“Yeah, maybe her grandson was some forty year old geek who plays Xbox all day long, and collects Star Wars figurines.” I laugh. “But I have to say, I was actually in love with that ‘Wind Dancer’ she called it. Too bad it was too expensive.” Anna nodded and before I could hesitate, I turned back around, leaving her standing there and walked back into the shop. I had to take one last look at that heavenly dress. Maybe it was worth one last look after all.
Chapter 16
Zac
Grams was not the negotiating type. She wanted to make a sale and that was that. I knew coming to her shop would cause troubles for my personal life but oh well. I needed some hard core advice and that is what I would get with grams. I was about to walk out into the shop when something stopped me in my tracks. That voice. Her voice. It’s the same voice I’ve fantasized about for the past few days. Dammit, her voice floored me. I peek out through the curtain in the back room. There she was again. Fuck. Me. Sideways. Jayde’s looking sexier than when I saw her the other day. Once her friend had basically dragged her from the store, it was safe to emerge from the back. What would the chances be that she waltzed into my family’s shop? Now it only belongs to my Grams since my grandfather passed away.
“Smooth Grams…very smooth” My grandma Ethel could never leave well enough alone when it came to my personal life. I owed it to her since she raised me from 10 years old, so she thinks she has a say in my personal life. Not happening, but I like to amuse her.
“Can’t a grandmother try to see her grandson be happy? Is that too much for an old lady to ask for?” I rolled my eyes at her fake attempt to make me feel bad with her fake puppy dog eyes. “No grams, it won’t work…and not with her.”
“The brunette one?” She gestured towards the door Jayde just left out of. “She was pretty, and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. Don’t fuck it up Zac.”
“GRAMS!!” I yelled at her profanity. Grams was never one to swear when I was growing up. I guess things really have changed. Grams smacked my chest kind of hard and scolded me for calling her out.
“Boy I’m 75 years old, I can say any goddamn thing I want to. Don’t sass me boy.”
Old and wise, and willing to kick me in the ass if need be. That was my grams. After my grandfather died 5 years ago, she threw herself more into this shop and it basically became her passion. Her and my granddad started this business 40 years ago, and it’s been going strong ever since.
“Zachariah Nicholas Marshall, are you even listening to me?” I turned my head in her direction and nodded as if I had been listening this whole time. “Yes ma’am.” I smiled.
Grams shook her head and slapped me on the back of the head, which made me jump and I rubbed the spot where she whacked me. For an old lady, she was surprisingly strong.
“And don’t mess up things with that girl either Zac, or you’ll regret it. Trust me on that.”
I nod respectfully. “Yes, Grams, I know.” A little tip, never mess with the elderly. Ever.
Walking around the shop, Grams smiles and gives me that ‘You better go get her look’ before taking her leave and escaping into the back room. Jayde, back here she was in all her glory and I was an idiot who cowered in the corner, or in my case the back room. I wanted her. Fuck if it wasn’t obvious enough I didn’t want her and I was determined to make her mine. To fuck her in so many different ways to prove my point she is indeed mine.
If Grams knew what I was thinking, boy I’d be in for it. I look down and notice I was sporting quite the impressive hard on. As I shifted to adjust it, somebody clears their throat behind me and upon turning to see who it was, my eyes capture the very beautiful green ones I’ve been thinking about for days.
Well, this ought to be interesting. “Having issues there?” Her sweet voice spoke and I smirk at her innocence. “Only thinking of you doll. See what you do to me?” I gestured down to my erection which her eyes followed suit and I swear I saw her bite her lip. Oh fuck, that lip does things to me that make my own damn head spin. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” She quickly shakes her head of whatever thoughts she had and at that moment, I wished like hell I could read minds.
“No, please don’t apologize. If it’s any indication to the thoughts I was currently having, they are pretty explicit.” Jayde’s cheeks flush a bright pink causing me to smile in return. Who knew such a beautiful and voluptuous beauty would be standing in front of me? I’m an incredibly lucky fucker. Now I realize more than ever how much I wanted her. How having her once wouldn’t be enough, not by a long shot. If that was being selfish then fuck it. I want to be selfish with her.
