I open the front door and am immediately greeted by the overwhelming scent of roasted meat of some sort. I close the door behind me, listening to Zoe clank utensils around while she opens and closes drawers in the kitchen.

Much to my surprise, Zoe started cooking for us—creating elaborate meals and desserts and all sorts of delicious things—the day after we got back to my house. There wasn't even a moment’s question between us about whether she'd move in after everything that had happened. I opened my eyes that next morning and she slipped right into my life, wrapped around me like the most comfortable and best-fitting pair of jeans I could imagine.  

When we woke up in each other’s arms that day four months ago, I panicked when I realized how little there was to eat in the house. I’d been hiding out in hotels for so long I was pretty sure the only thing in the cupboard was an old packet of spaghetti. And no sauce.

Without me saying a word, Zoe was online within seconds ordering groceries. And that night she prepared a simple but delicious meal of Irish stew and soda bread for the two of us. She smiled at my numerous compliments and was clearly proud to let me know that she'd learned how to cook on her own.  

"Everything you could ever want to learn in on the internet," she said with a beautiful blush to her cheeks. "I mean, every question I've ever typed into Google pops up in the search box like it's already been asked a million times. It's amazing," Zoe marveled. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s barely necessary to go to school for anything anymore. I just haven’t had anyone to practice on. Until now.” There was a mix of sadness and hope in her eyes that tugged at my heart, filling it even fuller with the desire to give her everything she has ever wanted and needed.

“You didn’t do any cooking at home?” I asked, hoping that question wouldn’t make those beautiful eyes sad again. While I watched for her reaction, I couldn’t get over how happy all this made her—how she immediately jumped to action. If it had been up to me, I’d probably have lived off of that stale pound of spaghetti in the cupboard for another day or two before venturing out into the world again. It hadn’t even occurred to me to order food online and have it delivered.

“No. Mom and Dad were never very interested in anything I did. Especially once I started high school. I think they were both a lot happier when I kept to myself and they didn’t have to see or hear from me.”

“Well, you can practice on me all day long,” I said, reaching across the table and covering her hand with mine. “I want to know about everything you do, Zoe. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.”

Tears filled her eyes and I realized that, all this time while I’d been wanting to protect her and be everything her deadbeat father never was for her, she'd been waiting for someone to come along that she could take care of too. And as I looked into those eyes and watched the trails of tears roll down her cheeks, I realized that I needed her just as much as she needed me.

I’d shut myself down a long time ago, never letting myself fall in love or even in like. I’d completely thrown myself into business school and then the company and spent most of my spare time keeping an eye on Griff. The only thing I’d left myself time for was the occasional one night stand.

* * *

When I walk into the kitchen and Zoe hears my footsteps and immediately turns to look at me with the brightest eyes I’ve ever seen. Every single day I'm more and more amazed by the changes in her. When I picked Zoe up on the street a couple of months ago, I swore she hated my guts. I figured I’d just become another asshole adult to her, and the look in her eyes told me that she was going to try to get as far away from me as possible the next chance she had. Little did I know that would be just hours later.

But now when I look into her eyes and see the way she looks up at me, it’s like I’m seeing her for the very first time. Whether it’s when her eyes first open in the morning or when I walk in the door after spending the day with Graham and Kyle working on getting the next contest up and running, she always takes my breath away. I’ve never had anyone look at me with such genuine excitement before. Being with Zoe has finally made me feel truly wanted for the first time in my life. And from what she’s told me, the feeling is mutual.

"Hey!" she says, crossing the spacious kitchen that has barely been used. Until Zoe, that is. Now it’s stocked—overflowing really—with cakes and pies and snacks. She asks me what kinds of things I like and she makes them. Every single day. Although how she expects the two of us to eat all of this in between the massive meals she prepares is beyond me. But I’m not complaining. I can’t get enough of anything she touches.

I feel her warm arms slide around my waist and her soft breasts press into me. "How was your day," she asks as her lips slowly make their way along my jawline from my ear to my mouth. She seems to love kissing that part of my face. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you." Zoe undoes my tie and it makes a whooshing sound when she yanks it down. 

I wrap my hands around Zoe's head and kiss her with smiling lips. I still can’t believe that she’s mine—really mine—even after all these months we’ve had together.

Some days, when I’m on my way home from work, I wonder for a moment if this is all a dream. I’m terrified that I’ll get back here and open the door to the sad, empty house I’d lived in by myself for years. It’s still hard for me to imagine that my life could possibly be this good and that I could get what I want. Sometimes I wonder if I deserve to be this happy and think maybe it’ll wake up to the truth that I don’t.

