27. Zoe

27

ZOE

I sat at the stop sign and knew that if I turned left, I would go to my house, or if I turned right it would take me to the Montgomery estate, where Miles was staying while he was in town filming. The crew and some of the cast had filled Mrs. B's Boarding House, and they'd even rented the majority of the Airbnbs. I knew that because Harlan told me.

Just go home , I told myself. No good could come of me going to see him. No. Good.

Those two words were still running through my mind as I turned the wheel to the right. The drive out to the estate was only about ten minutes. The entire way, I was telling myself to turn around. I was still telling myself that when the headlights shone on the narrow drive leading up to the estate. Large willow trees lined the path. The estate wasn't as grand as Abernathy Manor, but it certainly wasn't anything to sneeze at.

Four pillars stood in front of the brick colonial two-story with ivy winding up to the top. The white window shutters and flower boxes gave the exterior an inviting appeal that I didn't remember from my previous visit. I'd come here on the last day of fifth grade for a pool party because Sandra Montgomery was in my class. At the time, I remember it felt more like a museum than a home. I was scared to touch anything.

I pulled up beside the black SUV parked in front and turned off the engine.

What am I doing? I asked myself.

This was a bad idea.

Bad. Idea.

Those two words were running through my head as I grabbed my purse, got out of the car, and walked up to the front door. I lifted my hand to knock and realized it was shaking. My fingers balled in a fist as my knuckles rapped on the wooden surface. Once. Twice.

I lowered my arm and waited.

The only sounds I heard were the whooshing of my heartbeat, the leaves rustling from the night breeze, and the crickets chirping. There was no sound coming from inside the house.

Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it saved me from myself. Maybe I should just turn around and leave.

Instead, I lifted my hand and knocked again—this time with a little more force.

I swallowed the saliva that filled my mouth like a popped fire hydrant, nerves rioting through me as I waited on the porch. Again, I heard nothing but the aforementioned sounds. There was no sign of movement inside.

This was ridiculous. Who did I think I was showing up on Miles' doorstep at ten o'clock at night unannounced and uninvited? Where were my manners?

I turned on the heels of my tennis shoes and was halfway down the path when I heard the front door open. My heart leapfrogged into my throat.

"Zoe." The all-too-familiar deep voice sounded behind me.

My feet stopped in their tracks, and I slowly turned around as goosebumps lifted on my skin that had nothing to do with the night breeze.

When I made the one-eighty turn, I quietly gasped at what I saw. Miles Ford was standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a white terrycloth towel.

"I'm sorry to bother you; I was just?—"

"You're not bothering me. Come in." He stepped back and held the door open with one hand while the other held the towel.

I'd had sex with Miles, but I hadn't really taken the time to study his body. It had been a pretty overwhelming experience. I'd had a lot going on. Mainly the fact that I kept thinking, I'm having sex with Miles Ford. Seeing him in this context was a completely different experience.

I could appreciate his Adonis-like physique for what it was. The strength and tensile beauty of his broad chest, rounded shoulders, and chiseled arms. The corded muscles in his forearms and the dips and planes in his washboard abs. He was a superb male specimen.

My heartbeat sped as I walked past him and tried not to gawk. Instead, I glanced around the entryway. I scanned the marble floors and the grand mahogany staircase.

"This place is…beautiful. I came here once for a pool party."

"You did?" He closed the door behind me.

"Yep." I turned back to him. "Sandra Montgomery was in my class. The Montgomerys were one of the founding families of Firefly Island. Them, the Abernathys, and the Culpeppers. You've heard of Abernathy Manor, right?"

"The haunted house, right?"

"Yeah, that place. Well, Carlton Abernathy, whose family owned luxury hotels, purchased the island along with two of his fraternity brothers. Trenton Culpepper, whose father was an oil tycoon, and Benson Montgomery, who was heir to a shipping dynasty. The three of them attended Harvard together and bought the island to use as a private vacation destination. But after they graduated, they decided to move to the island and develop it, and now it's Firefly Island." I could hear myself babbling as I walked into the front sitting room, but I couldn't stop myself.

"Oh." Miles nodded and pretended like my history lesson was actually interesting.

"Anyway, that doesn't matter. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for going to the birthday party today. You really didn't have to do that. It was?—"

"I know," he interjected.

"What?"

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to."

"Oh, well. Still, thank you. It meant so much to AJ. It was all the boys were talking about on the way to their sleepover and?—"

His demeanor changed, and so did the atmosphere between us. "AJ's at a sleepover?"

"Oh, um, yeah. He wanted to stay at his friend Ritchie's house. They have a pool and a movie room, so…" I licked my lips nervously.

"Do you have to work early tomorrow?"

