Zoey And The Nice Guy (Big Girl Panties #1)

by Carter Ashby

  Arms came around his waist and a warm cheek pressed to his back. “You’re stuck with me,” she said. “You’re all mine.”

  He could totally drive home in that snow with his big truck. But if she needed an excuse to ask him to say, he’d let her have it. He said, “I can live with that. It just so happens I brought my overnight bag, just in case.” He turned and took her and kissed her. Then he sank onto the couch and brought her onto his lap. She covered his face in kisses and pressed her lips to his. He rubbed her back and waist, keeping his hands in neutral territory, but on her—always on her.

  Later, Kellen went outside with the kids.

  He, bundled in his coat and boots, stepped out into the snow and paused in surprise when he saw it was already shin deep; and still coming down hard. The kids tumbled into the front yard, squealing with laughter. He moved to the middle of the yard and started piling up snow for the base of a snowman. The kids joined in and piled on snow while he shaped it. By the time the bottom was finished, Zoey had come out to join them.

  They rolled a big ball of snow for the middle, and a smaller for the top.

  “Hey, I got something,” Zoey said, jumping up and running toward her garage. She came out with a small box and opened it up. Inside were a bunch of pieces: eyes, noses, mouths, eyebrows. They were like giant Mr. Potato Head pieces for a snowman. “It was gonna be a Christmas present, but you guys need it now, so—“

  “Thanks, Aunt Zoey!” Matthew cried.

  Kellen sat back and watched while they assembled a face for their snowman. Then he went inside to get his camera. He took pictures of the kids posing by Howard the snowman. After that, they agreed to have a boys versus girls snowball fight. So Kellen helped Matthew build a snow barrier to hide behind. Zoey and Sophie went straight to work making snowballs so that they wound up with more ammunition than the boys. But they had no defensive structure.

  “You’re gonna regret that!” Kellen called.

  “The best defense is a good offense. Ready, Sophie? Attack!”

  Sophie’s snowballs flew in a gentle arc and landed in soft puffs. She missed them nine times out of ten. But damn if Zoey didn’t know how to throw. Her snowballs came in straight lines with intense accuracy and made an impact even through their heavy coats. Every time Kellen or Matthew popped their head up, they got hit.

  “You seem to have forgotten that I took our softball team to the state championship, Kellen, my man!” she shouted before beaming him in the face with a snowball.

  At last, the boys ducked down, their backs to their snow wall. “Okay,” Kellen said. “Can you hit her if you’ve got time and a clear shot?”

  “Yeah, but she’s too fast.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll lay down cover fire and give you a chance to really nail her. In the face with the biggest snowball you can throw. Can you do it?”

  Matthew nodded and started packing up a snowball. Kellen built himself a supply of a dozen. Then he counted, “One…two…three…Go!” He got to his knees and started chucking snowballs as fast as he could. Because Zoey hit him first, and kept throwing, he couldn’t even get one across the yard. But then Matthew stood, took careful aim, and threw.

  There was a satisfying smack as the snow splattered all over her face. She was stunned.

  “Get her!” Kellen yelled. They abandoned their barrier and began throwing snowballs as hard as they could until Zoey was on her knees with her arms around her head yelling, “Stop! I give! I give!”

  They stopped and laughed. Zoey fell to the ground and splayed on her back. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I let you down.”

  “It’s okay. You did your best, Aunt Zoey.”

  Matthew crowed over Zoey. “In your face, Aunt Zoey. Girls stink! Boys rule!”

  “Uh-huh. That’s fabulous.” She was smiling, but her voice was dry. She was clearly exhausted.

  The snow was falling so hard that her coat was already dusted over. Kellen knelt next to her and grinned. She reached up, grabbed him by the front of his coat, and pulled him down for a kiss. Their frozen lips quickly warmed. Somewhere in the background Matthew and Sophie cried, “Eww!” But then they ran off to play.

  Kellen pulled back. Her lips were bright red against the backdrop of the snow. Her hair fanned out around her. Her eyelashes had snowflakes in them. The back of her left hand rested on her brow. “My God. Don’t move.”

