Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Cormac
I padded out of the bathroom, my clothes in my arms, and came to a stop. Zara was starfished on the bed, a goofy little smile tilting her lips, and god, was she pretty. My heart wasn’t nearly strong enough to take this.
It was time to go. I’d stayed in bed with her as long as I could, soaking in her skin against mine, the scent of her hair, the feel of her in my arms. Now, I had to head out before I sank so far down in this I wouldn’t bother getting up when it was over.
This way was better for us both. We’d keep it fun and physical and draw a line before it went further.
“Why do you have your clothes?”
“I was thinking I should put them on before heading out. Don’t want to scandalize my grandparents by walking in naked.” I turned, shaking my shorts out. Before I could get them on my legs, Zara snaked her arms around me, pressing her body to mine.
“Don’t go.” Her hands smoothed up and down my stomach. Her lips moved along my back. “You should spend the night here. Then we can do that again. And maybe again.”
I twisted my neck to look at her. “Again? You have another round in you?”
“At least one more.” She wound her way to my front and tore my clothes away from me, dropping them on the floor.
To be fair, I didn’t put up a fight. When it came to her, I didn’t know how.
“You want me to stay the night?”
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “Come on, Maccie. Stay.”
Her lashes fluttered, and she pressed her soft breasts against me—and there was not a chance in hell I was going to say no.
And the truth of the matter was, I didn’t want to.
I woke up hot, my muscles achy and tired, and it only took a few seconds to figure out why. Zara was sprawled over my chest, her hair half in my face. I brushed it aside to look down at her, and my heart sputtered like a dying engine.
She was sacked out. The clock on the dresser across the room said we had another hour before we had to get up, but I was wide awake despite not getting much sleep last night.
Flashes of her mouth on me, her moving over me, writhing beneath me, sent blood rushing to my well-used cock. My lips were raw from hours of kissing, and my stomach felt like I’d done a thousand crunches.
Later, I’d fault myself for giving in. For now, I stared up at the ceiling, sliding my fingers through Zara’s hair, stuck in the awe of it all.
How good and easy everything was between us.
That this was possible. And no matter how many times we came together, it was never enough.
That waking up beside her was everything I’d ever wanted.
“Mmm, that feels good.”
I dropped my chin, looking down at her. Her eyes were still closed, but a small smile played on her lips.
“Did I wake you up?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure I’m really awake.”
“You can sleep a little while longer.” I continued stroking her hair, the silk sliding easily between my fingers. “I’m gonna need to get home so I can shower and get ready for work.”
She tossed her leg over mine. “Stay. You’re so comfy.”
I huffed a laugh. “I gave in last night. It’s not going to work this morning.”
“Pfft. You’re happy you stayed.”
I gave her shoulders a squeeze in response.
I couldn’t say I was happy.
Not really.
I’d screwed up…but there wasn’t a chance I wouldn’t do it again.
My granddad was in the kitchen when I got home, pouring coffee in matching mugs, no doubt on his way to give one to my grandmother.
He raised a silver eyebrow when I appeared. “Doesn’t look like you’re getting in from a jog.”
“No. That’s next.” I leaned against the counter beside him, crossing my arms over my chest. “I stayed the night with Zara.”
He hummed as he added a teaspoon of sugar to one of the mugs. “I had a feeling that’s where you were. The frown on your face made me doubt myself.”
Without thinking, I reached up to touch my mouth. I hadn’t realized I was frowning, but it made sense.
“I’m conflicted.” I shoved my hand through my hair, giving it a hard tug. “I know I’m setting myself up for getting my heart broken at the end of the summer, but in the same token, I’ve got my best friend back, so…”
“So you don’t want to stop what’s happening.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Why does it have to end in heartbreak?”
“She’s going to leave.”
“You’ll miss her, but that doesn’t equate to a broken heart. Seems maybe you need to have a conversation about where things’ll go when she’s back in Oregon.”
“Things will end.”
Chuffing, he shook his head. “You know, your grandmother and I got into our pickle by not having the conversations we should have.”
I almost laughed. His definition of a “pickle” was being divorced for a couple decades and at each other’s throats. Looking at them now, no one would have guessed they’d ever been apart.
“Your situation is pretty different from mine.”
He set the two mugs on a tray, folding two napkins alongside them. “In the details, sure. When it comes down to the brass tacks, it’s not so different. You and Zara have always loved one another—”
I nearly choked on my own spit. “What do you mean we’ve always loved each other? We were friends.”
He leveled me with a hard stare, the kind my dad liked to give. Guess he’d learned from the best.
“I’m not blind, Cormac. There’s always been something there.
We all knew it. The only thing that surprised me was when you let life get in the way.
Lucky for you, you got another chance before you got old and gray.
” He turned his head, peering in the direction of his and my grandmother’s bedroom.
“Kills me to think how much time I wasted with Lily.”
“I don’t think you were the only culprit.”
He faced me again, a deep line between his brows.
“When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter a lick whose fault it was.
If either one of us had opened our mouths and put in the work to figure out how we could solve the obstacles in front of us, we’d have had all those years together.
Now we only have a handful left. I have to live with that loss for the rest of my life. ”
I wanted to argue he had a whole hell of a lot more than a handful of years, but the fact was, my grandparents were in their eighties. One look at Zara and all she’d lost in such a short time, I knew how lucky I was to still have them.
And that wasn’t the point he was trying to make.
“I hear what you’re saying. I’ll think about it.” I pushed off from the counter and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Go give your wife coffee before she divorces you again.”
He chuckled. “She could try. I’d just chase her down.”
“To the ends of the earth?”
His brown eyes twinkled as he grinned. “And beyond.”