She sat in the same spot, head bent. He moved a little closer. She was holding something...ah, her cell phone. A smile teased her lips, and using her thumbs she typed on the keyboard.
For a moment he just observed the way the shadows played across her face and how the wind tousled her hair. Such beauty, and he had her all to himself for the weekend. An entire weekend to convince her she could have her fantasy. With him.
An emotion he’d fought to contain surfaced and for a second he allowed it to bloom in his heart. For a long time he’d thought of her as his, even before she was divorced. Now that she was single, he was definitely going to make the most of their time together.
He stepped forward just as a man towered over Trish. Zach held his breath as she lifted her head and offered a quizzical smile. He shifted his focus to the man. He seemed harmless enough, but there was something in his posture, in the rigid set of his jaw. Was this the man who’d been threatening him and now Trish?
Zach swung his gaze back to Trisha. Her back was straight, shoulders high and tight. Every few moments she’d shift away from the man leaning over her, and each time the man followed her movements, pressing closer. At this rate Trisha was going to run out of table before the guy decided to leave her alone.
This had to stop. Zach threaded his way through the tables, angling so he’d come up behind and just to the right of the man. He was in arm’s reach when the man lunged and seized Trisha by her arm and jerked her to her feet. Several onlookers gasped, but did not intervene.
“Let go!” She tugged away, hitting her attacker with her fist.
Zach clamped a hard hand around the offending wrist, viciously jabbing at a couple of pressure points. The man howled and released Trisha. She stumbled back against the table. Retaining his hold, Zach jerked the man’s arm behind his back and shoved him face down on the wooden picnic table. Satisfaction rolled through his gut at the thwack and accompanying whoosh of breath. No one put his hands on Trisha.
Gasping pants came from below. The man struggled a moment, but a quick jerk on the offender’s arm stilled any further efforts.
“I-I’m sorry,” the man squeaked out.
“You should be,” Zach said with a growl. “You don’t ever put your hands on her again.” He glanced over his shoulder to see Trisha rubbing her arm. He could just make out the faint bruise marring the skin on her upper arm. Anger surged anew. Not a good start to their weekend. “Are you okay, beautiful?”
She nodded.
He returned his attention to the man on the table. “I think you owe the lady an apology.”
“I just wanted to talk to her.”
Zach shifted and stepped away. “Really? It didn’t seem like she enjoyed your conversation,” he replied with controlled menace.
The man slowly pushed away from the table and stood, dusting off his clothes with badly shaking hands. He didn’t try to meet Zach’s steely gaze.
Zach looked the man up and down. He was a few inches taller than Zach’s 6’1’, but Zach had more muscle mass. He maneuvered until Trisha was beside and slightly behind him. The warmth of her hand pressed to his back stilled some of the anger roiling around in his gut.
“Is there a problem here?” a stern voice asked behind Zach.
The other man flinched and finally met Zach’s heavy stare.
“Maybe you should be a little more careful about the women you speak to who tell you to go away. If you ever see my lovely lady again, don’t even think about going in the same direction. Understand?”
Tension stretched taut. A nervous cough whispered beneath the pavilion, while faint laughter and muffled cannon fire contrasted with the serious situation. When Zach stepped forward, only the soft hand on his bicep registered.
He covered her hand with his and moved closer to Trish. “Understand?” he repeated.
“Yeah.”
“No, no problem, officer,” Zach said. He placed a hand at the small of Trisha’s back and propelled her away from the gathering crowd. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. A train whistle preceded the railroad crossing warning bells. Long wooden arms descended, barring the way across the tracks. They stood amongst the rapidly swelling crowd waiting for the train to pass.
“A little shaken, but I’m okay.”
He touched a spot on her bicep. “You bruise easily.”
She glanced at her arm. “He grabbed me pretty hard.”
Mindful of her sunburn he gently cupped her shoulders and turned her to face him. He drifted his gaze over her face, noting the slight quiver of her lips. This close and he could see the unshed tears behind her dark lenses. She was more than a little shaken.
He bit back a curse. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
She ducked her head and wouldn’t meet his gaze. “That...wasn’t your fault.”
He studied her a moment. Her arms were crossed around her middle and she shifted from side to side. What was he missing?
“Are you saying it’s your fault?”
She looked away.
“How is it your fault?”
Silence.
He tunneled his fingers through her hair, before cradling her face between his palms. “I don’t like seeing you afraid.” He studied her, noting how her lips softened, the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as she inhaled. “Do you know who he is?”
She wrapped her hands around his wrists. “His name is Roscoe and he’s a friend of my ex’s.”
Zach fought a momentary wave of panic. That’s why the guy looked so familiar. He remembered him from the early days. The truth was going to come out, but he wouldn’t tell her now. He’d wait until the weekend was over. “What did he say to you?”
“He wanted a date. Gordy said I’d show him a good time.”
“Your ex is a real peach.”
When she tugged from his grasp, she presented him her back. Now he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. She’d made no secret of how she felt about her ex-husband and Zach certainly knew more than he was willing to share.
