I’m expecting her to stand there and greet them; what I’m not expecting is for her to drop her purse and the flowers and then come over, bending down to rub their faces. “Aren’t you two the cutest dogs in the world.” And then all bets are off. Lilo looks up at her, licking the side of her face, while Stitch tries to get in there.
“Okay, enough,” I say and walk into the house. “Out,” I say, and they leave her and both charge outside.
“Sorry,” I say, going to her. “Let me show you around.” Taking her room by room, I show her everything and even take her upstairs to the other two guest bedrooms, the media room, and the game room.
“My nieces and nephews would go nuts in this room,” she says, and I bring her downstairs and show her the guest room where I hope she will stay. She sees the big vase of white roses on the side table.
“This is where my mom stays when she comes down,” I say. “I wasn’t sure if you had a hotel reservation or not.”
She walks into the room and smells the flowers on the table, and then goes to sit on the bed. “I actually did book a room,” she tells me and kicks off her shoes and crosses her legs. Her toenails painted a bright pink. “I have it booked until Tuesday.”
I lean against the doorjamb, my hands clasped behind me so I don’t do anything stupid like grab her and push her down and get lost in her. “That’s almost four days.”
“Yeah,” she says. Her stomach grumbles, and she laughs. “Guess I’m hungry.”
“What do you feel like eating?” I ask her, and I’m so afraid to say or do something that will have her running. “I will order you anything you want, sweet Zara.”
She gets up now, walking toward me, and stops in front of me. Her hands go to my chest as I suck my stomach in. “What is your favorite thing to eat?” she asks me, and now it’s me who gives her a sly smile. “Food wise.” She laughs, her hands not moving off me.
“Zara,” I whisper and look at her hands on my chest. “I’m trying not to do anything that will make you run,” I tell her. “I’m trying to get you to be so comfortable here that you don’t want to go to your hotel. I’m fucking trying,” I hiss when she steps a touch closer.
“Evan,” she whispers my name, “I’m not going anywhere.” My hands reach around and hold her hips.
“I can’t kiss you right now,” I tell her honestly, and she looks almost sad. “I can’t kiss you right now because I won’t stop.” I touch her hair with my hands, wrapping it around my finger and thinking to myself it’s softer than silk. “I need to get you fed.” I look into the depths of her green eyes and see she’s watching my every move. “I need to let the dogs in, and then,” I whisper, “then I’m going to kiss you, sweet Zara.” Her eyes cloud over when I say the last part. “Then the house could fall down around us, the dogs could eat the couch, and the world could come to an end, but the only thing I’ll be doing is kissing you.”
“I’m not that hungry,” she says, and I laugh. “I can eat later.”
“Will you stay with me?” I ask her, and then the dogs bark. “In my house.”
“You promise me that you are going to kiss me?” she asks, tapping her index finger on my chest.
“Yes,” I say softly.
“Then yes,” she says, “I’ll stay with you.” She whispers the last part. “Now feed me so we can get this kissing on the road.” And just like that, I throw my head back and laugh.
Chapter Fifteen
Zara
I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to be kissed by Evan. I love that he doesn’t want to rush me, and I love that he almost walks on eggshells around me. But I’m here. I’m here for him and only him.
“Let’s get you fed,” he says, dropping the hair he’s twirling in his fingers. He grabs my hand and pulls me to the kitchen. I walk through his house and can honestly say it’s a total bachelor’s pad. He walks to the living room, going to a hallway and closing the gate that is there. “That’s my bedroom,” he says, and I smile.
“You didn’t show it to me,” I tease, and he walks to the back door where the dogs are barking up a storm.
“That is part two of the tours.” He laughs and walks around the counter into his kitchen. The only touch that shows he lives here is another bouquet that is pink. I mean, don’t get me wrong, everything he needs is here, but it’s not a home. There are no soft touches of things on the fridge; there is no mail tucked away on the counter. No flower on the windowsill over the sink. He walks to the side of the fridge to open a drawer and grabs a bunch of menus to bring to the counter.
“What do you feel like?” I look at him, and I take the biggest step I’ve ever taken in my whole life. I’ve never run after the boy. I’ve never wanted to kiss a man this much before. I used to make fun of my parents for always kissing, but I get it now. The need to touch that person, the desire to have that person touch you.
I walk around the counter and go to his side, my fingers grazing his as I play with the menus. Menus I’m not even looking at. If you ask me what kind of menus they were, the only thing I could say is food. In general.
“I don’t know.” I pretend to look through them, my pinky wrapping around his when our hands are side to side. The movement slowing down once we touch. My stomach flipping every single time he touches me. He looks down at our hands as I move mine again, reaching out to grab another one. I place my hand down next to his, and now he reaches for my hand. His pinky rubs my hand, and I don’t even see the words on the menu.
I drop the menu on the counter and turn to him. He looks at me and turns with his back to the counter, and I finally step in front of him, his eyes looking into mine. “This past week, the only thing that kept me going was knowing I was coming to see you,” I tell him softly. “Our crazy time difference, the travel schedule.” I put one of my hands on his chest, my palm opening flat, the beating of his heart thumping against it.
