Unleashed

But when he climbed back in bed, and set the tray between them, she had to admit it did feel kind of nice to be sharing the space with him. Not only handsome as hell, but sweet too, judging by how thoughtful he was. Yeah, he'd be a fun roommate while he was here, and she'd at least have someone to talk to, especially since she'd noticed the cat didn't seem to come out of hiding much.

Taking a sip of tea, got her thinking about exactly when she'd seen it last, and decided to ask him. "You haven't seen the cat have you?"

"Nope, not yet," he said, spreading a healthy smear of cream cheese on his toast. "Why, what does it look like?"

"Well, from what I remember she was small, black and white with a big fluffy tail, kind of resembling a skunk."

He nodded. "So what's its name?"

She flashed him a grin. "Well, I call her Puss, but your brother named her Pussy."

Hearing that, Tate threw back his head and laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Robert all right."

Zoe laughed, too. Having only met her brother-in-law once when she'd first arrived, she'd liked him right away, enjoying his sense of humor, and even more, how sweet he was with her sister. And she was relieved to see that Tate seemed to share his sense of fun.

Playfully wiggling his eyebrows, he said, "So, I guess I should keep a look out for Pussy, then?"

Zoe shook her head, meeting his teasing gaze, forcing herself not to laugh again she decided not to rise to the bait. "Yeah, probably a good idea, at least until we find her. I haven't seen her in so long I just hope she's okay."

Zoe thought the sexy little smirk Tate wore was adorable, and with his slight beard a little darker and fuller this morning, it only made him look more rugged, and so unbelievably hot. Clenching her thighs, she really did need to get to out and find a man quick. Feeling not only her cheeks, but her quivering nether regions flaring with arousal, she wondered if he'd think it odd if she started fanning herself with her toast.

"So, what have you got planned for today?" he asked, reaching for his tea.

She blinked hard, forcing herself to concentrate on what he was saying. "Well, aside from finding Puss, I was thinking I should get out and get some groceries." And then of course try to go out and get laid, but that she decided, was probably best kept to herself.

"Okay, then I'll come with you, seeing as we're going to be sharing everything."

"Um, about that, I wondered if maybe I should look for somewhere else to stay. If you're going to be here, then I won't really need to stay to care of Puss, too."

He frowned looking around the room. "Why? I think there's plenty of room for both of us, and Robert and Becky seem to manage just fine."

Giving him a pointed look, she said, "Yes, but there's only one bed, remember?"

Tate just shrugged. "It wasn't a problem last night." He turned serious when he said, "And I hope you know you can trust me, Zoe. Believe me I'm not the type of guy who would ever do anything that you wouldn't want."

Even with the short time she'd known him, she felt she could truste him. But she began to wonder how far she could trust herself with all that steaming hot maleness sleeping right beside her every night, but decided best to let it go -- at least for now. "Fine, maybe we can try it for a few more days and see how we do."

Tate studied her as she ate, wondering if he was being completely honest with her. Aware that if she so much as crooked a finger in his direction, he'd be all over her like white on rice -- hot steaming rice -- and obviously that could cause a problem. Undoubtedly, his brother Robert would want to kick his ass if he discovered he'd gotten it on with his new sister-in-law, and of course his new sister-in-law Becky would probably never speak to him again if she knew that he'd jumped her sister. Not to mention the fact that forever after things would be uncomfortable as hell, not to mention just plain weird between them whenever they had to see each other at family gatherings. And with his brother and her sister being married, chances were pretty good they would be seeing each other for one thing or another in the future.

But jeez, she was just so damn pretty and so unbelievably sexy. He let out a long slow breath, hoping she didn't decide to crook that finger.

Curious about her new roomie, Zoe set down her cup and looked at him across the bed. "So, what is you do, Tate?"

He gave his head shake, still picturing how fast he'd move if she gave him even the slightest indication that she was interested. "I'm... a university professor, but on a bit hiatus right now." At least that was one way of putting it.

"Oh, and what is it you teach?"

His lips curled into a slight smile as he said, "The study of human sexuality." Not exactly sure why, but for some reason women always seemed to find it amusing when he told them what he taught, and imagined she'd probably laugh, too.

