Chapter Six #2
“Of course you can. We’re all assholes at times.
All I’m saying is to give people a chance.
A chance to get to know you. I don’t really want to go there this early in our relationship .
. . but you have some baggage, Marit. Emotional shit related to the way you were treated by the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally and didn’t.
Just because your brothers were douchebags, doesn’t mean you can’t be loved by strangers.
By people you run into day in and day out.
You just have to give them a chance to get to know you. ”
Zach couldn’t read Marit’s expression. He had no idea if he’d just fucked up royally, or if maybe he’d gotten through.
After a long moment, she nodded. That was it. A simple nod. But Zach was relieved she hadn’t struggled to get out from under him and stormed off.
“So? Breakfast, then walking around? Then we can do whatever else you want to do.”
“I thought you were taking just the morning off?”
Zach shrugged. “If I can peek in on The Lobster Buoy and they’re doing all right—which I’m sure they will be; Jack will probably be cracking the whip and keeping everyone in line—I thought I’d take the rest of the day off too. Spend it with you. That is . . . if you want.”
“I’d like that,” Marit said with a shy smile.
The timid woman smiling up at him was so different from the sexually confident and demanding woman from the night before, it made Zach want to uncover all the various facets of her personality.
“But first . . .” she said.
Zach began to get hard just thinking about what she might suggest.
“The wet spot under my ass is getting annoying. Maybe we can get out of bed and get cleaned up?”
He let out a snort of laughter. “You weren’t the one sleeping on it all night, woman,” Zach told her. “I think my ass is all pruney, like your fingers get when you take an extra-long bath or swim for a long period of time.”
Marit giggled. Zach could feel the movement in his body, which turned him on all over again. But this wasn’t a time for sex. He really did want to get to know her better outside the bedroom. Spend the day with her.
“If I might be so bold as to offer a suggestion for what we can do later?” he said, after Marit had gotten control of herself.
“Yeah?”
“It’s supposed to be nice today. I didn’t get to give you the grand tour of Lobster Cove. We have this awesome swing over the water that—”
“Yes!”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say,” he said with a chuckle.
“You said swing and water. I’m in. I’m easy, Zach, you should know that by now.”
Instead of laughing at the joke she was trying to make, he frowned. “Don’t say that about yourself. You aren’t.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying that after last night. We’ve known each other for what . . . a week?”
“Would you have slept with Jonah?”
“What? No! I work with him.”
“What about Linc or Knox?”
“Stop it, Zach. They’re your brothers.”
“Or the guy who works at the coffee shop? Maybe one of the other lobstermen you’ve met?”
Marit glared up at him.
“You aren’t easy. You and I got together because we both felt an amazing connection. You feel it just as much as I do, otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to come to my apartment or sleep with me.”
“Fine. That’s true.”
“You aren’t easy, Marit,” Zach said, his voice gentling. “I have a feeling you’re going to be anything but easy when it comes to winning your trust. To getting you to open up and see that you’re worthy of love, deserving of it.
“One more time, then I swear I’m done—those brothers of yours did a number on your self-confidence, sweetheart.
I wish they could see how amazing you are and how you’ve landed on your feet.
They didn’t deserve you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to be the kind of man you can rely on.
Trust. Lean on when you’ve had a shit day.
I want to be the first person you call both when you catch a fifty-pound lobster, and when life goes to shit.
I want to be your safe place, your everything. Just as you’ll be the same for me.”
“Zach,” she whispered, obviously feeling overwhelmed. Tears swam in her eyes, but they didn’t fall.
“No crying,” he ordered gently. “This is a happy moment. We’re naked in my bed, there’s a condom stuck to my ass, we need to do laundry because we made a hell of a mess of my sheets .
. . which I can’t wait to do again, by the way.
I’ll let you have the bathroom first while I get breakfast prepped.
Take your time. The hot water heater in this house rocks. ”
“I don’t take long to shower and change. Remember?”
“That’s right. Okay. Are we good?”
“We’re good.”
“You aren’t mad at me for bringing up your asshole brothers?”
She smiled up at him. “No.”
“Would you tell me if you were?”
She huffed out a breath. “Of course. I’m not one to let shit slide if I think it needs to be discussed.”
“Good. You’re really okay with going back out to Lobster Cove this afternoon?”
“Yes. It’s beautiful there, and I’d love to get a tour of the grounds . . . and swing, of course.”
“One more question before we get up.”
Marit rolled her eyes.
“How do you feel about kissing first thing in the morning?”
“It’s a hard no,” she said with a small grin.
“Damn. Okay. Rain check?”
“Definitely.”
Zach leaned down and kissed her lips briefly, nothing at all like how he really wanted to say good morning, then pushed himself up to his hands and knees.
He couldn’t stop himself from looking down at her body.
Goose bumps broke out on his arms as he took in how fucking beautiful she was, and as he recalled all the things they’d done to each other just hours ago.
“Shower. Food,” Marit reminded him with a teasing grin.
“Right. At the risk of sounding desperate and way too forward . . . will you stay the night here again tonight?”
“You want me to?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Hell yes. And for the record, I don’t want or expect sex every night. But I have to admit, I really liked having you as a weighted blanket. I always pooh-poohed the very idea of them, but now? I’m a fan. As long as it’s you holding me down.”
“We’ll see,” Marit hedged.
Zach could respect that. He was very aware he was trying to move this relationship at the speed of light. He simply wanted to be with Marit. The last week, when he hadn’t been able to spend time with her, had sucked. And after last night, he wanted to be with her even more.
He pushed off the bed—knowing he could spend hours talking with her while they did nothing but lie around—and headed toward the bathroom to use it quickly before Marit showered.
She let out a burst of laughter so loud, he turned to see what she was laughing at.
“You really do have the condom stuck to your ass!” she said between giggles.
Zach twisted, trying to look down at his butt. Then back at Marit. She hadn’t covered herself, and it was all he could do not to pounce on her. She looked amazing in his bed. On his sheets. Flushed and mussed from their lovemaking.
“Worth it. Completely worth it,” he said with a wink, then walked toward the bathroom without removing the offending condom from his person.
The last thing he heard before he shut the door behind him was more giggles. And because of that, he couldn’t keep his own smile from his face.