Chapter 21
Zeus
Meeting Yas in front of Sarah’s, Tiger’s leash in hand, Zeus enjoyed giving her a long once-over as she and Hope came out the door.
She’d forgotten that she needed to walk Hope before they left, so now they were going to do it together.
Like last night, she’d chosen not to appear in public, even on the street, in her sweats.
Today she was dressed more like the woman he’d first met—slim-fitted jeans that rolled up to expose some of her ankles and calves to the warming air, a simple maroon t-shirt that brought out the pink in her dusky cheeks, and her hair pulled back in a high, sleek ponytail.
Her cheeks turned redder when their gazes met.
“Good morning,” he said as she came down the walkway to meet him at the sidewalk.
“Morning.” She glanced at him, then away, and then back at him. As though she wasn’t sure what she should do.
Part of him wanted to reach out and take her hand, but he doubted she’d accept that from him right now. Not when she was so determined to keep things casual.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, smoothly turning, so it was easy for her to join him. As they started to walk, he saw her relax.
He wondered if it was the text about the blow job that had made her so tense. Not that he regretted it, even if it was. Although he wouldn’t hold her to it if it made her uncomfortable.
“I did. And I slept in, which I haven’t done in ages.” Yas smiled at him, pausing as Hope stopped to sniff a mailbox. “Sarah’s guest bedroom is very comfortable. Plus, the whole not having to worry about that guy finding me.”
“That would help,” he agreed, grateful she’d given him such an easy segue into the topic. “Do you know anything more about him?”
“Other than the fact that I’m guessing he’s married to one of the women who took a financial course from me, no.
” Yasmine shook her head, sighing as her ponytail flipped back and forth.
Hope lifted her head, and they started walking again, Tiger straining to lead the way—not that anyone was fighting him for it.
“I do some volunteer work for a local women’s shelter.
Though I suppose he could be married to one of my college students, the women’s shelter seems more likely. ”
Zeus would be willing to bet his whole house that the women’s shelter belonged to Naomi.
“That makes sense. How did you end up getting into that?” he asked casually.
“Oh, I’m friends with the woman who runs it.”
They paused again as Hope and Tiger both tried to sniff at the same spot.
Zeus couldn’t see anything different about that piece of sidewalk, but Hope peed on it, immediately followed by Tiger when she moved out of the way, so clearly there was something in their opinion.
He was always amused at what Tiger chose to take notice of, and it was even more amusing with Hope following suit.
“How did you meet her?” he asked, giving her a look out of the corner of his eye as an unwelcome thought occurred to him. “Did you…”
“Oh, no, I never needed the shelter for that, thankfully,” Yas said, shaking her head. “Naomi and I actually met at a… um… club that we’re both members of.”
“The Outlands?” He asked the question before he could think about it, which wasn’t like him, but he knew that Drew and Naomi were members, and Yas had just confirmed that it was Naomi’s shelter.
Yas startled at his response, and he realized he might need to give a little more information.
“I ah, I know a Naomi, too. And she’s part of the club I go to. ”
“You go to The Outlands?” She relaxed, not sounding entirely surprised. “I’ve never seen you there.”
“I haven’t seen you there, either. I don’t go much.
” He didn’t tell her that he didn’t go much because the last time he’d been there, it had been with his ex, Noelle, and now he didn’t feel like going when the only people he’d really know were his untrusting team members. Even if they had invited him recently.
“I don’t go much anymore, either. I was doing house parties for a little bit, but…” Yas shrugged. “Too many exes abound.”
He chuckled. The urge to reach out and hold her hand was growing stronger as they walked down the sidewalk, but he managed to resist by shoving the hand closest to her into his pocket.
“Well, now that we’ve established we’re both members of The Outlands and kinky… that should make things interesting. I’m assuming you’re submissive.”
“Why, because I’m a woman?” she retorted, though there wasn’t any heat in her words.
