CHAPTER | EIGHT
When Zoe awoke, her first instinct was to lie there and sleep for the next year. She was bone tired, and her muscles felt like jelly. And there were certain parts of her anatomy that were extremely tender.
She sighed and snuggled a little deeper into her pillow until it occurred to her that she was in bed with more than one male, and now curiosity niggled at her because she wanted to know who she was cuddled up with.
She pried her eyes open and found she was facing Brody’s back. The flame tattoo covered his left shoulder and tapered off near the middle of his back. If she hadn’t been afraid of waking him, she’d have traced the edges with her fingers. It was beautiful, like him, and it fit his personality to a T. Whoever had done his ink had done a spectacular job. It looked alive, like a blaze soaring up his back and over his shoulder.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Tate sound asleep on the other side of her. They weren’t completely naked. At some point they’d retrieved their underwear, which amused her for some reason. Maybe men didn’t want their dangly parts observed at full rest.
So where was Chase?
A distant sound told her he was probably in the kitchen, which meant he was probably fixing breakfast. She could eat a cow right now, she was so hungry. That much of a sexual workout would give anyone an appetite.
After the episode in the living room, they’d gone to the bedroom, and the rest of the night was a blur. She’d had sex with Tate. She’d had sex with Brody. She’d had sex with both of them. They’d finished off the night with a foursome on the bed, and she still couldn’t remember who went where, but she could still remember how their hands and mouths felt on her skin and how their cocks felt in her body.
A delicious shiver skirted down her arms. It had been a spectacular experience. She was just sorry it was over.
With a rueful smile, she eased up and crept down the middle of the bed so she wouldn’t wake the guys. She had no idea where her clothes had gotten to, so she snagged Brody’s T-shirt and pulled it over her head. Then she went off in search of Chase.
As expected, she found him in the kitchen working on breakfast. She sneaked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her cheek against his back.
“Morning, sleepyhead.”
“Good morning,” she mumbled against his back.
He turned in her arms until they faced each other. He smiled down at her and then lowered his mouth to kiss her.
“How are you this morning?”
“Sore,” she admitted. “I may not want sex for a week.”
He grinned. “If you go a week without sex, that’ll be a record.”
She blinked up at him with mock incredulity. “Are you saying I’m some kind of nymphomaniac?”
His eyes widened innocently. “Would I say something like that?”
She gave him an oh-please look in response.
He leaned back against the counter and pulled her with him so she was nestled in his arms.
“So give me the verdict. Was it everything you expected? Were we too rough?”
His face had grown more serious, and there was a distinct edge of worry in his voice. She smiled and ran her hands up his muscled arms and then looped them around his neck.
“Have I told you lately how fantastic you are? Have I told you how lucky I am to have a guy who understands me so completely and who busts his ass to please me?”
“Hmm, maybe, but I’m not opposed to hearing it a few more times,” he said in a husky voice.
“If I weren’t so tired and sore, I’d totally take you over to the couch and jump your bones,” she said regretfully.
He laughed and squeezed her a little tighter. “You need to take it easy for a few days, baby. That was one hell of a workout you got last night.”
She leaned into his chest and rested her forehead against his chin. “We still have today and tomorrow off together.”
“Yep.”
She leaned back to look at him again. “Do we have any plans beyond being couch bums?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I thought about taking you to dinner tonight. Maybe a movie.”
“Ooooh, date night!”
“And tomorrow I thought we’d have some guys over from the station for a barbecue. Or if you prefer, we can keep it to just you, me, Brody, and Tate.”
Remembering her teasing Brody the previous night, she frowned and nibbled at her bottom lip.
“Something wrong?” Chase asked.
She met his gaze, unsure of how to say what was on her mind. “You don’t think . . . You don’t think things will be weird between us now, do you? I mean with Brody and Tate?”
“You’re wanting to know if your having sex with them changes things.”
She nodded. “Well, yeah . . . and between you and me.”
As if sensing the very real worry in her voice, he cupped her face and ran his thumb over her lips.
“I can’t speak for Brody and Tate. But I can most assuredly tell you that this changes nothing between you and me. In some ways . . . I think it’s better. Right now I swear I just want to sweep you into my arms and hold you for the next two days. I can’t explain it, but what happened was so absolutely awesome. I don’t even have words. It went beyond a simple fantasy fulfillment. Maybe a part of me worried you wouldn’t be into it. Maybe I worried I wouldn’t be into it. But right now I feel really damn lucky that I have a woman who understands my kinks and fantasies, has a set of her own, and doesn’t mind acting on mine or hers. That freaking rocks, Zoe. Maybe I’m a little relieved because I feel like we’re being more honest with each other than ever. I’m not saying I could have never not shared this kind of stuff with you. I think we would have been just fine and our relationship would have been as incredible as it’s always been. But now? I feel like I’ve been given a bonus on top of everything else.”
She stared at him in shock. This was the most talkative Chase had ever been when it came to the two of them. Their relationship had always been a study in fun, comfortable, and great sex. She’d been willing to go along with the status quo because she wasn’t someone who ever liked to rock the boat. And why fuck up something good by demanding more?
Her heart squeezed when she saw the absolute conviction in his eyes.
God, but she loved this man. She’d loved him for a long time. No, it hadn’t been some overnight revelation. It had been more like a gradual awareness, something that grew day by day until she hadn’t been able to imagine her life without him.
It bloomed and grew, continued to grow each day they were together. It was comfortable. It was steady. Like him.
Shouldn’t she tell him? Shouldn’t she say the words? Somehow she imagined a better place than the kitchen of a deer camp after a night of hedonistic debauchery. For now, it was enough to know that it was there. He wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was she. She’d find the right time. She wanted it to be perfect.