“Do you not like Jess?” he asked.
She looked up at him in surprise. “Not like her? I love her, and I’ve only known her for a day. I want to be just like her when I’m her age. She’s funny, outspoken, and completely crazy. I respect that.”
Bubba grinned. “So, what’s not going to work out?”
“Mark, you heard her.”
“Yup.”
“You can’t…I’m not… Shit.”
“Don’t be embarrassed by Jess. Yes, she’s outspoken, but she’s right. I didn’t invite you to come to California out of pity. And I certainly wouldn’t have hooked you up with my neighbor if I didn’t want to see you every day. Get to know you better. She’s just blowing smoke up our asses; you can totally live over there with her and she’d love every second of it. But the last thing I want is for you to feel coerced into doing anything.”
Zoey stared at him, and he could see the indecision in her eyes.
“She was right about something else too,” he said softly.
“What?”
“I want you,” he said bluntly. “I came home early today because I couldn’t wait any longer to see you. To check on you. To make sure all was right in your world. I’d like nothing more than to have you here in my house with me at night. If you want to slow things down, we can do that too. I’ll sleep in the guest bedroom and you can have my bed. We’ll eat dinners and breakfasts together, learn about each other, all our likes and dislikes. We’ll watch TV and read books next to each other and go as slow as you want. Most of the time, I feel comfortable around you, Zoey. And I want that to continue.”
“Most of the time?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“What about the other times?”
“Comfortable is not a word that comes to mind,” he told her seriously. “Anxious, fidgety, aroused, excited, giddy, confused about what the hell you see in me, and turned way the hell on.”
Zoey licked her lips, and Bubba couldn’t take his eyes from them. He noticed that she was breathing faster and she gripped his hand even harder. “I’ve never done that.”
Bubba frowned in confusion. “What?”
“Um…cunnilingus.”
Hearing the very clinical word on her lips made Bubba want to laugh. But he didn’t, this was way too serious of a conversation for him to fuck up by laughing at her. “No? Because you don’t think you’ll like it, or because the men you’ve been with didn’t?”
“Um…both?”
“I wasn’t lying, sweetheart. There’s nothing I like better than going down on a woman. And before you ask, it’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve done it. It’s a very personal thing that requires a lot of trust. I haven’t trusted anyone like that in a very long time. But, since we’re being honest here, I’ve fantasized about sharing that with you.”
“You have?”
“Yeah, Zo. Maybe it’s because of our experience out in the woods, but I trust you with my life. I can’t think of anything sexier than eating you out, hearing you call my name as you orgasm in my mouth.”
She blushed a deep pink, and Bubba had a feeling he’d gone too far. But she’d brought it up. He tried to control his raging libido and bring their conversation back around to the original point. “I want you in my house, Zoey. I won’t manipulate you in any way. Tell me what you want, and I’ll move heaven and earth to give it to you. Do you want to stay with Jess? Rent an apartment? Stay here?”
She looked him in the eye and softly said, “Here. If you’re being honest and really don’t mind me in your space, I’d feel more comfortable here.”
“Why?” Bubba needed to know it was more than just because he could keep her safe.
“Because I have had a crush on you since I was in the tenth grade. Because you’re generous and giving to a fault. Because when you kissed me, I couldn’t think of anything other than you. And even though it might be a mistake and you’ll find out I’m really just a small-town girl at heart and living here in Riverton scares the crap out of me, I still want to take that chance.”
“You took on the Alaskan wilderness with me, sweetheart. The big bad city’s got nothin’ on you.”
She smiled at him.
“And I’m kicking myself even more for not going back to Alaska to visit my family, because if I did, I might’ve connected with you even sooner, and we would’ve had more time together.”
“God, that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me,” she whispered.
“It’s true,” Bubba told her. Then he slowly leaned forward, lifted his chin, and waited for her to meet him halfway.
Something inside him settled as she immediately brought her lips to his. They exchanged a slow, sweet kiss, touching nowhere but their lips.
“So you’ll live here with me?” he asked when he pulled back.
“Yes.”
“Sleep in my bed?”
“Yes.”
“With me?”
She blushed but said, “Yes.”
“Good,” he said in satisfaction. “I want to take things slow. The last thing I want is to take advantage of you or your feelings. Don’t take that the wrong way. I want you, Zoey. Want to make you mine in every way a man can make a woman his, but I want you to make me yours too. And we don’t have to rush into anything. It’s been just over a week since we reconnected. Today was hard on me. Being away from you after all we’ve been through was tougher than I thought it would be.”
“I’m glad it’s not just me feeling that way,” Zoey admitted. “I felt a little lost all day.”
“Me too. That’s why I’m proposing taking things one day at a time. We’ll get to know each other little by little. I know you can make a fire and how you operate under extreme pressure, but I don’t know what you like on your pizza and what your favorite movie is.”
“Anything but anchovies or pineapple, and there’s no way I could pick just one,” she said with a smile.
Bubba wanted to stand up and throw Zoey over his shoulder like some sort of caveman, but he’d just told her he wanted to take things slow. That wouldn’t exactly be slow. “What do you want for dinner?”
“Not fish or squirrel,” she said immediately.
Laughing out loud, Bubba stood, taking her with him as he did. “Deal. How about spaghetti? It’s not gourmet, but I’m thinking a huge bowl of carbohydrates sounds delicious right about now.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed.
Hours later, after dinner, and after he and Zoey had watched two Die Hard movies, Bubba was lying in bed, holding Zoey in his arms as she slept. He had a hard-on that wouldn’t go down and his balls actually hurt from being denied release, but he’d never been more comfortable in his life.
He’d also never thought he could be as turned on by an inexperienced woman as he was by Zoey. Thinking back to Jess’s advice, he could only mentally shake his head…and agree with her. He couldn’t wait to get his hands and mouth on Zoey. But for whatever reason, holding her like this was almost as satisfying as any sexual encounter he’d ever had. He didn’t know why, other than just because it was Zoey.