"Stop doing that!" she hissed, glaring at him.
"Doing what?" he asked, giving the platinum blonde that had been flirting with him from across the room a subtle shake of his head as she started to approach him. Although she was gorgeous and he normally wouldn't mind losing his body in a woman like her for a night he couldn't leave Zoe alone. With her mouth and determination she was going to find herself in a lot of trouble.
"Coming between me and sex," she stated with a sigh. "I have a really good plan and if you'd just go sit over there," she said, leaning closer to him and in the process pressing her large soft br**sts against his arm as she pointed around him towards an empty seat at the other end of the bar, "I can get on with it."
He nearly groaned when she pulled her br**sts away from him and demanded that she put them back. They had been soft and comforting, damn it! Somehow he forced his thoughts away from her selfish little act of taking them away and focused on the problem at hand, a drunk Zoe.
"You're really determined to do this, aren't you?" he asked, noting the way she scanned the crowd almost desperately.
"Five years, Trevor. Five long years," she said with a pout as she tried, unsuccessfully, to get the bartender's attention. When it became painfully obvious that the bartender wasn't going to serve her, at least not while Trevor was there, Zoe gave up and went back to scanning the crowd, which he had to admit was pretty insulting.
What the hell was wrong with him? he had to wonder when she didn't spare him a glance. He was a f**king Bradford for Christ sake's. Bradford men were known for being studs and this small, normally plain woman, couldn't be bothered with trying to get him into bed when she was clearly desperate for it was really f**king insulting.
"Can you imagine going five years without sex?" Zoe asked, breaking into his thoughts.
He thought it over for a moment. It had been a long time since he had sex, a year? Year and a half? That was pretty bad, but five years? He'd sooner starve to death than go without sex for that long.
Zoe took his grimace as agreement. "Exactly. Now," she said, straightening up in her seat and giving her br**sts a slight push up to put them on display that made his mouth go bone dry within seconds, "if you'll excuse me I'm about to rectify that little problem."
He sighed heavily as she stood up, wobbled, and took a step towards the crowd. She didn't make it far before he had his arm around her and was steering her towards the exit sign, resigning himself to put off his own plans for another night so he could play nursemaid to his drunk tenant hell bent on having sex.
"Trevor? Where the hell are you going?" he heard Hank yell over the loud crowd and music, but he just ignored the prick.
He still couldn't believe the man thought he'd be interested in any of those bar bunnies. When he realized his night was shot and he had to look forward to putting up with Hank acting like they were best friends and women who grossed him out hanging all over him he decided to leave and try another bar, but then he spotted her sitting all by herself, looking so damn pretty that he swore his heart actually skipped a beat.
Even across the room he'd been able to tell that she wasn't wearing any makeup, but he hadn't cared. When he realized that she was actually making him drool from across the room he realized that he really needed to haul his ass out of there, but then he spotted the ass**le sauntering up to her and he knew that he couldn't leave her to fend for herself.
He really was too damn giving, he thought as he stopped her from pulling away from his side and steered her back towards the door.
"Oh," Zoe said, stumbling by his side. "Are we going to find someone to have sex with me outside?"
Trevor gave her shoulder a patronizing squeeze. "We sure are."
She sighed contently. "Good. Just make sure he likes o**l s*x, because I really miss doing that for a man," she announced, making him stumble.
***********
This was going to be a long f**king night, Trevor decided five minutes later after he managed to somehow convince Zoe that if she wanted to have sex that she had to get into his truck.
"Hey, you lied!" Zoe gasped as they pulled out of the parking lot.
"Took you long enough," he mumbled, wondering when she'd be a good little girl and pass out and put him out of his misery. All this talk about Zoe ha**ng s*x and giving blow jobs was killing him.
"Now I don't feel bad," she said, crossing her arms stubbornly over chest as she did her best to glare at him.
"About what?" he asked absently, not really in the mood for any drunken rambling.
"About lying to you," she said, making his eyebrows arch.
"You lied to me?" he asked stunned, not because she lied to him, well he was, but that she had managed to do it without giving herself away. She was a horrible little liar after all.
"Mmmhmm," she mumbled, already starting to lose interest in him and the conversation as she turned her attention to playing with his radio. He placed his hand over hers and stopped the already annoying channel surfing.
"What did you lie about?" he asked, wondering if she would actually admit to something or if this was just alcohol induced bullshit.
"The book series we're reading. It doesn't have any sex in them until the last book and even then it's only really hinted at," she said, surprising the hell out of him.
"You bitch!" he hissed, but couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, I know. It was really fun to screw with your head," she admitted in an offhand tone. "I also lied last week when I said that orange shirt looked good on you when it really looked stupid. Then last month I lied when I said the bakery was already closed when I just really didn't feel like going and I took a long hot bath instead."
"I see....," he murmured, lost in thought. He'd heard of angry drunks, happy drunks, sad drunks, but this was the first time he'd ever encountered an honest drunk. It made him wonder........
"Has it really been five years since you last had sex?" he asked, deciding to test the waters.
She sighed heavily. "Yes, at least five years."
"Were you really going to have sex with a complete stranger?" he asked, not really believing Zoe would do something like that.
"In a heartbeat," she said without any hesitation, further surprising the hell out of him and pissing him right the hell off.
"Are you out of your f**king mind?" he practically bellowed, not even making her flinch in her alcohol induced mellow state. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is, Zoe? What could have happened to you?"
She frowned at him as she opened her small black purse and pulled out a handful of condoms. "But that's why I brought these," she explained, looking confused. "For protection," she clarified when he only glared at her.