  “What?” She started to move her hand and he reached out to still it.

  “Do. Not. Move.” He ran to the porch for his camera.

  “Oh, Lord, Kellen, don’t photograph me.”

  He held up his camera and waited for her to relax. “What are you worried about? You know you look hot.”

  “I do not,” she said, but her smile and blush were perfect. He snapped three pictures.

  “You are beautiful, but frankly, I think it was my kiss that made you so photo-worthy.”

  She arched a look and he snapped another photo.

  “What’s the snow look like, falling straight down on you like that?”

  She blinked up at the snow and he snapped five more pictures.

  Then he stood over her, his feet on either side of her waist, and aimed the camera straight down at her. “Look at me, Zoey,” he said.

  She did, but her lips were tight with amusement. He held her gaze for a long moment. That was all it took for her guard to go down and her lips to part, just slightly. He snapped the perfect photo and then stood back and admired it on the screen.

  He forgot about everything else as he took his camera toward the house.

  “Hey, are you gonna help me up or anything, asshole?” she shouted.

  He barely heard her. He stomped the snow off his boots before going inside and settling onto the sofa to edit his photos.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Christmas Eve dawned all the brighter for the snow on the ground. The sun glared off of it, through the window, and straight into Zoey’s eyes. She threw her arm over her eyes and blinked until she adjusted to the light. Something heavy was draped over her waist. She smiled.

  Kellen was asleep face-down. He was facing her, but still completely zonked. She grinned. “It’s Christmas Eve,” she said.

  When he didn’t stir, she climbed on top of him and sat on his bare ass. They were both completely naked. She dug her palms into his back and shoulders and rubbed, waking up the blood flow and jostling him. “It’s Christmas Eve,” she said, louder than before.

  “Mmmm,” he groaned.

  She leaned forward and pressed her breasts to his back. She caught a flash of dimple on his cheek. She reached beneath him, took him in her hand, and stroked until he was erect. His groan was different this time. He began to move. She lifted on hands and knees, so he could turn over underneath of her.

  He grinned, though his eyes were barely slitted open.

  She didn’t wait. She slid down onto his hot, hard length, taking him to the hilt. His smile vanished. He threw back his head and groaned. “Fuuuuck.” He reached above him and gripped the headboard. His biceps bunched, and the muscles in his abs and obliques lengthened. Zoey ran her hands over every muscle as she began moving on top of him.

  She shoved her tangled hair out of her face and dropped her head back. She swiveled her hips, grinding against him, and taking control of her own pleasure. She covered her breasts with her hands and massaged.

  “Look at you,” he whispered.

  She snapped her head up and opened her eyes. He was on his elbows watching her, his blue eyes nearly black. She slowed and lengthened her moves, her lips curling up in a wicked smile. She tweaked her nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and let her lips part. She’d figured this out last night. This drove him crazy. In a moment, he would shed all pretense of civility and become a complete animal.

  She slid one of her hands down her belly and to tease her clit, slipping her fingers between their bodies and massaging. His eyes followed the path of her hand and then went wide and fiery. His jaw muscles ticked, a
nd the pulse in his neck quickened. Then he snapped.

  The world spun as he flipped her to her back and pinned her wrists over her head with one of his hands. His mouth went straight to her breasts, sucking and teasing them each in turn. She thrust her hips, seeking pleasure. He slid back inside of her and then fucked her harder than she’d ever felt. So hard she couldn’t stop the cries that escaped her throat. He grunted with the effort and ground his pelvis into her with each thrust.

  As orgasm screamed through her, she felt his mouth on hers, swallowing her cries. He wasn’t finished, though. “Christ, woman, there are children in the house,” he snarled as he pulled out of her. He flipped her onto her stomach, knelt between her legs, and pulled her hips onto his lap. Then he slammed back into her.

  “Oh my God,” she moaned.

  “You like this?”

  “Ah! Yes!”

