Everything I Have (The Everything Series Book 2) Read online

  I wrapped my hand around him and lowered my head toward his beautiful cock. With one last look up at his face I saw how much he wanted this and how much restraint he was using. Finally, I put him out of his misery when I wrapped my mouth around him and ran my tongue along the underside of his length. I heard the groans coming from the back of his throat and that only served to motivate me. Slowly, I lifted my head so that my mouth was just around the tip. I pressed a kiss there before taking him back in my mouth. Moving up and down his shaft, I changed my pace and was now moving quickly. Wanting to draw out his pleasure and make this really good for him I took him out of my mouth and moved to his balls. I licked and then sucked each one into my mouth before running my tongue up along the underside of his shaft.

  “Emme,” he said, his voice the sexiest I’d ever heard it.

  I pulled him into my mouth again and moaned. I would do this forever just to hear that voice. I kept my hand planted at the root of his shaft and worked him with my mouth.

  Minutes later he said, “Sweetheart, you’ve got to stop.”

  I froze immediately and sat up.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, thinking I had mistaken everything I had heard coming from him.

  “Nothing at all, but I’m going to come if you don’t stop,” he answered quickly.

  Relief swept through me and I said, “I want you to have a little happy today, too, Zane.”

  I wrapped my hand around him again, took him in my mouth, and heard him groan. I picked up my pace, felt him swell inside my mouth, and took everything he gave me while he said my name in his sexy voice. When he finished, I sat up and looked at him.

  He was already sitting up and coming toward me. I froze for a minute unsure of what he was doing when he got close and whispered, “You aren’t the only one who gets a taste tonight. I’m eating now.”

  With that, Zane gripped my hips and pulled me toward him. My head fell back on the couch and Zane’s head disappeared between my legs. Within seconds his mouth was on me and he was eating. Even though I already admitted to myself (and Monroe) that he was good with his mouth, Zane proved that I wasn’t wrong in giving him credit where credit was due. He licked, sucked, and feasted on me. It didn’t take long before I felt the orgasm building.

  “Fuck, don’t stop,” I moaned. “Zane, please.”

  He didn’t relent. He kept giving. Seconds later I was coming and screaming his name.

  I came down from the high and was utterly spent and useless. I rolled to my side, my scar against the couch, and buried my face in Zane’s chest.

  “Wow,” I said.

  He chuckled. “Tell me about it. Just found another thing to add to the list of things you do really fucking well,” he said.

  I smiled against his skin and said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  He didn’t say anything. He just wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer to him.

  “Thank you, Zane.”

  “For what, sweetheart?”

  “For giving me these memories today. For making me feel good, in more ways than one. But, most of all, thank you for respecting me enough tonight to allow me to set the pace and to not push for more than I could handle.”

  Zane went solid and said, “You’re welcome, Emme, but you don’t need to thank me for it. I understand your appreciation. I got something out of today, too, and I don’t just mean physically.”

  “This feels nice,” I admitted, enjoying the warmth and security I felt wrapped up in his arms.

  We stayed like that for a long while before he said, “Need to ask you something, Em.”

  I pulled back to look at him.

  “You thanked me for respecting you tonight. For respecting the limits and boundaries with regard to your body. Did someone ever not give that to you?”

  I closed my eyes and exhaled. I didn’t want to get angry and ruin the day, but I’d said too much. It wasn’t his fault; it was my own. Instead of answering him I said, “Zane? Please don’t take away my happy today.”

  He stayed silent a moment. Finally, he grabbed a blanket from the corner of the couch, draped it over us, pulled me closer to his body wrapping his arms tighter around me, and mumbled under his breath, “Motherfucker.”

  And I knew he wasn’t referring to me when he said it. Thankfully, he respected me again and didn’t push me any further. That’s when I knew he was definitely one of the good ones. I only wished I could give him what he wanted.

