Not exactly according to plan. But there was no way he was stopping this. He wanted her too much. He’d fought it for far too long. He needed her.

As Zephyr helped Malia out of the cab, he intertwined their fingers. Maybe touching her out in the open so close to campus was a bad idea, but he didn't give a fuck. He paid the driver before tugging her through the doors and to the elevator.

Her hands were so soft. The charge of electricity zinging up his arm every time he stroked her thumb could be a potential problem. Not like he cared though. She was his. “You sure about this?” His question was soft. It was as if he didn't want her to hear it. As if he wasn’t willing to risk a broken heart. He’d been falling for her since that faculty function. Slowly, he’d been pulled into her orbit, and there was no escaping now.

Zephyr traced her cheeks with his thumbs. If they did this, it was a line they couldn’t uncross. He had never been surer about anything in his life. But he needed her to be sure. “Malia—”

She moistened her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue and he bit back a strangled moan. “Truth or Lie, Zeph? I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

“Not nearly as much as I want you. I’m going to kiss you again now if that’s okay.”

She greeted him with a smile so wide her eyes danced. “Oh, I think it might be okay.”

She did that tip-of-the tongue thing again and his cock jerked. Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed his mouth to hers, meaning to be gentle. Instead, he felt like he had electrodes molded to his lips, sending currents of need through his body. Shit. He heard her moan and dragged her closer to him, unable, unwilling to break their contact.

His tongue coaxed a response, demanding more. When her tongue answered and met his, need slammed into his body with such force he thought he might come. Holy shit, it’s just a kiss. But his body didn’t believe that. He wanted her so badly his blood boiled. As their tongues danced, he lifted her so her legs wrapped around him. He fisted his hands in her hair and could feel the heat from her core. Her soft moans urged him on—to take, plunder. Quick. Hard. Fast.

The elevator dinged and neither of them drew back. Instead he navigated their way back to his apartment with their lips fused together as they tried to touch as much of each other as possible.

There was some fumbling required to let them into the apartment, but he managed it and carried her straight back to the bedroom. When they broke apart, he put her down and she used his arm to steady herself as she slipped off her shoes.

She looked nervous, her gaze skittering every which way. “Come here.”

Her gaze snapped to his, and she did as he told her. Sliding his lips over hers again, he turned them around and backed her against the wall. Mentally, he braced himself for the shot of electricity bolting through his veins. But when he dipped his head and their lips met, her return kiss was so tender it had him on slow melt. While his lips glided over hers in curious exploration, her tongue teased and coaxed his.

Hard and fast was what he’d wanted—or thought he wanted. He’d gone looking for a flash of heat. His body hadn’t bargained for this kind of slow and easy kissing as if they had all the time in the world and he was a fine wine to be savored.

Heat spread from the center of his body, scorching his skin from the inside. Breath trapped in his throat as he tried not to speed up the pace. He was thorough. Took his time. Didn’t rush things. No way in hell he was rushing any of this.

If this slow burn kept up any longer, he would become a believer in spontaneous combustion. Zephyr heard a low rumbling in the quiet of the room. It wasn’t until he felt her smile against his lips that he realized he was the source.

Without breaking their kiss, he slid his hands down her arms and brought them up to wrap around the back of his neck. He mumbled nonsense words, more focused on getting her as close to him as physically possible. One kiss had reduced him to a horny teenager, and his brain couldn’t compute.

Looking down at her, feeling her warmth around him, the soft curves of her body gently molded against him, he couldn’t remember his own name. Couldn’t think beyond what he wanted. Couldn’t think beyond the need slamming through his chest.

Malia arched her body into him and smiled. He couldn’t remember why he’d ever thought it was a good idea to stay away from her. As he kissed her again, he thought he was branding her as his, but really it was the other way around. Malia Adams stripped him bare. She made him feel. “You are so beautiful.”

In the tiniest corner of his mind, a voice called to him to be careful. It tried to warn him that she was dangerous to him. That he wouldn’t be able to ever exorcise her from his soul. But all he could focus on was her ragged, panting breath. All he could think about were those full lips and where he wanted them. How much he wanted her to be his.

He didn’t realize he’d pulled back and was staring at her until big green eyes blinked up at him as if waiting for some sort of command. The sweet and spicy scent of perfume mingled with her scent. He leaned his body into hers. He knew something inside him would change forever if he did this. He had a choice—listen to the voice, or fall into those green depths.

She tasted like autumn. The flavor of cinnamon mojito mingled with her unique flavor. Hands tightening on her waist, Zephyr nipped at her bottom lip and she responded to him with a shiver. Her response made his cock jump up and threaten war with the fly of his jeans.

