Mixed Emotions

by MIA HEINTZELMAN

  Zora pulled a bottle of vodka down from a cupboard. “Yep. I need both hands. I’m about to bum-rush this cold. For the record, the Internet knows you’re a perv. I’m guessing blue waffles have nothing to do with food, so don’t send me links.”

  Zora peeked out the window to the backyard to check on Blue. “As you now know, I saw more than I bargained for this weekend, and I’m not up to it today.” She gagged at the memory as she walked back to the refrigerator.

  Her phone chimed.

  “Too late. Already sent.”

  Zora gathered the Bloody Mary mix, Tabasco sauce, chili powder, jalapenos, and paprika into the sag of her pajama shirt, using it as a makeshift bag. She turned toward the counter, mid-giggle. “Oli—“ she managed to squeak out. Then she looked up.

  Good heavens!

  Mike.

  Zora tried to look away but, shoot, she was only human. She was staring at a long, lean torso and golden-bronze washboard abs that converged into a downward arrow.

  Mike was only wearing a pair of plaid pajama bottoms that were the sexiest cotton garment she had ever seen. They hung low on his hips and hung on his morning wood. Then she remembered, and cursed herself, for not staying in bed with a gorgeous naked sleeper.

  The next time she succumbed to Mike’s bedroom magic, she wanted it to be in the light of day without whooping cough. Although, the sight of Mike lit up by the morning sun felt spiritual in a way—like an unanswered prayer she wasn’t fully aware she’d put out into the universe.

  Lord, have mercy. Mike, how are you gonna do me this way?

  His face was alight with mischief. A warm, rich, throaty laugh rumbled out of him.

  “Good…morning.” Zora licked her lips then instantly felt a warm flush creeping from her neck to her cheeks.

  She clenched her shirt hem between her fingers. Thank goodness, she hadn't dropped the ingredients. She was already mortified. On top of ogling Mike like a dog in heat, she realized her purple ruffle-butt underwear were on full display.

  The giggles were bubbling up inside of her at the comedy of errors happening between them. There were new levels of awkward between them daily. She was ready to crawl up in a hole and die of embarrassment. She’d just rolled out of bed without doing anything to herself because she thought it was just her and Blue. There was no telling what kind of rabid animal she looked like.

  “Morning.” His voice was deep and gravelly. Sexy. He stepped closer to her with a little twinkle in his eyes.

  Just act like everything is cool.

  “What… are you doing here?” she asked, still holding her shirt, cringing on the inside. God, she wanted to run and hide.

  Don’t die. Don’t die. Don’t die.

  “I live here,” Mike said, far too amused by her level of discomfort. Though, something else lingered in his eyes. Annoyance? Anger?

  Is he mad at me? Possibly, regretting last night?

  God, maybe it was just sex for him.

  “Right.” She nodded, trying to even her breathing.

  What are you thinking?

  Zora felt the crease between her brows deepen as she scooted closer to the counter to comb through her thoughts. The weight of his stare was heavy on her back.

  Just say it, already. What are you thinking?

  It’s not like he hadn’t seen every inch of her naked skin the night before, but for some reason, she felt self-conscious. She knew this kind of run-in could happen, but did it have to happen now, when she looked and felt like shit?

  Ugh.

  Since he was apparently refusing to relieve her worries, Zora had to fill the silence.

  She flitted a glance at him then jerked it back to her counter full of spicy condiments.

  “Yes. Thank you. I’m aware you live here.” She lowered her shirt enough to allow a jalapeno to roll onto the counter. “I meant, don’t you need to be at work? It’s Monday.”

  “I heard coughing. I was going to see if I could get you anything…but it looks like you’ve got it covered.” Mike inched into the kitchen and scrutinized all the stuff she put on the countertop. A smile played on his lips. “Bloody Mary?”

  Make up your mind. Are you mad, playful…psycho?

  “For the cold and this crazy cough, which is getting worse by the second.”

