#contractor!zach wellison

[javierpinme]

Inn Over Your Head

Pairing: Contractor!Zach Wellison x f!reader

Word count: 10.3k (I know, I know. Yeesh. 👀)

Rating: Explicit (Anyone under 18 years old, go away)

Warnings: mentioning of loss of parents, slooooowwww burn, oral (f receiving), masturbation (f), existential crisis?, unprotected sex (wrap it in real life but you know fiction), praise kink (are we surprised it’s me), idiots to lovers, use of vibrator, mild angst, brief mention of reader wanting kids, sickeningly sweet fluff (I think this is it but if you see anything let me know)

Summary: “I have all these empty rooms and I’m not a terrible cook so I was thinking w-what if you…stayed here? We wouldn’t even have to see each other unless working on renovations. Not that I don’t like seeing you, but if privacy is an issue.” Jesus christ. You stammer your way to the end of your proposition and avoid staring at his face in fear of rejection. There is a pause and you try to retract what you said before you get interrupted by him gently saying your name.

A/N: I never intended to make this one shot wonder so long, but here we are. And look, before anyone says anything I am very well aware that I said that I was going to cut down which believe me I did. I really did, but I also added more so it kind of balances out. This is my first smut piece, so yeah. That’s it. This is about as self-indulgent as it gets. In my brain contractor is the job I imagine him having post his job in B&S. 🤷🏻‍♀️

AO3

Inn Over Your Head Masterlist

Masterlist

Want to be on my taglist?

***

“No, no, no. Ugh!” 

In your haste to move your kettle on the counter and boil some water for tea you accidentally knock one of the screws you had unattached from the vintage sink into the garbage disposal. All you wanted to do was see what kind of screws it would need since the screws that it currently had were a little eroded. You thought you were being proactive since you knew next to nothing about owning an inn. Closing your eyes you take a deep breath and grip the counter trying to ground yourself. You can do this, right?

You were recently single after a long-term relationship that went south. The two of you wanted different things, but it wasn’t until recently when that all came to a head. You’ve always wanted to get married, have a couple kids, and you were vocal about that. You had thought your boyfriend was on the same page as you, but when the topic of marriage came up he told you that he wasn’t on the “same level” as you which absolutely broke you because of how long you were together.

Which brings you to where you are at the current moment. You adored inns as a child; they always held some of your best memories with your parents before they passed. Every summer as a little girl you would travel to different states and you loved the historic feel that seemed to encompass within them. Whether it was the aroma of fresh pastries wafting in the air traveling to your bedroom in the morning or the fact that there were several generations before you that sat on the very same furniture as you. You felt a little lost and wished you had your parents with you to help you navigate this change in your life, but they never would be and that brought you down even more.

“Well, hardware store it is then.” One last glare at your kettle like it betrayed you and you walk out the door with the faucet in hand.

“How many different screws can one sink have?” You exasperated to no one other than your own ears.

You dig through all types of screws and none of them are fitting correctly causing your annoyance to increase. In the midst of you rolling your eyes at the situation you spot a figure in the front of the store greeting the cashier and fail to remember why you were irritated in the first place. The first feature that comes to your attention is how tall he is and the warmth of his smile when he passes by the employees. Your feet think before your brain does and move of their own accord silently following him through the aisles you definitely didn’t deem necessary to be in on any other day. You start picking up supplies only to put them back down to make yourself look less obvious about your ogling.

You can only see him from behind, but even with being covered by the navy and burnt orange plaid flannel he’s wearing you can tell his shoulders are broad. He rolls up his sleeves while grabbing what he needs and you almost moaned at the sight of the veins on his forearms. His hands are calloused as far as you can tell which means he probably does physical labor. You’ve always loved a man that can work with his hands.

An employee walks up to you asking if you needed any assistance which you politely declined and by the time she comes out of view the target of your attention is also nowhere to be found. You sigh in disappointment and make your way back to the aisle you actually needed something from. Your hands mindlessly grab the first box of screws you can find on the shelf while fantasizing about the size of his hands on how they would feel around your—

You gasp at the intrusion of your beginning to be very filthy thoughts when the subject of that fantasy comes into view from the opposite aisle and smiles at you. You blink subtly shaking your head and thank whoever is up above that there is no such thing as mind readers. The close distance between you even with the separation of shelves permits you to appreciate his prominently curved nose, his ebony eyes, and the dimples that seem to display even deeper as his smile grows when you are silent following his introduction. A chuckle breaks you out of your daydream and you ask him to repeat what he said. Your brain filters back in when he tells you his name is Zach and you return it with yours.

“Working on a home project?” He nods to the box that is sitting in your hand that you conveniently forgot about.

“U-Uh, yeah. I dropped one of the screws that at one point was attached to this faucet in my garbage disposal when trying to make tea so I’m buying replacements for it.” You stutter out holding the faucet in the air when he disappears from your peripheral leaving you confused at the interaction.

The sound of boots filter in and become louder prompting you to turn around and almost knocks the wind out of you when you realize how close he’s standing in front of you; the scent of bergamot and sandalwood overwhelming your senses. God, is this how he always smells?

“Well, let's see what we got here.” He grabs the faucet out of your hand inspecting the hole in it and eyes the box of screws in your hand while yours are focusing on how much bigger his hand is in comparison to what he’s holding. “First of all, these are completely the wrong screws for this. This is vintage. They don’t make these anymore. You’re not going to find those here.” He chuckles out which you misinterpret for teasing when you’re already a little sensitive from the events of the day.

“You know what? I think I’m capable enough that I don’t need a self-righteous know-it-all to tell me what to do.” You huff out in frustration at his picking of your unknown insecurity.

“Just tryin’ to help you out. That’s all, sweetheart. Didn’t mean any disrespect.” Zach raises his eyebrows and lifts his hands up in surrender.

“Thanks for your help, but I’m good from here.” You emphasize none too delicately pulling the faucet out of his hand and walking out the store in embarrassment empty handed.

