He didn’t move. “You’re sure?”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Damn you, Declan, no. Don’t stop.”
A bark of laugher later, he didn’t hesitate to comply. With one hard lunge after another, he pounded her core. Each hit felt like heaven. Each contact brought more satisfaction until she shattered, feeling the shudder of his body as he spilled himself inside her.
When he used a towel to dry them off, turning her to lean on the counter, she didn’t fight him. She felt drained in a really good way. Her limbs felt relaxed. Again, he scooped her up in his arms. No man had ever carried her, let alone done it three times in one night. And as he slid into the bed with her and pulled her close, she knew she should tell him to leave. He had managed to manipulate her and make her submissive. Something she didn’t ever want to be. But his strong arms surrounded her and pulled her close. She was tired and he felt so…warm.
She’d make him leave in a minute.
* * * * *
Zoe blinked into the darkness and reality slowly eased into her mind. A hard chest beneath her palm and a warm leg wrapped with hers were the first things she brought into focus.
Declan.
She didn’t allow guys to stay the night. The fact that she’d fallen asleep with him amazed her. No. It alarmed her. She had junk going on in her life and having a fling had been a dumb idea. Vulnerability spelled trouble with a capital T. She inhaled, determined to gain her resolve and get the hell out of his arms. Instead, she found his scent, masculine and natural, storming her senses. Making her want to stay in his arms. To touch him again.
No. She said the word in her head and forced herself to sit up. One glance at the clock and she scrambled, kicking the sheets aside. “It’s five in the morning,” she announced, standing now, naked and not caring. “You need to leave.”
Patting the bed, Declan ignored her words. “Come back to bed. I have another hour.” His eyes drifted down her body, heavy with their caress.
She grabbed his shirt from the floor and put it on, covering herself. She’d give it back in a minute. Right now she was desperate to keep control. “No, you don’t. I have to…to be early to cover a story.”
He rose up on one elbow. “In other words, you want me to leave.”
Was she not clear? “Yes.”
Laughing, he shoved aside the blanket and stood. Naked. Damn him. The next thing she knew he was in front of her. “I’ll need my shirt.”
“Put on your pants first.”
Looking down and then back up, he said, “I think that might be difficult at the moment.”
Without meaning to, Zoe’s gaze slid below his waist to his now erect cock. “Oh,” she said. Not a brilliant statement but all that came to mind. And before she could form a better answer, he was holding her, kissing her, and making her forget why she wanted him to leave.
Maybe he could stay…a little longer.
* * * * *
Midmorning, Zoe stood at her desk in the midst of a bullpen setup and stared down at the paper’s headlines. Her father was the main event. With shock, Zoe eased into her chair feeling a rush of sickness take over. He’d been accused of securities fraud. Denial raced through her mind. It couldn’t be. Not her father. He could be a bastard but he wasn’t a thief. Worse, his associate, Ray Ryder, a man Zoe knew so well she called him Uncle Ray, was also involved. She skimmed the words on the page. Her father and Ray were pointing the finger at each other.
“You look shocked. I would have thought Daddy would have told you he was in trouble.”
Zoe looked up to find Lena Henderson, a brassy redhead with a personality to match. She hated Zoe and took every jab she could get in. She was also the reporter who had turned the front page into a Marks bashing.
“Guess not,” Lena said.
“Go to hell, Lena,” Zoe said and pushed to her feet. Without another glance at the other woman, she headed to her boss’s door, ignoring the fact that it was shut as she pushed it open and entered his office.
Frank sat behind his desk with some new guy reporter she vaguely remembered being introduced to sitting across from him. She ignored the new guy, focusing on Frank. “We need to talk.”
After a murmured dismissal of the visitor, Frank gave his attention to Zoe. She shut the door. A firm thud that said she meant business. Turning to face him, she leaned against to wooden surface and pinned him in a hard stare. “Why the hell do I not know about the front page before the rest of the world?”