The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 288: Chapter 288 - Breakfast

Roxie woke with a sharp breath and stared at the ceiling while her brain tried to understand why something felt wrong.

She was in bed.

That confused her immediately because the last thing she remembered was the couch. Zac had been stretched out beside her with his arm around her while the television played quietly across the living room.

She remembered lying against his chest, completely exhausted after everything that had happened between them, and telling herself she was only going to close her eyes for a minute. She remembered his fingers moving lazily against her back while she fought sleep, then nothing.

She had definitely fallen asleep on the couch.

Roxie turned toward the other side of the mattress and found it empty.

Her chest dropped.

For one horrible half-asleep moment, everything from last night became blurry enough that her brain offered the worst explanation first.

Maybe she had dreamed it. Maybe Zac had never shown up at her door. Maybe he had never stood outside telling her he wanted her back, never cried with her, never let her scream everything she had been carrying since he broke her heart. Maybe she had fallen asleep alone on the couch after missing him so badly that her brain had finally given her exactly what she wanted.

Then the rest of the memories pushed through.

His arms around her after she finally let him inside. His mouth against hers. The way she had pulled him closer because she had missed kissing him so badly. His hands moving over her body with a care that felt completely different from the angry, jealous ways they had touched each other before.

Then came the memory that made her face heat even while she was still half asleep.

His mouth between her thighs.

Her fingers buried in his hair.

The wet warmth of his lips against her and the way he had looked up afterward, checking her face while Roxie could barely remember how words worked.

She pushed herself upright, and that was when she noticed the shirt hanging loosely around her body.

Zac’s shirt.

Roxie stared down at it while the rest of last night sharpened enough that embarrassment and relief hit her at the same time. Her body remembered too. There was still a lingering sensitivity beneath the heaviness of sleep that made the idea of dreaming everything completely ridiculous.

It happened.

He came back.

Before Roxie could fully settle into that realization, something clattered immediately outside the bedroom. A cabinet closed, followed by the sound of something being set too hard on the counter and then Zac muttering a quiet curse from the kitchen.

Her entire body relaxed.

He was still here.

Roxie stayed sitting in bed for another few seconds, listening to him move around just beyond the bedroom door. The bungalow was small enough that there was barely any distance between the bedroom and kitchen, so she could hear every ordinary little thing.

The refrigerator opened. A drawer slid shut. A plate touched the counter. Then the smell finally reached her, eggs, toast and something buttery enough that her stomach reacted before she even moved.

Yesterday, she had stood in that same kitchen crying because a pan reminded her Zac was gone.

Now he was right outside making breakfast.

That realization tightened her throat more than she wanted it to. He had stayed after she fell asleep. He had stayed when she could no longer watch him or ask him to. He had apparently carried her from the couch into bed, covered her up and then gotten up before her like waking up in her bungalow had already become normal again.

Roxie pushed the blanket aside and climbed out of bed. Her hair was probably a complete disaster, her face still felt slightly puffy from all the crying she had done yesterday and Zac’s shirt hung low over her thighs. She ran her fingers through her hair once, realized there was no saving it without a mirror and actual effort, and gave up.

Then she opened the bedroom door.

The kitchen was right there, and so was Zac.

He stood barefoot at the stove in gray sweatpants and a wrinkled T shirt, his hair sticking up at the back while he moved eggs onto two plates. One hip rested against the counter as he worked, and he looked so comfortable in her kitchen that Roxie stopped in the doorway and simply watched him.

That was what got her first.

He looked normal.

After everything they had said and done last night, after only a few days apart that had somehow felt much longer because every hour without him had been wrong, Zac was standing a few feet away making breakfast like he had always belonged there.

He heard the bedroom door and glanced over his shoulder.

The second he saw her, his whole face changed.

His eyes moved over her messy hair, bare legs and the shirt hanging around her body, then a slow grin pulled at his mouth.

"Morning, babe."

Roxie stopped.

Babe.

Her stomach actually fucking flipped.