***

“I have no idea what I’m doing, Kit. I mean I'm way in over my head with thinking that I could even do this with no experience. I can’t even pick the right fucking screws. Something so simple. My parents would be so proud.” You release a self deprecating chuckle and bury your head into your hands ignorant of the fact that there are other tables of customers trying to enjoy their meal. You feel the warmth of your friend’s fingers wrapping around your wrists to bring them back to the table.

“Hey, you’re doing a brave thing and your parents would be so proud of you for creating your own adventure on something you always enjoyed as a family. If I could help you know that I would in a heartbeat, but I might have someone to recommend. He is an absolute sweetheart. He dropped everything to help when my pipes burst. He’s a former marine and was spit out by the VA so he ended up homeless.” Your heart breaks for whoever it is at that moment, but you make a mental note not to meddle since it wasn’t your business.

“He’s not anymore but-speak of the devil. Zach!!” Kit calls out to wave him over and you momentarily freeze hoping it isn’t the same man that you snapped at at the store.

You slowly shift in your chair to face him and you feel heat cascading from your chest to your neck at the confirmation that it is indeed the same man. You spot that same warm smile pointed in your friend’s direction and you see the shift in it the moment he recognizes you, but he never breaks it which brings you an odd comfort. He was attractive in the fluorescent lighting of the store but even more so with the sun settling into night. Kit smiles at you unaware of the predicament you’re in and catches up with him while you’re trying to appear nonchalant about seeing him in front of you again. She introduces you and all you can do is squeak out a hello.

“The reason I called you over here is because she just purchased an inn and she has no idea what she’s doing. She is stressing about being in over her head and I know you have experience with doing that kind of thing so I figured I could hook you guys up.” You can’t stop the wince from forming on your face at the words your friend is repeating to the man that you were so hell bent on showing that you’re capable.

“Well, I wouldn't go that far.” You cover your embarrassment with a laugh, but it comes out unsteady.

“What do you mean? You said it yourself.” Kit narrows her eyes at your reply and repeats your words much to your chagrin.

“I thought you said that you were capable and didn’t need help from a self-righteous know-it-all. I believe those are the exact words you used.” Even with the repeating your stinging words it sounds like honey coming out of his lips. Your eyes meet his with what you now realize was teasing in a different sense than what you assumed it was in the store. Your defensive stance deflates and you can’t help the laugh that comes out. He’s poking fun at you and you start to feel a little ridiculous for your outburst.

“I….deserve that.”

Zach’s smile grows even wider accentuating that dimple again and shrugs his shoulders in mock agreement. Something about you made him want to help you and he’s trying to convince himself that it has nothing to do with how beautiful you are.

“I’ll help you. Here’s my number. Text me the address. We can do a walkthrough and make a list of anything that takes priority.” Zach grabs one of the napkins on the table and pulls a pen out of the pocket of his plaid flannel to write it down. The fragrance of bergamot and sandalwood tickling your nose again and making you yearn to know how that smell would mix with the perspiration of certain activities. An awareness hits you at the last second that has you ungracefully call out his name.

“Wait! I won’t be able to pay you.” Your voice starts wavering as you’re nearing the end of your sentence. I put everything into this.

“Well then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not expecting to get paid. Text me.” He motions to his phone and walks off. You turn around to face Kit again and she has a shit-eating grin on her face with her arms crossed in amusement.

“What was that?” She raises her eyebrows at you and you finally manage to maintain a straight face now that the physical manifestation of your awkwardness has left. “What was what?” You drink your tea to hide the obvious smile you hid behind your mug.

“Uh, that. You had a moment.” Kit points between you and the empty space where a cute brunette had resided a minute ago. You shrug your shoulders and feign innocence which makes her even more suspicious than she was before. “Okay, it was nothing. You’re paying then.” You roll your eyes and release a quiet sigh in relief at the drop of that subject.

***

You pace back and forth over analyzing a text message you had prewritten the night before to send this morning. “Personal or impersonal?” The arm holding your cellphone goes to your side and you laugh at your overthinking of such a simple task. 

So you just crank out a quick message of your address and begrudgingly tap a smiley emoji putting your phone down on the coffee table before you regret it. The ding of an incoming message goes off in the otherwise silent living room if you count the rhythmic pounding in your chest at the anticipation of his answer as silence. You try not to think about the speed at which you walked from the other side of the room to see what he said. Sounds good! I’ll drop by later today and take a look at what we’ve got ahead of us. Saving you from the total embarrassment of being overeager he also included a smiley emoji at the end of his sentence making you slightly more relaxed.

***

Consciously you know that this is not a date, but that doesn’t stop your illogical brain from changing your outfit three times in the last half hour. He’s just here for a tour of the inn and you’re working together now, kind of. This is the first male interaction you’ve had since your breakup and your heart feels like it's in hyperdrive at that. You wring your hands together waiting near the front entrance for his arrival. A knock raps against the door and you take a deep steady breath before opening it to a to-go cup of coffee with that same cute brunette attached to it.

He greets you with a soft smile and a good morning. “That was fast. Were you near the door?” He hands you the coffee and you try to hide your mortification that he noticed.

“No, I was moving some stuff around when you knocked. Thank you. I love that café. They have the best coffee in town.” You open the door wider to allow him to walk inside.

Zach clears his throat and walks inside carrying a clipboard in the opposite hand; the sound of his workman’s boots on the creaking floorboards. “You’re welcome. I wasn’t sure if you liked it since tea seems to be your preference.” You swallow a gasp at him noticing what drink you had during your second meeting. He clicks the pen he had in his pocket and immediately goes into business mode writing out future renovation projects throughout each room.

You both squeeze into the powder room and you mention that you want to replace the toilet. “I don’t want to open up with that one. I want a new one.”

“Why? It’s clearly functioning. I thought you liked historic things.” He grumbles proving his point by flushing it and raising his eyebrows in your direction.

