20
Opening his eyes and squinting at the bright sunlight that flooded them, Ethan grasped it was well past his normal early waking time. He jerked upright into a seated position, awakening Zoë beside him.
“What’s wrong?” she questioned.
“Nothing, I just overslept is all.”
He looked past her to the alarm clock on the nightstand. “It’s almost ten! What the fuck!” Scrambling out of bed, he was about to race to the dresser for clothes when her voice stilled him.
“Um, I’m sure Skip must have fed the animals by now,” she ventured.
Her tone was tentative, and it calmed him. There was no need for him to act like an idiot, especially after the great night they shared. Skip would have fed all the animals by now and released them into the paddocks. While he didn’t like the fact he’d inadvertently dumped all that work on Skip without notice, there was nothing he could do about it now.
“You’re right,” he replied as he nodded. “He would have. I’m sorry if I startled you, but I’ve never slept in this late before. You wore me out last night.”
He added a smile, hoping to assure her he didn’t regret being with her for he most certainly didn’t. Their encounters the night before were the hottest he’d ever experienced and he sure hoped she was game for more. Many more.
“Last night,” she repeated with a broad smile, “then again around midnight, and again around two.”
“Yep, told you I’d be good for three rounds.”
Her eyes settled on his morning wood. “It looks like you’re up for round four. Or does the clock reset at dawn?” She snort-giggled.
Weird as it seemed, it turned him on, just like everything else about her did. She was freaking sensational, and he couldn’t wait to be inside her again.
“Oh darling, you can be sure I’m up for more.”
“You certainly are up,” she confirmed, her eyes glued to his erection. When she licked her lips, he swelled more. Her wanton eyes met his and she dipped her head to regard him through her lashes. “Come back to bed, cowboy, I’m gonna ride you ‘til the cows come home.”
Before he could oblige, a noise sounded on the stairs. At her uncertain frown, he sighed deeply. “Shit, I completely forgot. That’s Zandra, she’s come to clean the house. She probably thinks I’m outside because I always am by now.” Looking toward the doorway, he called out loudly. “Zandra, I’m in the bedroom. I’ll be a few minutes.”
When the creaking of the stairs continued, he panicked. He scanned the floor but couldn’t remember where he’d kicked off his pants last night. At the sound of the footfalls on the floorboards in the hallway, he reached for one of the pillows on the bed. Zoë snatched them both up and held them against her chest, laughing.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” he shouted and turned to head to the dresser again.
Zandra walked in the room and emitted a surprised yelp. His hands flew to cover his package but, forgetting his erection, he banged into the side of it instead. As he fumbled to hold it down and cover it, he saw the earbud cords trailing from Zandra’s ears. That certainly explained why she hadn’t heard him. She took a step back and covered her open mouth with one hand as her other pulled one of the earbuds out.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said as pleasantly as he could, “you didn’t know we were in here. We slept in. Together. But we weren’t ... we just woke up.” He heard Zoë’s stifled laughter at his awkward response. “Can you please give us a few minutes?”
“Of course, yeah, I don’t know why I’m still standing here. I’m sorry. Okay, I’ll, uh, reverse my usual routine and start on the main floor and then work my way up.”
“Up,” Zoë croaked, and then laughed loudly.
His cheeks afire, he looked to Zandra imploringly. She turned to leave, and relief spread through him. His respite was short-lived however, as Zoë’s voice rang out, halting Zandra.
“Wait.” As he watched in stunned silence, Zoë left the bed and, naked, strode up to Zandra, extending her hand. “Hi, I’m Zoë. I’m the new cook here.”
Zandra shook her hand. “The cook?” She looked between Zoë and Ethan, her brow furrowed.
“Is it the naked thing?” Zoë questioned. “We’re both women, I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“No, it’s not that,” Zandra said, and then glanced between the pair again. “Um, the cook. Okay.”
Unable to endure another moment of torture, he shuffled toward the bathroom, hoping he could inconspicuously slip into it. His movement caught Zoë’s eye and she turned to him. To his horror, so did Zandra. A wicked grin spread across Zoë’s lips.
“Gotta pee, huh?”
He backed into the bathroom, stumbled when his heel caught the doorframe, and had to let go of his bits to steady himself. With a widening of his eyes, he jumped back into the room and slammed the door shut. As the sound of twin peals of laughter filled his ears, he leaned against the door and sighed deeply. Yep, Zoë was trouble all right.