Chapter 11: PART ONE

It was still there, the magic she'd never felt with anyone else. Not that she'd tried to, of course. Whenever she looked at another man, all she ever saw was Zack-his masculine body, his square-jawed face, the dark curly hair, and blue eyes the color of the morning sky. The curve of his lips when he smiled.

Oh god!

The walls of her sex throbbed, and she knew her panties had to be soaked, just from this contact. She pressed herself against him as hard as she could, every nerve and particle throbbing with hunger for him, a hunger that had never faded in all these years. Someone moaned softly. And she didn't know which one of them it was.

How had she ever thought she could walk away from him, shut him out of her life, and never want to be with him again? He owned her heart, and it was time she admitted it to herself. She realized she'd done a terrible thing, something she'd have to finally admit to him. But not right now.

She broke the kiss but not his hold on her. "I-I thought we were going to talk."

"Talking is highly overrated." He took her mouth again, this time with a hunger she couldn't mistake.

In that moment, passion gripping her and her heart thundering, she made a decision. If she was only going to have these couple of days with him, she was going to make the most of it. Then she'd face the difficult decision of whether to tell him about Michael. She wasn't sure if she even had the courage to face that day of reckoning yet.

I may go to hell for my sins, but if this is all I'll ever have with him, if it all falls apart afterward, I want this, and I want it now. Call me selfish but I don't care.

She melted into the kiss, opening her mouth even more, sliding her tongue across his, the taste of him intoxicating. She was sure she could keep kissing him forever, but Zack seemed to have other ideas. He lifted his mouth from hers and looked hard into her eyes, desire burning in his.

"For what I want to do, Bailey, we need to take this inside. If you don't want this, now's the time to tell me."

"I want this." She whispered the words.

Zack lifted her in his arms. "Then point me to the bedroom."

She hadn't forgotten the feel of his body against hers, and the contact letting loose a cascade of memories. When he stood her on her feet beside the bed, she reached up to touch his cheeks, tracing the familiar line of his jaw and his cheekbones.

"I shaved." There was the tiniest bit of uncertainty in his voice, as if he hadn't been sure what to expect with her. "Wanted to put my best foot forward."

"I like your stubble, too" she told him. Then her face heated as new memories hit. Memories of the times they'd made love early in the morning, the scruff of beard dusted on his face rubbing against her cheeks, her breasts, the skin of her thighs. The pulse between her legs started to thunder.

"You have no idea how many nights I dreamed about being with you like this." His voice was rough with hunger. "Nights when it was so cold it could freeze my nose off, I'd lie in my bed and keep warm by thinking of you. Of being with you. Of touching you."

He tugged up the T-shirt hem and stroked the smooth skin of her midriff, easing his hands up the satin of her bra. She drew in a breath as his fingers found her nipples through the fabric and gave them a gentle squeeze. The shot of electricity went straight to her core, and she had to squeeze her thighs together to control the pounding of the pulse in her sex. More than two decades faded away, and the desire, the hunger was back as strong as ever.

He took her mouth again, fusing his lips to hers and sweeping his tongue inside. Devouring her. Claiming her. His fingers were hot on her nipples. She wanted to jerk off her bra so there was nothing between his touch and her skin. A faint moan drifted on the air, and she realized it was coming from her.

Zack lifted his mouth from hers, giving her lips a gentle sweep with his tongue.

"You have no idea how many nights I dreamed about this," he murmured. "Just like this. Us. You and me. All the things we did to pleasure each other." He nipped her lower lip while still teasing her nipples. "Did you dream about us, Bailey? Don't lie to me."

"Yes." She breathed the word.

"Let's make some of those dreams come true right now."

When she nodded, in seconds, he had her bra off and tossed to the side, his lips replacing his fingers on her nipples. His mouth was hot and wet, searing her skin and releasing a flood of desire. Bailey arched into his touch, grabbing the waistband of his jeans to steady herself. Her breasts had always been sensitive, and Zack had learned early on just how to tease them to make her hotter than hot. If he kept this up, she'd come while she was standing here, just like this.

She rocked into him, thrilled at the feel of his thick erection through his jeans and wanting more.

She tugged on his jeans. "Take these off."

He gave a rough laugh. "Not yet, sweetheart. If I do, this show will be over before it starts. You always just did it for me, Bailey. You know that."

"But-"

"Hush. Just feel, okay?"

His gaze locked on hers, he unsnapped her jeans and pushed them down. Bailey wriggled her hips so the jeans fell down to her ankles. She kicked off her shoes and stepped out of them, kicking the jeans to the side. When she stood there, naked except for the tiny scrap of bikini panties, Zack stared and sucked in his breath.