side.
“For waxing the board.”
“Waxing?”
“This is definitely not the kind of waxing you are thinking about. We wax the board for speed. Here’s the wax,” he said holding up a square that looked like a bar of soap. “I hold the wax up to the hot iron and let it melt onto the board. Then I use the iron the same way you would if you were ironing clothes to make sure it is evenly spread over the entire board. After, I scrape down the base of the board using this plastic straightedge. It helps to ensure the wax has been absorbed into all the pores of the p-tex.”
“P what?”
“P-tex. It’s what the base of the board is made from and you want to have it soak up all of the wax that you can, especially if you are looking for speed.”
“Wow. I never realized snowboarding required all this prep work. I thought you could just get on a board and go.”
“You can. Some people do. But, you won’t be competitive if you aren’t tuning your board properly.”
“Can I try to do one?” I asked.
“You want to?” he retorted.
I nodded.
He handed me one of the boards and the file. I sharpened the edges just the way he showed me. Then, I heated the wax, allowed it to melt drizzling it over the board, and ironed it. After, I used the straightedge to help the wax get absorbed into the board. It didn’t take very long and was simple to do.
“How did I do?” I asked.
“Pretty fucking perfect, Emme.”
I stood there and looked around the room. Zane had hundreds of boards there.
“Do you have to do all of these boards?” I asked.
He laughed. “Not today. I’ll do them all before I ride them, but I’m just doing this stack here so I’m good for the week.”
“Ok. I’m going to go take a shower now and get ready for bed.”
“Sounds good. I showered while you were prepping dinner and I should be finished with these by the time you are done in the shower and have dried your hair, so we’ll be able to go to bed together.”
“Ok, baby.”
“Give me a kiss before you go.”
I smiled at him before I leaned in to give him a kiss. At that, I took off down the hall back to his bedroom where I grabbed a sexy nightie and panties to take into the bathroom with me. I got undressed and hopped in the shower. While I was in there I came up with my plan to give Zane a little something that I thought he’d enjoy.
I finished quickly in the shower, got out, and went about drying my hair. After I finished drying my hair, rubbing lotion on my body, and brushing my teeth, I put my baby pink, satin and lace-trimmed, front-closure nightie and matching side-tie panties on and assessed myself in the full-length mirror.
Here’s hoping Zane was into this.
I took one last deep breath, trying to muster up my last bit of courage since I’d never done this before, and walked to the door.
As I stepped into the bedroom I found Zane in his boxer briefs lying on his side in the bed facing me, his head propped up on one hand. The second he saw me his eyes heated and a mouth-watering grin spread across his face. I took a couple steps toward the chaise lounge sofa he had positioned off to the side of the bed near the floor-to-ceiling windows. I stood there, and he still hadn’t moved.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“That I’m the luckiest fucking man in the world. God, Emme, you’re so damn sexy.”
I gave him a coy smile and said, “I’d like to do something for you tonight, Zane.” I brought my hand up to the end of the bow I had tied at the front of the nightie. Gently pulling the string, I undid the bow and the satin slid off to the sides of my breasts. Bringing my hands up to the straps on my shoulders I coaxed them down my arms and let the nightie fall to the floor. As I stood there in nothing but a pair of baby pink panties, Zane finally moved. He got off the bed and walked to me. I held my hand up in front of me when he was only a foot away from me. He stopped immediately and his face grew concerned.
“I’m giving you something tonight,” I began as I brought my hands up to the ties on the sides of my panties. I opened the bows and let the panties drop to the ground. Zane was clenching his jaw and his hands were balled into fists as he fought to remain in control.
“I need you to do two things for me, baby,” I said, softly.
“Fuck, sweetheart. I’d do anything for you.”
I smiled at him, pointed to his boxer briefs, and said, “First, I need you to lose those.”
Without a second thought, he dropped them.
“Next, and most importantly,” I started as I began to lower myself onto the chaise sofa with one leg on either side. “I need you to try to relax and enjoy this without touching me.”
Zane eyes were now molten, but he nodded ever so slightly in acknowledgement of my request. I brought my hands up to cup my breasts and tenderly rubbed my thumbs back and forth across my nipples. I kept my eyes focused on my man as I started to trail one hand down my abdomen to my core. His eyes remained focused on my hands, but occasionally made their way back to my eyes. I allowed my eyes to drift to his manhood that was jutting out from his body, ready for release. Sliding two fingers inside, I dropped my head back and moaned as I imagined my hands were Zane’s. That’s when I heard him growl. I brought my eyes back to him and found him standing there stroking himself. I nearly came on the spot.
“Wow, that’s seriously the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” I said, my voice breathy as I continued to touch myself.
His voice was its deepest gravelly sound when he replied, “That’s because you aren’t standing here listening to and watching you.”
