Chapter 26
Zeus
While he was getting Tiger on his leash, his phone started to buzz. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw his parents’ house phone number on the screen and immediately hit ‘ignore’, then shoved the phone back into his pocket. Tiger whined, as if he sensed the shift in Zeus’ mood.
“It’s okay, buddy,” he said, crouching down to finish buckling the harness. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Neither had Zeus, though the tightness in his chest begged to differ.
It had been over a year since either of his parents had tried to contact him, and the last time was his mom.
When she’d said she was calling because she’d missed him, he’d hoped it was finally time, but in the end she’d stayed.
That had been the last time he’d heard from her, possibly until now.
The only thing he hadn’t done was block his parents’ numbers. He knew he should, but every time he thought about taking that final step, he stopped. Because one day the call might come…
Tiger jumped to his feet and lurched toward the door at the same time there was a knock on the other side. Yas was here. Zeus let out a long, slow breath, trying to release the tension that now gripped him. There was no buzz from his phone to let him know that there was a voicemail.
Which meant it probably wasn’t important.
If his mom was dead, his dad would leave a message and vice versa. Although if it was his mother who had died, Zeus rather expected he’d hear about it from the news rather than from dear old dad. He had alerts set up for their names if they ever appeared.
Giving himself a shake, he got to his feet and answered the door. It was impossible not to feel his heart lighten a little when both Tiger and Hope started wagging their tails furiously. Yas smiled at him, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.
“I told you they needed a walk.”
“So, you did.” Zeus stepped outside and shut the door behind him. His senses still felt alert, waiting for another buzz from the phone in his pocket, but none came. No news was good news, right?
It certainly was when it came to his parents.
Yas slanted a glance at him, a tiny frown on her face.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure?”
He frowned back at her as they started walking towards the sidewalk. “I thought you wanted to be fuck buddies. I’m pretty sure that means we aren’t supposed to be in each other’s business.”
The recoil was visible as she pulled away, and he regretted his words immediately. Especially because he was trying to move her past the idea of being a purely physical relationship.
He would have happily talked about almost anything else with her.
But his parents always set him off kilter like this.
“I’m sorry,” he said, stopping so he didn’t get too far ahead of her. “That wasn’t fair.”
“No, you’re right.” She shook her head. “We aren’t supposed to be in each other’s business. That’s the whole point. This is probably why I’m still cursed because I can’t stop myself.”
He didn’t want her to stop herself. Dammit.
“I got a call from someone I don’t want to talk to. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“Oh… oh.” Something about her tone of voice shifted into understanding. Zeus wasn’t sure who she thought had called him, but he wasn’t going to pry. He couldn’t ask who she thought it was without revealing who it actually was, and the last thing he wanted was a discussion about his parents.
“Thank goodness for Caller ID, huh?” she said with a light laugh and a sympathetic look as they started walking again. There was still a guardedness about her that hadn’t been there before, and Zeus inwardly cursed his father for fucking him over today. It had been going so well.
“Seriously,” he agreed. “Anyway. Have you talked to Sarah today?”
“Yeah, I just got off a call with her. It was very short. She’s doing well and should be home on Monday.” Yasmine grinned. “Hope’s surgery is all set for Wednesday. And both of them should be in tip-top shape after next week.”
“That is good to hear.” Zeus had to repress the urge to reach out and take her hand, as usual. Putting his hand on her back or around her wouldn’t work in this situation either, not with the dogs stopping and starting to sniff and pee on random spots.
But he wanted to touch her.
“What are your plans for tonight?” he asked. “Another spa night?”
“No. Weirdly, I am feeling much better this evening.” The little look she shot him had a hint of wickedness. Fuck, he wanted to touch her.
“I don’t think that’s weird at all. There aren’t too many situations that can’t be made better by a few fantastic orgasms.”
Yasmine burst out laughing, putting one hand on her hip as she paused so Hope could sniff at a bush. “Oh, really?”
“Case in point.” Zeus gestured at her, taking a step closer to her when Tiger moved to inspect the same spot Hope was focused on. “You did say you feel better, right?”
“And I guess you think you caused that with your magic dick, huh?”
Now she was the one who’d surprised a laugh out of him. He was starting to realize she liked to be prim and proper, so when she did make a crude or outrageous statement, it was particularly shocking. It definitely worked on him.
He was close enough to wrap his arm around her and pull her against him. One of her hands came to rest on his chest, both of their other arms outstretched toward the dogs.
“Are you saying it didn’t?”
“Well, it probably didn’t hurt the situation,” she admitted.
Leaning down, Zeus gave her a hard kiss.