You narrow your eyes and cross your arms bringing his attention to your chest. “Yes...I do. I’m just not comfortable with the hundreds of years of shits that took place in it. We’re getting a new one. Add it to the list.” You walk out of the tight space in defiance and effectively end the debate. You might have imagined the huff he released and you definitely missed him calling you stubborn. You walk through all the rooms within the inn skipping your bedroom since that wasn’t on your list of priorities before guests rooms and you weren’t sure if you could handle the visual of Zach standing in your bedroom with you.

You walk downstairs in silence and make your way back to the front entrance. “Well, we have a shit ton of work cut out for us. It’s not going to be easy, but I might be able to shave some additional costs where we can.” 

He must see a flash of irritation in your eyes and brings his palm up in defense. “Woah--hey. That’s why I’m here. To help you get through this. Together.” The last word a plea to understand he means no harm in his words.

A warmth fills your chest at the last word. Together. You tamp down that feeling as soon as it appears. You nod, shooting an apologetic smile his way before focusing on a scratch on the floor. “On the topic of money since as you know I can’t pay you I was thinking of some alternatives.” Your eyes finally meet his to see him shaking his head telling you it wasn’t necessary, but you insist on letting you finish your words.

“I have all these empty rooms and I’m not a terrible cook so I was thinking w-what if you...stayed here? We wouldn’t even have to see each other unless working on renovations. Not that I don’t like seeing you, but if privacy is an issue.” Jesus christ. You stammer your way to the end of your proposition and avoid staring at his face in fear of rejection. There is a pause and you try to retract what you said before you get interrupted by him gently saying your name.

“Yeah, okay. I’d have to go home and pack, but yeah.” Your heart flutters at the scene of that familiar dimple you’ve come to love directed at you.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow at 7 then?” Your voice picks up volume now that he’s given you his answer. You open the door to let him leave and he turns around saluting you with a grin. You could get used to that.

***

Like clockwork, Zach arrives at 7AM on the dot which you tease him for while helping him bring in his belongings.

"Punctuality is a virtue, sweetheart." 

You remember Kit mentioning he was a former marine, but you keep that information to yourself while directing him to the bedroom he will be sleeping in. You inform him that breakfast is just about ready and leave him to familiarize himself with his new surroundings alone.

Zach appears from the opening of the kitchen while you’re plating the french toast slices with berries. He pours the two of you mugs of coffee and you sit on the stools at the island to dig into your breakfast. At first bite your eyes widen and feel a heat rising to your cheeks at the filthiest groan Zach releases. "Damn, if this is what I get everytime you cook I will be very satisfied." Me too.

***

The both of you start to really pick up a rhythm and tackle your projects room by room. There are even some days he beats you in waking up in the morning, but his idea of a hearty breakfast is toast. You forgive that when he gives you the largest mug you own of coffee to soften the blow of his lackluster cooking skills. 

This morning you’re going to be working on the faucet that continuously haunts you and you change into a worn white t-shirt with leggings in case you’re doing any dirty work at any point in the day. It’s been spraying water erratically since yesterday when you tried to make chamomile tea for you both before going to bed.

“Alright, let's see what we got here.” Zach tinkers with the aerator and it immediately starts spitting out water at him. In the midst of his struggle to turn the faucet off he isn’t fast enough because when he eventually turns it off he is absolutely drenched. There is a silence in the room other than the sound of droplets hitting the floor before you break out in laughter at the sight before you.

“Zach, you look like a wet rat.” You put your hands on your knees and lean in a folded position losing your composure. Your stomach starts cramping and you wipe the tears in your eyes basking in the moment.

He huffs in annoyance and you hear him trying to shake off the excess water on his clothes. “You done?” You’re not even remotely done, but his tone makes you act otherwise.

“Yeah, I’m-ZACH!!” He turns the sink back on and grabs you by the waist to bring you in front of the stream in sweet revenge. You don’t even have time to react before you end up in the same state he’s in drenched to the bone. He finally turns the faucet off and you force yourself out of his arms to slap him repeatedly. 

"Now who's the wet rat?" He grabs a piece of your hair and moves it behind your ear. That tentative touch alone could have made you melt right there and then.

The boyish laugh he lets out has you beam with delight and you take a moment to admire each other before his smile falls. You furrow your brows and follow his line of sight; your first instinct should be to cover your chest but you swear you’re not imagining the swirl of lust filling his eyes. Wearing mesh undergarments today probably wasn’t your most brilliant idea. 

Your breath hitches when you follow where his eyes travel. Your lips, to your neck, and slowly returning his gaze back to your chest causing a heat to pool between your legs. Out of the corner of your eye Zach’s hand that was flat on the counter twitches as if he’s fighting the urge to touch you and he takes a step closer before stepping back to this original spot to your dismay. He shoots his face away from you; cheeks tinted red before clearing his throat and huskily speaks.

“You can go ahead and get changed. I’ll still be here fighting with it.”

You nod your head and sigh in disappointment at the broken moment before making your way back upstairs to change. You can’t figure out why he hesitated when it was clear to both of you what you wanted. You throw on a dry shirt and walk back to the kitchen hoping the awkwardness has faded.

Zach is still in the same spot messing with the faucet, but has the water shut off to avoid any more accidents. 

“We should just buy a new faucet, Zach. It’s hopeless.”

He shoots you a glare startling you when he breaks his reserved nature. “No. It’s part of the history and just because something is broken doesn’t mean they’re disposable. They deserve a second chance.”

You sense a shift in the atmosphere and you know he isn’t talking only about the faucet anymore. You slowly nod while picking at a chip on the counter and your mouth speaks before your brain has time to filter it.

“Like from when you were home-” You shut yourself up as soon as you started. You freeze hoping that he didn’t hear you, but the pause in him working on the faucet confirms that he did.

“How...how do you know about that?” His tone is as quiet as you’ve ever heard it and it breaks your heart even more to know that you’re the cause of it.

Your sharp inhale fills the room and you save yourself some time to come up with an explanation by pushing the flakes into the sink from your frantic picking. Regardless of planning out your words your voice still quivers when you speak.

