Mia 💛
Tonight had been interesting to say the least so why not keep up the antics? Zane said he was taking me to his place and I knew it was like playing with fire yet, I didn't have much of an objection. I could say it's because of this thing or that thing but the reality of the situation was that I was feeling things that confused me and my curiosity won out over my senses.
I glanced in Zane's direction and rolled my eyes. Although I could admit this to myself, it would be over my dead body before I let Zane know any of my feelings.
"Do what you want Zane. You white people do what you want anyway so who am I to stop you." I felt compelled to purposefully taunt the man as my last act of rebellion before we got on the road. I heard Zane let out an exasperated breath as he glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.
"Jesus Christ woman, I feel bad for the next guy you date..." He was trying to throw jabs at me but his response was so weak. He would have to do much better than that in order to get a rise out of me. However, for Zane? I knew exactly what to say to piss the man off.
"Oh you mean, the next guy I date as in.... Jared?" I taunted him with a wide grin on my face because I knew whenever I brought up Jared, Zane got irritated. Plus, he'd just seen me texting the guy so that added insult to injury.
I highly doubted that Zane would admit this revelation out loud but I wasn't dumb. Anyone with two eyes could see it in Zane's body language and demeanor. And right now, the way he was responding was no different than how he's responded in the past.
I watched the way Zane automatically gripped the steering wheel out of anger without him even realizing it. Or the fact that his jawline always ticked with obvious irritation. The more I watched him, the more I grinned. Sure, he could head to his place instead of dropping me home but I wanted him to know that I wasn't going to make his life any easier. It was my defense against how I was feeling towards him.
After a few tense seconds, Zane cleared his throat to speak.
"Look at that smirk on your face. You're so damn confident aren't you? But my question is... where the hell is Jared right now?" He asked me while pausing to wait for my answer. But I had none.
Jared could've been anywhere right now and I had no ideas where to look for him unless I asked the man outright. I hated how pleased Zane looked with himself as he continued on with his point. "Why the silence? Is it because you don't have a clue? You're with me right now and Jared is nowhere to be found. That speaks volumes in my book." He raised a brow. I had nothing else to say to him so all I could do was roll my eyes, cross my arms stubbornly, and lean back into the seat.
Zane glanced over in my direction one final time during the ride home to make one last threat to me.
"And Mia?" I looked at him questioningly. "I advise you to shut the hell up for the rest of the night because you've already said enough and I'm this close..." Zane pinched both his index and thumb fingers together to emphasize his point. "...to disciplining you when we get to my place and I know you're not ready for all that. So again, I'm warning you to watch your mouth."
I didn't say anything else for the rest of the drive but I would be lying if I said his words didn't stimulate my mind into thinking all kinds of things that were not exactly appropriate. I bit my lip as I thought about how conflicted I felt with Zane. And of course, this was another one of those things that I would never admit to him or Alicia because they would probably take that information and twist it to mean what ever they wanted.
Was I attracted to Zane? I didn't know...maybe? No. I couldn't be....Urgh, the only thing I knew for sure was that I didn't want to be. Mike probably wouldn't-
I stopped what was about to cross my mind and shook my thoughts out of my head. I didn't want to start thinking about Mike right now. Because right now, Mike had nothing to do with this.
We eventually pulled up to Zane's home and it was a quaint house in a quiet neighborhood that looked pretty well kept on the outside. Zane parked his Jeep in the driveway and hopped out of the vehicle while I grabbed my purse and phone. By the time I was ready to exit the Jeep, Zane was already opening my passenger side door and offering me his hand. Being my stubborn self, I attempted to exit the vehicle on my own but I forgot how big of a jump it took to get down and it served me right that I nearly busted my ass.
(Notice that some Jeeps^^^ don't have a step)
And of course, being my white knight rescuer, Zane caught me before I could bus my butt. I swallowed my pride and straightened myself as I quietly thanked him by mumbling the words under my breath. However, Zane wasn't going to let my stubbornness slide like that. Nope! As a response, he added a bit of sarcasm to his voice.
"You're welcome princess." He smiled sweetly while I cut him a look that said, stop fucking calling me a princess or else. And of course Zane smirked at my unsaid threat.
