Chapter 18
Riggs
My hips roll as I awaken to the feeling of a wet warmth surrounding the head of my cock. I thrust my hips, not realizing the stimulation is caused by Zoe until she gags and pulls away, coughing.
“Shit. Sorry.” I throw the covers off me and find her kneeling between my legs, holding my cock as it pokes out of the front opening of my boxers.
She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, shoots me a smoldering grin, and then dives headfirst back onto my dick. My abs ripple as pleasure snakes up my spine. I grip the sheets to keep from thrusting into her mouth as she works me over. My balls draw up close to my body, and I gasp. I can’t even warn her before I explode inside her mouth.
She lets out a little yelp as she jumps back, stroking me to finish. Her pink cheeks darken as she watches me come.
“I should have warned you,” I apologize.
She shakes her head, crawling up my body to nuzzle into my side. “I’m not mad. Just surprised. I don’t think I want to swallow that.” She bites her lip as if her admission might upset me.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t like,” I tell her. And I mean it. Yes, it feels great when a woman swallows, but it feels even better to be in a trusting relationship where you respect each other’s boundaries.
She looks up at me with her big doe eyes, fluttering her eyelashes. “Why are you so perfect?”
“I’m anything but perfect.” I stroke my hand down her back, enjoying the feel of her silky skin beneath my palm.
“I wish we could stay here forever.”
“In bed?” I joke, knowing exactly what she means.
She giggles. “That too. I just meant in our little bubble.”
“Well, we can come back to it, but first we need to meet your mom and Stone.”
She sighs.
I turn her chin so she’s looking into my eyes. “Hey, I’ll always have your back.”
“Promise?”
Even though I know it’s selfish of me to want to stay married to her when her whole life is ahead of her, I still make that promise.
Maybe we can find a way to make our relationship work.
Zoe’s mom seems to have come to terms with our marriage. Everyone is all smiles as we sit down to lunch. Jules isn’t glaring at me or crying like, so I feel we’re making progress. She even smiled when I gave her one of the pastry boxes Zoe and I got yesterday.
While Zoe shows her mother the photos from the wax museum, Jules smiles and nods enthusiastically. Stone leans close. “I’m glad to see that.” He points to the women.
I nod in agreement. “I was worried you and Jules would hate me.”
“What happened between them yesterday didn’t have anything to do with you. Zoe has had a hard time since her father. . .” he trails off, so I nod for him to keep going. “She’s struggled to find her footing since then, and that often meant rebelling.”
“She told me about her dad. It was hard on her when he reverted to a child and didn’t recognize her anymore. That may have been even worse than when he died.”
Stone’s eyes widen in surprise. “She told you?”
“We’re married. There aren’t any secrets between us.” Okay, so that’s not entirely true. There are probably lots of things we don’t know about each other yet.
“No offense, but this seemed like a drunken rebellion on Zoe’s part. At least, to us.”
I don’t know if my face stays impassive as I inwardly cringe at his response. Partly because I think there’s some truth to what he’s saying, but also because I should never have been encouraging any type of relationship with Zoe after I found out her age. That should have been the end of things between us. Even if I was lying to us both and pretending it was just friendship, I knew what we were doing.
As if she senses my discomfort, Zoe reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers. Jules looks down at our hands and a brief scowl clouds her face before she catches herself. Okay, so maybe she’s not as okay with me and Zoe as she seems.
Stone gives me a tight smile. “Look, I know how hard it is to be in a relationship with someone society deems inappropriate. I’m significantly younger than Jules. Add in the fact that my parents expected me to be a doctor and marry an Indian woman of their choosing, we didn’t have the easiest start either. I reminded Jules of that last night.”
“But?”
He sighs, rubbing his jaw. “But you need to know that Zoe’s practically still a child and you have a daughter her age. This gives off creepy vibes to everyone who sees you two. Especially those of us who care about Zoe.”
I pinch my eyes closed, hating that his concerns, no matter how off base, are justified. “I know what it looks like, but Zoe is an adult woman. She knows what she wants, and I seem to be the only person listening. Maybe you and Jules should stop treating her like a child and get to know the woman she’s become.”
Stone’s face flattens with irritation. “Did she tell you she used to hit on my older, married friends when she was a teenager? She’d get drunk and throw herself at them. You’re not exactly off brand for the antics that started when she was sixteen, so don’t act like Jules and I have no reason for concern.”
I glance over at Zoe. Shit. Am I really just a rebellion like her mom and Stone suspect? She meets my gaze and smiles as she sucks her lower lip between her teeth. No. Her reaction to me isn’t just a rebellion. Zoe has feelings for me beyond her daddy issues. Those weeks we spent talking, texting, and getting to know each other weren’t about anything other than the two of us finding a connection deeper than the physical. I know Zoe better than I ever knew Gretchen. And she knows me.
“I appreciate your concern,” I tell Stone.
“But?”
“But I started falling in love with Zoe from the first moment I saw her at Sin & Ink. When I later ran into her at Last Call, I knew there was something bigger at work.”
He snorts. “Let me guess. Fate?”
“Laugh all you want, but you know that feeling. I was married before and never once felt what I feel for Zoe. It’s like we were created from the same mold, then broken apart and sent out into the world to find each other. When we found each other, we discovered our missing pieces.”
Stone studies me for several moments before speaking. “Please don’t hurt her. She’s been through enough.”
“Trust me when I say this. Every choice I make from here on out will be what’s best for her.”
He nods as if things are settled. “Good. Now, let’s eat so I can enjoy the city with my wife.”