Unleashed

"Zoe?"

Her brain buzzing with lusty thoughts, she nearly jumped out of her skin when he said her name. And though she hated to, she decided it best to simply lie. "Oh, uh, I was thinking I might go out tonight, and... explore the area a bit."

"By yourself?" he asked, sounding surprised. "You think that's safe?" And when she didn't answer right away, he suggested, "Maybe I should come with you."

Oh crap, now what was she going to do? She sure as hell couldn't tell him the truth. To be honest, she hadn't really been thinking about her safety, though he was right and knew she probably should be. But at the moment, sex was all she could think of, specifically, getting some. Even more so now, after he'd gotten her so fired up in bed this morning. Finally she said, "Sure, if you'd like, unless you're still feeling jet-lagged after your trip, then of course I'd understand if you'd rather not."

Tate narrowed his eyes, wondering why she was trying to blow him off, before it occurred to him that she might have plans to meet someone. Well, he'd just go with her and find out, wouldn't he? "No, I think I'll be okay."

Tate discovered as they ate dinner together, that in addition to being gorgeous and sexy as hell, Zoe was a damn fine cook, having created a delicious creamy shrimp and cremini mushroom pasta as good as he'd had in a fine Italian restaurant. And once he'd poured their wine, he made a toast, "To the prettiest cook I know." And he loved the adorable way she blushed. "This is excellent by the way, but you know we could have gone out somewhere to eat. You really didn't have to cook."

But pleasant as it was, an evening of wining and dining with Tate was the last thing Zoe wanted right now. All she could think of was getting ready to leave for her night out, and the sooner the better. Knowing, the sooner she got out, the sooner she'd be getting laid. And the sooner she'd be able to tame the unrelenting need he'd awakened within her, that had her quivering in her seat just thinking about it.

Once Tate had carried their dishes into the kitchen, he frowned, looking around, noticing there didn't seem to be a dish washer. Oh well, no problem, guess he'd just have to wash them by hand.

He had his sleeves rolled up, filling the sink with hot soapy water when Zoe came in with their wine glasses. "Oh, I can do those," she said, hoping to hurry things along.

But just her luck, he stubbornly shook his head, and kept right on filling the sink, adding their dishes. "No way, you made dinner, so it's only fair I do the clean-up. We'll have to divide things evenly if we're going to be staying together."

She bit down on her lip, squeezing her eyes shut. But she wanted to go out, needed to get somewhere and find someone -- now. "How about if you wash and I dry, then?"

Tate started washing. "Naw, we can let them air dry. Go and put your feet up. Or, if you want, you can start to get ready to go out while I finish these. There aren't that many, so it shouldn't take long."

"Well, if you're sure?"

He flashed an incredible smile that made her belly go tight. "I'm sure. You go ahead and change for your night out."

Twenty minutes later, when she strolled from the bedroom in a pair of jaw-droppingly sexy skin tight black leather pants, sky-high heels, and a black satin boustier that really plumped up her already full breasts. Staring wide-eyed at the arousing sight of her, Tate thought his heart would seize in his chest. Damn, she looked hot -- so unbelievably freakin' hot. And already she had his dick standing at attention in his jeans. Now he kind of hated the thought of taking her out, certain any guy who saw her would want a piece of her. "You're planning on wearing a jacket with that, right?" he asked, unable to tear his eyes from away from the delectable sight of her cleavage, trying hard not to lick his lips.

Her gaze dropped to her breasts. "I hadn't planned to. Why, do you think this is too revealing?"

Uh, no, he was already sporting major wood like a fifteen year old kid for no good reason. "Well, maybe a little, but I was thinking it could get cool later," he lied, since it was all he could think to do.

"In July?" she asked, looking at him strangely.

"Well, don't forget, the air conditioning in some of these places can be set pretty cold." Right now he'd be willing to tell her there was a chance of flurries, if he could get her to cover up.

Eyeing him curiously, Zoe went back to the bedroom to get her matching, 'barely-there' little leather jacket. But at least, he decided, it was better than nothing.

Tate clad in a pair of black fitted jeans and charcoal-gray long-sleeve shirt, smiled when Zoe gave him the once over as they left the apartment. "So, do I look okay for where we're going?"

