Chapter 19
Yasmine
Trapped under the warm, hard weight of Zeus’ body, feeling him slowly shrinking inside her, one thought wormed its way through her head. I have to get out of here.
Because the part of her that didn’t want to move, that wanted to snuggle up against him and fall asleep in his bed, was scarily strong. That’s not what one-night stands did, though. That kind of thing was the Road to Relationshipville, and Yasmine was not taking that exit.
So, she had to get out of here.
Even though she didn’t really want to move yet. Even though it felt like all her limbs had gone boneless and she was floaty and wonderful, and Zeus’ large frame was the only thing keeping her pinned down to the bed. It might have been the best sex of her life, and it hadn’t even really been kinky.
Or maybe it just felt that way because she was trying so hard to keep up some boundaries. A forbidden fruit type situation. It tasted sweeter because she knew it wasn’t going anywhere.
I should probably do it again, so I can test the theory.
“I can hear you thinking.” Zeus brushed a kiss along her jaw, propping himself up so he could look down at her.
With his elbows on either side of her, he was able to stroke her hair back from her face, his fingers gliding along her skin and hairline in a way that felt far more intimate than it should.
Just like everything with him. It probably was the whole forbidden fruit thing. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” she said immediately, which was so silly because she said it so quickly, it was probably obvious she’d been thinking about something.
She tried to make a joke of it, to put some metaphorical distance between them and hopefully distract him.
“You fucked all the thinking right out of my head.”
Rather than chuckling, he studied her expression for a long moment, his fingers brushing near her temples in a manner that made her skin tingle.
“If you say so,” he said finally.
Yeah, he totally didn’t believe her, which was fair since it was a big fat lie. He’d fucked all sorts of thoughts into her head, including thoughts that she shouldn’t be having. That she was determined not to have.
“Give me a minute. I’m going to go clean up.”
The sensation of him disengaging was disappointing. Even soft, it had been nice to have him inside her, on top of her. She’d felt safe underneath him.
Which meant she needed to get up. Right now.
Yasmine felt like groaning as she forced her body to move. Sit up. Scoot to the edge of the bed. Her limbs were all loose and tired. She wanted to fall asleep in Zeus’ bed. With Zeus curled up around her. A wall of protective muscle keeping her safe through the night. And that’s why she had to go.
She pulled the cups of her bra back over her breasts. The dampness where his mouth had covered her nipples brushed against the sensitive buds, making her insides clench all over again.
Zeus strode back into the room, unabashedly and confidently naked, and paused as he realized she was sitting on the edge of the bed, studying her with that unnerving intensity that seemed so natural for him.
“Do you need to use the bathroom?”
“No. I need to go back to Sarah’s.” Yasmine found herself yawning as she told a little white lie.
She did need to use the bathroom, but she just needed to use it at Sarah’s.
The longer she stayed here, the harder it was going to be to leave.
Besides, she remembered, Zeus needed to go back, too.
“And you need to get Tiger. He’ll be sad if you leave him alone all night. ”
“I was going to go get the dogs and bring them both back here.” His voice was even. Although he obviously had planned to have her stay, he didn’t seem like he was going to get upset if she didn’t. He just seemed… thoughtful.
“No, that’s okay.” She shook her head. “Hope never settled down here, right? Plus, I don’t want to… confuse things.”
There was another long pause as he studied her, making her feel incredibly antsy.
Then he walked toward her, his confident stride almost mesmerizing, making her feel like prey.
She tensed, wondering if she’d been wrong to trust him when she now felt like running…
then he knelt down beside her and picked up her underwear.
“Here, princess,” he said, holding the panties open for her to step into, still kneeling in place.
Which was way, way too sexy.
The smart thing to do would have been to snatch her underwear and put them on herself, but she couldn’t resist seeing a strong, confident, dominant man—who had just pounded her into oblivion—on his knees and helping her get dressed.
Not just the underwear, either. He swiped her sweatpants before she could get up to get them herself, too.
Yasmine huffed a little, but she ended up letting him dress her.
It was fine. None of the other guys she’d been with in the past had ever done anything like that, other than tightening her corset strings or zipping up the back of her dress.
They hadn’t helped her dress like this. Even though now she was wishing at least one of them had, it was still different from her relationship stuff.
This might not be a one-night stand or hookup with no strings attached type of thing, but maybe she could consider it just a Zeus thing.
Once she was fully covered in her ratty sweats and t-shirt again, she pulled the band from her hair and used her hands to quickly get her hair a little more sorted. Zeus got dressed while she did so. Which made sense, since he was going to need to come get Tiger.
“Ready?” he asked once he’d pulled his shirt back on, rolling his shoulders back.
Yasmine nodded wordlessly. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now because this was a little out of her wheelhouse.
All of her hookups since Mason had been at The Outlands or play parties, where it was easy to just go back to her friends or go home afterward.
No expectations, no follow-up. Most of the guys she’d hooked up with had been either determinedly single, in a poly, or in an open relationship that they were otherwise devoted to, so she didn’t have to worry about getting any ideas about them.
This felt like follow-up and like her brain wanted to get ideas.
Which was why she didn’t dawdle at Sarah’s. Zeus collected Tiger, and Yasmine showed them straight to the door. But then Zeus paused. Yasmine halted, tilting her head back to look up at him.
“We’ll get your doorbell camera installed this weekend, and I’m going to bring over a security system, so you can feel safer at home.”
