“I understand. I’ve got to be up at sunrise anyway. Running with Trey,” I reply. It’s a weak excuse, honestly. I would skip every run, every morning for the rest of my life if it meant waking up with Zoey in my bed, and Trey would absolutely agree that it’s a good trade-off. He’d give me shit for going lazy and soft too, but he’d understand.

But there’s a time to let pressure build and a time to let it off. And right now, Zoey needs to have that safety valve. She stands, and I stand with her, taking her hand in mine. I trace a line on the back of it with my thumb.

“Tonight was . . .” I search for a word that will describe it while not scaring the shit out of her but come up empty. Gorgeous, powerful, best of my life, and I haven’t even been inside her yet . . . yeah, those have RUN written all over them for this woman.

“Incredible,” she offers, and I nod. It’s good enough.

“Definitely.” I smile, and she gives me a soft, sweet one back. “I’ll text you in the morning and then later, after I see what visiting the doctor nets us.”

She nods and looks up at me. I bend slowly to kiss her once more. It’s deep and hungry, the fire building easily, and I could take her again. I want her . . . on my fingers, on my tongue, and eventually, on my cock.

But too soon, she pulls back from me, her hands crinkling my shirt.

“I should go.”

I nod and walk her to the door. I manage to give her one more sweet peck and whisper, “Till tomorrow.”

She leaves and I watch her walk down to her car before I shut the door, and true to my word, I whirl and lean up against the wood. I should wait until she’s actually pulled away, but I can’t hold back any longer. My cock’s already in my hand and I’m jerking furiously as I remember what she felt like . . . sounded like . . . tasted like.

It only takes a few strokes, and I come on my hand, grunting out her name to the empty room. I’m still rock-hard, could go again and again with my thoughts of Zoey, but as I sag against the door, I hear quiet footsteps on the walk out front and then a car door.

She came back.

She listened.

She heard me.

I should be embarrassed or afraid it’ll scare her off.

Instead, I think I’m a little closer to breaking down her walls, and I give myself one more stroke.

Chapter 14

Zoey

I look at my phone, still not quite believing what I’m seeing. He texted me. I don’t know why I thought he might not when he said he would.

Isn’t that what guys do? Get a little and then ghost?