As Zane continued stroking himself I found myself getting more and more turned on and closer to orgasm. I didn’t relent in my hands’ movements between my legs or on breasts. His eyes grew even more heated, his groans louder, and the pace of his hand faster. He was as close as I was.
“Come closer to me, Zane,” I said. He moved instantly, continued stroking, but didn’t touch me. I looked up at him through hooded eyes and continued, “I want you to come with me, baby, but when you do I want you to do it on me.”
I rested my head back on the sofa as my breathing grew quick and shallow. With my right hand fondling my left breast and my left hand at my core, I looked to Zane and said, “I can’t wait anymore.”
“Take it, sweetheart, because I’m ready, too.”
I looked to his cock and came, calling out his name, as I watched his release shoot out and onto my breasts.
“Fuck, Emme,” Zane growled as he slowed his strokes.
For several minutes afterward, we didn’t say anything to each other as we kept our hands on our own bodies. Finally, Zane broke the silence and said, “Really want to kiss you, Em. Need you to tell me it’s ok.”
“It’s ok; you can kiss me,” I said, softly.
Seconds later Zane pressed his lips to mine. When he pulled his mouth from mine he said, “Be right back.”
I nodded and Zane took off to the bathroom. I heard the water running for a few seconds before he came back out carrying a washcloth. He walked over and sat down next to me before he brought the warm cloth up to my breasts to clean me. After making sure he cleaned his mess, Zane picked me up off the chaise, moved himself to where I was seated, and put me in his lap.
“Didn’t think I’d ever really have such an appreciation for this chair. Thinking it’s my new favorite piece of furniture in the whole house,” he said.
“So you enjoyed that then?” I asked, sheepishly.
“Sweetheart, I fucking loved it. Told you last night that watching you touch yourself was the sexiest thing I had ever seen, and that was only with your hands on your tits. Emme, seeing you just now, spread for me on this chair, with your fingers inside of you — fuck, I’m getting hard just thinking about it. Then, you completely throw me off balance when you tell me to come on you.”
My eyes left his and I looked to the ground. He immediately placed two of his fingers up under my chin and brought my eyes back to his. “Why are you embarrassed?” he asked, his voice and face both filled with concern.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve never done anything like that before. I wasn’t sure if you’d like it and now I’m kind of surprised at the fact that I even had the courage to do it.”
“I’m happy that I was the first and will be the last to ever see that,” he began as my breath hitched. “I’m also very fucking happy that you found that courage because it was very much appreciated. I love watching you, Emme. Please don’t ever be embarrassed about something like this, especially because I’m hoping you’ll do it again for me some day.”
“Ok,” I said as I wiggled myself in his lap. He groaned and I could feel his hardened length underneath my ass.
I placed my hands on each of his shoulders and straddled his lap. “I need more, Zane. Will you give it to me?”
“Always, Em,” he said, smiling up at me. “Lift up a second.”
I lifted and he used one hand to position himself at my entrance while the other hand went to grip my hip. I lowered myself back down onto him and settled into the relief I felt in having him there. “You feel so good,” I moaned.
“The feeling is mutual.”
At that, Zane’s hands, which were at my hips, urged me to move. I obliged and began riding him. I loved being with him like this. He would alternate between having his hands at my ass with his mouth on mine or having his hands on my breasts with his mouth on my nipples. It felt incredible either way. Zane let me control the pace for quite some time before he dropped his feet to the floor, held my hips in his hands, and thrusted his hips up into me. His pace was so quick that I had to brace my hands on each of his shoulders. He knew just how to build me up to an earth-shattering orgasm and that’s precisely where I was headed at that moment.
“Fuck, baby, I’m going to come,” I all but yelled as I fell forward slightly.
With those words and the close proximity, Zane leaned forward a bit and turned his head to the side to gently bite down on one of my nipples. That sent me over the edge.
“Oh, fuck, Zane,” I screamed as my orgasm hit and the sensations I was feeling splintered all over my body. I was in the middle of my orgasm when Zane yelled out my name and came apart.
I slumped forward, no energy remaining in my body. A few minutes later, Zane spoke.
“Are you tired and ready for bed, Em? Or do you think you’ll need more?”
“I think I’m good for tonight. Too sleepy,” I answered.
Zane’s body vibrated with laughter before he shifted on the chaise, stood, and carried me to the bed. After placing me in the bed under the covers, he climbed in beside me, turned off the lamp on his bedside table, wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me into him, my back to his front.
“Love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too.”
