Almost Easy (Sinister Ascent Book 1)

by Brittany Clark

  “Chloe, you aren’t making this easy,”

  “I thought the idea was to make it hard,” She responded breathlessly with a sly smirk on her face.

  “Baby girl, it’s been hard since you opened your front door in that tight little dress. I want nothing more than to slip inside of you as I bend you over in those sexy ass heels. But we aren’t doing anything tonight,”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I don’t want just sex with you this time around,”

  “Okay, but if this is supposed to be a normal date than let’s act like it. When two people are attracted to each other there is a lot of sexual tension. I’m acting on that. Zane, be normal with me,”

  “Oh, I am baby girl, but shit you’re so fucking sexy I’m not sure if I can control myself,”

  Once again the waiter came over to take our orders, and I realized that we hadn’t even opened our menus. I sat back in my seat giving Chloe a sly smile as the waiter listed the night’s specials. Chloe ordered the duck, and I went with the lobster. This reminded me of that horrible fucking double date that we had gone on, only this time I would get to share. I watched Chloe from across the table taking in how she looked. With the candles that were burning on the table, the flickering was splashing across her face, giving her a beautiful glow. It was time for me to romance her a little.

  “You look beautiful in candlelight Chloe,” I whispered getting her eyes to snap to mine.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, when we’re in bed together for the first time, I’m going to light the room with candles so that I can see the lights flickering over every inch of you,”

  “Wow, you really are good at this,”

  Once again I smirked at her before switching us back onto solid ground. I couldn’t take much more of this flirting. “So tell me Chloe, what is it that you do?”

  CHLOE

  I had to shake my head to clear the lustful thoughts from my mind. Zane went from sex on a stick to perfect date so easily. By this time I was so turned on that I didn’t know if I could even remember my job, let alone how to form a sentence. I stalled for a minute by picking up my wine glass, taking a very long, much needed drink. Zane shot me a perfect smile, one that had butterflies going crazy in my stomach. I sent him a smile of my own as the sexy thoughts running through my mind began to clear. Once my brain could function again I jumped back into conversation with Zane. Within minutes we were both laughing hard.

  This was what we both had been missing. This was the friendship that we had always had and shared, but now there was another level, a more intimate one. This amazing connection that we had was something that I wanted for the rest of my life. I just hoped that it was doing the same for him. Soon our food was put down in front of us and I instantly dug in. I could see Zane’s eyes follow the trail my fork made from my plate to my mouth. I couldn’t help the moan that escaped me when the taste exploded on my tongue. Then I slowly pulled the fork out, my lips running over it slowly.

  “Fuck this is good. Here try,” I said bringing my fork up to Zane’s mouth.

  Zane leaned forward keeping his eyes on mine as his mouth went around my fork, where he just as slowly pulled it out of his mouth as I did. I wasn’t sure why this gesture was so damned intimate but it was. Zane chewed the food slowly and I could tell that he enjoyed the taste of it.

  “That is good,” He said earning a nod from me as I took another bite.

  “Do you remember that one time that we took a cooking class together?” I asked dropping the game that we were playing. Zane laughed hard when he remembered what I was talking about.

  “Yeah, we both sucked at it. By the end I was covered in whatever the hell was in the blender, and you had flour all over you,”

  “Hey, I can cook great now thank you very much,”

  “Are you sure? I mean it was bad, hell I think ours was the only food that wasn’t edible in the class,”

  “I took another class later. I will cook for you next time and show you,”

  “So you’re saying that we will be having another date?” I blushed at his words “Damn you’re cute when you blush, I think my heart just flipped over in my chest,”

  “I wouldn’t mind another date with you,” I whispered, not knowing why I was feeling so shy all of a sudden.

  “That’s good. I enjoy you,”

  My blush deepened as Zane scooted his chair closer to my side of the table allowing our knees to bump under the table. His hand covered mine over the table, I turned my palm up to link our fingers together. We sat in a comfortable silence as we finished eating, feeding each other bites of our food at times. Before I knew it our plates were being cleared away, as Zane was handed a dessert menu.

