Liv licked her lips at the notion of stripping Zane down. She hovered over him, too aware of the outline of his erection along his pants. Her whole body flushed at the thought of having that length inside her, of crossing that step with the one man she’d always longed for. Her palms pressed into the wrinkled sheets on his bed, and she savored the scent of sweat, of sage and smokes, of him.

He stared at her with this yearning that made her feel like she wasn’t alone. Zane always looked at her with wonder in his eyes, despite the wicked curve of his eyebrows and the sinful curl of his lips. All his time at the gym earned him the sort of toned muscles she wanted to run her fingers across, and she was dying to sink her teeth into his bronzed skin. Her body had turned to jelly after the way he’d made her come, but as she leaned over top of him with a mere inch separating their bodies, desire flared through her once more.

She dipped down and sank her teeth into the side of his neck. The puff of hot air by her ear in response and the way he slid his hands around her hips gave her the nudge to keep exploring, licking and sucking her way to his collarbone. Liv latched onto his tee and tugged upward. Zane shrugged the shirt off, revealing delicious abs that made her salivate. She raked her fingernails down the front of them, appreciating the way his hips tilted forward with the motion.

Through every move she made, his eyes never left her. The soft amber light from the lamp enhanced the proud curve of his nose, and those sensual lips she loved to kiss. His mane of dark hair tumbled around his face in wild waves, making her want to run her fingers through it. Liv began to inch his zipper down, her core pulsing with an intense longing for him to fill her to completion. His fingers curled around the knot keeping her halter dress up.

“Fair play, beautiful,” he murmured as he undid the knot in one swift motion. The straps fell, and the whole front of her dress tumbled down, exposing her breasts. Her nipples pebbled as they hit the air, tightening so hard they hurt. Zane’s hungry gaze swept over her. She shimmied out of her dress, kicking it to the floor, while he shucked his jeans off. Her body prickled with awareness as she slid over him, the delicious feeling of skin against skin making her delirious.

The tendons of Zane’s neck protruded, and the grip around her hips kept tightening. Even though the Zane she knew was the kind of guy who’d be straining at the seams to take charge right now, he didn’t push. After the way things ended on their first try, he was giving her control when it counted most. If she adored him before, this made her fall even harder for him.

She took in a shaky breath, summoning the courage to try again. Last time, she’d wanted to surrender herself in the feelings threatening to consume her. Here and now, she wanted to remember every second of this. Zane Parata imprinted on her in a way she’d never forget, no matter what their future held. He’d offered her hope, strength, and a reason to fight once more.

Her core throbbed with need for him, her folds drenched. The way his silken cock slid against the inside of her thigh drove her crazy with desire. His hands glided across her skin as he caressed her breasts, her waist, until those heavy palms rested on her hips like they belonged there. Liv pressed a kiss on his lips, the tips of her nipples skating against the smooth surface of his abs, the slight touch traveling straight to her core.

The heat between them turned molten, the air tensing as she pressed against him harder, a moan slipping from her. Zane trailed a fingertip along the shell of her ear, even the slight motion jolting her with a lust she couldn’t deny any longer.

Their eyes met, and he tilted his head to give her the go ahead, those dark eyes burning with intensity. Liv bit her lip, the slightest bit of nerves running through her…God, she didn’t want to fuck this up. But his hands never left her skin, bolstering her confidence, and she realized that with Zane, there was no fucking up, no performance goal. He wanted this with her, and he had proven he would take her however she was, damage and all.

Her heart squeezed tight as she gripped his shoulders, the heels of her palms digging into his defined chest.

“I’m just going to sit back and watch the show,” Zane murmured, a grin on his lips. “Let you do all the work.” She shot him a glare even though her heart skipped with lightness at the way he tried to assuage her own tension, at how even now he tried to ease her through this.

“Oh yeah?” she shot back, “let’s see how much you can take.” Bolstered by the gleam in his eyes, her fingers curled into the sheets above his shoulders as she poised herself over the head of his cock. The sight of his stark erection made her ache with the urge to be filled by him.

Liv lowered herself on the head of his cock, holding there despite the way her pussy clenched. His thighs tensed beneath her, and his fingertips sank into her skin with a delicious bite, but a playful smile appeared.

“That’s good enough, right?” she teased. “I think I’m all done for tonight.”

A growl slipped past him as he bucked his hips up to inch in further. She let out a gasp of delight at the thick length of him pushing into her. With a wicked smile on her face, Liv lifted her hips, edging away. Zane’s gaze sparked. He thrust inside her further, inch by inch filling her. She sank onto his cock, reveling in the fullness of him, in the way he pierced through the aching need inside her until she took him to the hilt.

The moment he filled her, she clenched tight around him. Their eyes locked. She trusted him more than anyone on the planet right now, and he’d earned it every step of the way. For once, her body wasn’t locking up, her heart wasn’t racing in fear, and the adrenaline urging her to run hadn’t emerged. She remained present, aware of the connection between them for the first time in too long.

He tilted his hips up to rock her forward, and her fingers curled into the sheets as she surged with him. Together, they swayed in an inexorable dance she didn’t want to end. The way he moved inside her sent sparks to her fingertips, the back and forth swing making her moan. The delicious friction of his hard-as-steel cock pushing against her walls stoked her flames as she submitted to the undulating rhythm between them. To how she’d connected in entirety to a man who meant the world to her.

Liv had felt broken for so long, shattered to pieces, but as Zane filled her, as he thrust up and she sank on top of him over and over, she could feel those pieces gluing together again. The trust and the tenderness he shared with her while they made love was the missing piece that had eluded her for so long. Every past relationship had ended in flames, every bad hookup sent her spiraling further, but this connection with Z, the one that time, trauma, and distance never severed, this allowed her to hope once more.

The pressure built inside her, their thrusts growing more frantic, more desperate. Close…she was so close to coming again. Based on the way sweat beaded his brow, how droplets prickled along those corded forearms and his powerful thighs, he was close, too. She bent to brush her lips against his, her breasts pressing against his chest. His hands slid down as he gripped her ass so tight his fingertips dug into her cheeks. The guttural moan from him stirred her desire and awakened her senses.

His cock kicked inside her as he came, spurring her own release as her pussy tightened around him again and again. She panted as she rode out the bliss, the radiant adrenaline coursing through her body; even her mind blanked for one powerful moment. Liv’s shoulders heaved up and down before she collapsed against him, their sweat-slicked limbs mingling in the wake of their orgasms.

Her ear pressed against his chest, the wild thump-thump of his heart a melody that entranced her. She lay on top of him as his hands settled on the small of her back, making her feel safer than she had in years. For once, she was feeling a wholeness she didn’t dare shatter.

“Well that was a long time coming,” he murmured, his low voice rumbling through her. Overwhelming tenderness squeezed her chest tight, and for a moment, she didn’t respond, just rested against him in the silence.

“Too long,” she mumbled against his chest. “Let’s not put ourselves through that hell again.” He squeezed her tight in response as she surrendered to the comfort of his heat and the scent of sage and sweat that wrapped around her like a blanket.

The sound of their hearts pounding, of their ragged breaths, swept over her like a lullaby, bringing peace in its wake. Eventually, she rolled off of him to lie at his side, propping her head up with her elbow. Within seconds he tugged her back to him, and she curled into his arms once again.

“Stay with me?” he asked. Despite the casual tone in his voice, she caught the edge there, the question driving into a desperate part of her that understood his loneliness all too well. Liv buried her face into his chest while his hands traveled along her back in a gentle stroke. After spending a lifetime searching for this connection, for him, no way in hell would she let him go.

“Always.”