Free Actually Love - Jessie & Zach by Melanie Shawn Page A

phone, causing it to slip out of her hands. Luckily, she had ninja-like reflexes, so she was able to save the device she considered her lifeline.
    Zach stood in the small doorway that led from the kitchen to the front room wearing only low-hanging black sweats with a white string that dangled in the middle of his waistband, immediately drawing Jessie’s attention to the impressive bulge that was resting beneath the corded string.
    Lord have mercy!
    “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” Zach’s voice held a sleepy, gravelly quality as he rubbed his hands over his face, which was sprinkled with just enough stubble to further weaken Jessie’s already-trembling knees.
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just didn’t feel like driving all the way back to Harper’s Crossing when I’d just have to turn right around and head back here in a few hours.” Jessie stopped herself up short and pursed her lips together.
    Why was she telling him this? Zach didn’t need an explanation. Was she, Jessie Sloan , babbling like an idiot? Was it out of nervousness? The thought appalled her, but she had to admit that that might very well be the case.
    Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she was concerned that it might crack one of her ribs. She was doing everything she could to not drool over Zach’s body, but even that was proving to be an extremely difficult task considering the sheer volume of saliva in her mouth as her eyes—of their own accord—scanned Zach’s mouth-watering physique.
    Zach’s body was, in one word…perfection. His wide shoulders were rounded with definition. His long, muscled arms looked safe and strong. His broad, smooth, rock-hard chest was rivaled in sexiness only by the rippling abs and lean waist below it. The steely contours of Zach’s body were overwhelmingly, spine-tinglingly, one hundred percent male . He was the definition of alpha male in prime condition; which caused every female inch of Jessie’s body to come alive with awareness.
    “Makes sense.” Zach nodded as he yawned and his arms fell to his sides.
    “Don’t let me keep you up.” For some reason, her eyes drifted down to see if he was in fact “up.”
    Stop it! Jessie reprimanded herself. Her gaze dropped to the linoleum floor as she tried desperately to corral the kinky, wild-thought horses that were unexpectedly trotting through her brain.
    “You’re not.”
    Jessie heard the smile in Zach’s voice, and her eyes flew back up to meet his. His face was turned up in a half smile, which she could not immediately classify as a smirk or a friendly gesture.
    She was leaning toward smirk when Zach said, “I got all moved in this afternoon. Why don’t you go ahead and take my bed and I’ll crash on the couch.”
    Jessie waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, no. I’m fine on the couch. Honestly, I’m so exhausted that I’ll be out as soon as my head hits the pillow.”
    Well, that might actually be a lie. She had been exhausted, but now she was wide awake. Arousal had that effect on her.
    “Actually, you can’t sleep on the couch.” Zach casually lifted his arms above his head and rested them on the wood doorframe.
    His new position made all kinds of muscles in his arms, stomach, and chest (that Jessie had not seen before) pop out in definition. Where her mouth had been overflowing with excess saliva just moments ago, it was now bone dry. She froze at the sight he presented.
    Trying not to let her traitorous body’s reaction show, Jessie crossed her arms defiantly—and maybe to cover up her now hardened nipples. “Yes. I. Can.”
    Her argument might have made her sound more like a petulant two-year-old, but honestly, she was just proud of herself for getting out those three little words without sounding all breathy like Marilyn Monroe singing to President Kennedy. At this point, she was counting that as a win.
    Zach dropped his arms and shook his head with a sigh as he stalked towards Jessie. Her head was