When he finally lifted his head, she sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, the water lapping around them, steadily cooling her body down. “The house looks amazing. Thank you,” she whispered huskily into his ear.
His gesture had touched her more than she could explain.
“Our house,” he corrected. “I want it to feel like home to you.”
“It does.” Ellie was starting to feel like anyplace was home for her as long as Zane was there with her.
“Good.” He nodded. “I think it finally feels like home to me, too.”
Stepping back, she dunked her head to completely cool herself off. She surfaced, pushing her wet hair from her eyes as she reminded him, “It’s always been your house.”
Zane followed suit, plunging beneath the water before answering. “Maybe. But it was never a home. Maybe that’s why I never gave a damn how it looked. It was a place to sleep, a place to stay, a place to be near my family. But it was just a house then.”
Ellie’s heart pounded wildly. “But now it feels like a home to you?”
“It is with you here. It feels like us.”
His comment was so endearing that she hugged him, and then clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She savored that moment of intimacy as Zane hugged her to him, both of them bonded tightly together.
Finally, when she opened her eyes, Ellie’s gaze caught the clock on the wall of the pool area. “Oh, shit! It’s almost five o’clock. Chloe and Gabe will be here soon.”
Gabe had texted Zane that they’d be over around six o’clock, but her friend had a habit of arriving early.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Zane said with some humor in his tone. “Just tell her you got tied up.”
Ellie smacked his arm playfully. “That’s not funny. Oh, my God. She’ll know. Chloe always knows when I’m lying. She says I’m a terrible liar.”
Zane laughed. “Then don’t lie. You were tied up. You don’t have to tell her that her brother was fucking you like his life depended on it, which it did by the way. I think I would have expired from a case of blue balls if I couldn’t get inside you.”
“Oh, God,” Ellie groaned loudly. “I’m not sure she’ll like the fact that I’m doing her brother.”
“It’s none of her business,” Zane replied more seriously. “And I don’t plan on stopping. So I guess she’ll have to get used to it.”
“It might be…awkward,” Ellie warned him.
He shook his head. “No, it won’t.”
“I need to take a shower and get ready,” she said anxiously as she disentangled her body from his and started back toward the steps.
He followed her, grabbing a towel to dry her off, and then swiped it over his own body before handing it back to her as she held out her hand. He gave it to Ellie, and she quickly dried off her hair.
Zane gestured toward the door. “Stop worrying, sweetheart. I can see that worried expression on your face. Chloe just wants to see you again. Let’s go take a shower.”
“I’m not showering with you,” she said sternly. Ellie knew exactly what would happen if she stepped into the shower with Zane. They couldn’t be naked together without wanting to touch each other.
“We are,” he said nonchalantly. “There’s no way I’ll give up the chance to spend any time with you naked.”
Ellie was secretly delighted, but she threw her towel at him. It landed squarely on his head. “Pervert,” she accused.
“That’s your fault.” He put the blame on her with a sexy grin as he leered at her breasts.
She giggled like a young girl, surprising herself at how much she enjoyed his sexually playful side. Tossing the towel, she sprinted for the master suite bathroom. “I’ll lock the door.”
He followed, hot on her trail. “Bullshit!”
He chased her naked through the house. She made it to the shower, but didn’t have time to close the door before Zane caught up to her.
Ellie never admitted it was a half-hearted attempt. She’d wanted him to catch her, and he did. However, she was hard-pressed to make herself presentable by six o’clock.
Blake Colter was just getting ready to get into his pickup truck when he saw Marcus’s Ferrari 458 Spider cruising down his driveway.
“Shit!” he cursed, wondering if Marcus was slumming it today since he wasn’t driving one of his most expensive vehicles. His twin appreciated doing everything fast: fast cars, fast planes—and fast women, because he never stayed with one for very long.
Blake wouldn’t categorize Marcus as a rich snob. Granted, the guy liked the finer things, and Marcus liked to get to where he was going a lot faster than everybody else. In some ways, he understood why Marcus had a need for speed since he secretly worked for the CIA during his constant travels all over the world to manage the Colters’ global interests. But Blake worried about him. Some of the shit he got himself into wasn’t wise if he wanted to stay alive during his business trips.
Hesitating with the door of his pickup truck open, Blake waited for Marcus to smoothly step out of the low-slung vehicle and saunter up to him.
“Where are you going?” Marcus questioned curiously as he stopped beside Blake.
“I thought I’d swing by Zane’s place. I’d like to see Chloe and Gabe.”
Marcus lifted an arrogant brow. “Already? They just got back. Chloe and Ellie are just meeting for the first time since Ellie disappeared.” He hesitated before adding, “You just want to spy on the reunion.”