return, she’d told him about her mother. What a fine and beautiful person she was. It had often struck him as odd that they were from completely different backgrounds but had so many similarities. Maybe that was one of the reasons they fit so well together.
He swallowed hard and heard himself say, “You’ve got a lot of big stuff ahead of you, too. College and law school. I know your mom would be happy about your choices.”
“I think she might be very surprised. Up until it happened, I never even paid that much attention in school—she was always encouraging me to study more.”
She always referred to her mother’s murder as “it.” Never able to say those words.
“I’ve no doubt she would be proud of you and what you’ve become,” he told her.
“I hope so.” Her fingers traced his face as if trying to commit it to memory. “What am I going to do without you? You always make me feel better about everything.”
“You’ll be so busy, you’ll probably forget about me in a few weeks.”
Deep down he knew that was one of his biggest fears. They had this unbelievable connection now but what would happen when they were far apart for months at a time? Would she meet someone else? What if she wanted to date other guys?
“If you wanted to date other guys, I’d understand.”
She froze in his arms. “Are you breaking up with me?”
Ah hell, he’d planned to tell her how much she meant to him and instead made her think he wanted to end things with her. “Of course not. I just don’t want to hold you back if that’s something you wanted to do.”
Green eyes searched his face, questioning and vulnerable. To prevent himself from saying more stupid things, he pulled her back into his arms and lowered his mouth to cover hers. She tasted like butterscotch and vanilla, both flavors from the dessert sundae they’d shared earlier. The memory of her taste would be with him until he died.
With a sweet moan of surrender, she sank into his arms. Seeking soft, firm flesh, his hands slid beneath her dress and traveled up her silken thigh. Because of the restrictions he put on himself, he kept his caresses on the outside of her thighs. Though his fingers ached to delve between her legs and plunge into the sweetness he fantasized about nightly, he couldn’t allow himself to go further. He had made a silent vow not to coerce her into having sex. No matter that every part of his body throbbed with need and an aching desire, he intended to keep that promise.
“Zach,” she whispered against his lips.
“Yeah?”
“Make love to me.”
Oh hell. Everything, including breath and heart, stilled at her words. Grappling with his conscience, Zach searched for the right thing to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but his wants were way down on the list. Savannah and her needs came first. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because this is our last night together?”
“Of course that’s one of the reasons, but not the biggest. I want you, Zach. There’s never been anyone like you in my life, and whatever the future holds for us, I want you to be my first time.”
Zach searched for the self-discipline, the iron will he’d held over himself. The aching need to be inside her, loving her, thrusting deep into her sweetness … He shuddered out a long breath and grabbed onto the best argument he had for denying them both. “I don’t have any protection with me, Savannah. As much as I want you, we can’t risk—”
Taking his hand, she dropped an unmistakable foil-wrapped packet into his palm. “I bought these at a drugstore in Mobile a couple of weeks ago.”
All available blood rushed south; sanity vanished, reason disappeared. Pulling her back into his arms, Zach went at her lips like a starving man, plunging his tongue inside again and again. As her tongue met and tangled with his, a growling groan developed in his chest. Only by sheer will alone did he keep from climbing on top of her, ripping away her underwear, and burying himself deep. The knowledge of how hot and tight she would be almost made him forget everything but his needs and just how much he wanted her.
A minuscule amount of sanity returning temporarily, he rasped against her mouth, “If at any point you want me to stop, you say the words and I will. Okay?”