Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 32174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
I adjust my cock as I walk down the hall and into her bedroom.
I’ve already been in it before. I did a sweep when I first got into the apartment. It’s much like the rest of her place. Bare walls, plain bedding, and nothing personal anywhere except for the picture of her and her sister beside the bed. Every room is extremely tidy, except for her office. Zoey is a minimalist with no knickknacks or clutter. But I had to laugh on entering her office. I’m sure she considers it organized chaos, but for someone who works online for ninety percent of her time, her office is really where she lives. Maybe if she ventured outside of it more, her house would reflect it the same chaos of her office, but as it is, her bed hardly looks slept in.
I see her over by the bed filling three huge suitcases to the brim.
“Cupcake, I don’t mind you bringing a lot of stuff, but I think the Christmas tree can stay.”
She pauses and looks up at me, a Christmas wreath in her hands. “Oh.”
The sad look crosses her face, and I feel an ache in my chest. I’m by her side in seconds, holding her face in my hands as she drops the wreath to the floor.
“Don’t make that face. I’m sorry. I just meant this was a quick trip to my house. You can bring anything you want. I can come back for all your stuff tomorrow or the next day. I just needed you to pack an overnight bag now.”
She smiles really big, immediately over the sadness, understanding what I mean. I have to remind myself that she takes everything in the most literal sense.
“Okay. So just a couple of things. I can do that.”
“Perfect.”
I help her pack a couple of changes of clothes, and I grab her bathroom stuff before we go into her office to see what she needs from there. She packs up her laptop and one more bag filled with files. I have no idea what these are, but they seem important enough for her to bring. I’ll ask her about them later. Right now I’m focusing on keeping her safe, and that means getting her out of here and to my place. There’s no place safer than where I live.
“Okay, big guy. I think I’m ready.”
I look down and try not to laugh. She’s still holding the Christmas wreath under her arm, but I don’t dare say a word. If she wants to bring her whole goddamn house, she can. It seems odd and out of the ordinary, but I find her quirkiness adorable, and her honest approach to this is refreshing. I think most people would be terrified of a stalker, but Zoey seems to take it in her stride.
“After you, cupcake.”
To my surprise, she reaches out and squeezes my ass as she walks by.
“Just wondering what it felt like. Okay, let’s go.”
Smiling and shaking my head, I grab her bags. This is going to be interesting, to say the least.
5
Zoey
“Wow, I love this place.” I look around Drake’s home in awe. Everything is awash in deep, rich colors, making it feel warm and homey, nothing like my apartment.
“Thanks.” I look up at him and see a little pink hit his cheeks. God, he’s so handsome. My eyes go back to the scar on his cheek. I can’t seem to keep my eyes off it. I couldn’t stop staring at him the whole drive over here. I have no idea what it is about him, but for the first time in my life, I’m utterly fascinated by a man. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, and I like those feelings. Want to keep them. They make me feel more like everyone else. Maybe it was the mind-blowing orgasm he gave me. They’re something I’m going to be getting more of.
“It feels like a home. Mine is kind of…” I scrunch my nose as I try to think of a word. “Cold.”
“I wanted it to be homey,” he says, using my own word. I can tell there’s more there. That he has put a lot of effort into making his place feel warm and welcoming. It seems important to him.
“Are you sure you want me to live here with you? I’ll destroy this place.” I drop the bag from my shoulder, and when it hits the floor, I hear a few things spill out, making my words ring true. “I’m kind of a mess. That’s why I try not to have a lot of things. Simple seems to work best for me.”
The corner of his mouth quirks at my words. “I don’t think anything about you is simple. And I think I can handle you.” He looks down at me, his eyes roaming over me. I don’t think we’re talking about handling the same things.
I try to clarify. “I’m serious! My sister is a neat freak. She won’t even live with me and she loves me. When I moved out on my own, I made sure I didn’t have too much stuff and tried to just contain things to my office and bedroom—places I could close the door to if people came over.”
I look around his place and see not only does everything look all warm and cozy, it looks neat. I’ve been here two seconds and I’ve already made a mess.
“I kind of like the idea of seeing your stuff all over my place.” He bends down and picks up the bag I dropped, repacking the items that spilled out.
“That doesn’t even make sense.” He likes the idea of me going all Tasmanian devil in his place?
“Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
He starts to head down a hallway, and I follow him, trying to take everything in. “I’m staying in your room, right?”
I stop moving when I collide into his back. I was too busy looking around at his home to pay attention to where I was walking.