Zoey
I despise cleaning two things—bathrooms and kitchens—and unfortunately, it’s the kitchen’s turn tonight. Not because it fell on schedule, but because I need to do something to keep myself busy. Britney is out with Garret. Easton is flying home. And I’m fidgety as hell. I get this way when I’m itching to hear his voice, craving to see him.
A knock on the door and I roll my eyes heavenward. “Thank you.” I don’t care who it is, but I’ll be happy to talk to a lost pizza boy just to help occupy my mind.
My gasp gets stuck in my throat when I open the door. Easton stands with one hand in his pocket the other holding a single rose.
“Figured I’d swing by before heading home.” His grin…his eyes.
“Both suave and sweet,” I titter as I smell the rose.
Wrapping me up in a tight embrace, he lowers his lips and kisses me slowly…passionately. It’s a kiss I feel in my soul, and it envelops my heart.
“You said you missed me. I’m hoping to put an end to it.”
“I’m really glad you’re here,” I say.
He warms me with a genuine smile, one that makes my stomach dip. His eyes volley between mine. “Zoey…” he trails off, my name gravelly. “I’m entirely enthralled with you.”
Yep. Same page. I tilt my head slightly. “The feeling is mutual.” And I’m in love with you.
He kisses me again, this time more desperately as he splays his hands across my back, shaping my body against his. A low groan rumbles from his chest. He bites my lower lip, tugging it.
“Tell me you don’t have any plans.” He nips my chin. “Tell me I can take you to the bedroom and hear your sexy little moans.”
“No plans.” It comes out in an airy whisper.
His green irises flash, pinning me with starvation. “I need you slow. To savor the feel of you.” He digs his fingers into the skin of my back.
We don’t make it to the bedroom. Instead, he lays me down on the couch and slowly removes my pants. I arch to help him peel off my shirt. Quickly, he strips and then starts placing kisses at my ankles, up my legs, along my hips, over my stomach, between my breasts, settling on my neck.
“I don’t know what you’ve done, but I hate being away from you,” he rasps against my ear. “I need you all the time.”
He sounds like I feel.
Rolling on his condom, he slowly, oh so damn slowly, sinks into me staring down at me. He blinks, moving his chest to mine and bracing on his elbows as he rocks into me. The friction ignites me. Deep unhurried thrusts fill me. Passion ricochets off us, crackling in the air.
He pushes back up to peer down at me. I’m overwhelmed with the intimacy, desperately holding back the urge to tell him how madly in love I am with him. The way he’s looking at me…his eyes are telling me exactly how I feel, or at least I hope so.
His nostrils flare and he tightens his jaw as he soaks in my face. Cold, prickling heat begins to sweep over me. He gyrates his hips, alternating between long and short strokes, hitting every perfectly delicious spot.
I choke back a desperate moan as my eyes roll. Intensity reverberates throughout my limbs as my orgasm slams me.
Momentous earthquake…Waves of ecstasy… Love…
“Zoey, I…” he trails off with a string of grunts as his thrusts become uneven. A throaty moan vibrates his chest as he loses himself.
We lie here, him draped on top of me. Other than his breath beside my ear, it’s silent. No words. Yet I can hear everything I want to say echoing through my mind as loudly as ever.
I love you… rests solely on the tip of my tongue. I’m scared, terrified even, that everything my heart’s telling me is only from the apparition of false hope.
As he disappears into the bathroom, I head to my bedroom and sit on the bed, legs stretched out in front of me as I lean against the head board.
He slips his gloriously naked body into his boxers and begins reaching for his pants but stops, ditching the idea and sliding into the bed behind me.
He pulls my body down the bed and rests his head on my stomach. “We have options. Either I stay tonight and leave at the ass crack of dawn, or I go home tonight.”
Mindlessly, I play with his hair. “You’ve done a lot of traveling. I understand if you’re ready to get home and into your own bed.”
Moving, he tugs the covers up, pulls me to face him and kisses my forehead. “I was ready to get here and see you.”
He tucks his arm under his head, smiling with his eyes closed while his other hand holds my hip. It isn’t long before his breathing levels out and his face relaxes. His demeanor is softer. His dark eyebrows are relaxed, his sexy lips straight without the trace of his smile. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen and he’s in my bed with his arm around me.
Lucky doesn’t begin to describe it.
The bed is cold and empty when my alarm goes off. I stretch and roll, burying my head into the pillow he slept on and inhale his scent.
I miss him.
I shower and get ready for work, restless and excited to see him again.
A caramel latte sits on my desk as I exit the elevator, and after I wake my computer up, I head to see the man who’s stolen my heart.
He grins, looking up from the papers on his desk. “Good morning.”
