me to?”
“Well…yeah. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
“I won’t get in your way?”
Gillian chuckled. “Well, if you insist on following me so closely I bump into you every time I turn around, and if you don’t let me do my thing, making sure everything is set up and good to go, then yes you will. But I think I know you well enough to know that you’ll stand back and watch me from a distance, so no, you won’t get in my way.”
He smiled. “Then I’d love to come and watch you work.”
“Have you been to the zoo before?”
“Di, do I look like a man who spends his time at zoos?”
“No.”
“Right.”
“So you haven’t been before?”
He grinned. “No, Gilly, I haven’t been to the zoo before.”
“You’ll like it.”
“No offense, but I don’t normally like zoos. Or circuses. I don’t like seeing animals penned up for the amusement of humans. But that aside, I can’t fucking wait to go to the zoo next weekend, for the simple fact it means that I’ll get to hang out with you and see you kick ass at your job. I can’t wait to see that. And after you’re done corralling food trucks and making sure every man, woman, and child has had an amazing time, I get to stroll around with you, hand in hand, and feel proud and honored that you’ve chosen me, not any of the other men chomping at the bit to have their shot with you.”
Gillian rolled her eyes. “No one’s ‘chomping at the bit’ to go out with me, Walker. You seem to have a warped idea of my appeal.”
Walker leaned in. One arm went around her waist, pulling her against him, and the other snaked behind her head and gripped her nape. “No, I don’t. You’re just clueless. You don’t see the way the stock boys check out your ass in the grocery store. You ignore the guys who live in this apartment complex who practically drool as you walk by, and you’ve taken no notice of the scores of soldiers on base who can’t keep their eyes off you. I don’t give a shit if they look, but as long as you’re with me, I’ll make sure they know you’re off limits.”
“Walker,” Gillian whispered, overcome with feelings she had no idea how to process. She still thought he was seeing things that just weren’t there. She wasn’t popular in high school. She didn’t get asked out a lot in college. And since she’d graduated, she’d struggled to find men she was attracted to. But the fact that Walker thought she was the kind of woman men couldn’t help but stare at felt pretty damn good.
He leaned his forehead against hers as he held her to him, and Gillian lifted his shirt slightly and put her hands on the bare skin of his waist. She felt him shudder, but he didn’t move for several minutes.
She knew the second he was going to pull back, and for just a moment, she resisted. She’d been all right with him wanting to take things slow. She’d encouraged it, in fact. But the more time Gillian spent with Walker, the more she wanted him to go a little faster.
She wanted his hands on her. Wanted to know what all the intensity she felt in his gaze and his brief kisses felt like when he let himself go.
She knew he’d be a bit rough and overwhelming, but she wanted that. She wanted to get lost in passion for once in her life. Every other time she’d been with a man, she couldn’t stop thinking about where she should put her hands. Or if the sounds she was making were weird or not. But Gillian had a feeling when Walker finally lost his restraint, she wouldn’t be thinking about anything other than how he was making her feel.
Letting go of her neck and waist, Walker did indeed step back. “You had dinner yet?”
Gillian shook her head.
“What are you hungry for?”
“I don’t know. I’m not really all that hungry, to tell you the truth.”
“You need to eat,” he said.
“I know.”
“How about we order something from Uber Eats?”
“Let me get this straight, it’s okay to use Uber to deliver dinner, but not for a ride, right?”
“Right,” he said with a grin.
“But they could spit in my food. Or contaminate it with rat poison. Or put a roofie in it or something.”
She could see Walker digesting her words. Then he said, “You’re right. If you want something,