He was gratified to see her eyes flicker with heat behind the fatigue and stress.
“And…”
He lifted a brow as she trailed off.
“Could you…”
“Yes,” he said without needing her to finish the thought.
She swallowed. “Could I get another hug?”
He wasn’t sure she could have said anything better. Not even “strip me down and fuck me”.
He knew that Jill wasn’t a hugger. When he’d pulled her into his arms the other day that had been clear. That she’d let him do it then, and was asking for it now? He felt like the king of the world.
Without a word, he reached out, took her arm, pulled her in, and wrapped her up.
He felt her melt into him, wrapping her arms around him, and then he felt her give a big sigh.
A sense of protectiveness shot through him and he had to consciously work not to crush her tightly against his chest.
And say something crazy like, “I’ve got you, girl.”
Well, fuck. He’d said that out loud after all.
She took another deep breath and let it out. “Thank you.”
They just stood hugging for a few minutes. Zeke soaked it up.
But eventually, she pulled back and looked up. “I needed that.”
“You can have it any time. I’m right next door.”
“If I showed up at two a.m. and asked you just to hug me, and that was all, that would be perfectly fine?” She clearly didn’t believe that.
He wasn’t sure it would be perfectly fine. He’d want more. He wasn’t going to lie about that. But he said, “It would be fine.”
She, of course, noted his rewording.
“Fair enough.” She stepped back, slipping out of his arms. “Want to meet the penguins?”
“Yes. Introduce me to your waddle.”
Jill looked pleasantly surprised. “You know that a group of penguins is sometimes called a waddle?”
“The site I read said it’s mostly when they’re moving though. I guess this would be a rookery? Unless they’re in the water and they’re a raft of penguins.”
She smiled. “Right. You looked stuff up?”
“Had to. The crazy chick in charge of the live ones here won’t let us close to ’em unless we bring her beignets. I mean, I gave her six orgasms the other night and I still haven’t seen the live ones.”
She coughed. “Damn, that’s playing dirty.”
“Is it working?”
“Maybe. Because you’ve got a point there. Those six orgasms were very appreciated.”
Yeah, he wasn’t such a good guy that hearing that didn’t make him pretty damned proud too. “Let’s go then.”
She led him into the enclosure.
Zeke pulled up short as he stepped past the gate and took in the sight. He knew every inch of this place, but it was suddenly brand new to him. Because of the eight penguins….penguins… hopping all over the rocks and grass and sand he’d installed.
“Wow.”
Jill took his hand and tugged him toward the penguin house that would let them onto the island. “Come on. You can’t pet them from over here.”
“I really can pet them?” he asked, following her eagerly.
“A couple of them. The others aren’t really into that. Yet anyway.” She led him through the building that gave the birds a temperature controlled place to hang out if the Louisiana weather got too hot or too cold for them. “Penguins aren’t naturally that social with other species, including humans. But they get used to those who feed them, of course.” She shot him a smile. “And they’re very social with one another.”
They stepped out of the building onto the island.
Jill stepped around the rocks and past a few of the penguins, heading for a flatter area. He noted there was a blanket spread out, a wide-brimmed hat, and a book and pen lying there.
“So you just hang out in here?”
She nodded. “They need to get used to me being around. Just a regular, normal, non-threatening part of their environment.”
“How’s it going?”
She took a seat on the blanket and he dropped down beside her.
She looked at him. “No idea.”
“What?”
“I have no idea how it’s going. I sit here and hang out and make notes about what they’re doing. I feed them. I clean the enclosure. I talk to them. Then I’ll go hours without talking to them. I leave the enclosure entirely and sit in my office. And…I have no idea what the right thing is.”
A penguin waddled over. It cocked its head, studying Zeke.
Zeke realized he was holding his breath, hoping the little thing would come closer. If he was being completely honest, he wanted it to hop into his lap.
It didn’t. But it didn’t run from him either.
He blew out his breath.
Jill gave him a sweet smile. “You can touch him if you want.”
“Really?”
“Reach out gently. Just a couple of fingers to start.” She showed him what she meant, stroking the penguin from his head down his back.
Zeke did it, realizing he was grinning like a little kid. He didn’t care. This was cool.
“He’s slippery.”
“Yeah, their feathers are waterproof. They’re not as soft as most people think.”
“They fit in down here though, smelling like fish the way they do.”
She laughed. “I guess they do. You’re all pretty used to that smell?”
“For sure.”
The penguin waddled off and Jill and Zeke sat watching them all for a few minutes without talking.
“Okay, so you’ve heard all about my passion for penguins. What’s your passion?” she asked.
He looked at her, a little surprised. But he answered easily. “Giving people homes.”
“Building houses?”
“Yeah, but more than that,” he said. “Taking a house and turning it into a home. I figure if everybody had a place they liked to go, where they could be themselves and feel totally comfortable and safe, the world would be a happier place.”
She just looked at him for a several beats. Zeke let her look. It wasn’t complicated.
Finally, she said, “Like what you did for the penguins.”
“What you did for the penguins.”
“Okay, what we did.”
“Okay. But yeah. The idea is to give them a place where they have everything they need, feel totally secure, and can relax, be comfortable, and live their best life.”
“That’s really nice.”
He narrowed his eyes. “It’s why it’s very important to me that people answer my emails about what kind of drawer pulls they want and what color they want their bedrooms painted.”
“Oh my God, enough already.”
He laughed. “Though I’m starting to figure you out, Kansas. I just need to make your house look like a penguin enclosure. Then you’d be happy, right?”
She looked around. “Well…”
He shook his head. “Be honest. There has to be something you care about having in your house.”
“Okay…I like the shower you put in. The bedroom is gorgeous. Actually, all of it is gorgeous. You’re obviously good at what you do.”