Chapter 10
I Would Do Anything For You
ZARA
“Chance, what are you doing?” I croak.
I must have fallen asleep on the way to Ares’s apartment, despite it being just a fifteen minute drive from the Country Club.
Rather than waking me up like a normal person, Chance decided to pull me out of the Jeep and carry me into his brother’s place.
“I’m carrying you.” His tone is very matter-of-fact, his dark blue eyes roving over me as if he were trying to check that I’m still in one piece.
“I gathered that much.” I object. “But Mason hurt my throat, not my legs. I can walk.”
My stepbrother keeps walking, not showing any intention of stopping or putting me down. “I don’t mind carrying you, baby. Besides, I promised Ares that I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”
“Arguing with you is impossible. Holding my hand would be more than enough.” I attempt to chuckle, but my throat stings so much that I end up coughing as pain radiates down my neck and reverberates into my ears.
“See?” Chance takes my coughing as proof that I can’t walk after all.
Once we arrive at the front door, he balances me on one arm, shuffling to get the key ready to open the door. A shopping bag with the Country Club’s logo is dangling from his forearm.
I swallow a couple of times to wet my vocal cords enough to be able to speak. “You could at least give me that bag.”
“No need. You know I can multitask, even if I’m a man.”
His smirk is sexy and adorable at the same time as he steps into Ares’s apartment and kicks the door shut behind him.
“You can put me down now.” I say as he walks toward Ares’s kitchenette with me still in his arms.
“Nah,” his smile is softer this time. “I like you just where you are right now.”
I like that too, but having his arms full with me is definitely making things harder.
Like when he grabs Ares’s electric kettle with one hand and then turns sideways to try using his elbow to open the faucet at the kitchen sink to fill it with water.
“Chance.” I scold him. “This is getting ridiculous. If you don’t want to put me down, at least let me help. I can fill that kettle.”
He relents. “Fine. I’ll allow that. Would you also mind grabbing the bag and setting it down on the counter?
Jules said to make you a drink with hot water, honey and lemon juice to help soothe your throat.
We should find the honey in one of those kitchen cabinets.
This kitchen is tiny; it shouldn’t take long. ”
A hot drink sounds heavenly right about now. “Ok.” I agree, flicking the kettle on once I set it back onto its base. “But before I enjoy a hot drink, I need to take a shower. I need to wash this day off of me.”
In reality, I need to wash the feeling of Mason’s hands off me, but I don’t say it out loud.
Chance walks through the bedroom and into the en-suite bathroom.
“You know I can shower without supervision, right?” I say when he sets me down on the bathroom counter and goes to turn on the shower.
“I know.” He murmurs, returning to stand between my legs. His big, slightly calloused hands come up to cup my jaw. Chance’s touch is gentle, despite his imposing size. “And if you want me to leave you alone, I can go make your drink.”
I shake my head. “That wasn’t what I meant. I just—” I don’t even know what it is. “I feel… I guess I feel kinda dirty.” A shudder works its way down my spine at the memory of Mason’s hands on me, of him pressing himself against me.
My stepbrother’s gaze hardens, his dark blue eyes blazing with barely repressed fury. “Please tell me that Ares and I got there on time. Did he…?”
I know what he’s asking me.
“No.” My voice is barely audible. I swallow a couple of times, fighting the tears that well into my eyes and set my throat on fire. “But I thought he was going to kill me.”
Chance closes his arms around me, and it feels like armor. Strong, protective, impenetrable. “I’m sorry, baby.”
His heart is beating fast and hard beneath my ear as my head rests on his solid chest.
“It isn’t your fault.” I lift my face to look into his eyes again. “If you and Ares hadn’t gotten there, I would have fought. He could have killed me, but I would have killed him too.”
He nods. “I know. You’re my brave, wild hellraiser. That was what made me fall for you even more than how fucking hot you are. When you raced tied to me on the back of my bike, I knew you were the one. I love you, Zara.”
Heat rises to my face. I know Chance means every word. It’s written all over his face.
“I love you too, Chance.”
He dips his head, his lips brushing against mine.
“Wait.” I rear back, covering my mouth with my hand. “When Mason was… when he started opening his pants, I puked all over him. I can’t let you kiss me until I brush my teeth.”
Chance kisses my knuckles, his lips soft and incredibly gentle. “I don’t care.”
“But I do.” I argue. “Just give me a second, ok? Ares gave me a toothbrush when I stayed over on his birthday.”
