Chapter 72

He pulled back to gaze into my eyes. "Not yet."

"Well, don't you think you should?"

"That depends," he said.

"Oh what?"

His lips curved into a wicked smile. "If you don't mind rug burn on your ass."

I stifled a giggle. "Well, maybe I'd be on top. And you'd get the burnt ass."

"Or maybe," he said, "I could take your sweet ass upstairs and make you forget this rug ever existed."

My breath caught. That sounded really good. "Come to think of it," I said, "I've always hated this rug."

"Yeah?" He was still smiling. "Say the word, and I'll burn it."

"You wouldn’t."

His voice was nearly a caress. "I would if it made you happy."

The truth was, I actually believed him. And I might've told him so, if only he didn't, just then, get to his feet and pull me up with him. "Come on," he said, leading me toward the main stairway. "Let's pick out our bedroom."

"Our bedroom?"

"Well, yeah," he said. "If you think I'm letting you leave this place, you're crazy."

Whether he was kidding or not, his enthusiasm was contagious, and together, we bounded up the stairs like two college kids on Spring Break.

Embarrassingly, we never made it past the very first bedroom where, after glimpsing its luxurious bathroom, I suddenly recalled that I'd been promised a shower – with him.

And this is where we found ourselves two minutes later, naked and lathered as the steaming water cascaded down from multiple shower heads on both sides.

Zane's hair was wet, and his body was glistening. As far as his hands, those wonderful hands, they were slippery with soap as they ran slowly up and down my body, lathering my breasts, my back, my stomach, my legs, and everywhere in between.

As for my hands, they had some serious exploring of their own to do, and I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by.

He'd been my own personal fantasy for longer than I'd been willing to admit, even in the deepest, darkest parts of the night, when he'd been haunting my dreams with fantasies like the reality in front of me now.

He was undeniably beautiful, with his sculpted body and perfect face. And yet, that wasn't why I'd fallen for him. It was his inner beauty – hidden like a treasure reserved for the cherished few who claimed a special place in his heart.

Did this include me? It sure seemed like it. If so, this made me the luckiest girl in the whole world.

I couldn’t help but smile as I ran my soapy hands along his back and down his ass, loving the feel of his hard muscles shifting in time with the motions of his own hands, which were, even now, caressing me to distraction.

More eager than ever, I reached for the soap again and lathered my hands until they were overflowing with white, scented foam. After returning the soap to its holder, I reached out, washing his chest with both of my hands – loving the feel of his pecs, hard and firm, under my smooth fingers.

Through all of this, my eyes were exploring too – relishing the sight of his body, his face, and best of all, his eyes, filled with an expression that looked a lot like love.

And then, he spoke. "Jane?"

"Hmmmmm?"

His hands had returned to my breasts. His palms were cupping them while his fingers captured the nipples, giving them a tender, maddening squeeze that sent a warm tingle all the way to my toes.

His voice was quiet and sincere. "You're made for me. You know that, right?"

I did know that, and yet, I swear, I would've been thrilled to hear it a million times over. I gave him a secret smile. "And you're made for me."

"Got that right."

I ran my own hands lower, skimming my fingers along his rock-hard abs before reaching for his length. He was massively hard in my soapy grip, and I gave his erection a tender squeeze, and then a long, smooth stroke, followed by another.

In front of me, Zane closed his eyes and gave a muffled moan that blended so sweetly with the sound of the water cascading over our naked bodies.

I tightened my grip, loving the feel of him, the sound of him, the look of him, especially when he smiled in a way that was almost sweet.

At any other time, I might have laughed at the very idea. Zane Bennington, sweet?

And yet, being with him was the sweetest thing I'd ever known, especially a few minutes later when we tumbled, wet and eager, from the shower onto the four-poster bed.

I felt clean and warm and so very desperate to have him inside me. At that moment, I might've even been willing to beg him, but happily, I didn't have to. When his body claimed mine, I felt full and complete in a way I never would've thought possible.

I drifted off, happy and sated, in the quiet afternoon, only to wake however long later to see Zane propped up beside me, gazing at me with an expression that made me smile all over again.

I couldn’t help but ask, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking of the first time I saw you." He pulled me into his arms and whispered into my ear. "I noticed you right away, you know."

"At the party?" I had to laugh. "It would be hard not to notice me, considering that you caught me eavesdropping."

"Maybe. But that wasn't the first time I saw you."

"It wasn't?"