  He nodded and lifted his chin like he was putting all the pieces together. In his eyes, she could see the clouds dissipating.

  “That’s why I left your room.” She bit her lip and lowered her head. Out of her periphery she saw his shoulders loosen.

  “I woke up with this tickle in my throat, and I couldn’t stop coughing. I figured you had to work today, so I slept in the guest room. When I woke up, I thought you were gone.”

  Mike propped himself against the island sink and squared his body to her, leaning in to trace the curve of her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Her skin seared beneath his touch.

  “I was fully planning to sneak back in when the coughing stopped,” she babbled.

  “Oh, yeah?” He flashed her a disarmingly hot lopsided grin. His voice sounded like honey.

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Did I mention how much I hate your rocky guest bed? It’s like sleeping on the sidewalk.”

  He stepped close to her and pressed his lips into her hair. Electricity shot through her. Suddenly, she was hyperaware of her surroundings, and of him in the space. He was too close. For a second, her heart stopped, and a chill flurried down her spine. She swallowed against the dryness in her throat.

  He nodded to the drink fixings before swerving his eyes to Zora’s very bare legs. There was heat in those sparkly green eyes, which he made no effort to avert.

  There was also the panty situation.

  “The rest of your pajamas are still in my room,” he said.

  “Oh, shit.” A very high-pitched, nosy voice cut through the magic. “Okay, Mike. You have some game. It’s really about to go down.”

  Shit. “Shit.”

  Zora literally forgot Oli was still on speakerphone. She and Mike burst into laughter. “I thought you’d hung up!” Zora wailed.

  So much for keeping things between her and Mike a secret.

  “And miss all this? Nope,” Oli said.

  Zora lifted her eyes to find Mike staring at her phone. His brows were furrowed as he scrutinized the image on the screen. “Hey, Oli. This, uh, picture you sent is…interesting.”

  The words “blue waffles” came racing back to Zora’s mind. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes,” Mike and Oli said in unison.

  She scurried to Mike’s side, her gaze darting over his shoulder. “What the heck is that?”

  Mike twisted the phone and they both cocked their heads, squinting to see the screen from different angles.

  “What is wrong with you two?” he asked. “Is this what you do when guys aren’t around? It’s just gross.”

  “My eyes… Quick, show me something cute, or funny.” Zora squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “If one more person shows me disgusting alien genitalia, I’m going to throw up. I need to erase the image from my mental hard drive.”

  He lowered his chin and pressed the red end-call button. “I don’t know about cute or funny, but I might be able to help you find some other images to keep your mind busy.”

  At this, Zora arched a brow at him. “Oh, yeah?”

  There were so many other battles worth fighting, but this thing between her and Mike, it didn’t feel like one of them. Whether she was ready or not, Zora was open, and not thinking about blue waffles at all.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mike

  Without taking his eyes off of Zora, Mike traded places with her, so she was leaning on the island. He reached past her and picked up the fruit basket from the center and moved it to the other counter before making his way back to her. He planted his hands at the sides of her waist. “I think I might know another way to help you get over that cold.”

  Zora’s eyes lit up a brilliant shade o
f hazel. She leaned back against the granite and peered up at him.

  “I’ve heard having sex once or twice a day boosts your immune system.” He squinted, nodding as he scrutinized every inch of her skin from the warm blushed curves of her cheek, down to the round peaks of her breasts, then to her bare legs. He licked his lips and lifted her up onto the island.

  She squeezed her thighs tight around him, and Mike released a groan.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s weekly, but who’s counting? I’d do anything,” she rasped, “to feel better.”

  With methodical precision, he scooted her back on the countertop. “I love these, by the way.” He fingered the lace of her purple ruffled panties before leaning in to kiss her. As he slipped his tongue into the warm wetness of her mouth, she moaned. Savoring the sound, he lowered her back onto the cool granite surface.

  “How is it possible I’ve been here for barely three days and I’ve been on my back for two of them?” Zora asked.

