The Cowgirl's Chosen Love - Vivian Arend Page 0,64

pull it over her body, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. Not without some cleanup first.

Reluctantly, she rolled to a seated position, grabbed her toy and made a beeline for the bathroom. “Back in a minute.”

“Hang on.” Zach was on his feet and at the door before she could reach it. “Let me make sure it’s safe.”

Heat flashed on her cheeks. Oh. My. God. She hadn’t given a single thought to the fact that her father was bunking down on the other side of the wall.

Standing there with semen dripping down her belly was not the most embarrassing thing about this current moment. Not when she considered the kind of noises they’d made as they came.

Zach finished checking the bathroom. He returned with a washcloth in his hand. “I locked the other bathroom door. You’re safe.”

Even standing there naked, dripping and all, she had to ask. “How loud were we?”

His lips twitched. “I’d like to lie and tell you we were as quiet as a mouse.”

Oh, dear. She shook her head. “Great.”

He snickered. “Well, on the bright side, it’s pretty much a given your dad believes we’re truly a couple now.”

Julia vanished into the bathroom because there really was no answer to that. She took a brief shower, exiting the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She put away her now-clean vibrator and turned toward the bed.

Zach was waiting. His cleanup had taken less work than hers. He was bare-chested, leaning against the pillows again. “Just so you know I am wearing briefs. Whatever you’re comfortable wearing, go for it. I am, however, hoping to do a little spooning. If you’re agreeable.”

Which told her what she needed. She pulled on a clean pair of panties and rescued his abandoned T-shirt off the floor. “You really are a messy roommate,” she informed him briskly as she climbed into the bed next to him.

He surrounded her. One strong arm pulled her back against his body, cradling her head on his other arm. “Yeah, sorry about the messy part.”

He said it with such amusement, she wasn’t sure he was talking about the T-shirt or the far more intimate mess. “Go to sleep, brat.”

Zach hummed, burying his nose against her hair. He took a deep breath then sighed contentedly.

Julia’s brain raced a million miles an hour for all of three minutes. Then the heat of his body and the even pace of his breath lulled her to sleep.

When she woke, he was no longer curled around her. Instead, they’d both rolled, and she was pressed against his back, arm tucked under his as if she were allowing him to give her a piggyback ride.

It was nowhere she had expected to be, but it was somehow the right place at the same time. It wasn’t even awkward getting out of bed, although they both grinned far too much.

No way could she look her dad in the eye during coffee, though. Thank goodness for the excuse of a visit with Lisa that morning.

George Coleman was the one who brought it up. “Hear you’re supposed to get together with your sister today.”

“This morning,” Julia agreed. “You’re welcome to come.”

Her father shook his head. “You go on without me. Josiah invited me to ride along on his veterinarian visits. He’s picking me up in about forty-five minutes.”

Once again, she’d been saved by family.

It wasn’t until breakfast had been cleared away and Zach walked her to the door that she realized they’d turned a corner she hadn’t expected. He helped her into her coat, keeping hold of the material to tug her in close. His gaze examined her closely, and he must’ve liked what he saw, because he nodded firmly.

“Have fun with your girls. Don’t talk about me too much,” he whispered right before pressing his lips to hers and sending her heart into acceleration mode.

She was out on the front porch, the door closed behind her when she realized—

What on earth was she going to tell her sisters?

15

Something weird was going on. Not that Zach wanted to complain, only considering George Coleman had expressly come out to Heart Falls early supposedly to give Zach what for—

Julia left the house and…nothing happened.

Zach cleared the table then ended up following the other man out the front door where he’d vanished.

It was tempting to stay hidden, but at some point Zach figured they had to get this out between them.

But instead of laying into him hard, Julia’s dad seemed more interested in examining their surroundings. “It’s a pretty piece of property