"Oh, I'd say you do." She rolled her eyes. Wow, did he ever. Now all she hoped was that every woman in the place didn't start hitting on him, at least not right in her face. And hoped too, that she'd meet someone before Tate did, because she knew she wouldn't be too comfortable watching him in action with another woman, considering that he was almost too attractive for words, and from what she'd discovered, awfully sweet, too. Too bad they were practically family or she'd be tempted -- she copped another look at his tight ass in his jeans, and forced herself to keep breathing -- very tempted.

Outside, as they started to head out to look for a taxi, Tate slipped his arm around her waist, and was a little surprised to feel her pull back. Offering to take his arm instead, had him wondering if she wasn't as comfortable with him as he'd thought. And once they got in the cab, he noticed how she quickly scooted across the seat to the far side, giving him plenty of room.

"Everything okay?" he asked once she'd given the driver the name of the bar she wanted.

"Sure," she said, pasting on a overly bright smile.

Something didn't seem right with her tonight. Though he couldn't quite put his finger on it, he knew she was acting kind of strange.

Once they'd made it inside the bar Zoe had chosen, Tate recognized it for what it was the second they walked in, a meet market, a place where people came to hook-up. So, maybe she did have a date, and that's why she was behaving so strangely. Well, he still wasn't about to leave her here alone, at least until he knew for sure what was going on, and that she'd be safe. "Should we try and get a table?" he said into her ear, loud enough he hoped she could hear him over the bass-heavy music blasting from the oversized speakers stacked in every corner of the jam-packed room.

She shook her head and had to shout back, "No, I think I'd rather just sit at the bar."

Following close behind her, he realized he'd been right, and every guy in the place was openly lusting after her like a fresh piece of meat -- which made him wonder why she'd want to come to a place like this, knowing he would have preferred a bar where they could at least hear themselves think, never mind talk.

And once they'd found a pair of bar stools together, he leaned close and asked, "What can I get you, Zoe?"

She wrinkled her nose uncomfortably, refusing to look him in the eye. "How about if I get my own and you get yours?"

Tate sat forward and turned his head, trying to read her expression, but he realized that she didn't seem to want to look at him anymore. Damn, was she trying to act like they weren't together?

Then he watched in amazement as some muscle-bound twerp in a shiny turquoise shirt, with his jelled hair slicked back, came up on her other side and asked her if she'd like to dance. Watching her nervous reaction, Tate could tell right away that she didn't seem too comfortable with him. And since the guy already had his arm wrapped around her waist, with his face right in hers, he could understand why. When he saw her shake her head and tell him, "No, thanks," for the second time, and Slick didn't seem to want to take no for an answer, and actually began to tug on her arm, gritting his teeth, Tate decided he'd seen enough.

Leaning behind Zoe, Tate stared the guy down. "Hey, pal, the lady said no."

"And who the hell are you?" the little jerk demanded, seemingly unphased.

"I'm her roommate, okay?" Tate replied, his angry gaze nearly burning through him.

Slick laughed and said, "Her roommate? What are you gay?"

At least that got a laugh out of Zoe, who looked at Slick and told him, "I know for a fact he's not gay. And we are together, so thanks, but no thanks."

Finally, the guy glared them both down before he stalked away. "Guess he wasn't exactly what you were looking for?" Tate suggested. Leaning in close, he waited for her answer.

He watched her nervously bite down on her lip. But "No," was all she said.

Okay, he got the message. She didn't want him to stay. "Look, if you're here to meet someone, not a problem, I can leave."

Finally Zoe turned and looked at Tate. And recognizing the hurt in his eyes, she suddenly felt like crap for letting him come him along. "I don't know what to say, Tate."

He shook his head. "It's fine, don't worry about it. If you are planning to meet someone, how about I just stay till he gets here, to be sure you're okay then I'll go."

Closing her eyes, she sighed. Why did he have to be so damn thoughtful? She wondered if she should just be honest and tell him what she was really doing here. But what would he think of her if she told him the truth? She had a feeling -- probably not much.

"Zoe?"

