Page 34 of The Hero I Can't Resist
When Zach parks, he gets out and hangs back by his truck as I walk Aria to her door. The lights are all out, telling me that my brother isn’t home yet. I hate leaving her, knowing she’s upset. “Want me to stay for a while?”
She pulls me in for a hug. “No, I’m fine. I love you, sis. Talk to you soon, okay?”
I nod, wishing I knew what to say to make things better, but I don’t have a clue where to start.
I wait until she walks in the door, and when I turn, Zach is standing behind me. He holds his hand out, and I grimace before walking past him.
He jogs to catch up, opening the passenger side of the truck, and I reluctantly get in. He goes through the same steps, fastening my seatbelt and then closing my door and walking around to the driver’s side.
I lean my head back on the head rest and close my eyes, hoping that Zach doesn’t try to talk on the way home. I need some time to process everything.
CHAPTER 15
ZACH
Skyler acted as if she was sleeping the whole way home. It wasn’t until I pulled into the garage that she opened her eyes and quickly got out.
I made sure everything was locked up and the alarm was reset before following her upstairs. I’m leaning against her open door while she’s in the bathroom with the door closed. It’s minutes later before she comes out. Her hair is in a knot on top of her head, her makeup is gone, and she’s in a long T-shirt. I avert my eyes from her bare legs as she climbs into bed.
“Are you going to talk to me?”
She lies back on the pillow and stares at the ceiling. “What do you want to talk about?”
I move toward her. “Why are you mad at me? What did I do?”
She fires a look at me, and I swear I can feel the heat from it. “Really? You’re going to ask me that?”
I stand beside the bed, hovering over her. “Yes, because I have no idea why you’re so pissed.”
She ignores me, and I walk around to the other side of the bed and start removing my clothes. She sits up then. “What are you doing? I’m mad at you… Go to the guestroom.”
I chuckle, and her glare sharpens. “Sweetheart, I’m addicted to sleeping with you in my arms, so yeah, I’m not going anywhere.”
Her mouth drops open, but she quickly closes it and shakes her head. “You can’t sleep here. Why don’t you see if the blonde from earlier wants you in her bed? I’m sure she does.” She starts to mumble as she crosses her arms over her chest and lies down. “Prospective client, my ass. I didn’t know you let all your clients touch you and?—”
I lie down next to her and rest my head on my hand, looking at her. “Is that what this is about?”
She glares at me and then looks back to the ceiling.
I reach over and run my finger along her shoulder. “I think it’s cute you’re jealous.”
Her mouth falls open, and she juts her chin. “Are you kidding me right now? I’m not jealous. All I’m saying is that you made it sound like there’s something between us, and then the first blonde with big boobs that hits on you turns your head.”
In full frustration, I move over her, holding her hands over her head against the bed. She struggles and then finally stops. She closes her eyes, but that’s not going to work for me. “Look at me,” I demand.
Her jaw tightens, and she glares up at me. “What?”
“She was a prospective client, and if you were paying attention, you would have realized that when I found out it was a personal bodyguard with benefits she was looking for, I told her we wouldn’t be taking the job… and I told her that I was in a serious relationship with you.”
She blinks at me. “You did not.”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “Sky, I showed her pictures of you on my phone, told her you were going to be my wife one day, and then left her with Alex to make sure she got home okay.”
Skyler’s chest rises and falls rapidly. “You… you didn’t say that.”
I lean down until we’re nose to nose. “I’ve tried telling you that this is serious between us. Maybe you should start listening to me.”
She exhales, her face open and unguarded. “Zach… look at you… you’re always going to have women hitting on you.”
