Page 44 of Devoted

I immediately understood the subtext of what he was asking. With anyone else, I might’ve made a joke, but I heard that vulnerability in his voice, the same feeling I so often experienced. “Zeke, I’ve felt this way about you for a long time. Knowing what you look like doesn’t change that.”

“But it does change something?”

I smiled sadly, wishing I could lie. But I couldn’t. Not to him. “It makes me less keen to meet you. I know we said we wouldn’t anyway but…yeah. I think keeping it to the phone is for the best.”

“Because you don’t think you’re attractive enough for me.” It wasn’t a question, more like he was checking that he understood.

“Exactly.” I nodded, pleased we were back on the same page.

“That’s bollocks.”

“Excuse me?”

“Now you listen here, Sam.” My brows shot up at how heated his voice was. Was it bad that I was a little turned on? “Firstly, you’ve gotnoidea what type of man I’m attracted to. For all you know, I could like men in their eighties who don’t have any of their own teeth.”

“Well you are in a nursing home, so that makes sense.”

“Nope, you’re not throwing me off with your adorable jokes. Secondly, I don’tcarewhat you look like. I care aboutyou.Your humour, just on the right side of dark. Your love of sweets, even if you moan about the cost. Your stubbornness, which you say is your OCD, but I’m willing to bet a portion is just you.”

I blinked hard. Why were my eyes burning? Was it possible to be this emotional and still horny as fuck? I didn’t know, but then again, everything with Zeke was new.

“Most of all, I care about how you make me feel. How you never mind me asking questions. How you give me space to justbe myself. How you seem to take my temper and turn it into a cool river instead of a roaring fire.”

“This is a cool river?”

“This is nothing, baby,” he said, “but keep putting yourself down and maybe I’ll unleash the full extent of it.”

“You don’t scare me, Zeke.”

“Good,” he said softly. “The last thing I’d ever want to do is that. Even if I do have a temper, I’d never hurt you. You have to know that.”

“I do.” This phone call had had enough ups and downs to make me feel like I was on a rollercoaster. “I can’t imagine you hurting anyone, to be honest. You’re just a big ol’ teddy bear.”

“Oh god, I’m glad I locked my door and put headphones on. If any of the others heard you call me that, I’d never live it down.”

“The others as in your housemates?”

“Yeah, they definitely wouldn’t agree that I’m a teddy bear. Apparently I’m difficult to live with.”

I snorted. “You can’t be more difficult than me.”

“Oh, I can assure you I can.”

I shifted on my chair, suddenly remembering that I was naked. “So this didn’t go exactly as planned.”

“Maybe not, but the night doesn’t need to end here unless you want it to.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

“Really. I promised to get you off, Sam. And I’m many things, but I’m not someone who breaks his promises. Do you want that?”

“Yes,” I blurted out. Yep that was me. Chill wasn’t a word that existed in my vocabulary. “I want that.”

“That’s good, because full disclosure, I’m going to be getting off to this photo either with or without you on the phone.” Hepaused. “Actually, if I’m beingcompletelyhonest, I’ll be doing both.”

I was glad he couldn’t see the goofy grin on my face. “That’s so hot.”

It was also a very good idea. Spinning so I was facing my desk, I opened his photo on my phone and propped it up so I could see it.

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