Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I’ve never felt anything like this before, something so huge and possessing and right. It’s like all the love that’s possible for a person to feel is bubbling up inside of me.
I try to stomp down on that word.
Love.
It has no place here, surely, after only knowing him for a few hours.
But I can’t dismiss it completely, no matter how foolish I should find it. Zack hasn’t just opened doors inside of me. He’s kicked them down, forcefully smashed his foot through my inner defenses, and exposed a whole new world.
“It’s the alarm I set to remind myself to get my work stuff ready,” I tell Zack, who’s still looking at me with that inquisitive look on his face, as though he’s waiting for me to explain.
His smirk falters and he reaches forward, looping one arm around my waist and waving his free hand at the room in general. “What did I say? You can stay here rent free until you’ve figured out what to do next. Hell, Zoey, the way things are going with us you’ll never need to pay rent again.”
I gasp at his words, the force of them punching into me like a promise.
Looking around the room, I can’t deny how tempting it is.
There’s an ensuite with sleek marble surfaces, a shower that is about a hundred times less grimy than mine – not that that’s difficult – and the bed looks plump and inviting with its silk sheets. The window overlooks the city and everything in here is so spacious, it’s easy for me to imagine setting up a miniature studio for my painting.
“I don’t want to go to the diner,” I murmur. “But the thing is, I said I would go. My dad was really, really big on not going back on your word once you gave it. It’s one of the things I admired most about him. I’ve always tried to stick to that in my own life, to honor his memory, I guess.”
Zack nods in understanding. “My old man was the same.”
“Was?” I ask, unable to stop my voice from catching as I ask this too-forward question.
“He died when I was in my early twenties,” Zack explains. “Cancer.”
“And your mom?”
He sighs, shaking his head. “She died giving birth to me. I was a goddamn hypocrite before when I told you that you couldn’t blame yourself for what happened to your parents. I’ve spent a lot of time blaming myself… and not just for that.”
My heart quivers at his words, willing me to ask him more questions, willing me to ask him just exactly what he blames himself for other than his mother’s death. His eyes – normally so bright, so stark – seem to darken for a moment as he bites down.
“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?” I place my hand on his chest, squeezing down to feel his irrepressible muscles. “It’s not your fault. You said I was a kid when my parents died. You said that I couldn’t be held responsible. Well, you were a freaking baby. So surely you can say the same for yourself?”
He tightens his grip on my hip, pulling me even closer to him. There’s no space between us at all now, letting me feel how his lust flames even when we’re talking about such macabre things. His manhood is a solid rod against my belly, telling me with certainty what he’d be willing to do if I only gave him the signal.
My body screams at me to tell him now, now, now, to tell him I’m ready.
But the truth is I’m not. The truth is terror slithers through me whenever I think about opening my legs and confidently telling my man to thrust inside of me.
The nervousness is a different breed to the type I normally feel. This comes from not wanting to disappoint him, but from knowing I’m bound to disappoint him if I act upon the desires working their way inexorably through me.
“I know. You’re right. Of course, I know that.”
“But knowing it and feeling it are two different things,” I murmur from experience.
“Exactly.” He nods. “But don’t change the subject. We need to talk about this work madness. Really, Zoey, there’s no need. I know you said you want to keep your word once you give it, but things have changed. What’s to stop Jerry from showing up?”
I bite my lip, knowing he’s right. The thought of Jerry popping up at the diner sets my nerves ablaze in a wholly different way to the sensations Zack sends surging through me.
And yet it’s not just my dickhead boss, Clive, I’d be letting down.
“I promised Lyla I’d cover her shift,” I say quietly. “She’s a single mom and her kid is sick at the moment. Believe me, Zack, I don’t want to go there any more than you want me to. But I can’t let her down like that. Maybe…”