That Night in August: Chapter Four

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August 31st

C A R M E N

Two hours later, the alcohol has me feeling merry. I sway side-to-side among the throng of my drunken peers, Wild Thoughts by Rihanna reverberating in the background as disco lights flicker across the room. Me, Fred and several others from the football and dance teams finished playing ring of fire a little while ago, and it's fair to say I drew the short straw by pulling the last king twice.

I pity my poor liver.

Deidre has not yet resurfaced, but I'm trying not to overthink. Fred said she was fine. She was getting friendly with some guy who he said seemed nice. It's normal for people to mingle and hook up at college parties for temporary distraction, and it might just do her some good in getting over Jamie.

As for Jules, we've locked eyes once or twice, but haven't spoken. I guess she's not ready to apologise to me for earlier just yet, but she'll come around and grovel soon enough. Maybe tomorrow.

As I dance along to the sensual number playing through the speakers, I feel a presence behind me and a pair of large hands land on my hips. I lean backward and my back presses against a sturdy structure—a chest, and a combination of men's cologne and chlorine hits my nostrils. A pair of lips brush against my helix, and my breath catches in my throat at the sensation it elicits.

"The offer's still there, Ellis," a velvety voice whispers into my ear, hot breath fanning my skin. "I can still think of a lot of ways to keep you warm."

"Zachary," I murmur his name. "Didn't I tell you to leave?" My body defies the meaning behind my words as I impulsively press further against his tall, firm form as he sways along to the beat with me.

He removes his hands from my hips and wraps his muscular arms around my midriff. "You never threw me a stick, so I got mixed signals and came back."

"And you never gave me a kiss, so who says I'm going to let you stay?" I utter without a second thought.

Stupid alcohol.

Zachary chuckles deeply from behind me and swivels me around in his arms, so I am now facing him. My hands move on instinct. I drag them up his abdomen and feel him shudder at my touch, and then brush them across his firm chest before looping my arms around his shoulders and neck. True to what he said earlier, he had a change of clothes in his friend's boot, as the outfit he now sports is not sopping wet.

"Believe me, I fucking tried," he murmurs as his hands draw an array of shapes and patterns across the exposed skin at the top of my back. "You pulled away before I could."

"You were soaking wet," I reply, moving one of my hands to fiddle with the silver chain necklace that hangs around his neck, tugging at the metallic object. "I didn't want you to ruin my dress."

Zachary smirks before leaning forward again, his lips grazing against my earlobe as he whispers tantalising words into my ear. "That's a shame. I wouldn't shove you away if you were dripping. You can ruin our outfits all you want in my books, Ellis. I won't complain."

"I — I... I walked myself into that one, didn't I?" I'm never lost for words, but he has me stammering like a fool.

He chuckles as his lips travel south and pepper molten kisses on my neck, gaining a gasp from me in response. "Just a little," he murmurs, the movement of his mouth tickling my skin.

After several more pecks and an experimental nip at my skin, Zachary pulls away. His cobalt eyes are even more entrancing when several drinks deep, luring me in like a siren would a sailor. I know he's not good news. Everyone knows he's not good news. But he's the whole package of tousled black hair, attractive smirks and bad decisions, and my tipsy-self is all for it.

And that's why, with no regard for the consequences, I inch myself upward on my tiptoes and press my lips against his.

I feel his grunt against my lips when our mouths meet. With one hand, I clasp hold of his shoulder for support and bury the other into his hair so I can run my acrylic nails through the dark strands. He nibbles at my bottom lip, coaxing me into parting them, and I taste beer on his tongue when he delves inside.

He's experienced, I can tell that much. It's common knowledge that Zachary Ward has slept with a large sum of girls in and out of college, and I am no paragon of virtue myself, either. But despite never touching me before, he explores me with his hands and mouth like it's a standard procedure, and it's enough to set my insides alight.

I bring myself closer to him, pressing my body flush against his own. His jogging bottoms and my slinky dress do a poor job at hiding the effect I have on him as he digs into my midriff.

"Take it you have somewhere we can escape to in this mansion?" Zachary mutters against my lips.

I opt to play with him some more. "Why would we need to do that?"

He pulls away to look at me. The room is dark with the only real brightness coming from the strobe lights flickering above us in a craze, but I do not miss the way his tongue runs across his bottom lip. "Because, Ellis." It's his turn to tangle a large hand in my curled tresses of hair. "If we don't, I'm about ten seconds away from ripping that dress off you and pinning you against one of these walls." He uses his other hand to tug at one of my thin dress straps for emphasis, causing my breath to hitch. "Figured you'd like the chance to take us somewhere more private first."

"I... guess we could..." my voice trails off. "My bedroom."

"Lead the way." Zachary's mouth quirks upward into a grin.

I guide us through the crowd, squeezing past the bodies of our peers. Zachary follows behind and keeps an arm wrapped around my waist as I navigate our way out of the kitchen, into the hallway, and toward the staircase that heads upstairs.

"What are you doing?" He whispers into my ear huskily when I stop at the mantlepiece by the front door and fiddle with a vase.

"We kind of need this," I reply when a silver key comes tumbling out of the china object and falls into my free hand. I put my bedroom key in here earlier when Jules, Dei, and I first came down to the party—a hiding place that has not once let me down.

He grunts as some kind of acknowledgement as I return the vase to its prior position.

We make our way up the staircase and then across the hall to my bedroom. I fumble the key into the lock as best I can in my tipsy state, before twisting it open with a 'click' and guiding us inside.

I barely have time to push the door closed before Zachary has his lips on mine again. The scrape of his teeth on my lower lip and the grip on my waist as he backs me against the wooden door are anything but soft.

My body arches against him when his tongue delves into my mouth, his hands roving up my body until they reach the sheer straps of my attire.

"Are you really that precious about this dress?" He murmurs after pulling away, eyes glued to my outfit as he fiddles with the ties hugging my shoulders.

"What?" Is my one-worded, breathless response as I look up to meet his gaze.

"I take it you are, and that I'm not allowed to rip it off you?"

"Um, no, of course you can't! Do you know how much this cost?"

"Judging by your house and the pool out there, a fucking lot," Zachary replies. His hands travel to my back and unzip my dress, a stark contrast to the way he was ravaging me against the door just moments before. Once the zipper hits the bottom, he traces a finger up the length of my spine, and I shiver at his touch. "Gentle enough for you?"

White-knuckled, I dig my nails into his shoulders through the fabric of his hoodie. "Yeah."

A gasp leaves me as he dips down to give attention to the skin between my jaw and neck, just as he had amid the party. His large hands make light work of my dress as he drags the straps past my shoulders, reducing my outfit into nothing more than a puddle of fabric at my feet.

Zachary pulls back and drinks me in. "No bra?" His tone is deep when he refers to how I am now naked from the waist up.

"I didn't need one with a dress like that," I reply, significantly undressed compared to his fully clothed self. "I think it's your turn to lose something now."

He smirks as he puts enough distance between us to pull his hoodie and tight-fitting tee over his head, his broad chest and toned abdominal area coming into view. "Better, Ellis?" He says, tossing the discarded clothing to one side. "Or do you need me to lose more?"

The look Zachary sports as he stares at my exposed body is mischievous, but I cannot help the way it entices me. He is trouble, but so tempting at the same time.

"If you're going to insist on breaking in here, I want you to make it worth my while. Lose it all."

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Author's Note:

Hello! Another week is here, meaning another chapter of That Night in August. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

What are your thoughts on Zachary?

The next chapter will be posted next Monday as always. Hope you all have a fantastic week.

Amber