Chapter 298: Chapter 298 - Surprise Tonight
Zac spent most of the walk home trying to figure out what Roxie meant by surprise, which had been funny when she first said it outside the coffee shop and watched his entire attention shift toward her. Five minutes later, he was still guessing, and Roxie was starting to regret giving him something to obsess over because apparently one vague promise was enough to keep him going all the way home.
"Food?"
Roxie remembered last night and then the restroom earlier, especially what he had said about eating her out. Heat crept into her face before she could stop the grin pulling at her mouth.
"Maybe."
Zac looked at her for a moment. "Maybe?"
Roxie laughed and shoved his arm. "Guess something else."
"Something you bought?"
"No."
"For me?"
"No."
"Then give me something."
Roxie hesitated before deciding she could give him one clue. "It has something to do with what you wanted at lunch."
Zac stopped walking.
Roxie made it another step before his hand around hers pulled her back. When she turned, the playful curiosity in his face had disappeared.
"Oh, come on." He started walking again, faster this time. "We need to get home."
Roxie burst out laughing as he pulled her along. "Why are you suddenly in a hurry?"
"You should’ve started with that."
"I said it was a surprise."
"You made it sound like you bought me something."
"I never said that."
Zac kept walking faster anyway, and Roxie giggled as she let him drag her toward the bungalow.
The closer they got, though, the harder it became to hold onto the same confidence. Joking with him outside was easy because nothing was actually happening yet. She could watch him get impatient, say something suggestive and laugh when his entire attention changed.
Actually, getting home meant she eventually had to follow through.
What if he didn’t like it?
The thought came quickly and immediately brought others with it. What if she looked ridiculous? What if she was trying too hard? What if something that seemed hot when she imagined it turned embarrassing the second she actually tried?
Roxie knew Zac wanted her. There was really no reason to question that after everything they had already done together, but deliberately planning something for him felt different. She wanted him sitting there looking at her because she had chosen to make him look.
By the time Zac opened the bungalow door behind her, Roxie was already wondering whether she had made the surprise sound bigger than it really was.
He closed the door and immediately turned toward her. "Okay."
Roxie dropped her bag beside the couch. "Okay."
Zac caught her around the waist before she could move away and pulled her hard against him.
Roxie laughed into the kiss at first, but the sound disappeared when his mouth settled more firmly over hers. He had clearly spent the entire walk thinking about what she had told him, and there was no patience left in the way he kissed her. One of his hands spread across the small of her back as he guided her backward until she bumped against the couch.
His tongue brushed hers.
Roxie gripped the front of his shirt as warmth rushed through her.
Zac made a low sound against her mouth, and Roxie felt it everywhere.
"Stop," she managed, although she was still kissing him between the word and the breath that followed. "Food first."
Zac pulled back enough to look at her. "Food?"
Roxie started laughing at the disappointment in his face. "Yes, Zac. Dinner."
"That’s the surprise?"
"No."
"Good." His eyes dropped toward her mouth. "Because that’s not what I want to eat."
Roxie stared at him.
"Zac."
Her voice came out higher than she wanted, and her face heated immediately.
Zac laughed and finally loosened his hold on her.
"Alright. I’ll cook."
"No." Roxie smiled and pushed lightly at his chest. "You worked all evening. I’ll cook for you."
Zac looked genuinely surprised. "Really?"
"Yes."
"You’re cooking for me?"
"Why are you saying it like I’ve never touched a kitchen?"
"I’m just making sure."
Roxie shoved him away, laughing. "Go sit down before I change my mind."
She started toward the bedroom because she wanted out of her practice clothes, but Zac followed automatically. Roxie had nearly reached the door before realizing he was still behind her.
She turned. "Where are you going?"
"To change."
"You can change later. Stay here and wait for me."
Zac looked at the bedroom door, then back at her. "How long?"
"Five minutes."
"That’s suspicious."
"Zac."
"Fine."
Roxie went into the bedroom and closed the door before he could keep asking questions.
The second she was alone, she stood there feeling like an idiot.
This should have been easy.
It was Zac.
She had already been naked with him. She had already let him see her and touch her in ways that should have made a private dance feel almost harmless by comparison. But those moments had happened when they were already caught up in each other.
This was planned.
She was deliberately going to stand in front of him because she wanted his attention on her.
That was somehow much harder to think about.
Roxie opened the dresser and nearly grabbed one of Zac’s shirts out of habit before stopping herself. Wearing one of his shirts would probably end with him pulling her onto the couch before dinner, and she was already having enough trouble keeping him focused.
She chose a fitted top and small shorts instead. Nothing dramatic enough to reveal what she had planned, but when she looked in the mirror, she liked the way the shirt hugged her body and the way the shorts showed her legs.
Then she imagined Zac looking at her.
Her stomach tightened again.
"You’ve literally been naked in front of him," she muttered.
That should have helped more than it did.
