More Than Sorry

21: She Rides the Rodeo

EDEN

🚧 Warning: Explicit sexual content 🚧

Zach was built for suffering. I am sure of it.

His introverted wiring is geared to mope in solitude, pine from afar, and cast longing gazes across a room. What a perfect gentleman he is, never pushing for more, always being respectful.

Ugh.

I kick my heels off into a messy pile by my wardrobe, frustrated and about ready to climb my bedroom walls. Zach dropped me home ten minutes ago from another date where he spoiled me rotten. Great. But after a night of his shy smiles, holding my hand, and one lousy peck on the cheek at my door—which I had to practically beg for—my body is coiled so tight I want to scream.

Whose dumb idea was it to wait anyway?

The frustration seems to have stopped my fingers from working. When I finally struggle down the zipper of my dress, I catch a glimpse of the black lacy underwear barely covering my body underneath. Sexy as shit. Not that Zach got to see it. Not that he even tried.

I huff out a sigh and flop down on the mountain of pillows covering my big, lonely bed. I miss him. I miss the sex—sure—but I miss the connection between us. The laughing. How afterward, his big body hogged the bed until he found his happy place, snuggled up against me all night like I was his security blanket. Yeah. All that.

I grab my phone off the bedside table. A satisfied smirk is on my face as I tap out a quick message to Zach.

Can you come over? We need to talk.

My wicked laugh fills the void of my bedroom. If this scheme works, there will be very little talking. Or maybe some talking that sounds a bit like... Hurry up and take those pants off, lawyer boy.

I race around my little terrace, tidying up and making sure all the clutter is hidden away so Zach's neat freak eyes focus on nothing but me. Not bothering to redress, I throw a floral satin kimono over my underwear and spritz some perfume in the air. And there's a spritz for me, too—just in case.

Frantic knocking suddenly breaks the silence.

Delighted, evil glee sparks through me to know Zach is just as desperate for this as I am. I cinch the belt of my satin robe snug around my waist but make sure there's enough skin peeking out to entice the pants right off Zach's sexy ass.

I open the door with my best seductive smile, but Zach's reaction is not what I expected. He barely gives my outfit—or me—a second glance as he bursts inside. Even though he's still in the same trousers and dress shirt he was wearing when I last saw him, he looks like a breathless and disheveled mess, and his arms are overloaded with so much junk I don't even know where to look.

"Zach, what the fu—"

His panicked gaze darts toward me. "Eden, please, I'm sorry. Whatever it is I did, I'm sorry. More than sorry." Sunflowers, daisies, cookies, chocolates, and bottles of wine all get dumped on my tiny dining table until I can't even see the top anymore. "God, Eden, is this enough? Tell me what else I can buy. What do I need to do? I'll do anything."

"Zach, I don't understand—"

"Was it because I asked you to go to my boss's birthday party tomorrow night?" He is beyond agitated, pacing the kitchen, raking his hand through his hair. "I know Mike acts like a pretentious dickhead, but you liked his wife, didn't you?"

"Zach—"

"—We don't even have to stay long. I thought you liked parties—"

"Zach—"