“Someone told me. I’m so sorry, Zach. I was never going to mention it, but-” You never get to finish your apology when you hear the padding of his bare feet on the tile leaving the room. You turn the knob to the sink—looks like it’s fixed but you royally fucked up.

He avoids you the rest of the day by working on projects on the opposite side of the inn. There's no explosive argument. No demanding an apology for invading his privacy. You would have preferred that over the silent treatment. You deserved that. It only seems fitting to your situation when the cracking of thunder roars outside like the universe has been wronged and its demanding vengeance. I know.

***

You’re cleaning the living room area wallowing in your self pity when the flickering of the lamp catches your eye. Before you can even process the thought you can’t see anything other than the lightning in the distance through the window. Figures. The power must have gone out.

Your line of vision follows the stomping from the floor above you and a deep exhale can be heard from the man that has been avoiding you all day.

“You alright?” You can’t see him through the pitch blackness, but you know if the creaking of the staircase is any consolation he’s on his way down to you.

You blindly feel your way around to the dining room table where the candles you purchased earlier in the day to give Zach some space are located. “Yeah, I’m just going to go grab some candles.” You know he can’t see you, but you hear a grunt in approval. 

You start walking back into the living area extending your arm in the air to avoid ramming into something before you feel a hand gently grab your forearm to direct you back to him. The coffee table screeches from being shoved away and his hand smooths down to your own to pull you to the floor. His hand is so warm around yours prompting your heart to lose its stable rhythm. He lets go way too soon and you fight to shove down the whine that was crawling its way up your throat in protest. The flick of a lighter goes off illuminating the room in a soft orange glow while Zach finishes lighting the other candles. If it wasn’t so awkward it would actually be pretty romantic.

You wonder what would have happened if you had never opened your mouth; so critical of yourself over your word vomit that you don’t hear Zach saying your name. Your attention is brought back to the man in front of you and the dam breaks spilling apology after apology. His hand hovers in front of you and asks if you could politely shut up.

You shift yourself backwards to lean your back against the front of the couch and he mirrors the position next to you taking a deep breath before he speaks. “I was homeless. I was in the marines.” He lifts up the sleeve of his shirt to show you the tattoo on his right arm. 

“When I got back I couldn’t adjust to civilian life. I got diagnosed with PTSD and the VA helped for a little bit until they didn’t. It would have been easier if I had a drug problem, but I had a place to sleep problem which is how I ended up sleeping in a park.” Your heart shatters at the visual and you intertwine your fingers with his rubbing gentle circles on his knuckles in comfort.

“I mean I had to sleep with a pipe at all times because you just never knew when the next threat was going to be. I was scared. Scared of being jumped and scared of when my next meal was going to be. I’m not mad at you for bringing it up. I just...for once wanted to be someone other than that homeless guy. I didn’t want you to think of me like that.” A humorless laugh falls out of his mouth and you scooch closer until your thighs touch, leaning your head on his shoulder. 

“Zach, I would never think of you like that. I can’t even begin to imagine how scared you were. You really want to know how I see you? I see a kind hearted man that makes everyone he talks to smile. I see a man who dropped everything to help a friend with a problem and not to mention a complete stranger who definitely didn’t deserve it after certain rude comments. I see someone really brave and despite the circumstances you overcame it. That’s what I see.” You feel his head move to lay on the crown of your head and with the exhale he releases so does the tension from earlier.

You’re not sure when you closed your eyes or how long but it isn’t until Zach breaks the tranquility of the moment that you open them. “What about you? What’s your story with the inn? Since we’ve established you don’t know what you’re doing.” He flinches in pain when you pinch his side at the remark, but neither of you can stop the smile directed at the other.

“Well. The cliché story is that I’m recently single after being in a relationship for years. I thought we were both on the same page as far as marriage and kids goes, but he either changed his mind or appeased me to get me to shut up about it.” You sigh and the tear in the rug becomes really interesting until you feel Zach squeeze your hand encouraging you to continue.

This memory does actually make you smile unlike the other one. “When I was a little girl I traveled with my parents all over the country, always staying in inns. I mean, really old historic ones like this one. When my parents died I was devastated and I guess I felt like I was holding onto a piece of their memory when I bought this place. That I wasn’t completely alone because I had this.” Zach’s lips press into your head and you melt at the significance of the gesture.

“There’s this one memory I have of being in Cape May with them. I never forgot it because we stayed in what was called the “lavender room” and it was as you can probably figure out all shades of purple. Well, in this particular inn they had a clawfoot tub in the bathroom and I begged my parents to let me use it. I couldn’t get over the fact that I could use the lavender scented bubble bath in the lavender room. They wouldn’t let me and I was devastated so every trip afterwards they would bring lavender body wash to appease me when I would ask. Purple walls or not. I was a brat as a kid.”

“You got a thing for tubs?” You hear more than see the grin on Zach’s face and you hum in confirmation.

“When I bought this place and saw there was an attached bathroom to one of the rooms I was ecstatic because in the picture it had this beautiful vintage clawfoot tub. It felt like everything fit into place and then when I walked in I could see where there used to be a tub but it was an empty space so you can only imagine my disappointment.” You laugh at the memory of your mini temper tantrum at that realization.

“Sorry.” Zach rests his cheek against your temple and you bury your head into the crook of his neck.

“There are worse things. Maybe someday I’ll fulfill that dream, but it just isn’t high on our priority list right now with everything we need to get done.”

“Hm.” You bring your head up to ask him what he meant by that not realizing how close he was to you. He meets you halfway slotting his nose against yours and you stop breathing afraid that you’ll somehow break out of the trance you’re in. The silent question in his eyes asking if this was okay and you nod.

Your gaze follows his tongue peeking out to lick his lips and you raise your head to surge forward until you’re blinded by the lights turning back on. Zach’s forehead presses against your own and you grin at the devastation taking over his features even with his eyes closed. He opens his eyes and the boyish grin returns on his face at the comedic timing of it all.

“Come on.”

You blow out the candles now that you don’t need them. He grabs your hand lifting you up off the ground and presses that hand on your lower back to move you towards the stairs. There’s a comfortable stillness that you don’t feel it’s necessary to fill it in with conversation. You walk to your respective bedrooms wishing each other a goodnight before closing your door.