I followed Zane into his home and it finally hit me that I was literally in this guys house by myself. A moment ago, I was all confidence. But now, that same confidence waned as I peered around the quiet house. Holy shit! What the fuck was I doing here?
My fight or flight instincts began to ring alarms in my head as I bit my lip anxiously. Soon butterflies began to flutter in my stomach and add to my anxiety. I'd never slept over a guys house before and so my confidence was dropping quickly. I closed my eyes and tried to reason with myself that this wasn't so bad. Alicia trusted Zane and I had no intentions of doing anything with him that would jeopardize me or my mindset. I just had to keep playing it cool around him while not allowing him to see me sweat.
"You're place is nice..." I stated while trying to ease some of the awkwardness I was feeling as I followed him through his home. "Do you live by yourself?" I questioned him as I looked around the house. It didn't look like a bachelor pad. In fact, it looked like a contemporary style home that someone actually put some thought into decorating.
"Thank you, and no. My older sister lives here with me but she's away on business this weekend so we're alone." He answered and I couldn't help but swallow nervously. Zane seemed so calm and collected while I was struggling to keep it together. I should've insisted on going home.
Crazy thoughts started plaguing my mind like the idea that no one would be able to hear me if I screamed for help. Fuck! I obviously didn't think this one threw. Zane turned to look at me while picking up on the tension in my face. He eyed my body language and I was sure he knew that I was nervous.
"Chill out Mia. I won't do anything you don't want me to do you. I promise." Zane tried to reassure me but I didn't know if his words held some sort of double meaning behind them or if I was just thinking too much into it. I let out a deep sigh before deciding that I was probably overreacting. If I thought back to our entire night, I would know that everything Zane had done so far had been to help me. To top that off, he was still trying to help me even when I hadn't been the easiest person to deal with. With that in mind, I let out some of my tension I'd been feeling and tried to relax.
Zane went around the house and turned on some of the lights so that he could show me around his home. When we entered his room, I didn't know what I expected from him but this wasn't it. It was definitely cleaner than I imagined a single mans room would ever be. After his room tour, he also showed me his bathroom which was also clean and organized. It got me thinking that maybe Zane might be an undercover neat freak and I didn't know that. It wasn't a bad thing, but it made me realize how much I didn't actually know about the guy.
"If you want, here's a towel that you can use after your shower and I also have a new toothbrush on the bathroom counter. I'll leave a clean shirt on the bed for you. Ima go shower in my sisters room." He stated before grabbing himself a towel from the closet and leaving me to my own devices.
I went ahead and took a nice warm shower which helped sober me up completely. I grabbed the clean toothbrush and brushed my teeth and then found some facial cleanser and washed my face. I then took a moment to stop and look at myself in the mirror. This would be the most exposed I've ever been in front of Zane or any guy to be truthful. The thought of it had me feeling self-conscious for a brief moment but then my common sense came back and I shook the dumb thoughts out of my head and decided it didn't matter. Zane wasn't my man so seeing me this fresh faced shouldn't have mattered to me or him.
Once out of the bathroom, I ambled into the bedroom with the towel wrapped snugly around my body. Zane said he'd left clean clothes on the bed for me but when I checked the bed and the surrounding areas, I didn't see anything. He must've forgotten.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for Zane to finish his own shower. It didn't take that much longer for him to finish his shower and reenter the bedroom. However, when he strolled through the room doors, his chiseled chest and body reminded me of a Greek god. I had to swiftly school my face before my mouth fell to the ground. Zane's dark brown hair was damp and slicked back while his abs glistened with water droplets that trailed down to his body towards his very exposed v-cut abdomen. The towel looked like it was holding on for dear life as it barely clung to his hips; just the slightest wrong movement could have that towel falling to the ground effortlessly.
Once I saw Zane, it was as if my natural bodily response was to pump my blood away from my brain and down to my nether regions. My anxiety began to increase and my stomach began to twist in knots as I once again second guessed my decision to come here tonight.
Earlier tonight as we danced, I could feel Zane's muscular physique through his clothes however, I was still wasn't expecting him to look like this underneath all of that clothes. While Zane stood there, I closed my mouth and averted my eyes to look at anything but him. The fact that we both only had towels on that barely covered our private areas had my blood pumping in my ears. I was blushing at the thought of it all but Zane probably wouldn't have noticed. I cleared my throat before speaking.
