Lightning flashed, illuminating the room.
Illuminating the empty bed.
He stopped cold a moment, shock rolling through him. Where in the hell was Alice? It was their day. She should have been in the bed. She should have been waiting for him.
He bent, and his hand went to the knife that he kept strapped inside his boot. The knife that he hadn’t intended to use on Alice. Not on his Alice.
But…rage grew inside of him.
It twisted. It surged. It consumed.
Alice wasn’t there.
He slashed the knife into her pillow. Into her bed. He cut through her sheets and her covers.
Alice wasn’t there.
So where in the hell was she?
Chapter Four
Her scream sent adrenaline coursing through Zander’s body. He jerked upright and nearly tumbled off the narrow couch. Lightning flashed, illuminating the den, even as his frantic gaze went to the nearby clock on the wall. Three a.m. He hadn’t been sleeping, he’d been fucking thinking about her—
Another scream came, and Zander leapt off the couch. His heart thundered in his chest as he ran for the bedroom. When he reached the door, he kicked it in, not even hesitating. “Alice!” He hit the lights.
She shot upright and her wide eyes immediately locked on him. Her chest heaved, rising far too quickly as she drew in desperate gulps of air.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” His stare shot around the room, but he didn’t see any sign of a threat. Zander stalked closer to her.
“I’m sorry.” Her hair had dried, and it slid over her shoulders. “I had a-a bad dream. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
He found himself sitting on the edge of the bed. His hand lifted, and he brushed back a heavy lock of her hair, tucking it behind her left ear. “You have a lot of bad dreams?”
Alice gave a slow nod. “Unfortunately.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Her gaze slid away from him. “In the dream…” She swallowed. “I was one of Hugh’s victims. He had me tied down, and he was coming toward me with a knife.”
Shit. “Baby…”
She reached for him, moving fast, and suddenly, Alice’s hands were around his shoulders, and her mouth was pressed against his. She kissed him with a desperation, a wild need, and Zander’s response was instant.
Desire ignited. Lust burned. He’d tried to fight his attraction to her. Tried to just do the damn job. But it was three a.m. She was kissing him. She wanted him.
And he wasn’t going to be able to pull away. Not this time.
“I could have been another victim. I could have died.” Her words tumbled out as she eased away a few inches. “I want to live.”
She was alive. She was—
Her hands moved to his chest. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Before he’d crashed onto the couch, he’d stripped down so that he only wore his boxers, and they weren’t exactly providing him with a lot of coverage. Her silken fingers trailed over his chest, and her tongue slid along his lower lip.
“I want you,” Alice whispered.
He felt his control shatter. Zander tumbled her back onto the bed. And he let his desire loose. His kiss was demanding and ravenous. His hands snaked along her body. Slid under the edge of the shirt she wore—his shirt—and he touched smooth, perfect skin.
She moaned into his mouth, and he absolutely loved that husky sound. He wanted to hear more moans. Wanted to drive her wild. He was beyond rational thought. All he knew was need.
A need that threatened to swallow them both whole.
He got the t-shirt off her. Threw it somewhere. Then Zander was kissing a path down her neck and finding her sensitive spots. Memorizing them. Licking and kissing and even lightly biting as he marked her. Down he went. Her breasts thrust toward him, the nipples light and dusky, and he had to take one into his mouth. Had to suck and make her moan again. He treated the other breast to the same sensual attention. Her hips jerked up against him, moving in a fast rhythm against his cock.
Her legs were spread. He was already positioned between them. His cock—covered only by the boxers—shoved toward her sex. Sinking into her would feel like paradise, he knew it.
But she had to be ready. Had to be as wild as he was.
His fingers caressed over her abdomen. Her nails bit into his shoulders. He eased his hand down more, moved it between their bodies. Stroked her very core.
She was wet for him. Hot. And when he pushed one finger into her, then another…
“Zander!” Fierce need had her crying out his name.
He felt as if he’d erupt at any moment. He had to get inside her. Right the hell then.
But…
He wanted to taste her. Wanted to make her come. Wanted her to go insane for him.
He slid down her body. Spread her thighs even wider, and he put his mouth on her. She stiffened, then arched toward him, moaning eagerly when his tongue went to work. Licking, stroking, and tasting heaven, Zander feasted.
She came against his mouth. The release rocked through her whole body, and he loved the way she cried out his name. No inhibition. No hiding. Just pleasure.
He licked her again, then pulled away long enough to fumble for the nightstand. He yanked out a condom from the box there and had it on seconds later. Then he was pushing his eager cock toward the entrance of her body. Locking his fingers with hers. Driving in—
So tight.
She stiffened beneath him, and Zander cursed himself. He was being too rough with her. He needed to ease up, to—
“It’s…been a while,” she gasped.
His fingers slid back to her clit. He stroked her. Didn’t move his cock an inch forward. He wouldn’t, not until she was ready.
She relaxed around him as he strummed her clit. As he caressed her, Alice gave the moan he was becoming greedy to hear. Then her legs lifted and locked around his hips. She was the one to move. The one to arch up against him and take his cock in deep.
And when he was balls deep into her, Zander nearly lost his mind. Hot. Wet. So tight. He withdrew, thrust deep, over and over, as the rhythm became wilder. She was with him every second, driving for the release of pleasure, for the avalanche that would come. The slap of their bodies filled the air, the scent of sex, the sound of their panting breaths and then…Alice jerked beneath him. She gave a little scream, and he felt the fierce contractions of her release around his c
ock. Zander followed her into oblivion.
***
When she woke up again, Alice wasn’t alone. A warm, strong arm had curled around her stomach, and her body was tucked in close to Zander.
They’d had incredible sex. The best sex she’d ever had. Then he’d held her while she slept. She’d dreaded the anniversary of Hugh’s death. Dreaded waking up to his ghost, but she wasn’t staring at a twisted past.
She was staring at Zander’s handsome face. When he slept, his features softened a bit. Sure, his jaw was still as hard, but his lips had curved into what looked like a faint smile. His long lashes—thick and dark—shielded his intense gaze. A line of stubble covered his jaw, and she found herself leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he murmured.
She realized he’d been awake. Then she wondered—just how long had he been awake?
His eyes opened. No sleepiness there. Absolute awareness. His faint smile deepened. “Sleep well?”
After the mind-blowing sex? Yes, she absolutely had. No more bad dreams. No nightmares that left her screaming, thank you very much. Alice gave a quick nod as she sat up and pulled the covers with her. She needed the covers because Alice had just realized she was completely naked. She hadn’t cared last night. But this morning, she felt shy.
Probably because she hadn’t done the morning-after routine in a very, very long time.
His fingers rose and trailed over her suddenly hot cheeks. “What’s the cute blush about?”
“It’s…” Be honest. “It’s about me not knowing what I should say to you right now.”
His eyes narrowed. Zander seemed to mull something over in his head, and then he finally said, “Last night, you mentioned that it had been a long time for you.”
She knew her blush had to be getting deeper. There was no way she could play this situation off casually. “It had been a while.” Oh, jeez, she’d thought he’d enjoyed himself. Maybe he hadn’t experienced the insane pleasure that she’d had. Maybe—
“How long?”
She wanted to hunch her shoulders and hide under the covers. Because she wanted that, Alice lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “Since Hugh.”