Zed
I could have killed that pizza guy. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know that I was about to have some of the hottest pussy that I’d ever had. He couldn’t smell her sweet scent on my fingers, or in my mouth. He had no idea how fucking lucky I was about to be—that was until he knocked on the wrong apartment downstairs.
After we ate, Lily excused herself and took a shower. I went out on the balcony and chain-smoked my way through a pack of Marlboros, so I didn’t have to think about her delectable body covered in warm water and suds… Pull it together, man. It ain’t about the snatch this time.
Predictably, after that little encounter, I couldn’t sleep. I was pissed at myself for not just throwing the pizza down, storming back into the apartment, and fucking her into next week. But she was fucking irresistible. Every glance, every look, every touch from her just made me freeze. I was helpless to her charms, and the hell of it was, I didn’t even think she understood. She was a complete liability, and I didn’t know what the hell I was gonna do when this was over.
I sighed when I realized that when this was indeed over, I’d never be seeing little miss Lily ever again. She’d be better off, for sure, but I couldn’t lie; part of me was going to miss her. I liked the way she said whatever came to her mind, and her fierce independence, and her scrappy little attitude. If it weren’t for me, she probably would have been dead by now. Thinking about that gave me a sense of responsibility that I hadn’t felt since Rose was killed. It was a scary, heady thing, but I liked it.
It was pretty stupid of me to get involved with her in the first place. I knew that now. But I swear, if anyone had been in my shoes, they would have done the same thing. She was made to be obsessed over, just like I was made for prison. If I was lucky, I could stay out of prison. But no matter how lucky I was, I didn’t think I could stay away from Lily.
Peyton and I had a short talk that night; he promised that he’d have an assignment for me tomorrow. I didn’t tell him about my call with the contact. He didn’t need to know that he’d sent me on a wild goose chase. Half of the guys I was friends with now were crooks, this one didn’t seem to be any different. Lily had a singing gig the next night, and I wondered if I could slip away for a while and make some phone calls. This whole PI thing was proving to be a little difficult when I had a five foot nothing troublemaking girl with me.
***
Lily
When Zed had brought the pizza back inside, I could barely eat. It was like my appetite had just gone away with my desire when I was scared. But when he was back inside, and I knew things were safe again, I started thinking about what would have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted. Surely, he wouldn’t want to have sex with a virgin—what guy would? No, it was probably for the best that we weren’t able to carry through with it.
I couldn’t sleep when I got back to bed. And I couldn’t study. All I could think about was Zed and the fact that I’d almost just lost my virginity to my bodyguard. My bodyguard! It sounded so weird when I thought about it like that. I wondered if Zed had ever thought about doing it for hire; it seemed like he would actually be pretty good.
Before I got in bed, I took a shower and tried to relax. As I washed my hair under the relentless stream of warm water, I thought about my gig the next night. Would Zed let me go? Would he make an ass out of himself? Or would he flirt with other women when we were there? I hated to admit how much the last idea rubbed me the wrong way.
Even after my relaxing shower with lavender body wash, I still couldn’t get my mind off Zed. I blushed as I lay in my bed, thinking of all the ways he’d touched me and the things he’d done to me. I never would have thought of myself as a passionate woman, but that was exactly the response he inspired in me.
My blush turned a deep scarlet as I remembered how he’d tugged my panties across my swollen clit, bringing me close to orgasm. Slowly, I slipped my hand down my belly and rested it on my labia. The skin was sensitive and soft to the touch, and I moaned quietly as I slipped my fingers further into my panties.
My hands were soft and slight, but I closed my eyes and imagined that Zed was touching me. As I got wetter and wetter, I thought about his face between my legs, his tongue licking me carefully between my thighs. The thought made me shiver; no one had ever gone down on me before. The farthest I’d ever gotten with a guy was when I went on a date with someone and we made out afterward. It hadn’t been fun, and though he’d seemed to enjoy himself, he’d never called me. I’d wondered if I was the problem.
Zed didn’t make me feel like a problem. He made me feel sexy, womanly, and confident. I wondered if it was possible that I was falling in – well, falling in something with him. Sure, he was annoying and rude and chauvinistic at times, but he couldn’t be all that bad; he was taking care of me, after all. He was protecting my life when he didn’t know anything about me.
The sun was starting to peek through the blinds when I realized that I hadn’t slept at all. I’d stayed up all night, thinking about Zed. With a groan, I realized I had a shift at Dawning Center and a singing gig tonight, both after my final.
I got dressed in black cloth pants and a pink sweater, putting my hair up in a high ponytail with a bow. I looked cute, but nothing I owned came close to sexy, except the dresses I wore at The Pink Diamond. I knew it would be impossible to look good for Zed, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel frustrated. At least I’d be able to wear something hot that night when I sang.