  “Should we go for a record?” Mike bent over until he was eye-level with her sexy ruffled underwear. Gently, he slid the fabric to the side and licked his lips.

  As Zora lifted her legs and set her feet on his shoulders, he blew a cool breath into the meeting of her thighs.

  She visibly trembled as she squeezed her ass and lifted her pelvis.

  Before she could move, Mike dipped his tongue into her blazing flesh, circling and laving her sweet pink bud. She trembled, but he remained steadfast in satisfying her.

  “Mike,” she rasped.

  “Are you sweating, yet?” He asked, sucking harder. I am.

  “Yes. Yes. Yes.” She panted, her chest rising and falling as she gripped the edge of the counter.

  Fuck. How is it that I want her even more?

  He curled his tongue upward, finding her clit. He alternated, sucking then licking, and when she was drenched and teetering on the edge, Mike got to his feet and lowered his pajama bottoms. He freed himself as he watched her squirming with need. He flitted a glance toward his room.

  “Don’t worry. I’m on the pill and I’ve been tested.” Her legs hung open as she writhed on the counter, moaning. She arched her back, letting her shirt slide up to her neck. Rubbing her breasts, she narrowed her gaze. “I want you. Right here.”

  Mike’s shoulders loosened and he let his head hang back, feeling his cock grow harder as he circled the tip in his hand. “I’m good, too.”

  Holy fuck.

  It was one thing to have sex with latex as a buffer, but this was raw contact and emotions igniting in a completely mind-consuming friction. He grew even harder at the steamy image in his mind.

  “Please,” she licked her lips and it was almost enough to tip him over the edge.

  Without a second thought, Mike pressed the tip of his cock at the juncture of her thighs then pried her knees farther apart as he penetrated her. All at once, a hot, knee-weakening, blaze of lust and need washed over him. She was wet and slick, and the way she met his every move with an equally hard and fast push, he was coming apart.

  He glided his hand beneath her and pulled her body up to his, seeking and finding her lips. The kiss was slow, soft, and steeped with everything he should have told her over the years.

  I want you.

  I miss you.

  I need you.

  I…love you.

  He deepened the kiss.

  “You’re the only one I ever wanted.” It was why he’d spent so many years searching and coming up empty. He’d buried himself in meaningless sex with temporary women who never lasted. Deep down, Mike never thought he’d have her again. “I need you, Zo,” he mouthed into the kiss.

  “I need you, too.”

  They moved to a steady rhythm, feeling and tasting the good thing they’d found again. As Zora shuddered against him, Mike held Zora, intent on never letting her go. He just needed to find a way to help her see how amazing they were together.

  For him, this wasn’t just for a month while she waited for her house to be built. It wasn’t because of Patton Place with its termites and wood rot. This was it for him.

  He was all in.

  An hour later, Mike finished cleaning the kitchen and took a long shower. He’d meant it to be quick, but as the spray hit him and the scent of Zora’s coconut body wash lingered in the air, he got to thinking about the way she’d stepped naked out of the shower at Patton Place. The past few days had been the best kind of whirlwind. It was more than he’d expected. Still, he knew he wanted more.

  As he stepped out into the steamy air onto the bathmat, he dabbed the towel over his arms and chest then tied it around his waist. It was on his way to his bedroom, that an idea hit him. He knocked on the guestroom door and peeked in on Zora.

  “Hey.”

  Blue, who was asleep on the floor by her feet, popped his head up for a second then laid back down. Mike smiled and eyed Zora in a pair of slim cut jeans and a loose orange sleeveless blouse. She was applying makeup in a small hand-held mirror and looked up at him over the top.

  “What’s up?”

  He drummed his fingers on the wooden frame. “I uh, called in for the day. There isn’t much happening I can’t get done from home tonight, so I was wondering what your plans were?”

  Calm down. We can’t have sex every minute of the day.

  “I need to…” She hesitated, opening her mouth then closing it just as fast. There was something she wasn’t saying.