"No," my response barely registered above a whisper.

He took a step closer to me. The room was huge, but suddenly it felt small. Very, very small. Miles had a way of filling a space. It didn't matter how big the space was; his presence was so all-consuming. All-encompassing. He commanded any room he was in. He had an air of authority and dominance that was impossible to ignore. He was at least five feet away from me, but I could feel him.

"So, you don't have to go home tonight."

My breath was labored as tingles spread through my body. I knew exactly what this man could make me feel. The places that being with him could take me. But I also knew the cost. The way my mind would obsess over every single second we'd spend together, playing it over and over again. I knew the way my body would ache missing his touch, his kiss. I knew how my soul would yearn to feel seen, to feel loved, to feel cared for, to feel protected, even if it was just for a few stolen moments.

I'd barely been able to get over him after spending one night with him. What would happen if I spent another?

"I missed you, Zoe. So bad. It drove me crazy. I tried to give you space, but it killed me not being able to talk to you, to hear your voice, to know that you were okay."

"I was fine, I just…this is too complicated. It's not…it could never be anything."

I could see the pain my statement caused in his eyes. Was he actually hurt that we couldn't be together? No. That wasn't possible.

"Can you just stay the night? Nothing has to happen. We can just talk."

"Talk?" Was that really all he wanted to do?

"Or not talk," he quickly amended. "We don't have to talk. But can you just stay? I missed you."

A grin lifted on my lips.

He took another step forward. "I don't know how to explain it, but I feel the most myself when I'm with you. There is no one I would rather talk or not talk with than you. I don't know what you did to me, but from the moment you opened the door wearing your Atlanta Braves shirt and gray sweats, I haven't been able to think straight."

That was the second time he'd brought up what I'd worn on the day he'd met me. I wondered why, but I couldn't really think straight because all of the blood that was supposed to be in my brain was going to other parts of my body as tingles erupted in my core.

I licked my lips nervously. His gaze flickered down to my mouth, and he watched my tongue as it slid across my mouth. If someone could make me come just by looking at me, it would be Miles.

He took another step forward, this one closing the distance between us. "I'm not asking for more than you're willing to give me. I'm just asking for tonight."

"Okay."

"You'll stay?"

"Yes." I started to nod, but before my chin could move an inch, I felt myself being lifted off the ground and carried up the stairs. I giggled as I wrapped my arms around his neck. When we were halfway up the stairs, I saw the towel on the bottom step.

"You lost your towel."

"Good, I don't need it."

When we got to the room, I found myself being tossed on a king-sized bed. The next thing I knew, Miles was above me. He unbuckled my jeans while I pulled my shirt up and off my head and kicked my shoes off. Within seconds, I was completely naked, and so was he.

He stood at the end of the bed, staring at me with reverent awe, almost as if he couldn't believe I was in his bed. I don't think I would ever understand why he felt the way he did about me, but for once in my life, I wasn't going to overthink it.

I let my knees fall apart in silent invitation as my arms reached out to him. His nostrils flared as he climbed into bed, hovering above me. I'd missed so much about him, but I think this was what I missed the most: the weight of his body above me.

He leaned down and covered my mouth with his in a soul-claiming kiss. I could feel his erection sliding against my sex. Moving up and down my feminine folds. I moved my hand between our bodies and wrapped my fingers around his straining erection. I squeezed his member and began to stroke his shaft up and down. I could feel him swelling in my palm as he kissed me deeper, his tongue exploring the recesses of my mouth.

The carnal ache deep inside of me that only he could satisfy intensified with every second that passed. I'd missed the way he filled me up, stretching my body to its limits. Urgency roared from the core of my being as I lined his engorged head up to my opening. But before he pushed inside of me, he shifted, moving down my body.

He pressed open-mouth kisses along my neck, my breast, my stomach, and my hips, before settling between my legs. His fingers spread me apart, and his mouth covered my sex. His tongue licked both sides of my folds before tracing my slit, moving up and down.

My fingers fisted in the comforter as I arched my back, wanting, needing more. One of his hands gripped my hip, holding me in place, while the other moved around my leg to the hood of my sex. His finger worked in tandem with his tongue. He flicked my clit with his middle digit while he licked the base of my opening and my taint.

Within seconds, ripples of ecstasy flooded through me. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me. A rush of sensation so powerful overtook me that I completely surrendered to it. I cried out in abandon as my body shuddered with completion.

Miles pressed his lips to my inner thighs as the aftershocks hit me. "I want to kiss every inch of your body."

I nodded as my legs and arms fell limp with exhaustion. If I hadn't been with Miles before, I would swear that there was no way I would be able to come again. That there was no way I'd be able to rally. But I had been with him, so I knew this was just the beginning.