Page 50 of Trash the Dress

He chuckles at that. “I promised I’d take care of you, and I’m the only one who can, so lead the way.”

I grab his hand and tug him to my bedroom. “I’m counting on it. You’re the reason I’m so needy. It’s only fair.”

Once we’re in my bedroom, I nudge him to the edge of my bed and help him out of his clothes. His heated gaze is full of desire as he watches me stand from pulling his pants and boxers down.

He usually takes more of a lead when we’re intimate, but I feel his hesitancy radiating off him. His body is ready for me, but he almost seems like he’s playing defense. I need to make him see that I may be asking for a few days to clear my head, but my love for him is real and not going anywhere.

I take off my clothes and push him to a sitting position on the side of my bed. He scoots far enough back that I can straddle him comfortably without feeling like we’ll fall. Once there, I wrap my legs around him. I start to move up and down and his arms slide under me to help lift me. We work together, chasing our release slowly. Both of us simply staring in each other’s eyes as our bodies are joined.

I move my hands to either side of his face to make sure he understands what I’m about to say. “I love you, Zander. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not running from you.”

I move his hand over my breast and a groan escapes his lips but he doesn’t take his gaze off mine.

“They say home is where the heart is, and, baby, you already have my heart. Wherever you are is where I am,” I admit.

“I could never stay away from you for long,” I add.

He kisses my lips. “I’m going to hold you to that, my little sunshine,” he says.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Zander

I’m physically standing behind the counter at High Road, but I’m mentally in Scarlett’s bedroom last night. She told me she was needy, but she isn’t the only one. I need her.

We were connected on a different level. I can still feel her hips grinding over mine. I sat propped on her bed and she sat in my lap, so we were eye to eye. Our hands and limbs were a beautifully tangled mess.

And when she found her release…I shake my head and close my eyes so I can see the memory replay in my mind without the distraction of the bar behind me. My jeans feel tighter and it’s all I can do to keep it under control.

But I played the role she’s had in our earlier encounters. I left her alone in her bed asleep in the early morning hours. I didn’t think I could handle saying goodbye even though it’s not permanent. Unlike the times she ran out on me, I left her a note.

I know I said I’d give her time, but I wonder exactly how much she needs. Part of me understands why because finding Vivian waiting nearly naked on my bed must’ve been like themoment she walked down the aisle to marry Eric or whatever his name is, and then his mistress confesses their affair to the entire congregation. It stirred up some nasty emotions, no doubt.

But the other part of me—the part that has fallen so hard when I didn’t believe I would ever fall again—that part is struggling to understand her not trusting me whole-heartedly. The way that I trust her.

She’s it for me. I just hope she concludes during this time apart that I’m it for her too.

“Zander?” Dad pops his head out of the kitchen door and motions for me to follow.

When we’re in the kitchen, Dad sizes me up. “What? Is something wrong?”

“I reached out to Scarlett to check on her. She said y’all are taking a breather. What happened?” he asks.

The back door opens revealing Brittney and Hawk. “I’d like to hear whatever you’re about to say too,” she says as Hawk trails behind her smirking but also shaking his head.

“Do you have super-hearing or something?” I ask.

She sticks her tongue out at me and stops to kiss my dad on the cheek before facing me with her daughter in tow. Luna is strapped to her chest in some sort of contraption and she’s sucking a pacifier while leaning against her mom’s chest.

“I hate to break it to you, Hawk, but Luna looks just like Brittney,” I say jokingly because she’s her dad’s twin with his dark hair, tanned skin, and his eyes. But she has Brittney’s nose and lips. It’s kind of strange to see how she favors them both.

He guffaws. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough what yours will look like. Hopefully he or she will take after their mother.”

“Okay, I hate to break up your bromance again, but I’m with Danny. He told me he talked to her when y’all didn’t come to the gender reveal dinner at their house,” Brittney rushes out.

I glance at Dad, and he raises his hands in surrender. “Brittney knows what questions to ask to get the answers she wants. I can’t deny our songbird, can I? She’s just happy for you and Scarlett, and when you didn’t answer her about how things went, she called me.”

Hawk crosses his arms and smiles. “Brittney is persuasive and tenacious. You should’ve known she’d investigate when you ghosted her after such a monumental occasion.”

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