by Linda Bond
“I…” She swallowed, glancing from Zack to Stan, and then back to Zack.
“You’re wasting precious time, kid.” Stan’s facial muscles twitched.
“You trust me, Stan, to walk in front of that camera and start talking about what has happened over the last couple of weeks? You don’t want me to vet this information through you first?” The thought did make her a little uneasy. She knew what a big story she and Zack had uncovered. A lot of highly paid lawyers were likely to pick through every word that came out of her mouth.
Stan shook his head. “We don’t have time. And I do trust you. Just stick to the facts. Interview your partner here with the FDLE. You’ve got a solid source in him.”
She flipped a look Zack’s way. “I’ve got an anonymous source. And he’s going to stay anonymous.”
“Why?”
“Because I gave him my word, that’s why.”
“You can’t make that kind of deal without consulting me. Your anonymous source shot and killed one man and injured another. You can’t keep him out of the story.”
“My anonymous source is not the story, Stan. The videotaped confession I have is the story, and the shootout that was also videotaped by my undercover camera will tell its own story. I’m keeping his name out of it. Masking his face if he’s in the video.”
“Not if I tell you otherwise.”
“If you tell me otherwise, I will quit. Before your noon newscast and before you can get your exclusive for the TV station.” Wow. She couldn’t believe she’d said that. Her chest puffed up.
“Is that a threat?”
“Stan,” she sighed. Take it down a notch. “I don’t need a source for this story. I was a witness myself, and the video will back up every word I tell the viewers. I need you to trust me on this.”
“You’re not going to freeze up on me?”
Figured Stan would get a last jab in. Sam lifted her chin. “Not ever again.”
…
Sam went in search of Zack, who had disappeared into the main building of the marina looking for a place to clean up. Down the main hallway, she heard a man groan. Not just any man. Her man. The moan came from within a single bathroom next to the main office. She held her breath.
Zack had left the door open a crack.
She peeked in, trying not to make a sound.
Zack was facing the mirror, his shirt off. One arm was lifted above his head as he ran fingers over the left side of his chest.
Watching him move took her breath away. He was physically perfect. Lean waist, rippled abs, no body fat. She just wanted to savor the sight of him for a few moments, before he saw her.
What a different man Zack Hunter had turned out to be than she’d first thought. He wasn’t the arrogant party boy she’d met at the drop zone, or the hard-assed ex-military cop he wanted to appear. She had fallen in love with the wounded, recovering soul she’d uncovered beneath the façade.
He lifted his other arm. She’d explored his body a few times, but always in a rush of passion. Now she took her time and drank in his lean form, savoring each ripple of flesh over muscle.
He leaned over the sink and splashed water on his face. He straightened and groaned again, his hand shooting to his chest. A large purple and red mark splashed across the left side of his flesh, like a child’s messy painting.
“Oh, my God.” The words whooshed out. “That must really have hurt.”
He whipped around, then his body relaxed and his eyes lit up. “Spying on me?”
She gave him a little smile. “Well, I am Bond. Samantha Bond, right?”
He chuckled.
“Are you okay? Those bruises look pretty nasty.”
He tilted his head. “Hmm. Maybe you better check me over to make sure…”
Her heart fluttered like a drunken butterfly’s wings. Excitement spilled through her veins. “Oh. I guess I could do that.”
“Shut the door behind you.” He leaned back against the vanity. “And lock it.”
Her insides danced. “I take it you’re feeling pretty good.”
He looked at her with dark, lust-filled eyes. “You tell me.”
She closed the door and moved toward him, taking slow, measured steps. She didn’t want to look too anxious or too needy, but she was desperate to grab hold of him and touch her fill. Carefully, of course.
In front of him, she traced a finger across the vicious mark where a bullet would have blasted a hole in him. He winced a little. Swallowing a painful lump, she realized how close she’d come to losing him.
He touched her face.
A rush of raw need swept over her. Once this day was over, who knew what would happen? Zack still hadn’t talked about the future. Their future. She blew out a breath and disengaged herself from the heated circle of his embrace. What if she never saw him again?
“Sam?” he asked in a husky voice.
“I have to know,” she said.
His eyes narrowed. “Now is not the time to play reporter.” He put his hands on her waist and pulled her back to him.
She resisted the strong urge to press into his rock hard body, to feel how much he wanted her. “I’m not.”
“Good.” He tugged harder, until she lost her footing and fell into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and his warm lips found the sensitive spot of flesh between her shoulder and her neck.
Instinctively, her shoulders hunched up.
He forced them back down and began nibbling her so gently the hair on her nape sizzled. He was so damn good at this.
“Stop,” she moaned.
