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  "What did he want you to tell Johnny?"

  Zoe smiled at that. "To stop being a bully. Which I could have lived with, except the colonel told me all this other stuff about his son that I knew Johnny wouldn't want me privy to. Most ghosts are more considerate, but I guess Johnny's dad wanted to be sure his son couldn't blow me off. He didn't, either. Once Johnny knew his dad was watching everything he did—and I do mean everything—I never heard of him beating up another person. I think he hated me because that felt better than thanking me for bullying him into doing what he knew was right."

  "Huh." Alex scratched the fine gold stubble on his jaw. "I always wondered what made Johnny straighten up. I have to admit I thought I'd finally gotten through to him about leaving the nerds alone."

  "His dad did like you," Zoe was happy to say. "He thought you were a good influence. In fact, the colonel told me he tried to talk to you for a while. He thought you might be sensitive enough to hear."

  Alex gave a shiver that was only part exaggerated. "Now you're giving me the willies."

  "It's not an insult. You were sensitive enough to see I wasn't just a freak, despite most of your friends thinking that you were nuts."

  "I'm not convinced I deserve much credit for that. I fell for you too hard to care what they thought."

  He grinned as he said it, his lazy, wolfish smile, but Zoe wasn't sidetracked. "You always were hard on yourself. You never wanted to give yourself credit for being a good person."

  Alex's smile faded. He drew a circle on the dull blue blanket between their hips. "I wasn't very good to you."

  "Yes, you were. The bad part was only the end. The good parts were some of the best times I ever had. My own parents never made me feel as loved as you."

  "Zoe, I—" He stopped, turning toward her like she'd turned to him, their knees bumping lightly through her gauzy skirt. Color suffused his down-turned face, rising up his strong, tanned throat. Zoe's felt as if some power outside herself were tugging at her gaze. When it hit his groin, she couldn't miss how turned on he was. His erection looked like it was ready to tear right through the placket of his nice trousers.

  She made an involuntary noise—hunger or apology. Alex looked up, his eyes a dark, swimming blue. For a second Zoe felt like she was falling.

  "I can't talk to you like this," he said hoarsely. "I can't just…"

  "Just?"

  He shook himself, the motion turning into a shudder that ran across his broad shoulders. "I can't act like this is just you being nice and trying to help me let myself off the hook for being a shit to you. I don't feel nice with you next to me. I don't feel nice with all your sweetness shining in your eyes."

  The pulse started up beneath her again, the earth's own heart reverberating in her pussy. "What do you feel?"

  His pupils swelled at her hoarse whisper. "Like I want to push up that skirt and fuck you so hard we dig a trench in the grass. Like I want to do every fucking thing we didn't get a chance to when you were fifteen. And then I want to repeat them all about a thousand times. I want you, Zoe. There hasn't been a day—"

  He broke off, his hands clenched on his thighs with white-knuckled force. "Look at me, Zoe. This is what I feel."

  His fists framed his erection, and as she did what he asked, as she looked at him, she saw the straining arch swell thicker.

  Instinct took over, not right or wrong, just pure primal reasoning. This was fair. He'd waited long enough, and this was fair. She bent to him, and he didn't stop her, just hissed in a surprised breath as she pressed her lips to that raging pole—gently, softly, treating his hard-on like a boo-boo her kiss could soothe.

  "Zoe," he said, her name strangled. He hadn't moved—not to touch her, not to get away—as if the fate of the world hung on his muscles staying locked where they were. She braced her hands on his knees and kissed the bulge again, adding a dragging brush to her lips' soft press.

  "Zoe, don't do that unless you mean for me to—"

  He couldn't finish. When she sat back on her heels, a muscle ticked in his jaw.

  "I mean for you to," she said.

  He gasped for air like he'd been drowning, then grabbed her shoulders and pushed her onto her back so fast she got dizzy. Her legs sprawled as she toppled, and his knees found a home between them almost before she spread them wide enough.