Zeus was pretty sure she just couldn’t help but brat at times, especially when she was feeling a little vulnerable. He didn’t mind since it let him know exactly when he’d hit on a sensitive point.
Tiger and Hope had come to another halt, so he took another step toward Yas, crowding her space. She sucked in a breath, looking up at him with widening eyes, her pupils dilating.
“No, because last night you enjoyed submitting to me,” he said in a low, growling voice. “Even if we didn’t call it that at the time.”
Rather than responding, Yas huffed and looked away. Then she frowned.
“What is your dog doing?”
Zeus looked over to see Tiger getting ready to poop—which for him meant backing his butt up into a bush. He was used to it enough by now that he’d forgotten how weird it might look to someone who didn’t regularly walk Tiger.
“He likes to hide his poop,” he explained with a sigh. “It’s usually not a problem, except when he does it in a rose bush. The thorns can be a pain in the ass.”
Yas stared at Tiger, who was finishing up his business.
“That is so weird.”
“I’m kind of used to it now,” Zeus said, sighing again as he pulled the poop bag from the little pocket on Tiger’s harness and crouched down.
The dog had chosen a very large bush, and he was good at backing himself up, so Zeus had to crouch down low and stretch to reach it for cleanup.
“He was a rescue, so sometimes I wonder if his previous owner trained him to do this, to try to hide the poops so he wouldn’t have to clean it up, or if it’s just something Tiger does on his own. ”
Yas giggled as she watched him tend to the duty.
“So, you have to do this every time he poops?”
“Mostly. Sometimes, he can’t find a handy bush, but it’s definitely his preference. Weirdo dog.” The weirdo dog in question came up to lean against Zeus’ thigh, panting happily, as Zeus tied the bag off. “Yes, you weirdo.” He gave Tiger a quick pat. “Let’s go.”
“How long have you had him?” Yas asked.
The conversation for the rest of the walk veered away from The Outlands and kink and sex, which Zeus was fine with. He wondered if Yas realized that it bordered on going against her rules about keeping things non-relationship-y.
For someone who didn’t want to cross that boundary, she did seem to want to get to know him. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to point it out to her if she didn’t notice.
Yasmine
As Yasmine pulled in front of her house, she could feel her tension rising again, even knowing that Zeus was in the car right behind her.
She was glad he was there because she did feel safer than if she’d come home by herself.
Especially when he got out of the car, and his gaze focused on her little house, every line in his body on alert.
“Let me go in first,” he said, glancing at her.
She blinked.
“You think he could be inside?”
“No, but at the same time I’m here, so I might as well check it out just in case since you weren’t home last night.”
Well, that made sense. And she had to admit it did things to her girl parts to have him be all take-charge and protective.
Yasmine didn’t like to consider herself a damsel in distress, but she also knew when she was out of her depth.
Right now, she was very much so. If Zeus hadn’t been here, she probably would have called Claudia, so it wasn’t like she was completely helpless…
But it was still hot to have him here, being all bossy and keeping her safe.
“Lead the way,” she said, handing him her key.
She’d left Hope at Sarah’s for now, since Hope had seemed tired out after the walk and had already flopped down on her doggy bed in the living room while Yas had grabbed her bag.
Hope had wagged her tail when Yasmine went over to her but hadn’t seemed interested in getting up.
The fact that meant Yasmine had to go back to Sarah’s later and that it would probably make sense to just stay there had nothing to do with it.
It wasn’t like she and Zeus even had plans for tonight. He might already have something else to do. So, she wasn’t returning for him; she was returning for Hope.
As she went to pick up her bag, Zeus beat her to the punch and hefted her bag in his hand.
Yasmine almost tried to stop him and take her bag back, but on the other hand, he might just be being mannerly.
He didn’t even seem to notice that he’d done it, as if it had been automatic for him.
She shouldn’t stop him from being chivalrous just because that was the kind of thing she expected her boyfriends to do.
Anyone could be polite or generous. In fact, she was pretty sure Zeus was the type who would have taken her bag even if he’d had no sexual interest in her at all, just because it was the right thing to do.