  Mike swallowed, feeling the sting of rejection. She does have a life without you. “It’s cool if you have something to do. I can just—“

  “No.” She stopped him with a tender glance, her head tilted, her eyes imploring. “I just need to get going with my cooking plan, but I’m good. What’s up? What did you need?”

  He centered himself in the doorframe, his shoulders lifting slightly. Just like that, the clouds around his mood passed and he was lighter, freer. He hated that she had the power to sway his mood. Why was he acting like a teenager with nothing better to do than wait around for Zora to give him some attention?

  Running his hands over his hair, he straightened his posture and lifted a brow. “It’s nothing, really. I was just going to see if you wanted to go somewhere with me. There’s something I want to show you,” he muttered, doing his best to downplay his nerves riding on edge. Say yes.

  This was his chance to take her somewhere and show her what life would be like together—just the two of them enjoying each other’s company, focusing on each other and not the time passing.

  “Uh-huh. What did you have in mind?” she asked, giving him a slow, appraising once-over.

  For a second, he’d forgotten he was wearing nothing but a towel tucked around his waist. A warm flush washed over his wet body and heat seared through him.

  “Let me make myself clear. I would never say no to anything your eyes are suggesting, but I actually have sort of a surprise for you.”

  At this, excitement lit her eyes. She ogled him like he was southern fried steak she wanted to sop up with a biscuit and gravy.

  “I’m not gonna lie,” she said. “I just want to rip that towel off and take you right here on this carpet, but that can wait. I’m swooning over the fact that you have a surprise for me.” She batted her lashes and winked.

  Mike wouldn’t deny it, the sex between them was amazing. Still, he hated the idea of it being the thing on which they built the foundation of their relationship. There was so much for him to prove. While he wasn’t exactly sure he knew how to go about it, he was for damn sure going to try.

  Yes, he wanted her body, but only if it came with her mind and soul.

  Right now, the ball was in her court but, he was pretty certain the surprise he’d planned would bring it back to his.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Zora

  Zora sat in the passenger seat of Mike’s car biting back a grin as

  they zigzagged through traffic.

  “So. Where in the heck are you taking me?” she asked, s
tudying his gorgeous profile.

  “You’ll see. Patience, grasshopper.”

  Technically, Zora knew the term had originally come from Kung Fu, a seventies movie, but she didn’t Mike crap for it. He was probably thinking about Karate Kid, but he was still as close as possible to perfect in her book.

  Maybe it was due to the rose-colored glasses after getting the best sex of her life, but Mike really was eye candy. His sparkling green eyes, delicious full lips, and the way the sunlight danced on his caramel skin—it was almost too much to look at directly.

  How is he even a real person?

  People were supposed to be flawed and quirky. Zora knew it was impossible for Mike to be practically perfect in every way, but for her, he was. He still did gentlemanly things like opening doors, saving the last piece of chicken for her, and planning syrupy-sweet surprises.

  Who even does these things anymore?

  Maybe her standards were too high…or too low. Zora had dated a few men over the years, and they’d ranged from douchebags who didn’t offer to pay on dates to a narcissist who sent dick pics after boring her to sleep. Mike being incredibly sweet and chivalrous on top of holding the record for finding her g-spot the fastest and curing her cold with his healing stick.

  She was still congested, but she hadn’t coughed once since their last hoorah on the kitchen counter.

  Zora looked at him longingly. She was lost in the shape of his lips, and her resolve waning.

  “What are you over there thinking about?” Mike asked.

  “Never mind what I’m thinking about. Where are you taking me?”

  He shook his head and trained his eyes on the road, but Zora noticed his half-grin.

  She feigned annoyance and turned her eyes on the blur of cars driving past her window on the freeway. The sexual tension between them was like nothing she’d ever knew existed. It was palpable, and she was pretty sure it was written all over her face. If she could physically live with him inside her, she would do it in a heartbeat.