And he was there, the ice on my clit, my labia, my ass and all the sensitive tissues in between. His frozen tongue dove into me, his hands moved up to clamp down on my breasts, kneading, pinching, tugging.
His teeth scored the sensitive flesh of my clitoris, and I came. Exploded. Imploded. The intensity of the orgasm would have doubled me over if my hands hadn’t been tied overhead. I pulled and tugged as I screamed Gray’s name. I didn’t know if I wanted to be freed or if I wanted to remain his prisoner.
The choice wasn’t mine to make.
My legs were pushed apart farther, his arms hooking under my knees. And before I could adjust to the new position, he was sinking into me.
“Zoe…” My name was a snarl in the room as he impaled me on the thick pillar of his cock. “You make me crazy. You make me sane.”
I understood.
Moving my head from side to side, I attempted to escape the shirt covering my eyes. I didn’t mind being bound but I wanted to see. Needed to see him.
Then I could.
Gray pulled the material away and our eyes met, but he didn’t slow the relentless advance of his hips. “It’s you I see now, Zoe. Just you.”
My eyes burned. No one had ever said anything more perfect.
The emotion in my throat made it impossible to speak, so I just smiled at him, letting my face speak for me.
Reaching up, he released my hands, and my fingers sought out the softness of his beard.
When I came again, I was still smiling.
When he came, he was smiling too.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Gray
A week and a half had passed since I’d carried the goddess into my cabin that fateful day. Ten days of passion and loving… and love.
She was going to stay. As I watched the snow melt, I didn’t feel the panic I had before, when I’d been so sure she would leave me. Instead, I had it all planned out. When the roads cleared, we’d get into her rental cabin and pack up all her stuff, then I’d fly her to California to get the rest.
She told me she was on a deadline to finish the book she’d been writing. So, we’d stay in the cabin until she was finished, then I’d whisk her off to some exotic location where they also allowed dogs, and dammit, cats.
Gonad.
Zoe was damn funny. We actually still hadn’t settled on a name for the kitten, but Go was becoming what she called him the most. I went for Nads, but Zoe frowned each time I said it. And I had to admit, Go fitted the little shit. Not just because it was short for Gonads but because he’d start running, tearing around the cabin for no good reason, as fast as his little legs would take him. Zoe would yell, “Go, go, go,” and he’d only run faster.
So… dumb as it was, Go would probably stick. But I didn’t care. Zoe could have anything she wanted.
With Maggie by my side, I headed down the driveway to the main road, wanting to see how things were looking there. The sun glaring on the snow was nearly blinding, and I was glad I’d grabbed my sunglasses before heading out.
In the distance, I could hear the sound of engines. It sounded like snowmobiles. Maybe four-wheelers. Something larger too. Maybe a scraper.
After the blizzard, the world was slowly melting back into reality. The power was back on, and although the internet hadn’t connected yet, I’d left Zoe at my computer to write. She was feeling the itch to finish her story and wanted to start on the final chapters while I was out. After logging her into Microsoft Word and a long, lingering kiss, I’d tromped through the snow and then down to where her Jeep went over the side.
I hadn’t carried any gear to recover anything, but I was curious to see just how far it had gone down. There was the tree that had stopped her descent. It was broken now, the thick limb that had punctured through the glass ripped from its side. Below it, smaller trees were bent over, and I could follow the damage to where the Jeep laid. Still covered in snow, only a few inches of two wheels were visible. I shuddered at the thought of how close Zoe had come to being down there too. If she’d survived the fall, she wouldn’t have lasted long in the weather.
I glanced at the camera… and shit!
Fuck!
What had I been thinking? Hell, I hadn’t been thinking at all.
Walking down here would have tripped the alarms, causing the camera app to load onto the computer. The computer Zoe was sitting at. The app didn’t rely on internet, so the fact that it was still down wouldn’t have mattered.
In my mind, I could see Zoe typing on her book, jumping as the alarm sounded, then staring at the screen as the image of me walking on the road appeared. She might have even smiled when she saw me, maybe even wondered about the security. Then she would see the row of additional camera views below it. Curious, she would start tapping the keys, and even if she didn’t, the screen would start scrolling through the various cameras. Then she would recognize her cabin. Her deck. The chair in which she always sat.
Understanding would dawn, and she’d know.
She’d feel violated. Stupid.
Afraid.
I took off, running up the driveway, the cold air burning my lungs. Maggie was beside me, sprinting ahead and turning back to wait. It was a game to her, her pink tongue lolling out in excitement.
I’d deleted the “goddess” folder, but I hadn’t permanently deleted it. I had my system automatically do that at the end of each day, but the power had gone off, and it would still be sitting in the trash can, waiting disposal.
I ran harder, hoping she wouldn’t look there. Please don’t let her look there. At the time, I started watching her because I really was worried about her, then I’d grown to depend on her company. At the time, it didn’t feel wrong because my intentions hadn’t been evil. But now…
The cabin was ahead, a picture of domestic bliss, the smoke curling into the sky from the roaring fire I’d been sure to feed before leaving.
Maybe she’d taken a break, needed to go pee, or get a bite to eat.
Maybe she couldn’t see, her vision going blurry like it still sometimes did, and I could shut this shit down. She’d never need to know that she’d been living with a man who’d been obsessed.
In a leaping bound, I was on the porch and through the door.
And there she stood, her hand on her mouth as she whipped around to face me. Her eyes wide, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Zoe—”
She held up both hands, palms out, stopping me. “Why?”
It was a good question, and I had a million good answers. Good from my point of view. Not hers.
“Let me explain.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her robe together, her fingers finding the four-leaf pendent. “You watched me?”
I thought I was going to puke, and I swallowed down the bile. “Yes.”
She let out a sob. Just one. “For how long?”
The truth. She’d know if I was lying. “Since the day you arrived.”