  “Do you want to share dessert, Chloe?” Zane asked as his eyes ran over me.

  “Definitely,”

  His eyes scanned the menu quickly, and when the waiter came back he placed an order for chocolate cake with ice cream on top. I fiddled with the necklace around my neck, as I thought about how well the man across from me knew me. He could have ordered the entire dinner for me tonight and would have gotten exactly what I wanted. This date was going so fucking well.

  “Why are you nervous, Chloe?”

  “I’m not,”

  “You’re playing with your necklace. You only do that when you’re nervous,”

  “You know me so well, Zane,” I responded when I realized that he was right, however at this moment it wasn’t true.

  “I love you, I know everything about you,” I smiled a huge smile at him as I gripped his hand tighter. He said the words so easily to me now, and I loved hearing them. But I couldn’t give them back to him yet. Not that easily, anytime I had said them before he ran from me, and I couldn’t risk that happening again.

  “Normally that’s true. But I’m not playing with it because I’m nervous, I’m playing with it because I was thinking about how long we’ve known each other, and that got me remembering when you gave me this necklace,”

  Zane squinted trying to make out the necklace in the candlelight. I knew that everyone we knew had always seen the chain poking out from underneath my shirt, it would have been impossible not to because I never took it off. I knew though that he didn’t remember that it was something that he gave me.

  “I’m sorry, Chloe, I’m trying but I don’t remember,”

  “I didn’t think that you would. It was when we were ten,”

  Zane’s eyes widened when he remembered all those years ago, “Shit, that’s it? You still have it?”

  “Of course. It was the best gift anyone had ever gave me. I never take it off Zee,”

  “Damn, I’m surprised it hasn’t turned your neck green,”

  “Nope,”

  “I worked my ass off on chores in my house for weeks to buy that for you,”

  “I know you did. That’s why it means everything to me. Because you worked hard and saved every dollar to get me something. It is the best gift I’ve ever gotten for that reason,”

  Zane’s mouth dropped open as his eyes grew foggy. I could tell that he was full of some type of emotion, I just wasn’t sure what it was. I dropped my hand away from the necklace and squeezed his hand a little. He let out a noise that sounded somewhat like a growl before he leaned in and buried his face into my neck. His hand trailed up my side until his fingers brushed against the necklace.

  “I can’t believe it means that much to you. Most girls would have demanded that I buy them an expensive piece of jewelry, especially when I started to make a bunch of money. I can’t believe you care that much about something that was so cheap,”

  “Those girls you’re talking about don’t know what it feels like to have someone work their asses off for the sole purpose of buying you something. You had no money at that time Zane, but you did everything you could so that you could buy me something. That is why it means something to me,”

  “I love you, fuck, Chloe, I love you so much,” He whisp
ered into my neck, “How could I have been so blind? My name and fame never meant a damn thing to you, it’s just been me all along, and you cared about nothing more than just me,”

  Now it was my turn to be full of emotion, “I was there before the fame Zane. I met the real you, not the fake on stage persona that you portray. I had the chance to fall for the man, not the rockstar,”

  I felt him press his lips to my neck and my body instantly came to life, burning for him until I had to shift in my seat. His lips turned up into a smile as his hand continued to twist the necklace around. We were lost in our own little world now, and I didn’t know what to say to bring us back to less emotional topics. Luckily I didn’t have to. I was saved when our dessert was placed in front of us. I pushed my chair closer to Zane’s as he pulled his face from my neck. Once we were side by side I picked up the fork. Zane opened his mouth when I cut off a piece and brought it to his mouth. I pulled the fork out slowly earning a groan from deep inside Zane’s chest. We sat silently after that, feeding each other cake. Once it was all gone we were both beyond turned on. Zane abruptly stood up placing bills on the table as he went. He linked his hand with mine and pulled me out of the restaurant.