“Stop what?” he whispered, his breath hot and demanding on her skin. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her head back until her neck was totally exposed. “Are you glad I’m alive?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because—” She hesitated.
“I want to hear you say it.”
“I—” The words clogged in her throat.
“I need to hear you say it.” His voice dropped a register, deep, low, and needy. He ran his lips up her throat until chill bumps erupted all across her skin.
With the last ounce of reserve she had left, she placed both hands on his chest and put distance between them. “I need you to answer a few questions first.”
He stepped back and looked at her through suspicious eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
With a grunt of disbelief, her handsome lover leaned back against the counter, putting cold air and distance between them. “We almost died today, both of us. Can’t we forgo the questions and get right to the—”
“No. You left me on the morning after the best night of my life, and I have to know why.”
“It was? The best?” He raked her with a bad boy smile. “Really?”
Sam gave him an unrelenting stare. “Cut the crap. Open up to me. For real. It’s now or never.”
His smile faltered and his laughing eyes slowly went serious. After a forever-like pause, he said, “Okay. I left you because I had an appointment at the local hospital to get into the hyperbaric chamber. I didn’t want to wake you for that. And I guess I was a little embarrassed about needing the medical help. When I got back to the room, you were gone. I knew exactly where to find you. You scared the shit out of me. I barely made it to the marina in time to jump on the yacht undetected. That was ballsy of you, Sam.”
“But you took my video evidence with you. Why?”
“Couldn’t risk you flashing it all over the news before I could make an arrest.” He jammed his hands in his pockets. “I was determined to nail the person who murdered my uncle. You knew that from day one.”
“At any cost?”
“We’ve already had this conversation. We’ve both admitted we used each other. In the beginning.”
Her stomach flip-flopped. “And now?”
“And now things are different. We’ve gotten to know each other. Both seen past the walls.” Gently he placed bo
th his hands on her cheeks, cradling her face, making it impossible to look away. “All my life I wished for someone to care about me the way I see you care about your family. Your sister and your mother. And George.”
All she saw in his eyes was sincerity…wrapped in a blanket of vulnerability. Emotion choked her, straining the muscles of her throat. She could only manage a squeak. “Really?”
“Why do you think I paid your mother’s bill? I hoped it would bring you back to me.”
“But you had no way of knowing it would. You gave me that money with no strings attached. That was the moment I think I started loving you.”
He smiled, unlike any smile she’d seen on him before. “I’m not sure I heard you right.” The joy in his face went deep, and his eyes danced with the mischief she’d grown to expect and to desire more than anything on earth. “What was that last part?”
“Oh, boy.” She rolled her eyes at him, even as a wave of happiness cascaded over her. She used to think Zack Hunter didn’t need anyone. He’d probably even thought that himself. But no longer. “I love you. And I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it.” She raised a brow and looked up at him expectantly.
He laughed. “My turn, eh?”
“Ya think?”
His eyes softened. “I started loving you the moment you agreed to ride in that F-16. I knew you were terrified. But any woman who could face her fears like that, she’s the kind of woman I wanted to—”
She gently placed her hands on his bare chest. “I know what you wanted to do with that woman.” His skin felt moist and hot.
“Nothing’s changed, Sam.”
A knock on the door.
“Steele. Five minutes until airtime. Finish brushing your hair. Or whatever the hell you’re doing in there. And get out here. Now.”
Stan. Her news director. Always blunt and bold.
She exhaled, looking up at her perfect man. “I’ve got to go.”
“So go.” He smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to finish this…conversation.”
Her heart swelled.
That mischievous look entered his eyes. “Do something for me.”
Uh oh. “Anything.”
“Nail that live shot.” Zack smoothed a wayward strand of her hair. “Are you nervous?”
“No.” Holy shit. She really wasn’t. She placed a hand over her heart. Regular rhythm. She hadn’t even given a thought to what she would say. She should be in a panic. But she wasn’t. She laughed out loud. “I think I’m just going to pull a Zack Hunter.”
He pulled back, cocking his head at her. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I have a plan.”
“Uh oh.” He mimicked her favorite saying, just as she’d copied his.
“I’m just going to take a giant leap of faith…and wing it.”
…
Ice Queen.
How could anyone look so hot and be so frigid?
Zack laughed out loud. He recalled his first reaction to Sam performing her duties as a TV reporter at Skydive Drop Zone, right after Wentworth had died. That moment seemed so long ago, when in reality it had only been a couple of weeks. So much had changed since then. Now, Zack knew how much her job could actually pain her, and how seriously she took her work.
Her face appeared animated yet solemn as she spoke to the camera in front of her. She and George set up their camera in front of Catch Me if You Can, while a stream of investigative personnel still moved on and off the yacht.