But instead of laughing, Zoe started choking on her tea and he had to scramble to get to his knees to pat her on the back. He anxiously watched her sputter trying to catch her breath. "You okay?" Whew. He'd never gotten that drastic of a reaction before.

Reaching for a tissue, she nodded and laughed, wiping at her eyes, hoping like crazy that nothing had shot out her nose. Wouldn't that be cute? "Sorry." Her gaze swept over his magnificent bare chest and she shook her head. "I was just thinking how funny it is that sex would be your area of expertise."

He frowned, looking puzzled. "And why is that?"

Maybe because you look like sex on stick, but decided it probably wasn't a great idea to share that with him either. "Oh, I don't know. But since you're obviously a healthy, attractive, hot-blooded male in his prime, I'm willing to guess that you have female students lining up in droves to hear your lectures."

"Yeah, maybe a few more young ladies than guys, but I've never really given it much thought." She could tell from his wrinkled brow that he was thinking about it now, though. But she'd have no way of knowing, that he was actually wondering if that could be where the trouble had started...

A thought occurred to her then that he might not be aware of how incredible he looked, which would be something, since most attractive men she knew seemed all too aware of their looks -- often nauseatingly so. Rolling her eyes, she imagined he'd probably be pretty amazing between the sheets if he actually held lectures on the subject. And knew too, if she ever did hook up with him that he'd more than likely knock her socks clear off her feet, at least if she was wearing any.

"So, what's your occupation, Zoe?"

She had to physically shake her head to clear the incredible image of him literally screwing her socks off, before she could even answer. "Oh, I teach as well, but third graders."

"So, mostly eight year olds?" he asked, reaching for his tea again.

"Yes." She smiled. "At that age, they're still pretty sweet and innocent, which is why I enjoy teaching them so much."

"So, I'm guessing no sex education in your grade yet?"

She had to think for a minute. "Well, we do touch on it a little in science, but just the basics, you know, body parts and things like that, including the heart and brain and all the rest."

Unable to resist the temptation, his brows rose teasingly and he leaned closer, seductively murmuring, "Oh, but are you aware that the brain is the largest sex organ in the entire body?"

She turned to him with a curious smile, so tempted to ask if he was sporting a good size brain, since she'd already gotten a fairly good impression of what he was carting around in his boxers, and knew that was pretty damned impressive. But she said a little breathlessly instead, "And why is that?"

"Well..." His hand found hers on the bed, and he began to stroke the back of it, ever so lightly, with just the tips of his long fingers, as he murmured, "Because of our senses, like our sense of touch for instance."

Unable to resist the heat of his touch, goosebumps covered her from head to toe as he ever so gently ran his hand up her arm, and then back down to her hand, where he began to sensually caress her palm with his thumb. Whew. She let out a shaky breath. "Guess I could understand that." Her gaze settled on his, and she bit her lip, wondering if those amazing blue/green eyes of his were growing darker as he continued to slowly caress her hand. She murmured, "I imagine touch even more than any of our senses would really affect how we feel."

As he nodded, his hand slid up over her shoulder and began to run through her hair. And as he gently massaged her scalp with his amazingly magical fingers, leaning in close enough to inhale her intoxicatingly feminine scent, he subtly nuzzled her neck with his nose and perfectly shaped lips. "And of course we can't ignore the power of smell, which can be every bit as arousing as touch, since the heady scent of one's partner can also be an extremely powerful aphrodisiac," he whispered.

Zoe felt her eyes drifting shut, as his intoxicatingly male scent began to not only arouse, but completely overwhelm her. She quickly realized with the way he was affecting her that he could easily conduct entire lectures on foreplay alone without ever needing to touch on any other areas of study. "Oh, that feels incredible," she murmured, breathing harder now, her full breasts really beginning to heave.

Fully aware of her reaction, showing no mercy, Tate persisted. "And of course we can't forget taste," he murmured, shifting his body closer, he continued to sensually caress her scalp, as he barely brushed his lips over hers. "Even a feather-light touch of our lips excites our brains, producing the feel good hormone, oxytocin, which is precisely why even a fleeting kiss can feel so amazing. Kissing is a huge turn-on for our brain, in fact a touch of our lips working in conjunction with our brains can ultimately help us decide who we'd like to be with, and of course choose as our mating partner."

