Chapter 28
ZINA
The afternoon passed in a whirlwind of taking care of dogs, making phone calls to other rescue centers near and far, and trying to calm down Lacey, who’d received three other wedding referrals from Chyna.
I took a final walk-through of the warehouse before I turned toward the house and let the volunteers take over for the night.
I was beat. The ordeal with the wedding planner, the fake rehearsal, the strange conversation with Alex .
. . it had all taken its toll. All I wanted was to grab a quick bite and turn in early.
So when I stepped into the house, I was unprepared for the scent of something bubbling away on the stove.
A combination of spices tickled my nose and made my stomach growl in appreciation.
“Zina, is that you?” Alex called from the kitchen.
I followed his voice, determined to find the source of the deliciousness. “What are you doing?”
Alex pulled the kitchen door open, and the smell of cumin, ginger, and garlic swirled around me, making my mouth water. With all of the excitement this morning I hadn’t had a chance to grab lunch.
“Hungry?” Alex asked. He held a giant spoon in one hand and a potholder in the other. He looked like a very scruffy, younger version of Jamie Oliver, ready to take on the world, one spice at a time.
“What’s this?” I glanced around the kitchen, my gaze resting on a pot of something delectable simmering on the stove.
“I figured you’d be tired, so I went ahead and whipped up some dinner for us. How spicy do you like your curry? One pepper? Two?” He stepped in front of the stove and lifted the lid off the stockpot.
“You made curry for dinner?” I could tell just by the way it smelled that it was going to be delicious.
“Chicken tikka masala. It’s not really curry. A friend of mine who owns a restaurant in England taught me how.”
“And how did you meet a restaurant owner in England?” It shouldn’t surprise me.
Alex had all kinds of stories about the people he’d met while traveling the world.
The only place I’d been outside of Texas in the past ten years was my stint in Afghanistan.
And I didn’t have much of a chance to sample the local cuisine or make a lot of friends while I was there.
“I met him while diving in the Maldives. He said he was opening a restaurant outside of London and told me to stop by if I ever found myself on that side of the world.”
“I should have known better than to ask.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you’ve been so many places. I can only imagine the kinds of experiences you’ve had traveling the world.”
“Ready to eat?”
“Dish it up. I’m starving.”
I took a seat at the table while Alex spooned rice and whatever it was he’d made into two bowls. By the time he grabbed a plate full of naan and brought it to the table, I was ready to pass out from hunger.
“I went a little easy on the spice for you.”
“For me?” With my fork poised at the edge of my bowl, I eyed him. “I was born and raised in Texas. What makes you think I can’t handle my spice?”
“It’s a different kind of spice. Trust me.” He dug into his dish and slid a bite into his mouth.
At that point I wasn’t going to argue over how much heat I could handle.
I took a big bite and let the flavors roll over my tongue.
It wasn’t fair that someone could be blessed with his good looks and his skills between the sheets and still be able to put a delicious meal on the table. Not when he was planning on leaving.
“What do you think?” His eyebrows lifted. He wanted to impress me, and it showed.
“It’s okay.” No need to let him know how much I enjoyed it. The man clearly didn’t suffer from a bruised ego. He knew his strengths.
“Just okay?” He grinned, obviously aware I was trying to pull one over on him.
“No, it’s not just okay. It’s freaking fantastic. When do you even get a chance to practice your cooking skills? I mean, you travel all the time. How often do you find yourself somewhere with a stocked kitchen?”
“So you do like it.” The side of his mouth quirked up in a smug smile.
“I don’t like it, I love it.” I slid another melt-in-your-mouth bite past my lips. “Actually, I more than love it. What’s more than love?”
“Hmm. You adore it?”
I nodded, my mouth full.
“Or maybe you just adore the man who introduced you to this culinary phenom?” He rested his elbows on the table and leaned toward me.
I tried not to laugh with my mouth full. It would serve his cocky ass right if he ended up with a face full of whatever awesomeness he’d concocted.
“Call it what you want, but I seriously need this in my life. You need to show me how to make it so I can have it while you’re .
. .” My voice trailed off and it hit me.
When the wedding was over, Alex was going.
All of this, everything we’d shared over the past several weeks, would be nothing but a memory.