When I walked out into the living room, Zed was sitting on the couch and drinking some coffee. He grunted in my direction, and I felt a bit stung.
“Is that how we’re going to talk to each other when we’re not about to have sex?” I asked, heat rising to my cheeks.
Zed gave me a weird look. “I didn’t say anything,” he replied in a suspicious voice. “Why you always gotta be on my case like that?”
I shook my head. “Forget it. I have to work at Dawning Center after my final today, and then I have a gig tonight.”
“Okay. I’m going to do some business when you’re working at the daycare. I won’t be gone long, maybe an hour, tops. I’ll give you my phone, and you can page this number if you’re in trouble, okay?” He handed me his cell phone with a sticky note on the top. I nodded.
“Sounds good,” I said hesitantly. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Zed stretched, grazing his knuckles across my ceiling like he always did. “Do you want a ride?”
I nodded. The ride to school was awkward. Zed followed me into the classroom like he’d done before, but I didn’t feel the same strange nervousness. Instead, I was able to focus on the final. I was the first one done, but instead of feeling proud, I just felt empty. Part of it was that I dreaded apologizing to Anne after disappearing last week, but part of it was that Zed was ignoring me. I didn’t know how he could go from being so hot to so cold in an instant. In fact, it was almost insulting the way he’d waltzed back inside with the pizza, as if he cared more about eating a third dinner than he did about having sex with me.
When we pulled into Dawning Center’s parking lot, I expected Zed to leave. Instead, he hopped out of the car and followed me inside.
“I have to piss,” he pointed out when I gave him a weird look. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll be gone in five seconds.”
Thankfully, Anne wasn’t around to see him again. I pointed to the bathroom, and Zed slunk along the wall, ignoring the stares of the toddlers. They were captivated by Zed. It’s like they’ve never seen an ex-con before, I thought to myself with a giggle.
“Lily, it’s so nice to see you again!” I turned around to the familiar voice and saw Mark.
“Hi, Mr. Simpson,” I said, still giggling. He grinned at me, and I felt myself blush. For once, his attention didn’t seem annoying.
“I hope you’re feeling better,” he continued. “Anne told me you were sick.”
I watched as Shaunna and Peter ran up and wrapped themselves around their dad’s legs. He didn’t notice but instead kept smiling at me.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “But that was a rough couple of days.”
“You should have called me,” Mark said, winking at me. “I would have taken great care of you.”
“I’m sure,” I said politely. “How are you?”
“Well, Lily, I’m doing okay,” Mark drawled. He seemed to enjoy taking his time with me. “But I’m lonely, you know.”
I nodded. “I get that; I feel lonely too, sometimes.”
“Lily, someone as pretty as you shouldn’t ever feel that way!” Mark scolded me playfully, and I blushed again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zed hulking in the corner. He glared at me, and my stomach lurched.
“Mr. Simpson, if you’ll excuse me,” I babbled. “I have to go see about something over here.”
Mark waved at me and waddled outside with his kids still clinging to his legs. I stalked over towards Zed and grabbed his arm, yanking him down the hall and into one of the storage rooms. It was cold in there, and I instantly felt goosebumps break out over my body. Flicking on the fluorescent light switch, I whirled around and stared Zed down.
“You wanna tell me why you’re glaring at me?” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips and glaring at him.
“You wanna tell me why you’re about to fuck that guy?” Zed snarled. He leaned into my face until he was so close that I felt his damp breath. “You put on a show like that just to piss me off? You think you know anything about being lonely?”
Anger boiled inside of me. “Fuck you!” I spat out, blinking so tears wouldn’t come to my eyes. “You want me one minute, and then you don’t! I’m sick of trying to play your game!”
Zed growled and closed the distance between us in one instant. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. I felt his heartbeat thudding through my shirt, and I shivered, looking into his face. The mix of anger and desire that he inspired in my body flooded every cell, and I was captivated by his glance. We were both breathing hard, and I leaned forward, kissing him savagely.
Zed groaned into my mouth and shoved me against the wall, hard. It felt cold through my thin sweater, and I shivered, wrapping my legs around Zed’s waist, clinging on tight. He shoved his hips against mine, and the familiar erection poked me through his jeans. Moaning, I reached down and undid the snap of his pants. Zed grunted into my ear as he shoved his hand up my sweater and savagely caressed my nipples. I shrieked and he covered my mouth with his, sticking his tongue into mine and caressing my tongue.
There was a slam in the hallway and Zed dropped me, stepping back as though he’d been burned. My heart was slamming against the walls of my chest and I raked my hands through my hair, trying to calm it. Zed shot me a dark look and threw open the door of the storage room. I watched breathlessly as he sauntered down the hall and out the front door of Dawning Center.