But then I walk in and see that look on her face and I thank God. It’s all real. Zoe really does love me and she’s really here with me. For good.

”Not bad,” I say. “I think we're making some headway with the new cam sites. We're trying out a new program that keeps the video streams from being captured, even by the most advanced apps. But it's probably something I'm going to have to work on continually." My words come out slowly as I absentmindedly kiss my way across Zoe's soft hair and face, lingering on her eyelids, then stopping just before I bring my lips to hers.

 I slowly move my head down. I can feel the warmth of her breath as it teases my lips, then in one quick movement, I push my hand through her hair and around the back of her head, then press my lips to hers. I can feel her body giving in to me completely as I devour her, my tongue reaching inside her.

My mouth moves down her jaw, wanting to taste every inch of her, and she gasps again when I approach the sensitive skin of her neck. I’ve never been with a woman who’s body reacted to me the way Zoe’s does, especially when my lips travel down her spine. Zoe moans and presses herself into me, curling one of her legs around mine.  

"Wait … Evan … " Her eyes are closed and her body is still wrapped around mine when I pull back and look down at her with a furrowed brow. Her big blue eyes open up and a sweet smile spreads across her face. "I have to take dinner out of the oven." She kisses me once more, then bites her lip and backs away from me, letting her eyes linger on mine while she makes her way across the room. God she’s sexy.

"Better watch out," I tease as her ass smacks into the oven door. She giggles and turns around, then grabs a pair of oven mitts off the counter. I’m watching her pull them on and I suddenly can’t remember seeing anything as sexy and seductive in my life. I'm getting a Suzy homemaker's reverse striptease and I can barely contain myself.

When Zoe bends over and her perfect yoga-pants-covered ass is presented to me, I cross the room and run my hands down the sides of her hips, then around in circles, accentuating the round curves. Zoe giggles as she places a large roasting pan on top of the stove, then closes the oven door. I’m glad that’s all over with because I’m having a hard time controlling myself now. The thin fabric of her T-shirt hasn’t left much to the imagination, but I can’t wait to peel it over those incredible breasts.

Every one of my senses is overwhelmed with what’s going on around me—the smell of the food, the way Zoe looks and feels, and the sound of the soft moans that emerged when my hands started to caress her ass.  

"Oh God … Evan … that feels amazing," she says in short, breathy bursts. "I want you inside me, now."  

"What about dinner?" I tease as my hands make their way up her narrow waist. I have no intention of letting anything come in between our bodies now.

"It'll be fine,” she gasps. “It's … a roast and … it needs to sit for a bit anyway." She looks over her shoulder at me and bites her lip. "At least fifteen minutes," she says in a breathy whisper.

I wrap my hands around her from behind and grab fistfuls of her luscious breasts. "You even manage to make that roast sound sexy," I growl into her ear. 

"If you liked that…" she says, pausing with another gasp when my fingers find her rock-hard nipples. “… then you'll love hearing about the cake …" 

I pull her shirt up over her head, then wrap one of my hands around both of her wrists, bending her back so that her head is resting on my chest. "What kind of cake?" I whisper into her ear. 

Zoe squirms against me, her plump ass cheeks sliding seductively over my cock, then pausing when it’s resting in the warm crevice between them. "White cake …" she says, grinding into me. "with raspberry filling … and vanilla buttercream frosting."  

I pull her head back and bring my lips to the soft curve of her neck. "Sounds incredible. But I've got something else planned for the first course," I say, moving Zoe away from the oven and pushing her forward over the counter. I grip the top of her yoga pants and pull them down, exposing her naked ass, then grab each cheek, kneading and releasing them so that the flesh bounces and jiggles. Zoe moans when I pull them apart, revealing a glistening pussy that is ready for me.  

I've been waiting all day to taste the smokysweet flavor that I've only ever found between Zoe's legs. I bring my mouth to her pussy and it covers every inch, while my tongue concentrates on her clit. Zoe’s ass is gyrating and pressing into my face, which is now buried between those incredible mounds of flesh. I lick up and down the length of that delicious cavern, my tongue dipping into her holes, then flicking her clit over and over. The sounds she’s making are driving me wild, but my favorite part is just about to happen.  

There was something I noticed the very first time my face was between Zoe’s legs. It was the reaction she had to my fingers inside her while I sucked on her clit. Since that first time, I’ve made absolutely sure to include my special move as often as I can. And I’m usually rewarded with a gush of the musky liquid that shoots out of her when she comes.