"I need clothes, Zane." My voice almost cracked but I held my shit together while I reminded Zane that he didn't leave me anything to wear.
The last thing I wanted him to know was how much his presence affected me. I could tell that since the last threat in the Jeep, Zane's demeanor shifted and he seemed more serious. I thought back to what I said that pissed him off and I realized that he was probably still upset about my comment about Jared. Earlier he'd also seen me texting him and for some reason, that was a sour spot for him.
Right now, it seemed Zane was at his limit and all of the niceties he had for me earlier were all played out. I watched as Zane ambled over to closet and pulled out a shirt without saying a word to me. As I observed him, I could tell that he looked more tired and worn out which was probably exacerbated by the warm shower. Zane threw the shirt across the room at me without even looking in my direction and I could feel a tenseness in the air. So now he was annoyed at me? If he had a problem then he needed to say it...
"Is there a problem Mr. Miller?" I asked with my hands on my hips. Zane glanced in my direction briefly before shaking his head.
"Nah, it's late and I'm just tired. Put the shirt on and I'll fix the bed." He stated while walking towards the bed with his towel still wrapped tightly around his waist. I didn't budge from my spot as I eyeballed him pulling the sheets back and taking off some of the throw pillows.
"Speaking of sleeping arrangements. How the hell are we supposed to sleep tonight? Are you sleeping on the floor or something?" I asked while crossing my arms over my chest. Zane sighed heavily and then glanced back up at me with his eyes sharpening into irritated slits. His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he answered my question.
"Well Mia...this is what we call a bed. And you see, I will get into the bed and you will get into the bed by climbing in on the other side. And then we will both close our little eyes and voila, there you have it boys and girls...that's how two adults sleep in one bed platonically. Do I need to also demonstrate it for you princess or would you rather call Jared so he can explain it to you in layman's terms?" I fucking knew it! Him bringing up Jared told me everything I needed to know. His sarcastic words hit a nerve with me and I immediately forgot about how shy I'd been feeling only moments ago. I shifted my gaze directly at Zane and stared this man down. I then began to sarcastically answer him like he just did to me. Two could play this game!
"First off, Mr. White Knight- I mean Zane. Don't you try and give me that fucking attitude when I told you to fuck off multiple times tonight and you didn't. So I suggest you drop the goddamn attitude because it's your fault that I'm here. I was simply asking a question because unlike you, who probably has a different woman in their bed every night, this is something new for me!As a matter of fact, I should call myself an Uber so I don't have to deal with you." I rolled my eyes at the man to emphasize how irritated I felt. I reached for my phone and began to open up the Uber app.
I could feel Zane staring at me intently before he walked around the bed and towards me on the other side. I looked up and instinctively began to back up the closer he got to me. The entire time, Zane never said a word. Finally, I couldn't go any further as my legs hit the front of a chair that was sitting in the corner. And before I knew it, Zane was in my personal space and staring down at me with his eyes sharpened into slits and his blue eyes darker than I've ever seen them before. He pulled my phone out of my hands and threw it on the bed while keeping his eyes trained on me.
"All night you've been talking shit to me and I've let it slide Mia. But I'm done now. Don't say I didn't warn you." His deep voice was ominously scary and I had absolutely no idea what to expect from him.
I barely even registered when Zane swiftly moved in two quick moves by bending down and gripping my body as he easily lifted me up and threw me over his broad shoulder. My eyes bulged from my head as I hung from Zane's shoulder and was facing the ground while my butt was sticking up in the air. Once my mind processed what was happening, I relentlessly began to kick and scream at him to let me down. Zane easily held my legs and body in place as if I barely weighed anything.
"Zane! What the hell are you doing?" I asked as he walked us slowly towards the bed.
"I'm doing what you've needed all night; some goddamn punishment!" He stated right as I felt the first slap on my ass. I felt the jolt of a sting run through my body as his hand connected with my ass. Although my towel lessened the blow, it didn't stop me from screaming out rebelliously and hitting his large back.
"Let me down Zane, NOW!" I demanded him to let me go but my demands fell on deaf ears. The more I yelled, the more Zane spanked me like I was a child. He hit my ass again and another jolt of electrical current ran through my body and caught me off guard as my vagina involuntarily quivered. It was the first time I'd felt something like this in a long time and it scared me half to death.
