Page 66 of Release Me

“Sure,” she says, following me into the living room.

She drops her bag beside the couch, before sinking into it and I make my way over to the large wet bar, pouring her a drink and grabbing the keyring I set aside earlier.

“For you,” I say, handing her the glass as I sit down on the couch beside her. “And also for you.”

Zoey takes the keys I hold out. “What’s this?”

“Gate and garage door fob, keys for my house. Alarm code is two, three, eight, four,” I say, draping my arm around her shoulders as I lean in to press a kiss to her neck.

“You’re giving me the keys to your house?” she asks, and I can’t help but laugh at the surprise in her voice.

“I am,” I murmur, my lips still on her neck.

“Why?”

I lift my head, my eyes meeting hers. “Because I want to,” I state. “I want you to come over here whenever you want to. Whenever you can. No matter what time, you are always welcome.”

“No matter what time?” she asks, brow raised, a sexy smirk on her face.

Chuckling, I pull her in for a kiss. “No matter what time,” I repeat. “If you’re still awake at three in the morning and you get a sudden urge to come over here and slip into my bed, you will not find me complaining about that, ever.”

She smiles. “Is that right? And what if I wake you up, sneaking into your bed in the middle of the night.”

Now it’s me smiling. “Oh, you better make sure you do, Zoey.”

Zoey lets out a breathless laugh that is sexy as hell. “Noted,” she says, dropping the keys in her lap, her hand now brushing across my cheek. “You sure this isn’t all moving too fast?” she asks, hesitating a little.

I tuck her hair behind her ear, my fingers brushing against her neck. “Does it feel too fast to you?”

She lifts her shoulder. “I mean…”

I watch her, my fingers combing through her hair. “It is fast,” I admit, twisting her long blonde strands around my fingers. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it. Don’t want you. I’m fucking crazy about you, Zoey, but if it’s too fast and you wanna slow things down, we—”

“I didn’t say that,” she says quickly, cutting me off, her fingers pressing against my lips.

A slow grin tugs at my mouth as I playfully nip at her fingers. “You didn’t?”

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “You’re right, it is fast, but I don’t care because I want you too.”

“Hmmm, good answer,” I murmur, pulling her in for a deep kiss.

The next morning, I’m woken by the sound of a phone vibrating against my nightstand. Just as I lean over to grab it, my alarm rings out and I realize the vibration is not coming from my phone, but Zoey’s. Silencing my alarm, I grab the other phone and hand it to Zo, who is stirring in my arms, her warm body pressed against mine.

“Babe, your phone,” I murmur, my voice hoarse from sleep.

“Hmmm,” she whispers, snuggling into my side, her arm draped across my stomach. “My alarm.”

I open an eye to glance at the screen, Delaney’s name flashing across it. “No, it’s ringing,” I say, my eyes closing again. “Delaney.”

“What,” she says, still half asleep, before she suddenly snaps awake, lifting her head from my shoulder. “Wait, what?!”

Chuckling, I pull her back to me, just as the phone stops vibrating. “Don’t worry, it’s stopped.”

“Ethan, shit,” she says, awake now as she scrambles against me, reaching for her phone.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, blinking my eyes open. Zoey sits up, her bare back to me, her long blonde hair hanging loose, and all messed up on account of what the two of us did when we came to bed last night. I reach out and rest my hand on her back. “Zo, babe, you okay?”

She glances back at me, her eyes wide. “Del’s awake,” she whisper-shouts. “And she knows I’m not home!”

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