“What an addict you have become, Rose.” I gaze at her, feigning shock.
Hearing my words, her eyes open wide and her face and neck redden with embarrassment.
I smile and lift her chin up. “Sweetheart, I like you addicted. It fucking turns me on to see you like this.” To prove my liking, I thrust into her stomach.
Her bright blue eyes sparkle, and then that shy smile is back. My nerdy siren.
Kissing her once more, I move lower, my lips trailing down her body.
“Where are you going?”
Before her sentence is complete, I’m tugging down her shorts. “Not far.”
* * *
We lie on the bed, entangled in each other’s arms, and I know I cannot dawdle any longer.
“Rose.” I rub small circles over her arms.
“Hmm?” she hums in a drowsy voice.
“I need to talk to you about something. Something important.”
She straightens up before turning around to face me. “Important good or important bad?”
“Important good, I hope.” I try to hold on to a light smile at her expected question, but it’s short-lived. My mouth dries, worried about her response to the news I’m about to dump on her. “You know Kristy and Zach were scouting a location for our third office.”
She nods, her face emotionless and her hands already drifting toward the cuffs of her cotton tee.
“They’ve found a place. It’s perfect. Until the office is up and running, I’ll be spending most of my time there.”
“And this is good news, how?” Her shoulders stiffen, and she crosses her arms, protecting herself from the looming blow. Her wacky brain is expecting the worst, as always.
“To decide that, you’ll have to see the location.” I grab my iPad from the nightstand and open the maps app. I point my finger after I’ve zoomed in on said location.
“But that’s in…” Her gaze shifts from the screen to me.
“Cherrywood,” I confirm.
“How?” Her crumbling face turns up, and she beams at me.
Thank heavens.
“Kristy found the best deal in Cherrywood. There was no reason for me to turn it down.”
“So, you’ll be staying in Cherrywood for some time?”
“That’s the plan, baby.” I caress her face, trying to distract her from thinking too hard. But my super smart fiancée can’t be easily distracted.
“But what about your apartment in St. Peppers?”
“I haven’t thought about it. Maybe I’ll rent it out or…maybe sell it.” I shrug as if it’s not a big deal. And maybe it’s not to some, but to Rose, it’s a huge deal.
“Sell it?” She gasps and her hands shake as she scuttles a few inches away from me.
My enthusiasm plunges low at her reaction. “Yes. Maybe I’ll…buy something here,” I murmur, not wavering my gaze from her face for a second.
“Zander,” she whispers. Her hand slowly flattens over the cuff of her shirt.