"Say you're sorry Mia." Zane demanded on a harsh whisper as he held me dangling from his shoulder. He had no idea what he was doing to me. But I was stubborn and I wouldn't allow him to know.
"Go to hell Zane!" I screamed in defiance and Zane slapped my ass again and again. And like before, I felt a thrilling electrical current course through my body and end at my clit as my body twitched. I hoped he didn't notice but the way I just twitched in his arms, I doubted it went unnoticed. Fuck, this wasn't supposed to have this kind of affect on me.
"Wrong answer Mia." Zane's voice sounded like he was enjoying himself and I slapped his muscular back as hard as I could because of it. As a response, I was expecting to feel him slapping my ass again but this time Zane leaned forward and swung back off of his shoulder and laid me gently down on the bed. I gulped hard as I peered up at his broad figure hovering over me.
With all of the commotion, I was surprised that my towel was just now coming undone. I watched as Zane's eyes became the darkest they'd ever been as he caught glimpse of my dark nipple peaking from underneath the flimsy towel before I could cover myself in time. I pulled my towel shut as heat entered my neck and face because he wasn't supposed to see that. A part of me felt exhilarated by how taboo this all seemed. Never in a million years did I think someone like Zane could elicit such a response out of me.
I laid on the edge of the bed while Zane got even closer to me and purposefully pushed my legs open with his knees while he stood in between them. I quickly pulled my towel down so that he couldn't see anything that wasn't meant for his eyes and watched as he leaned forward with his hands placed on either side of my head. I tried to muster up confidence into my voice but my words came out as more of a whisper.
"What- what are you doing Zane?" I stammered as I stared into his eyes. I bit my lip and I observed how his eyes scanned down to my lips before scanning back up. He seemed so calm and in control while my breath was labored and I could feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach. This was like the 10th time he's made me feel this way tonight.
"Where's all that sarcasm and anger you've had all night babe...?" He asked with a single raised brow. "You seem quiet now..." I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing while ignoring him. He knew that he was affecting me but he underestimated how stubborn I was. I felt his warm breath on my ear as he spoke. This completely overwhelmed my senses.
"Tell me what you want..." He whispered close to my ear and I nearly lost it. I opened my eyes and saw him still hovering over me and waiting for my response. Once again, his demeanor shifted.
"I can't-" I faltered. "I can't open that door, Zane." I shook my head to reinforce my beliefs.
"Why not? What's stopping you?" He asked on a whisper.
"You wouldn't understand.." Somehow we went from this being a way for him to "punish" me to something deeper than that. Zane wanted to bully me into a confession of some sort but there was no us and there wouldn't be.
"Do you want me?" He asked me bluntly and I could feel my heart palpitate and the knot in my stomach twisted even more. I didn't want to talk about this. I looked away from Zane by turning my head. Zane wasn't having that as my answer and so he gripped my cheeks lightly and forced me to look back at him.
"Answer the question Mia. Do you want me?" I paused for the longest moment as I contemplated on how to answer this question. My thoughts were so muddled, I don't even know how we got here. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to choose my best answer. My words came out low and calm.
"My answer to that question doesn't actually matter because it won't change one thing between us... Now can you please get off me...?" I finally asked while my heart thumped loudly in my ears. Zane deadened his eyes and schooled his emotions as he slowly leaned back and away from me. I'd said the magic words and Zane wasn't going to force something on me that I didn't want. For the first time in about 15 minutes, I felt like I could finally breath.
I got up hastily and grabbed the over-sized shirt he'd thrown to me earlier. I ran out of the room and into the bathroom to not only change but to also find some peace of mind. I needed a moment by myself after being so close to that man. For the longest, I hadn't felt any sort of sexual arousal for anyone. But tonight, I was this close to caving into Zane Miller and that was a HUGE problem.
The only thing stopping me was my brain reminding me that I shouldn't get entangled with someone like Zane. He kept asking me to confess some shit that was completely irrelevant. Because, no matter how I reacted to him physically, it wouldn't matter because on a mental level, I just couldn't do this with him. Zane didn't understand how deep my mental scars and PTSD went and honestly, I didn't owe him any explanation.