“Did you get any sleep?” I ask, knowing I watched him for an hour before dosing off myself.
Slightly, he nods. “I did. I snuck out around five. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.”
“Thank you for my coffee,” I tell him.
He grins. “I do it for that.” He points. “The way you’re looking at me. I’d buy the entire coffee shop to have you continue to look at me as you are.”
I blush, dipping my head. If he only knew.
He chuckles. “We should go by the winery and have dinner tonight. Or order out and you come to my place.”
Playfully, I arch my brow and bite my lip. “Or you could be incredibly sexy and cook for me…naked,” I add.
He laughs. “I don’t have to cook for you to get me naked. Just say the words.” He glances down at his desk. “Does the same work for you? Could I just ask and have you naked on my desk?”
It makes me giggle. “I’ll never be able to do that.”
He taps the desk and jerks his head. “Come. Let’s try it.”
I roll my eyes and chew my lip. Thankfully, I’m saved by the phone ringing and he laughs, pulling himself back up to his desk.
Easton doesn’t have any meetings today, which is giving us ample amount of time to flirt around and drive each other insane. The sexual charge is enough to spark through the air, and it’s fun to watch him lose his mind as he respects my wishes of not messing around in the office. But it doesn’t stop him from rubbing his erection through his slacks to show exactly what I’m doing to him. Knowing he’s hard for me is searing my spine with need.
The elevator chimes and a woman with long dirty blonde hair falling over her shoulders steps out. Errant strands of it bounce in the wind as she strides confidently toward me. Her eyes are smoky, her lipstick a deep crimson red, her outfit close to inappropriate but professional.
“I’m here to see Mr. Langley,” she says, moving her briefcase in front of her and gripping it with both hands.
Confused, I ask, “Is he expecting you?”
She sticks her hand out. “I’m Katelyn Steele with Steel Developers. I was in—”
Easton opens his door, interrupting her. “Maybe we can go by…” His smile flat lines and he straightens himself. His eyes roam to our hands and he clears his throat. “Katelyn. What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you again, Easton.” She moves to him and rocks back on her right leg. “After our weekend, we need to discuss a few things.”
He casts a concerned but cold glance my way.
Katelyn glances to me over her shoulder, malice firing across her lips and amusement plucking her eyebrow high.
“Alright,” he says and ushers her into his office but doesn’t shut the door all the way leaving it barely ajar.
Something about the way she looked at me has my heart thundering in my chest. She’s up to something and it’s not setting well. I try to stay busy, try to quell the anxiety coursing me, but it’s eating me alive.
The phone rings. “Z,” Zachary says. “Easton in?”
“He’s with someone right now,” I tell him.
“I’m going to need you to interrupt. Tell him I’m with Provident and it’s important. I need to expedite an answer,” he says in a rush.
I place him on hold.
“You realize I can take my business elsewhere?” Katelyn sneers.
“I hope you’re not trying to threaten me,” Easton replies jaded.
She says something, but it’s low and then it falls silent.
I inhale, tap and push the door open. “Zachary is…” Katelyn is stretched, her hands buried in his hair, her mouth on his. Easton’s hands are gripping her biceps, pushing her away, fury lighting his glare on fire. My stomach drops and anger forms a lump in my throat. “What the hell?” I snap.
Katelyn smiles. “I take it she’s the lucky one at the office?”
“Get the hell out of my office, Katelyn,” he grumbles.
“You haven’t told her about us?” Her voice is pure acid.
“When did you become so vindictive?” he growls.
“Don’t act so surprised seeing we’ve been together for years,” she says slicing her view to me.
“Leave,” he fumes. “Now.” His voice is low and hostile.
She snatches her briefcase and stops in front of him. “You’re a misleading, deceitful asshole who only preys on the weak and basks in all the attention. I hope karma retaliates.” Her voice shakes as she lashes out. Her eyes are wet when she turns to me, blinking the hurt away and replacing it with a burning mad glare. “Do you think you’ll be the one? I’ve thought it for years.”
“I’m not you,” I grit, rage causing my fingers to go numb.
She puffs a breath. “You’re a fool to think you’re any different than the rest of us. Do you think you’re the only one? He treats us all the same. Makes us feel like we’re special, but we’re all replaceable.”
“Get. Out. Katelyn,” Easton blasts.
She passes me and then pivots on her heel. “You’ll be in my shoes one day. Hurt because he had you fucking fooled into thinking you were something other than his fling. He’ll lead your heart on because he relishes the attention. You look like an easy feat. I bet it’s the only reason why he’s fucking you. You probably tell him how much of a god he—”
“Shut the hell up,” the words bellow out of me as I stomp toward her ready to rip her eyes out.