And this time is no exception. When I push a finger inside her pussy, Zoe's voice changes in pitch to a low moan that resonates throughout every cell of my body. Every sound that comes out of her sends waves of a pulsating sensation through me—especially to the head of my cock.  

From the position I’m in—on my knees directly behind her—I get a front row view of the way she opens herself up to me. She spreads her feet further apart and arches her back, offering her pussy up even more to my fingers and tongue. She knows that in this moment it's all about her—that with every move I make, I’m worshiping my perfect Zoe.

"Oh God, Evan," she gasps when my mouth closes tighter around her clit. My finger is curled down, pressing firmly against her g-spot in a rhythmic motion, while I lick and suck, frantically moving my lips and tongue over her clit. I can hear that she's close now. There's an urgency in her voice that tells me she's already over the edge—that she's about to give in completely to the pleasure.  

Suddenly a stream of warm, sweetsalty liquid pours out of her and I drink it down without my finger and tongue skipping a beat. Zoe's legs are shaking and her pussy has clamped tight around my finger, but I know better than to stop now. I press my face up into her so that her feet are almost off the ground. She's moaning and quivering and still arching her back into me.

When I feel her pull away from me, I know she's ready for my cock, so I flip her around in one swift movement and set her up on the counter. Then I pull my throbbing cock out of my pants and bury it in her dripping wet pussy.  

Zoe screams when I enter her. I can feel the contractions of her orgasm as they squeeze me tight, each thrust inside her bringing me closer and closer to the edge. I throw her legs up and press them into her chest, then plow into her. I watch as my fat cock disappears inside her, then emerges again, glistening with her juices.  

I don't want to close my eyes for even a moment. I don't want to miss the look of ecstasy on her face or the way her breasts bounce so beautifully with each thrust. But finally, when I feel the intensity mounting inside me, my eyes close and I pull Zoe up so that her legs wrap around my hips and I'm forced even deeper inside. My cock twitches as I come inside her still-quivering pussy.  

We both stay still for a moment while we catch our breath, then when I feel Zoe move her head, I dip mine down and kiss her. "I feel like a goddamned teenager when I'm with you," I say. "I can't control myself at all. I'll try to last longer next time." 

Zoe turns those big blue eyes up at me and smiles. "Are you seriously worried about how long you lasted?" she asks incredulously, her eyes growing wide. "Because if you are, you can stop worrying, Evan. You're amazing. What you do to me … every time … it's … perfect."  

There was that look again. Like she was in awe of me. Or that she couldn’t believe I existed, when in reality it was the other way around. I was the one that couldn’t believe this perfect angel in front of me was real.

I could feel myself getting hard again, but that was really nothing new. I'd spent the better part of the last few months with an erection, regardless of where Zoe was. If she was near me, my eyes and my cock were appreciating her every chance they got, and when I was away from the house I was thinking about what I was going to do to her when I got home.

To be honest, sometimes I’m astonished by how much I want Zoe, considering how little interest I'd had in women most of my life. It has occurred to me on more than one occasion that, as she got older, my lack of interest in other women might have been because of Zoe. That I wasn't interested in getting involved with any other women because I was already emotionally involved with someone. But there was no way I could admit that back then, even to myself. 

"I have an idea," Zoe says as she jumps off the counter. She walks over to the table and lifts the glass cover off a cake plate and dips her index finger into the white frosting. Then she crosses back over to me with her tongue gently teasing the dollop of icing. "I know just where I want to put this," she says, looking down at my now rock-hard cock. "And I'm going to make this last a long, long time.”

I watch as she spreads the icing over every inch of my cock, then slowly licks it all off. And what she promised is true. She takes a long, long time making me come again.

* * *

We decide to curl up on the couch under a soft blanket and watch some TV while we eat the incredibly tender roast beef, potatoes, and carrots out of big bowls. Zoe leans against me while we eat, then curls up against my chest for the next hour until my phone rings. I know it has to be either Graham or Kyle. I'd changed my number after those thugs were paid off and Graham and Kyle are the only people in the world I trust enough to give the new number to—besides Zoe, of course.  

"What's up?" I say when I see Graham's name light up on the screen and accept the call.  

"Hey, you haven't been in my email today, have you?" 

Graham’s words hit me like a splash of cold water in the face. Kyle had been right. He took me into the office to see Graham the week after the whole thing with those mafia dudes went down. I could see by the look on his face that Kyle hadn’t said anything to him about bringing me back to the business.

"You didn't tell him?" I asked Kyle under my breath as Graham glared at me. I could feel waves of hate coming off of him all the way across the room. When I looked over at Kyle and saw the stupid grin on his face I just about punched him. I turned to leave but he grabbed my arm. "Hey, come on, man. I'm just giving you a hard time." 

