Chapter Seven
Zane had wondered if Jo would figure out his plans before he had a chance to execute. Driving home from Café Diem, she'd already called him out on being up to something. He was, of course, but this time, she was going to enjoy what his devious mind had conjured up.
Despite his assurances that she was a sight for sore eyes and her protests that she was fine, Jo still had the appearance of someone who'd been through the ringer. Her eyes were weary, her usual strict posture was relaxed and she seemed paler than he remembered her being this morning. There'd be no playing tonight like they'd been doing most evenings. She was probably going to have her dinner and go straight to bed.
Or at least that was probably her plan. His plan was along the same lines but held a detour or two.
When they returned to the apartment, he carried the food in and directed her towards his bedroom. He'd come home a little early and laid out her favorite sleeping attire and prepared everything in the bathroom for her to take a long, relaxing shower. Never before had he thought twice about not having a tub, but today, there was a little bit of regret on the issue.
Waiting on the nightstand were items from the one and only massage he'd given her a couple of months ago. It was after Henry and Grace's wedding and he'd wanted to relax her following the eventful day she'd had. That was when they both first realized some complex things were going on between them; things they weren't yet ready to discuss.
Incidentally, it was not long after that when they had their falling out and he'd spent many a night alone, missing her and hating himself for it.
But when he'd given her that massage, things had been good. They surrendered to a little bit of hopefulness and decadence after all the hooking up they'd already done in her office. They took their time with each other. Zane recalled fondly how he'd put his hands all over her body in the name of relaxing her even though the experience had quite the opposite effect on him. He was willing to chance it tonight if it helped her forget the stress of their day.
When Jo walked into the bedroom to change clothes, she noticed what he'd laid out and smiled over her shoulder at him. He embraced her from behind and planted a kiss behind her ear.
"So far, so good?" he asked. Jo murmured her approval and nuzzled against his cheek. "Food first or shower first?"
He felt her appreciation as she tilted her face upwards to meet his. "Food first. Then shower and then massage." Nodding Zane turned her and guided them towards the kitchen. She stopped at the doorway and stepped out of his embrace, leaving him feeling a little empty. "I warn you though. I might end up falling asleep on you."
"For tonight only, I will be very happy if you fell asleep on me. But don't go getting any ideas. I will otherwise want your full attention and commitment going forward."
Laughing, Jo led them to the kitchen and began pulling out plates and silverware for their meal. He loved seeing her this way. Not the exhausted part but the unguarded part of her where she let's him see who she really is. They spent so long dancing around each other. It was nice to finally settle into a real relationship where they could enjoy what they had without letting their insecurities force a struggle of wills. Along those lines, Zane thought about insisting she get off her feet and let him take care of her. But if there was one thing he'd learned about Jo Lupo it's that it wasn't a good idea to tell her what to do. He'd been underfoot enough today anyway. The simple act of serving dinner wasn't going to tip the scales.
They ate with little conversation, neither having much energy for small talk. Zane would have felt better if Jo had eaten more but he wasn't going to push the point. He did insist on clearing the table afterwards though.
"You ready for that shower?" He kissed the top of her head before carrying their plates to the sink and rinsing them off.
Jo pushed herself from the table and brought their glasses over. "Absolutely. You need any help?" Zane shook his head and, after a parting kiss to his cheek, she retreated to the bathroom. By the time he finished with the dishes and put the leftovers away, he heard a familiar hiss behind the walls as the shower started up.
It was hard to know what to make of the day's events. Of course, tonight wasn't the right time to go there but he wondered whether he should try to get Jo talking about her experience or just let it go. Maybe no one else had picked up on it, but he'd seen how shaken she'd been after returning to her body, more so than he would have expected. She'd been too quiet, too compliant and too eager to get away from everyone and return to the solitude of her office. When trouble was afoot, Jo wanted to get out there and kick ass, not sit behind her desk and do paperwork. He was glad that she'd agreed so easily to take it easy yet it still worried him.
When he went back to his bedroom, he double checked his massage supplies and changed into something more comfortable that he didn't mind getting a little dirty. He paused briefly at his bathroom entrance where Jo was still enjoying a steamy shower. He wondered if he should join her but thought better of it. They didn't have a great track record of innocent behavior in that particular location. He had no intention of wearing her out before he could treat her to some extra relaxation.
Instead, he turned down the covers on the bed and waited for her.
Jo stepped into the room clad only in a towel. A familiar tension immediately spread across his body. It was difficult not to react to a naked Jo Lupo with anything but all-consuming desire, yet he closed his eyes and reminded himself that he needed to behave. When he opened them again, Jo was at the foot of his bed, sliding on the sexy underwear he'd picked out for her and laughing at him with tired eyes.
When he saw her reaching for her top, he leapt across the bed and grabbed it from her. "I don't think you'll be needing that anytime soon," he drawled.
"Yeah?"
It seemed she still had enough energy to challenge his arrogant flirtations. She sauntered to the side of the bed were he sat, his eyes never leaving hers. He watched as she loosened her towel and dropped it into his lap. Tracking her, he openly leered when she returned to the foot of the bed, topless, to kneel on the rolled up covers. Zane took the hint and laid the towel down to cover the sheets. When she slowly crawled along the bed to lie down on her stomach, he suppressed a groan at the gorgeous view. He blew out a strangled breath; it was pathetic how quickly she could turn him into a hopeless, horny mess. But it was also utterly exhilarating, even on a night as subdued as this one.
He traced the line of her back from the nape of her neck to the top of her satin-covered backside. Shiny drops of moisture from the wet hair she had pulled over her shoulder peppered her skin. In a few moments, he'd get his hands on the toned muscles of her delicious body presented so alluringly before him. There was no taking his eyes away from her mostly nude form as he reached behind him to grab the bottle closest to them.
Unfortunately, his inattention caused him to completely overturn the contents of his nightstand sending massage oils and lotions all over the bedroom floor. The sound of Jo's chuckles broke the mood, a minor setback at best. He righted the scattered bottles before holding on to the rose-scented massage oil.
"Keep laughing, Lupo. I'll show you." Climbing over her body to straddle her, he smacked her bottom. A finger ran along the top of her underwear and then snuck underneath. He tickled her at the hip and then snapped the waistband back in place. "You know, you didn't need these either."
"Mmm, I beg to differ. I can't have you getting any more distracted now can I?" There was nothing he could say to counter that logic.
For the next hour, he kneaded and caressed, working out the knots and interspersing his therapy with occasional conversation and the stray kiss to the back of her neck or shoulder. If her satisfied moans were any indication, she particularly responded to him running his fingers through her damp hair to massage her scalp. He hoped it relieved a little tension from her headache. When her silence stretched on and he saw that she was limp and relaxed, he clamored off her and cleaned himself up; it was his intention to join her in bed and hold her until she fully fell asleep. Upon returning to the bedroom after washing up, he saw that she had slipped on the tank top he'd snatched from her earlier and was curled up on her side waiting for him. A guy could really get used to having this waiting for him at bedtime.
He didn't waste time dwelling though. He crawled into the bed behind her and took her in his arms, feeling her adjust herself to his body as she'd done almost every night these last couple of weeks. Even though he'd just given her a full-body massage, he couldn't stop himself from gently tracing patterns on her slick skin, a finger along her arm or a hand circling her waist.
"That feels nice," she purred into the arm encircling her. Judging by the fogginess in her voice, it wouldn't be long before she dozed off. Not wanting to keep her up, he didn't respond but kept lulling her with his soothing touch. After a few moments, he heard even breaths next to him and he smiled down at her, enjoying watching her face in slumber. Eventually he closed his eyes as well.
He could feel himself nodding off beside her. It had been a really long day for him too and it was catching up to him quickly. Right before he slipped into sleep, a jerk and a quick tension to Jo's body had him tightening his grip on her. He registered with alarm her wide eyes and wild expression.
"Jo, what's wrong?" He stroked her hair, trying to calm her and only relaxed when he felt the struggle leave her body and awareness return to her expression. Jo let out a long sigh but didn't respond. Instead, she focused on calming her erratic breathing. Zane mentally kicked himself for not being more prepared for this reaction. Jo was so tough and she'd made it seem like the events of the day were more a nuisance than any real trauma. He had known better but let it slide.
Feeling Jo's fingers alongside his made him realize that he'd been gripping her hip in what was probably an uncomfortably firm grasp. He loosened his hold on her but didn't remove his hand.
"I'm fine Zane. Really. This always happens when I'm stressed."
It's not that Zane didn't believe her; he just knew her well enough by now to recognize that her explanation wasn't the whole story. He'd seen her plenty stressed and she'd never reacted like this. It was probably best to wait her out though if he wanted a real explanation. The last thing he wanted to do was add to her anxiety.
After a few minutes passed and she hadn't tried returning to sleep, he squeezed her hand to get her attention. "Are you really okay?" Whether she would answer or not was up in the air but he wanted her to know that he was there for her if she needed an ear. And he was curious what was on her mind. This sense of fear and frustration he sensed from her was unfamiliar and that was not to his liking.
A slight nod was his only response though. Rather, she turned in his embrace and held onto him as tightly as he was holding on to her. He could feel the tickle of her hair against his exposed skin and reveled in her idle strokes along his body.
"Today just dug up some stuff I haven't thought about in a while." He almost stopped breathing at the sound of her soft voice but forcefully steadied himself so as not to scare her off. He wanted her to keep talking, to keep revealing what had hurt her so he could try to make it better. "When Fargo and I first switched bodies, I was so disoriented and confused. It just reminded me of a bad time."
Of course. Sometimes it was easy to forgot about the life Jo had led before he met her, probably because it scared the hell out of him to think of the danger she'd lived under during combat and secret missions into enemy territory. You didn't become as brave or strong or dedicated as she was without having put time into some truly scary situations. And you didn't become as haunted as she appeared to him now either.
"You want to talk about it?" His question was tentative, curious yet hopefully non-intrusive.
Jo's hand stilled as she thought about it. "No," she responded, resuming her caressing of him. "Maybe some other time but not tonight."
That implied promise was enough for Zane. He brushed his lips against the crown of her head. "Whenever you're ready." He intertwined his legs more tightly with hers and breathed her in.
"You want to tell me what's got you so wound up about the Matrix mainframe?"
He tensed, not having expected that abrupt change in subject at all. Honestly, he hadn't even thought about that project in hours, not having the concentration to do much with it after leaving Jo. He had been right that she suspected something. However, he sure as hell wasn't going to get into it right now after the day they'd had.
Zane adjusted the fall of her hair against his arm. "Maybe some other time," he echoed. "Tonight is all about you so get some rest now. I've got you." There was no more patience in him to consider Matrix nightmares or body-switching or her past that reflected the many ways he could have lost her before she had even walked into his life. He just wanted to lay safely with her for the night.
To his relief, she placed a final kiss to his shoulder and closed her eyes once more.
TBC …
AN: Sorry for the delay. Sometimes I end up adding extra chapters to what I've previously written when I feel like there's something missing. These last two chapters were the result of that. At least it will make it so the next few chapters are almost ready to go.
Thanks again for reading. Feel free to pass on any suggestions and I hope to keep things coming regularly for the next few chapters.
