Even before she’d left the beach house, Caite had sent her a text that told her to be patient, and to let her know if she ever wanted to talk.
It felt good.
Everything in Zoey’s life seemed to be going very well…and that scared the crap out of her. In the past when things went well, something always seemed to come along and screw it up. But she was determined to stay positive and believe, for once in her life, that everything would work out for the better.
Bubba looked over at Zoey and smiled when he saw she’d fallen asleep on the way back to his house. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol she’d consumed and her mouth was slightly open as she breathed deeply.
He’d talked to his friends a bit about his situation with Zoey, and how he wanted her more than his next breath but was afraid of moving too fast. They’d advised him to continue to take things slowly, and that he’d just know when the time was right to go to the next step in their relationship.
The advice wasn’t exactly what he’d wanted to hear. He wanted one of his friends to tell him just to go for it. But he also didn’t want to screw up his friendship with Zoey. He valued that highly. Almost as much as he wanted to see her naked and writhing in ecstasy on his sheets.
When they got home, he glanced over at Jess’s house and sighed in relief. She’d left the porch light on, as was her custom. She did that right before she went to bed at night to let him know all was well.
Bubba went around to the passenger side of his car and gently shook Zoey awake. He wrapped an arm around her to guide her inside as she was still mostly out of it. He helped her up the stairs and she collapsed onto his bed, immediately turning on her side and pulling the covers up to her face.
“Everything smells like you,” she mumbled. “So good…”
Bubba stood at the side of his bed for a good five minutes and watched Zoey sleep. He wanted her. Bad. His cock stood at attention, and he knew without a doubt it wouldn’t take more than a couple pumps to make him lose it.
He liked everything about Zoey. She was kind to everyone she met, and that was so refreshing. She didn’t talk bad about anyone, no matter what they looked like or what they did.
It was all he could do to not lean down, wake her up with a kiss, then strip her naked and make love to her until neither of them could move.
But it was too soon.
Honestly, it didn’t feel too soon to him. Even though not much time had gone by since they’d been stranded, because of their experiences and knowing each other from high school, he felt as if he’d known her forever.
But he was supposed to wait.
Society said that jumping into bed with someone so soon after they’d started dating wasn’t good for the outcome of a long-term relationship.
Even his teammates had advised him to wait.
He didn’t want to.
But he would.
And the only way he’d be able to control himself was if he put some distance between them. It would kill, but he’d do it if it meant solidifying his connection with Zoey.
He forced himself to turn and head out of the bedroom and down the stairs. All he really wanted to do was change and climb under the sheets with Zoey, but he couldn’t while still behaving himself. Not right this second.
He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and turned on the television. He clicked the channels until he stopped on a show he’d seen before. It was boring as hell, but he needed the distraction. He’d distance himself just a bit…enough to give Zoey a chance to acclimate to Riverton and her new situation. But he wasn’t giving up his nights. He needed to hold her. To reassure himself that she was there and safe, and to give him a glimpse of what he had to look forward to in the future.
He’d have to cut that down a little, though. He’d stay up later, make sure she fell asleep before he came up. Then he could hold her as close as he needed to without her feeling pressure to move their relationship faster than she was comfortable doing. It might kill him, but for Zoey, he’d do it.
Chapter Sixteen
Two weeks later, Zoey was more confused than ever. Things had been going so well with Mark, and she’d been ready to try to let him know, subtly of course, that she was ready to move their physical relationship along. But ever since the barbeque at his friend’s house, he’d seemed distracted.
He left early in the morning for PT and didn’t come home for breakfast afterward, deciding to stay at the base and shower instead of returning to the house. He’d come home at night and they’d eat dinner together, then they’d settle in front of the TV and talk. That was all nice, but he’d been encouraging her to head up to bed early, and she’d been falling asleep before he came up.
She knew he eventually did come upstairs, because she woke up when his alarm went off in the mornings and was always in his arms, but the second the beeping of his watch sounded, he’d roll over and get on with his day.
It was depressing as hell.
She knew Mark was stressed. He told her he’d gotten at least one phone call every day from both his brother and Sean about the business. They always needed his signature on this or that form, or they requested he Skype into one meeting or another. Or they needed to discuss some change they wanted to make.
Mark had never been interested in his dad’s business before, but now that he’d been forced into making decisions about it, Zoey could tell he had even less interest. But he was stuck. His brother and his dad’s business partner needed him, or at least they said they did.
On top of that, Tex hadn’t located Eva Dawkins yet. The night before, Mark told her that his friend was closing in on her location, and that it was only a matter of time, but she knew he was still frustrated it was taking so long. He needed to know who had tried to kill him so he could move on.
She had the thought that he was waiting for that mystery to be solved, so he could tell her that she was safe and could get on with her life. Maybe that’s why he’d put distance between them. The idea hurt. A lot. But Zoey did what she always did when adversity came her way, she lifted her chin and got on with her life. She did her best not to stress over things that she couldn’t control, and right now, she didn’t have any control over the investigation into their attempted murder, Colin’s business, the pressure being put on Mark because of it, or his job as a SEAL.
But she did have control over her relationship with Mark. She couldn’t go on like this anymore. She needed answers. She still felt as deep a connection with him as she always had, but if he’d changed his mind about them, she had to know. She’d ask Jess if she could move in with her until she could find an apartment of her own.
The money she’d received from Colin’s estate, along with the money Jess was paying her, was enough to start fresh somewhere. Zoey liked Riverton. The weather was perfect and there were a ton of things to do. She didn’t feel stifled as she had back in Juneau, and she loved not running into a million people she knew when she was out doing errands. There was something to be said for being anonymous while going about your business.
It was late and, as usual, Mark had stayed downstairs while she’d come up to bed. But instead of climbing under the sheets and falling asleep, Zoey was determined to get some answers. If Mark was done with her, she needed to know. Tonight.