When they tired of the game, he let Rory select the next one. They played for another hour, finishing the second pizza and two more sodas. Zwyk cracked his neck and tried to ease the tension in his shoulders. Gaming was hell on a body when he hadn’t done it in so long.
“No offense, but I can’t handle one more diet soda. Want to hit Walmart and grab some supplies? I’m guessing you don’t have a single cookie in the house either, and really, that’s just a crime.”
Zwyk set the controller down. “You want to go shopping with me?”
She blinked at him. “Is that a problem?”
No, just rather… domestic. Girlfriends went shopping with you. Not tiny ninjas of death who could kick ass at one of his favorite games. The bouncy ponytail, glasses, and geektastic tee she had on were misleading to the extreme. Anyone who looked at Rory and thought she was all sweetness and light was going to learn the hard way she was a mastermind at modern warfare who took no prisoners.
She looked around his room, her brow furrowed. “You know, no offense, but I always hated the crap you have in here. The couch is comfy enough, even if a bit bland with its oatmeal color. And I don’t know who you hired to decorate, but this god-awful coffee table needs to be shot and buried.”
He stifled a laugh.
Her lips thinned. “Brittany did this, didn’t she? Because you really don’t seem like the type to pick out this travesty of an area rug.”
He looked down at the offending carpet and had to agree. With its huge blocks of bright colors, it was the last thing he’d have ever picked to put in his home. But he’d wanted Brittany to be happy. In hindsight, he should have worried more about making himself happy. Now she was gone and he had to live with this crap.
“Walmart carries rugs, don’t they?” he asked.
A grin spread across her lips. “They have everything. Let’s grab some snacks and then we’ll figure out what we’re doing to do about your poor house. I can’t in good conscience let you live like this another moment. It’s cruel and unusual punishment, and your only offense was believing the bullshit that poured out of my sister’s mouth.”
He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that and decided an answer wasn’t necessary. Zwyk put on his Converse, grabbed his wallet and keys, and off they went on their adventure… because shopping at ten o’clock at night with a demented pixie was definitely going to be an adventure. Had she always been this impulsive and crazy?
Chapter Two
The parking lot was nearly empty when they arrived at the store. A handful of cars were scattered across the lot, and Rory figured most probably belonged to the employees. Zwyk walked silently beside her, towering over her five foot no inch self, but she took comfort in his presence. Their town might be relatively safe, but no way would she shop at this time of day by herself. They stepped through the automatic doors and each grabbed a shopping cart. She didn’t have a clue what he planned to buy, but his house definitely needed an overhaul after Brittany had wreaked havoc on the place. She didn’t understand why he’d let her sister walk all over him. Must have been her perky breasts. Rory glanced down at her girls and winced. There wasn’t a lot there, but she made up for it in personality.
“Where to first?” she asked.
“Bedding. If I have to sleep on those gray sheets one more night, I may rip out my hair.”
She admired the long black strands. “That would be a travesty.”
He grinned at her and moved toward the opposite end of the store. On the way to bedding, she grabbed miscellaneous items and tossed them into her cart. He gave her a curious look as she threw in some mismatched throw pillows, a salt lamp, and canvas cubes. When she tried to haul the cubical organizer off the shelf he stopped and picked it up for her.
“What exactly are you buying?” he asked.
“If you put this next to the TV stand, you can store your games inside the canvas cubes. Then when people come over, they’re out of sight but you have easy access.”
He stared at the cubical a moment before putting it in his cart. Then he stared at the pillows and salt lamp.
She huffed and blew her bangs out of her face. “The salt lamp and pillows are for the living room too. Trust me. It will have a homey feel and not that uptight, clean lines, contemporary bullshit my sister had going on in there. You’ll be comfortable and your home will be welcoming when you have visitors.”
Zwyk just blinked at her a moment before turning and continuing down the aisle. She hurried to catch up and followed him into the bedding area. A man’s bedroom was sacred and she wouldn’t dare pick out his sheets or blankets for him, but she was curious what he would choose. What kind of taste in bedding would a purple alien have? He paced the aisle a few times before picking up one of those queen-sized bed in a bag sets. She pressed her lips together to keep her words to herself, but her expression must have said it all.
“What?” he asked. “What’s wrong with this one?”
“Nothing. If you like it, you should get it.”
He looked from her to the bedding then back to her again. “It’s red. I can’t get more opposite of gray and black than red.”
“Yes. That’s very true. It’s also the cheapest brand here and that lovely red dye will rub off on you and your clothes.” She pressed a finger to her lips. “What color does purple and red make?”
He scowled at her and tossed it back on the shelf.
Rory rolled her eyes and marched to the other end of the aisle, leaving her cart behind. After perusing the selection for a moment, she picked up a sheet set and a moss green comforter and carried them back to Zwyk. She held them out to him and watched as he looked positively horrified.
“Those are foxes. Cartoon foxes.” He scratched his cheek and squinted at the sheets. “And are those squirrels with acorns?”
“They’re whimsical.”
“You’re insane.”
She grinned. “Haven’t you heard? All the best people are.”