I ambled back into the room and this time Zane was already under the sheets and facing the other way from me. Zane only gave me a shirt with no pants so I was literally free-balling. But at this point, I didn't even care anymore. Instead of complaining, I grabbed all of the throw pillows from off of the ground and placed them in between the two of us to make a barrier; I didn't want him to get anymore ideas throughout the night. Zane turned to look at what I'd created before letting out a long sigh and turning away from me again.
I knew that I couldn't have it both ways, but I felt a sense of loss now that his demeanor towards me had changed to being platonic and quiet. But again, this was what was best for the both of us. I turned off the lamp and turned my back to Zane as I drifted off to sleep.
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(7:30 am The Next Morning)
My body naturally woke up early and so I wasn't surprised that I'd woken up earlier than Zane. What I was actually surprised about was the fact that my makeshift barrier that I'd placed in between the two of us was gone. Not only was it gone but I was pulled flush against the front of Zane's muscular body.
Since he was already in bed when I came back into the room, I didn't realize it last night, but Zane had gone to bed with no shirt or pants on. The only thing he had on was his boxer briefs. This allowed me to feel every inch of his thick morning wood that was pressed gently into my lower back.
I gulped hard as I tried to detangle my body out of Zane's large arms but the more I moved the more Zane pulled me closer into his chest. I stopped struggling and laid there for a moment and just took in how safe and warm it felt to be cuddled in this mans arms. I'd never actually felt a sense of security like this and it gave me an idea of what Alicia meant when she said I was missing out on the benefits of having a loving partner.
After about 10 minutes, I tried to pull away from Zane again and this time he let me go and rolled over onto his back. I felt a sense of loss from his heat but my rational mind reminded me that I needed to keep it G rated when it came to the both of us. We'd already opened Pandora's box last night although I didn't want to admit it. However, this morning I was going to make sure I shut that door and threw away the key.
I grabbed my phone off of the nightstand and read some of the messages from Alicia and Jared. I responded to Alicia who was ecstatic to know I'd spent the night at Zane's house. However, her position changed once I explained that nothing happened. Then I texted Jared and explained that Zane helped me out last night and that I'd crashed at his place since I was drunk. I could tell that Jared didn't like hearing that I'd stayed at Zane's house but after reassuring him a few times, he finally accepted the situation.
Next to me, I could feel Zane shifting his body around before blinking his eyes awake.
"Good morning Mia." He said groggily and I was surprised that he didn't sound mad or upset after I left him with blue balls last night.
"Morning Zane." I stated while making sure to stay on guard. Last night, we did and said a lot of things that I didn't want to rehash. Zane stared at me for a moment too long and it made me scared that he was going to start drama with me so early in the morning.
"About last night...I think I crossed the line with you and I want to apologize." I was glad that he didn't seem to harbor any hard feelings. At first I was speechless but then I realized what I needed to say in return.
"No, I need to apologize. I completely embarrassed myself last night and all you tried to do was help me. So I'm sorry Zane." He peered at me intently and then nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"About us-" He began but I cut him off immediately. My voice was low and gentle because I didn't want to hurt his feelings but what I was about to say needed to be said.
"There's no us Zane. Lets forget everything about last night..."I trailed off and waited for Zane's response. He laid on his side and lifted himself up on his elbow as he gazed at me. He was about to say something but I had no idea what it could've been since the doorbell rang at the same time that he opened his mouth.
Zane stretched and got up before throwing on a pair of sweat pants that were laying on the his chair. He left the room and I quickly grabbed my things and headed to the bathroom. When I reemerged, I thought I would be greeted by Zane trying to finish our conversation but instead, I was caught off guard by Jared. He was standing, with his arms tensely crossed, in the doorway of the Zane's house. I looked back and forth between the two men and it was evident that there a thick layer of tension encompassing the room; it was suffocating.
Zane's earlier calm position was now replaced with anger written all over his face. His fists were balled up by his side and I could tell that it was taking everything inside of him not to blow his fucking lid. None of the men were saying anything so I decided to take it upon myself to speak up.
"Um, what are you doing here Jared?" I asked with confusion in my voice. The man never told me he was coming here. I could tell Zane felt disrespected and he wasn't going to let this shit go. My heart sunk in my chest because I had no idea what Zane's next move was about to be.
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