It was still dark out when I woke to a warm, hard body behind me and a hand resting on my hip while kisses were being peppered along my neck and shoulder. The first thought that ran through my mind was that I was in bed with a man and I had never felt safer in my life. The second thought was that this man not only made me feel safe, but also loved. I wanted nothing else in my life but those two things, to feel safe and loved. After everything I had been through, I was willing to settle for simply feeling safe. I, of course, never truly felt that until Zane came into my life. And love? I had pretty much given up on that back when I was still with Seth. I never expected that I’d ever be in my current situation, so I knew I would do everything I could to make sure Zane knew how much I appreciated having him in my life and how much I loved him.
I slowly rolled toward my back and sleepily asked, “What time is it?”
“Early. Didn’t want to wake you, but also didn’t want to leave without telling you first. I didn’t want you waking without me here.”
“I’m really tired, Zane. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay awake after you leave.”
Zane pressed a kiss to my temple and said, “I know, Em. Just wanted to make sure you saw me before I left. Going to miss you today, but at least I’ll have last night’s fun to get me through the day.”
I smiled inwardly. Mission accomplished. “I’m going to miss you, too. Is someone going to be with you this early?”
“Pierce is with me and Cruz will be here with you today. He’s in the guest room right now. I’ll check in with you this afternoon, but if you need me before then you call, ok?”
“Ok, baby. Please be careful. Oh, by the way, I made up some food last night so you’d have something good to eat for lunch instead of the lodge food. It’s in the fridge along with breakfast. If you have a few minutes, pop breakfast in the microwave for about forty-five seconds and it should be good to go.”
He stayed silent a minute before he said, “I’m the luckiest man alive.”
“Good luck today, Zane.”
“Thanks, Emme. Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you, too.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips before he got up and made his way out of the room. I rolled over and went back to sleep.
Run. Run. Run.
I had to keep going. I had to get away. He knew where I was and he wouldn’t stop until he staked his claim. My body was tired and my lungs were burning, but I kept going. I needed to get to Zane. We needed to be safe.
I saw the light off in the distance. It motivated me to run faster because I knew I’d find Zane there.
“Zane,” I whispered.
Learn, Emme — learn from your mistakes. I chanted this in my head and as I approached the lighted area I slowed my steps. I wasn’t going to fall this time. I managed to avoid the rut in the ground and came to a stop when I saw the figure in the shadows.
“Zane,” I called out.
The figure moved out of the shadows and into the light. It wasn’t Zane.
Oh no.
“You didn’t really think I’d let you run to him, did you, Emily?” Seth seethed.
“Where is he?” I asked, panic rising in my voice. “Zane!!” I yelled out.
“He isn’t going to be able to save you. Not from me. Not anymore,” Seth continued as he took more steps toward me. I took steps back from him, but lost my footing in the rut in the ground and went down.
I tried to get back up and was nearly half way to fully standing when a blow to my jaw sent me flying backward. I landed on the ground again and tried to regain my focus. There was little time to do this because Seth came over and began kicking me repeatedly shouting out that I’d always be his no matter how much I ran. I curled my body up into a ball trying to protect myself and praying that he’d stop, but he just kept going. Where was Zane? Why wasn’t he here? With one final devastating blow to my lower back, I screamed out in pain.
The kicking ceased. His footsteps were walking away from me. When I lifted my head slightly I noticed he stopped next to something on the ground. It was too dark to see what it was. He bent down and began dragging the object toward the light. It was then that I realized why Zane never called for me. He was barely breathing as his eyes came to mine. I began crawling toward him, my body screaming in agony at the movement.
“Zane,” I said.
The closer I got to him I realized there was blood soaking through his shirt at his stomach.
“No, no, no,” I cried out. “I’m so sorry, baby. Please don’t leave me.”
“It’s time to say good-bye, Emily,” I heard Seth say from above me. I looked up and saw he had his gun pointed to Zane.
“NOOOOO!” I yelled out.
I shot up in the bed, violently shaking. I brought my knees to my chest, dropped my head to my knees, and cried my eyes out.
“Fucking hell,” I heard a man’s voice say.
I froze. It wasn’t Zane’s voice.
I had to get away, but before I could move I felt hands that weren’t Zane’s wrapping around my arms from beside me on the bed. I immediately tried to pull away to no avail and yelled, “NO!”
“Emme, it’s ok,” the voice said. “It’s Cruz. You’re safe, beautiful. It was just a nightmare. You. Are. Safe.”
My body relaxed only slightly, but it was enough for Cruz to pull me into his chest and wrap his arms around me. I was now curled up into a ball leaning into Cruz.
“Oh my God, Zane,” I managed to get out between my sobs.
“He’s fine, Em. He’s training and Pierce is with him. He’s good. You’re good. Trust me, beautiful. You are both safe.”
I cried my eyes out as Cruz held me, trying to comfort me. It was nice and I appreciated his efforts, but it just wasn’t the same as being held by Zane. I eventually started to settle; though, I was certain I wouldn’t fully relax until I had Zane with me.