And when his lips at last settled warmly on hers, she felt herself melting into a mindless puddle of need in the middle of the bed, powerless to speak, or even think a coherent thought. Her hand, seemingly of its own volition, ran up the smooth firmness of his big hard chest and circled his neck, drawing him even closer. Opening her lips under his, she welcomed the sensual onslaught of his tongue. And what an incredible kiss it was, perfect pressure, his skilled tongue tasting, stroking, taunting hers, just felt so incredibly arousing, getting her so wet, she felt like she'd never really been kissed before Tate had taken her mouth.

Long moments later, he broke away, and whispered into her ear with his tongue gently lashing at the tender outer shell, "And speaking suggestively to each other, or sharing tender feelings, further excites us as we also become aware of the sounds of our partner's irregular breathing and heartbeat." Turning her face so he could look at her, he ran a single finger over her cheek, slowly tracing the perfect bone structure of her face, as he said, "And the look of our chosen partner can also entice us, especially when we find we're attracted to that person, as does the tell-tale signs of arousal, the flush in ones cheeks, rapid breathing, and of course dilation of our pupils."

Slowly Tate drew back, fully aware of how ragged her breathing had become, and how delightfully flushed he'd succeeded in getting her entire body, and could also detect from her dilated pupils how incredibly aroused she was, with barely any effort on his part. Then he said matter-of-factly, "So, I'm sure you'll agree that the brain is one of the most powerful sexual areas in the human body."

"Whew," Zoe blew out a shaky breath, so aroused she wondered if she was about to come from that little lecture of his alone. She watched as he sat up in bed again, shifting his big warm self over to the other side, where he casually crossed his long legs and rested his back on the headboard, looking sexy as all get out. Trying to pull herself together, feeling completely flustered, and so turned on she could barely think, she turned levelling a serious look at him. "Please tell me that's not how you normally conduct a private tutoring session."

Tate threw back his head and laughed. "No, just being my nerdy self. I enjoy what I teach, and I really get into it."

No shit. Her heart still pounding wildly out of control, strong enough to feel in her ears, and her panties positively drenched all thanks to him, and from the way he looked, he seemed to be almost unaffected. And that whole episode was simply to explain how the brain reacted during arousal. Wow.

Zoe closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to force herself to forget that she was primed enough to take a bite out of him -- and a big one, too, right out of his perfectly tight butt. Wanting to fan herself again, she wondered if maybe she should look for somewhere else to stay after all. Either that or be prepared to climb the walls in frustration for the next two weeks.

Once she'd finally cooled off enough to finish her breakfast, Zoe turned and got out of bed. "Well, I think I'll go look for Puss, give her some food, get a shower, and then go see about getting us some groceries." It was either that, or stay and risk attacking him where he sat.

"Yeah, I'll get one after you." As he watched her leave, he had to close his eyes, or he knew he might be tempted to ask to share that shower with her. With her long luscious legs, sexy black lace bikini panties barely covering her perfectly round ass -- he had to straighten the raging erection in his boxers before he could pick up the tray and head for kitchen. And he only hoped a cold shower would do the trick after that little episode he'd just put them both through.

And once they'd left the apartment and headed out to shop, Tate couldn't believe how alluring Zoe looked. In a tight little thigh-high denim skirt, white lace-edged cami top, and strappy wedge-heeled sandals with her long dark hair swinging enticingly across her slender back as they wandered through the busy neighborhood, she looked amazing.

It sure as hell wasn't lost on him that every guy they passed on the way to the market took note of her, no matter their age, with either a raised brow, appreciative look, off color cat call or even just a suggestive smile. And he couldn't really blame them, since anyone with eyes could see she was absolutely gorgeous.

Suddenly Zoe stopped in her tracks when they came across a sidewalk fruit market. "Oh, I just love fresh fruit, and I can't seem to get enough of it. And this place has so much more to choose from than the little market where I live." Reaching for a few bags, she began to fill them with lush green grapes, bananas, cherries, apples and mangoes. And as she picked over the fruit, she said, over her shoulder, "You see anything you like, Tate, just grab it."

