Page 91 of Devoted

Zeke caught my hand as I passed him, forcing me to stop. “Or maybe you just haven’t been loved in the right way yet. By the right person.”

I was frozen, staring down at this beautiful man who was giving me so much hope. He couldn’t mean what I thought he did, could he?

Before I could speak, my phone started buzzing with an incoming call. Zeke let go of my hand with a rueful smile, nodding in the direction of my desk. “Duty’s calling you. Quite literally.”

I forced a laugh at his joke, bustling over to take the call. But while I listened to my client describe the special edition cover he wanted, I couldn’t help but replay Zeke’s words.

Was it just that I needed the right person to love me in the right way?

Was there a chance of happiness for me, even with my brain the way it was?

Could Zeke be that person for me?

My mind was as busy as always, but for once, it wasn’t because of my OCD.

It was because Zeke was giving mehope.

Gentle hands touched my shoulders and I jumped, knocking my water off the desk.

“Whoops.” One of Zeke’s hands left my shoulder and snagged the bottle before it hit the floor. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay.” I spun in my chair, a hand pressed to my chest as I willed my heart to slow. “Nice catch.”

He snorted. “That was easy. Next time try throwing something sharp at me.”

“I’ll remember that next time there’s a knife left out on the side.” I tapped at my temple. “Give my intrusive ideas a bit of variety. Throwing it will make a nice change from stabbing, I guess.”

Zeke’s lips parted, and for a split second, I worried I’d revealed too much. That fear was washed away with the sound of his laugh. “Good to know I’m useful for something. Anyway, Iamsorry for making you jump. I said your name a few times but you were a million miles away.”

“Sorry, I do that when working.” Now I’d stopped, I was aware of how much my muscles were aching. Reaching high above my head, I stretched like a cat. “Did you need something?”

“Hmm?” Zeke didn’t seem to hear me. He was too busy staring at the small sliver of skin that had been revealed as my top had risen with my stretch. He was eyeing my happy trail with an almost predatory focus.

Letting my arms drop, I smirked at how he pouted. That pout morphed into a chagrined smile as he realised I’d caught him. “Busted.”

“Yep.” I got to my feet and kissed him on the cheek before whispering in his ear, “It’s okay, you can stare at me. I like the reminder that you think I’m hot.”

If I were beingcompletelyhonest, I was still struggling to believe that someone like Zeke found me attractive. Catching him openly ogling me shut up the little voice in my head for a few seconds.

It wasn’t even my OCD, just your run-of-the-mill insecurity.

“Good, because you’d have to remove my eyes from my head if you wanted me to stop.” One of his hands cupped my arse, our chests bumping together. I groaned as my cock stiffened rapidly at the feel of his bulge. Fuck, if he kept doing this, I was going to do something desperate.

Like pinning him against the wall and humping against him until we both came.

“What are you thinking, baby?” I could hear the grin in Zeke’s voice as his other hand came to rest on the side of my neck, right over my pulse. “What’s got your heart racing?”

‘If you tell him, he’ll think you’re a pervert.’

“Come on, Sam.” He nipped at my earlobe, sending a shiver through me. “Tell me what you’re thinking. You can’t scare me.”

I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t.

But I could show him.

I pushed back on Zeke’s shoulders, and he let me manhandle him until his back was against the wall. He tipped his head back, the long, lean lines of his neck making my mouth water.

“I like where this is going,” he said.

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