She had missed that stupid word more than she realized.

Zac must have seen something in her face because his grin widened as he set the spatula down and turned away from the stove.

"What?"

Roxie tried to recover. "Nothing."

"You look confused."

"I just woke up."

"That explains the hair."

Roxie glared at him. "Go fuck yourself."

His grin only deepened as he crossed the few steps between them.

Roxie immediately became suspicious. "What are you doing?"

"Coming over here."

"I can see that."

Zac reached her and slid both hands around her waist, pulling her against him with enough confidence that Roxie’s chest pressed into his. The contact made her heart jump, and she barely had time to enjoy it before she realized his face was coming closer.

Roxie immediately covered her mouth with one hand. "Absolutely fucking not."

Zac laughed. "What?"

"I haven’t brushed my teeth."

"I don’t care. I want to kiss you."

"I care."

He leaned closer anyway, and Roxie turned her face so quickly that his mouth landed against her cheek instead. Zac kissed her there, then pressed another kiss closer to her jaw while his arms remained comfortably around her waist.

"Zac."

"Good morning."

"You already said that."

"I wanted to say it properly."

"You can say it properly after I brush."

Instead of arguing, Zac lowered his mouth beneath her ear.

Roxie’s entire body went still.

That was worse.

His lips moved slowly against her neck, warm enough that whatever sleep remained in her body disappeared immediately. Roxie grabbed the front of his shirt while he kissed the same spot again, and she could feel his smile against her skin when her breathing changed.

"You are such an asshole."

"You’re holding onto me pretty hard for somebody complaining."

"Because you’re annoying me."

His mouth moved lower along her neck, lingering just enough to make Roxie’s fingers tighten against his chest before she finally pulled back and looked at him.

Zac was grinning in a way she had not seen in days.

He looked lighter. There was still something soft underneath it, something Roxie could feel in the way his thumbs moved slowly against her waist, but the careful uncertainty from last night had disappeared. He knew she wanted him here. He knew she had chosen him too.

Apparently that knowledge had turned him back into a smug asshole before breakfast.

Roxie started to push him away, then the question that had been bothering her since she woke returned.

"You carried me?"

Zac’s expression softened immediately.

"Yeah, babe."

"I really fell asleep on the couch?"

"You completely passed out on me."

"I did not pass out."

"You were talking and then suddenly stopped answering. I looked down and you were gone."

Roxie frowned. "I was tired."

Zac gave her a look. "Yeah. I did that."

Roxie stared at him. "You are such a creep."

He laughed softly. "I tried to wake you up. You mumbled something, grabbed me and went right back to sleep."

Her face warmed. "I did?"

"Yeah."

His thumb moved lazily along her waist while he looked down at her, and the teasing started creeping back into his expression.

"I wanted more time with you too."

Roxie’s stomach tightened. "More time doing what?"

The change in Zac’s eyes happened so quickly that she immediately regretted asking.

His grin returned, slower now.

"You really want me answering that before breakfast?"

"Forget I asked."

Roxie tried stepping away, but Zac kept his arms loosely around her. He gave her enough room that she could leave if she actually wanted to while still making it obvious he would rather keep her exactly where she was.

Then Roxie felt the hard press of him against her stomach.

She froze.

"You’re gross."

Zac looked completely innocent. "What? My girlfriend walked out wearing only my shirt."

The word girlfriend hit almost as hard as babe.

Roxie hated that he could probably see that too.

"I’m just being honest," he continued. "And you fell asleep way too fast last night, babe. I had plans."

Roxie covered part of her face with one hand. "Jesus Christ."

"What?"

"You cannot say shit like that while making eggs."

"Why?"

"Because it’s eight in the fucking morning."

Zac glanced toward the stove, then back at her. "Breakfast wasn’t exactly what I wanted to eat this morning."

Roxie stared at him.

For a second her brain gave her absolutely nothing.

Then the meaning landed properly, and heat rushed over her entire face.

"Zac."