Instantly he tipped back his head and his gaze shot down to the curve of her sweet, sweet ass clad in her little denim mini. He grinned. Naw, she probably didn't mean that. But she sure did have one fine looking ass.

Just then Zoe looked over shoulder and caught him checking her out, and shook her head, grinning. He leaned close and whispered into her ear, "You did say if I saw anything I liked to just grab it, right?"

She placed her hand on his chest, unable to hold back a chuckle at his cheekiness. "Well, obviously I didn't mean that."

Smiling into her eyes he said, "Aw, that's too bad."

This was going to be a fun two weeks she decided, as she went inside to pay. But even as she dug into her purse, Tate was hot on her heels reaching for his wallet. "Hey, I've got this," he told her.

She held up a hand to force him to put it back. "No way, I'll get it. I probably eat way more fruit than you do, so it's only fair."

He shook his head and reached for the bag the cashier was holding out for her and said, "Fine. But then I'm getting everything else, no argument."

And once they got to the little supermarket at the end of the block, Tate made sure to take hold of the cart so he could follow and admire her as she shopped. Sexual deviance was a topic he often touched on in his lectures, and Zoe, he realized, definitely had the ability to bring out his inner perv. In his entire life, he could never remember openly lusting after a woman the way he was with her. It was as though she was the first woman he'd ever encountered. And in a way, he realized she was, at least one that appealed to him on so many levels. Now if he could just get her into bed as more than just his bed buddy, he could discover how compatible they might be in one of the most important areas in life -- sexually.

And recalling how tempting her full, pale breasts had looked last night, he nearly crashed the cart into a cereal display. Forget getting her in bed, first he had to concentrate on getting her back to the apartment without making a complete ass of himself.

Zoe glanced back at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Crap, what a lie that was. She was driving him out of his freaking mind, just walking around in that tight little skirt she was barely wearing. And the woman had to have the longest sexiest pair of legs he'd ever seen. No small wonder the other guys couldn't take their eyes off her, since he was having just as much trouble. But at least he knew he'd be the one crawling back in bed with her tonight. Now if only he could figure out how to handle that.

He knew that little, 'Sex and the Brain' lecture he'd her given her this morning had nearly given her the big O, so surely he had a few more tricks up his sleeve that might work on her later. But then he frowned. If he was going to be honest with himself, what he really wanted was get her to make the first move, then no one could claim that he'd taken advantage of this cozy little situation they'd found themselves in.

And if she was the one initiating things, at least it would be totally consensual, and not because he'd worn her down, or used any kind of underhanded psychological tricks. Besides, he really did hope that she wanted him, too, at least as much as he wanted her -- because right now, with the semi he'd been sporting, basically since he'd first seen her, there was no getting around it, he wanted her pretty bad.

Before they got to the check out, Tate finally took a moment to take his eyes off her and take a look in the cart, noticing that there really wasn't much inside. He indicated with his head that they head back and grab a few more things.

He then went around the store and got what else he thought they'd need to cohabitate for the next week at least, including a few bottles of wine, deciding there was nothing like a little libation to loosen things up.

Zoe shook her head when they got back to the cash when he took out his debit card to pay for the small mountain of food. Unable to resist, Tate leaned over the cart and kissed the end of her nose, telling her, "You got the fruit, remember?" She just smiled, still shaking her head.

On the way back to the apartment, Tate lugged the heavier bags, leaving Zoe with two lighter ones to carry. She watched him shifting the bags from hand to hand, looking pretty uncomfortable and said, "I think we got too much food. And those look pretty heavy."

"I'm okay. And I don't think we got too much. At least we won't have to shop again for a while." He knew his time would be far better spent working on her. He glanced across the sidewalk studying her perfect profile. "So, what have you got planned for tonight?"

Anxiously biting into her lip, she wondered how he'd take it if she told him the truth -- that she intended to try and pick up a stranger in a bar to get laid. Yikes, even in her head that sounded pretty bad. But what other way was there to put it? She did want to find someone to hook up with, and wasn't looking for a relationship or anything else -- just some good old fashioned, no strings attached sex -- and the hotter the better.