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TWENTY-TWO

ZEKE

I WAKE UP groggy. My limbs are heavy and my head is clouded. Almost like I’ve been drugged. Where the fuck am I and what the fuck happened last night?

The soft sound of Savannah’s even breathing drags my attention to where her small body is tucked close to mine, limbs tangled around me, a thin line of drool trailing from the corner of her mouth to dribble against my shoulder.

The tension in my body eases. At least I wasn’t drugged. Technically.

I lift the hand that isn’t pinned under her body to scrub at my eyes, trying to wipe away the lingering fog making my thoughts slow. I haven’t slept that hard in years. Hell, I don’t normally sleep at all. Most nights go exactly the way the last one started. After exhausting my body, I manage to crash, but the second my mind can, it wakes me up. Reminding me of all my failings. Every bit of bad shit I’ve seen and done.

Normally, that’s when I get up. Not last night.

Last night Savannah came to rescue me. Crawled under the covers like she could chase away my demons.

And she might not have been wrong.

Carefully, I extricate myself from the grip she still has on me, inching my way across the mattress until I can slide off the edge. I grab a set of clothes and shut myself in the bathroom. After quickly dressing and brushing my teeth, I take one final look at her soundly sleeping in my bed, tuck the blankets around her, and silently duck into the hall.

She’s going to wake up hungry. And I need a little time to organize my thoughts before she gives me a sleepy smile and my brain loses the capacity to think of anything except how good her body felt under mine.

I cut through the atrium to get in line at the coffee shop near the front of the hotel, ordering Savannah one of the frozen coffee drinks she got on her rides in with Elise, along with a selection of overpriced breakfast sandwiches. After collecting all that, plus my own cup of drip, I square my shoulders and head back to our room.

Back to the woman I’m not sure what in the hell to do with now. I know what I want to do with her, but I’m caught between two truths I fully believe in: I should be a safe place for Savannah. Someone she knows would never take advantage of her or our agreement. But if I ask for her trust, I should offer mine. She is capable of knowing what she wants and needs.

I reach the door to our room way too fast, leaving me with no clear answer on what to do. How to handle what happened between us.

After taking a deep breath, I let myself in, planning to act like nothing happened—it’s the only viable option I have. And I would have been successful.

If Savannah wasn’t fucking missing.

Instead of the cool, calm, composed facade I attempted to put in place while I was away, my stomach bottoms out and panic laces my voice. “Savannah?” What if she went out to find me? Woke up scared and alone and I wasn’t there because I was out with my head up my ass trying to act unaffected by what we shared.

The bathroom is open and dark, so I go straight past it, hoping she’s hiding in plain sight somewhere.

Hoping I haven’t let her down. Again.

Stalking past the made beds, I drop the food and drinks onto the desk in the corner, planning to unload and then hunt her down. As I straighten to turn away, the curtains covering the French doors leading to the balcony shift, and a little of the tightness in my chest uncoils.

I creep toward the first spot where I let things go too far last night and find Savannah sitting in one of the chairs, her bare feet propped up on the small table as she looks out over the lush greenery. As if she can sense me, her head turns my way and she smiles. It’s bright and wide and only for me.

I’m frozen in place as she stands and comes through the split in the sheers, that smile never wavering as she pushes up onto her toes and presses a kiss to my mouth. “You’re back.” Her eyes fall to the food and drink, lighting up. “And you brought coffee.”

I flatten my lips as if it can seal in the feathery softness of her touch. The sweetness of her taste. I clear my throat, trying to regain control over my voice. “I didn’t know what you would want, so I brought back a few different options.”

She rocks up to kiss me again. “I like options.” Savannah goes to the desk and reads through the labels on each wrapped sandwich. “These all sound really good.”

Scooping the whole lot up, she carries them over to the bed we accidentally shared last night, dropping them onto the smooth blanket before climbing on. “Come sit down. We can try them all and decide which one we like best.” Her green eyes hold mine as she pats a spot right next to her.

I didn’t intend to find myself on the bed with her again so soon. I wasn’t sure I’d allow myself to be in a bed with her again at all. But I’m fully dressed, and no one’s getting under the covers, so I make my way over, kicking off my boots before taking the spot at her side.

I’m rewarded with another quick kiss as she opens the first of the packages. She takes a bite, eyes rolling closed on a soft moan as she chews. “This is really good.” Her eyes fix on my face as she leans toward me, bringing the sandwich to hover right in front of my lips. “Try it.”

I’m starving, and I need a distraction, so I do as she requests, tearing off a chunk of crusty bread, turkey bacon, egg, and avocado with my teeth.

Savannah beams at me, lifting her brows. “Good, right?”

I swallow hard, the delicious mouthful of sandwich feeling like lead as I try to get it down. “Very good.”

I don’t think she knows the entirety of what she’s doing. How much she’s tempting me. Not just with herself, but what having her the way I want would mean. No more lonely nights. I would have someone waiting for me to come home. Someone to tell me to be careful. Someone to hold close when I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

But even those things dull in comparison to the overwhelming need I have to take care of her. To protect her. To make her happy. To give her every-fucking-thing she ever wants. And the way she’s acting now, I might get to do all those things.