  Once we were outside I heard him breathe deep as the cool air worked on clearing both of our heads. I wanted to do nothing more than to drag him back to my place, push him down in my bed and ride him until we were both satisfied. But I knew that we couldn’t give in that easily, and there was no way that Zane would give in tonight, not if he wanted to prove to me that he really wanted this to work. Once we were both a little bit more calmed down, Zane pulled me into his side causing me to snuggle into him as we waited for the valet to bring us his car.

  “I don’t want this night to end,” I whispered, causing him to look down at me with a small smile on his lips and happiness shining out of his eyes.

  “Does that mean I didn’t bore the hell out of you tonight?”

  “No, far from it. This was the best date I have ever been on,”

  “Me too,”

  “I’m a little sad that it’s over,”

  “Then it’s a good thing that it isn’t over yet,”

  “It isn’t?” I asked with hope dripping from every word.

  Zane just shook his head at me making no move to elaborate. I didn’t try to get it out of him. It didn’t matter where we were going or what else he wanted to do, I just wanted to spend more time with him, on the best night of my life. No date that I ever had had ever compared to this, and we weren’t children. There were no curfews we could stay out as late as we wanted to. I would stay with him until I absolutely had to go home, then I would use every ounce of my will power to leave him at my door. I knew one thing for sure after tonight, Zane really did mean it when he said that he wanted to be with me. I felt more cherished than I ever had in my life. I couldn’t wait to see what else he had in store for me tonight.

  23

  CHLOE

  I sat in the passenger side of Zane’s car, keeping my hand linked with his as he drove. We kept our conversation light and easy as we drove. Nothing to serious, or emotionally disturbing. Now we were sitting in a comfortable silence as Zane drove us where we were going. The scenery passed by my window catching my eye as I turned to look at it. The feel of Zane’s thumb tracing soothing circles on the back of my hand was relaxing me. Enjoying the serenity of the moment I let my eyes drift close. The next thing I felt was Zane’s hand pushing her hair out of my face, then his thumb rubbing over my cheek.

  “Wake up beautiful,” He whispered brushing his warm mouth over my cheek, causing me to open my eyes.

  “Where are we?” I asked cuddling closer into his warm body, as my eyes looked out the window. It was pitch black outside reminding me of how late it was.

  “The beach, I figured we could take an almost midnight walk,”

  I let out a small laugh and nodded my head. This was something else that we had done since we were young. Walks on the beach was something that always calmed us both down. No matter what was going on in our lives the water seemed to sooth us. Zane released my hand and got out of the car, then he ran to my side to open my door for me. Cold air hit me instantly making me shiver. Zane quickly pulled his jacket off of his shoulders and put it around mine. I snuggled into the warmth, and breathed deep. I loved not the warmth that his jacket provided me, but the smell that surrounded me. Once again Zane linked his hand with mine and we walked down the beach. Once we hit the sand I stopped, quickly taking my shoes off and tossing them near the car before walking into the sand.

  “I love walking on the beach,” I whispered walking beside Zane.

  “I know you do. I know that it relaxes you, just like you surf when you need to clear your head,”

  I blushed hard when I remembered the last time I had gone surfing to clear my head. Zane caught the redness of my cheeks and laughed hard when he figured out what I was thinking. He suddenly turned in front of me grabbing my other hand and holding them both before he tugged me gently into him. I instantly snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes. The moon was shining behind us and the soothing sounds of the water was surrounding us.

  “This feels like a really romantic cheesy movie,” I whispered earning another laugh from him that rumbled his chest.

  “I know, but I didn’t plan it like this. Everything is just so easy with you Chloe,”

  I smiled wide at him before I pulled back and tugged on his hand so that we could continue our walk. My feet were half in the sand and half in the water, when it rose high enough. The coldness of it had me shivering but I loved the feeling. We were once again in a companionable silence. There was no need for the two of us to break the peacefulness of the night with chatter. We were both content to just walk side by side.