As soon as they got through the front door, he set the bag down.
“Stay here.”
Bemused, she stood in place as he prowled through the one-level home.
It had a big main room, which included the kitchen and eating area, then a hallway to the two bedrooms and a powder room.
The bedroom on the left was hers, and the one on the right was her home office, though she did have a pullout in there for when she had guests.
She watched as Zeus made quick work of giving himself a little tour, noting that he only looked into the bedrooms, rather than going into them.
“No need to search my closet or bathroom?” she teased as he made his way back to her.
“I can if it will make you feel better, but no, I don’t think there’s a need to,” he replied seriously.
“I think I’m good.” She glanced around. “Nothing looks out of place.” Everything was just how she’d left it.
“Good. I’m going to go grab the security system and get it set up. You said you got a doorbell?”
Nodding, Yasmine gestured at the box on the table to her left. It was the only box on the table, so it was hard to miss.
“Got it. Go do whatever you need to do, and I’ll get this handled.” He flashed her a quick smile that warmed her right down to her toes.
There was something to be said for a man who knew what he was doing. Even better when she could believe he knew what he was doing and not just blowing smoke up her ass.
Grabbing her bag, she took it back to her bedroom, then returned to the kitchen. She was hungry, and even though he’d been up before her, she would guess he would probably be hungry soon, too.
Zeus came back in and got to work immediately—not just on her front door, though that was where he started, but also at each of her windows.
She couldn’t help but glance at him every couple of seconds as she threw together some eggs and avocado toast. The tea kettle beeped and turned off when the water inside hit its boiling point, and Yasmine grabbed her mug.
“Zeus, do you want any tea?” she asked.
“Do you have coffee?” He was half in, half out of her house at the front door, pausing in his movements as he did whatever he was doing with the doorbell.
“No, sorry. I normally try to keep some for guests, but I ran out and haven’t restocked.
” Partly because she hadn’t been planning on having any morning guests for a while.
“But I have Breakfast Blend, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Orange Spice black tea, or Jasmine green tea.” She’d never been able to stand the taste of coffee, but she loved her teas, and she liked to have options to keep things interesting.
“I’ll take whatever you’re having,” he said, refocusing on his current project.
Today felt like an Orange Spice black tea kind of morning. She poured the water over each of the tea bags, letting them steep while she finished up with the avocado toast.
“Do you like avocado and eggs?” she asked, pausing before she started slicing some more avocado.
“Together?” He glanced over again.
“I’m making avocado toast, and I usually put my egg on top, but I can put them separately, or leave one out if you prefer.”
“I’ll eat almost anything; I was just curious,” he said. “Whatever you’re having will be great.”
Well, that was easy. Yasmine finished both plates, took them to the table, then disposed of the tea bags from each mug before setting them on the table.
She got silverware, the sugar caddy, and her little creamer container from the fridge and set those down as well.
The final touch was two glasses of water.
Zeus got to his feet just as she put the glasses down.
“Doorbell’s installed,” he said.
“Really? That was quick.” She hadn’t expected it to be so soon; she thought he would have to take a break.
“Yeah, that’s the easy part. It’ll take me longer to do the security system,” he explained, coming over to examine the spread she’d put together. Yasmine looked down at it as well, suddenly seeing it with fresh eyes and wishing she’d been a little less herself.
Both plates had sourdough toast in the middle, with thin slices of avocado over them, topped with the sunny-side-up eggs and cracked black pepper, with a slice of lemon on the side. It was far fancier than she probably should have done for someone she was just fucking, not dating.
“This looks great,” Zeus said, pulling out one of the chairs. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Well, if he hadn’t noticed that this was probably too much effort for a meal with a hookup, she wasn’t going to point it out to him. She was going to have to watch herself in the future, though. It was too easy to fall into the patterns of the past.
Especially with a man like him.
But she had to keep her heart and hopes out of it—she wasn’t sure she could take them breaking again.