With every breath, shift, and wiggle from her, he could feel the heat of her through his fly. He traced a path to her neck, inhaling deeply. She arched into him, pressing those full breasts into his chest. Needing to feel more of her, he slid a hand up to the V of her top. Tracing the material as it clung to the rise of one perfect mound, he heard her sharp intake of breath and watched with fascination as her nipple pebbled under the stretchy fabric of her top. Shit.

Continuing to trace his finger at the edge of the fabric, he used the other hand to restrain both of hers above her head. She didn’t struggle, only rocked her heat against him. Taking advantage of her arched form, he hovered his mouth for a moment over the puckered bud. He blew a warm breath and she shivered again as her body arched even more.

Not one to disappoint a lady, he pressed his lips over the raised peak and suckled her through the soft material. Her breath came out as a drawn-out moan and he tugged harder, trying to taste every rich flavor of her skin through the fabric.

Letting go of her hands, his fingers trembled as they tugged up the soft top. One simple tug and it skimmed over her shoulders and off, baring the black lace peekaboo bra. Shit. Perfection.

Zephyr’s brain stuttered. He couldn’t move. Malia reached for him, and he could only watch as delicate fingers tugged his cotton T-shirt up over his abs. She leaned in close, commingling her scent with his.

Her hands, delicate and trembling, moved under the shirt, skimming his shoulders as she slipped it off over his head. At the contact of skin on skin, his cock pressed against his jeans, urging, begging him to love her. To slide into her soft, warm depths and never come back up for air.

Heat flared in Malia’s eyes as his cock nudged her belly. As he felt the now-familiar shock of electricity, he eased her hands away from his belt. He grabbed a foil packet from his wallet before violently kicking off his jeans. Zephyr left the boxer briefs on, tucking the condom in the waistband at his back. Then it was her turn. He stripped her quickly, leaving her in just her lace bra and barely there panties.

For a moment, he saw the look of confusion in her eyes. His body finally surging into motion, he shifted her onto the desk, slanting over her lips again like a starving man.

His hands took their cue from the roaring, pulsing blood in his veins and slid over her hips to her ass. Cupping her flesh, he levered her against him. “Put your legs around my waist.”

When she complied, he cursed as her heat met his straining dick. He braced her against the wall and slowed the kiss. Taking his time, he teased her tongue into dancing with his. Shit, he just had to slow them down. No way in hell he was rushing this.

His hands traversed a path from her ass to her waist to her breasts, never quite reaching the sensitive tips. Malia moaned and rocked against him trying to get closer, urging him to take her breasts in his hands. When he finally gave her what she wanted, she moaned and arched her back, giving him better access.

Jesus, how many fantasies had he had about her tits. How many times had he thought about touching them, or even better fucking them. They were things of beauty. He’d always been an ass man and Lord knew Malia had one that could win awards, but she was quickly making him a breast man.

Malia arched her back as much as the confined space would allow. He took the hint and hitched her higher. Dipping his head, he grazed first one nipple, then the other with his five o’clock shadow. He followed up with his tongue and with playful tugs with his teeth.

“Zephyr.”

He wanted to hear her moan again and growled against her breast. “I like it when you say my name.”

She said it again on a whisper and he sucked in a delicate tip through the lace. With one arm wrapped around her for support, he slid his hand down the flat expanse of her belly. Only pausing to trace a circle around her belly button, his hand slid farther down, searching for her center.

He slid his fingers inside the barely-there panties and moaned. When he found it, he hissed in a breath. She was wet. Slick. Teasing the entrance, he slid one finger into her slick core and she bucked.

Shit. The tingling started in his spine. Fuck. No. Not now. They’d barely even gotten started. He buried his lips in her neck, inhaling the scent of her. She smelled like home. Gently, he withdrew his finger, then slid back again. Withdrew, then added a second finger in a slow, lazy rhythm that said they had all the time in the world. When in truth, they only had a minute before he spontaneously combusted.

Her hands fisted in his hair and she rocked her hips against his fingers, trying to force him to increase the pace. He didn’t. Fuck she was tight. Her tight little pussy tugged at his fingers. Nice and easy. They had all the time in the world. No, no you don’t. This girl is going to undo you.

Malia raked her nails up his back and he chuckled through a hiss. “You’re making it really hard for me to take my time.”

Doing it again, she asked, “Zephyr please.”

“Okay, but only because you asked so nicely and I need you so bad I’m shaking.”

