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She growled low in her throat, tugged the towel off her hair and tossed it across the room. Eight hours had done nothing to dull the sharp misery of denying herself the sweetest taste of heaven she’d ever been offered. Her body screamed that she should have gone for it, had sex with Dex and let the chips fall where they may. It wasn’t as if one wild bout of passion—or five or six—meant forever. Except Dex was at his family’s inn taking care of long-term responsibilities, and he had a grandma who predicted his wedding and kids.
He was just too good for the likes of a leather-wearing gal like her. Sure, he might be a little upset now. But he’d be more upset if she’d let them get intimate then broken his heart.
Throwing her towel-clad self on the bed, Zoe yanked open the nightstand for her candy stash. Popping a chocolate-covered caramel-nut treat into her mouth, she tugged her laptop over and booted it up. Before the welcome screen flashed, her cell phone rang.
She glanced at the screen and sighed. Then, pressing speakerphone, she answered. “No, Meghan. I haven’t found your guy yet.”
“You make it sound like that’s the only thing I ever call you about,” her sister-in-law defended, her tone pure irritation.
Only this week. Zoe uncapped her lotion and shrugged, but didn’t respond.
“I miss you,” Meghan told her. “I wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“Sorry, I’m feeling a little raw,” Zoe said with a sigh. “I’m coming to find out that most of these people are actually pretty cool. Which makes me a total jerk for figuring them all for jerks just because a few made my life hell, ya know?”
“You’re making friends?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Zoe headed her off. At the word friends, the image of Dex’s face when she’d rejected him flashed behind her eyes. She hated that she’d put that look in his beautiful eyes. “I don’t think I’m friend material,” she decided. “I’m too much of a flake.”
“You’re my friend.”
“That’s because you married my brother and forced yourself on me.”
Meghan laughed, even though they both knew it was pretty much the truth. People were fluid in Zoe’s life. Except Zach. And by association, Meghan.
“You’re not a really a flake,” Meghan defended musingly. “You need to give yourself a chance. I think you’re harder on yourself than anyone else would ever be. But you’re brilliant, Zoe. You need to give people a chance to find that out.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zoe muttered.
“What about that cutie you saw your first day there? Was he in your class?”
“He turned out to be Dex.”
“The old friend?”
“Yeah. The old best friend. Why do guys have to be so complicated and confusing?” Zoe asked in exasperation as she rubbed the forest-scented lotion into her skin.
“Oh, please, guys are easy. You just complicate things by trying to avoid letting people know you. You might try dating sometime,” Meghan continued in her big-sister-lecturing tone, “instead of always avoiding people.”
Zoe made a face at the phone. She didn’t avoid people. She simply chose not to deal with them long-term. Which is why the masked hottie was perfect for her. Limited time together, sexy possibilities. No commitments. Wild sex, intense passion, mind-blowing orgasms. And a happy wave of the fingers when it was over.
And then there was Dex. He made her think commitment. Which scared the hell out of her. She was crazy about two guys and she wanted them both like crazy. She didn’t know what to do about it. She’d never been promiscuous. But now all she could think of was sex. Always and often. With both Dex and the masked hottie. Two men, both turning her on equally. Hell, if one of them suggested a threesome, she’d probably have herself stripped naked before they even shook hands hello.
Needing a distraction, Zoe glanced at her laptop. She listened with half an ear as Meghan lectured her on all the wonderful traits that Zoe should give herself credit for. Frowning, she stared at her computer screen. There, in the middle of the purple swirling wallpaper covered in hearts and skulls was a new icon. A glittering, circular arrow filled half her screen. It said, “C’mon, you know you want to.”
Who’d touched her laptop?
She automatically ran a virus scan, then pulled out her jump drive. She’d backed up that morning, hadn’t she?
“You’re a great person, Zoe. You just need to give yourself credit.” Meghan paused while Zoe snickered, then in a huffier tone continued, “How many sisters would drop everything to run off and try to help their brother, I ask you? Not many. And it might not even help now. Zach went on that interview.”
