I lean in and shove at his chest again, although I don’t budge him an inch this time.

“You ass**le,” I snarl furiously. “What are you doing here?”

I expect Zach to give me a sheepish apology for breaking my heart, for leaving me… for making me worry, and most of all, for causing me to go half a world away just to make sure he was okay.

Instead, he surges up out of the chair and clasps my face with his hands. Jerking me to him, he crushes his mouth to mine, thrusting his tongue into my mouth and giving me the hottest, wettest, deepest kiss of my life. He growls low in his throat, and my bones liquefy.

Oh, to feel his hands on me… his eyes searing me with lust when he pulls away marginally. He leans in and kisses me again, our teeth knocking together with brutality. He bites at my lip, sucking it into his mouth as he pulls my h*ps inward and grinds his erection against me.

Zach tears his lips away and reaches down to my T-shirt, whipping it over my head. I open my mouth to argue with him but he kisses me again, effectively shutting me up. His hands work at my canvas belt, finally my button and zipper, and then he’s shoving my pants and my underwear down to my knees.

“What do you think—?” I start to say but he kisses me again, his tongue mating with mine so I’m robbed of any power of speech. My breathing starts getting harsh as his hands roam over my body, pinching at my ni**les through my bra.

He cups me between the legs and hisses when he sticks a finger in me, “Wet baby. I knew you’d be.”

My mind is spinning and there’s a small part of me that is yelling at me to stop this assault, but the other ninety-nine point nine percent of my body is screaming at him to hurry up and just f**k me.

Zach doesn’t waste any time. His hand goes around to the back of my neck, and he pushes me down to the kitchen floor. The linoleum is cool against my knees, and I know it will feel cold against my cheek as I watch the floor rise to meet me while Zach puts me in the same position that started all of this between us.

Harsh pants fill the room… mine, Zach’s… we’re both desperately on edge. I can hear the scrape of his zipper and then his hands are at my hips. He places the head of his c**k against the back of my pu**y and starts rotating his hips, working his way into my body. When he gets about an inch or so in, he finally grabs ahold of me hard and slams his way home.

I cry out, “Oh, Zach.”

He answers me with a guttural moan and says, “I’ve missed you so much.”

Those words melt my heart. Then he melts my body as he starts to thrust in and out of me, holding me in place by my hips.

“Oh, Moira,” he pants as he moves with such deliberation… such care. “You just don’t know. You just don’t know.”

His words are broken and coarse, his breath practically wheezing from his exertions. I feel a sudden buildup of pressure between my legs, then an orgasm is tearing its way free even as my heart starts filling up with joy that at this moment… this very moment… Zach has returned to me.

Zach slams into me one more time and digs his fingers into my skin, roaring out his release, which I can feel coating my the walls of my pu**y. He collapses onto me, rolling us so he can pull me into his arms. He presses his mouth to the back of my head and kisses me, then we lay like that for a while as our breathing starts to go silent.

I don’t know what to say to him. He’s here.

In my house.

Alive.

Sudden joy over what this means courses through me.

Yes, he’s alive.

And yes… he’s here with me.

Zach suddenly releases me and pushes up from the floor. I watch, completely boneless, while he tucks his c**k back in his jeans and zips up. He then bends down and scoops me up in his arms.

Without a word between us, he takes me into the bathroom and sets me down gently. Turning away from me briefly, he turns the shower on and adjusts the temperature.

When he turns back to me, he leans in and gives me a soft kiss. “I missed you.”

“You already said that once,” I murmur, my head still spinning that he’s standing here… with me.

“I plan on saying it a whole lot more, so get used to it,” he says with a grin.

Zach kneels down before me, taking off my hiking boots and socks. He peels my pants and underwear off me, and I use the opportunity to touch him by resting my hands on his shoulders for balance. I even drag my fingers through his hair, loving the soft but slightly longer locks. He purrs under my fingertips and nuzzles my stomach briefly.

Standing up, he alleviates me of my sports bra and then takes off his clothes before pulling me under the hot spray of water.

Zach washes me, oh so gently. He takes great care massaging shampoo into my hair and working the conditioner in so every piece is coated with the silky liquid. He lathers his hands and runs them over every square inch of my body, his eyes never leaving the path that his trails are blazing. He’s oh so gentle between my legs, making this not about sex, but about caring for my body in a way he never has before.

When I’m clean, he wraps me in a towel and proceeds to soak up every drop of water from my skin.

Then I’m up in his arms again, and he takes me to my bedroom, where he peels the covers back and places me in bed. Crawling in beside me, his hands reach out to pull me in close… my front to his.

My cheek settles against his chest, which beats a steady tune, and we just lay in the silence. Zach strokes my back and presses kisses to my forehead, yet he says nothing. My eyes start to get heavy and, before I know it, I fall asleep.