Rory tossed the sheets and comforter into his cart. Zwyk shook his head, but he didn’t remove them. He steered them to the other end of the store, but Rory detoured through the men’s department. She made a beeline for the screen printed tees. Sizing him up, she grabbed a large in several styles and tossed them at him.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“I’ve seen the clothes you’ve been wearing since you started dating my sister.” She gave a mock shiver of revulsion. “If you think your house is bad, those clothes should be burned.”
Humor lit his eyes as he tossed the shirts into the cart. After they selected a few more important wardrobe staples, they finally made their way to the grocery side. Rory didn’t even stop to ask his opinion. She just started grabbing things off the shelves and tossing them into the cart. To his credit, he never uttered a word of complaint. Either he approved of her choices, or he was worried about aggravating the crazy person.
They checked out and Rory winced at the total. Zwyk didn’t bat an eye as he paid for everything. After the purchases were loaded into his SUV, she bounced onto the passenger seat and buckled. She’d never realized how much fun it would be to spend someone else’s money. Or maybe it was the faces he made as he stared at the items she selected. She’d bit her tongue several times to keep from laughing.
“You know you should wash the bedding before you use it, right?” she asked.
“It’s nearly three in the morning.”
“Well, you could always sleep on the gray sheets one more night.”
The look he cast her way suggested he’d rather roast in hell.
“Look, we’ll wash the sheets and comforter, and while they’re getting clean we can pig out on junk food and soda. I’m up for another gaming session, or we can watch movies or something. You do own movies, right?”
“No.”
She gaped at him. “You’ve lived on Earth for years now and you’re telling me that you don’t own one single Blu-ray or DVD? You need an intervention.”
&nbs
p; “There’s nothing wrong with not owning those things. I happen to like watching TV. The commercials are amusing.”
“What’s so funny about commercials?”
“Only humans would have advertisements for something as essential as toilet paper. Who doesn’t buy that? Does the company with the bear commercial really think there are humans wandering around who are wiping their ass with their hand?”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “There are some countries where people don’t use toilet paper. There are quite a few Arab and Asian countries that just use water and their hand.”
He grimaced. “I didn’t need to know that.”
Rory couldn’t help but giggle at him. When she’d decided to drive over to his house, she’d thought she’d find him depressed and moping. Instead, she’d been greeted by a box on the porch filled with crap her sister had insisted he have in his home. The fact he was purging Brittany from his life had given her hope that maybe his heart wasn’t as broken as she’d feared it might be. It had been plain to anyone with eyes that he’d thought her sister hung the moon. Brittany just hadn’t reciprocated his feelings.
She’d never thought that Brittany and Zwyk made any damn sense. Her sister was a Class A bitch. It was just that with her blonde hair, big blue eyes, and perfect figure, most guys didn’t care. They wanted in her pants and were willing to overlook anything. The first time she’d met Zwyk, he’d seemed a little shy and quiet. A bit geeky, like her. All the things Rory loved about him, her sister had tried to destroy. It had bothered her a great deal when Brittany had gloated they were getting married.
Her sister had flashed a rather impressive engagement ring and bragged to all her friends that she was marrying a Terran. It hadn’t taken Rory long to figure out that Brittany had selected Zwyk because she thought he could be easily led. She’d never have taken on one of the warriors because they wouldn’t have put up with her crap. Poor Zwyk was just too sweet for his own good. He’d wanted to give her sister everything she’d ever wanted… but in the end, he couldn’t give her what she wanted most: a bad boy who treated her like trash.
Rory rolled her eyes just thinking about Brittany. She knew exactly where her dear sister was right that moment, and with some luck, no one else would ever find out. If there was a god up there somewhere, he’d keep Brittany far, far away. If Zwyk ever found out the depth of her sister’s betrayal, it would hurt him far more than her running out on the wedding. Her sister was an idiot.
Zwyk pulled into his carport and shut off the SUV, handing her the keys. “If you’ll open the door, I’ll bring everything inside. I’ll grab the groceries first, if you don’t mind putting them away while I get everything else.”
“I don’t mind at all.” She plucked the keys from his hand and got out.
It didn’t take long to get everything put away and start the washing machine. While Zwyk tried to find something to watch on TV, Rory grabbed a bag of chips, some ranch dip, a package of chocolate chip cookies, and two sodas. Carrying her loot to the living room, she spread everything out on the coffee table.
“Seriously, dude. This table needs to go.”
“Did you just call me dude?” he asked, a smile playing along his lips.
“Well, I don’t have firsthand knowledge, but I’m assuming you have the right parts for a dude. Would you prefer I call you chick?”
He leaned in close until their noses nearly touched. “I can assure you I have all the right parts to be a dude.”
She gulped. “Good to know.”
He reached for the button on his jeans. “Do you need to see for yourself?”
Her eyes went wide and her heart thumped wildly. Rory was torn between saying oh God, yes please and hiding her eyes. Zwyk threw back his head and roared with laughter until tears streamed from his eyes.
“You should see the look on your face,” he said as he wiped his eyes. “I’m just messing with you, Rory. The last thing either of us needs is to get naked together.”