  “Chloe, thank you,” Zane murmured. I turned my head to see what he was talking about but he kept his eyes straight ahead.

  “For what?”

  “For giving me a chance. I know that I didn’t deserve one, hell I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had told me that you never wanted to see me again,”

  “I couldn’t do that to you Zee, you mean too much to me,” I heard him breathe deep when he realized I still had yet to say the words to him. But he didn’t push me on it. Which I appreciated. It wasn’t something that I was doing to punish or hurt him. I just wasn’t ready to trust him with my heart again. We both knew that I loved him, but the words just wouldn’t come out yet.

  “Let’s get out of here,” He responded dropping the now awkward air around us.

  I quickly nodded and allowed him to pull me off the beach and back towards his car. I climbed in and checked the clock seeing that it was a little after midnight. It wasn’t that late, and I still wasn’t ready for the night to end, but it was getting late and I had to be up early the next morning. So I was only slightly disappointed when Zane pulled out of the parking lot and turned towards my house. Before I knew it we were pulling into my driveway. Zane had seemed lost in thought on the drive back, which left me to my own thoughts. I wanted nothing more than for him to come into the house with me tonight. I wanted to do anything that I could to keep him with me longer. The night had been so damn magical and I never wanted it to end.

  Would it be possible to invite him in to stay with me tonight without it ending up with us in bed together? That was highly doubtful, but I didn’t want him to leave tonight. I was never this needy before, whenever he wanted to leave I had always let him, and maybe that’s what made this time around different. I was so used to him taking off whenever he was done with me, I guess I was trying my hardest to hold on to him as tightly as I could. I wasn’t okay with that though. Being needy and clingy was not who I was, so I wouldn’t give the idea another moment of thought. We were pretending to be a new couple, and if this were any other man I wouldn’t have even toyed with the idea of asking him to stay the night no matter how well the night had gone.

  If there was a small part of me that wanted to ask him to
stay just to see if he would do it, well that only made me human. Any time before when I asked him to stay it would make him run out the door faster. Well all except for that last night before his wedding. I looked over at his face, which looked just as deep in thought as I was, and somehow knew that if I asked him to stay with me tonight, he would. Even if it meant that we wouldn’t have sex. I might not trust him fully just yet, but I knew without a doubt he would sleep beside me and do nothing more than hold me.

  Fuck I wanted that. It felt like it had been a long time since we touched for more than a few seconds. The thought of having his arms wrapped around me all night long, with my body pressed tightly into his warm, strong body, was making me weak. I wanted it so badly I could taste it. But it would be a test of both of our strength and wills, There was no way I was willing to find out tonight if I could hold myself back from jumping this man’s bones. If my track record was any indication, there would be no way in hell that the night would end without me straddling his lap as I shoved my tongue down his throat.

  No, tonight wouldn’t end that way. I would say good night, let him decide if he was going to kiss me and would then go inside, where I would lay in bed all night imagining what would have happened if I had asked him in. Since I knew very well how big Zane was in the pants area, and how well he could work his fingers and mouth over my body, my imagination would damn near be on fire tonight. I turned in my seat catching Zane’s attention then gave him a smile that had his entire face lighting up with a smile of his own. Oh yeah, I needed to get in the house and away from this man fast.

  ZANE

  As I drove Chloe home all I could think about were the two times that she could have told me that she loved me, but she had very carefully skipped over saying the words. Fuck I couldn’t wait to hear her say that she loved me again. It used to scare the hell out of me when she said it and there was a time that I had wished that I would never hear the words from her again, but now I would give anything for her to utter those words to me. I wasn’t stupid, I could see earlier tonight that when I told her I loved her that she had hesitated before not saying it back to me. She wasn’t ready to trust me with those words and I didn’t blame her. But now it was my goal to get her to trust me with her heart again.