AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is FINALLY rated M.

More Than Flesh & Bone

Chapter 39

WHISKEY KISSES

"Sorry about that," I said, nudging open the door to the pool house. "I didn't expect Missy to get back so fast."

"I would have been fine hanging out in the living room," Zed said, following me inside.

I snorted. "You say that now, but then she would have taken that as an invitation. Trust me, it's safer this way."

Zed gave me his half-smile as I hit the lights, illuminating the house.

The back wall was made entirely of glass, overlooking the pool just behind it. The lighting was purposely soft since the glass allowed for sunlight or the lights in the pool itself to do most of the heavy lifting.

A small remote was sitting on a dark wooden table to my left. I palmed it, clicking the button that would turn the fireplace on as I started heading to the little kitchen that made up the right side of the space.

"Ready for another one?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Yeah," Zed answered, his voice moving away from me as he checked out the other half of the pool house.

It wasn't much compared to the mansion, but it was actually my favorite place to spend time. Trace had his basement-turned-man cave, and I'd come here. There was a bedroom, full bathroom, fully stocked kitchen, and best of all, it was secluded from everyone else. Other than a few sleepovers with Bree, I'd never brought anyone else here with me.

Snatching two beers from the fridge, I removed the caps and padded over to where Zed was staring into the fire, his hands in his pockets.

I studied him for a second, the way the firelight flickered over the hard planes of his face. The way his borrowed shirt was a bit too snug, hugging those finely toned muscles to perfection. To anyone else, he looked at ease, but I could feel the tension strumming through him. It had been a day.

Sure, we defeated the bad guy. But he'd lost his brother. No matter the shit between them, it was a hell of a thing to process.

I would know.

"Here," I said, closing the distance between us and handing him the bottle.

He accepted it with a small smile and took a deep pull, eyes going back to the fire. Silence stretched between us as we listened to the crackling flames. It wasn't uncomfortable, just heavy.

"Are you sure you want to be here? I mean, if you want to go spend time with your family or even the other guys at ZOM, I get it."

Zed's eyes shot back to mine. "What makes you think that? Fuck, Addie, the last place I want to be right now is around a bunch of people asking questions and trying to tell me how sorry they are."

I knew that feeling. God, I knew that feeling.

"Fuck," I blew out a breath and eyed the small bar set up a few feet away, "maybe beer isn't strong enough after the day we had."

"I'm pretty sure rubbing alcohol isn't strong enough, but if you have whiskey, I'll take it."

Amen to that.

I walked over and pulled out two glasses from the cabinet. Picking up a bottle of Whistlepig 18, I poured what looked like an ounce for each of us. Warm fingers grazed the small of my back and I stepped to the side.

Zed grabbed one glass, and I grabbed the other.

"To shitty days where the drinks aren't strong enough," I said. He repeated it after me, and we clinked glasses.

The alcohol burned on its way down. A warm feeling spread through my chest.

It numbed some of the pain, but not all of it.

Zed held up his glass, peering at it. "Do you think another…"

"It couldn't hurt…" I said, grabbing the bottle of whiskey. I poured a glass and a half when the bottle slipped from my fingers. "Shit."

It hit the floor a fraction of a second later, shattering into a hundred pieces. The scent of liquor made my nostrils burn as I bent over and started to pick up the shards with my bare hands.

"Addie, don't…" he started.

A sharp burning sensation went through my finger. I looked down as scarlet drops mingled with the spilled amber liquid.

"Oops," I said, only half feeling it.

Zed picked up a towel from off the bar and threw it on the mess I'd made. "Come here," he said, holding out a hand. I took it with my not bleeding hand and got to my feet. "Let me see it."

I held up the injured finger. An inch-long line of crimson welled with blood.

He grabbed another towel off the bar and dabbed at it.

"You do realize you're bleeding too, right?" I asked him.

He didn't lift his eyes from the cut. "Yes, but it was you who cut your hand on a bottle of whiskey that's almost as old as you are. I want to make sure you don't get an infection."

I squinted up at him. "I can't die, but you're worried about my finger getting an infection?"

"Just because you can't die doesn't mean you can't be hurt," he said, glancing over past the bar. "Do you have a first-aid kit in here?"

"Probably… I don't know." I shrugged.

He lifted both eyebrows condescendingly. "What's the face for?" he asked.

"What face?"

"That one," he replied and motioned to me.

