Chapter Twenty-One
Melina
After taking the fastest shower in history, I rushed to get dressed for work. But my hands were shaking so badly, I could barely button my blouse.
“Screw it,” I muttered under my breath as I ripped the shirt off and switched it out for a sweater instead.
Once dressed, I pinned my hair back and stared myself in the eyes through the vanity mirror. “Get your shit together, Melina. You are the fire.”
But my pep talk did nothing.
Zane was in my home, talking to my father, and I still had no idea where this relationship was headed. If it was headed anywhere at all.
I wanted to believe it was. Wanted to believe it was possible that it even could. But part of me still doubted.
Sure, we were great in bed, and I liked him with his clothes on as well, but we were still worlds apart in so many ways.
His family owned the resort, for fuck’s sake.
Zane owned his own home and had more money than he’d probably ever need, while I had more debt than I cared to admit.
He chose to bartend. I had no choice but to work myself into the ground.
Would he still want to call himself my boyfriend once he understood what he was getting into? Or would he look at me with pity in his eyes—the one thing I couldn’t stomach from anyone, least of all him?
The stairs seemed never-ending as I raced down them, my coat and purse clutched tightly in my hands. I rounded the corner to the living room, my heart in my throat, but the sight and sounds that greeted me stopped me in my tracks.
They were laughing.
All of them.
My sisters both seemed enchanted by him. Or maybe even halfway in love, judging from their bright, mooning smiles. Even Dad looked happy with one corner of his mouth tipping up as he struggled through a laugh.
I leaned against the doorframe and let myself just watch for a second.
My father, who’d barely left his room for months, was sitting upright and laughing with a man he’d met yesterday.
Lucy was perched on the arm of the couch, giggling.
Olivia was in full performance mode, probably saying something wildly inappropriate.
And Zane was right in the middle of it all, looking like he belonged there.
Something swelled in my chest—too big and too fragile to name.
But really, what else had I expected? Everyone who met Zane loved him.
Maybe even me.
“Ready to go?” I called, pushing off the doorframe before I could sit with that thought too long. What good was falling in love with him if I’d only have to watch him walk away eventually?
But when his eyes met mine, his smile intensified, and something deeper sparked inside me. “Whenever you are.”
Damn him.
The ride to work was quiet, but my nerves were still running amok. Zane didn’t say anything. He just held my hand, his thumb stroking over mine with a steady reassurance that said more than words could.
I tried to pull away as we drove under the sign that welcomed us to Copper Ridge Resort, but he refused to let go.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured with a sly smile. “I don’t expect a kiss goodbye, but I don’t want to let you go until I have to.”
Every time he opened his mouth, he managed to say something more romantic than the time before. Things that made me feel special and wonderful. Things that made Becky’s cruel words seem distant and inconsequential.
Zane pulled up to the front doors to let me out, and I didn’t even argue. A coworker giving me a ride was not a big deal. There were no rules in the employee handbook about that.
He gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m working tonight, but I can take you home on my break.”
“You don’t have to. I can find a ride.”
His lips drew into a thin line, and he inhaled deeply.
“Unless you really want to,” I said, giving in to my growing desire to solidify this thing. This relationship.
Because that’s what it was, wasn’t it? A real relationship. One I wanted to nurture and watch grow.
His breath let out in a heavy rush. “Yeah, firecracker.” He turned to me with a look of longing. “I really do. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I like doing things for you.”
“I might have noticed a little.” Or a lot.
How could it escape me? He seemed to be constantly doing things for others—his neighbor, my sister, our coworkers, and me. But it made me wonder when the last time was someone had done something nice for him. And not as a return on a favor, but just because he was worth it.
I still couldn’t risk kissing him in public, but I squeezed his hand back and puckered my lips, sending a smack through the air. “See you later, Zane Alexander.”
“Get your sweet ass out of my truck before I change my mind about letting you go.”
With a lightness in my chest that I hadn’t felt in over a year, I slid out of his truck and went to work.
The day went by without too much hassle.
The decorations for the Winter Festival Dance were almost hung in the wrong room, but I caught it just in time.
One of the weddings on the docket got canceled but was quickly replaced with another, and the honeymoon suite somehow got double-booked.
But I handled it, just like I always did. Only today, it felt easier.
And when the end of my shift rolled around, I didn’t even think about staying. There was nothing urgent enough that needed my attention, and maybe more importantly, I couldn’t wait to see Zane.
So, I didn’t.
With a confidence I didn’t know I possessed, I did the one thing I’d avoided for almost a year. I intentionally walked into The Summit with my head held high and my hopes even higher.
For early on a Wednesday evening, the place sure was busy, but the lively hum of the room seemed to dim when my gaze landed on him.
Dressed in a standard black button-down, Zane stood behind the bar, his dark hair curling at the ends and his bright smile standing out against his scruffy jaw.
Why did he have to look so good? Especially when I could do nothing but stare.
Gathering my recently discovered courage, I sauntered toward the bar. The closer I got, the warmer I felt, and I had to bite the inside of my lip to try and distract from my surging hormones.
I was only a few steps away when the blonde woman he was serving caught my eye. She was leaned in close, chin propped on her hand, eyes locked on Zane like he was on the menu.