  He fucked harder. It was almost painful, and she lost complete control of herself. She was crying actual tears and using a pillow to muffle the noise. She was on the verge of orgasm, but just couldn’t get there. How was he lasting this long? “God, come already!” she sobbed.

  His only response was a low, guttural sound, so utterly masculine and so utterly undone that her pleasure heightened another notch. She felt a sudden surge of power and energy. She got up on her hands and knees and pushed back against him. He grabbed her ass, his fingertips digging into her flesh. “Oh, yeah,” he moaned. He moved harder and faster. When he snaked his hand beneath her and between her legs, she lost it. He came with her as wave after wave of pleasure hammered her senses.

  At last he fell to the bed next to her, and she collapsed onto her belly. Sweat drenched her. His hair clung to his forehead. His eyes were once again barely open and his smile was ridiculous. So was hers. She couldn’t stop smiling, in fact.

  “You were crying,” he said, his voice raspy and his breathing still heavy.

  “Why didn’t you stop?”

  “You’d have told me to stop if you wanted me to.”

  She dragged her hand up to pat his cheek but ended up just slapping him and letting her hand slide off his face. “I like that,” she said. “I’m a big fan of your work, Kellen.”

  He let out a breathy laugh and covered her hand with his. “Merry Christmas Eve, Zoey.” His eyes drifted shut.

  “You too, Kellen.” She watched him for a few minutes. Then she kissed him on the cheek, covered him up, and went to the shower.

  She knew within seconds of standing, that she was going to be sore for a while. She used the shower massager to ease away some of the soreness in her muscles, and by the time she got out, she felt like putty. They were snowed in, anyway, so she put her pajamas on and went out for coffee.

  The kids sat in front of the television that was turned up way too loud. Maya and Addy sat at the kitchen table and looked up at her. Addy probably could have gotten home, given that her parents only lived a few blocks away. She’d used the snow as an excuse to stay.

  “Mind if I turn this down?” Zoey asked. She stepped into the living room and grabbed the remote without waiting for an answer. Once the television was no longer ear piercing, she got herself a cup of coffee and then sat across from her best friends. “What’s up.”

  “We had to turn the television up,” Maya said.

  Zoey frowned. “Why?”

  “Because of the two jungle beasts in the back bedroom. Jeez, Zoey.”

  She winced. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We’ll be more careful. I didn’t know you could hear.”

  Maya blushed and sipped her coffee. Addy rested her cheek on her fist. “So glad you’re having a good time.” Her tone was flat.

  “You jealous?”

  “Of course not. Why would I want a man who makes me scream and gives me multiple orgasms for Christmas?”

  “Okay, but just to be clear, you’re not jealous that I have Kellen, right? You’re just jealous that I’m having sex?”

  Addy sank lower. “Yep.”

  “Get a man, Addison,” Zoey said.

  Addy stirred her coffee with a spoon.

  “Seriously,” Maya said. “I know you’re waiting on Dr. McHotAndBothered, but you can find someone to be casual with, can’t you?”

  “I don’t know,” Addy said. “I don’t even know what I’m waiting for. Just that I couldn’t bear it if I did something to ruin whatever possibility there is.”

  “He’s an adult,” Zoey said. “A worldly one at that. He’s not expecting you to remain celibate based on a crush you have on him. Besides, if you do find someone, maybe it will spur him to either make a move or back completely off.”

  Addy shrugged and didn’t appear to have more to say on the subject. “So what’s Kellen like?” she asked.

  Zoey felt silly having this conversation, but she was in such a good mood. “He takes some coaxing, but then he’s an animal.”

  “Really?” Maya asked, scrunching up her nose.

  “Yeah, he’s just like you would think. Very polite and kind, just wanting to make you feel good and do something nice for you, but push the right buttons and he goes all savage.”

  Maya’s smile faded some. “Savage in a good way.”

  “Oh, definitely. Such a good way.”

  She nodded and went back to staring down at her hands. “You’re not the kind of woman who would let a man hit you, anyway. If he did, you’d kick his ass and walk out, right?”