Roxie fixed her hair with her fingers, gave herself another few seconds and finally went back out.
Zac was leaning against the kitchen counter looking at his phone. He looked up when the bedroom door opened, and whatever he had been reading immediately stopped mattering.
His eyes moved slowly down her body.
Roxie felt the attention everywhere.
"What?"
Zac looked back at her face. "Nothing."
"You were staring."
"Yeah."
The easy admission made Roxie laugh, and some of the nervousness she had carried out of the bedroom disappeared with it.
She walked toward the kitchen. "I’m making dinner. I mean it."
Zac put his phone down and followed her. "Need help?"
"No. You worked. Sit down."
"I can help."
"You can stay out of the way."
Roxie opened the refrigerator, but before she could reach inside, Zac came up behind her and wrapped both arms around her waist.
She smiled immediately. "This is exactly the opposite of staying out of the way."
"I’m helping."
"You’re hugging me."
Zac kissed her cheek.
Roxie tried opening the refrigerator farther, but his body stayed pressed against her back. She reached inside for what she needed and bumped him with the door when she closed it.
"Plate," she said while setting everything on the counter.
Zac kissed her jaw.
"Can you get me a plate?"
"Yeah."
His mouth moved beneath her ear instead.
Roxie waited.
He stayed there.
"Zac."
"Hm?"
"The plate."
He finally seemed to remember what she had asked for. "Right."
Zac stepped away, and Roxie laughed under her breath as she started preparing the food.
He returned with the plate a few seconds later, put it beside her and immediately wrapped himself around her again.
"You are terrible help."
"I got the plate."
"Eventually."
Zac rested his chin against her shoulder while Roxie continued working, and she stopped asking him to move. She liked having him there. A few days ago this kitchen had felt painfully empty because everything in it reminded her of him. Now he was pressed against her back, his arms around her waist while she tried to make dinner.
His mouth touched her cheek again.
Then her jaw.
Then slowly the side of her neck.
Roxie kept working, but her concentration was already slipping. She reached for something on the counter and paused when Zac kissed the same spot again.
His arms tightened slightly around her.
Then Roxie felt exactly how affected he already was.
Her hand stopped.
Heat rushed through her so quickly that she focused hard on the food in front of her even though she suddenly had no idea what she had been about to do.
She knew what Zac felt like when he wanted her.
There was no mistaking it.
And she had barely done anything.
Some of the nervousness she had carried out of the bedroom loosened immediately.
Zac kissed along her neck again, slower this time.
Roxie swallowed.
"You need food."
"I’m fine."
"You barely ate at work."
"I’m not hungry."
Roxie could feel the evidence of what he wanted pressed against her, and her face heated.
"I know."
Zac smiled against her skin.
Roxie tried continuing with dinner, but when his mouth found the sensitive spot below her ear, her fingers tightened around the edge of the counter.
He noticed that too.
She could tell by the way the next kiss lingered.
"Zac."
"What?"
"I’m trying to cook."
"You keep saying that."
"Because you keep making it difficult."
His hands moved slowly around her waist while his mouth stayed against her neck.
Roxie closed her eyes for a moment.
She could feel herself responding now, the warmth building lower in her body every time his mouth touched her or he pressed closer from behind. It made the surprise she had been nervous about feel less intimidating.
She had spent several minutes in the bedroom wondering whether Zac would find her ridiculous.
Meanwhile she had changed into shorts and he could barely leave her alone.
Roxie turned in his arms.
Zac looked at her.
She kissed him before either of them said anything.
This time she let herself stay there longer.
His hands immediately tightened around her waist and pulled her closer while Roxie slid hers over his chest. The kiss deepened, and she felt his body press more firmly against hers.
Roxie made a quiet sound into his mouth before she could stop it.
Zac reacted immediately.
His hand moved along her back while he kissed her harder, and for several seconds Roxie completely forgot about the food waiting on the counter.
She was the one who finally pulled away.
Both of them were breathing harder.
Zac followed her mouth when she moved.
Roxie smiled.
"Dinner."
He stared at her. "Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Babe."
"You worked all evening."
"I can eat later."
"You’ll eat now."
Zac looked at her for another moment before his eyes dropped toward her mouth again.
Roxie laughed softly and turned back toward the counter.
He stayed close behind her.
This time Roxie knew exactly what she was doing when she leaned back slightly against him while reaching for something.
Zac went still.
Roxie felt it.
A small smile appeared before she could stop it.
Interesting.
His hands found her waist again.
Roxie kept working as though nothing had happened.
Zac kissed her shoulder.
She moved against him slightly when she reached across the counter.
His grip tightened.
Roxie’s smile grew.
The nervous girl who had been standing in front of the bedroom mirror worrying that he might find her surprise embarrassing was beginning to disappear.
Zac was already affected by her, and she hadn’t even started.
Maybe tonight was going to be easier than she thought.
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