“I was, but it’s shower time. Keep your body parts to yourself,” I joke, tipping my hair back in the spray.
“Keep your eyeballs off my body parts,” Zane jokes back, knocking my hands away so he can take over the job.
“But I like looking at them.”
“Alessa,” Zane growls, “you’re two seconds away from me bending you over the side of this fucking bathtub,” he threatens, picking up my shampoo and massaging it into my hair.
“Zane,” I growl back, but it doesn’t sound even close to as deep as his. He cracks up laughing.
“That was weak, Beautiful. You sounded like a pissed-off kitten,” he quips, rinsing the shampoo from my hair.
My mouth pops open. “A pissed-off kitten?”
Chuckling, he massages my conditioner in. “Rawr.” I can’t help; I lose it laughing. I forgot that Zane isn’t always brooding and scowling; he’s playful when he wants to be, especially with me.
We finish up in the shower, still joking and laughing. Wrapping towels around our bodies, we brush our teeth, then Zane reaches down, picking up my hairbrush. Stepping behind me, he slowly and gently brushes my long hair out, just like he used to.
“I missed you,” I say softly. He looks into the mirror, locking hisgaze with mine, and the expression on his face takes my breath away. It’s like everything he’s been wanting was just handed to him.
Laying my hairbrush down, he locks his arms around me from behind. “I missed you so fucking much, Beautiful.”
No matter what happens after everything settles down, I know Zane will still be in my life. It seems silly now to second guess how we feel about each other.
Chapter 22
Gage
Laying on Les’ bed, I wait for her and Zane to come out of the bathroom. I can hear her sweet laughter floating through the door and lay here soaking it all in. I heard her screaming his name this morning, so I know he woke her up the right way.
Bringing Zane in was a gamble; I knew that. But after last night, I don’t doubt he’s where he needs to be. When those cops arrested him, my heart was hammering in my chest. I wonder what will happen to her if he’s ripped away from her again.
After Zane took her to bed, we all stayed up, talking about the difference in Les. Not just from Zane being here, but from all of us. Last night in the movie room far exceeded every fucking expectation I’ve ever had if we ever had Les again at the same time. She responded beautifully, just like I knew she would. Fucking Ryder was also a plus. The whole scene keeps playing through my head like a movie.
Even though Leo and I agreed that we could explore within the group, I made sure after we went to bed that he was still on board with it. His answer was hammering my ass into a new fucking dimension. Safe to say, he’s fine with it.
Les and Zane stumble out of the bathroom, Zane’s lips locked on hers, oblivious to me lying here. He falls backward on the bed withher on top of him, his head hitting my thigh. Zane jerks his mouth away from hers, looking upside down at me.
I grin. “Hey, Big daddy.”
“Ew. Don’t call him that.”
“Why? He has that daddy vibe.”
Zane snorts. “Just because I’m older than you fuckers doesn’t mean I have daddy vibes.”
“Hm,” Les hums, running her hands up his bare chest. “No, daddy vibes. He just has BDE.”
“BDE?” Zane asks with a frown.
“Big dick energy,” I answer with a laugh.
He grins down at Les. “Is that right?”
“You know you do,” she says with a roll of her eyes. Sliding to her feet, she looks at me. “Is everyone here?”
“Yeah. That’s why I came to get you, but I didn’t want to interrupt.”
She walks to the side of the bed, laying her lips on mine. My hands go to her towel, and she swats them away. “None of that,” she says with a laugh, taking a step back.
