Page 104 of The Mechanics of Lust

“Moving? No. I’m only flying back to meet with my lawyer.”

Zach blinked. “Your lawyer? You mean you’re not leaving Oakwood?”

I frowned. “Why would I leave Oakwood? I’m seeing my lawyer to go over a partnership contract with Gary. I’m hoping to use some of my money to invest in a second helicopter as my buy-in. Wild Run has more business than it can handle, but to expand, Gary needs investment and it’s a great opportunity for me.”

Zach squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. “I thought maybe... I didn’t know if you—”

I smiled and drew him close. “You thought I was leaving because of you?”

He flushed. “Yes. No. Okay, maybe?”

I nuzzled his neck. “You thought I’d run with my tail between my legs because Zach Lane turned me down? No, baby. As irresistible as you might be, I’d decided to stay whether or not you saw a future for us. When you told me you didn’t, I was gutted, and yes, I briefly considered canning the whole idea. But I don’t give up easily, and I had a plan to woo you back. Besides, I like Oakwood. I love my work. I like the people. And I’m making friends, Doug included.”

Zach pulled a face, which made me laugh. Then his eyes softened. “Just so you know, I would’ve done long-distance if that was the only option.”

“So would I.” I kissed him, my hands relishing the feel of all the warm pale skin of his bare back. “Just soyouknow, Gil was well aware of why I was going to Wellington.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed. “Why that little...” Then he huffed, “He was interfering again, wasn’t he?”

“At a guess.” I should’ve been pissed, but I wasn’t, not if it had brought Zach running.

Zach thought about that then shrugged it off. “Whatever. Come on.” He pulled me toward the bedroom. “After racing back to confess my feelings and stop you from leaving, I at least deserve an orgasm at the end of it.”

“Whoa there.” I tugged him to a stop outside the bedroom door and flicked on the hall light so I could see his face. “Confess your feelings?” I arched a brow.

He instantly flushed red. “Shit. You caught that, huh?”

I slid an arm around his waist and drew him close, brushing my lips over his. “Anything I should know?” I waited for his reply, our faces inches apart.

“Very likely.” He bumped his nose to mine. “I... well. I... I guess I might be kind of—” He sighed. “I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.”

I couldn’t hide the explosion of happiness in my heart, lifting him off the ground and spinning us both around with a whoop of delight.

He laughed and kissed the top of my head. “Put me down, you crazy man.”

I dropped him back onto his feet and kissed him thoroughly, savouring the sweet taste of him on my tongue as he moaned into my mouth, demanding more. Pulling away, I cradled his face and stared into those bright green eyes. “Kind of, pretty sure, huh?”

He gave a pained groan. “Was it that bad?”

“Not at all.” I walked him backward into my bedroom and pushed him onto the bed before following him down. “I love you, Zach.” I cupped his cheek. “I’ve known it for a while. I love everything about you, the life you want to build for yourself, and I’m here for it all. But I get that this has been harder for you—deciding what you want, and who you want, and if the timing is right, especially with what’s happened over the last year. I don’t need to hear the words from you if you’re not ready. Almost and pretty sure are just fine with me. That you have faith enough to give us a go tells me everything I need to know. I want all of you when you’re ready.”

He ran a finger down my nose and over my lips to my chin. Then he leaned in and kissed me. “Thank you.”

I kissed him back. “No need to thank me. But wearegonna work on your prevarication.”

His mouth curved up in a wicked grin. “If that’s a fancy word for my dick, I am totally down with that.”

“I’ll inform Collins and Webster.” I wriggled to my feet and then peeled his jeans and briefs from his legs, ignoring his socks as I kissed my way back up his body until I straddled his thighs. But when I lowered my lips to meet his, he held me back with a firm hand against my shoulder.

“I’m so fucking sorry I hurt you.” His eyes shone with tears. “I’m sorry for what I said that night. I’m sorry for walking away. I was... scared, I guess? You were... so unexpected. The whole Gil and Holden thing, and then all the shit with my dad, it didn’t seem something good like you and me could be real. I thought I was setting myself up for another fall.”

I ran a thumb over his damp cheeks. “So, what changed?”

He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I came to the realisation that I’ve lived most if not all of my life until the last year being scared of taking chances. You didn’t with a father like ours. Life was pretty scripted if you wanted to keep out of trouble. He was a good enough dad in general, I suppose, but that homophobic thing was pretty fucking scary to grow up with as a gay kid. And then the two times I did take a chance and step outside the box—once with Holden and then coming out to Mum and Dad—they didn’t exactly work out great for me.”

“Neither of those were your fault.” I traced the line of his jaw and he turned his head and kissed my fingers.

“I know, and I think I knew I’d made the worst mistake of my life as soon as I left you that night. But I needed a bit of time to understand why. And then the thing with Dad happened, and I finally got it. I looked at him lying in that bed today, and I realised how much I’d changed in a year. That I wasn’t that scared kid anymore. That I didn’t need anyone’s approval for how I lived my life and the decisions I made. That I didn’t care what people thought about us, even Holden and Gil. And that I wasn’t going to settle for safe scraps any longer. Jules reminded me that there are too few people in the world who truly tick your boxes to walk away from one just because you’re scared.”

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