Page 72 of Devoted

And what I wanted was to spend time with Zeke.

“Okay. One week.”

Zeke’s answering grin lit a fire deep inside me.

Thirty minutes later, Zeke was carrying my suitcase down the stairs, my duffel bag over his shoulder. I’d tried to insist I could carry it, but he’d merely snorted and refused to relinquish his hold.

I wasn’t taking much, just what I needed to last the seven days. Zeke had tried to encourage me to bring more, but I was already imposing. The last thing the rest of Zeke’s housemates would want was me taking over their space with all my clutter.

We were at the bottom of the stairs when Zeke snapped his fingers. “Hang on.”

Putting the case down, he darted off towards the kitchen. He emerged with something wrapped in one of my tea towels. “What’s that?”

“Your mug,” he said, as if it were obvious. “Gotta make sure you’re comfortable at my place.”

I shifted on my feet, unsure how to respond to such thoughtfulness. “Won’t your housemates think that’s weird?”

“Nope,” Zeke said, picking up my case again. “Even if they did, they’d never say anything because they know I’ll kill them for being insensitive.”

I snorted, grabbing the keys to my hire car. “Kind of dramatic.”

Zeke smirked but didn’t say anything. Holding the door open for me, he gestured for me to go first.

I led us over to the car, hitting the button to unlock it. Opening the boot, I tried to take the case from Zeke. He ignored me, eyeing the car strangely. “I thought you had a Kia.”

“I do.” I closed the boot and made my way to the driver’s side. “It’s in the garage. This is a hire car until I can pick mine up next week.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Zeke slid into the passenger seat and shut the door behind him. In the enclosed space, I was more aware than ever of just how big he was. His right shoulder brushed against my left, sending warmth prickling through me. It was like basking in sunlight. Comforting. Uplifting.

But it had the potential to burn if I didn’t protect myself.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what it might feel like to have all of him pressed against me. Would his weight feel crushing or reassuring? Would I feel trapped or safe?

From how my cock was stiffening at just the idea, I was keen to find out.

Dragging my mind out of the gutter, I turned the engine on. “What makes sense?”

Zeke twisted in his seat so he could see me. “I believe I saw you earlier today, in Notting Hill.”

Jude.“Yeah, someone I know needed some help at the post office, so I dragged myself out of bed and across the city to help him.”

“I didn’t think it was you.” There was something intense about the way Zeke was staring at me. “I was convinced it wasn’t.”

My brow furrowed. “Why would you have thought it was me?”

Zeke rubbed his hand over his stubble as he considered his answer. “I think…I think I was just hoping it was you. But as far as I knew, you were spending the day in bed. Then you shook the bloke’s hand before getting in a car that wasn’t a Kia.”

“A car that didn’t have my hand sanitiser in,” I muttered. “Jude’s a safe person, but I was pissed I didn’t have my gel with me.”

Zeke’s jaw tensed. “A safe person as in someone you’ve hooked up with?”

I smirked over at him. “Jealous, Zeke?”

“Yes,” he said flatly, the intensity not wavering for a second. “I’m jealous of everyone you’ve been with, Sam. I told you, I’m a very flawed individual. Jealousy and possessiveness are two traits I find it difficult to subdue.”

I shifted in my seat, Zeke’s arm brushing mine again as I did so. In theory, I knew those things were supposed to be flaws. Massive red flags.

But knowing Zeke was jealous of Jude…

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