  He kissed her, his jaw pressing hers open for his tongue's smooth plunge. His weight came down hard into the notch of her thighs. Him being there felt so good, so right, that she didn't argue when he lifted off her far enough to tear off his belt. He yanked out his shirttail a second later, making short work of the buttons so he could strip it off all the way. His chest was gorgeous, hairier than she remembered, with a six-pack that could have graced the cover of Men's Fitness.

  "Back pocket," he said, returning to grind that other steely hardness against her crotch. "Condoms in my wallet."

  She had a second to change her mind, but she let it pass. He groaned as she pushed her hands into both back pockets, scratching her nails up his butt to pull the wallet out.

  "Hurry," he said. "I'm working on fifteen years worth of dying here."

  He had four condoms in his wallet, lubricated and extra thin, all of which spilled out of her hold when his hips found the perfect spot to roll against between her legs.

  "Wow," she panted, fumbling to gather them back up while her pussy sang a thanks for the treatment it was getting. "That's… quite a stash you've got."

  He groaned again and pivoted harder. "It's not enough for you. I swear I'm going to use them all."

  She couldn't tease him for his ego. His face was too serious, his flush so dark his eyes appeared to glow. Still watching her, he reached between them to ease down his zipper, wincing at the task of working the teeth over that much pressure. Zoe's insides tightened in reaction.

  Yes, you are going to use them all, she thought. And I'm going to let you.

  He knew she was going to let him, not just because she didn't contradict him, but because a small, feminine smile was curving up the corners of her kiss-flushed lips. That smile sent such a whip of heat through his groin that he ripped down the last inch of his zipper and nicked himself.

  "Shit," she said, though she rarely cursed. Her hand reached for the little spot of blood on his flange.

  "Don't," he said, jerking back.

  "But—"

  "Don't. If you touch me, I'm going to go. I am too fucking close to the edge. Just hand me the condom and wait a sec."

  He sat up to open it. On her elbows, she bit her lip and watched him roll it carefully over his throbbing length. He was too sensitive to play with himself at all, though women usually liked to watch him do that. He cursed silently as he struggled not to make it worse. This was as bad as he could remember being in a long time, his dick so hard and swollen it was trying to stand vertical. The rubber was a larger size, but it didn't cover him all the way.

  "You grew," she said and pressed trembling fingers to her rosy lips. For a second he worried she was afraid, but then she said, "Oh, God, I'm going to enjoy this."

  "Jesus," Alex said, suddenly so hot he feared the top of his head—make that both his heads—were going to come off. "Maybe you shouldn't talk too much, either."

  Zoe laughed at that, obviously pleased by his desperate state. "You want to rip my panties, or should I pull them off?"

  Another wave of heat seared through him.

  "Pull them," he ordered when he caught his breath, flashing on the image of her wriggling them down her perfect legs a second before she actually did it.

  "Oh, man," he moaned, his hands following hers down those silken muscles. "Oh, man, I need a case of condoms for you."

  "How about if I do this? Will that mean you need two?" She pulled her skimpy eyelet top over her head, leaving nothing but a strappy white undershirt for modesty. The thin ribbed cotton wasn't modest now, clinging to every curve and hollow of her perky breasts. Her nipples were dark and swollen, peaked hard with arousal
. Alex had never seen them that big. In fact, she looked lusher all over, her breasts like little hills instead of ripe peaches.

  "Pull that off, too," he said, jerking his chin at the undershirt.

  She blushed, but she did it, and then he absolutely had to lick his lips.

  "One kiss," he said, his voice like gravel. "One kiss before I fucking have to get into you."

  Her breasts were smooth as cream under his tongue, as warm as if she were fevered. She moaned at his first light pull, and he remembered how sensitive her nipples were. It was one long kiss then, one long, sucking kiss that made her squirm like an eel and dig her fingers into his hair. Her nipples got longer inside his mouth, rewarding every greedy flick of his tongue.

  "Oh, now," she said, arching closer. "Please, Alex, come in me now."