Looking straight ahead, she told him, "I can't date where I live okay?"

"What did you say?" All of a sudden the music, if possible, seemed even louder. He had to press his lips to her ear for her to hear him, when he told her, "I can't hear you over the music."

Aware she'd have to nearly scream for him to hear her over the blaring sound system, suddenly her wild night out was turning into an absolute nightmare. Giving up, she turned on the bar stool, stepped down and said, "Let's just go okay?"

"Sure," he agreed, taking her by the hand, he led her back through the gyrating crowd to the exit.

The minute they got outside to the relative quiet of the street, Zoe let go of Tate's hand and stepped away from him. There was no way she could look him in the eye, not with what she had to tell him. Keeping her gaze on the line of cars driving by, she felt him come up behind her and slip his arm around her waist. "How about we just walk for a bit?" he suggested, barely brushing his lips to her ear, he still managed to send a shiver straight down her spine.

She nodded her head, then looked down at her insanely uncomfortable foot wear and let out a groan. "There's no way I can walk anywhere in these."

"Then we'll just find somewhere to sit," he said quietly. There was a bench by the bus stop and he led her there, waited for her to take a seat, and then sat down close beside her.

Since she still didn't seem to want to look at him, he took her hand and simply waited patiently while they sat side by side. Finally, keeping her gaze averted, she got up the courage and started to explain. "You have to understand, I live in a really small town, with some pretty small minded people -- probably not all of them, but enough. And being a grade school teacher, everyone just expects me to lead this goody-two-shoes existence. So, basically I can't really meet anyone, can't date and definitely can't attempt to have a love life, without the entire town finding out and gossiping about it. And I'm very aware that doing anything reckless could ruin not only my reputation, but could even cost me my job. There was even a morals clause mentioned when I was hired."

"So is that why you wanted to go to a bar tonight, to try and meet someone?"

Feeling mortified, she trained her gaze across the road at one of the shuttered shops, nodded her head, and murmured, "Pretty sad, huh?"

Tate just shook his head, reached up and brushed away the few loose of strands of hair from her cheek, gently tucking it behind her ear. "No, it's not. Everyone has needs, Zoe, absolutely everyone, including you... and me."

Finally she managed a little smile, turned her head and looked at him. "So, how do you handle it then?"

He chuckled at her inadvertent double entendre, since there were times when he was actually forced to take matters into his own hands, so to speak.

Then he told her, "Well, with my position, I try to be very discreet. And of course I'm extremely careful who I date. And it goes without saying that I'd never go anywhere near one of my students and also try to avoid, as much as I can, any involvement with other faculty members. From my own experience, I know it can be difficult to meet people, so I can understand what you're going through. In some ways life at a university is not that different from the town you've described. Unfortunately, gossip thrives wherever there are small minded individuals that have nothing better to do than poke their noses into other people's business."

He noticed how she was self-consciously studying her hands in her lap, so he reached over and covered them with one of his, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Still, you must think I'm awful," she told him.

"No, Zoe, I think you're anything but. What I think is that you're a beautiful young woman with normal healthy desires, and I assure you, there's absolutely nothing awful about that."

A little shuddery breath escaped her, and she finally turned and really looked at him, finally managing a smile. "Thank you for saying that. It's just that sometimes I feel so guilty, and yet I know if I lived anywhere else, the desires I have would be considered perfectly normal. And to tell you the truth, I've even thought of starting over someplace else just to escape all the scrutiny, where I'd finally be able to lead the kind of life I want."

Wrapping an arm around her, he gave her a reassuring hug. "Believe me, Zoe; what you're feeling is completely normal. And if that's what you want then I hope one day you can find a place where you can be free to be yourself without feeling that you're being judged."

Loving the feel of having him so close, she shot him a devious little grin. "Guess it's too bad we're almost family, huh?"

Whoa. He didn't see that coming. But Tate's grin was just as teasing as he pointed out to her, "Don't forget, we're almost, but not quite. And I've been wondering myself how much it should really matter to us if our siblings are married, because that little piece of paper they signed is really the only connecting us."

When he explained it that way, she really began to smile. Well, hell, he was right, wasn't he?