Chapter Six

 

Wyatt

 

That may have been a dick move but I knew something was going on and intended to find out what the hell Zoey and Riley were keeping secret from him. Watching Zoey walk away knowing where his fingers had just been was rough. I would’ve much rather run her down and claim her as mine. But that’d be awkward with her brother right there. Instead, I had to resign myself to watch that gorgeous ass walk away. For a moment I let my mind wander back to when I’d had my hand in her panties. She’d been soft and trim and everything I’d dreamed of.

And I had a vivid imagination.

“What the fuck, Wyatt?” Riley’s rough tone and his punch to my shoulder brought my thoughts back to the here and now. “Keep your eyes off my sister.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just,” he sighed, “I understand she’s a pretty girl. Trust me when I say you aren’t the first asshole I’ve caught checking her out. Just help me protect her, okay.”

“What happened, Riley? Why are you two all cloak and dagger?” My blood had started to boil as the very worst humanity had to offer invaded my brain and made me see red. The thought of someone touching Zoey, hurting her in any way, made me rage. “Come on. What the fuck happened?”

He was already shaking his head. “That’s not my story to tell. I get that you’ve been gone a while so anybody with a vagina is going to look good but do me a favor, go get laid, be my brother, help get her settled.”

For a split second I considered telling him right then that it was too late to keep my hands off Zoey but decided against it until I figured out what was going on. If there was even something to tell.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I said instead while walking away so that Riley, the guy that knew me better than anyone, wouldn’t see any truth on my face.

I returned home that night with the intention of packing all of my shit back up but found that I actually hadn’t unpacked much at all. I’d only been in town a couple of days. Instead, I moved the stuff into my old room in Mom’s house. Not exactly the place I’d intended to be again but Riley was my best friend and for whatever reason, that best friend thought his sister needed to be protected. That meant I‘d absolutely help protect her. No question. I just wished I knew why.

Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Even when I did final nod off, my dreams were haunted by Zoey. Not something new or unusual except now instead of imagining what she felt like or the sounds she might make, I knew. That made it so much worse.

Even in my dream world, I swore I could still feel her ass grinding into my as I drove her to the edge. Those kinds of thoughts made my dick too hard and uncomfortable to sleep. Knowing Zoey would’ve been in that very bed the next night didn’t help either.

In the morning, still tired but determined, I showered, trimmed up my beard then pulled on a pair of khaki cargo pants and gray V-neck shirt early enough to meet up with Riley and Zoey. I may have taken extra time getting dressed knowing I’d be seeing Zoey but I’d never admit it. Riley sent a text late last night saying that Zoey wanted to move ASAP as long as everything was still ok with my mom. Mom was totally fine with the arrangement. Zoey would pay rent but it’d be less than anywhere else.

Getting to the Goodrich’s with a coffee in hand, the house was already alive with activity. I couldn’t help but snort at the pile of boxes by the front door. Damn, Zoey had a lot of shit. Taking another long drink of the coffee I’d grabbed on the way, a loud thumping came down the stairs resulting in a box slamming into the ground in front of me. Zoey bounced down the stairs after it.

“Shit, I almost hit you. Sorry,” she said pulling the long blond ponytail through her fingers. There wasn’t a speck of makeup on her flawless skin. She didn’t need any. That damn ponytail made my fingers itch to give it a yank. “Did you bring me a coffee?”

“Sorry.” I smiled. “Didn’t know you’d want some.”

“There’s only a couple of things I never turn down, Wyatt, and caffeine is one of them.”

“Noted.” I dipped my head in confirmation right as Riley joined us to start loading all three of our cars.

We put the seats down and surprisingly, we were able to get everything in one trip. At the apartment, I tossed Zoey the keys to the garage apartment after I got the bottom door opened. When this construction project started, I’d insisted that we enclose the stairwell and install a safety door at the bottom. Any tenant, Zoey in this case, would have to buzz visitors in the bottom door before they could get to the actual apartment door. Maybe it was paranoia but it didn’t matter. The extra security paid off now with Zoey was moving in. Riley and I were protective of her. Always had been though Riley was taking it to the next level and I still didn’t know why.

“Do you have an extra key?” Riley asked. “Because knowing my sister she’ll lock herself out.” He laughed and I joined in. We knew Zoey too well.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said but slyly flipped both of us a middle finger. The kind where it looks like you’re scratching your nose but really you’re letting everyone know how you feel in the moment. “Yuck it up at my expense. I locked myself out one time.”

“Yeah right. One time?” Riley asked. “No, one time you tried to break into Mom and Dad’s, got caught on a nail which ripped your skirt so your ass was hanging out. Oh, and the neighbors called the police about a cat burglar. So Pete Hopkins got a nice full view didn’t he?”

“Old news.”

“Old news? Are you serious? It was two summers ago.”

I laughed but jealousy burned its way through my chest at the same time. A guy I went to school with got to see Zoey’s lace covered ass hanging out a window. There was no way to know if her panties had actually been lace that night but in my mind, they were. Or maybe a thong. That last though made me groan involuntarily.

After we finished unloading all of her boxes, Riley said he’d go get pizza and beer for use because we still had hours of work to unpack. Sure, we could’ve left Zoey to do it all but there was still some heavier lifting to do and honestly, I wasn’t in any rush to leave her. Once he left, Zoey and I got to work in silence. It didn’t last long.

“Are we going to talk about yesterday?” she asked causing me to still completely. “Or are you going to run off and deploy again?”

I put the box I’d been carrying down and turned toward her.

“I’m out, Zoey. Back for good.” I did my best to keep my eyes on her face but her body made that impossible. I had to look. Had to let my eyes roam because once Riley returned, I couldn’t do that. As I looked her, the tiny moans she’d released in the garage echoed in my ears making me desperate to hear them again. Made me ache for those sounds again.

“You heard Riley’s car. In the garage. Why didn’t you stop?” she asked me quietly.

“You were so close.” That was an easy answer. “The way you were moving against me? I couldn’t stop until I finished the job. Especially after you said it’d been too long.” My gaze finally rested on her face. That beautiful face with the big eyes looking up at me. “Why is that anyway?”

“Details, Wyatt.” She brushed me off with the wave of a hand. “What if Riley would’ve walked in?”

I chuckled. That would’ve sucked by even thinking about her brother catching us didn’t change the fact that I wouldn’t have stopped. “We would’ve had a very awkward conversation. I don’t regret that, Zoey. There’s only two things I do regret about any of this.”

“And what’s that?”

“One that we haven’t done it again and two that I haven’t seen you naked.” I moved in toward her, invading every inch of personal space. Her breath caught in her throat. “Because I really fucking want to.”