With a gentle flick of his fingers, her bra unclasped and he freed her breasts. In seconds, he had it off and his gaze pinned to the dusky rose of her nipples. Hell yes. Before he was done, he was going to fuck her tits.

Her panties … well it was unfortunate what happened to them. He didn’t mean to tear them. He really didn’t. But it was taking too long to work the flimsy material over her hips, especially since he still had his fingers inside her. So he grabbed one side with his free hand, wound his fingers around, and gave a sharp tug. The tear could be heard over their ragged breathing.

“Oh my God, Zephyr.”

“Sorry. Can’t wait. Buy you a new pair.” Fuck, he sounded like a damn cave man.

Apparently she liked it because she got even wetter, easing the slide of his fingers in her wet heat.

Easing his fingers out of her, he reached around his back for the condom. With a series of wiggles, his briefs went the way of their other clothes. Getting the condom on in their current position took more effort than he thought, but when he was sheathed and his cock nudged her slick folds, he didn’t care. All he could think about was how she felt against him.

“Zephyr, God, feels so good.”

Her rocking motions caused her sex to rub against his tip.

He shuddered from the need. With slow, tilting motions of his hips, he eased in an inch. Tight. Too tight. He squeezed his eyes shut. “Malia. Fuck. Relax, sweetheart. I want this to be good for you.” Yeah okay, then maybe you don't take her against the wall like a Neanderthal.

He pulled back, but she clutched at him. “Don't you dare stop.”

“Like I could stop.” He rocked forward again, sliding in another inch and her eyes widened.

“Oh, my God, that feels—“

“Sweetheart, I’m moving us to the bedroom. You’re too tight and I’m afraid of hurting you like this.”

“Zephyr, you’re not hurting me. You feel so big. So good.”

He pulled his head back to meet her gaze. “Look at me.”

She opened her eyes and he hitched her up, making her more stable so he could hold her up with his hips and one hand. “Do you have any idea how incredible you feel? How much I’ve wanted this? How many times I’ve dreamed of this?”

She bit her bottom lip but didn’t break eye contact. He could feel her relaxing, making room for him. He slid a hand between them and slid his thumb over her clit.

It seemed that her instinct was to close her eyes, but he insisted she look at him. He wanted her to stay with him, stay connected. Slowly he withdrew and he timed his deep, penetrating strokes with each slide of his thumb.

Finally he pulled out then drove home. They both hissed in breaths. Hers was an “Ahhhhh,” his an “Ohhhhh.”

Bliss. He rocked his hips back, slowly pulling out, and rocked forward again. As his cock stroked the sensitive walls of her flesh, she dug her nails deep, scoring marks a part of him hoped would become permanent. “Yes, oh god, that feels so good. Why is it so good?”

He dropped his forehead to hers. “Because it’s us.”

She tossed her head back, baring her neck to him. Taking advantage, he nipped at the column of her neck even as he drew forward and the sensitive flesh of her core milked his cock, pulsing and releasing in its tight sheath.

“Zephyr.” His name on her breath was both a balm to the part of him that was always searching, always moving, and an accelerant to the driving urge for self-destruction. Even as their bodies moved together, mixing sweat and her perfume, Zephyr knew once wouldn’t be enough. She was already under his skin. As he drove her higher and higher and felt the tingling at the base of his spine, he knew she was making him hers. Now that he’d touched her, he would never be able to stop

“Zephyr. Please.” Her delicate fingers twined in his hair, pulling him close.

“Come on, Malia.” He increased his pace. No longer coaxing but demanding she be his for a night. For a millennium. “I want to feel you around my cock as you come. Let go, Malia. I won’t hurt you.”

“I—” Her breath hitched.

He ground his teeth together. The tingle in his spine had turned into fire. He couldn’t hold back. “Malia.”

“Zephyr—“

Her body trembled in his arms and he felt the quiver of her slick flesh against his cock. “Oh. Fuck. Me.”

As she came, her body flooded his and clamped tight around him, unwilling to let him go. The last thought he had before his body jerked in heated relief was mine.

* * *

Something warm and bright over her eyes woke Malia out of a sound slumber. Blinking rapidly, she flung an arm over her face to ward off some of the sun’s glare. She’d actually slept through the night? Her fuzzy brain tried to piece together the events of the previous night. Then an arm tightened around her waist and the memories flooded back. Zephyr. They’d made love against the wall in the living room. Then on the couch, then in the hall. Only eventually making it to the bedroom.

And given the way heat flooded her core, her body was down for round five. For just a second, she let herself relish in being held and let his warmth cocoon her. But that only lasted for a moment before his phone chimed. With a groan, he rolled over and picked it up. His sleepy, sex-rumpled, half-smile quickly morphed into a scowl.

