There Goes My Heart (The Sullivans #20) - Bella Andre Page 0,26

hard inside her. “You have no idea how much I like you.”

“Show me.” No matter how she had meant the words to sound, they came out as a desperate plea.

And when he covered her mouth with his again, what she felt went beyond mere passion, resonating far closer to the center of her chest than she could have anticipated. Much closer to her heart than she was sure she could possibly deal with.

But then, thought spun out of her head as he took her even higher with his kisses, and caresses, and the wonderfully deep thrust of his body into hers.

So high that her world grew impossibly bright, filled with more colors than she’d known existed and sensation so sharp and sweet that when she hit the peak, she didn’t simply break apart, didn’t just shatter into a million pieces—she detonated, crying out his name as the waves of pleasure went on and on and on.

Moments later, Rory followed her over the edge, her name on his lips between kisses. And every part of him inside and out was so strong and beautiful and surprisingly likable that she began to crest again.

“Please,” she outright begged him this time. “I still need you.”

“I’m here, Zara.” His hands, his body over hers, his deep voice, were the only things still tethering her to the earth. “Let me feel you go over again, sweetheart.”

So much about tonight had been crazy. But nothing was crazier than the impact of hearing Rory call her sweetheart.

The endearment sent her into a third orgasm, one that was even bigger, even more breathless, even brighter and sweeter than the two that he’d already given her.

And when pleasure finally let her out of its grip, a combination of pure exhaustion and unexpected emotion meant she couldn’t do anything more than snuggle in against Rory’s broad chest and fall asleep.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Rory was wide awake. Only a fool would sleep and miss relishing a single second of Zara naked and warm in his arms.

It had been a year since he’d gone to bed with a woman, but that wasn’t why it felt so good to hold her close, to feel her breathe softly and evenly against him, to lightly stroke the strands of dark hair that lay across her shoulders.

After what had happened with Chelsea last year, he wasn’t sure if—or when—he’d ever feel fully alive again. But every moment he’d spent with Zara since Friday morning had been a revelation.

Speaking of revelations…

He drew her more firmly against him, and when one of her legs slid over his, he was reminded all over again of how being with her had been nothing short of mind-blowing.

Now that he knew how hot they burned together, he could look back and see clear signs of the sparks that had been between them from the start. Sparks he’d been mostly blind to, lost inside the dark twists and turns of his head and heart this past year.

There was another reason he wasn’t sleeping, though. The deal they’d made before they’d gotten naked had been for one night only—and no getting weird afterward. He would never have agreed to only one night if he’d known how much he would end up regretting how quickly it had passed.

Having been fairly wild in his twenties, Rory was no stranger to mutually beneficial one-night stands. He’d never before had trouble walking away in the morning, and he’d always stuck to protocol—namely, no asking for a second night. With other women, he’d never been tempted.

With Zara, however, he wasn’t looking forward to walking away come sunup. Not at all. He wasn’t actually sure he would be able to do it, if he were being totally honest with himself.

Was it fair to ask her for more than just one night, though, when all he had to offer was great sex, rather than any kind of real relationship? He didn’t trust himself with those anymore, didn’t trust himself not to end up hurting a woman. It wasn’t just Chelsea with whom things had gone wrong, it was every woman he’d ever been with.

At the end of the day, he was the common denominator. And the equation always added up the same way: with Rory getting a 0 out of 100 at relationships.

Besides, when he tried to imagine what Zara would say if he asked her for a repeat of tonight, it was all too easy to envision her spitting out a string of blazing-fast retorts. Even in sleep, her expression held a