Hate You: Chapter 34

When I wake not long later from my impromptu nap, it’s with Tabitha in my arms and the memories of her turning up here earlier. I’ve been a fucking mess since that phone call with my dad Wednesday night. But I did not see that coming, or the fact he was basically going to tell me it was true.

Rolling over, I pull her closer and bury my nose in her hair. Just having her here settles everything inside me that’s been rioting over the past few days. I knew it would, but my stubborn arse was never going to call her. I’d fucked up when I left her in that hotel room, I knew that the second the door shut behind me. The last thing she needed after that was me turning up like a fucking head case and needing to lose myself in her. But she came, and she allowed me to take what I needed.

“Did you just sniff me?”

“Yeah, I did. Problem?”

She turns in my arms and looks up at me from under her lashes. My cock twitches again. Will I ever get enough of this woman?

“I sure hope not,” she says with a coy smile.

“Shit, did I say that out loud?”

“You only said what I’m thinking.”

I lean forward to kiss her, but her hand on my chest stops me. My brow creases and my lips curl in a pout.

“Cute. But I’m pretty sure we didn’t actually finish talking earlier, and I got dragged away from my dinner date and I’m starving.” I tense at the mention of a date. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. It was with your sister… Danni,” she adds just to confirm, and I hate that it allows a little bit of my reality to creep back in. “Speaking of, did you know she and Titch know each other?”

“No. As far as I’m aware Titch has never met any of my family, why?” I lie back with my hands behind my head as she scoots to the end of the bed. I take in the soft curves of her slim waist and full hips as my cock goes full mast. She stands and bends to grab something from the floor. “You’re fucking killing me here, you know that right?”

She keeps her back to me but looks over her shoulder once she’s back at full height and winks as she leisurely runs her eyes down the length of me until she finds my cock.

“There’s time for that later. Right now, I need feeding, and looking at the state of this place, I’m thinking there’s no food.” She pulls one of my discarded t-shirts over her head and I can’t help noticing how much better it looks on her than it ever has on me, especially when I know that there’s absolutely nothing underneath it.

Her mentioning the disaster that is my flat has reality crashing down around me. “I shouldn’t have let you in with it like this.” I’m not sure if it’s my words or my tone that has her stopping before she gets to the door.

In a second, she’s back on the bed with my face in her hands. “Never apologise for needing someone.”

“I didn’t need someone, Kitten. I needed you.” I press my lips to hers for a quick kiss, but knowing everything I’ve got to deal with, I don’t allow myself to linger like I want.

“I’ll attempt to tidy up and you can order whatever you want.”

She watches me from the doorway as I swing my legs from the bed and pull on a clean pair of boxers.

“Keep looking at me like that and the only thing I’m going to be eating tonight is you.” She squirms at my words and my cock swells once again.

Walking up to her, I grip onto the back of her head and pull her lips to mine. My tongue sweeps into her mouth and tangles with hers. It might have only been minutes ago I had her, but I’m desperate once again.

“You’re so fucking addictive,” I murmur against her lips when I pull back a fraction. My hand skims down her body and pulls her soft curves against the hard lines of mine. She gasps at our contact, letting me know that my touch affects her like hers does.

Resting my forehead against hers, I allow myself a few minutes to breathe her in. “Thank you,” I whisper, my lips gently brushing hers.

She doesn’t say anything, instead just absorbs my gratitude for her forcing her way in here, into my flat, into my heart, before her stomach grumbles so loudly I can’t help but bark out a laugh. “Come on, I think we need to feed you.”

“Should I tell Danni that I won’t be back?”

“Why, did you want to go home to her instead of being here with me?” I ask over my shoulder as I head for the bathroom.

When her answer doesn’t come right away, I look back and smile. Her eyes are locked on my arse, her teeth attacking her bottom lip.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“Order us some damn dinner, woman.”

When I emerge from the bathroom only a few minutes later, Tabitha’s phone sits on the counter but she’s on her hands and knees in the kitchen, picking up what remains of my shattered plates and glasses. Guilt hits me, watching her tidy up my mess. My heart constricts that she feels the need to do this when I’m the one who fucked everything up.

“Leave that.” The demand comes out harsher than I intend, and she stills immediately with her hand reaching for another shattered piece of ceramic. After sucking in a breath, she looks back at me. She looks so innocent, so delicate, and so fucking at home dressed in only my shirt and in my flat. “Sorry,” I whisper. “You go and sit down. I’ll sort this.”

“It’s okay, let me help,” she says, standing amidst the chaos that is my life right now. She’s like a fucking angel trying to drag me from my demons. The only light amongst all my dark. And fuck if she doesn’t call to me. Walk toward the light, Zach.

Stepping over the mess, I do just that. My hands skirt around her waist until they grip onto her arse and pull her into me. My cheek brushes hers as I move my lips to her ear. “You’ve done enough.”

“Zach, I—” I silence her with a finger on her lips.

“Go and sit down.” With a smack to the arse, she hops over the mess and does as she’s told, although her eyes never leave me as I continue the job she started. My skin burns with her attention, making me wish I never allowed her out of the bedroom in the first place.