"I'm pretty sure that's just my face, Zed," I said, taking the towel from his and applying pressure.

"No, that's your 'Zed, you're being unreasonable' face," he said, staring at me with an intensity that made me warm. I looked down at my hand, avoiding his gaze. The sting subsided after a moment, and I lifted the towel.

A smudging of blood remained but that was it. The cut was healed.

"Look." I lifted my hand, glancing back up.

He was a lot closer than he'd been only seconds ago.

"I am," he breathed.

My heart stammered.

The scent of spearmint and aftershave overwhelmed me.

I leaned in and his lips brushed against mine. Soft, but not hesitant. Careful, but controlled. He kissed me like we were dying.

And maybe we were. As much as we could.

Dying in emotion that neither of us wanted to feel. Dying from guilt and anger and resentment toward other people.

We'd both lost someone.

But in this fucked-up mess, we'd also found someone too.

I reached up, winding my fingers in his hair. He grabbed my hips, pulling me flush against him. My breath came hot and heavy as he started backing me toward the couch.

I broke our kiss.

"We doing this?"

I didn't need to hear his reply to know his answer. A single look in those damn eyes and I knew he'd made his mind up.

"We're doing this."

I let go of him and reached for the hem of my sweater. He gave me enough room to pull it over my head and toss it to the side. In my bra and jeans, I stared up at him. Neither of us spoke. We weren't touching, but I felt something that went deeper than touch.

He released one hand to run the back of his knuckles up my bare stomach, past my ribs, and over the swell of my breast.

I felt hot and cold all at once.

Making a split decision, I fisted my hands in his T-shirt and pivoted. We turned, and I pushed him gently, forcing him to fall back against the couch. He sat at an angle with his knees parted and his arms open.

I reached for the button on my jeans. It only took a single swipe of my thumb for it to pop. I moved to push them down, and his hands reached for mine. I stilled.

"Let me," he murmured.

His fingers slipped past the edge of my pants as he pinched the hem and tugged. He leaned forward, kissing my stomach, just above my underwear. The tingle of his breath against my skin sent a shiver through me as I pulled my legs free.

I fisted his hair once more, pushing him back as I climbed onto his lap.

Our lips met in a clash of fury and passion. Any gentleness went out the window as his tongue twined with mine is a battle of wills. I pulled hard at his hair and the breath hissed between his teeth as his hands came up to clamp down on the back of my thighs.

He pulled me against him and lifted his hips at the same time, his hardness pressing in where I was soft. I moaned, my knees digging into the leather as I ground myself against him.

Whatever cold I'd felt before was long gone as heat consumed me.

"Are you going to fucking do it or…" My complaints came to a grinding halt as his lips skimmed my jaw and then trailed down my neck, leaving a path of ecstasy in their wake. He sucked on a small patch of flesh, and I tried but failed to widen my legs further.

I needed more friction.

I needed more of him.

I needed more of everything.

"Why are you always in such a hurry?" he said softly, toying with the edge of my panties. "We have nowhere to go. No one that's expecting us. I could take all night…"

I yanked on his hair, and his head smacked into the back of the couch.

"So help me God, if you take all night we are going to have words," I threatened.

He chuckled, releasing one hand from my bare thigh to slide it between us. He pressed into the seam of my panties, and I rocked my hips back and forth over him.

Yes. This is what I needed.

"I have a feeling you're going to say a lot of things before the night is over," Zed whispered. Two fingers snuck past the outer rim of fabric to circle my clit. "Most of it not intelligible."

Close. So fucking close.

I neared the edge, still grinding against his fingers as my head tipped back and my thighs quaked.

And Zed? He did the worst possible thing.

He pulled away.

A growl slid between my lips as my head flew up.

"You talk a really big game for someone who can't finish what he started."

He grinned, clearly enjoying this. "Maybe I just want to savor it."

I narrowed my eyes, and he took the opportunity to twist our bodies and flip our positions with a speed and ease I didn't expect. My back hit the couch as he moved to rest over me with his forearms above my head.

I let go of my hold on his hair to run my hands down his body. I only got halfway before I fisted his shirt, and like the impatient person I was… pulled.

The fabric tore easily, and Zed cocked an eyebrow.

I shrugged.