Zack wasn’t close enough to hear her words, but this time he didn’t fear what she was saying. He knew she’d keep her word and keep him out of the story.
Despite the bruise, the rest of his body felt light, almost weightless. A heavy responsibility had been lifted off him. With Robert’s death and Scott’s impending arrest, he’d completed his personal and professional assignment.
Samantha pulled the earpiece out of her ear, smiled, and high fived George. She acted like she was proud of their accomplishment. As she should be. She was the one who’d put all the different pieces together.
She glanced up and caught him staring.
Unlike the first time she’d done that, this time Zack didn’t look away.
She cocked her head to one side and grinned.
A new emotion rocked him. He felt like a schoolboy with an overwhelming crush, warmth rushing through him.
She started walking his way. After such an intense morning, followed by an intense few minutes alone with her in the marina’s cramped bathroom, all he wanted to do now was have a little fun.
She stopped in front of him, placing her hands on her hips as if challenging him to say something, just like she had a few weeks ago when they first met. So, she wanted to play as well. He grinned. “How can you do that?” He mimicked his words from Skydive Drop Zone.
“Do what?” She raised an eyebrow, but the wicked smile on her face told him she knew what he was doing and planned to follow along.
“Turn your emotions on and off like that? One minute you’re crying over me because you think I’m dead, the next you’re this indifferent journalist reporting on a death and a couple of shootings as if we were all strangers to you.”
Her eyes widened. “It’s my job. It’s what I have to do, like it or not.”
“It’s cold.” He knew he was pushing her buttons, but this time instead of trying to hurt her, he was engaging in some foreplay. He couldn’t believe how turned on he was. Again.
“Cold? Really? Well, some of us—”
Before she could finish her sentence, he swooped her into a bear hug and planted a fierce kiss right on her lips. He heard her gasp, and that natural reaction sent desire pulsating through him. He kissed her slowly, passionately, moving her body up against his in an unmistakable way.
“Wow.” She sounded breathless. “You’re making a very public statement with that kiss.”
A few law enforcement officials had stopped to stare at them. Stan, her boss, fired off a death glare at him. Zack merely chuckled. Nothing could ruin his mood or his plans. “Good. I’m done hiding, both my feelings and the truth. From this moment forward, I’m putting it all out in the open.”
She stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“Samantha.” Her boss had made his way over to them. “You’re both old enough to practice a little more control and discretion.”
The tone of her boss’ voice pissed Zack off. But he held his tongue for Sam’s sake.
“That kiss, in front of numerous witnesses, represents a conflict of interest, don’t you think?”
“Actually, Stan, I wasn’t really thinking at all.”
Zack grinned. This was the Sam he loved. Bold and confident.
“Is that why you want to have a little sit down with me?” Sam asked.
“That’s one of the reasons.”
“Okay, but there’s nothing in any journalism book I’ve ever read that says it’s unethical to fall in love.”
Zack loved the way she defended herself. Much differently from the day they’d met.
As Stan’s eyebrows shot up and he opened his mouth to respond, her boss’ cell phone ringtone sounded. “We’ll talk later. First, let me take this call.” He stalked a few feet away.
“Quite a character,” Zack commented.
“You have no idea.”
“So, where do we go from here?”
She shrugged, and peered up at him through long lashes. “How about lunch?”
He smiled. “I have some paperwork, and I’ll need to be debriefed.”
“Okay, then I’ll wait for you at the hotel.” She sighed.
“I’m not just talking about today.”
Her cheeks brightened. He loved that he could get that kind of reaction out of her.
“I’m open to suggestions,” she said in a soft, coy voice.
“How about a vacation? An adventure vacation.”
She playfully swatted at him. “Are you for real? You haven’t had enough adventure ov
er the last two weeks?”
He touched her lips. They were moist and a bit bruised. Her bottom lip trembled.
That simple move hardened him. Jesus, he wasn’t even able to control his own desire out here in the open. He laughed at his own predicament. “I had another kind of adventure in mind. One that includes just you and me in a hotel room overlooking the Gulf of Mexico on St. Pete Beach.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers in his, and looked up at him with the genuine love and trust he’d been waiting for all his life.
About the Author
Linda Bond is an Emmy award-winning journalist by day and an author of romantic adventures by night. She’s also the mother of five: four athletes and an adopted son from Cuba. She has a passion for world travel, classic movies, and alpha males. Linda currently lives in Florida, where the sun always shines and the day begins with endless possibilities.
You can learn where Linda Bond got part of her inspiration for Alive at Five by clicking on this link right now. The chapters dedicated to riding in a United States Air Force F-16 were inspired by this real life ride. Hear Linda Bond talk more about the making of Alive at Five in this interview. And check out the Alive at Five book trailer on the home page of www.lindabond.com.
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