Chapter Twelve
COLTON
"Let's go freshen up, and then our evening can start," I told Zoey.
"It’s already off to a good start.”
After showering, we dressed quickly.
"Kudos for not ripping off my dress. The zipper is still working," she said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
I smirked. "You look even sexier than before."
"I have post-sex hair and lips, so yeah."
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes, but I don't feel like going to a restaurant."
"We could go over to my place and order in," I suggested.
She perked up. "I'd like that."
"Then let's go."
“Where do you live?"
"One of the penthouses on top of the building.”
"Wait, which building? This one doesn't have many stories."
"No, our office."
Her eyes bulged, and then she quickly looked away. "Okay."
"What?" I asked as we stepped outside the gym, and I locked up. "Did you drive here?"
"No, I Ubered. I figured I could charge it to the company."
"My car's here. Come on."
I watched her as she got in. She was still holding back, I was sure of it. She was ready to throw some sass, and I was going to find out what it was.
Once we were both in the car, I said, "Still waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to tell me why you're so shocked that I live above the office."
She cleared her throat. "When I found out there were penthouses above there, I kept wondering who in their right mind would want to live in an office building. It feels so impersonal."
I frowned. "It's efficient. That way, I don't lose any time commuting. And if I have an idea, I can go straight to the lab and work on it."
"Now I understand why your grandmother was worried about you. The term workaholic is thrown around a lot, but I think your picture should be in the dictionary next to the explanation."
"You're even sassier tonight."
"It's probably from the two orgasms," she said with a grin.
A few minutes later, we were entering the garage of my building. Her stomach was rumbling.
"We should have already ordered something," I said.
"Or I can just feast on you while the food comes."
I laughed. “Wait until we’re upstairs.”
After we got out of the car, she headed to the elevators that went up to the office.
"No, Zoey," I called, stopping her. "The residential elevators are in a different area."
We walked over to the far end of the garage. Stepping inside the elevator, I inserted a special card that would take us directly to my floor.
Zoey gaped. "I've only seen this in movies—people having special cards for the elevator."
"There are only six penthouses, each on a different floor. The cards take us to our respective floors," I explained.
"I feel like I've stepped into an alternate universe. I can't wait to see it."
She was so cute and sexy, and I was way more into her than I should be.
"Wow," she exclaimed when we stepped inside my place. "This is breathtaking."
The penthouse was dimly lit. The lights were activated by motion sensors and gradually lit up as we moved through the room. Since it was completely dark outside, we could see the brilliant Boston skyline through all the windows.
"It's huge. Much bigger than what I needed, but as I said, convenience comes first."
"Colton, I take everything back. I was super judgy.
This place is cozy. It doesn't even matter that it's on top of an office building.
I don't know why I automatically assumed it would look like a workplace or something.
Oh, and you've got pics of your family," she said, pointing at the mantelpiece above the electric fireplace.
The living room was enormous, with two separate sitting areas with leather couches, an integrated home cinema, and a dining area adjacent to it. Everything was done in shades of brown and white. I'd instructed my decorator to only use old wood when possible.
She went straight to the pictures. "Who's this adorable little nugget?"
"Nugget?" I asked. She grinned. "He’s my nephew, my brother Spencer's son. Ben."
"Is he the only kid in the family so far?"
"Yeah."
"I bet Ben gets spoiled."
"He's a bit too young for that, but that's the plan."
Her stomach grumbled again.
"Let's order food," I said.
"There's a Chinese place somewhere around here. We've had it delivered a couple of times at the office.”
“Go ahead and order," I said, giving her my phone.
She looked at me with wide eyes. "You want me to use your phone?"
"Yes. Since I didn't manage to take you out for dinner, I can at least treat you to Chinese."
She tapped on the screen quickly and then abruptly said, "You've got a notification. I didn't read it or anything." She sounded nervous all of a sudden.
I looked at the phone. "It's one of the apps reminding me of my daily fitness level. You want to add anything to the order?"
"No."
I clicked the green button, adding a portion for me before finalizing the order. "Should be here in twenty minutes." I put the phone in my pocket. "Now, are you going to tell me why you were so nervous?"
"What do you mean?"
"You looked at me like I was an alien when I gave you my phone."