As much relief as Yasmine felt at his words, there was a bit of disappointment, too. Wasn’t he even going to try to see her again outside of that? That was supposed to be what she wanted, but…
“Great, thanks.” She forced a smile onto her lips.
Zeus’ hand lifted, fingers slightly curled, and he brushed the backs of them against her cheek, making her whole body go still.
“You said no relationships. Does that leave regularly hooking up still on the table?”
“I…” Fuck, she wanted to say yes. She also wasn’t sure that was a good idea.
Yasmine crossed her arms over her chest. “I guess it could be, but if either of us starts to get attached and thinking about the other person in a relationship sense, we have to agree to tell the other and call things off.”
“So, if our current intentions start to change, we agree to end things.”
It seemed as though he was clarifying, yet the careful way he rephrased what she said gave her a moment’s pause. She couldn’t figure out why, though, because he was re-stating exactly what she’d said.
Maybe she was just getting too into her head. She was very tired, after all, and her body was still on orgasm overload. Her brain probably wasn’t working entirely correctly.
“Exactly,” she agreed.
“Great.” The smile that Zeus flashed her was so quick, but so damn hot, she nearly felt her panties drop right then and there all over again.
He’d snagged her around the waist and pulled her to him before she’d realized his intention, giving her a searing kiss that made her knees go weak and left her utterly breathless by the time he lifted his head.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said cheerfully, his arm still securely holding her waist, probably a good thing because she wasn’t sure her legs were entirely steady at that moment. “I’m looking forward to finding out what this mouth feels like.”
Fuck.
It was crass and hot and not at all the way Yasmine would usually want a man talking to her, not even a Dom, but somehow, with Zeus… she didn’t mind at all. In fact, it was making her insides clench all over again.
He pressed one more kiss to her lips before letting her go fully.
“Good night, Yas. Don’t forget to lock the door.”
The reminder roused a little of her sassier side. It had been a good kiss, but it wasn’t so good that she’d forget to lock her door, especially after the night she’d had last night.
“I wasn’t going to,” she snapped.
Zeus just smiled at her and watched as she closed the door.
She did like making him smile. She did not always approve of the things that caused it.
Shutting the door firmly, she turned the lock, hearing the satisfying click as the deadbolt fell into place.
Letting out a long sigh, Yasmine turned and leaned against the door, letting her head fall back with a thud.
On the couch, Hope turned her head and rested it on the arm of the couch, giving Yasmine a look that could only be described as judgmental.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Yasmine told her. “I’m doing the smart thing. Just sex, no emotions. No heartbreak.”
Hope let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.
She was a dog. What did she know?
Zeus
Mostly pleased with the events of the evening, Zeus waited until he heard the click of the deadbolt before he started back toward his house.
As much as he would have liked to have Yas stay the night, he recognized it was going to be a slow road.
She was skittish. Having trouble trusting.
But she wanted romance, a serious relationship; that much was clear.
Zeus wanted to help her get there.
At the very least, he could show her that she wasn’t cursed.
When Yas was done with him, maybe he’d consider getting back together with Noelle.
Just for a little bit. Because there was no way he was ever marrying her, which meant that he could prove to Yas that there was no curse.
And that meant moving her toward actually dating him.
He was pretty sure he could ease her into it without her noticing right away.
And since he’d only agreed not to change his intentions—and that had already been his intention—he was keeping to the letter of their agreement.
Maybe not the spirit, but he’d never been one to mind bending the rules when it was necessary.
“Come on, Tiger,” he murmured, gesturing with his hand. “Go home.”
The dog bounded ahead of him, heading straight for the door, tongue lolling. It always amazed Zeus how Tiger could go from flopped out on the couch to ready for zoomies at a moment’s notice. He was somehow both a very lazy and a very energetic dog.
“Good boy.”
He let them both into the house and rolled his shoulders as he headed back to his room.
The bed was rumpled and still smelled like Yas when he tumbled into it, making his dick twitch.
Tiger hopped up onto the bed, too, which helped kill Zeus’ arousal. Having a thought, he reached over to grab his phone and send Yas a quick text.
Zeus
Let me know when you go home tomorrow. I’ll go with you to check your locks and make sure there are no surprises waiting for you.
He didn’t even have time to put his phone down before it buzzed in his hand with her response.
Yas
Well, thanks for putting that thought in my head.
Zeus
It probably would have made its way there, eventually.
Yas
You’re not wrong. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to leave. You don’t have plans tomorrow?
Zeus
No, I’m wide open.
Technically, he wanted to go into the office to grab the security system he’d promised her, but he could do that when he first woke up or on his way to her house if she wanted to go back early.
Yas
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Zeus
No problem. Sleep well.
Yas
You, too.
Feeling more at ease now that she wouldn’t be going back home alone tomorrow, Zeus put the phone down and let himself relax against the mattress again.
Tiger put his head on Zeus’ thigh, and he reached down to run his fingers along the top of the dog’s head and ears, making Tiger sigh with happiness as he settled in.
“Did you have fun with Hope today, buddy? Yes, you did, didn’t you? You’re gonna have to be gentle with her until after she recovers from her surgery, but then I bet she’s going to be able to run around with you the way you always want to do.”
Which was going to be good to see. And a relief off Zeus’ mind about both his neighbor and her dog. While he still needed to keep his head in the game about work and whatever the hell Devlin was up to, he should have plenty of time and energy to focus on Yasmine as well.