She felt the touch and shivered. Zoe was asleep…she knew that she was…but she could feel the touch of his finger tracing down along her bare arm and across the rise of her hip. When he reached the hem of her nightshirt, he pushed it up until it was under her arms and she slipped it over her head. Next, he used one hand to peel away her panties, and Zoe wiggled her butt and legs until they were down far enough for her to kick them off. He pulled her back into him then and although she couldn’t see him, she could feel the heat of his body, pressed into her back. Next came the feeling of his hot, moist breath as his lips softly brushed against the side of her neck. She sighed and wiggled her body even further back so that they were spooning so tightly, not even air could come between them. She could every muscle in his chest as well as the firm shape of his erection pressed into her.

He held her with one arm and explored her body with the other hand. She shuddered with each stroke of his fingers and each gentle knead of his hand on her breasts. He pressed his palm into her nipples and once they were as rigid as his cock, he took them between his fingers and rolled, tweaked, and pinched them until her body was alive with energy.

As he caressed her skin with his fingers, his lips continued their exploration of her neck. She arched into him, letting her head fall back into his chest, giving him better access to the sensitive flesh his mouth was exploring. She let out a moan when his fingers reached the hot, wet, aching flesh between her legs. He stroked her lips lightly before spreading them and letting his fingers explore in between them. She gasped when one of those fingers began to probe up inside of her, and she felt her muscles tighten around it. He held her tightly, pressed against him and the mattress as he moved first one and then two fingers in and out of her sopping-wet pussy. She could feel his hips flexing into her, rubbing his erection harder and faster against her.

They were both moaning as she approached her climax, and she felt the hand that had been holding her down, slide down her body and come to rest on top of her thigh. He pushed it forward, and she moved and lifted it as he slipped his fingers out from inside her and replaced them with his thick, throbbing cock. He slid in slowly, holding still when he’d filled every inch of her…and then he began to move. His hips danced in an erotic rhythm as he thrust in and out of her, allowing his other hand to continue its hot, sexy exploration of the rest of her body. They both whimpered and moaned at the sheer pleasure of it all, but neither spoke. There was no need for words as they took what they needed from each other, there in the dark.

Zoe’s body was on fire when she tipped over that edge he had her dangling from. Her cries of passion echoed off the walls, but barely masked the sounds of the ragged gasps of his breaths as he intensified his assault on her willing pussy. His hand pressed hard into her stomach, holding her down, holding her still, holding her where he wanted her…and before long she felt his already massive erection swell inside of her and she heard his grunt as his own orgasm stole the last of his breath. She lay there, reveling in the afterglow while he continued to hold and caress her. She felt herself drifting back to sleep…which was crazy, because she’d been asleep the whole time. She gave in to that feeling, however, and hours later when she woke up, and the room was filled with light, she rolled over onto her back and was surprised to find herself naked. Holding the sheet pressed into her chest she sat up straight and looked around. The nightshirt that she’d worn to bed was lying in the floor in a heap. She felt something pressing against her toes in the bed and she lifted up the sheet and saw that it was the underwear she’d put on after her shower the evening before. She shook her head and then rested it in her hands. This was getting ridiculous. With a sigh, she lay back on the pillow and looked down at her body. Shamelessly she remembered his hands on her, holding her down and driving her crazy with lust. Her own hand went to her stomach, where there was a very faint red mark…almost in the shape of a hand. Once again her body convulsed with a shudder that sent an electric tingle running down her spine and culminated in goosebumps that rose up and down her arms and legs. What the hell is going on?

* * *

It had taken Levi a long time to fall asleep after talking with Zack the night before. When he finally had, he had another erotic dream. In this one, he never saw the woman he was making love to, because it was in the dark…but he knew that it wasn’t Krissy. He was sure…even though he couldn’t possibly know what she really felt like…that it had been Zoe. That day he visited her in the hospital, they had scratched at the surface of a conversation they really needed to have. She was having dreams too, and she seemed embarrassed to admit that. It made him wonder if they were the same kind of dreams that he had. If he was right, and Krissy was the reason he’d met Zoe…why the erotic dreams? Why not just let them meet and become friends, if the whole point was to help him through his loss? He shook his head at himself. Maybe none of this had to do with Krissy at all, other than the fact that Zoe was there for her when she died. Maybe the erotic dreams were just because since he was seventeen years old, he’d never been this long without sex…or at least the promise of it when Krissy came home from school. Maybe his subconscious was just struggling with the fact that his body still had needs even though his heart sometimes felt like it died with Krissy. Maybe he just needed to get laid and it was that simple.

Right now, he had to go pick up Zoe and decide whether to risk making her think he was completely nuts by talking to her about it, or spend the day acting like he didn’t vividly remember just making love to her. That was getting harder every time. “Shit,” he mumbled out loud as he finally got out of bed and started getting ready. Maybe he would really just get laid and see if that worked. All he had to do was walk into the clubhouse and take his pick of the club girls. He really didn’t know what was stopping him. None of those girls expected it to mean anything and he had to face it sooner or later…he wasn’t cheating on Krissy. He wondered if other people went through this…How do you know how long is long enough to wait?

He tried to put those thoughts away before he got to Zoe’s house to pick her up. He’d texted her before he left his apartment and when he got there, she was waiting outside. She had on a pair of jeans and a black Metal Mulisha t-shirt. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she didn’t have any make-up on other than some lip gloss. Her face looked like she was putting on a little weight and it looked good. She looked healthy. But maybe that was dangerous for him too, because the healthier she looked, the more attractive he found her.

