Page 42 of Reckless
“Thank you,” Zoe whispered. She tilted her face up, so close to Alex’s lightly stubbled jaw that one forward move from either of them would erase the space entirely. Her breath threaded through her lungs, shallow and hot. But at the last second, Alex squeezed his eyes shut and took a step back.
“You’re welcome. I really should go so you can get some rest.”
“No, please don’t.” The protest tripped out without her consent, but hell. Too late to pull it back now. “I mean, um. You’re not keeping me from anything. After all the drama of this morning, I doubt I’d be able to relax enough to take a nap. So, you know. You don’t have to go. Unless you want to.” Sweet God in heaven, she was botching this. But honesty was Alex’s number-one policy, and screw it. He’d already said he had her back. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to be alone, and I’d really like it if you’d stay for a little while.”
“Oh.” Alex’s brows slid upward. “Okay, sure. Are you hungry? I mean, our cooking lesson got cut short earlier, so I’m still not much good in the kitchen unless you want coffee or something microwaveable. But I can order something.”
“You know what, coffee sounds great, actually.” She motioned toward the kitchen, turning to lead the way with only a handful of steps. Crossing the threshold, she settled in at the stretch of slate countertop next to the fridge, tugging open the cabinet over the coffeepot to unearth a stack of tissue-thin filters from the shelf.
Alex cupped her elbow with one palm, capturing her attention and sending a bolt of warmth on a direct path between her hips. “You’re supposed to be letting me do that.”
“Ah. Right.” Zoe let out a soft laugh before handing over the filters. “Habit. But I really do feel fine.”
As if sensing her need to be more than an innocent bystander, he said, “Why don’t we split it? I’ll get the coffee started, and you get the mugs. Fair?”
“Fair.”
The rush of the water from the faucet became the rich, earthy scent of perfectly brewed coffee in less than five minutes, and Zoe handed over one cheery red mug while pouring healthy doses of both milk and sugar into the bottom of her own.
The muscles in Alex’s forearm twitched right along with the corners of his mouth as he filled her cup the rest of the way with coffee. “Not to be flip, but I hope you don’t like your men like you like your coffee. Nobody should be that sweet and blond.”
She opened her mouth to make a smart comeback—with that cocky look on his face, he had to know she would—but she trapped the words between her lips just shy of delivery.
Alex hadn’t stepped away from her a minute ago because he’d wanted to, just like he hadn’t turned her down the other night for lack of desire. He’d walked away because he thought heneededto.
And if they were going to get reckless, she’d have to make the first move.
Zoe sat down at the tiny breakfast table by the window, waiting for Alex to get comfortable in the chair across from her before meeting his eyes with a wide-open gaze. “Actually,” she said, purposely taking her time as she ran one finger around the rim of her mug, and oh, hell yes. His stare dropped to her hands and darkened. “While the blond part appeals well enough, I’m not really a fan of sweet men.”
He lifted his eyes, his focus lingering on her mouth for a long, hot second before returning to her gaze. “You’re not?”
Zoe sipped her coffee without breaking their eye contact. She knew she shouldn’t want him, with his rough edges and hot risks. But no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she couldn’t get past the truth.
Alex Donovan made her want to break all her rules. And oh, how she didn’t hate it.
“No,” she murmured. “See, I might’ve been raised as a bit of a golden child, but I was also taught to be tough. To go out and get what I want.”
“Zoe—”
She cut off his words with a lift of her hand, and oh God, the wicked glint in his stare shot thrilling heat right between her legs. “I might not take many risks, but I don’t believe in sitting on the sidelines, either. I believe in doing things that matter. Things I want.”
“It’s been a crazy day.” Alex’s voice was all gravel, and she met it with the softest whisper as she stood.
“It has.”
He exhaled a hard breath as she moved right next to him, until he had no choice but to turn in his chair to bring them knee to knee. “Your emotions are all over the place, Zoe. It’s a natural reaction to the adrenaline.”
She pushed his shoulders against the backrest of his chair, tightening her palms and widening her stance to slide first one leg, then the other over his lap. “You keep telling me that.”
Alex groaned, his hands finding her hips and turning to fists over the denim there. “You’re hurt. I should go.”
“I’m perfectly fine.” Zoe pressed forward against his unmistakable hard-on, her nipples tightening at the friction. “You should stay.”
“We can’t do this,” he said, even as he thrust against the cradle of her hips, and Zoe cupped his face, her heart locked in her throat.
“Are you saying you don’t want to?”
“No.” Alex’s answer arrived tipped in steel, matching his stare. “Jesus, Zoe. I’ve wanted this all goddamn week.”