***

Sleep is not coming easily to you, too frustrated at the recollection of events of the day. You can’t help but laugh at the cruel joke the universe seems to be playing on you while staring at the ceiling. All the interruptions it seems to be inciting on you just when it seems like that cord of sexual tension will finally snap, the push and pull between you finally coming to a head. The only sounds heard in the room are the crickets outside now that the storm has died down and the rapidly growing thumping of your heart and core. Your brain replaying and rewriting that moment with Zach in the kitchen. What if he hadn’t stopped when he had? What if he had succumbed to the obvious desire you reflected back?

There is a moment of hesitation between you; a question before you surge forward at the same time in a bruising kiss. Zach’s tongue begs for entrance and you grant it lightly sucking his bottom lip between yours. A groan similar to that morning while eating breakfast comes out of his mouth before he presses you against the counter and the evidence of his arousal on your hip. His one hand is playing with the bottom hem of your shirt while the other wraps around your lower back; not quite reaching where he wants but respecting boundaries until he requests permission.

“Is this okay?”

Your eyes flicker between his eyes and lips; you grab his hand slowly, never breaking eye contact to move his hand under your shirt until he reaches your breast—“Yes.” He curses rolling his hips into yours squeezing your clothed breast not able to hide the grin at your responsive moan. You impatiently remove your shirt and bra baring yourself under his stare.

“Fuck, these beautiful tits. These beautiful fucking tits.” He returns his hand to your breast using his index and middle finger to pinch and pull at your nipples alternating between the two. His hips grind into yours hitting your clit just right and you’re powerless to fight the whimper crawling up your throat.

The sound of a drawer opening and frantic rustling breaks the silence in the room before you find what you’re looking for. Your soaked pussy begging for attention and you’re hopeless to ignore the ache. All you can hope is Zach is either asleep or too far away to hear the vibrating circles focusing on your clit.

Your fingers run through and pull his hair at his ministrations, his hands smoothing down your back, kneading your ass until he lifts you onto the counter. He grasps the back of your knees to spread you further allowing him space to admire the view of your breasts, smoothing his fingers up and down your thighs. You cup his cheeks and pull him back to your lips, your tongues fighting for dominance and dancing melodically all at once. 

A soft gasp breaks it when you feel Zach’s thumb circling your clit through your thin leggings creating a perfect friction. You could come on this alone until his hand moves to your waistband slipping into your panties to return to your clit rubbing those soft circles.

His middle and index finger trace down your folds to your entrance. “Fuck, you’re so wet. I want you to come for me sweetheart. I want to hear-”

You bite the back of your hand just in time to muffle the moan you let out when you come hard, maintaining feather-like strokes to prolong your high. Your heart beating erratically until you slowly come down evening out your breaths. You open your eyes to blindly find your way to the attached bathroom to clean up and crawl back into bed. Even after relief, sleep still doesn’t come easy.

***

A groan escapes you followed by a yawn while you’re making coffee the next morning. After taking care of your needs last night you only managed to sleep for a few hours before the sun was rising.

“Good morning.”

Zach lazily walks into the kitchen and you fight the giggle at the state of his sleep mussed hair. You yearn to run your fingers through it and your fantasy from last night comes roaring to the surface causing a heat to rise in your cheeks.

You clear your throat and hope he doesn’t notice your internal dilemma. “Do you want breakfast?”

He walks behind you to open the cupboard, pulling two mugs out to fill them up, shaking his head at your question. “Can’t. There’s an estate sale going on today and I thought I might see what they have to bring back here. Now that the groundwork has been laid as far as renovations we’re just about at the point where we can consider a grand opening date.”

Your stomach bottoms out at the thought of an opening date. On the one hand you’re excited because this is what you’ve wanted but on the other hand that puts a deadline on your time with Zach. You must take too long to answer because his hand rubs your shoulder blade and he’s asking if you’re okay.

You get yourself together nodding your head while turning to face him. “Okay. I guess I’ll work outside and get the garden to something you can actually stand to look at.” You hope the lighthearted tone covers the distress on your face and it seems to because he’s already on his way out the door. You had gotten used to this little domestic bubble the two of you lived in, but it wasn’t real.

***

You’ve been working tirelessly all day picking at weeds and turning soil to get prepared for planting. Zach still hasn’t returned from the estate sale so you use this time to go to the plant store for supplies. Your mind wanders to Zach while shopping. Regardless of the fact he is helping you there was never agreement of what would happen afterwards. Logically speaking you would go your separate ways, but that thought made your stomach turn.

You couldn’t deny that you’ve grown feelings for him and the close quarters certainly haven’t aided in your denial since he is there everyday. Those lingering looks and unnecessary touches when passing coffee or tea to each other often made you wonder if he feels the same. That moment you shared in the kitchen has you thinking he does unless it was just the heat of the moment. You were practically almost half naked in front of him and that puts you down a spiral of self doubt of his possible feelings for you.

You’re carrying your bags of supplies opening the front door and pause when you hear loud grunting from multiple men. You kick the door closed and you’re about to panic until you hear Zach’s voice echoing which brings you at ease. “Uh, Zach? Everything okay?”

A curse shoots out and you’re about to walk over to the stairs before you hear Zach protest. “Y-Yeah, we’re good. Just go outside and finish up gardening. We got this.” At his reassurance you start planting some of the flowers you got at the store until dark.

***

You’re sweating like a pig by the time you’re finished and just want to relax when you hear Zach opening the door calling your name. “Wow. This looks amazing. You did a great job out here.” He’s sporting a proud smile on his face and you can’t help but mirror it.

“Thanks.”

He grabs your hand to help you up off the grass while you brush off the dirt from your leggings. “Come on. I have a surprise for you.”

His hand hovers on your lower back directing you to the stairs and tells you to close your eyes. “Surprise? You really expect me to go up these steps without seeing where I’m going?”

