Page 38 of Protecting Mr. Fine

Being around Zane without kissing him had been hard enough, but watching him try to be brave when facing the loss of yet another person he should have been able to count on—someone who was stupid enough to throw away their relationship with the world’s kindest man—was too much.

Zane needed to know he was loved. He needed to know there were people in this world who wanted him.

Desperately.

And if I heard him lie to me and say he was fine one more time…

As soon as my lips touched his, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. Not only was I putting my job in jeopardy—which I only cared about because I could lose access to Zane—but I’d also opened up a Pandora’s box by learning just how soft and pliable his lips were. Just how incredible he tasted. How sweet the sounds he made were.

How much I needed more.

Instead of pulling away like my brain was begging me to do, I stepped even closer. My hands drifted up to cup his jaw, to hold him in place while I discovered what it was like to worship him with kisses.

Zane’s fingers twisted in my shirtfront and pulled me even closer while he straightened up to kiss me more deeply.

His skin was cold from the nip in the air. The soft prickle of his short whiskers against my palms contrasted with the silky touch of several loose strands of hair caught between my fingers. The hushed sound of the trees around us made me feel like I was in a surreal time-out of time.

A time in which it was possible to kiss this man without dire consequences.

Zane tilted his head and tangled his tongue with mine. He moved a hand up to sneak his fingers into the front of my collar like he was trying to get a tighter grip. The touch of his cold fingertips on my hot skin made me suck in a breath. I moved my arms around him to keep him from pulling away.

The feel of Zane Hendley in my arms was indescribable. My head swam with a heady mixture of disbelief, pleasure, relief… and maybe a little fear. Fear of being fired. Fear of offending him. Fear of being rejected by the one person who had the ability to crush me.

Little details of that moment came back to me later. The short, staccato sound of his shallow breaths. The feel of his tongue twisting around mine. The soft and shy caress of his fingertip in the dip of my throat. The sharp sweetness of Scots pine mingling with Zane’s familiar scent. The fleeting brush of his erection against my thigh.

“Ryan, you need help? You two haven’t moved in a while. Everything okay?”

It took a beat before I processed Lou’s voice in my ear. I jumped back as reality came crashing in, and I scrambled to press the button on my radio’s earpiece. “Uh, yeah. All good.”

Holy fuck. Holyfuck, what had I just done?

I could barely meet Zane’s shocked eyes. “I’m sorry.” It was a lame apology because I didn’t mean a single bit of it. Or maybe I did because Iwassorry I’d put pressure on him, that I’d backed him against a tree and basically forced my attentions on him.

When he didn’t respond, I forced myself to meet his eyes. Angry eyes. Eyes filled with an annoyance Zane rarely showed.

“Are you?” he challenged.

I firmed my jaw and decided to do the right thing.

To protect him.

“Yes. I’m very sorry I crossed a line. It won’t happen again.”

Should I have offered him my resignation on the spot? Yes. Absolutely. Was I man enough to do it? Absolutely not.

Zane’s gaze searched mine. Whatever he did or didn’t find there seemed to give him some relief I’d meant what I’d said. He dropped his shoulders and blew out a breath. “I believe you. We should probably head back to the house.”

I nodded and looked away so I wouldn’t have to see his disappointment in me. Instead of watching his slender body as he stepped back onto the trail, I looked around us to make sure the area was clear of any looming threats. Considering this was an isolated, fenced property, monitored by boundary cameras and round-the-clock guards, it wasn’t completely necessary. But at least it gave me something to look at while I berated myself soundly.

We moved down the trail in silence, only the soft sounds of our footfalls breaking the awkward tension in the air. As soon as we got back to the house, Zane disappeared into his bedroom, and I busied myself with work on my laptop.

Eventually, hunger drove the man out of his bedroom. Lou haddelivered pizza from a local restaurant and ended up staying to eat with us. There was plenty to talk about since we now had the JK debacle to deal with.

“According to Micki, the PR team has your cousin well in hand. The social media post has been removed. The team helped him make an additional post about how a friend dared him to post something ridiculous to see how many likes he could get and that thanks to ‘all y’all,’ he was one case of beer richer,” Lou explained.

Zane nodded half-heartedly. I could tell from his hunched-over posture and the way he was picking at one of his favorite foods he wasn’t as reassured as Lou had hoped.

“He needs to be banned from Zane’s future visits home,” I grumbled.

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