“I knew that come Friday I would be with you.” I take a deep breath, and I really wish I had a couple of shots of tequila before doing this. “I didn’t care where I was going to stay, and I didn’t care what I was going to wear. The only thing I cared about was seeing you.” I say the next part almost in a whisper.
“The only thing I cared about is kissing you. Having you kiss me.” My hand moves up now from his chest, and I slowly touch his face. I lean in just a touch, and he bends his head now, his eyes turning almost black. My fingertips in his scruff ignore the pinch. He leans in, and our noses touch from the side as he leans his forehead against mine.
“Sweet Zara,” he says, and I can feel his hot breath on me. His one hand goes to my hip, pulling me closer, while the other one goes to my neck. The heat from his hand makes me shiver, knowing he’s going to kiss me. I wait for it as he moves my face up to his, and then the moment I’ve been waiting my whole life for. His lips touch mine softly, his bottom lip touching my top lip as he tries not to rush the kiss. I bring my other hand up and wrap it around his shoulders and get on my tippy toes in front of him and finally his mouth touches mine. I think I sigh as my eyes close, and his tongue slowly moves into my mouth. His hands don’t move from my hip or my neck as he groans into the kiss. His tongue slowly rolls over mine, the kiss so slow that I savor it.
I’ll remember this kiss forever. It’s a kiss I’ve dreamed about; it’s the kiss that my sisters would tell me about that I never had, a kiss that every single little girl dreams about having. It’s a kiss that even if I wanted to tell them about it, I couldn’t do it justice. I softly move my head from one side to the other, hoping to deepen the kiss and get more of him. He lets go of my lips when we are both so breathless we can’t breathe. Both of our chests are heaving. He finally lets go of my hip but only to move the hair from my face.
He cups my face in his hand. “Ruined,” he says softly, leaning in and kissing me again softly. His kisses are soft. “If I don’t get away from you, no one is going to be eating.”
My fingers play with his hair at the nape of hi
s neck. “I’m totally okay with this plan.” I kiss him again, and now his hand moves to my back, rubbing it up and getting lost in my hair. My stomach, however, has other plans and takes this moment to gurgle.
“I’m going to honestly kill my stomach,” I say between pecks. My eyes remain closed.
“My sweet Zara.” He chuckles, and now I open my eyes to see him. The softness of his face makes me lean in and kiss his chin now. “Why don’t you take the dogs outside, and I’ll order some food for us?”
“Even If I say no, my stomach is going to say yes.” I reluctantly release him and turn to see the two dogs sitting by his feet. “Do you guys want to go out with me?” I tell them, and Stitch gets up first, going around in a circle while wagging his tail. “Let’s go,” I say and turn to walk to the door. Opening it, I let them walk out ahead of me. I look over my shoulder, and Evan is there just staring at me.
“Order food so we can do that kissing thing again.” He shakes his head with a smile. “Chop-chop.” I clap my hands and walk out onto his concrete patio. His yard is huge, and the dogs run in the distance. I walk to the hammock hanging right at the edge of the covered patio and sit in it softly, my feet never leaving the ground. I lean back in the hammock, watching the dogs run back and forth after each other. My hand touches my lips as his kiss lingers.
“Food should be here in twenty minutes,” he says from behind me. The dogs now run full force toward him. He grabs their silver bowls and fills them up with water. “There you guys go,” he says and looks up at me. “Hope you like Mexican.”
“I do.” Turning in the hammock, I look at him.
“Good because it was the one that took the least amount of time,” he says. Coming over, he bends over and softly kisses my lips. Not with tongue, just a kiss, and just because. He stands by the hammock, and the dogs finish drinking and come around us. I stand only so I can hold his hand. Once my hand is in his, he brings it to his lips. We say nothing to each other, and when his phone rings in his pocket, he tells me the food is here.
I walk into the house and wash my hands and make my way around the kitchen looking for plates. I finally find them walking to the table with them the same time he comes in with the huge bags. “How much food did you order?”
“I didn’t know what you ate, so I told him to bring a little bit of everything,” he says and unloads the food while I go in search of utensils. I also get a couple of water bottles from his fridge.
“It smells so good,” I tell him, sitting down and seeing all the containers he has opened.
“This is chicken tacos.” He points at one. “Fish tacos.” I listen to him tell me all the different things he ordered while I grab a chip and dip it in the queso.
“I’m not listening to anything you say,” I tell him, and he laughs. He sits down in front of me. “This is the first meal we’ve had together alone,” I tell him, grabbing one of the shrimp tacos.
“It is,” he says, grabbing a taco and then loading it with some guacamole.
“So what are we going to tell everyone tomorrow?” I ask him, and he looks at me with his eyebrows pulled together.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“I mean, people are going to ask if we are together,” I tell him. “I mean, the whole world knows. And now we got through the first awkward kiss part.”
“There was nothing awkward about our first kiss,” he snaps. “If you want, I can show you what I mean right now.”
I laugh out loud. “Relax there, cowboy. I’m not saying that it wasn’t a good kiss,” I joke with him, and he glares at me. “It was better than good. What I’m saying is that people are going to be there, probably members of the press, so what do you think we should tell them?”
