Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(54)

“Fuck. Innocent and brave. I can’t resist that combination,” Meat muttered with a tiny grin, before he leaned toward her again.

This time, Zara kept her eyes open and watched him get closer and closer. He stopped when his lips were a hairbreadth from her own.

“May I kiss you, Zara?” he asked, his warm breath wafting over her lips.

In response, Zara went up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

She had no idea what she was doing. She’d only seen her parents give each other small, short pecks on the lips, and she didn’t think the brutal way she’d seen some of the men kiss the women in the barrios was appropriate either, but she had no idea how to proceed past this point.

Luckily, Meat did. The hand at her neck tightened, then moved to palm her cheek. He held her still as he took over. He brushed several light, teasing kisses over her mouth, then he briefly licked her lower lip, and she gasped in surprise.

He took advantage of her open mouth and slowly eased his tongue inside. He coaxed and teased until she shyly brought her tongue out to meet his.

Meat groaned, and it jolted Zara so much, she pulled back to stare at him.

He licked his lips, and she saw his pupils were dilated a little. She bit her lower lip and swore she could still taste Meat there. “Sorry,” she said, a little unsure. “You startled me.”

“It’s okay,” he soothed. “Best kiss I’ve ever had, hands down,” he said reverently.

Zara scoffed. “I doubt that.”

Meat rested his forehead against her own, and she closed her eyes, loving how intimate the gesture felt. “I can’t promise not to fuck up in the future,” Meat said seriously. “But I can promise to never deliberately do anything to hurt you. I’ll bend over backward to give you what you need and want, when you need and want it. I’ll never cheat on you, and I’ll support you in whatever it is you want to do. I’ll be here for you to lean on . . . and I’ll give you all the kisses you want.”

He pulled back. “We’ll take this slow, all right? If at any time it’s not working for you, all you have to do is tell me. Us being exclusive doesn’t mean you have to live here forever. If you want to get your own apartment, I’ll help you pick one out. You’re not dependent on me for anything, Zara, understand? You’ve got your own money, and you’re your own person. You’ve been making decisions about your own health and safety for a long time now, and you don’t need a keeper or babysitter. I want to be your partner.”

Zara breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn’t need or want someone to make decisions for her. She wouldn’t be good at taking orders. But it would be nice to be able to talk things over with someone. She’d been on her own for so long, had stressed over so many decisions she’d had to make, just knowing there would be someone there she could bounce ideas off was a dream come true. “I want that too,” she told him.

The sound of the doorbell pealing startled Zara so badly, she jumped in Meat’s arms.

“Easy, Zar. It’s just your grandparents.”

She looked up at him anxiously. “Already?”

“Yeah, but they can wait until you’re ready and composed.”

“We can’t make them wait!” she exclaimed, trying to pull out of Meat’s arms.

“Take a deep breath,” he ordered.

She did as he said and immediately felt better.

“I’ll go down and invite them in and get them something to drink. You come down when you’re good and ready, and not a second earlier. Okay?”

As cowardly as it was, Zara nodded. She had no idea how this meeting would turn out. Her mom hadn’t exactly had the best relationship with her parents, but maybe her murder, and Zara being missing for all these years, had somehow changed them too.

Zara hoped so.

Meat leaned down and kissed her briefly one more time before straightening. “I mean it, Zara, don’t come down until you’re ready.”

“Okay. Thanks, Meat.”

“Partners, remember?” he said, before turning and leaving her standing in the room.

Looking around, Zara’s eyes landed on the futon once more. Meat had done something incredibly nice for her without hesitation. The bed was perfect. He was perfect.

Well . . . perfect for her.

Knowing she needed the few minutes Meat had so selflessly given her, Zara sat on the edge of the mattress and closed her eyes. She wasn’t a poor, lost homeless kid anymore. She was Zara Layne, and the people downstairs were her flesh and blood. The only family she had left.

But if they didn’t take her exactly how she was—then fuck them. She was done trying to fit in where she wasn’t wanted. She’d done that for fifteen years. Enough was enough.

Knowing Meat would be with her was all the strength she needed to cut her grandparents out of her life completely, if it became necessary.

Zara did her best to clear her mind before going downstairs. She was still nervous, but not nearly as nervous as she’d been to admit to Meat that she liked him. That she was a virgin. And he’d believed her without hesitation. She knew not everyone would have. Meat was one of a kind . . . and for now, he was all hers.

Smiling, Zara concentrated on how his lips and tongue had felt, instead of on the impending meeting with her relatives.