The possibility has me forgetting my plan to act like nothing happened last night. Has me hooking an arm around her shoulders, as she opens the next sandwich. Pulling her close and smoothing a soft strand of dark hair out of her face as she looks it over.

“This one is on an everything bagel, but I think it’s vegetarian.” She appears unimpressed by the stack of spinach, egg white, and melted cheese. “At least it smells good.” She turns to me, offering up the first taste. I take a bite and have a mouthful that I’m chewing through when she hooks both legs over mine, angling herself closer. “What do you think?”

I think I need to be drawn and quartered. Shot and thrown over a fence. At the very least, someone needs to come kick my ass for how much I’m enjoying this moment. The way I want to drag her closer. The desire I feel to touch her hair. Her skin.

How desperately I want this to happen every morning.

Savannah takes a bite of the same sandwich, her nose wrinkling as she chews. “I don’t think this one’s going to be my favorite.”

After moving on to the next sandwich, she repeats the process, working through everything I brought before scooting a little closer. She takes a long pull from her straw before offering it to me.

I’m running on autopilot at this point. Any focus I might have is going to keeping myself from fully jumping in. Grabbing the little bit she’s offered and running with it. I take a sip, swallowing down the sweet, creamy concoction.

Savannah beams at me. “You like?”

I nod, but I’m not sure what I’m admitting to. Probably more than I expect. “I do.”

“What about the sandwiches?” She’s cuddled up to me now, legs thrown over my lap, relaxed against my chest. “Which one was your favorite?”

“The bagel one.” I don’t know which sandwich I liked best. Honestly, I barely tasted any of them. I do know, not a single one comes close to tasting as good as her mouth. But she hated the bagel, so that’s the one I’m gonna eat while I try to pretend I wouldn’t rather be devouring her.

Savannah’s lip curls, wrinkling her nose in the cutest way. “Really?” Her eyes narrow as they move over my face. “I don’t believe you.” She leans away to look over the selection we sampled. Instead of picking up the bagel, she grabs the bacon, egg, and cheddar on a croissant and holds it out. “This is the one you liked best.”

“I’m not picky when it comes to food. I’ll eat anything.” I did like the sandwich she’s offering, but so did she, and I’ll be damned if I take something she wants.

“Good.” She gives me a bright smile. “Then eat this one.”

Stubborn woman. I give her my best frown. “No.”

Her mouth drops open on a scoff. “Are you trying to intimidate me?”

“Maybe.” It takes everything in me to keep from smiling. “Is it working?”

“Not at all.” She shifts, and before I know what’s happening, Savannah is straddling my lap, holding the sandwich in front of my mouth, a grin curving her lips. “Now eat your breakfast.”

I grip her hips, tugging her closer. “You’re the only person who tells me what to do.”

“That’s not true.” Her words are a little breathless. “Pierce tells you what to do.”

“Pierce tries to tell me what to do.” I lean in and take a bite, chewing as I hold her gaze. “I don’t always listen.”

Savannah’s lids droop a little as she wiggles in my lap. “Does he know that?”

I slide my hands down her thighs, over the soft fabric of her pajama pants. “I’m pretty confident he does.”

One of her hands moves down the center of my chest. “I think it’s good for him to have someone who doesn’t follow his every command.”

That has me chuckling. “I listen to him more than Heidi does.”

Savannah smiles. “I bet Elise doesn’t listen to him either.” Her lips quirk. “Now that I’m thinking about it, does anyone listen to Pierce?”

My phone starts to buzz in my pocket, and I have to fight the urge to chuck it against the wall when it sends Savannah shifting away from me so I can dig it out. I shut off the alarm I set as a reminder for the video conference we’re set to have with the man of the hour to discuss what he wants in a property. “Our call with Pierce is in thirty minutes.”

Savannah blows out a breath as she gets off the bed. “I should probably get dressed then.” She goes to the closet and selects one of the dresses hanging there, carrying it into the bathroom before coming back to collect a few items from her suitcase. While she gets ready, I organize our breakfast, downing the rest of my coffee just as the bathroom door clicks open.

“Can you come help me?”

I round the corner to find her standing in the small hall where there’s a second sink, her dark hair swept to one side as she peeks at me over her shoulder. “Can you zip me up?”

My mouth goes dry at the peek of creamy skin and lacy bra taunting me. “Of course.” I step close, my body humming at the intimacy of the moment as I slowly glide the zipper up her spine. A few strands of her hair have worked loose, so I gently sweep them away, my fingers brushing her soft skin. It’s so silky. So warm. So fucking tempting.

Too tempting.

Leaning down, I brush my lips along the column of her neck. Savannah’s sharp inhale shoots straight to my dick, making it twitch in my pants. Her head tips to the side. It’s an offering.

Or a request.

Doesn’t matter.

Whatever she wants, I’ll give it to her.

Whatever she’s offering…

It’s mine.