“I’ll understand if you want to call things off. You don’t need the drama of a meddling ex-husband or his associates. I know you’re upset.”
“Of course I’m upset. The guy put his hands on you.” He turned her to face him. “I am not upset with you. Do you understand?” He searched her face. A lone tear seeped beneath the edge of her glasses. He gentled his tone as he cupped her cheek and smoothed away the moisture. “You were in trouble, love, and a bit of that overprotective macho bull you’re not so fond of seeped out.” He held his breath, waiting for her reaction.
She tilted her head to the side, her hair spilling over the back of his hand. “You really didn’t have to do that.”
A smirk creased his lips. “I think I did. He hurt you and a very clear message needed to be sent. Besides, when you’re with me, no one touches you.”
The crowd moved around them. He curled an arm around her waist and propelled her forward. Through the turn-style, across the concrete sidewalk and toward a waiting car at the curb, not once did he let her go.
The young man standing next to the Audi sedan straightened and opened the back door as they neared. “Did you have a good time?”
“As well as can be expected,” Zach said. He helped Trisha in the car then settled on the seat beside her. Once they were inside the door closed behind them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her near.
She scooted closer, leaning her head on his chest.
“Why don’t we stay in tonight? We’ll order room service, watch a movie and it will keep you out of the sun.”
She chuckled. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“Oh no?” He poked her shoulder and she flinched. “See?”
“Okay, that much. It doesn’t hurt that much.” She giggled and avoided his gentle pokes.
He coiled a lock of her hair around his finger. “I won’t make that mistake again. At least there were no bees.”
“This time.”
“Yea
h, this time. We’ll stay in and have some fun, but first a trip to the drug store and then back to the hotel.”
****
Cool water cascaded over her skin, easing the soreness from her body. She should’ve remembered sunscreen and then she wouldn’t be taking a cold shower right now. With a flick of her wrist, she shut off the water, stepped from the stall and reached for a towel.
The morning had been absolutely brilliant, but seeing Roscoe brought up all her old insecurities. If Zach hadn’t been there, things could’ve been so much worse. She blew out a breath and wrapped the towel around her body, tucking the end beneath her arm.
She leaned against the counter. The divorce was the easy part. Sacrificing four years of her life to a cheating, manipulative jerk had been hard. Her three-year marriage lasted two and a half years longer than it should have. She hated to think she’d been clueless the entire time about Gordy’s affairs, but she had. Even worse than her husband...well, ex-husband’s infidelity was knowing how he had exploited his mistresses for his own personal pleasure and gain.
Their sex tape hadn’t been the only one she’d found, but she’d made sure he couldn’t use it or any of the others. Gordy always said he’d make her life miserable for destroying the tapes and divorcing him. Sending Roscoe was just a reminder that he could still annoy her, even from the discomfort of his jail cell.
She stared at her reflection. Her face was relatively untouched but her shoulders and arms hurt. A knock sounded on the door.
“Are you okay?”
She quickly crossed the room and twisted the knob to pop the lock. Zach appeared on the threshold clad in a sleeveless t-shirt and baggy drawstring shorts. Her breath stuck in her throat as he crossed his arms. All that delicious sexiness was there for her exploration and she still needed to find out how far his tattoo went.
Heat tinged her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to her feet. After the incident at the Village, she still wasn’t sure spending the remainder of the weekend with Zach was a good idea. At least her pedi was holding up well. Great. Just great, she thought. There was a hottie standing in front of her and she was thinking about the polish on her nails.
“You have that look again.”
She snapped her gaze to his. “What look?”
He pushed off the door to stand in front of her. “Like you’re ready to leave again.” His caress was infinitely gentle as he tucked a curl behind her ear then along her collarbone.
“I think you pay a little too much attention to me.”
He grasped the edge of her towel. “And you’re worth all my time.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to leave?” She held the towel in place.
He shackled her wrist and led her from the bathroom. Soft music drifted through the bedroom. Zach had closed the drapes and this time real candles burned. The tiny gesture of intimacy struck a chord deep within her. How had he known something so simple would move her?
“You need a little more convincing.”
“I don’t know what else you could possibly do.”
He waved a hand to a small sitting bench and lifted a brow. “My dear beautiful, that’s what this time is all about.”
Warm fuzzies squeezed her heart and she settled on the padded bench. He sat behind her on the bed, a powerful thigh on either side of her shoulders. When he pulled the clip from her hair she tensed. He leaned close, his breath tickling her ear.
“Relax, sweetheart, I’m not going to hurt you.”
He picked up a brush from the nightstand and dragged it through her hair with long even strokes. With each swipe the tension eased from her shoulders and a sigh left her lips.
“Tell me something I don’t know about you, Zach.”
“I wanted to be a chef.”
She tilted her head back until she met his mist-gray eyes. “You cook?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I studied with a really great chef in Europe for a year or so, before I came back here and started my company.” He chuckled and gently pushed her head forward.
