06

She ran her hand tiredly over her face. Maybe she should have taken Bobby up on his offer to open up a can of good ole’ fashioned whoop ass on Zeb. Zeb would probably have taken him out with no problem but she had enough confidence that Bobby could have got in a lick or two.

She groaned again. What was she thinking ? It seemed as if this day was never going to end. She had to get rid of him once and for all. Changing directions, she made her way back to the front door swung it open in a flourish, not bothering to wait for him to knock. His hand was in the air, poised to knock and she glared at him with all the menace that she could muster. She wanted him to see just how pissed off she was at this moment and she was plenty pissed because he had no right to follow her home.

Zeb let his hand fall to his side. He didn’t understand what Elizabeth Lowry’s problem was. She was the one person that he had really been looking forward to coming home to see and yet she cursed him the first moment that she saw him.

It didn’t make any sense. He remembered just how she looked when he left that morning. The small smile that she had on her lips even in her sleep. The euphoric glow that emanated from her peachy skin. Memories from that night had been his haven during the darkest of times. For six long years he dreamed of his Lizzie and she was his. The moment that he had broken through her virginal barrier, he vowed to himself that this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

But right now, she looked like she didn’t want to spend a single second with him. What gives ?

“What is your problem ?”

“You Mr. Crooker. You are my problem.” Elizabeth stated petulantly, jabbing her finger in his chest.

“Am I missing something here ? I mean correct me if I’m wrong but the last time we were together, it had been pretty damn explosive. I’ve thought of that night and what we did many times over. Hell, that night has been the one thing that kept me going when I didn’t think I could, and I know you felt the same too. So…I don’t get it,” he said furrowing his brow. “I don’t understand this animosity. Did I do something wrong ?”

Elizabeth shook her head and took a step back. “You need to leave.”

She went to close the door and Zeb reached up with his muscular arm and grabbed the door jamb to stop her. “Oh no. You’re not getting off that easy Missy. I want to know what your problem is and I want to know now.”

The tension that stretched between the two of them was so thick that it would take a butcher knife to saw through it. Something was bothering her and Zeb wanted to know what that something was. If she was mad with him, he wanted to know why.

“My problem Mr. Crooker is you. I’m only going to ask you one more time to leave. You can go on your own or I can make a phone call and have you forcibly removed. Your choice. What’s it going to be ?”

Zeb almost laughed at the hilarity of the situation. She was just as stubborn as ever. It took him four years just to get her to dance with him. He took another step forward and pushed open the door, forcing Elizabeth back inside of the house. Using his large body, he made sure to crowd in her personal space. She gawked at him with owl sized eyes. “What do you think you’re doing ?” she asked him and he could hear the trepidation in her voice.

“What I’ve wanted to do since that moment that I walked into Bobby’s garage and saw you sitting there so smugly in your tiny cut off jean shorts and that skimpy little tank top that you have on.” His eyes took a leisurely stroll of her body. “You sat there just as pretty as you please with your nose up in the air, doing your damndest to ignore me Elizabeth Lowry.”

Zeb took another encroaching step up to her so that now there was literally no space between them and gently grabbed the sides of her face with his palms. He leaned into her and whispered against her lips. “Why don’t you try and ignore this baby.”

And then he did the unthinkable. He kissed her.

Her lips were just as soft and just as sugary sweet as he remembered them. They were like rose petals, so silky smooth in texture. He had dreamt about these particular lips, imagining what they would feel like once he was able to kiss them again. Now that he was actually kissing them, the reality was so much better than the dreams.

She had been shocked by his bold move and that was exactly what he had been counting on. She had been so angry with him, her cheeks flushed and looking adorably cute with that stubborn set of her chin that he wanted nothing more that to kiss her into submission.

When he first laid his eyes on her back at Bobby’s garage his world tipped sideways before turning completely upside down. She stole his breath and now he wanted to steal hers. At eighteen years of age, she had been a natural beauty but standing here today- she was absolutely stunning.

She had rounded out nicely in all the right places and there was a feminine maturity about her that hadn’t been there before. He wanted this woman more than he ever wanted anything in his life and six years of separation did nothing to disquiet that wanting. If anything, the time apart has only fanned the flames between them.

And now that she was in his arms he would be damned if he would let her get away from him.

Needing more, Zeb hungrily sipped at her mouth. At first she stood stiff as a board, her lips pressed tightly together. Lifting his hand, Zeb brought his thumb to her chin and pulled it down. After applying the barest minimum of pressure, she reluctantly opened up to him. He slipped his tongue in her mouth, tentatively caressing her, urging her to join him in this primitive dance. And man, she didn’t disappoint him. After her brief hesitation, she brought her arms and circled them around his neck. He pulled her body flush to his and the scent of gardenia’s infiltrated his nose. He reveled in the flowery scent, remembering how fragrant she had smelled that one night she shared his bed so long ago.

He took another minute to savor her unique taste and ran his hand down the length of her spine before reluctantly pulling away. He slowly lifted his head, taking pure male satisfaction with the dreamy look plastered on her face.

Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted, he wanted nothing more than to dip his head and kiss her again.

But he didn’t. He held himself back and waited for her to open up her eyes and look at him.

When she finally did open her eyes he released his hold on her waist and took a step back. He touched his own lips with his thumb and noticed that they were still moist from her kiss. He sucked in his bottom lip and could still taste her on him. He softly chuckled. “That my dear Lizzie is more like the welcome home that I had been expecting.”