“I’ve got an entire suite to myself.” Her expertly manicured fingers toyed over her glass. “And you should see the view. Maybe when you’re done with your shift?”
My lip stung where I’d been biting it as I clenched my teeth hard together, but I didn’t slow my stride. I pulled up a stool, a few down from the blonde, and rested my elbows on the bar top, crossing my arms over each other.
Zane’s eyes landed on me just as the other bartender approached. “Hey, Melina.”
“Hi,” I greeted, looking up to his cheerful face and feeling like a jerk for not knowing his name. But when I heard Zane mumble something to the woman about already having the best view imaginable, I smiled.
“You want a drink?” the other bartender asked, placing a hand on the bar in front of me.
“Take a hike, Colin. She doesn’t want anything from you,” Zane growled as he stalked toward us.
“Oh, it’s like that, then, is it?” Colin’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Are you sure you want to put up with this guy?”
My eyes locked on Zane’s as heat coursed through me. “It’s really not much of a hardship.”
With a light chuckle, Colin glanced to Zane. “Good. I was getting tired of his mopey ass.”
Pushing Colin aside, Zane leaned close to me with his elbows on the bar, mirroring my posture. “Hey there, my sexy little firecracker,” he murmured low enough so that only I could hear.
“Hey.” I stared into his intoxicating gaze, and for a moment I almost forgot where we were and the rules I was trying to follow. My mouth went dry as I licked my lips, tempted to close the short distance between us and kiss him.
“You ready to go home now?” He shifted his arms, moving even closer, his pinky finger grazing over mine.
“Yes, please.”
We’d barely made it into his truck, parked in the back corner of the lot, before he was pulling me in for a scorching kiss.
He hummed against my lips. “Missed you.”
My heart soared as he carefully drove us away from the hotel. “How much time do you have on your break?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got enough time to get you off and then get you home before I need to come back. Colin will cover for me if I’m late.”
“What?” My breath caught as he turned his truck away from the resort exit and toward a back service road instead.
“You heard me.”
We drove along the unused road, every bump of the tires emphasizing the ache between my thighs, until we came to an old log cabin.
“What is this place?” Hell, I hadn’t even known it existed.
“It’s an old trapper’s cabin,” he said, parking the truck between the trees. “It was the first place ever built on this property. But don’t worry, we’re not going inside.”
“We’re not?”
“No, it’s probably not even safe. But the lot is nice and private. Now, forget about the cabin and come here.”
He pushed his seat back as far as it would go and beckoned for me to join him. Just like before, I crawled into his lap without hesitation. Only this time, I didn’t wait for his hands to slide up my skirt.
My mouth met his, and with the same boldness I’d felt walking into the bar, I tugged at his belt and unfastened his pants.
“Fuck, Melina,” he panted, strain clear in his tone. “I don’t have a condom.”
“That’s okay.” I slid down his body, wedging myself between his lap and the steering wheel, while simultaneously freeing his erection. “I don’t like the taste of latex anyway.”
He inhaled sharply as my tongue darted out to lick over his crown, the taste of pre-cum filling my senses.
“Fuck me,” he mumbled, the muscles of his stomach contracting.
God, he was the sexiest man alive, and being with him made me feel daring and wild. Like I could step out of my measured, predictable ways and let my inner rebel run free.
I looked up to his heated gaze. “Yes, I plan to…with my mouth.”
One of his hands sank into my hair, his long fingers pulling provocatively through the thick strands. His lips parted with another low curse when I drew my tongue over him from root to tip.
I was already wet, my pussy aching to be filled, but when I closed my lips around him and he grunted, “Yes, like that,” I just about crawled out of my skin with need.
I’d never been good at this. Or maybe it was just that I’d never had the right partner, because I’d always felt like I was fumbling through it. But now, the heat in his gaze and the way he bit his lip and moaned my name made me feel like the queen of blow jobs.
And when he called me firecracker and told me my mouth was perfect and made for him, I didn’t want to stop. I closed my eyes and pushed past all my previous comfort zones, taking him to the back of my throat until I gagged, lavishing him with the attention he deserved.
“Eyes up here,” he ordered roughly, tugging on my hair. And when I listened, snapping my gaze up to meet his, he rewarded me with a murmured, “That’s my girl.”
A moan slipped past my lips as they glided over his length. A praise kink I didn’t know I had sparked to life inside me, making everything burn hotter.
I moved my hand to cover his at the back of my head, silently urging him to set the pace. To use me in a way I’d never even thought to desire.
After a few short minutes of our game of give and take, his breathing grew ragged and his jaw hardened. “I’m going to come,” he said, trying to pull me off him.
But I doubled down, sealing my lips in a way that created a light suction. With a strangled shout, his cock jerked, and he was coming in my mouth.
I swallowed every drop and didn’t pull away until I’d licked him clean.
When I finally sat up, wiping the corner of my mouth with my thumb, his head was tipped back against the headrest, his eyes half-closed, his chest heaving.
“Fuck,” he breathed, staring at me like I’d just performed a miracle. “Get up here.”
He pulled me back into his lap and kissed me, deep and slow, his hands cradling my face like I was something precious. When he pulled back, his forehead resting against mine, he whispered, “You’re incredible. You know that, right?”
I didn’t. Not usually. But the way he said it—wrecked and reverent, still catching his breath—made me want to believe it.