I’ve just about got everything swept up when the buzzer goes off. She’s up off the sofa in a flash and heading for the door.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I bark, halting her movements.

“Um… getting the dinner.”

“Like fuck you are.” Throwing the tea towel to the counter, I stalk over. “The only man who sees you dressed like that is me. You got that?”

A lopsided smile pulls at her lips. She wants to chastise me for my macho bullshit, I can see it in her eyes, but equally, she loves that I’ve taken possession of her.

With my fingers in her hair, I tug her head back. “You’re mine. No one else gets to see what belongs to me.” Her eyes hold mine, sparkling with pleasure which only gets more intense when I lift the edge of my shirt and run my finger through her wet folds. A groan of pleasure rumbles up the back of my throat. “Mine,” I repeat, plunging two fingers inside her. “Understood?”

She nods but no words escape. Instead, she gasps when I find the spot that makes her scream before the buzzer goes off again, forcing me to move. Lifting my fingers, I suck them into my mouth. Tabitha watches my every move, and I know she’s only getting wetter and wetter. I make myself to walk to the door to get the dinner before I take her again.

When I get back, she’s laid up the coffee table with the only items she could find for us to eat off. She’s got a small side plate while I’ve got a standard plate with a huge chunk missing, and we’ve got water in travel mugs.

“I think you might need to go shopping,” she says with a shrug as I drop the bag down.

“What I was going to eat off wasn’t top of my priority list at the time.” I feel like an idiot for allowing my emotions over this whole thing to get the better of me. I was already beating myself up about how I left things with Tabitha, I really didn’t need that bombshell on top of it as well.

Her warm hand lands on mine. “It is what it is, Zach. You needed to blow off steam, I get that. You can use me from now on.” A smile makes its way to my lips.

“Yeah?”

“Whatever you need.” I nod at her, wondering what the fuck I did to deserve this right now, as she reaches for the takeout bag and starts dishing up.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten, but the second she pulls the lid off the Chinese I’m suddenly ravenous. Glancing at all the tubs, I wonder if she suspected as much because she’s ordered enough to feed the five thousand.

We sit on the floor around my coffee table and I can’t help but wonder if it’s the best meal of my life.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks, when she notices that my attention is on her and not my plate.

“I’m sorry for how things went down on Saturday. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

“You were hurt, understandably. You were right, I should have been honest with you from the start.”

“I’m pretty sure that if you were, we wouldn’t be here right now. So as fucked up as everything is, it got us here.”

She smiles at me and I relax. “Maybe you’re right. You hated me on sight as it was, you didn’t need the knowledge of me knowing your family on top of that. You never would have kept me.”

The mention of family has my muscles locking up. Are they even that now? Reaching over, I take her hand. “Can I keep you now?”

She laughs. “If you want me.”

Pulling her over the coffee table, I lean into her ear. “Always.”

I allow her to sit back to finish eating. She stays silent for a few minutes, but I know she’s got a million questions on the tip of her tongue.

“Spit it out, Kitten.”

“What did your dad say exactly?”

“Not much. Some bullshit that we should talk about it in person.”

“So you’ve not actually talked yet?”

I shake my head, remembering just how fucking angry I was when he confirmed what Kas had said.

“You really need to talk to them.” I sigh. I know she’s right, but I’m not really sure I can face it. “You need to know the truth, Zach. It might be the right time for you to be completely honest with them too, about who you are.”

I mull over her words. So many times over the years I’ve almost told them everything, but something’s always held me back. On some level I’ve always known there was something different about me, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s why.

“Will you come with me?” The words are out of my mouth before I’ve even really thought about them, but I know without a doubt that I want her there. If she’s going to be a part of my future, which I’m hoping she is, then she needs to be by my side.

“Whatever you need.”

“You. Just you.”

A smile lights up her face. She reaches for my phone that’s half fallen down the sofa cushion. “Organise it for tomorrow morning. It’s time to get everything out in the open.”

I take a long breath before sending everyone a message to meet me at my parents’. The confirmations come back almost immediately, and my nerves hit me.

“They’ll be so proud of you, Zach. You’ve built something incredible here. You’re going to blow them away.”

As I look at her soft, beautiful face, it dawns on me just how much I crave their approval with what I’ve been doing. It’s always been easier for them just to assume I’m a huge fuck-up than to risk them disapproving of everything I’ve worked towards since I was fourteen.

“Now,” she says, getting onto her hands and knees and crawling toward me. “We’ve got a few hours to waste before then.” She stops beside me and pulls my shirt up and over her head, exposing her sexy curves to me. “And I’ve got a few ideas for what we can do to pass the time.”

“Oh yeah?” She throws one leg over my waist and settles herself on top of me.

“We may as well mess this place up a little more before putting everything back together.”

“Hmmm,” I groan as I watch her fingertip trail over the stars on my shoulder, my cock thickening against the confines of my boxers.

“And I think we should start right now.” Her hand skims down my abs before disappearing inside my boxers to reveal my length. Taking it in her hand, she lifts herself up before sinking down on me. We both groan in pleasure as she ever so slowly takes me. “Lie back, relax. I’ve got this.”

I fall back onto my elbows and watch her body move against mine. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever fucking seen, and one I’d like to repeat as often as physically possible.