For him to be deep inside her.
Afterward, he swathed her in a towel and took her back to bed. This time, he made love to her with a tenderness that transcended anything he’d ever experienced with a woman.
At the end, he collapsed against her. Her mouth was against his throat. She said something; he could feel her lips move though he couldn’t hear the words. Carefully, he rolled to his side with her still in his arms.
“What did you say?”
“I said—I said I’ve never—I’ve never—”
He kissed her.
“No,” he said gruffly. “Neither have I.”
She smiled. Yawned.
“I’ll make us some breakfast.”
He grinned. “I notice you said that without moving an inch from this bed.”
She batted her lashes. “It’s the thought that counts.”
Moments later, they were both asleep.
* * * *
By the time they woke again, the rain had changed to sleet.
They dressed, Zach in what he’d worn the night before, Jaimie in jeans, a sweater and leather boots.
He sat on the edge of her bed while she stood in front of the mirror over the dresser and brushed out her hair.
“Don’t,” he said, when she started to pull it back. Their eyes met in the glass. “I love the way your hair looks when it’s loose, hanging down your back.”
She smiled and put down her hairbrush; he wondered how come he’d said that or even thought it. He liked a woman to have long hair, but the particular way she wore it had never mattered to him before.
“It’ll probably get wild,” she said. “It always does, when the weather’s wet.”
He rose to his feet, walked up behind her and put his arms ar
ound her. She covered his hands with hers and leaned back against him.
“I like you wild.” He felt her heartbeat quicken. His arms tightened around her. “I love you wild,” he whispered, moving his hips against her backside.
She gave a hum of pleasure.
“That’s good,” she whispered. “Because you bring out a wildness in me.”
He bent his head, nuzzled her damp hair aside and nipped the nape of her neck.
“Do I?”
She nodded. “Normally, I’m—I’m not wild at all.”
Zach raised his head and looked at her reflection.
“No?”
She shook her head. “I’m a practical person. You know. Logical. Cautious.” She laughed. “What else would a CPA be? I’m an accountant. Walking away from accounting and taking a job in real estate was probably the wildest thing I’d ever done until that night.”