A temporary pause on his never-ending journey.
I was a pit stop. Nothing more than a chance to rest, refill, and move on.
“While I’m what?” His voice dropped lower. In the short time I’d known him, I’d come to love the way his tone grew deeper when we started to discuss something serious.
“You know.” I let my fork rest against the side of my dish. Two minutes ago I’d been ravenous. But now, with the promise of his eventual departure hanging between us, I’d lost my appetite. Not even the mouthwatering blend of spices and sauce could sway me to eat another bite.
“What if I didn’t?”
“Didn’t what?” My heart skittered like a needle scratching across an old record.
“Didn’t . . . you know.”
“Wait, are we both talking about the same ‘you know’ here?”
His shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. An adorable smile danced across his extremely kissable lips. He knew exactly what I meant. He was playing with me, stringing me along.
I placed a palm on his chest and gave him a playful push. “Don’t tease.”
He wrapped his hand around mine, demanding my attention. My gaze met his. “I’m not teasing. At least not about this. What if I stayed?”
The question wedged itself into the sliver of space between us. I didn’t know how to respond. If I acted too excited, would I scare him off? If I were too nonchalant, would he change his mind?
“Well?”
“I’d love it if you’d . . . you know.” A grin threatened to split my serious expression in two.
“All right then. It’s settled.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “After the wedding, I’ll find a place to stay. We can try this on for real.”
“Just like that?”
“Doesn’t need to be more complicated, right?”
I didn’t trust myself to react with anything but a nod. The thought of him sticking around for a bit gave me hope. Maybe I wasn’t destined to be alone. Maybe the universe had some magical, mystical plan that would set me up with a chance for happiness.
The mood lightened and we joked around while we ate the rest of our dinner. Alex did a spot-on imitation of Chyna after she lost her hat. I almost fell out of my chair from laughing. After the dishes had been washed, dried, and put away, he held out a hand. “You want to try out that tub?”
“What are you going to do while I’m soaking?” I took the hand he offered, and we moved toward the stairs.
“What do you mean? I measured and there’s plenty of room in that tub for two.”
Alex
We didn’t make it to the bathtub. I had barely shut the bedroom door behind us when Zina whirled around and pressed me up against the wall.
Her lips were hungry, as eager for me as mine were for her.
The length of her body aligned with mine, her soft curves a perfect fit against my hard planes.
I’d been anticipating this night for weeks.
Every time she’d brushed against me, every time we’d accidentally touched, every time she’d looked at me with that combination of heat and hope in her eyes, it had stoked the fire she’d ignited when I first set eyes on her.
I pushed off the door and backed her toward the bed. The need to feel every bare inch of her against my skin drove my hands under her shirt. My fingers trailed up and over her ribs while goose bumps pebbled her skin. Her hands worked my shirt up while she continued nipping and sucking at my lips.
When the backs of her legs hit the bed, she fell backward, pulling me down on top of her.
I shifted to the side so I didn’t hurt her, although Zina had shown me on more than one occasion that she wasn’t fragile or delicate or one who’d be so easily overcome.
The woman was strong, capable, and not afraid to take what she wanted.
My hands roamed over her full hips, kneading the roundness of her ass. She moaned into my mouth, breaking contact just long enough for me to flip her on her back.
I got to my hands and knees and hovered over her. “How about you lose the shirt?” Her chest rose and fell with her breath, making me eager to get my hands on her.
Her brow edged up. “I will if you will.”
“Done.” I reached over my shoulder and jerked my shirt up and over my head in one smooth move.
She laughed. “Someone’s feeling frisky tonight.” Then she slowly unfastened the bottom button on her shirt, her gaze never leaving mine. A sliver of sun-kissed skin peeked through the slit.
I wanted to bend over and slide my tongue against her, but I didn’t want to rush things; I was enjoying the way the heat continued to build between us.
Her tongue flicked out, gliding over her upper lip as she pushed the next button through the hole, exposing another few inches of her stomach.
“You okay there, Captain Jaybird? You’re looking a little hot under the collar. I don’t want you to melt.”
Tempted to growl out my frustration, I kept my cool. “You’re a tease.”
“Hmm.” She moved her hands to the next button. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”