Free Downunder Heat by Alysha Ellis Page A

two, but they were pleasant twinges, reminders of time very well spent. “No. I’m not too sore.”
    “Good.” His grin got wider. “Just scream when you’ve had enough.”
    And scream she did. Zakk’s tongue and teeth worked in perfect synchronicity to turn her into a quivering shaking mass of melted female. If being womany brought her to this, then she was all for it.
    Before the quivering subsided, Zakk donned a condom and slid smoothly inside her. And this time it was slow. Slow and leisurely, punctuated by soft, tender kisses and long, languid strokes. Instead of a wild rush to orgasm, they climbed steadily, looking into each other’s eyes, watching the tension build, feeding off each other’s pleasure.
    When her climax hit, it was a deep throb that seemed to go on and on, with Zakk’s lips fastened to hers, his body pulsing out his release at the same time.
    Their bodies stilled and they lay with Zakk’s head resting in the crook of her neck, their hands clasped, fingers linked on the pillow either side of her head.
    After a long moment, he lifted his weight from her and sighed. “I wanted to stay for breakfast, Kitty. I intended to. But I have surf patrol this morning and we just used up any extra time I had.” He pushed himself upwards. “I’ll have another shower here, if you don’t mind, then I’ll have to rush home, get changed and get down to the beach.”
    “Yes, of course,” she said.
    He got out of bed and walked away. Kitty told herself to get up, to do something, but she lay there another couple of minutes. Then she heard the bathroom door open and she forced herself out of bed, pulled the much mistreated robe back on once more and walked out to find Zakk in the living room gathering up his clothes. He turned his pants back the right way out and, as he did so, a pile of square condom packets fell out of the pocket.
    “You had some anyway,” Kitty noted.
    Zakk bent and gathered them up. “I knew damn well what I had in mind and came prepared for it.” He smiled at her. “I just wasn’t prepared for the way you’d make me lose my senses. And then later… I wasn’t going to leave you and get out of bed to get these when there was a box right there.”
    He looked at the little pile in his hand. “I was going to say I’d leave these here, but it occurs to me that any time I’m with you, the need for these could—ahem— arise in an instant. I think it might be safer to carry these with me at all times.”
    “Even in your bathers?” Kitty asked with a grin.
    “Only if you’re going to be at the beach again today,” he replied.
    “Not today,” she said. “I have things to do, and I wouldn’t want to distract you from your duty.”
    “And you would,” he agreed. “If you were anywhere on that beach, I’d be constantly watching for you instead of keeping my eye out for people in trouble.”
    “Speaking as one of the people in trouble you have rescued, I don’t want to be responsible for you not keeping your mind on the job. Go do what you have to.”
    He kissed her again, and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I’m on duty all day. I’ll call you when I can.”
    “You do what you have to do,” Kitty repeated, returning the kiss.
    “I’ll see you soon, though, okay?” Zakk said as he bent to tie his shoes. He straightened and headed for the door. “And next time I will stick around for that breakfast.”
    He pulled the door shut behind him, and Kitty leaned against the sofa, feeling like a whirlwind had rushed through her life, shaking it up, changing it round and leaving her not sure she recognized herself.
    She bent to pick up her new dress. Okay, maybe everything would have still happened without it, and maybe she hadn’t needed to shell out two weeks’ salary to ensure Zakk’s enthusiasm, but she smoothed out the creases and hung it in her closet with the greatest of care. Regardless of how much the dress had contributed to what happened last