“I don’t give a shit what we tell them or if we tell them anything at all,” he says between bites. “I’m good with whatever you want to tell them.”
“We could play it off as I’m visiting a friend.” He raises one eyebrow. “Jesus, relax there,” I tell him. “You need to calm the male hormones please and listen to me.”
“Not sure I want to hear what you have to say.”
“I’m saying that we don’t have to go in there and play tonsil hockey and have people taking a picture of us. We can go in there and be like I’m visiting and I decided to swing by,” I say, and he laughs.
“Tonsil hockey,” he says between laughter, and I shake my head. “Sweet, sweet Zara.”
“Oh, good God,” I say annoyed. “Can we just keep this on the down low until I tell my family?” I ask him. “I mean, we’ve spent two days together at the most.”
“It’s been two weeks,” he counters.
“I said we’ve spent two days together. Not that we have known each other,” I tell him.
“I’m not going to hide that you’re mine,” he says, looking straight at me.
“First thing, I’m my own person,” I tell him. “Second, we aren’t hiding anything. We are being private.” I grab another chip and dip it, waiting for him.
“You kissed me,” he states. “You kissed me. You made yourself mine when you did it.”
“Oh, for the love of everything,” I say out loud, looking up at the ceiling. “What is it with hockey men?” I hear his chair scrape back and watch him come to my chair and push my chair back.
“You done eating?” he asks me, his eyes staring straight into mine.
“What?” I whisper.
“Are you done eating?” he asks me, and I nod. He bends down and literally picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder.
“What the hell?” I shriek, and the dogs go crazy, thinking it’s a game.
“I’m showing you my bedroom, and then I’m going to show you how you’re mine,” he says and then he opens the gate and closes it behind him. “Go lie down,” he tells the dogs, and then I look up at them and see them sitting there watching.
“Can you put me down?” I ask him, and he slowly puts me on my feet. “Have you lost your mind?” I huff.
“When it comes to you, sweet Zara, my mind is a mess,” he tells me softly, pushing my hair back from my face. “The only thing that I think about is how long I can keep you to myself.”
My hands now run through his hair. “You have me until Tuesday.”
“Well, then it’s enough time to show you that you’re mine,” he says and bends his head at the same time as I tilt my head up. When our lips smash together, this kiss is different than the last one. This one is all hands—my hand in his hair, his hands buried in mine as he moves my head side to side to deepen the kiss. He lets go of my lips, and I swear I forget everything when he touches me.
“I didn’t bring you in here for anything more than a kiss.”
“Just kissing,” I tell him. “Just a kiss.” I kiss his lips, and one of the dogs barks. “Are they going to be okay?” He turns and walks to the door, and then I finally get to look at his room.
His king-size bed is very, very masculine. The covers make it feel homey, but you know this room belongs to a bachelor. I turn to look out the window and see the dogs running in the backyard and then hear him coming back. I turn to look at him. “Do you want to go outside with them?”
“We don’t have to,” he says, coming into the room. “Do you want to change?”
“I actually would love to take a shower,” I tell him, looking down to see that it’s almost nine already.
“Okay, let me take you to your room,” he says, holding out my hand. He brings me to the room, grabbing my bag on the way. “There are fresh towels,” he says and then grabs one side of my face to kiss me again.
“Text me when you get out.” He turns to walk away. “Or you can come find me on the couch.” He closes the door behind him, and I have to sit down to allow my heart to settle before I get up and take a shower.
Chapter Sixteen
Evan
I close the door softly behind me and walk to my room and sit on my bed. My hands still smell of her. I’ve kissed girls before, but n
othing that rocked my world the way it did when I finally kissed Zara. It was an out of this world, kick you in your balls, holy shit hat trick moment.
My heart speeds up when I think of her in the shower. I get up and unbutton my pants before my cock gets strangled. Turning on my own shower, I think of her in hers, and I have no choice but to fist my cock and take care of myself. I get out, and I swear my cock doesn’t go down. I take my time putting my boxers on and also my gym shorts, hoping she won’t see my half-mast boner. Running my hands through my hair, I walk into the living room, and I stop mid step. She’s sitting on the couch in a gray top and pants, her hair piled on top of her head, but that isn’t what stops me. It’s the fact that she has Lilo on one side and Stitch on the other with her feet tucked under her.
“What do you guys want to watch?” she asks them. Lilo places her head on her legs, and she holds the remote with one hand while she pets her with the other. She must sense me because she looks up, and the dogs don’t even move. “Hey.” She smiles. “Are they allowed on the couch?”
“Yeah,” I say, walking to the couch and sitting down on the other side of the dog. Much farther from her than I want to be.
“I don’t know any of the channels,” she says, handing me the remote, but I pull her to me at the same time. Picking her up over the dog, I have her sit on my lap. Might not have been my smoothest move, and I swear it was not with her almost falling off the couch. The dogs think it was a game and rush over to us, causing her ass to fall off my lap and onto the couch. The dogs now are all over her, but she doesn’t do what I’m expecting her to do like shriek and yell. Instead, she full-on belly laughs while the dogs lick her face.
This Is Crazy Page 11