  I decided earlier that morning in Zane’s truck to make the day happy and to let go completely for just one day. I had done that. It was a huge step for me and I was proud of myself for it. On that thought, I forgot about the bad and settled into the good that Zane gave me.

  Chapter 9

  Emme

  “I’m so afraid I’m going to fall.”

  I was currently standing at the top of the beginner’s slope next to Zane at Parks Ridge Ski Resort. Nikki and Monroe arrived early this morning and we all met at the lodge bright and early. Charley had gotten lessons from Wes weeks ago, so she knew what she was doing. I had never been on a snowboard before in my life. Nikki and Monroe were in the same boat as me. Stone was sticking with Monroe while Luke stayed to teach Nikki.

  “First, we’re on fresh powder here, Emme,” Zane began. “If you fall, it’s not going to hurt. Second, if you do what I say it’ll decrease your chances of falling. Next, I’m right here and I’m not going to leave your side the entire time we’re out here. If I see you going down, I’ll catch you. I would never let you get hurt, sweetheart.”

  I sucked in a breath at his words. I genuinely believed he would do whatever he had to just to be certain I didn’t get hurt. I felt his words deep down in my soul.

  I took in a deep breath and said, “Ok. I’m going to go now.”

  “Good. Remember, keep your knees bent and if you feel like you are going too fast just lean back on your heel edge or turn to your toe edge. That will stop you.”

  I nodded and started to go down the hill. I didn’t make it more than a couple feet before I felt off balance. I was about to go down on my ass when I felt Zane catch me.

  “Thank you,” I said, standing up on the board again.

  I felt like I had such a long way to go to get to the bottom. How was this considered the beginner hill?

  “Keep going, Em. You have to keep trying.”

  I kept going. This time I made it a little farther than I did on the first attempt. Unfortunately, though, I went tumbling and fell face first into the snow. I’m not sure if he felt bad or what, but Zane went down with me. Given he was one of the top snowboarders in the world I knew he didn’t accidentally fall. I appreciated the fact that he wasn’t willing to let me look like an idiot on my own.

  “Don’t stand up,” he advised. “You didn’t keep your knees bent and you didn’t stay in the squatting position. When you stand straight up like that, it’s going to make you more prone to falling forward like you just did.”

  “Oh,” I said, my voice laced with disappointment. “This is so much harder than it looks.”

  “You’re doing great, Em. You went much farther that time. Just remember what I told you about your stance.”

  “It hurts, though.”

  A look of concern washed over his face. “What does, sweetheart?”

  “My thighs. I stay in that position too long and it makes my thighs and my ass start to burn.”

  He grinned at me and said, “You’re using muscles you aren’t accustomed to using. When it starts to burn, use your edge to slow yourself down and stop. Then you can take a break for a minute.”

  “Ok.”

  Zane stood up and helped me up. I started again. I rode down a bit and began to feel the burning in my thighs. Not wanting to fall again I tried to do what Zane said. I leaned back on my heel edge, which made my thighs burn even more, but I eventually came to a stop. He immediately came up behind me, put his arms underneath mine and said, “Give it to me.”

  “What
?” I asked.

  “Your weight. Give it to me to take the pressure off your legs for a minute.”

  I leaned back into him and gave him my weight.

  “Oh, that’s such a relief,” I said, practically moaning.

  “Christ, Em. Can you not be sexy right now?”

  I turned my head to look up at him and gave him an innocent smile.

  He looked down at me and just shook his head at me before he said, “Really want to kiss you right now.”

  I immediately stood up and took my weight off him.

  “Emme, relax. I said I wanted to. That doesn’t mean I would just do it and I already know what your expectations are for this weekend. I’m not going to go against your wishes, no matter how much I want to.”

  The problem is that I wanted him to kiss me, too. If I had stayed there in his arms a second longer I would have probably told him to do it. I needed to listen to my brain for the next few days because my body and my heart were going to get me into trouble. On that thought, I said nothing to Zane and took off down the hill again. I don’t know if it was determination to get away or if Zane’s words about what to do on the board were sinking in, but I made it the rest of the way down the hill without falling.