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to fight back the urge to ring her neck or spank her ass. "Zoe, you cannot go around sleeping with strangers. It's dangerous," he said through a clenched jaw, wondering if she'd remember any of this later or if he'd have to have this talk again with her tomorrow when she was sober.
"Weren't you there to have sex with a stranger," she said accusingly.
"That's not the point, Zoe," he gritted out.
"How is it fair that you can go have sex, but I can't?" she demanded, crossing her arms beneath her ample br**sts and unintentionally shoving them up until he swore, prayed, that they'd pop out of her blouse.
"It's just the way it is," he said tightly, pressing the gas pedal harder in an attempt to get her home and out of his hair before she drove him crazy.
"I don't see how it is. I want sex. I miss sex and used to love it. I've decided that I shouldn't have to worry until I'm ready to have a relationship, which probably won't be for another year or two before I have sex again. So, I decided that I should be allowed to enjoy being single and have sex with whomever I want, whenever I want," she informed him in a tone she probably thought would make him think twice about arguing with her. "Now," she said with a slight roll of her hand back towards the direction of the bar, "take me back there so I can have sex."
"Not happening."
"But I want sex!" she whined. "Really good, hot, sweaty sex!"
"Uh huh," he said, ignoring her adorable little pout. "You're really not interested in a relationship right now?" he asked, allowing his mind to go somewhere that he knew was dangerous.
Out of the corner of his eye he looked her over, wondering if he could actually go through with this. When his eyes fell on her large br**sts he knew damn well that he could.
"Nope," she said, making the word pop. "That's too much work right now. I want to focus on getting my life together and be in a better position if my life ever crumbles around me again. I want to be able to take care of myself. I also want to live a little. Something I haven't really done," she said wistfully.
"You're serious?" he asked, even though at the moment he didn't doubt her for a second.
"Yes."
"You only want sex, nothing more, right?" he stressed.
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Didn't I just say that?"
"Good," he said, not bothering to hide his shit eating grin.
"What's so good about that?" she asked, sounding confused.
"Because this will work out for me," he said, giving himself another pat on the back for coming up with another excellent plan. If she went along with what he had in mind, and why wouldn't she? he was a Bradford after all, he could work her out of his system and keep her safe. So, really he was doing her a favor by offering to do this.
He sighed heavily, sometimes he was just too damn giving.
"What will work out for you?" Zoe asked, sounding groggy.
He reached over and took her much smaller hand into his and held it, running his thumb over the back of her hand.
"You and I are going to have sex."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Now?" Zoe asked, sounding so damn hopeful that he couldn't help but laugh.
"No, not now, my eager little drunk. When you're sober and you agree to my game plan." And only then. He wasn't stupid enough to completely trust Zoe to make this agreement until she knew what she was getting into and what he wasn't willing to give her.
Chapter 15
Oh god........
She was dying. There was no other explanation for the way she felt. Her head was pounding, her mouth felt like something had crawled inside and died and she felt sick to her stomach.
Hoping that today was Sunday and really having no other choice but to lay there even if it wasn't, she closed her eyes and prayed for death or unconsciousness and not really caring at the moment about which wish was granted.
Sometime later she woke up feeling slightly better. Her stomach wasn't as bad and her headache had dulled a bit. She turned her head and stared numbly at her dark windows, wondering if it was morning or night. One look at her alarm clock let her know that it was seven p.m. Sunday night.
Well, she thought, carefully getting out of bed, at least she hadn't missed work. She stumbled over to her bathroom and flicked on the light and winced when it nearly blinded her. Why was everything so bright, she wondered as she relieved herself.
A few minutes later when she was more oriented and coordinated she turned on the shower, thankful that it was at full blast and loaded her toothbrush up with toothpaste and began the job of getting rid of the taste of old gym socks. After she brushed her teeth once more she gargled with mouthwash for an extra two minutes. She climbed into the shower and groaned as hot water poured over her and made her feel more alive.
What the hell happened last night?
She really couldn't remember much, but she knew that would change. The few times she'd gotten drunk in her life she had the misfortune of remembering everything that happened the next day, a rather nasty side effect of having a photographic memory.
A rather frightening thought occurred to her. What if she'd had sex? Did she make him wear a condom? Did she enjoy it? After a minute she relaxed. No, she definitely didn't have sex since she didn't feel tender between her legs, but that didn't mean she hadn't done something equally as stupid.
If she didn't push it she'd remember sooner rather than later. She knew the key was just to relax and let it come to her.
"You feeling better?" Trevor suddenly asked, making Zoe wince. Damn hangover making everything sound sharp and loud.
"Yes, I think so," she said loud enough to be heard over the sound of running water and through the wall. She wondered if Trevor had been a witness to anything stupid she may have done.
"That's good," he said absently. "I took care of Toby today."
"Oh, thank you," she said loudly, feeling horrible that she'd neglected the poor baby.
"Zoe?"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember anything about last night?" he asked, sounding a little more than simply curious.
"Not yet, but I will," she said, swallowing nervously. "Did I do something monumentally stupid?"
"You mean besides going to a bar to have sex with a complete stranger and getting drunk?" he asked, dryly.
She sighed with relief. If getting drunk was the only stupid thing she'd done last night then she'd count herself lucky. Then she cringed when his words sank in.
He knew.
"I'm guessing I was pretty chatty last night," she said, trying to sound casual about the whole thing and praying she'd been able to keep her mouth shut about some of the more embarrassing details.