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I may turn away from emotional entanglements—aka relationships—but Kaye’s the kind of girl who loves having a man in her life. It’s the very reason Professor Parker has such a hold on her, and anything I can do to get rid of Professor Parker is a directive I will follow.
“Kaye? Where are you?” I call out from the hall, wanting to give Kaye a warning shot before I barge in on something I shouldn’t.
“I’m in here.” From the scuffling of her feet, I track her movements from somewhere on the floor to the other side of the room.
What the hell are the two of them doing in there?
When I poke my head into the room, my attention pings on Zeb. He’s no Alec, but the Guardian is tall, gorgeous, and cut from the same mold as Alec, meaning he’s basically sex on a stick.
From the guilty look on Kaye’s face, I read the tension swirling between her and the Guardian. Looks like she needs a bit of that tension cut with a knife, and I’m happy to provide an assist.
“Thought you were gonna help with the last of your things?” I march into my bedroom—our bedroom—and deposit the armful of Kaye’s clothes on my bed, pretending that’s what I’ve been doing since the sexy Guardians pulled up at the curb.
I dump all her things on the bed, and can’t help but smile when her lacy bras, and a collection of thongs, lands right on top. Zeb picks up on it immediately, and the heat in his eyes turns molten hot.
Yeah, there’s definite chemistry between these two. I feel it zinging in the air.
“What did you do? Scoop my stuff out of my drawers?” Kaye rushes to her clothes, pawing through them, desperate to bury her bras and thongs.
I’m enjoying the spectacle. Kaye racing to hide her unmentionables and Zeb getting more turned on by the second.
“You were supposed to empty the boxes and bring the empties up, but I got tired of waiting.”
Zeb approaches the bed. “Need help with that?” His gaze flicks to me, telling me he knows exactly what I’m doing. Damn, are all the Guardians this perceptive?
“With what?” Kaye does her best to pretend she’s not standing in front of a bright-red thong and a lacy bra peeking out from the pile.
“Folding? Unpacking? Packing? Consider me free labor.” Zeb is totally having fun with Kaye’s predicament. When he turns to me, his wink is absolutely perfect.
He’s the perfect man for Kaye. I like him, which means he gets placed on my Do Not Fuck List.
Now, all I have to do is get Kaye to cut all ties with Professor Parker. Never liked the guy. There’s something wrong with him. Something not quite right. But first, I throw Kaye a lifeline.
“Zeb, why don’t you take the empty boxes to the kitchen and start breaking them down?”
He seems to discern Kaye needs space to breathe. Before I know it, he grabs the empty boxes Kaye was supposed to bring upstairs and leaves.
But before he leaves, he pauses and looks at Kaye. “I enjoyed our talk and look forward to continuing it at a later time.” With that, he disappears, leaving me with a roomie with scarlet-red cheeks.
I can’t help but laugh. Kaye dresses me down after Zeb leaves. Accusing me of instigating shit between her and Zeb.
It’s all I can do to keep a straight face.
She’s both mortified and giddy at the same time. I love this for her. I love how she and Zeb connected.
Maybe not in the same way Alec and I connected. Unlike me, Kaye takes time with her romance.
I don’t.
There’s no time to develop romance when I’m always the one running away.
“You’ve got the hots for Zeb.”
“I do not.” Kaye will deny it until the cows come home.
We go round and round for a bit, teasing, talking, enjoying each other’s company, all while moving her things into a dresser we brought down to store her stuff.
“If you want him, then by all means, he’s yours.” Kaye gestures toward the hall, where Zeb disappeared. “I’m not calling dibs on anyone. Or did you forget I’ve sworn off men?”