  When I stopped at the bottom, I bent down to unstrap one foot. When I stood up, Zane was standing in front of me. He was glaring a bit and his jaw was clenched.

  “What?” I asked, a little nervous at his demeanor.

  “Proud of you. Congratulations on making it the rest of the way down successfully.”

  Ok, definitely wasn’t expecting that.

  “Thank you, Zane. I had a great teacher.”

  “Yeah, one you want to run away from, unfortunately.”

  I looked away and said, “I’m sorry. This is difficult for me.”

  He put two fingers to my jaw and turned my head. His eyes searched mine a moment before he said, “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said that. I know where you stand, Em, but it’s not exactly a walk in the park for me. You’re sexy and cute; that’s a lethal combination.”

  I gasped and looked away again. It was at moments like that when he said those things that reminded me of what happened that I realized how much I needed to pull back. It was unfair to him to be stuck in this grey area where he wanted more and I couldn’t give it.

  “Can we try to ride down the hill again?” I asked, desperate that he wouldn’t call me out on being a chicken and avoiding the conversation.

  He was pensive as he looked at me a few moments. Eventually, he nodded and we walked to the lift together. Yep, he was one of the good ones and I was a shitty, shitty person.

  We all spent the rest of the morning and afternoon with the girls getting riding lessons from the guys, stopping only to have lunch in the lodge.

  “I think I speak for all my girls when I say we’ve had enough riding for today,” Charley began. “But, I think we’d all love to watch a little pipe riding if you guys are up to it.”

  “Oooh, that sounds like fun,” Nikki sang.

  “I’m good to ride for a bit,” Stone responded. “You guys up for it?”

  “I’m down,” Luke answered.

  Wes and Zane both nodded their agreement.

  As everyone began walking toward the pipe I took off toward the lodge.

  “Hey, Em,” Charley called out. “Where are you going?”

  “My camera is in the car. Thought I’d grab it and take some pictures.”

  “Ok,” she answered. “Meet us over there?”

  I nodded.

  The girls turned to start walking toward the pipe and the guys stayed there watching me. I took in their expressions and my eyebrows drew together. I didn’t know what their deal was, but I wasn’t about to stand around and find out. I turned around and started walking toward the lodge.

  “Emme,” I heard Zane call.

  I turned back around and saw him jogging toward me.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “Nothing. I’m walking with you.”

  “I’m just going to grab my camera, Zane. I’ll be right back.”

  “I know, but you aren’t walking out by yourself.

  I decided not to argue with him on it.

  “Ok.”

  Zane and I walked out through the lodge to the parking lot. I grabbed my camera from the car and we walked back out to the mountain to meet the others at the pipe. Zane went over to meet the guys and I stayed with my girls.

  I started snapping pictures as the guys rode. I photographed people a lot and candid shots were what I typically did, but this was a whole different level. I really enjoyed trying to capture the guys in the middle of a trick at just the right angle.

  “Charley, babe, you hit the jackpot with that one,” Nikki said, referring to Wes. “And, just sayin’, considering those are his boys and we’re your girls, we’re pretty freaking lucky right now, too!”

  I smiled. This was our Nikki. She always spoke her mind and it was one of the things I think we all loved most about her.

  “Can’t say I disagree,” Monroe added. “I picked up the snowboarding pretty quickly, but was tempted to fall just to have Stone’s hands on me. He’s got good, strong hands. Manly hands. It’s such a shame I’ve got all these layers on.”

  My eyes rounded as I looked to Charley. Monroe was a virgin and we didn’t hear her say things like that very often. When she did, it always threw me.

  “I know. I told Wes I loved him,” Charley said.

  “What?” Monroe asked.