She was sitting on the front porch and stood up when he pulled into the driveway. He pulled the helmet he’d brought for her off the handlebars as he climbed off the bike. “I brought you a helmet this time.”

She smiled. “Thank God.” He handed it to her and their fingers brushed. She pulled back right away and he thought he saw her blush. The thought that she’d had another dream like the one that he’d had crossed his mind.

“How are you today? Are you sure you feel up to a ride?”

She smiled again. “I’m good, Nana, thanks.”

“Shut up.”

She laughed. “I’m kidding. But really, I’m okay.”

“Alright. I called the foster home and they’re expecting us.” Zoe’s eyes went to the big bag strapped on the back of the bike.

“Is that all for Susie?”

He felt his face go hot. “Mom couldn’t decide what to get her, so, she got a lot.”

“I think it’s sweet,” she said. She put the helmet on and strapped it underneath her chin. “I’m ready.”

Levi loved his bike. He loved to ride. He loved the wind in his face, the sound of a smooth engine, and even the smells of the exhaust and the road tar. But what he’d always loved even more was the feeling of Krissy on the back of it, with her arms circling around his waist. Zoe was the only girl he’d ever had on his bike other than Krissy. She still held onto him a little tentatively, unless he went around a tight corner or sped up to pass, and then she’d wrap her arms all the way around him and hold on tight. He was ashamed of the way having her body pressed into his made him feel. It was a good feeling, too good. He came to the turnoff for the foster home. It was a long, winding road and he found himself shamelessly speeding up, just so Zoe would hold on tighter. The house was off the beaten track. It sat at the end of the long road and it was surrounded by green, rolling hills. Levi forgot about his lust for a few minutes to marvel at the difference between this place and the one where Susie had been living in the city. No wonder she’d been so happy about coming here. He remembered Krissy telling him about the foster home she was at for about five years, from three years old until she was about eight. The father passed away and the mom wasn’t able to take care of the kids, so she has been moved to one in the city. She always talked about the one in the country like it was her favorite, and he’d imagined it looking almost just like the big two-story white house in front of him now looked. There was a big wrap-around porch and tall shade trees lined the gravel driveway all the way up to the front of the house.

When he got close, he parked the bike underneath one of the trees. Zoe jumped off quickly, surprising him, and pulled off her helmet. “This is it!” she squealed. Levi had no idea what she was talking about.

“This is what?” he asked her as he slipped off his skullcap and gloves.

“The house I was telling you about last night. This is the house I stayed in when I was a little girl and my mom was in jail.”

“No way! Talk about a coincidence.”

“Another one,” she said. “Weird.”

Weird was right. Levi took the gloves and skullcap and slipped them into his saddlebags, and stepped off the bike. He grabbed the bag of toys and said, “Are you okay being here?”

“Oh yeah. Like I told you, it was a great place. I was happy here.”

“Good. You ready then?” He looked up toward the house. A heavy-set woman with short gray hair had stepped out on the porch. She was squinting in their direction like maybe she had forgotten to put on her glasses. “Mrs. Rayburn?” Levi asked as they walked toward her.

“Yes, you must be Levi.”

He smiled and stopped at the bottom of the steps. Zoe stopped next to him. “Yes, I’m Levi and this is my friend, Zoe.”

“Zoe?”

“Hi, Mrs. Rayburn. You probably don’t remember me but…”

“Oh, sweetheart! Of course I do! I remember every beautiful soul that came through here. Look at you, all grown up. Come here and give me a hug.”

Zoe walked up the steps and hugged the older woman. “I can’t believe you remember me.”

“Well, I probably wouldn’t have recognized you if I’d passed you on the street, but the name…it’s not a common one. You really haven’t changed that much either. You were always so thin.”

Zoe smiled. “I’m working on that. It’s really good to see you. How is Mr. Rayburn?”

The older woman looked sad. “We lost him a few years after you left us. He hung on and fought for a lot longer than anyone expected him to. I took a little sabbatical after he left me and I went to visit our daughter out in California. But when I came back…there was just nothing else for me to do than take in more children.”

“That’s good for the children,” Zoe said. “I’m so sorry to hear about your husband.”

“He’s with the angels now,” she said. “Come on in. Speaking of angels, I’ll get Susie for you. She’s the sweetest little thing.” Levi and Zoe followed her into the house. She made them comfortable in the living room, where she already had a plate of cookies and iced tea set out, and she went to get Susie. Zoe was looking around the room and when Mrs. Rayburn was gone she said:

“It’s just like it was back then. Nothing has changed.”

“It’s a nice place,” Levi said. “I’m so happy they put Susie here.”

“Mr. Levi!” Susie yelled his name as she came down the stairs with Mrs. Rayburn following behind her. She opened her little arms and when she got close enough, she wrapped them around his neck and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back.

“Hey, girl,” he said, holding her back a ways. “You look good.” She was clean and her hair was braided on either side of her face. She had on a dress that fit her and was clean as well…and shoes.

“I feel good,” she said. She looked at Zoe then and said, “Hi.”

“Hi, Susie. I’m Zoe.”

“Mrs. Rayburn, can I have a cookie?”

The older woman laughed. “Okay, but just one, I don’t want you ruining your lunch.” The little girl picked up a cookie and said:

“The angel told me about you.”