I knew it!I knew he would do this. Yet I convinced myself that we could have fun and I wouldn’t care.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
My heart is aching. Stomach churning. I throw the blankets angrily aside and climb out of bed. Motherfucking asshole! Fucks me silly and abandons me before daylight even hits. Bastard!
Well, I’m not going to let him get away with it again.
Grabbing sweatpants and a hoodie, I quickly dress, deciding I need coffee before I tear him a new asshole. Coffee… and maybe Grace and Skyler to vent to. No point keeping my latest fuck-up a secret from them this time.
Throwing open my bedroom door, I storm out and down the hall toward the kitchen, fuming. I imagine I’ve got steam coming out of my ears like an old fucking cartoon. That’s how mad I am!
When I see that no good lying piece of shit…
I step out of the hall and freeze at the sight of a shirtless Zander standing at the stove. He’s making pancakes, and I smell coffee.
Blinking, I can’t seem to move or fully comprehend what’s going on right now.
He’s still here.
He didn’t leave.
Zander suddenly glances my way and his face lights up with a big smile.
“Good morning,” he exclaims.
I don’t respond right away because I’m so worked up, but I realize that it’s unfounded. Sucking in a deep breath, I force myself to calm down and break out of the rage tornado I was flying into the room with.
“Morning,” I murmur when I finally get my heart beating at a normal rate.
As he studies me, his smile slowly dies and his brow furrows as realization comes over him.
Sighing, he shakes his head. “Rylee, come and sit down.”
He motions toward a barstool by the island and I drag my feet to do as I’m told. The moment I plop down onto the stool, Zander places his hands on the island on either side of me. I gasp as he brings his face close to mine, my cheeks flushing.
“So,” he begins in a low, rumbling tone, “you thought I left, didn’t you?”
Flinching, I nibble my bottom lip before hesitantly nodding.
“Uh… yeah,” I confess. “I did.”
He groans and drops his head, shaking it. “Rylee, I wouldn’t do that.”
“But you already did,” I argue. “At the wedding, you slept with me and then left without a word… ”
He looks back up at me, his eyes flashing. “Look, I know you think I’m some asshole who took advantage of you, but you were drunk at the wedding and I was going to just take you into your room and let you sleep it off after Jensen’s brother bailed and asked me to look after you.”
I frown. What? I don’t remember… I mean, I remember hanging around Jensen’s brother most of the night, but he didn’t…
“We danced, had fun,” Zander continues. “When it came time to take you to your room, I was just going to leave you there, but you asked me to stay. Demanded I stay, actually. You wanted to have sex, but I just couldn’t, not with you being so drunk. You said that if I couldn’t please you, you’d leave the room and find someone who would. I couldn’t allow that, because from the beginning, something about you drew me in. But we didn’t have sex, and I only left because after I made you come, you then proceeded to call me some other guy's name as you fell asleep. I felt like a fucking idiot.”
My jaw drops and I feel a wave of mortification wash over me. We didn’t have sex? I just assumed that a guy wouldn’t give me such intense pleasure without getting something in return. Guess that means I’ve really had some fucked-up relationships before now. And I called him by another name? Oh, God… please don’t let that be true. I would die of humiliation.
“What? There’s no way I called you by some other guy’s name!”
He holds my gaze and I can tell he’s not fucking around with me right now.
“Yes, you did. You called me Kodiak.”
