“No,” he growled when I started to move over again. “Stay close.” He caught my hand and brought it to his lips. From the glow of the parking lot lights, I could see that his eyes were green with only a few flecks of gold shooting fire down at me. This wasn’t my OCD messed-up Z staring down at me; it was my hungry Z, and from the looks of it he was starving. “I don’t think I can breathe if you don’t.”
My heart shuddered in my chest. “Z—”
He released my hand and turned on the truck. Backing out of his usual space, he quickly got us out on the road before draping his arm over my shoulders and pulling me closer. Closing my eyes, I laid my head on his chest and hugged my right arm around his waist. Tears burned my eyes again, but this time I was able to hold them back.
Don’t think about tomorrow. There’s only tonight.
Zander drove on, but I didn’t bother to open my eyes. I only wanted to savor this. Christmas felt so far away so I’d have to live off of memories like this until then. He pulled up in front of the pizza place and ran inside to get the food he must have ordered earlier. He was back within a few minutes with a small pizza box and a huge bag full of two orders of the baked spaghetti I liked so much as well as salads and two slices of my favorite chocolate mousse cake.
Setting our food in the empty space by the passenger window, Zander climbed back in and drove us to the garage. I already knew that Noah and Chelsea weren’t coming back that night. Chelsea had promised me complete privacy with Z, her birthday gift to me. Honestly, it was the best gift she could have given me simply because it was all I wanted.
Somehow he carried the food and held my hand all the way up the stairs to the apartment. I couldn’t seem to find the words to protest even though I knew I should have. His hands were full, but I ached for every touch I could get from him that night. Releasing me long enough to let me unlock the door, he quickly grasped my hand again and led me inside.
Placing the food on the counter in the kitchen, Zander made a small growling sound deep in his throat as he pulled me against his chest. His arms were tight around my waist as he buried his face in my hair and breathed in deeply, almost as if he were trying to memorize my scent.
Don’t think about tomorrow.
There is only tonight.
“I love you,” he murmured in a quiet voice. “Don’t you ever fucking forget that, Annabelle.”
There is only tonight.
Only. Tonight.
Forcing back the tears, I put a bright smile on my face and lifted my head, meeting his green eyes. “I won’t, Z. I love you too. Remember that, okay? When everything else is going crazy around you, remember that I love you. Promise?”
“I promise,” he breathed as he lowered his head and brushed his lips over mine.
It was almost like he was scared to kiss me too hard, too deep. Each brush of his lips over mine was butterfly-soft. When his tongue brushed over mine, it was such a tender caress that I had to tighten the hold I had on my tears. My hands wrapped around his neck, but I didn’t deepen the kiss. If he was scared to deepen our kiss, then I wasn’t going to push him.
Lifting his head, he brushed his nose against mine and smiled down at me. “Hungry? I ordered your favorites.”
Don’t think about tomorrow.
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Yeah, I’m starving.”
“Good. Go sit in the living room. We can have a picnic on the floor.” I started to protest, wanting to help him, but he pushed me toward the living room. “Go on. I’ll make our plates and get drinks. It’s your birthday, baby. Let me take care of you.”
Giving in, I went into the living room. Instead of turning on the TV, I picked out a few CDs and put them in Noah’s stereo. Bon Jovi’s “Always” flowed from the speakers and I sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table as Z brought in the box of pizza before going back for drinks and then our plates of food. Sitting beside me, he brushed another soft kiss over my lips before picking up his fork.
Don’t think about tomorrow.
I wasn’t hungry all of a sudden, but I picked up my fork and took a small bite of my baked spaghetti. Zander watched me for several minutes and I put on that damned bright smile for him as I took another bite. He shifted and pulled something out of his jeans pocket. Placing whatever he’d taken from his pocket on the table, he dropped his hand but kept his eyes on my face.
I blinked down at what he’d put on the table. It was a simple thin-band gold ring. Hands trembling, I picked the ring up, staring at it like it was the most precious thing in the world. “Wh-what’s this?” I choked out through my tight throat.
“It’s a promise.”
My eyes snapped up to his, noticing that nearly all the gold was gone from his eyes now. “A-a promise?”
He nodded and took the ring from my shaking hands. Taking hold of my right hand, he placed the ring on my ring finger. “Yes, Anna. A promise. A promise that one day I’ll put this ring on the finger it belongs on. A promise that tomorrow isn’t goodbye. It’s a ‘see you soon.’ But mostly it’s a promise that I won’t ever stop loving you. Ever.” He rubbed his thumb over the gold ring that fit so perfectly on my finger. “This ring was Gram’s. She stopped wearing it years ago because it kept slipping off her hand, but when I told her I didn’t know what to give you for your birthday, she gave me this. Do you like it?”
Without me even realizing it, I’d lost the rein I’d been trying to hold on my tears. I could barely see the ring on my hand through the flood of them. “I l-love it, Z. Thank you.”
Groaning, Zander lifted his hand to wipe away my tears. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, baby. That’s the last thing I want to do tonight.”
“These are happy tears.” Mostly.
“Doesn’t matter. I hate seeing any tears in your eyes.” He lowered his head and kissed away more of my tears. “It tears me apart, Anna. You have no idea how special you are to me and seeing these tears destroys me.”
The pain I heard in his voice was doing the same thing to me.
There is only tonight.
As that thought echoed in my head yet again, I turned my head and met his lips. My kiss wasn’t soft like his had been all night, it wasn’t tender. My kiss was hungry—starving. My fingers thrust through his hair, holding him right where I wanted him the most. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t try to stop me, but kissed me back just as hungrily and pulled me onto his lap.
I forgot about the food—who needed to eat? Tomorrow didn’t matter. Neither did tonight. All I wanted was now. Right now, with his taste exploding on my tongue and his hands on my body. Our kiss deepened, his tongue skimming over mine, tasting me as much as I was him.
His fingers felt hot against the backs of my thighs as he skimmed his fingers under my dress. He cupped my ass in both of his hands, squeezing hard. I loved how he was touching me. Loved this uncontrollable passion I’d unleashed in him with my kiss.
Zander’s hands dipped into my panties, his fingers caressing over the seam of my ass. The small tease made my already soaked panties flood with liquid heat. Finding me drenched, Zander jerked as if I’d actually burned him. I could feel the growl building in his chest long before he released it. Pulling back, he lowered his eyes, watching like a tiger ready to pounce as he lifted the dress, slowly exposing inch after inch of my body.
When he saw the color of my panties, the ones that matched my black and red pushup bra, I saw the last of his control shatter in his eyes. Z practically ripped the dress over my head before getting jerkily to his feet. He wasted no time in lifting me into his arms and carrying me into the bedroom.