Page 44 of Fierce-Zander

Last night he’d been chatty, but this morning he got to the point and hung up.

Not a bad thing. Not when they had plans and there was no reason to sit around gabbing on the phone.

She looked at her watch and saw she had barely thirty minutes at this point to get ready.

First thing she did was text her address, then toss her phone on the counter and run up the stairs to her room.

In her closet, she was looking for a comfortable pair of jeans and decided it was best to put her outfit together from the bottom up.

She grabbed the sneakers she wanted to wear first. Fashionable but sturdy enough to be walking on the ground over dirt and gravel.

Next was the right pair of jeans that would work with those sneakers. That narrowed it down to three pairs in her eyes and then went even further to go with the ones more flattering on her.

Lastly was her shirt and she decided, since her jeans were a little on the looser side so she could move around walking, she went with a fitted teal cotton shirt that hugged her body and she’d tuck it in.

Once she was dressed, she switched over her purses for a smaller cross body one and then found the right lightweight sweatshirt for another layer if needed. She could tie it around her waist if she needed to.

Her doorbell rang just as she was running her brush through her hair. She snagged a rubber band and slipped it on her wrist in case she needed to tie her hair back and then dashed down the stairs to open her door.

There was Zander standing there in dark jeans, running sneakers, a T-shirt that could be painted on his body but was covered up mostly by an open flannel shirt.

What she wouldn’t give to push that off his shoulders and see the real treat he was teasing her with.

Since she was kind of doing the same thing with her shirt, she didn’t mind the game they were playing.

“I’m ready,” she said.

“I see that,” he said. “We’ve got a few minutes. It took me less time to get here than I thought.”

“Oh,” she said. “Come in. How far away do you live?”

“About ten minutes, give or take. This is a nice place.”

“Thanks,” she said. “It’s convenient. Not that far from my office or downtown. Enough space for me and not anything I have to deal with in terms of maintenance on the outside.”

His eyes went to the stairs off the side of the door. She had an end unit and liked that the best. Her garage separated the otherunit from her, with her neighbor's garage next to it so the noise level didn’t reach her.

“I’ve got a small apartment that I’ve been in for years,” he said. “And since I don’t spend a lot of time there, I don’t care all that much.”

She eyed him for a second. “Is that a warning?”

He laughed and the sound vibrated in her belly right down between her legs. “It might have been a subconscious one. I’m not much of a materialistic person and can’t be bothered with decorating.”

“You’re more about efficiency,” she said. “Got it.”

“I think we are similar in that aspect,” he said. “But I’ll admit, your place is much nicer than mine.”

“No comparing,” she said. “Everyone has different likes and dislikes.”

“They do,” he said. “You ready?”

“I am. Let's go have some fun.”

13

WORTHY FOE

“Why do I feel as if your last few words were forced?” Zander asked when they were in his SUV and on their way.

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