Page 51 of A New Chapter

Chapter 25

Shortly after, Emma watched Zack’s muscled back disappear into the bathroom, and she let out a relaxed sigh. She closed her eyes for a moment and may have drifted off, but the sensation of the bed dipping under Zack’s weight brought her back to life. He sidled up next to her so that their sides touched, and he picked up her right hand in his.

“Hi,” he said softly.

“Hi,” she replied, giggling. Emma watched Zack play with her hand in the air, twisting it this way and that and studying it from various angles.

“So, confession time. Did you come to Chicago with the intention of seducing me, or did you really just come to take me out to dinner?”

Zack turned his head toward her on the pillow. “Probably a little bit of both,” he admitted. “However, I would have settled for the dinner if that’s all you wanted.”

Even though they had just had mind-blowing sex, Emma believed him. Zack had given her multiple opportunities to turn him away, but she hadn’t, and lying here naked beside him, she had no regrets. Not a one.

“Yet you wore the Superman boxers just in case.”

He chuckled. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt my chances,” he said.

“You figured right.”

He let go of her hand and turned sideways. He reached over and brushed her hair back from where it had stuck to her cheek. “So, how are you feeling?”

“About what we did?”

“No. I meant, are you sore from my…”

Emma cut him off by pressing her lips against his. She scooted over to get closer to him and felt his erection brush against her bare skin. “I’m not sore,” she replied, and then clasped him with both hands. “But now I know what you were referring to in the pub when we talked about size!”

Zack let out a happy groan. “God, Em, if you keep doing that…”

“Yes?” She enjoyed watching him squirm beneath her hands.

Zack didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he moved his right hand from where it had been resting on her hip to between her legs where she was damp and ready for him again. Emma moaned as he explored her with his fingers while keeping his eyes locked on hers. She relished the intimacy of their motions in the dark quiet room, and they came together for the second time in a succession of rapid explosions.

Emma flopped on her back to catch her breath while Zack cleaned himself off with tissues from the bedside table. When he was finished, he gathered her into his arms with his front to her back and cradled her with his big, warm body. Emma had always been petite, but she felt even more so in Zack’s presence. She felt a rush of feminine power when he nuzzled into her neck.

“I don’t know if I can keep this up all night, Em.”

“You’re doing a pretty good job so far!” she teased, wiggling her butt against him.

“What time do you have to be at the show tomorrow?”

The show! Emma had almost forgotten about it. That was the reason for her trip to Chicago after all. “I have a wake-up call scheduled for six o’clock, but the show doesn’t start until eight.”

“You need two hours to get ready?”

“No, but that gives me extra time to respond to emails and take care of some business things.”

“Hmm…”

“Hmm, what?”

“Now that I’m here, maybe we can use the extra time in a different way.” He reached his hands up to cup her breasts and gave them a playful squeeze.

Emma twisted back around to face him. “Who says we have to wait until tomorrow?”

Six o’clock came way too soon, and Emma flung one arm out from under the covers to answer the wake-up call before it woke Zack. When she sat the phone back in its cradle, she snuck a peek at his sleeping form. He was sprawled out on top of the bedspread with nothing on but his Superman boxers. Emma smiled at her knowledge of what was underneath and of how many times they had been together the night before. Neither of them had wanted to go to sleep, but they had finally collapsed sometime around two a.m. Before that, they had discussed the plan for Saturday, which included a myriad of tourist activities once Emma returned from the show. Zack had said something about eating breakfast together before she left, but she hated to wake him. The morning light afforded a much better view of his magnificent body, and she took a few more minutes to admire it before she hauled herself out of bed.

Emma padded across the room in her “I woke up like this” sleepshirt and slipped into the bathroom undetected. She felt groggy from lack of sleep, and a little sore if she were being honest, but she wouldn’t worry Zack with that. If she told him, he might suggest that they abstain, and that was the last thing she wanted!