Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2)(18)
Hmmm…coming home might not have been such a bad thing. Tanner intervened and changed the subject. No amount of superficial chat altered the course of his fantasies though, and by the end of the evening, Dalton hurried up to his apartment with the sole intention of alleviating the hard-on that was mashed against his zipper.
Living with Zoey Carson might prove to be his undoing.
*****
From the kitchen sink, Tanner watched as Zoey settled onto the sofa, tucking her sexy feet under her. She always seemed to be hiding her feet for some reason and it made him want to laugh. Laughing was not going to help the throbbing erection in his jeans though. He wanted to strangle Dalton for all of his flirting and teasing throughout dinner.
Every time he mentioned sex and Zoey in the same breath the temperature of the room seemed to shoot up, and Tanner’s jeans got tighter. It didn’t help that Zoey seemed interested. Her grapefruit sized tits seemed to lift up and reach out for attention with their hard nipples.
He couldn’t resist mulling over what color the tempting tips would be. A lush pink like her lips, or more of a dusky rose color or maybe a soft brown to match her honey sweet scent?
A plate dropped from his hands, shattering in the sink and taking a tiny chunk of his thumb with it.
“fu-cking hell!” Before he could move, Zoey was at his side and reaching for his hand. He snatched it back, earning a hard glare from her gorgeous blue eyes.
“Oh stop it. It’s just a little cut. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up, and then we can clear away the glass.” Her small hand grabbed his forearm and tugged him along behind her until they reached the hallway bathroom.
“What is it about men and injuries? Do they think just because we’re women we can’t see them bleed?” She crouched down wading through the miscellaneous medical supplies in the cabinet under the sink and before he knew it, she was gently cleaning his injury. Her sexy lips pursed as she blew on the stinging flesh before wrapping it with gauze. “Well, thankfully you won’t need stitches. The cut is probably too wide to stitch shut anyways. You should be more careful.”
Tanner felt the blow to his pride and he huffed, “The plate slipped out of my hand. It’s not like it attacked me.”
“Maybe not, but the next injury could be worse.” She bent over in the tiny space to put the supplies back, and Tanner sucked in a breath. They were in a small room and she was in front of him, bent practically in half so her heart shaped ass was in a direct line with his aching cock.
“At this rate I’ll need stitches in my cock,” he grumbled. Zoey stood up so fast she swayed on her feet, and the shock on her face made his blood run cold. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud, damn it.
“What?” she whispered, and he felt a flush of embarrassment rise in his cheeks.
“Nothing. I was just commenting about what time it was. I still need to do a few things in the barn after I clean up that glass.” Tanner spun on his heel and stomped down the hallway, eager to put some space between them.
Zoey didn’t seem to feel the same way as she followed him closely and grabbed his arm when he reached for the broken dish. “No, you go take care of whatever you still need to, I’ll clean this up.”
“I said I would do the dishes, and I meant it. It was just an accident and a little cut.”
“Yes, but you need to let it heal. Sticking it back in that water isn’t the way to do that. Besides, I could use a little quiet time to think. You two gave me a lot to think about tonight. Go on out and get your chores done. There are only a couple of dishes left anyways.”
She was so damn amenable. Why couldn’t she be the bitchy woman he’s avoided for the last few years? The one that seemed to loathe him with a never ending well of angry passion.
“Fine, whatever.”
He was marching his way out to the barn before he could even think through what she had said. What had they given her to think about, other than sex? His gut tightened. This was turning into a mistake of epic proportions. His dream woman was going to be sleeping in a bed not fifteen feet away from his own king size bed, and now he knew for a fact his younger brother wanted to sleep with her too. What would he do if the two of them hooked up?
fu-ck that.
There was no way in hell he was going to let Dalton flirt his way into Zoey’s pants. Zoey Carson was off limits, and tomorrow morning he would make that fact crystal clear to Dalton because if he didn’t…well…living with Zoey might just be his undoing.
Chapter Five
Zoey spent Sunday making herself at home on the Triple T. The house was comfortable, and the kitchen well stocked with every utensil imaginable. She had even found a second freezer full of meat in the laundry room, but there was barely a scrap to be found in the cupboards.
She was making a list of groceries she needed to get, when Dalton came in from outside. His cheeks were flushed red and his blonde hair was windblown. Wearing snug wranglers and borrowed boots, he had slipped back into the Texas cowboy role with ease, and her libido took notice.
“Whew! Fall is on the air today I think,” he said as he ran his long fingers through his shaggy locks. “Smells good in here, what are you making?”
“Cinnamon bread to go with the chili for dinner tonight. Is it cold outside?” Zoey tapped the pen against her lips before realizing his eyes were zeroed in on the phallic item against her mouth. She frowned and dropped the pen to her lap.