“Ok.” He takes a step back, just enough that he can guide me down to the floor with his hands on my hips.
My body drags over his chest as I slide down, and a throb of need courses through me, settling between my legs.
Our eyes lock as he keeps me glued to his front.
“My toothbrush is over there.” I point out the glass on the counter. “If you don’t mind.”
Chance moves, but rather than getting out of my way, he grabs one of the two toothbrushes—surprisingly guessing correctly that the blue one is his brother’s and the green one is mine—and puts toothpaste on it.
“Open.”
I take the toothbrush out of his hand with a shake of my head. “I’m gonna tell you again. My throat hurts, but my hands work just fine. I can brush my teeth myself. I don’t need your help.”
“I know.” His smile is completely unrepentant. “But I’m here for whatever you need. I would do anything for you, Zara.”
Chance
“I know.” She murmurs, mirroring what I just told her. “I would do anything for you, too. But seriously, I can do this without any help.”
“Ok. Do you want me to go make that hot drink, so it’s ready for you once you’re done in the shower?”
To my surprise, she shakes her head, pulling the toothbrush out of her mouth to speak. “No. I don’t need you to brush my teeth for me, but maybe I don’t mind some help in the shower.”
“Are you sure?” I meet her gaze through the mirror that hangs above the bathroom sink.
Even if Morelli didn’t succeed in forcing himself on Zara, she might still be in shock.
I want to make sure she understands that I can help her get clean, and I can sleep with her in my arms without taking things further.
The last thing I want is for her to feel pressured into anything, especially at a time when she might be more vulnerable than normal.
“I’m positive.” She nods after spitting the toothpaste into the sink and rinsing the residue, and turning around to face me.
“Ok.” I undo my tie and then shed my suit jacket. My shirt is next, followed by my pants.
Zara’s eyes stay on me the entire time.
When my fingers hook into the waistband of my boxer briefs, her gaze follows the movement.
My cock was already at half-mast from being so close to her before, but it hardens under her scrutiny and springs free from my underwear.
I’m standing totally naked in front of Zara, but she’s still in the little black dress she borrowed from Lev’s mom’s closet.
“Are you going to shower in that?”
Her lips curl in a little smile, her eyes rolling at my question.
“This dress has a zipper in the back,” she turns around again and points at the small black zipper pull. “I need your help.”
She doesn’t need to ask twice.
“Here you go.” I pull the zipper all the way down, my eyes intent on the creamy skin of her back emerging as the two halves of the dress open.
The soft fabric of the black dress pools by her feet, and I realize that Zara wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. I had forgotten that she had to go commando since she didn’t have a change of underwear at Lev’s.
She’s standing in front of me in nothing but the black high heels she also borrowed from Lev’s mom.
I offer her my hand when she kicks the first shoe off to help her keep her balance.
I don’t let go after she’s completely naked, guiding her to the shower and opening the cubicle door for her.
This isn’t the first time Zara and I have taken a shower together. My memory goes to that first weekend after she moved in, before our parents’ wedding made her my stepsister.
We were washing off the sand from the beach behind our house, and Lev joined us too.
It’s crazy to think that it’s been barely a couple of months since then; so many things have happened between us and in general.
Back then I felt the same intense attraction I feel for her right now. But I could have never imagined how hard and fast I would fall for her.
She closes her eyes under the warm jet of the shower, and I pour some of Lev’s body wash onto a washcloth.
Washing every inch of Zara’s soft, perfect body is the sweetest form of torture I could ever imagine. My cock twitches with need at the sight of how the water sluices over her perfect tits. Her pink nipples, two hard points, beg for my mouth.
I could hoist her up against the shower wall and take her right now, but I fight the urge.
Instead, I gently wash down her stomach and between her legs, watching the way her chest heaves.
“Can I return the favor?” Her outstretched hand is waiting for the wash cloth and I give it to her.
I’m a glutton for punishment, and I tell myself that I’m not going to take things further unless I’m one hundred percent sure that this is what she wants.
Torture doesn’t even belong in describing the feeling of her small hands running that soapy washcloth over every inch of my body.
She puts the washcloth back onto the shelf built into the side of the wall and pours more body wash onto the palm of her hand.
There is one last part of me she hasn’t washed yet, the one that jumps excitedly when Zara’s sudsy hands run from the base to the tip of my hard shaft.