Unfortunately, with neither of them paying attention to the dogs, both dogs apparently got jealous. He jerked back when he felt the leash suddenly wrapping tightly around his legs, but it was already too late.
“Tiger!”
“Hope!”
Both animals froze in place, looking up at them with perfectly innocent expressions, as if they hadn’t just wrapped their leashes around Yas and Zeus, trapping them together. Laughing, Yas clung to him to help keep herself upright.
“Damn dogs,” Zeus muttered, even though he wasn’t sad about the situation at all.
He made a mental note to give both of them a treat later.
Yasmine
Although she didn’t appreciate being snapped at, Yasmine was willing to overlook Zeus’ bad temper once she’d realized Noelle had called him.
Especially since he’d immediately apologized without her having to say a thing.
She wouldn’t want to talk to that bitch, either.
The fact that she’d cheated on Zeus, and messed up things between him and his team…
but Yasmine wasn’t going to push to talk about that because she didn’t want to accidentally reveal that she knew a little too much about it.
Eventually, she would probably have to tell Zeus that she knew his team. And that she’d known pretty much from the beginning.
But this definitely wasn’t the time.
Not when he was already fighting off a bad mood.
The dogs helped a lot. Getting tangled up in their leashes had not been part of the plan to cheer him up, but even he couldn’t help but smile as Hope and Tiger pranced around them like they were trying to be helpful and just kept making the situation worse.
Yasmine wasn’t helping because she couldn’t stop giggling—and she really didn’t mind being pressed up against Zeus for a little longer.
Especially when it wasn’t her fault.
She liked it a little too much, and she didn’t think it was all sexual because her vagina really couldn’t take another pounding.
Two bouts of hot sex in two days were already more sex than she’d had in a while.
Her butt was still tingly and sensitive from the spanking, too.
And her nipples were probably going to be sore for at least another day after having the clamps on them for so long.
Yeah, she did not need more sex. Or even another orgasm.
But she liked being snuggled up against him.
Was she a little disappointed when he finally got them all untangled?
Yeah.
Just a bit.
“Anyway.” Zeus put his hand on her back to get them moving again, and she ignored the little pang of loss that she felt when it dropped away after she started walking. “Do you want to come to my place for dinner tonight?”
“Oh…”
Yes. Yes, she did. Which made her reexamine whether she should because the desire to go was stronger than it should be for someone who wasn’t a boyfriend, right?
On the other hand, they’d already had more sex than she ever had with a guy right away, and she definitely wouldn’t have dinner two nights in a row with a man she’d just started dating, so if they did eat together tonight, then it would still be going against her normal rules for relationships.
“It’s not a date, just to be clear,” Zeus said, like he could read her mind. “I’m planning on eating leftovers.”
“And you would never serve a date leftovers?”
“Not a date, no.”
“Well, then yes, I accept.” And if she felt a little giddy about knowing she was having dinner with him this evening, it was probably just because she felt so safe with him.
Not that she thought Pete James knew where she was right now.
He would have had to be at her home when she’d gone back today and decided to follow her over here.
But at the same time, she couldn’t deny that Zeus’ presence was comforting.
So, it was no surprise that she would want to extend her time with him.
Besides, she had dinner with friends pretty regularly.
Eating alone every night wasn’t fun. She enjoyed some nights in, but she also liked being out and getting to hang out with people whose company she enjoyed.
If she was going to be fuck buddies with someone, she should be allowed to enjoy their company out of the bedroom sometimes as well.
‘Buddies’ was right there in the description.
Buddies could have dinner together without it being a date.
“Then it’s a plan.” The little look he gave her was almost a smile.
Yasmine shoved her hand in her pocket as they kept walking. While it would feel really natural to hold hands with him right now, she didn’t do that with her friends. Usually.
The fact that she wanted to was probably just because it felt a little weird to walk for this long next to a man she was having sex with without holding his hand.
They got back to his house, and she came in for dinner, with Hope.
The dog’s presence also gave her the excuse to leave afterward.
Which was good because she needed to save her poor pussy from another pounding and give her body a break, but she also found herself feeling a little disappointed when she got back into Sarah’s house.
No sex.
No sexy goodbye kiss, even.
She supposed she was just going to have to get used to the disappointment of doing things differently now that she had a fuck buddy instead of a boyfriend.
Still, when her phone buzzed with a text message, and she looked down and saw it was from Zeus, she couldn’t help but smile.
Zeus
Good night, Yas.
Did she feel a little giddy when she texted him back? Maybe just a smidge. But there was nothing wrong with that. Who wanted to be with a fuck buddy who didn’t care about them at all?
Yasmine
Good night, Z.