“Everything okay, Zephyr?”

The scowl was gone in a moment, replaced by a completely impassive expression. “Fine.”

“Are you sure? You look upset.”

His brows furrowed. “Malia, it’s fine. Just work. But it’s Saturday. I’m not letting the Tanashis ruin a perfect Saturday morning.”

“Okay.” A flush heating her skin, she bit her tongue. Curiosity burned, but he clearly wasn’t going to discuss whatever it was. A tiny alarm bell rang in the far-off distance of her mind, but she quashed it. He was entitled to some privacy. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling he was deliberately keeping something from her.

His voice was softer when he spoke again. “Do you know you sleep like a wild woman? I had to hold you against me all night just to keep you from thrashing around.”

Heat suffused her cheeks. She’d never had to do the awkward morning after thing. She cleared her throat. “You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt.”

He grinned at her. “Not for lack of you trying.”

Good lord, the man’s smile should be outlawed. Lazy and sexy and sleep-rumpled, he was dangerous. Who the hell was she kidding? He was dangerous all the time. Fully dressed in a suit, in a T-shirt and jeans, shirtless, naked, in bed—He pretty much always screamed, “Go on. Jump my bones.” Escape was paramount before she did in fact do that … again. Make that again and again. He’d woken her up in the middle of the night with the mother of all wake-up calls. She could still feel the evidence of his tongue’s deft strokes between her thighs. She ducked her head and mumbled an apology as she tried to tuck the sheet around her breasts.

He frowned, and his voice was low when he spoke. “Why does it look like you’re running, Malia?”

Because I am running. “I’m not running. I’m just trying to gracefully exit the bed without flashing you. I’ll never understand how they make this happen in the movies. And what’s more, who are these people in movies who have sex with a bra on? Like, come on. You're cutting off a foreplay avenue if you leave your bra on.”

He hauled her body up against his before kissing her shoulder. “And if I don’t want you to escape? I have a few plans for you this morning. None of them include you getting dressed.”

A giggle escaped, and she covered her face with her hands. “God. You’re like every fantasy come true.”

His rich laughter filled the room. “Oh, yeah? Tell me, Malia, what other fantasies do you have? I’d love to make them all come true.” His hand skimmed down her belly to the juncture between her thighs even as his cock nudged her ass insistently.

The pull of lust low in her belly was unavoidable. Her body was tuned to his, and he knew just how to play hers. “Zephyr, I can’t stay in bed all day. I have things to do. Work, and stuff... I can’t …”

Her voice trailed off as his expert fingers found the slick button of her clit and slid over it, making her shiver and quake.

“What was that you were saying, Malia?” he drawled. Low and sexy, his voice seduced her as much as his fingers did, spiking her blood with desire and lust.

Malia clutched the sheets and arched her back as he dipped a finger into her slick wetness. “God, Zephyr.”

He teased and plucked her nipple while giving her love bites on her shoulders and neck. But above all, his whispered caresses were what had her so unsteady, so desperate. “So perfect … feel so good.”

She whimpered when he rolled away. In the near silence of the room, the tearing of the foil mingled with their breathy pants. When he slid behind her again, her breath caught in desperate anticipation. She needed him to take her again. Needed him to keep holding her and never let her go. That need terrified her. Even as he stroked deep and she drew in shuddering breaths, the insidious terror wove its way into her consciousness.

As he drove into her, instinctively knowing how to make her body hum and sing, her brain desperately scrambled for purchase up the slippery slope. Needing to get to the high ground where it was safe and protected and he couldn’t hurt her.

But his voice seduced her just as his body did. It wasn’t when he told her he thought she was beautiful that pulled at her, but every time he whispered the word perfect.

Because that was how she felt. Like in his arms she was where she belonged. That she could be perfect.

He whispered in her ear, “C’mon, Malia. Stay with me.”

She slammed the door on her thoughts and let desire take over. Gave herself up to the feel of his deep strokes and his strong hands on her flesh. Gave herself over to the lust. She could think about what she felt later. Or maybe never. It was safer for everyone if she didn’t think about it. “I am with you.”

With his warm breath tickling her neck, he whispered, “Then come for me.”

And with the flick of his sure fingers, she did. The wash of pure bliss traveled down her spine, sending her body bowing into his.

He nipped at her, and then with three more deep slides, he stiffened. “Fuck, Malia.” He held her tight to him and kissed her again.

She couldn’t be sure, but she would have sworn she heard him whisper, “Please stay.”

Something told her she wasn’t going to make it to work on time.