He takes a minute to think that through and ultimately grabs your arm to help you up the steps. You want to trace your steps to figure out where you’re going, but you don’t want to ruin whatever has him so excited so you choose to instead ignore it.

The first thing that hits you is the scent of lavender overwhelming your nose and the humidity in the air. Zach permits you to open your eyes and your knees almost buckle at the sight before you in your bathroom. There’s candles strewn about on all the open surfaces and tears blur your vision at what sits in the corner in what used to be an empty space. A clawfoot bathtub.

A throat being cleared brings you back to the present and you don’t think before you crash into him with a crushing hug. “Zach…”

Zach returns your hug bringing one of his hands to rest on the back of your head stroking your hair. “I was at that estate sale and saw it. It was pretty beaten up, but we gave it a fresh paint job to match your bathroom. I-I hope you like the color. It’s no lavender, but it wouldn’t have gone with the color scheme in here.”

Zach reluctantly lets you go and rubs the back of his neck nervously when you’re not having any kind of reaction. You’re too speechless to find the words to describe how cared for you feel right now. How much he cares for you. “Thank you.”

You see how the tension in his shoulders deflates at the confirmation that he did the right thing. “Of course. You work so hard. You deserve to relax.” He tells you to get into the bath before the water gets cold and walks out.

You release a contented sigh and dip deeper into the warmth of the scented bubbles; thinking about that cute brunette waltzing into your life when you desperately needed it. You think back to your earlier self doubt, but this puts that to bed. As kind hearted as he is this wasn’t something you do for just anyone. Maybe, just maybe, he returns your feelings and you’re determined to find out. You must have been in the bath a long time in your thoughts because the water starts to cool, suddenly realizing you didn’t have a change of clothes other than what you wore before you got in. You don’t want to put your clothes back on so you have no choice—

“Zach? Can you grab me some pajamas from my nightstand? I forgot them before I got in.”

“You got it!” Zach bypasses the bathroom and walks into your bedroom shaking the picture perfect visual of you right now. The bubbles being the only thing standing between your soft skin, flushed cheeks from the steam, and—the zipper on his pants never felt so uncomfortable after opening the first drawer. Definitely not that one. Maybe someday. He desperately hopes you let him.

He clears his throat and adjusts his pants, opening the second one to grab a pair of pajamas for you, knocking on the bathroom door to let you know he has them.

“Thanks. You can bring them in.”

You hear the creak of the floorboards from him shifting his weight on the other side and then a pause. “But you’re...taking a bath. I can drop it off in front of the door.”

“The bubbles are covering me. It’s okay. You can bring them.” You find it endearing that he’s so nervous even with the wall separating you. You hear a deep exhale and the knob being turned, his head poking in while covering his eyes.

You can’t control the laugh at his expense. “I said you couldn’t see anything. That’s not necessary.”

Zach clears his throat and you see his adam’s apple bob as he swallows. You don’t need to see his eyes to know the cogs are turning in his head. “I’ll keep them closed.” I won’t be able to fight the urge to join you in that tub and everything that comes with it.

He feels around the bathroom to deposit them on the counter and speeds out of the bathroom.

You think you hear him mumbling under his breath but you can’t make out the words.

You go about your normal nightly routine and head downstairs to Zach making chamomile tea for you both, depositing the mugs on the coffee table in the living room. The two of you sit on the couch consciously scooting closer until your thighs touch, enjoying each other’s company in silence.

You put your mug back on the coffee table and Zach’s arm swings on the back of the couch behind you, not quite touching the back of your neck but close enough to make the hairs stand up anyway. “Thank you. No one’s ever done something like that for me.”

“Anytime. You deserve that, you know? You’ve been working so hard and I know it hasn’t been smooth sailing so you deserve a relaxing moment or two. You can put yourself first sometimes. And you know, you’re not going to be needing me pretty soon so take it while you can. The work is almost done.” Your heart drops at the implication and you decide it’s now or never. When did your mouth get so dry? 

“I-I’m always going to need you.”

Zach’s features soften at your words and you feel his fingers gently stroking your cheek, shifting to cup it. You subconsciously lick your lips bringing his attention to them and his thumb grazes your cheekbone.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.” You’re not even embarrassed at your quick answer. You think you’d say yes to anything he would ask you.

He brings your face close to him, his hot breath tickling your face, and pulls you in for a chaste kiss. He breaks the kiss leaning his forehead against yours and breathes you in. “Fuck, you smell so good.”

“It’s the bubble bath, Zach.”

“Yeah, but it’s also just you. You smelled good before you got in the bath.” You narrow your eyes playfully but if you weren’t already sitting down your knees would have given out.

“I was sweaty and dirty.” 

“It’s just the way you always smell.” You lean your elbow on the back of the couch, laying your cheek on your hand, and raise your eyebrows in false shock.

“I always smell like sweat?”

“What, no. That’s not what I mea-” He realizes you’re teasing him when he sees the smile you’re trying to hide behind your hand, forcing a laugh out of him. “You always bite back at everything I say.”

You close the distance between you with an inviting smile, a whisper away from his lips. “Yeah, but you like it.”

“I do. It’s what I like about you.” His thumb and index finger grasp your chin to pull you back in, but this one is not as chaste as the first kiss. He pulls your jaw down to open your mouth to him and licks into your mouth, massaging his tongue against yours. He releases a groan at your taste and oh—this one is so much better than what you heard in the kitchen. You use the opportunity to nip his bottom lip and he grabs your thighs to pull you into his lap; your hips straddling his until you feel his hardened bulge against your core.

You experimentally roll your hips and smile when he gasps, burying his head in the crook of your neck—his hips chasing yours. “That feel good?”

“Fuck, you know it does.”

You decide to spare him and stop your teasing to start unbuckling his belt, his lips trailing kisses on your neck before biting at your pulse point when you wrap your hand around his cock. He bucks his hips up to meet your slow strokes.

“We can’t do this here.” He whimpers when your thumb smooths over his slit to spread his pre-come and you kiss his ear, suckling his earlobe between your lips.