"Right. It's just that… well, most men are cagey with their phone, and it's taboo to even glance at their screen."
"Only if you have something to hide."
She swallowed hard, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, and glanced away. It was the first time she'd been vulnerable in front of me.
"I guess you're right. You know, I actually broke up with my last ex because he was cheating on me with multiple women. Emphasis on multiple. I found out because I grabbed his phone one morning instead of mine to check the weather, and he had a lot of notifications from Tinder."
"Fuck, that's shitty."
"Yeah, and guess what? He blamed me. For snooping. He was like 'Oh, if you trusted me, you wouldn't have looked.'"
"What the fuck kind of logic is that?" I exclaimed. "Sounds like a guy who doesn't have his shit together."
"He didn't. I felt like I was nothing."
I stepped closer to her, cupping her jaw, "You're an amazing woman." What kind of idiots had she dated who could possibly make her feel like she wasn't important?
"Colton," she murmured, patting the back of my hand. "You're like a puzzle. The more time I spend with you, the more you surprise me."
I lowered my hand, kissing the side of her neck quickly, then her forehead before saying, "Do you want a drink?"
"Do you have wine?"
"I've got a whole fridge of it. You can choose one."
"Did I mention I love this place? Serves me right for being judgy. Do you have a home office?"
"No, I don't want to bring work home, ever."
She scoffed. "So you do have boundaries with work? Ha, the joke's on you because now you brought me home from work."
I growled, pulling her close to me and walking backward with her until I plastered her against the fridge door. "I'm crossing all boundaries when it comes to you, Zoey, but I can't help myself. I've been fighting with myself ever since you stepped into my lab."
"Why?" she whispered.
I caressed her cheek with my fingertips, tracing the contour of her mouth, then swallowed as I stepped back.
"You already know my father had another family."
Her eyes dimmed, and she nodded.
"The other woman was someone he worked with for a while," I continued.
She rolled her shoulders back, interlacing her fingers in front of her.
"She moved away after a bit, and he always used work as an excuse to fly over there and be with his other family.
They lived in Maine—" I shook my head. Why the hell am I even talking about this?
She doesn't need to know all the details.
"Anyway, long story short, I promised myself that I’d never start something with a woman I worked with.
And here I am, breaking my rule. I can't help but draw comparisons between me and my father. "
"Colton." Her voice shook as she walked to the kitchen island. "I don't know everything that transpired. But even though I've only known you for a short while, I can tell with certainty that you're nothing like your father."
"You can't possibly know that."
She smiled, poking my chest. "Yes, I can. I have a sixth sense when it comes to people, and you are not a jackass. Grumpy and a workaholic, yes, but not a jackass. That's the difference," she said, turning around. "I want that wine." She pointed at a bottle of Maxwell’s pinot noir.
"Great choice." I took it out of the fridge. It had two dial controls, with separate temperatures for white and red wine. I immediately uncorked the bottle, then poured it in two glasses.
"To a great evening," she toasted as we clinked glasses.
"For the start of something great. This evening did not go as I'd planned, but I have the rest of it to make it up to you."
She smiled, taking a sip. "Just so you know, I think we're off to a fantastic start.”
“You deserve more than sex in a gym, and I'm going to give it to you. I just lost my head completely."
"That is music to my ears," she said. Her stomach grumbled loudly as she took another sip of wine. "This will go straight to my head, but I have a feeling you'll take advantage of me anyway."
"Zoey," I growled.
"I'm totally on board with that, in case you were wondering." She pushed her ass back, straight into my crotch, and then rubbed herself against me briefly. I was already getting semihard.
"Woman, goddamn it. I already mauled you in the gym."
"So you agree?"
"Fuck yes," I said. "It's not very gentlemanly of me."
"No, but it will be so satisfying."
Zoey was something else completely. She loved life and having fun and was determined to enjoy herself every moment. I was sure she’d had her fair share of rough times, too, but she wasn’t letting that get her down.
"Tell me more about your family," I said.
"Well, as I told you, there are three of us. I'm the youngest. I've got two older brothers."
"That must have been interesting growing up."
"Oh, it was," she murmured in a soft voice. "The boys are super protective of me."
"I agree with that. If I had a sister, I'd be protective of her as well."
"We’re also close because we shared a room for years."
I frowned. "You shared a room?"