  “I would. But I can’t say how I would react if I had children.” Actually, she was quite certain that children would only heighten her will to defend herself. But Maya was a different person and Zoey didn’t want her feeling any more judged than she already did.

  Maya chewed her bottom lip. “I didn’t have children the first time Damon hit me. What was my excuse, then?”

  “You were a frightened teenage girl caught between an abusive father and an abusive boyfriend. Don’t go down this road, Maya.”

  “It would have been easier to leave, then.”

  “There are two very positive results of your staying. It is what it is, Maya. You’re doing the right thing now, and that’s all that matters.”

  Her eyes welled as she looked away. “If only I’d left even a couple years ago. I’m afraid for Mattie. He’s going to remember all of this. How’s he not going to be messed up?”

  Addy reached over and took her hand. “We all have shit to deal with. He’ll deal with it because he has a strong, loving mother he can depend on. You take care of right now, and the future will work itself out.”

  Maya nodded, clearly wanting to believe. “There’s just so many what-ifs. What if I can’t provide for them? What if I never find them a father? What if they wind up hating me? What if I’m one of those women who repeatedly gets in abusive relationships? What if…?” She choked up. Then she buried her face in her hands. “I’m so selfish,” she murmured.

  Zoey and Addy rubbed her back and quietly assured her that she wasn’t selfish.

  Maya gulped in a breath. “It’s just that I’m already so lonely. I mean, I love you guys, I really do, and I couldn’t do this without you, but Damon, as much as he hurt me, loved me.”

  “That’s not real love,” Zoey said.

  “It is! You don’t know, Zoey, because you weren’t there. He stood up for me. Nobody hurt me with Damon around. He took care of me, provided for our family. He loved me at night and in his arms, I felt safe. It was just outside of his arms that I got scared again. As long as he was holding me, I knew it was okay.”

  Zoey just sat there, staring into the middle distance, worried for her friend.

  Maya’s breath, this time, was calmer. “I’m not idealizing it. I know you’re worried about that, but there were good times. And the love is real. Maybe it’s unhealthy, but it’s real. Whenever he…raped me…it was always from behind. Whenever he wanted to love me, he took me in his arms and took comfort from my body, and gave me comfort with his. That was real. Okay?”

  Zoey didn’t like it. Didn
’t want to acknowledge it, but she nodded.

  “I just want you guys to know I’m giving up something. You think I’ve left a bad guy and I’m finally free…but I’m giving up something that I may never have again. So…I just want you guys to know that.”

  Addy and Zoey took turns hugging her. “I can’t pretend to understand,” Zoey said. “But I’m here for you if you need to cry about it or anything. I hate that your heart is breaking.”

  Maya nodded against her shoulder. Addy gave Zoey a proud nod.

  Later in the morning, Zoey’s cell phone rang. Since everyone she loved and cared about was in her house, she got a little chill at the sound. She stared down at the name on the screen for a moment before lifting it to her ear. “Hey, Mom,” she said.

  “Hey, baby doll! Would you be up for us dropping by a day early?”

  “Us? Early?”

  “Yeah, me and my boyfriend, Mark. We just got into town.”

  “You just got into town? Mom, it’s a freaking blizzard out there.”

  “Well, that’s part of the problem. We’re kind of stranded at this gas station, just on the north edge of town. Know where I’m talking about?”

  “Yeah. Mom, we’ve got a foot of snow. This is Missouri. We don’t know how to drive in that kind of weather.”

  “Well, the highways have been plowed, honey.”

  “Great. Then can you drive as far as the intersection at the end of my street? Because then you could probably hike it.”

  “See, we’re kind of out of gas and the station is closed.”

  “Don’t they have pay-at-the-pump?”

  “We only have cash.”

  Zoey slumped. Her eyes wandered to the window where Kellen’s big, black pickup truck sat buried halfway up the tires in snow. “Hold tight,” she said. “Let me see what I can do.”

  “Oh, thanks, babe. You’re the best.”

  She hung up and went back to the bedroom. Poor Kellen was still out cold. She shook him. “Hey,” she said, “wake up.”

  “Mmm?”