“Zane,” I whispered.
“You want me to get him here, Emme?”
I did. I wanted Zane. But, I wasn’t going to be selfish.
“No, don’t interrupt him. I want him to focus. Promise me that he will be safe, though.”
Cruz tightened his arms around me a little and said, “I promise.”
I felt my body relax a little more into Cruz with his promise. He held me a while in silence before he asked, “You ok?”
I nodded slowly against his chest. It was then I realized one very important detail. Zane put me in bed last night after our little sex session on the sofa and I never put any clothes on. Shit.
“You’re shaking your head yes, but your body just went completely solid,” Cruz said.
Fuck. Shit. Fuck.
If Zane walked in to the room right now he’d completely lose his shit seeing me curled up into a naked ball with his brother’s arms wrapped around me. The problem is that I was certain Cruz couldn’t see anything so long as I stayed like this. If I moved, he’d see everything. If he moved, he’d still see everything.
“Cruz?” I called.
“Yeah, Em?”
“You have to close your eyes,” I declared.
“Come again?”
I kept my head down, my body curled tightly into a ball, and whispered, “I just realized I have no clothes on.”
Cruz’s body vibrated with a small laugh before he said, “I know, beautiful. I was trying to be a gentleman here by not bringing it up. Figured it was more important to make sure you knew you were safe. Would have wrapped the blanket around you, but you kicked it so far away when you tried to get away from me that I would have had to let you go to get the blanket. That said, I’ve done my best to keep my eyes focused elsewhere.”
“I appreciate your efforts to remain noble. Unfortunately, I’ve assessed the situation right now and there are only two ways that we can be certain you don’t get a full show here. First, and likely the easiest and best choice of the two, you close your eyes so I can get the blanket wrapped around myself. Or second, you are going to have to hold me like this all day. I’m not a genius, but I’m willing to bet Zane would be pretty pissed if we went with that option.”
Cruz laughed again and said, “Ok. Eyes are closed and my head is turned.”
“Promise?” I asked.
“Yes, I promise.”
I immediately shot out of Cruz’s arms and over to the blanket. I quickly wrapped it around my body and looked to Cruz. He had his head turned.
“Ok,” I began. “I’m covered.”
Cruz looked back to me and gave me a small smile.
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“Which part are you apologizing for?” he asked.
I thought a moment and said, “Well, I was apologizing for the naked act, but I guess I’m also sorry for the whole nightmare scene.”
“Beautiful, you were asleep. You can sleep however you feel most comfortable. You don’t need to apologize to me for that. I just now know exactly how lucky my brother is,” he began as I felt my face flush. “And about the nightmare, I’m pretty certain that’s something you can’t control. No need for an apology. But, fuck Em, — are they always that bad?”
I shook my head, looked down, and said, “Actually I’m not sure about the aftermath of them. Zane has witnessed quite a few so he’d be able to tell you how bad that part of it is, but this was the worst nightmare for me.”
When I brought my eyes back to his I found his were terrifyingly concerned. I continued, “He shot Zane. In the stomach. I saw him lying there with blood soaking through his shirt. And Zane’s eyes — I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. He was scared, Cruz. Oddly, I don’t think he was scared for himself; he was scared for me.”
I felt my eyes get wet as my throat got tight.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure you both stay safe, Emme. The guy has really fallen off the grid in the last year, so while it’s not impossible to find him it does make it a little more difficult. Know that we will find him, but it may take some time. And in that time, protecting you and Zane is our top priority.”
“I’m so scared for him,” I rasped out.
“I know, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure you don’t have to feel that way anymore.”
“Thank you, Cruz.”
He nodded.
“Did you have breakfast?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“If you give me a few minutes to throw on some clothes I’ll come down and make breakfast.”
“Appreciate that, Em. You don’t have to cook for me, though.”
I laughed and said, “I see Zane hasn’t filled you in on my love for cooking.”
“He has not.”
“Let’s put it this way — if I’m offering to cook it’s not because I feel obligated, but because I want to do it. I enjoy cooking.”
“Are you any good?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’d like to think I’m half decent. Zane seems to like what I make.”
“Ok then, I’ll give it a try. I’m going to head down and let you get dressed.”
I nodded.
With that, Cruz walked out and I got to getting myself dressed. I used the bathroom and then threw on a pair of panties, a bra, yoga pants, and a long-sleeved, scoop-neckline, loose-fitting top.
As I walked out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the steps I thought about my day to this point. I knew I’d need to tell Zane about my morning, but I didn’t want to interrupt him. His focus needed to remain on his training. I just hoped that after I told him what happened that morning that he’d continue preparing to defend his title at the US Open.