“Why not?”

He abruptly pulls your hand out of his pants and gently pushes you off of him. He is the perfect picture in front of you and you feel pride at the state you’ve brought him to—his chest heaving, lips swollen from your kissing, all the blood traveling to his cheeks. Well, almost. Your eyes zero in on what must be an obviously uncomfortable erection. 

“Because guests are going to sit here and I don’t think they would appreciate this as much as I am right now. Upstairs. Now.”

You somehow make it upstairs in one piece despite the fumbling of limbs and hungry kisses and your back slams against your bedroom door once you’ve made it to your destination. You lift your shirt up and throw it on the floor followed by the unclasping of your bra before that drops to the floor as well. He grabs your thighs lifting you up to carry you to the bed, his hips pressing into yours on the mattress, pressing one last lingering kiss before shifting off the bed to admire you laid out in front of him.

“You’re beautiful like this.” Even with desire crashing through your veins your heart still flutters at the sentiment, his warm hand wraps around your ankle and rubs up and down your calf.

His hand sets your nerves alight and you conjure up the sweetest smile you can muster. “Hm. Are you going to stare all night? Or-” You open the leg he doesn’t have a hold on and you know he can see the wetness through your shorts if the growl that comes out is anything to go by. 

“Or are you going to do something about this?”

He grips your ankle tighter pulling you towards the edge of the bed and the visual of him kneeling down is a sight you will never forget. His hands grip the waistband of your shorts and slowly pull them down—his eyes meeting yours in a hungry gaze once he throws them over his shoulder.

“No panties?”

You think he’s going to go straight to where you weep for him but he smiles leaning back up to give you a soft kiss on the lips—then another one and shifts back off the bed to his original position. Even in your collective lust he still manages to make your heart skip a beat at his softness.

He grabs your leg and places it over his shoulder peppering kisses up your inner thighs to where you desperately need him. Your eyelashes flutter when he places open mouthed kisses sucking what will surely be bruises you’ll wear with honor tomorrow.

He spreads your folds to reveal your clit and the first kitten lick has your back arching off the bed, the pleasure shooting through your core when he wraps his lips around your clit and sucks. A raspy moan you didn’t even know you were capable of comes out and you grasp his hair pulling while your other hand grips the sheets under you to try to keep yourself grounded—needing something to hold onto or you’d float away. Not yet, not when it feels this good.

Your head shoots up of its own accord when you feel Zach’s finger circling your entrance, his eyes a question if he can continue. You nod and your head falls back down on the pillow; whimpers falling out of your mouth at the feeling of his finger finally pushing into your entrance before adding a second finger. 

You can hear the squelching from how wet you are when he pumps his fingers—in and out slightly picking up speed until he curls his fingers rubbing against that spongy spot of your pussy before pausing his ministrations. You look back down at him in frustration to him sporting a half smirk against your inner thigh.

“That feel good?”

"Shit. You..." You have half a mind to push his head back home for repeating your earlier words back to you, but you wait to be rewarded for your patience.

"You know it d-” Your words are cut off when he pulls your clit back between his lips relentlessly curling his fingers back against your walls. His teeth graze against your clit lightly and the tension in your core snaps, your walls clenching tight around his fingers. You hear a moan from below and he laps up everything you give him until you push his head away when it becomes too much.

You slowly come back down from your high and your fingers curl around the strands of his hair that had fallen over his forehead basking in your post-orgasmic bliss. Zach kisses from your navel back to your lips, pushing his tongue into your open mouth so you can taste yourself. 

“We need to take these off.” You chuckle and play with the hem of his shirt until he raises his arms up so you can lift it up, his golden hued abdomen revealing itself to you and you hear the rustling of his pajama pants and boxers being pulled down his legs to join his shirt on the floor.

You cup his cheeks and roll your hips. He gasps when his erect cock slots between your folds and he peppers kisses on your collarbone. You bring his head back to face yours, kissing his cheeks and lightly stroke his cheekbone. “You’re beautiful.”

His eyes become glassy and he attempts to shift his face to the side to break eye contact but your grip remains firm. “Even the parts you don’t like. Beautiful.”

He crashes his lips against yours pouring all his emotions into it—all the unsaid love he can give and just hope you understand. You trace your fingers starting from his brows making your way up, your nails scratching his scalp, and a release of air comes from his nose before going boneless against you—the weight of him a comfort that he’s here with you before he’s leaning up on his forearm to notch himself at your entrance. “Are you sure?”

You dig your nails into his shoulder blades and lock your ankles over his ass to push him inside. “What do you think? Yes.”

“Just checking.” That boyish grin returns to his face and only then does he slowly inch his cock into your entrance and the sheet next to your head creases from Zach gripping it in restraint—fighting the urge to push himself home all at once. God, he’s big. He rolls his hips until he’s to the hilt and you feel his pubic hair meet your pelvis. You experimentally clench around his cock and smile at the curse that he shoots out at the feeling of you.

“Fuck. Don’t. It’ll be over before it starts if you keep that up, sweetheart.” He doesn’t move—savoring the feeling of being inside of you that wasn’t in the form of his imagination.

You mouth at his ear, nipping his earlobe lightly and whisper. “Move.”

He looks down at you with a smirk calling you impatient. “Oh, shut-” You’re interrupted by your own moan when he picks up his thrusts.

“Shit, you’re so wet—so hot around me. Can you hear how your perfect pussy takes me?” He punctuates his words with hard thrusts and you’re not even embarrassed about the squelching sounds in the room your arousal leaking down to the crack of your ass. He grabs the back of your knees and pushes them towards your chest—his thrusts going even deeper than before.

“Fuck, you feel so good—so fucking good.”

You feel the softness of his hair moving down to your chest and you let out a moan when you feel his hot mouth wrap around one of your nipples, his tongue flicking around it making you arch your back in response. He presses an open-mouthed kiss to your sternum before switching to your other breast but not without pinching the nipple that stands at attention for him.

