Page 74 of Fire

I let out a heavy sigh as my gaze meets hers. “You heard what I said earlier, Zara. I was the stupid ass college student who walked away. Doesn’t mean I forgot.”

Her eyes widen, and for a second, I think she’s going to cry. Fuck,don’t cry, I silently chant. And then she moves, and before I can blink, her mouth slams against mine. It takes me but a moment to react, and then I pull her close, and I’m kissing her back.

She pulls back and shit, is she crying? “It should have been us,” she murmurs. “Back then, it should have been us.”

My heart squeezes, because it’s the same thought I’ve secretly had every time I picture her with that dick-for-brains Tanner.

It should have been me.

But it wasn’t.

“It doesn’t matter,” I say against the hollow of her shoulder. “We’re here now.”

She meets my gaze, that worried look returning. “What if I’m not ready? What if it’s too soon?”

I swallow the lump of nerves forming in my throat and gently hold the back of her head. “Then we just take it one day at a time, okay? No labels, remember? It’s just you and me figuring this out as we go.”

She gives a nod before reaching up to kiss me again, and this time, I don’t need a second. When her lips meet mine, I settle into the feel of it like I was meant for this. Meant for her.

“Come on.” I reluctantly pull back. “I owe someone a bath.”

I bend down to check the water, grinning as I notice the way she checks me out. The water has chilled slightly, so I add a bit more hot water while Zara watches me with a brazen intensity.

It’s moments like this when her confidence comes peaking back out that I know she’ll be all right, that whatever he did to tear it down isn’t permanent.

And it’s also a reminder of just how much I want to punch that guy in the fucking face.

But I’m not focusing on that right now.

I’ve been waiting days to spend another night alone with her, and I’m making the most of it.

Which reminds me…

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her. The blank stare she gives me makes me chuckle, so I follow it up with. “Get naked.”

The night I stayed over in her suite in Nashville, I found myself fumbling around the next morning in a half-asleep stupor, trying to locate her ringing phone. Instead, I stumbled upon something else.

In a drawer in her nightstand.

I’m hoping it’s found its way back into this hotel’s nightstand as well.

I stroll into the suite and head straight for the bed, picking the same side as before, and?—

“There you are.”

I grab the little purple toy from its hiding spot and head back to the bathroom just in time to see Zara’s naked body slip into the water.

“You are so damn beautiful.”

She turns, the tips of her hair stirring the bubbles around her. “You said that last time we were together.”

“And I meant it last time.” I stalk forward, and her eyes widen when she sees me place the vibrator next to the tub. I grin. “I also meant it all those times I thought it in college, but never said it. You’ve always been beautiful to me.”

My words seem to carry a deeper meaning because she does that thing that I’m learning is so Zara, where she pauses as if she’s absorbing each word individually and then considers whether she wants to share what she’s thinking.

She must decide against it because the next thing out of her mouth is, “You know stealing is against the law.” Her eyes find the purple toy.

“It’s not stealing if I plan to give it back. And I think you’ll enjoy what I have planned to do with it.” I start to slowly undo the button of my jeans and enjoy the way she watches every movement as if it’s the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen.