Bliss Series Boxed Set: The Whole Damn Harem (95 page)

“Did you have sisters?”

“Two older brothers. I’m the baby.” She shrugs and smiles at me. “Now stop avoiding the question and spill, Zoe.”

“Are you this demanding with my brother?” She quirks a brow at me, and smirks. “Oh dammit, no! I don’t mean like that. Dirty, dirty woman!” That just starts her giggling, blushing like crazy, which makes me join her laughing.

“Zoe, tell me what I need to know.”

“It’s kind of all of the above. Noah kind of asked me out on Tuesday and I said yes.” Then I’m wearing Kate’s wine as she spits it out all over me. “Oh my god! Sorry, oh shit.” She runs to grab a kitchen towel and hands it to me so I can dry myself off, something I do with great amusement. “That is totally not what I thought you would say.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t something I saw coming either. I went from hearing about his Walking Dildo history in the cafeteria to having him hunt me down to apologize for kissing me, then in the very next breath, asking me out for a quiet dinner and drinks on Saturday.”

She starts giggling uncontrollably and I start to look around the lounge for another empty wine bottle—or five. “What?”

“Your brother . . .”
Snort
“ . . . is going to hit the fucking roof!” She slowly regains her composure but still sniggers as I continue.

“That’s kind of what I’m worried about. And, well . . . is Noah even single?”

Her face falls as she leans deeper into the couch, curling her legs up on the seat to get comfortable. “Mac has known him for a long time, over six years in fact, and although he does have his moments of sheer stupidity, he is a great guy. One thing he isn’t though is a cheater. Even with the arrangement he had with Mac all those years ago, if he met a woman he liked, they would cool it between the two of them while he pursued the relationship. When it didn’t work out, it would start up again.”

That’s one thing in his favor, I suppose.

“He left the wedding with Nikki though.”

Her eyes soften and she reaches her hand over to rest on my leg. “Hun, don’t take this the wrong way, but he was drunk. And I don’t just mean a little, I mean a
lot
. Nikki was there, he brought her to the wedding—it’s kind of expected that he’d leave with her too.”

“I suppose. It’s just . . . actually, no. Don’t worry about it.”

“What, Zo?”

“He admitted that he doesn’t remember kissing me,” I confess, grimacing when Kate gasps in shock. I carry on though, somehow feeling like I have to defend him. “He only found out what had happened when his brother told him about it last weekend. It must be why he sought me out at work.”

“I knew he was drunk, but to not remember it at all? Jesus! You’d think the sore face the next day would be a sign of something having happened.”

I shrug, unsure what to say to that. It still seems unbelievable to me that he doesn’t remember a thing.

“How do you feel about him having no fucking clue what he did?”

“It wasn’t a one-man show, Kate. I was an active participant. I may not have started it but I sure as hell helped finish it.”

“True. So a date? Non-date? Booty call? Repeat performance?”

“Slow down, woman, you’re supposed to be helping me sort my head out, not clutter it up even more!”

“Sorry, it’s just . . . well with what you’ve been through recently, are you even open to meeting someone new?”

“I’m not heartbroken over Justin, Kate. I was freaked out over him basically stalking me then breaking into my bedroom while I slept. Noah isn’t Justin—well, not from what you’re telling me.”

She smiles and shakes her head. “Not at all, hon. He’s a good guy. Daniel’s known him for twenty years or something, and since he’s just married my best friend, I consider him both a good judge of character as well as a miracle worker.”

“Right. So nothing ventured, nothing gained?”

“Something like that. If you’re okay with it, that’s all that matters. Even if your brother throws a shit-fit and tries to go all macho about it, it’s your life.”

I finish my glass of wine and grin at her, over the moon that I’ll be able to call her my sister in just a few months’ time.

“And besides, leave Zander to me. I’ll just distract him with sex if he becomes a problem.”

“Hun, I love you, but if you talk about having sex with my brother again, I may have to kill you.” I stand up and walk into the kitchen to put my empty glass on the counter.

She grins at me over the back of the couch. “Someone’s got to do it and for the sake of your love life, I’ll do it, Zoe. Just for you.”

“Someone New”

Zoe

Saturday night and I’m a basket case. I’ve dressed, undressed, and dressed again at least five times, and even with Kate’s help I’m a wreck.

It shouldn’t be this hard. It’s drinks and dinner with a friend. A work colleague. Okay, I’ve been having dirty,
dirty
dreams about the man but he doesn’t know that. It’s totally normal for a woman to vividly fantasize about a man doing unspeakable things to her, right? It’s not weird.

How can a man I barely know—but who I know a lot
about
—have me twisted in knots before we’ve even been out on a date? This isn’t normally me.

I’m confident, I’m forward, and I’m generally the woman who is carefree, taking things as they come, and definitely not one to stress the fuck out about a quiet drink with a man. A very sexy, charming, confident man, who by all accounts is a nice guy, albeit one who has a past where he was my friend’s ‘friend with benefits’ for years—then again, so was Zander—and who is known for being an accomplished flirt machine.

“Babe, you look gorgeous. You need to slap on some lipstick and get out the door. You don’t want to keep him waiting, do you?”

I turn around to see Kate standing in my bedroom doorway, hands on her hips and looking as if she’s ready to throw me out the door herself if she has to. “Your ride’s here, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just get going, will you?” She’s suddenly very eager to get me out the door.

I look back into the mirror in front of me, catching her eyes in the reflection. “I’m not an idiot, right? I mean, this is crazy, right?”

Her expression softens. “You like him?”

“I don’t know him enough to like him.” I’m just stating facts.

“But you like the idea of him . . .”

“Maybe . . .” I reply coyly. She lifts a brow and levels me with a ‘don’t bullshit me’ stare. “Okay, yes. I do. Why does it feel like I’m jumping out of the frying pan and straight into the fire?”

“Because Noah is the kind of blazing inferno you want to get burned by,” she states with a grin. “And by all accounts, he’s definitely scorching.”

“Okay.” I steel myself as I take one last look in the mirror. I’m wearing a pair of dark denim straight-leg jeans and brown snakeskin heels. To complete the look I have a V-neck black tank with sheer cut-outs strewn across the front and sides, and a tan blazer on top. I add a spritz of my Dior Addict perfume and a swipe of my favorite wine-colored gloss. Let’s face it—there’s no way I’m going to end up kissing him so I don’t need to worry about lipstick transfer.

I bend down and grab my matching snakeskin purse and move toward the door.

“And Zander knows?” I ask as we walk down the hallway together.

“He knows you’re going out, just not who you’re meeting. I think that’s a battle for another day and definitely not one that I can get stuck in the middle of.” I nod in agreement. Hell, there might not even be anything worth telling him about yet.

“See you later, then.” I take a deep breath.

“Keep your eyes and mind open, hon. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And let’s face it, you already have that awkward first kiss out of the way.”

“I’m just the only one who remembers it.”

“Maybe you’ve shown him that it’s worth a repeat performance?”

The tension eases out of my body. “Reason number sixty-nine my brother is marrying you,” I state with a laugh.

“Oh no, honey. Reason number sixty-nine is a lot more fun than that.”

“Eww, no. No, no, no, no, no. TMI. That’s definitely my cue to leave.”

I walk out the door leaving a laughing Kate behind, turning to see what I expect to be a cab. But then my breath catches when I see the scorching sight of Noah Taylor leaning up against a black SUV parked at the curb.

“Hey.” His voice is like the softest suede with the sexiest gravel undertone I’ve ever heard. He has one of those voices that you could listen to for hours.

“Ah Hi.”

“You look fucking amazing.”

Oh wow. My cheeks heat up and I’m suddenly bashful.

I look him up and down. He’s wearing dark dirty-denim jeans that fit like they were made for him, and a navy blue button-down that does nothing to dissuade my nighttime imaginings.

“You’re not looking too bad yourself, Noah. I might prefer the scrubs though.” I wink at him and he chuckles.
Win number one for me!

“Need a ride?”

“Well isn’t that a loaded question, if ever there was one?” I tilt my head and smirk, a look he matches, and fuck if it doesn’t make my whole body tremble.
He’s good.

I take a step closer to him, wondering whether anything could shake this man’s confidence. I look into his deep blue eyes and contemplate everything that is going on behind them, hoping that he might give me the chance to find out.

“Well you’re here, unexpectedly but definitely not unappreciated, and we’re going to the same place, so I suppose I could let you drive me.”

“Your kindness knows no bounds, Ms. Roberts.” An uncharacteristic giggle escapes my lips and his smile widens as he holds the front passenger door open for me.

“A gentleman?”

“In public anyway.”

“And in private?” What the hell is wrong with me? A few minutes with the man and I’ve jumped head first into my flirting on autopilot.

His eyes darken and a sexy smirk appears.
Panty-melting smirk? Check! “
I think we’re a few dates and a long conversation away from entertaining those kinds of thoughts.”

“Good answer,” I murmur softly as he closes the door and rounds the car before sliding into the driver’s seat with ease.

“You don’t mind me picking you up?”

“I’m actually pleasantly surprised. You’re courting danger, though.”

He laughs. “If you’re talking about your brother, I did some recon and found out he is working tonight so I decided it was safe to pick you up.”

“Brave and smart. A dangerous combination.”
Seriously, Zoe. Shut the hell up with the compliments already.

“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a good thing. Now let’s get that drink.”

∞
∞
∞

“What can I get you?” the waitress asks a few moments after Noah guides me to a somewhat secluded corner of the quiet, upmarket bar in the heart of the city.

Noah looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Damn he looks hot when he does that. I see something in those eyes of his that I can’t pinpoint, but it’s definitely a different look from the one he wore the other day when he asked me out.

“You pick,” I tell him after looking at the drinks menu, which consists of craft beers, bourbon and whiskey. “There’s nothing on there that I wouldn’t like, so surprise me.” I’ve always thought the kind of drink a man orders a women can say a lot and I’m
very
interested in what the great Noah Taylor might choose.

“Hmm,” he murmurs, lifting a thumb to his chin as he contemplates what to order. “There’s a Fighting Cock bourbon . . .” He looks up and smirks at me before dropping his eyes back to the menu in his hand. “But how about we start slow . . .” He flips the menu and orders a Pilsner for him and a Prosecco for me.

Then we’re alone again.

“Nice choice. An amazingly accurate one. If I hadn’t have chosen that, I would’ve gone for the Pinot Grigio.”

“A woman with taste.” He leans back into the leather bench seat across from me, a low table between the two of us.

“A man who seems to have insight into a woman’s way of thinking.” Foot meet mouth.
We’ve met before.

His eyes widen before he laughs. “Maybe . . .”

“Oh I totally didn’t mean for that to sound like . . . oh shit. I’m sorry.” It’s a plea to not take my verbal diarrhea personally, something I realize he finds funny when he just sits there with his head cocked to the side watching me try and dig myself a deep hole.

“I know what you meant, Zoe. Relax. I’m not that scary, am I?”

“Well . . . I’ve heard all about you, and probably know things about you a woman would not normally need to know for a first date. So I’m unsure what to say.”

He sits back and spreads his arms along the back of the leather bench seat. He’s totally at ease with himself and here’s me sitting here wondering if my top is too see-through, especially given the number of times I’ve caught him checking out my girls already.

“Tell me more about you. All I know is that you’re Zander’s sister, you’re an MRI Technician, you’re stubborn at times, and hard to get to know. Does that cover it?” He smirks at me, but I notice that his eyes never move away from mine. There are a lot of people starting to fill up the bar but his sole focus is on me.

“You pretty much just summed me up in a few sentences. Nice date. See you at work,” I tease as I move to stand up. His eyes widen and his shoulders visibly tighten, only relaxing when I start laughing at him. “Really? You thought I’d go that easy on ya?”

He joins me laughing, a deep chuckle that reaches the deep recesses of my lady parts. One of those ones you wish you could record and play on a loop when the moment calls for it.

“Well, if we’re doing the official first-date thing, then I’ll sum myself up for you. Two sisters, Mia who is twenty-two, and Danika who is almost eighteen, and a brother, Zander, who you’ve obviously met.”

He nods and rubs his chin, which just makes me smile again. “I met his fist, too.”

My cheeks burn, “Yeah, he’s a bit . . . ah . . . protective you could say.”

“Just a bit, but I would be the same if I had a sister.”