You feel the tightening in your core build higher and higher but not enough to throw you over the edge. Zach must sense it because you watch him grab the back of your knees and lift your legs over his shoulders—the weight of his body leaning against the back of your thighs so he can lick his thumb—a whimper releasing from you at the lewd display of his tongue before he brings it down to your clit rubbing circles. You buck your hips to meet his thrusts as best you can with your position and your pussy clenches around him when your orgasm surges through you making you sob out his name.

“Shit. So tight. So fucking perfect for me.” His hips stutter as he tries to reach his release until you feel hot ropes of come paint the inside of your walls, his hips turning into a slow grind to ride out his high. He presses his face into the crook of your neck and his lips press light kisses on your throat. “That was-”

“Yeah.” You don’t even hide the satisfied smile that is surely taking up your whole face. You almost whine at the emptiness when Zach pulls out and lays next to you, your collective pants filling the room. You felt too sated to move so you close your eyes and listen to your slowing heartbeat.

You feel the sheets moving from under you as Zach shifts his weight. “You got one more in you?” 

“Hmm?” It takes you a few seconds to catch onto what he said, your eyes still closed when you hear your nightstand drawer open and rustling, followed by a gentle buzzing sounding in the room. He makes you come two more times after that with his fingers and the vibrator all while whispering praise into your ear of how good you feel and he’ll never get enough of how you feel when you clench around his cock. How he never wants to stop.

***

The sun delicately making itself known through the curtains wakes you up and you feel a weight on your waist. The night before comes back to you when you feel a welcomed ache between your thighs, a reminder of your activities. You trace your fingers along the arm that is wrapped around your middle and you hear a tired sigh from behind followed by a croaky good morning from Zach.

“Good morning.” He grabs your hand so he can play with your fingers and you nearly cry at the intimacy of the moment. How different everything is compared to a few months ago; a relationship that wasn’t making you happy, the loss of your parents, and the lack of purpose you felt in your life.

“Are you happy? We’re almost done.”

You release a deep sigh at the sad interruption of the moment. “Happy to be done with the stress. Not happy because I won’t have a reason to keep you here.” Zach’s fingers clasp your chin and slightly turns your face to kiss you and then kiss your shoulder.

“You don’t need one.” His response muffled by his lips still pressed against your shoulder.

You turn around in his hold and ask the question that has been plaguing you for months. “What if you stayed?”

A furrow forms between his brows and you run your thumb along it to release the tension. “What if you just worked here….with me? As partners. You could keep everything in working order and I can make french toast and we’d do it. Together.”

Zach pauses his strokes on your waist and you inwardly panic that he’s going to reject you.

“Yeah.” 

You release the breath you weren’t aware you were holding at his answer. “Yeah?” Your vision starts to blur as tears fall down your cheek and bury your head where his neck meets his shoulder.

“Together. I did do most of the work after all.” You raise your head up to fight him on that statement but you soften at the loving look in his eyes when you meet them.

“Kiss me?” The emotions you’re feeling are so overwhelming that the question just barely breaches the surface, but in the stillness of the room he hears you.

Zach’s fingers clasp under your chin to bring you close to his face—his steady breaths through his nose tickling your upper lip until your lips meet in a soft kiss. You lick at his lips requesting access and he grants it before leaning over you. You feel your soft linen sheets slide off your naked body and you open your legs to allow his hips to slot against yours—his morning erection making itself known.

“Fuck, you’re already wet for me?”

***

You’re at the front desk going through your list of errands for the day when you feel a presence behind you and a kiss on your neck. “All booked?”

You tilt your head up to allow him to continue his ministrations and your cheeks begin to hurt from how wide your smile is. “Almost. Just one more empty room so we’ll see how today goes.” You turn around and give him a chaste kiss on his lips; a contrast to the assault he did on your neck seconds ago.

You grab his shoulder and push him away from the front desk but not before delivering a slap on his ass. “Now get back to work, Wellison.” He salutes you with a grin and turns to leave to deal with whatever needs fixing. You never did get used to that.

You hear the door chime and you turn to face your possible customers with a genuine smile. “Good morning! Welcome to-“

Taglist: @pedros-mustache @sharkbait77

[javierpinme]

Lauren, babe

I remember the first times we started interacting, it took place in a compettion, as to who was the cutest and sweetest, we would spam eachothers inbox with daily warnings as to tone it down because you were being too perfect, I remember getting so excited like a smol puppy everytime I would see your username pop up in my inbox, another day, another "javierpinme has sent you an ask" and it made me grin like an idiot without fail every single time. Thank you for all those asks that made my, morning, noon, night. I think I offically won that battle cuz as soon as I type in 'Lauren' it already has it saved on my phone as "Lauren the cutest babe" yeah like we didn't already know.

Then you started to release your fics into the world, I discovered that you had a masterlist and I was so bumped that I wasn't there to support your first fics as soon as you posted them, but I have made it my job to support and encourage you from then on with all the life I got just as you do for me. Thank you for always cheering me on and making this place even brighter. I love you like a lot, like seriously a shit ton of love. ❤❤❤

(please let me know if I missed any of your fics while I was gone)

MILEY

My Sunday is pretty much set. I’ll be riding on this hill of happy feelings the rest of the day now after seeing this sweet (but totally unsurprising because it’s you) message.

There are so so many greats things about joining this community and meeting you was one of them, my dear!! As I’ve said probably tons of times it is the biggest delight to see you on my dash and notifications. ❤️✨ You know, I was thinking the other day when you sent your previous ask that I don’t remember a time where there was an introduction phase between us. What I mean by that is I can’t remember a single moment where we weren’t already friends and that’s pretty cool to me. You’re pretty cool and I’m damn lucky to know you. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 My dear, you could never read a single letter or word and I’d still love you!!! But your support has meant the world and I will always cheer you on! Thanks for being the sunshine of this community and your support for creators. ☀️ I love you!!! 💕

(I’ve been a little slow on the writing grind, but I do have a little IOYH Christmas update for contractor!Zach Wellison called A Holiday Inn but zero rush on reading. I’m just happy to see you back. ❤️)