"No. I saw you from an upper window."

"You did? When?"

"That afternoon, when you were playing with the dogs."

At first, I didn't get what he meant, but then, I realized. "Oh, my God. You mean when I was throwing those stupid meatballs?"

"Yeah," he said. "It amused the hell out of me."

"Well, if that amused you, I can only imagine how funny it was to find me in some van." I nuzzled closer. "Admit it. You hated me."

"I didn't hate you," he said, "but I was suspicious."

"Why?" I had to laugh. "Just because you caught me hiding out in the dark?"

"No. Because you were just my type."

"Oh, stop it," I said. "I was not."

"Wanna bet?" He ran a warm hand along my hip. "In fact, you were so exactly my type, I figured it had to be a setup."

"Seriously?" I laughed against his bare chest. "So you thought I was a spy or something?"

"No." A smile crept into his voice. "I thought you were trouble."

"Me?" I couldn't help but scoff. "Compared to you, I'm an angel."

"Yeah." His voice softened. "You are."

Of course, I knew this wasn't true, but it was sweet to hear just the same. "Well, I'm glad you think so."

"And, as long as I'm confessing," he said, "I was happy as hell that your house got smashed."

I made a move to pull back. "Wait, what?"

"I'm not kidding," he said, refusing to let go. "If I had an ax, I'd have chopped that tree down myself."

I shouldn’t have laughed, but it struck me as incredibly funny. "It wasn't smashed," I said. "It was squashed."

"Smashed, squashed, same difference to me. I'm just pissed I didn't think of it myself."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's gotta find a new place."

"So don't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't go."

I snuggled tighter against him. At the moment, I wasn't sure I could go anywhere, even if I wanted to.

And I didn't want to.

Still, there was something I wanted to know before I lost my nerve. I pulled back to study his face. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Was there ever anything between you and Kayla?"

"Hell no."

I wasn't surprised, but I was curious. "But if that's the case, why didn't you deny it? To Teddy, I mean?"

"I did deny it."

"You did not. I was there, remember?"

"On the plane?" he said. "Well yeah. By then, I'd already denied it a dozen times. That stuff gets old fast."

On this, I could totally relate. After all, Teddy was still convinced that I was "boning" Professor Lumberjack. From now on, I decided, I'd take Zane's approach and let Teddy think whatever he wanted – because heaven knows, he would, anyway.

Tentatively, I asked, "And what about all those models?"

"What about them?"

"Well, you dated a whole bunch of them."

"Yeah. I did. And I'm not gonna lie. I had some good times."

I could only imagine, except I really didn't want to.

Zane added, "But you wanna know the truth?"

Bracing myself, I nodded.

"Stuff like that?" he said. "Well, that gets old, too."

"So what happened?" I asked. "You got tired of them?

"No." His gaze met mine. "I fell in love."

My breath caught. "Oh?"

He gave a slow nod. "Jane?"

Suddenly, I felt almost too breathless to speak. "What?"

"I love you."

"Really?"

He laughed. "Is that such a surprise?"

Yes.

And no.

Either way, it was wonderful to hear. I felt a mischievous smile tug at my lips. "Well, as long as we're confessing…"

"Yeah?"

I almost giggled. "I'm pretty sure I love you, too."

He lifted a single eyebrow. "Pretty sure, huh?"

"All right. More than pretty sure. Actually…" I gazed deep into his eyes and confessed the undeniable truth. "I love you, Zane Bennington."

He flashed me a sudden grin. "You'd better."

I smiled back. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because I've got a question."

"What?"

"Will you marry me?"

And just like that, the world stopped spinning. After a long, wonderful moment, I asked, "Is that a serious question?"

He looked absolutely sincere. "What do you think?"

I gave a happy laugh. "I think you're crazy."

"Got that right. And you wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I've waited too long already."

"For what?"

His voice was very quiet. "For you."

I was so overwhelmed, I could hardly breathe. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Oh yeah."

"So, is that a yes?"

I knew it was beyond crazy. I knew that only a month ago, I thought I hated him. I knew that Zane was foul-mouthed, stubborn, and yes, at times, a total prick.

But I knew other things, too. Topping that list? I loved him, and he was positively perfect exactly the way he was.

I gave a happy nod and said the word that would change everything. "Yes."

He pulled me close and kissed me like I'd just given him the world on a silver platter. But in reality, it was him giving me everything I never realized I wanted.

It was official. I was positively pricked – and always would be.