He divided her hair in three equal parts then quickly braided her curly tresses.
“If you wanted to be a chef, why didn’t you?”
“I went back home to help my mom with my dad. He had a heart attack and it was touch and go for a while there, but he pulled through.”
She leaned back. “I’m glad everything worked out.”
He secured the end of the braid with a small rubber band. “Me too. By the time I got things situated with my folks, I’d lost the position and stumbled into driving.” He tossed her braid over her shoulder and leaned away to grab a bottle from the nightstand.
Trisha sighed when he smoothed his hands over her shoulders, massaging aloe into her skin. Whatever tension remained was easily dispelled at the expert touch of his fingers. She allowed her head to fall forward. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had done the simple things for her.
Gordy never would’ve brushed and braided her hair and he definitely wouldn’t have taken the time to tend to a sunburn. Moisture burned behind her lids. She longed for a man like Zach. What would happen once the weekend was over? Could she go back to her normal routine? Did she want to go back to work and dating the next worst thing?
“Tell me something I don’t know about you?” he whispered near her ear.
She was so relaxed and his hands felt so good, she’d tell him anything he wanted to know. “I raised the capital for my salon by pole dancing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
He drifted his hands downward, circling each vertebra with his thumb, dislodging the towel as he went.
“Very resourceful woman.” He reached around and cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples to attention, and then returned to massaging her shoulders.
That small caress jumpstarted her libido and she shifted. She shivered when his lips grazed the curve of her shoulder.
“Do you still dance?”
“No. I don’t really have the time for it.”
“Too bad. I’d love to see one of your routines.” He swept butterfly kisses up the column of her throat and along her jaw.
Liquid desire pulsed between her thighs. She wanted to feel his lips on every inch of her body.
“Would you dance for me sometime?”
If he kept kissing her, she’d do whatever he wanted. “Sure.”
“I’d like that.” He eased from the bed and stood.
A heartbeat passed before she registered that he’d left. Shivering without his heat she stood on wobbly legs and discarded the damp towel. For a second she was sure his foreplay would lead to another round of fabulous sex. She reached for the short silk robe on the bed. Maybe she’d read his signals wrong.
His soft chuckle broke through her reverie.
“What?”
He removed the robe from her fingers and placed the garment around her shoulders. “I have the rest of the evening to make love to you, Trish.” He lifted a hand and unclipped her braid. It fell over her shoulder as she stuffed her arms through the sleeves.
She knotted the sash, luxuriating in the softness of the pale blue fabric. “How in the world did you manage all of these clothes?”
He stepped closer. The heat of his body enveloped her. “I’ve wanted to get you alone and all to myself for a very long time.”
“I have a ton of clothes at home I could’ve brought.”
“But it’s so much easier if you’re only wearing a robe.” A knock sounded on the door. “That must be our dinner.”
She trailed after him and sat at the tiny table, while he answered the door. Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin in her palm. She feasted on Zach’s back, a dark green whirl mixed with a spot of blue dipped beneath the armhole of his shirt. Powerful shoulders rippled when he reached in his pocket for his wallet. Sometime before this weekend was over she was going to find out how far that tattoo went.
When the concierge tried to push th
e rolling cart into the suite Zach blocked his path. “I can take it from here.” Zach bent forward, his shorts riding low on his hips, and she bit back a sigh.
He handed the man a tip and closed the door. When Zach pushed the cart forward, Trisha stood. He lifted a brow.
“I’ve got this. Have a seat.”
She resumed her chair, curious to see what he’d ordered since he hadn’t asked her what she wanted.
“How did you know what I wanted?”
He peeked beneath one of the silver domes, before setting it in front of her. “I had an idea.”
She regarded the container suspiciously a moment. When he lifted the lid, she burst out laughing. On the plate was a ham topped pizza.
“You did mention you didn’t like pepperoni.”
Warmth stole through her. Her dislike of the spicy meat was a well-known fact around her salon, but knowing he paid attention to that small detail left her breathless.
“I don’t know what to say.”
He grinned. “How about ‘thank you’?”
****
Dinner done and the cart outside the room door, Trisha curled next to Zach on the sofa. The DVD remote rested on his right thigh, while his left arm curved around her shoulders, bringing her even closer.
“If you like I can find a romantic movie,” he said as the harsh growl of a motorcycle engine came from the television.
She tilted her head to meet his eyes. “Now why would you do that?”
“I would be remiss if I didn’t offer.”
“I don’t like romantic movies.” She wrinkled her nose. “They’re just so-so sappy.”
He chuckled.
She fixed him with a mock glare.
“Now how is it a woman like you likes to be romanced, but doesn’t like romantic movies?”
She stared into his gray eyes. While his question held a hint of amusement, his eyes were serious. She could trust him with the answer.
“They make me cry and I don’t like to cry.”
He swept the pad of his thumb against the curve of her cheek. “There’s nothing wrong with a few tears.”
She ducked her head, only to have him gently grasp her chin and lift her head until she met his gaze again.
Lust and Bound Page 5