She shoved a handful of chips into her mouth to hold back the words dying to burst free. Yeah, because being with a member of the itty bitty titty committee would just be horrible for you I’m sure. She wasn’t hot like her sister, and she knew it. But what she didn’t have physically she made up for with her sense of humor and charming personality. Guys just usually didn’t give her a chance to prove she could be more than a good buddy, and sadly, it looked like Zwyk was made of the same cloth.
Was it too much to ask for a guy to want to rip her clothes off and ravish her until she couldn’t walk straight? She wanted a boyfriend who would watch porn with her and get so worked up that they ended up starring in their own movie. Was it wrong that she wanted someone to find her desirable? Irresistible? Hell, at this point, she’d settle for someone who didn’t kiss like a beached fish or live in their mama’s basement. She wasn’t a virgin in the strictest sense, having torn away her innocence with a vibrator, but she hadn’t technically ever been with a man before. And Zwyk was all male.
By the time his bedding was clean, Rory was exhausted. She’d been awake for almost forty-eight hours and her body was about to give out, but she wasn’t going to leave him to make his own bed. It was bad enough she’d foisted fox sheets on him, the least she could do was make sure they made it onto the mattress. While he watched the end of the movie on the TV, she retrieved the sheets and blanket and went into his bedroom.
She stripped the ugly gray sheets from the bed and threw them into the corner with the black comforter. It took her a while to wrangle the fitted sheet onto the bed and by the time she had the last corner tucked securely, she collapsed on her stomach and closed her eyes.
“I’ll just rest a moment,” she mumbled, and then promptly passed out spread eagle across his bed.
Figured she’d land in a hot guy’s bed when she wasn’t even conscious to enjoy it.
Chapter Three
Zwyk stretched and froze as he realized something, or someone, was pinning his arm to the mattress. It took a moment for the fog to clear his brain and he remembered that Rory had fallen asleep in his bed. Sleeping on the couch hadn’t been an option, and it had seemed cruel to wake her after everything she’d done for him. It had been sweet of her to come by and keep him company. She’d probably feared she’d find him crying and getting drunk, but truthfully, losing Brittany only stung his pride and not his heart. It made him question whether or not he’d ever really loved her, or if he’d just been so enthralled with her beauty that he’d convinced himself he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He turned his head and watched the morning light play across Rory’s small features. He’d removed her glasses and set them on the nightstand. Her nose was scrunched in sleep, and he wondered what she was dreaming about. His fingers itched to brush the strands of her hair away from her face. The slender curves of her body were pressed against him, and while she wasn’t as bountiful as her sister, there was something appealing about Rory. He hadn’t lied when he’d joked that getting naked wasn’t a good idea, but having her all warm and cuddly in his arms made him want things that were better left alone.
Rory was the opposite of her sister in every way. Looks. Personality. Where Brittany was cold and calculating, her sister seemed warm and inviting. It had been a great deal of fun hanging out with Rory all night and into the morning hours. She’d made him laugh several times, and he’d found her tenacity for life to be both refreshing and amusing. She had the energy of one of those small dogs that yapped all the time. Something told him she wouldn’t appreciate the comparison. He’d learned from Brielle, Avelyn, and Hazel that women liked to be called beautiful and wanted to feel desirable. Rory would probably hate that he found her adorable and cute, even if it was the truth.
She shifted against him and her breasts pressed against his side. That slight bit of contact was enough to make his cock rise to the occasion. It had been so damn long since he’d had sex he wasn’t even sure he remembered how. Even before Britta
ny, there had been very few women in his life. It hadn’t seemed right to have sex with them if he didn’t want to date them. Not that he had women beating down his door. While he was tall, for a Terran, he was rather slight of build. He supposed compared to most human males, he was appealing. Several women had commented on his body, claiming he could be a model. The thought of posing before a camera in order to make money so women could drool over him just hadn’t held much appeal.
Rory snuggled closer and Zwyk wondered if this was a new level of hell. He was a reasonable male, but his cock? Not so much. It wanted the sweet woman lying in his arms, and he doubted the monster was going to be satisfied with his hand this time. If she woke up and saw him like this… He tried to ease his arm from under her, but her hand fisted in his tee and held him tight. Rory threw a leg across his thigh and he felt the heat of her pussy pressing against him.
Dear gods, she’s trying to kill me.
Zwyk held as still as possible, but his cock pulsed in time with his heartbeat. He’d stripped out of jeans and slid into bed in just his boxer briefs and a tee, and now he was wishing for another layer between Rory and him. It would be so damn easy to roll over, pinning her beneath him and burying his shaft in her sweet warmth. His cock jerked, obviously in agreement. Zwyk pried her fingers loose from his shirt and tried to ease her leg off his. When he was free from all but her head resting on his shoulder, he slid out of bed and breathed a sigh of relief.
If little Rory, who was probably too damn young for him, made him this hot while she was fully clothed and passed out, maybe it was time to re-evaluate the benefits of a one-night stand. The thought of sleeping with a random woman was distasteful to him, but the last thing he needed was to lose control around someone as sweet as Rory and end up regretting it the rest of his life. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her in any way.
Rory and the Alien Groom (Intergalactic Brides 9) Page 2