  He couldn't drag it out any longer. He rose from her, breathing hard, and fit his hips into the cradle they'd been dreaming of nearly every time he jacked off. For a moment, he let his cock-head rest against her labia.

  That heated, slippery softness was a joy to take his time over, but even as he ground his teeth at the bliss of it, the weight of his erection sank him deeper into her folds. Her flesh gave way for him, her cream welling around him, her skin molding naturally to his crown. He felt her entrance beneath it, his aim truer than he'd known.

  "Meant to be," he murmured as he shifted his angle the tiny bit it needed to go in. His entire body gathered for a good, hard shove.

  "Wait!" she gasped, her hand coming to his breastbone to hold him off.

  Alex shook with his effort not to do what every fiber of his being had been prepping for.

  "Wait?" he said once his jaw unclenched. "I've been waiting fifteen years for this!"

  "I just… it's been a while since I've had actual sex."

  Her confession struck him as odd, but he wasn't sure he wanted an explanation of actual sex right then.

  "Maybe," she suggested, "you could go in slow."

  Clearly, Zoe had some idea of the difficulty of what she asked. Her cheeks had turned a shade of pink that neared red.

  "And after I go in?" he growled.

  Zoe's squirm of embarrassment did nothing to make obliging her easier.

  "Maybe you could go slow for a few more strokes," she pleaded. "It's my favorite part. When a man pushes into me all the way. I want to feel it with you."

  "If that's your favorite part, you've been sleeping with the wrong men."

  He knew he sounded surly, but Zoe smiled.

  "Try," she said, stroking his face. "Try for me."

  He kissed her wrist, then nipped the skin lightly.

  "I'll try. Now pull your knees up and give me room."

  He should have known doing what she asked would kill him, but he wasn't sure it would have mattered. He loved pleasing Zoe, he always had. If she wanted a slow first thrust, he was damn well going to give it to her. Of course, he moaned before he even had the head inside her, a long, pained trail of sound. One inch went in, then two, and Zoe's hands began to push up his back.

  Her touch made him shiver deliciously.

  "Oh, yes," she crooned, stroking his straining muscles. "Oh, just like that."

  She was slick around him, tight but welcoming, her inner muscles flickering without stopping him.

  He moaned her name when he hit four inches, finally beginning to feel like he was inside her. Five made his neck arch, and six pulled his breath from him in a rush. He was really doing this. He was really sliding his aching dick inside Zoe.

  At seven he started to have to work for room, but Zoe's fingernails were dragging tingling tracks up and down his spine, and he was highly motivated to keep going. Eight finished him, nearly in more ways than one. He was shoved in her to his root, throbbing tightly against her walls while her heels dug into the upper slopes of his ass. His balls were so ready to shoot it felt like they were trying to crawl into his abdomen.

  They opened their eyes in the same instant. Zoe's were soft and glowing in their frame of black.

  "Wow," she said, writhing slightly under his weight. The wriggle seemed part discomfort at his size, part eagerness to savor every inch. "That was worth waiting for."

  "It's not over yet."

  Her slow, hot smile might as well have been an injection of Viagra. Alex winced as he swelled to a state of hardness he hadn't known he could reach. "You promised me a few slow ones."

  "I didn't promise, I said I'd try. And anyway, you could say please first."

  She shook her head, outright grinning now. "You're such a control freak, I'm afraid you'd like me begging too much."

  In all his fantasies, he hadn't expected her to make this fun. It occurred to him that she was teasing him like they were still friends.

  "Okay," he said, his voice husky for more reasons than being insanely aroused. "I just want you to know my sex drive wasn't built for restraint."

  Though this was truer than Zoe knew, he couldn't complain. Her groans of pleasure made the effort more than worthwhile. He managed to give her six slow strokes: six killing, breath-stealing strokes. He was up on his arms, his elbows locked to keep them from trembling. When she moaned "Oh, God" and started panting, he knew he'd reached the end of his rope.

  "Can I go faster now?" he gasped.

  "Oh, yes," she said. "And, please, go harder, too."

