Page 120 of Ward Willing
“Go use the restroom. When you come out, I’ll clean you up and we can have all the snacks you want.”
CHAPTERTWENTY
THE HARNESS
Liam
The next few weeks pass in a blur of never-ending poetry to grade, Zoe locking herself in her room to get all of her schoolwork done, and me trying to finish up Chase’s Lamborghini Miura in time to give it to him for Christmas. Most big brothers get their younger brothers wallets or ties, but no. He’s getting a fucking car.
Not to mention I’ve started writing again, and it feels fucking incredible.
I hardly see Zoe except for in class, and the fifteen minutes between our Tuesday and Thursday afternoon classes is spent having quickies in my office or going down on her, despite her insisting that she pay it forward. Some mornings, I press her against the counter as I take her from behind, and I almost never have time for proper aftercare. On weekends, she’s busy with schoolwork and writing, and I spend any free time I have helping Orion with yet another bar he opened on the edge of town.
Despite texting Zoe every day and seeing her most days, it’s usually in passing. Aside from class, we haven’t spent more than two hours together since the night of the hotel. Which is why I can’t concentrate the Friday before finals week in mid-December—because Zoe and I have cleared our schedules and bookedtwonights at The Grand. However, before we can make our reservation, we promised Orion that we would attend the opening night of his new bar.
I nervously tidy up the kitchen as I wait for Zoe to come downstairs. My overnight bag—complete with my big surprise for Zoe—sits by the door, and I run my hands over the lapels of my wool blazer a few times between checking my phone. As I’m pocketing it, I hear her come down the stairs. I turn around and straighten as she walks into the kitchen and sets an overnight bag down by the door.
My heart stutters as she gives me a coy smile, and I can’t help it when my eyes roam down to her outfit. We’re both dressed casually, but I can’t help the way my mouth goes dry when I let my eyes wander down to her leather high-waisted trousers, cinching her narrow waist and accentuating her round hips. On top, she’s wearing a tight, long-sleeved, cropped mesh top that subtly hints at the dark red lingerie underneath—and it also matches the dark red shoes I bought her last week as a present for finishing the first draft of her book. Her lips are red, and her hair is down and wavy around her shoulders.
I open and close my mouth to tell her how fucking stunning she looks, but the words die in my throat. Splaying my hands at my sides, all I can hear is my pulse rushing in my ears, and suddenly, I wonder why the fuck I waited so long to make her mine.
“Hi,” she says slowly, her heels clacking against the wood floors of the kitchen as she walks toward me.
I’m still speechless as she gets closer, and my body thrums with need when her scent invades my nostrils.
It hasn’t been enough.
The quickies, the glances, the casual touches… it hasn’t satiated my need for herat all.Because right now, all I can think of doing is texting Orion and apologizing that I’m not able to make it to the opening of his bar—that I’m too busy feasting on Zoe to do anything else but make her come all weekend long.
“Cat got your tongue?” Zoe teases, and Captain Sushi chirps as he trots over to her.
She laughs and kneels down to pet him, but that doesn’t help whatever it is that I’m feeling. Nor did the piles of clean clothes, the leftovers in the fridge, or the genuine smiles she would give me whenever she saw me. Despite both of us being busy, I never felt lonely or like she wasn’t on the same page as me.
It felt like I finally had someone else on my team to take the burden of worrying about everything away.
When she stands, she reaches out and pats the lapel of my jacket. I’m dressed casually too, wearing dark jeans with a black button up and a black suit jacket, and despite us not intending to match, I like that we’re both in black.
“Hi,” I reply belatedly. “You’re beautiful.”
She beams, her cheeks turning rosy as she grabs my collar with both hands, stands on her tiptoes, and places a chaste kiss on my lips.
My cock doesn’t get the memo, though, because it’s painfully pressing against the front of my pants.
“How long do we have to stay tonight?” she asks.
“An hour, tops. And then I have you for exactly thirty-nine hours.”
She grins—her adorable dimples making meachefor her—and takes a step back. “You counted?”
I give her a lopsided smile. “I have plans for each and every one of those hours.”
She visibly shivers andfuckI could do this with her all day, every day. It hits me then that despite living with her, I wantmore.We’re both so busy, but I want her sleeping inmybed and showering with me inmyshower. I want to wake up every morning with her wrapped around me, and I want to fall asleep every night to the sound of her steady breathing.
I am so fucked.
“I sure hope so, considering how much you’re overpaying for that room.”
I huff a laugh. “Let’s get going, then. I don’t want to waste another minute,” I say, eyes piercing into hers.
