Page 6 of Protecting my Zinnia

"If we weren't in public, I'd have you naked already," I growl. "Be studying this sweet little body. Kissing you everywhere."

Her lovely blue eyes are wide, her breath shaky. "What else?"

My fingers slip under her panties, squeezing her toned, round ass. "I'd be ripping these off. Plunging inside you to see if I fit inside your luscious little pussy."

I know I'm crossing a line, but from the way she smiles, Zinnia loves it. "Are you just saying that, or do you really think it might not fit?"

I place my hand against the center of her panties, dragging my middle finger through the wet spot. "Saucy. There's only one way to find out. But it won't be anywhere that someone could possibly see us, gorgeous."

She trembles as I nudge against her clit, her little hands clutching me tight. Just as I decide to slide my fingers under the fabric and make her come right now, we hear a dog bark behind us.

Setting her on her feet, we collect ourselves until we're just another couple holding hands by the time a gentleman and his senior golden retriever stroll by.

"I should get you home before I have any more terrible ideas."

Zinnia squeezes my hand. "I think that's for the best tonight. But don't forget those ideas entirely."

Her sass. Her vibrance. She's perfect for me.

She's the one.

3

ZINNIA

Sometimes it hits me all over again just how wonderful my sisters are. By the time I got home last night, the worktables that will serve as our desks had already been set up in the dining room.

In the morning, I stagger blurry-eyed out to the kitchen. Lily already has coffee on, and the remains of a fruit platter are on the kitchen table. Rose is going over the list of the last round of shopping that has to be done today before Dad cuts off the card.

"Have you left me anything to do?" I ask, stirring some milk into my mug of dark French roast.

Rose looks at me with a wicked grin. "Plenty. You can tell us how your date went."

I knew this was coming. I can already feel my cheeks growing warm. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

Lily laughs as she joins us at the table. "Shoe's on the other foot now, isn't it? With us you wanted to pry, now that it's your turn, you don't want to share any details. Not fair, Zin."

Rose laughs. "You can start by telling us if you had a good time, and if you'll be seeing him again."

Lily smirks. "From the look in her eyes, she's already head over heels."

Part of me wants to lie to her. To tell her that I'm perfectly rational. Still in control. "I feel like I'm spiraling," I finally admit. "Like I've been transformed or something. That's not natural, is it?"

They both laugh at me. "Is love natural?" Lily asks, looking dreamily out the window as she raises the back of her hand to her forehead like an overdramatic actor. "Is love even real? Is this the quest your life is on?"

"Oh, man." I shake my head. "Some help from my older sisters would be fantastic right about now."

Rose reaches out to tap my hand on the table. "At least we're going through it together." Her eyes sparkle. "It's wild, right?"

"Yeah." I take another sip of coffee. "I don't get it. It's completely unnatural for me to want to phone anyone, ever. Much less call him first thing in the morning."

"The urge for constant communication. I've got it too," Lily says.

"I have to assume it goes away in a few weeks," Rose says. "Otherwise, nobody would ever get any work done."

"Speaking of work." I turn my attention to the dining room, pointedly changing the subject. "Is that my spot in the corner?"

"Yeah, if that's okay," Rose says. "That way I get natural light while I'm working."