  “Christmas Day. We went to his place for a while after going to his parents’ house. He gave me my gift, which was this board and the job offer,” she said as she gestured to the board. “In that moment, I knew I loved him. Everything he makes me feel tells me this is the real thing. I didn’t want to wait any longer to tell him.”

  “What did he say?” I asked.

  “At first, nothing.”

  “Oh my God. I would have been mortified,” I shared.

  Charley laughed. “He didn’t say anything because he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to his bedroom, kissing me the whole way there. Then, he made love to me.”

  “Well then, I guess he was feeling the same way,” Monroe said.

  Charley nodded and said, “Yeah. He said it to me after we made love.”

  “So happy for you, babe. You deserve this,” Nikki began. She turned her attention to me and said, “You’re next.”

  I looked away.

  “Don’t play shy with me, Em. With the way Zane looks at you and the way you look at him when you think nobody is watching, your time is coming. Everyone can feel the sexual tension between you two,” she continued.

  I looked at my girls. Charley and Nikki were simply smiling at me. I eyed Monroe. She gave me a smile and a wink. Shit. I didn’t want this. They were already getting ideas. Of course, it wasn’t exactly like their assumptions were far off the mark. I knew how Zane looked at me and I knew how I looked at him. If they only knew about our rendezvous two nights ago. I didn’t want to outright lie to them so I stayed silent and looked back to where the guys were riding. Thankfully, my friends didn’t push me any further.

  We stayed a little while longer watching the guys. I continued snapping shots of them riding and a few of my girls. Zane, Wes, Luke, and Stone walked over to us when they finished and we all decided it was time for dinner. We spent a couple hours at dinner and it was a really great time. There was no pressure or awkwardness and the entire night was laid-back fun.

  After dinner, the guys came back to the condo with us and hung for a while. Throughout dinner and then back at the condo Zane stayed true to his word and respected my wishes to not give anyone anything to talk about regarding the two of us. After hanging with us for a bit, the guys took off, but not before giving us a heads up on the festivities for tomorrow night.

  Charley, Nikki, Monroe, and I stayed up late catching up with each other. Nikki and Monroe filled us in on the
happenings back in California. Charley talked a bit about the new job she’d be starting on Monday working as a graphic designer for Blackman Boards with Wes. Hours later, we called it quits for the night.

  I was exhausted and hoping for a good night’s sleep free from a nightmare.

  When I woke late the next morning I let out a sigh of relief. Other than Wednesday night, last night was the only night over the last week that I slept through the night without a nightmare. I heard a chime come from my phone. I rolled over and swiped the phone off the nightstand. Zane had sent a text.

  Got a package in the mail yesterday, but didn’t realize it until I got home last night.

  I smiled at my phone and sent back a reply.

  Anything good?

  His response was simple and to the point.

  Fucking beautiful.

  As I read his text I could hear his voice in my head. It melted my heart. On Thursday morning, I went through my photos from my day out with Zane on Wednesday. I pulled out some of the best along with the accidentally perfect one of the two of us, edited them, and then by Thursday afternoon I was at the post office mailing Zane a package. I had framed the photo of the two of us.

  I sent him a reply.

  So I’m guessing you liked it then?

  Zane: No doubt. Thank you.

  Me: You’re welcome.

  Zane: Sleep ok last night?

  I closed my eyes. He never forgot and he cared enough to ask. I was overcome with such emotion my eyes welled with tears. I tapped out a quick response as I felt the tears slide down my face.

  Me: Success.

  Zane: Happy to hear it. Look forward to seeing you tonight.

  Me: Same here. Thanks for being so great yesterday, even when I was shitty to you.

  Zane: You weren’t shitty, Em.

  Me: I’ll do better tonight. Promise.

  Zane: You don’t need to do anything. You were fine.

  Me: Ok, agree to disagree?

  Zane: Ok. See you in a few hours, sweetheart.

  Me: Later, Zane.

  I put my phone back on the nightstand and rolled to my back again. I stared at the ceiling and heard, “Ok, I’m going to need an explanation on what all that was.”