“Umm, I am not saying anything about what I was thinking.” She quickly added which made me snap back to reality. “So you admit you were thinking about me.” I say, taking a step toward her laying heavy my signature cocky smile I knew drove the women insane with lust. The sweet scent of her perfume fills the air around us and I inhale, immediately getting hard again. Down boy! Not yet. “I never said that.” She says softly, making the beast inside growl at the innocence she is trying so desperately to keep subsided. I smirk. The nervous vibes she is putting off makes her so much more intriguing. “It was implied, princess.”
“You don’t know anything. Stop telling me what I was thinking because you don’t know. You hardly know me.” I take another step toward her, this time our bodies are almost touching and I bring my hand up to lightly brush her cheek softly with the back of my hand. The sudden intake of her breath at my touch confirms what I already know. “I know more than you think. And if you think your sassy mouth is going to go unnoticed, then you’re sadly mistaken. You see, when you’re finally alone with me, you better believe I’m going to make that sweet and sexy body of yours sing like a church choir. And sweetheart, you’ll be screaming for god by the time I’m finished with you.”
Without breaking our eye contact, I catch a hint of something in those beautiful eyes of hers. Mischief maybe? She smirks at my confession. If I had to bet money on it, I’d say she had a rebellious streak in her considering my admittance to just a taste of some of the dirty things I wanted to do to her made her smirk. Saying she makes me weak in the knees is a huge understatement. There has to be a reason God sent this gorgeous creature to me. I must have done something in a previous life to deserve this. Or God is playing a cruel joke and has other plans to make me suffer.
“So I won’t be screaming your name then?” She asks in that snarky, smartass tone. I want to grab her, throw her over my shoulder and show her whose name she’ll be screaming at her response. Part of me wants to live out that fantasy but the more rational part of me says wait. Another idea strikes, the back room. Fuck, my grams is back there. What a way to kill my boner because he’s relaxed in a matter of seconds.
My body leans in towards her, engulfing her in seconds. There’s so much I could do if I just shifted slightly. I smirk. “Oh princess, you’ll pay for that. Mark my words you’ll pay for that remark.” Her expression quickly changes from mischievous to nervous again in seconds. The satisfied smile graces my face at her nervousness. I knew I had an effect on her.
“You okay, baby girl? You seem…nervous.” I ask, rubbing her upper arm a little rougher than I probably should have, sensing the goose bumps rising on her arms from my touch. I love I did that to her. I’d have to engrave that in the back of my mind and remember to touch her as much as possible. She’d be putty in my hands in no time.
She nods. “Yeah I’m fine. It’s nothing.” I raise a single eyebrow in question. What the fuck? I know how I affect her. I sensed it. The electricity is excruciatingly painful between us. She needs to drop the silly little good girl routine because it ain’t gonna fly with me. There’s so much I’m going to do with her, it’ll be fucking amazing. Using my index finger, I lift her chin up to face me as she scrunches up her nose in the most cute and adorable way. Another mental note I need to store away for later. “Never say it’s nothing in front of me. I mean never. Do you understa
nd me Jayde? I want nothing more than to keep that gorgeous smile on that perfect face of yours. Please tell me what you’re thinking.”
Anna clears her throat behind us and I look up, giving her my best stern stare and she flushes red. “Oh don’t mind me. Go back to whatever you were doing.” She walks back out front, whistling casually and I turn my full attention back to Jayde. The worry has gone off her face and there is her smile again. That smile makes me so fucking weak in the knees, something that was almost impossible for me to admit.
“Jayde?” She looks up into my eyes like she wants so desperately to tell me something but holds it back. Opening and closing her mouth, there she stands looking off behind me pondering something. “Will you go to the ball with me?” She blurts out. The Charleston Crescent Annual Masquerade Ball is the most talked about ball of the year. I was never one for balls or dances but if it meant I got to show her off to the world, then I’d do it in a New York second.
“I would love to go with you. Wow, this is a surprise. Usually it’s the guy asking the girl.”