Easton snakes an arm around my waist and holds me back whispering something in my ear, but I don’t hear a thing.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I sneer.
She laughs breathlessly. “So you think. We all share some of the same qualities. Open your eyes, blondie.”
She storms off.
I spin around in his arms, and slap my palms into his chest, shoving him away from me.
“Zoey—”
“Answer your fucking phone.” I’m scathing mad.
Easton wrenches the phone up. “Yeah?” There’s a short pause before he replies. “It’ll be a straining beginning. I can start off with a skeleton crew until the other jobs finish.” Another pause and he glances up to me. “Have I let you down yet? Then trust me.” He slams the receiver down. “Zoey, talk to me.” His tone is soft, layering the anger.
I blink back my tears, my body shaking from mad and hurt. The phone rings again.
Thank God.
“Don’t answer that,” he snaps, but out of pissed off spite, I do it anyway.
“Langley in?” David grumbles, unaware of the conflict.
“Yes. Hold on for just a second, please,” I sugarcoat the hell out of it and place him on hold. “David’s on the phone.”
His nostrils are flaring, eyes dark and angry as I turn on my heels and make my way back to my desk.
I feel numb. My chest is heavy. My breaths are short and harsh. I’m outraged and incredibly hurt. Disrespected and humiliated. I debate just leaving. Packing up my things and calling it a day to drown my anguish in wine, but what is on my mind needs to be said to his face. This game…I’m not playing it anymore.
When the indication light switches off on the phone, I’m on my feet. His face is down, eyes closed as he massages his forehead. The moment he hears me, he jerks his head up.
“That wasn’t—”
“I don’t care,” I interrupt him bravely.
“Zoey, don’t,” he states simply, his eyes narrowing.
I muster up my strength, shoving out the pain and zero in on him…trying to not focus on the lipstick stains on his mouth. “I don’t want to do this anymore. You and your past are constantly in my face. From the phone calls to the damn lipstick on your face. I can’t do this. It only fuels my insecurities. I spend more time worrying about us than I do enjoying you. And truthfully, it’s causing me to be weak, something I know I’m not.”
He wipes the red off his lips with a Kleenex and tosses it in the trash can under his desk. He sighs. “It’s my past, Zoey. There’s nothing I can change about it. I’m trying to prove to you it’s behind me.”
My pulse is in my throat. “I did the very thing I knew I shouldn’t have. I fell in love with you like an idiot. But I know I can’t love you. You constantly leave my heart in shattered confusion and every single time you do, it causes me to feel like it’s impossible to put myself back together. I can’t stop it either. I want to give my heart to you, but you take so much of me. It’s not fair.”
He leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers. His expression melts, diminishing into a stale emotionless nothing. Impassively, he stares at me.
“I get it. You can’t love. I knew this from the beginning. Your lifestyle and your heart won’t ever let you. I believe it’s because you don’t truly know how to love. I refuse to think it’s because you don’t care. I know you do. You’ve shown me that.”
He smirks. He smirks like an arrogant, heartless shit-eating bastard. “Didn’t I say you’d devastate me when you realized I wasn’t what you wanted? I knew it would happen, yet I still let you in just so you could walk right the hell back out the door I opened.”
My throat tightens. “Don’t you dare put this all on me.”
His eyes crinkle at the sides as he narrows them. “I’m not the bad guy, Zoey.”
“No. You’re not, Easton. You’re…We’re just not right for each other. Together we’re complicated, chasing something that clearly isn’t there. You and I both know it. It’s a game to you, a pause in your bed jumping. But this isn’t fun for me. It’s torture.”
He scowls. “Jumping from bed to bed isn’t torture, sweetheart. Falling in love is.”
Tears well up and my chest deflates. I exhale a short gasp from the sucker punch. “And that goes to show just how different we are. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m finished with this conversation. I’m leaving for the rest of the day.”
“Do as you wish, Zoey.” His tone is dry and detached, his glare burning me.
Quickly, I gather my things, desperate to keep my sobs at bay. I can feel them gathering at the base of my throat, the painful blaze. The moment I step out of the building, I allow the tears to spill as I dial Britney.
“I broke up with him,” I cry when she answers.
“What? What happened?” she whispers into the phone trying to be discreet at work.
“I couldn’t do it any longer. I’m an idiot.”
“What are you doing now?”
“Walking home,” I sniffle. “I need to clear my head.”
“Meet me at the deli. I’ll be there in twenty. I’ll take my lunch early.”
“Okay,” I say and then hang up.
My tears sting my skin as they stream down my cheeks. I’m trying to hide it, knowing I look ridiculous bawling as I walk down the sidewalk, but I can’t control the hurt.