  He barely had breath to laugh at her politeness, but he sucked in more before he let his body explode into the fucking it so badly wanted to give her.

  She wailed at the first strong thrust, but it was an oh, God, keep doing that so I can come sort of sound. Alex clenched his jaw and kept going, pumping his thickness high against her passage, bumping her clit with each downstroke. He was hoping force of habit would keep him from hurting her, because his control was pretty much shot to hell. His body drove him faster, harder, ignoring her jerky rhythm to keep its own. Pleasure rose like a flood tide, until he didn't know how he could hold more. It felt like someone had turned the dial to maximum on his nerves. Every sensation was sweet and sharp: the squeeze of her pussy around his cock, the dig of her heels on his buttocks, the almost cutting prick of her nails. He nearly died himself when she came and her eyes went blind.

  "Alex," she gasped, her body quaking, and he immediately wanted to send her up again.

  Though he wanted to come bad enough to scream, he set his knees in the blanket and kicked his hips faster.

  "Oh, God," she said, round-eyed and throaty voiced.

  "Put your feet down," he snapped. "Let me take over."

  She was too startled not to do it. He pulled her hands from behind his back, catching her wrists together and stretching them over her head. Her breasts arched higher on her ribs, shaking with his near violent thrusts. Her rosy nipples were making him crazy. He lowered his chest, braced on one forearm so the hot little pebbles could scrape his hair. He couldn't doubt she liked the hard treatment. Her belly jerked with her excitement, with her gasping, ragged breaths. He tightened his grip on her wrists, and the breaths got faster. Her eyes were wide, almost frightened but not quite. His blood surged like a dam breaking.

  This was his fantasy. Her at his mercy, shaking helplessly with pleasure, letting him take her and take her until the beast that drove his body felt like fury as much as lust. He hadn't known the fury was there, but he could guess why. The Zoe he'd fallen in love with had let him go. He'd loved her with all his heart, and she'd let him go. It hadn't mattered what he'd done; he'd wanted her to fight for him. He wanted her to fight now.

  "Alex!" she cried, almost screaming it as she came.

  "I love you," he said, the words tearing from his throat. It was what he wanted her to say, but it was coming from his own mouth. "I love you. I love you."

  He lost it completely with his next heartbeat. One second he was sobbing for breath and straining for the edge, and the next he was rocketing through the gates of bliss. The orgasm squeezed from him in jets of fire, over and over, like his whole body was trying to empty o
ut. He held tight inside her, as far as he could reach, gasping at each spasm until he just plain couldn't come anymore.

  He was dripping sweat, and her hands were stroking his hair, her lips pressed tenderly to his cheek. She kissed him like she loved him, but he knew better. Zoe Clare was the original open heart. If she'd felt what he did, she would have said it back.

  "Hey," he said, striving to make light of his embarrassment. "I think we scared your cat. He crawled back into your purse."

  Zoe didn't look away from him to check.

  "Alex," she murmured, her lips reaching for his mouth.

  He couldn't stop himself from kissing her. He should have been pulling out, getting a little distance, but he couldn't stop. Her hands were so sweet, so kind, her incredible legs coming back around his waist so that he started to swell again.

  It was high school all over. He'd never get enough of her.

  Shit, he thought. I am so fucking screwed.

  They used all Alex's condoms in quick succession, barely pausing long enough for him to roll them off and on. The intensity with which he took her was undiminished, though he didn't say he loved her after that first time. Instead, he humped her with a fervor that was breathtaking. Admittedly, Zoe liked aggressive lovers, but nothing he did seemed truly rough to her. Yes, he enjoyed positions where he had control, but he didn't neglect her pleasure. In fact, he seemed to love pushing it higher. That said, he always reached a point in the final shafting part of the act where she knew it was all only about him. He went hard and fast then, completely focused on his drive for release.

  He seemed to need each orgasm equally.

  Zoe didn't think finally having her as his partner was the only reason. This felt like a puzzle piece she hadn't known to look for when she was fifteen. This was telling her that Alex really, really liked a lot of sex.