Page 10 of Protecting Talia

Ellis stepped back and nodded. “Same. How are you doing?”

“Good. How about you?”

Ellis chuckled. “Excellent. Trip is keeping me on my toes.”

“Don’t let her fool you, she’s the one keeping me on my toes.” Trip shook his hand and then leaned in and kissed Ellis’s cheek. Zip turned away, not liking the jealousy sliding along his spine. He was happy for Trip and Hop. They’d found women who were awesome, who didn’t back down from a challenge. He’d seen firsthand that Vera and Ellis had made his buddies better people. They were more relaxed when they weren’t grinding and yet also more focused on missions.

He heard a car outside, and his heart sped up. He turned to the door, wondering if he should step outside to greet her.

Ellis moved to the window, pulling back the curtain. “It’s her.”

Without even thinking, Zip moved to the door and pulled it open, his stomach tightening as she stepped from the car. Her lips spread into a wide smile as she moved to him.

“Hello, Zip.”

“Hello.” His voice sounded strained, and he hated that.

She chuckled and moved in close, giving him a quick hug. Her lips were at his ear. “It’s good to see you, Cinnamon Roll.”

Her breath on his neck made his dick twitch. She was going to push him to the edge of reason without even trying. He had to prove to her he wasn’t a cinnamon roll. If they got involved, she would be disappointed.

“Hey, Talia. Get in here,” Ellis called out from behind him.

He wished they were alone. He should have gone to her place and waited for her to get home. He could have stalked her and showed her that he wasn’t a good person. She would send him away because he wasn’t worth the trouble. Instead, he had to deal with eating dinner in front of his friends while sitting across from her. Trip would call him out for being a jerk if he acted like he knew he should so she would run fast away from him. The more time he spent with her, the harder it would be to leave. Even now, just a few minutes in, he was already thinking of ways to get her to see him again.

Talia getting close would wreck him. Already, he wanted her breath on his neck again. Having her close had stirred thick desire inside. She would fit perfectly underneath his body. But he felt this was more than just the sex. She would fit perfectly in his life. Now, he just had to get to know her better.

* * *

Talia almost threwup on the way over. This man had the ability to totally wreck her. Just being close to him set her on fire. It had been a long time since she’d felt this way about anyone. After the years she’d spent working in the sex industry, few guys turned her on. It was like her libido dried up more each time she had to have sex. How she’d put up with it for the years she had was a mystery to her.

The scent of the food hit her as she stepped into the house. “Wow, it smells terrific. What did you make?” she asked as she hugged Ellis.

“Lasagna and garlic bread. I have a salad we can eat now. The rest of the food should be ready to eat in about twenty minutes.”

“Well it smells great and I’m very hungry. Thank you for cooking for us. I brought cookies. I didn’t bake them, or we’d all get sick. Just so you know, they’re safe.”

“Thank you.” Ellis turned to her man. “This is Trip.”

Trip stuck out his hand for her to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Talia. Thank you for coming to dinner. Ellis has been looking forward to this all week.”

She might have gasped as shock hit. Few people were ever happy to see her. She worked hard, and people at work were usually glad she showed up, but few people wanted to hang out with her.

On the plus side, neither of the men recognized her from the videos she’d been in. At least that was a good thing. She would have to tell Zip, or she could walk away and never look back. That would be the smart option, but it wasn’t what she wanted. Eventually, one of his friends would recognize her, and then it would get weird.

Back when she was a teenager, she hadn’t really known better. Her sister had forced her to work, but she’d enjoyed the attention. It had only been really odd when they’d forced her to work with old men. Having some grandpa doing things to her body had been disturbing.

She pushed thoughts of her past from her mind and focused on Zip. For now, until he found out the truth, she would enjoy whatever they had. Once he learned what she’d done in her past, he would dump her soon enough.

The guys served the salad while she and Ellis sat. It was the first time a guy had prepared food for her while telling her to sit down. She enjoyed listening to the men talk but had little to add to the conversation.

A timer rang, and Ellis hopped up. “Sit down, love,” Trip said. “I’ve got it.” He turned to Talia and lifted his eyebrows. “Are you really hungry, or just average hungry?”

“I’ll take a smaller portion for now.”

“Sure. You can always go back for seconds.”

Zip got up and took her bowl. She shook her head and met his gaze when he turned after putting their dishes in the sink. She hadn’t meant to say anything but couldn’t hold back. “This is weird. Why are you two doing this?”

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