"What's going on?" Graham said as he stood up, then stalked across the room toward us. "What the hell is he doing here?" 

I stood there in a cold sweat while Kyle explained everything to Graham, then turned to me and told me he thought it was best to wait until we were all together to tell him. I'm not sure I understood his reasoning then, and still don’t now, but I do know that we all played some pretty messed up jokes on each other through college. I had a feeling maybe Kyle wanted to see me sweat a little, which I suppose I deserved.

Even though Graham seemed to have accepted Kyles explanation back then, it’s taken months for me to gain his trust back. I’d honestly started to believe that the lies and deceit between us were all behind me, so when Graham asks about me getting into his email account, my stomach tightens up a little, even though I know I’m totally innocent.   

"No. I have no reason to go into your email account. Why?" 

"Well, someone’s been in there. Some recent emails have been read. Ones I haven’t read.” 

"You're kidding. What about Kyle? Did you ask him? Or Aubrey?" 

“Aubrey’s right here and she says she has never had any reason to read my emails, but Kyle …”

“What? You think it’s him?” I ask.

“No. The emails that were read were between me and him. But, I don’t know, have you seen him lately?”

“Come to think of it, no, I haven’t.” I say. “I’ve been texting with him about the cam sites, but whenever I get into the office he’s out. Is something going on with him?”

“I don’t know. He’s been really quiet. Maybe I’ll text him and see if I can get him to tell me what’s going on.”

“So, what was in the emails? Anything I should be worried about?” I ask, a little bummed that they’re leaving me out of some of the business end of things. I know what they’ve got going on between the two of them and Aubrey is private, but it hurts to think I’m being pushed out in the cold with information about the business.

“No, just some ideas. It’s nothing really. Sorry I bothered you with it.”

“Hey, Graham, hold on.” I pause for a moment. I want this to be over, this tension between us. He has to know by now that what I did … it wasn’t personal. It was my life and Zoe’s that were at stake. “If there’s something going on I’d appreciate a head’s up. I’m with you guys. One-hundred percent. You know that, don’t you?”

There was another long pause, only this time it was on his end. “Yeah, I do. Look, I trust you. I do. I didn’t really think it was you that had read them. I just thought …”

“What?”

“I guess I was hoping maybe Kyle had talked to you. I’m worried about him. And now I’m worried about whoever the hell it was that got into my account.”

“I can check the server—see if anyone hacked their way in.”

“Can you do that? It would make me feel a lot better.”

“Of course. Look, Graham, I want this to be behind us … the bad feelings. I want things back the way they were before … before I fucked it all up.”

Graham says nothing for another long moment and I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing. “It wasn’t your fault, I know that. I know you did what you had to do to get out of a really bad situation. I just wish …”

“What?”

“I wish you’d come to us, man. We would have done anything in the world to help you. Don’t you know that?”

Just hearing Graham say those words out loud made the anxiety that had built up inside me over the last five minutes melt away. I let out a long breath, one that I felt like I’d actually been holding in for the last four months. “I do now. If I could go back in time and change things …”

“I know. I think we all feel that way about one thing or another. If you hear from Kyle let him know I really want to talk to him.”

“Okay. Talk to you later.”

“Later.”

I hang up the phone and stare at the TV without seeing a thing that’s being displayed on the huge screen.

“What’s going on?” Zoe asks, her hand pushing up through the hair on the back of my head.

“Someone got into Graham’s email account.”

“He thought it was you?”

“Yeah … no … not really. He was just asking.” I turn to Zoe and see the concern in her eyes. “It’s fine. I’m sure it’s some kind of glitch. I’m gonna go into the office for a little while and check things out.” I say, kissing her forehead.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Nah, I won’t be too long.”

“Okay.”

I start to get up but stop when I see the worried look on her face. “It’s no big deal … really. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She gives me a sweet smile and kisses me softly on the lips. “Okay. I’ll miss you.”

I grab her face and give her a long, slow kiss—the kind of kiss where it feels like my heart is expanding and overflowing into my stomach. Then, just when I think the feeling inside me can’t possibly get any more intense—that nothing in the world could be better than what I’m feeling in this moment—it spreads outward to the rest of my body. In that moment—when the world falls away and there’s nothing but the two of us—in every place where our bodies are touching, I feel myself melting into Zoe.

When I can finally bring myself to pull my lips away from hers I rest my forehead on Zoe’s, then after a moment pull back and look into her eyes. “I miss you already.”