His grin became unbearable.

"What?"

"You know what."

He leaned closer and kissed her cheek again.

"I would’ve rather had you again."

Roxie shoved both hands against his chest, mortified enough that a breathless laugh almost escaped her anyway. "Go cook your fucking eggs."

"Yes, babe."

He kissed her neck once more before finally releasing her.

Roxie stood there watching him turn back toward the stove while her heart hammered far too hard for somebody who had been asleep five minutes ago.

This was going to be a problem.

Zac had gotten his confidence back.

Worse, Roxie liked it.

She leaned against the counter while he returned to breakfast and tried forcing her brain toward normal things. Eggs. Toast. Coffee. Anything that had nothing to do with what Zac had just said or the fact that her body had apparently decided to wake up fully the second he kissed her neck.

Then Zac lifted his thumb to his mouth and licked away something from cooking.

Roxie’s thoughts immediately betrayed her.

Her eyes went straight to his mouth.

Last night crashed into her all over again with enough clarity that her stomach tightened. His mouth between her thighs. The wet warmth of his lips. The way she had completely lost herself when he figured out exactly what made her fall apart. Her fingers buried in his hair and the sight of his mouth afterward when he looked up at her.

Roxie swallowed.

Fuck.

Zac glanced over and caught her staring.

Understanding moved across his face so quickly that Roxie knew exactly when he figured out what was going through her head.

Then the tips of his ears started turning red.

That made her feel much better.

Zac’s mouth curved. "Oh my God. You’re a naughty girl."

"Shut up."

His ears were still red even while he tried acting confident, which made Roxie want to laugh.

Zac turned back toward the stove. "Come on. As much as I’d love another round, I should probably feed my princess first. Sit down."

Roxie stared at his back. "Princess?"

"You prefer babe?"

"Yes."

The answer came too quickly.

Zac looked over his shoulder with another grin.

Roxie immediately regretted giving him that satisfaction. "Just give me my food."

"Yes, babe."

Much better.

She sat at the counter while Zac put a plate in front of her. Eggs, toast and sliced apple were arranged far more neatly than anything Roxie would ever bother doing for herself, and she was still looking at the fruit when Zac cut a piece of egg with his fork and held it toward her mouth.

Roxie looked at the fork, then at him.

"Seriously?"

"Eat, babe."

"I have hands."

"I know."

He kept the fork there anyway.

Roxie opened her mouth and let him feed her mostly because the way Zac was looking at her made arguing unexpectedly difficult. His eyes stayed on her face while she chewed, and suddenly Roxie became painfully aware that she had walked straight out of bed without checking herself in a mirror.

What if she had something in her eyes?

Her hair had to look ridiculous. Her face was probably swollen after crying yesterday. She was sitting there in his shirt with no idea what she looked like, and Zac kept staring at her like none of that mattered.

Actually, worse.

He looked fucking happy.

There was something almost stupidly sweet about it. Zac looked like sitting across from Roxie and feeding her breakfast was exactly where he wanted to be.

After that, he apparently decided feeding both of them was his responsibility. He ate from his own plate between giving Roxie bites from hers, cutting the eggs and toast into smaller pieces and holding the fork toward her whenever she finished chewing.

Roxie complained several times that she was perfectly capable of feeding herself, but she kept opening her mouth whenever Zac offered another bite, which probably destroyed whatever point she was trying to make.

By the time their plates were empty, she had stopped pretending she hated it.

Zac gathered the dishes and got up to get her some water while Roxie stayed at the counter watching him move around the kitchen. Warmth settled in her chest as she thought about what came next. They would get ready. Zac would probably complain about how long she took. She would steal part of whatever he decided to wear because apparently his clothes belonged to her again. Then they could leave together.

Go to school together.

Roxie smiled.

Then the thought fully registered.

School.

Her smile disappeared.

Oh, fuck.

"We can’t go to school together."

Zac looked over from the sink. "What?"

Roxie sat straighter. "We can’t go to school together."

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