Shaking his head, he leaned back on his knees and let the ruined material slip from his broad shoulders. The tattooed scythes across his pecs made me want to follow their path with my tongue, but it seemed that he had other plans.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, squeaking loudly when he grabbed the edge of my underwear and ripped them off me unceremoniously.

"I thought you wanted me to get on with it?" he teased, repeating my words back to me. He dropped the shredded panties next to the couch and reached for my knees, pulling them wide.

Let it be known, I wasn't shy. I'd been with my fair share of guys and experimented my fair share of ways.

It wasn't often that a guy went down on you with zero hesitation, but it seems I won the fucking lottery because Zed had no qualms lowering his face to the apex between my thighs.

He used his thumbs to part my folds as he licked up once and took the tight bud of sensation between his lips, sucking hard. I wasn't prepared for the intensity that followed as my body bowed off the couch.

"Motherfucker!" I exclaimed.

Stars erupted behind my eyes as I came fast and violently.

Shudders racked my body as my legs spasmed and my whole body clenched tight.

The heady chuckle that came from him had cool breath running over my very sensitive flesh in the aftershocks of what he'd done.

I reached to swat at him once the pleasure faded and he caught my hand, crawling up my body. He placed his forearms on either side of my head, shackling me in as he kissed me. The bitter musk of myself on his lips was oddly erotic.

"You're better at this than you give yourself credit for," I said.

He smirked. "I know." Zed reached into his pocket to pull out a foil wrapper. His muscles flexed as he leaned back up and then climbed off my body entirely. He put the condom between his teeth as he undid his pants and slid them off.

My mouth went dry at the sight of him hard and ready.

I was torn between offering to reciprocate, or letting this go in its current direction. I wanted him inside more than I could express in words…

However, I was a showoff.

"Wait," I said, leaning up. I slid off the couch and onto my knees.

Zed eyed me, thinking he knew where this was going. Joke was on him when I held out my hand. He handed off the condom, and I ripped the sucker open. Pinching the tip, I placed it against his head and then leaned forward, replacing my hand with my mouth.

His eyes widened and his breath turned ragged as I ran it down his entire length in one go, using only my mouth. His head hit the back of my throat, and I swallowed once, saliva coating him.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered as I pulled back, flashing him a cocky smile.

"No Jesus here, that is all Addison," I said, preening like a peacock. "With training from Bree."

Zed leaned down and grasped me by the waist, picking me up like I weighed nothing.

I'd be lying if I didn't say it was sexy as all hell.

He turned and sat down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap.

I lifted an eyebrow, surprised by his choice in position.

"Show me how much good leg day has been doing you," he said, challenging me.

Like the competitive fucker I was, I reached between us and grabbed his length.

He pulsed once in my grip as I sank down on him.

Zed groaned, his hold on my hips tightening as I moved my hands to his shoulders and started working myself over him.

"How's that for leg day?" I asked, working myself up and down fully.

He cracked a grin, even if it seemed pained.

He leaned forward, placing his mouth over a nipple and sucking, while he angled my hips slightly, thrusting up with the motion.

My lips parted.

Deep. So deep…

My eyes almost rolled back in my head as he took over from there. While my legs moved, it was him guiding the motions. I neared that peak for a second time, and he chose that moment to turn us once more.

My back hit the couch with a smack, my hands still on his shoulders as he changed his angle and thrust harder. I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling him deeper inside me, rubbing against my G-spot. I ground against him in return, feeling the friction against my aching clit. Wrapping my arms around him, I dug my nails into him, trying to hold on as a guttural moan escaped me.

He kept pace as I tightened around him, detonating at once.

Tremors took over and all coherent thoughts left. He worked me through it, a strained breath escaping him. Our eyes met the moment he found his own release.

For a suspended moment in time, we were one in the same.

Then we collapsed in a puddle of limbs while he throbbed inside me.

I threw my arm over my face.

"If I had known you were this good, I would have found time for this shit way sooner," I said. "I could get addicted to your dick, and that's saying something given that I'm not a succubus."

Zed's body shook as he let out a laugh and he kissed the side of my neck.

Something else blossomed in me at the sound, but I didn't say it. This other something was quieter and more profound than anything we'd done.

It scared me because I'd lost people, and I didn't want to feel something like that.

Looking at Zed and the way he smiled at me…

I kept it to myself. For now.

We had our whole lives ahead of us… right?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah, I know… foreshadowing much? But hey, at least it's not a cliffy!