“I mean, you don’t have to if…wait, you will?” She smiles again. I’m going to have to make note to make her smile as much as possible since I enjoy seeing it on her face.
“Of course I will. Why wouldn’t I?”
She looked down and shook her head. “No reason, I just thought…”
“You thought I’d say no? Any guy would be a fucking idiot to say no to you baby girl. You’re the whole package. Curves, beauty, kindness all wrapped up in one knockout package. I’ll be the luckiest bastard there!” And instantly, picturing Jayde in nothing but a huge bow made me go hard again. Fuck, I really have to gain control of my dick. He had to be trained to stay down in public. Who in their right mind would say no to her? Looking down, I capture her full figure in the outfit she’s wearing. All curves and nothing else. I want to run my hands up and down every single one of them. Damn, she drives me crazy.
“Oh well I guess, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have assumed that.” Sadness crept into her face and there went that smile I had grown to like. “Don’t be sorry baby. It would be my honor to be your date to the ball.” She looks up and smiles brightly. A cute little dimple appears at the corner of her mouth and I can’t hold back, I lean forward and place a single kiss on it and I want to move slightly to the left and kiss her deeper, longer, show her exactly how much I want her, but I pull back. This was my grandmother’s shop after all and I had to be respectful.
Jayde blushes and I fight the urge to pull her to me and make her blush spread throughout her whole body. I take one step back, trying to gain some self-control. That was going to be difficult. My dick apparently had other plans. Down boy.
Chapter 17
Jayde
His eyes. They are the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen. And his lips, those same lips that kissed the dimple on my cheek they were so soft. I wanted them to be everywhere on my body while I writhed beneath him. “So what are you doing here Zac?” I ask, noticing he took a step back. I tried not to notice his hard on earlier which had me clenching my legs together to stop the growing ache there.
He smirks. Suddenly, I don’t feel so confident. “My grandmother owns this shop. Has for quite a while now. What are you doing here?” He replies, looking at me sternly as if I’ve committed a crime. I swear, I can never read his emotions. It’s like he’s got PMS all the freaking time when he’s around me. He goes from happy to mad, to cocky to whatever is next in the blink of an eye. That much I have figured out. My fingers twist at my side as my mind tries to think of something to say. Why I’m here? Where am I going? But it all wants to come out as mush.
“My friend Anna told me about this place and wanted to stop by. Your grandmother was ever so kind to us so I wanted to come back in and thank her for being so gracious but I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“I see. I noticed you looking at the wind dancer. Quite an expensive little piece it is, but I am sure my grams can work out a deal for you since you’re taking her grandson out.” Shit, my little act of bravery and I have a date. I really need to get over my stupid little insecurities so that can happen more. But he said the word ‘date’ and it referenced to us. That was unheard of when it came to me.
“Yeah, it costs a hundred and fifty dollars! I don’t want to put your grandmother out of business but my wallet would hate me if I spent that much money right now.”
Zac chuckled and shook his head as if I was joking. This was no joking matter. That was way out of my price range and I had no way to pay for it, even though I wanted it so badly. Finally, the suspense was killing me. “What’s so funny?”
He met my eyes and smiled. A radiant smile that showed perfect white pearls. Well damn. “Nothing, it’s just that…I know it would make her incredibly happy if you bought it.” I nod then look back into the shop at the wind dancer, thinking.
“Umm…” My words come out as mush and he takes a step closer to me once again and he is close enough I can feel his warm breath on my face. My god he smells like pine and mint. A manly smell that sends my senses spiraling. My mouth goes dry and I look up when he looks down into my eyes. “Come on Jayde.” He coaxes softly. “You know you want it.” Now, was he talking about the wind dancer or something else?
“Something tells me that statement has an underlying message, does it not?” He laughs and takes one more step towards me. Before I know it, my back hits the wall and I cannot move. Zac has me pinned with his hard body pressing so carefully against mine. His body is proportioned so it fits in the right places against mine.
I look around the room trying to find a way to escape but to no avail. The room feels like it’s closing in on me. I can’t move. Can’t breathe. I’m stuck. There’s so much to say in this situation but I can’t say a word. He looks down at my lips then to my eyes and my eyes try to search his face for what he meant, but nothing. A complete poker face.
“Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. You’ll just have to find out won’t you?” Zac says, smirking again. He really needs to stop doing that.
“Before I say okay, you have to answer something for me.” He cocks his head to the side like a German Shepherd listening to a high pitched sound.
“Okay, shoot.” I swallow and try to find the words to ask him this.
“How…how do you keep showing up wherever I’m at? I mean, it’s kind of obvious that you’re everywhere I have been. I wouldn’t exactly call it luck, or a coincidence.”
His soft chuckle fills the small space around us. “Actually on the contrary, it’s you that keeps finding me princess. This time, you walked into MY grandmother’s shop. So you found me. Not the other way around.” I let out a sigh as his chest brushes against my breasts, making my nipples harden. How is it possible that I am this turned on?
“And you like when I find you. It turns you on, doesn’t it? It’s like I’m hunting, and you’re my prey. Sweetheart, if we were in the wild, I would have already eaten you for dinner. Just like I so desperately want to do right now.” I gasp at his vulgar admittance despite the moisture pooling between my legs. Primal cockiness is apparently a on. “That’s so animalistic.” I whisper.
And he must sense my breathing change by my chest rising and falling. “Which is another thing you love. If a man is aggressive to you, it’s a turn on for you. Do you want me to unleash my beast on you? He’s been holding back, chomping at the bit just waiting and waiting for you to give in. You love a man to be animalistic and rough in bed, am I right? Manhandling you and taking charge is what gets you hot and bothered.” Thud. I hit the floor, but no I’m not. I’m still standing. It must have been my imagination. That’s what his words felt like they did to me.
“How dare you assume that about me? You don’t even know me.” I say. Who the hell does he think he is? He makes out like I’m some two dollar whore.
“Tell me I’m wrong then. Tell me you don’t want me to bend you over that counter, and fuck your brains out. Or tell m
e you don’t want my hand, wrapped around that pretty little head of hair of yours. Or for the grand finale, I’ll lick that tight little pussy dry then come back for more because baby, you want me. Just like I want you.” Fuck it. I’ve had it with him. Before I know what was rational anymore, my resolve weakens completely as I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me and kissed him long and hard. Molding our mouths together while his big hands wrap around my waist, causing my body to melt into his. At my lunge, he presses me harder against the wall, making his full intentions known. God, this man could kiss. I find myself leaning into him, taking everything I can. His hand slides up and clasps tightly around the base of my throat possessively, sending shockwaves through my whole body. I’m submitting to him completely. What drives me even crazier is I want to submit to him fully and without question. Moaning into his mouth, one hand slides down to grip my ass, squeezing hard making me moan louder. Our mouths and tongues fight against each other, exploring each other’s mouths, unsure which to do. Fight or devour. As soon as it started, it was over. Zac pulls back to gather his wits and I straighten up my shirt where it bunched up against his chest. “Oh fuck Jayde. That was…my god, your taste does something to me.”
I quickly cover my face with my hands. “Oh I’m so sorry. That was so embarrassing. I’ve never done anything so brazen.” He pulls my hands away and moves them down to his crotch. He’s hard as a fucking rock. Holy shit.
“Do you feel that? Do you feel what you do to me? I can’t believe you’re embarrassed of what you do to me. Jayde, I’ve never had a girl affect me like you do. Don’t ever be embarrassed, baby. Your curves, those lips, that ass. They all make me want you more than anybody I’ve ever wanted before. I want nothing more than to drag you into that backroom and fuck you so hard, you are ruined for other men.”
The elderly lady from before comes out just as Zac said that. Good fucking timing. “Well I’m glad you didn’t. An old lady doesn’t need to see her grandson getting busy. And Zachariah, you watch your filthy mouth around the ladies.” He straightens up, taking a cautionary step back putting a little space between us. Zac obviously has respect for his grandmother. I very much love that about him. That makes my heart incredibly happy. Something about a man who has respect for his elders is intriguing. “Yes ma’am.” He turns to me with a wink. “Sorry.”
Unbound Faith (Bulletproof #1) Page 10
