He pushed himself up from the weight bench and mopped his face with a hand towel. His muscles had that satisfactory burn from a good workout.
The entire day Sky had been present in Zack’s thoughts as he’d thought about seeing her again. He’d had half a mind to head straight to her ranch when he got off work. Instead, he’d returned to his apartment to think things over as he worked out long and hard in his weight room. He needed a plan to get her to trust him, and get her back in his arms.
He couldn’t keep going to her ranch without an invitation and begging her to let him into her life again. Although that’s what he’d do if that was what it took—show up on her doorstep every damned day.
The ring of the cell phone coming from Zack’s bedroom caught his attention. He rubbed his face and neck again with the towel as he went into the room and picked up the phone.
“Unknown” came up on the display with no phone number, but that wasn’t unusual in Zack’s line of work.
“Hunter,” Zack said as he answered the call.
“Sonofabitch,” his brother, Cabe, said in his deep rumble. “You moved back to Douglas.”
Using the workout towel, Zack rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. It was good to hear his brother’s voice. “You talked to Mom, I take it.”
“She’s pretty damn happy to have her baby ‘Zacky’ back.” “Fuck you.”
Cabe gave a low laugh. “Welcome home, little bro.”
Zack shook his head. “I didn’t get a chance to call you. Wasn’t sure I’d get the opening and the next thing I knew I was on the road.”
“Figured as much,” Cabe said.
Zack rubbed his face with the towel again. “So what the hell’s going on with you?”
“Keeping the streets of Dodge clean.” Bisbee, where Cabe was a detective, was a town a good twenty miles or so from Douglas.
Zack leaned his hip against the counter as he asked about Cabe’s wife. “How’s Kerrie?”
“Gone.” Cabe’s tone went flat. “As in out of the picture. Screwed another cop right in the station.”
“Shit.” Zack rubbed his temples. “Sorry to hear that.” “Obviously I’m better off with her out of my life.” Cabe’s voice sounded gruff, angry, but Zack sensed the undertones of pain his brother had been dealing with.
Cabe had been through hell and back since their childhood with their father—and then the accident, when Cabe and their father had been on a hunting trip. The old bastard had deserved it, but Cabe was the one who’d paid. At thirteen, Cabe had begun spending a few years in juvie for involuntary manslaughter. Since he’d been tried as a minor in Arizona, the records had been sealed when Cabe turned eighteen.
Cabe never talked about the incident, and Zack wasn’t inclined to open up old wounds.
“Ran into Wade Larson yesterday.” Zack figured he’d better change the subject.
“Still as big an asshole,” Cabe said. “I’ve met up with him a few times and can’t say I like the man any more now than I did in high school.”
“Heard anything about the cattle rustling that’s been going on in this area?”
“Just that a few ranchers have lost a good number of cattle.” Cabe paused. “From what I’ve been told, Skylar MacKenna has been hit the hardest.”
Zack pinched his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Stopped by to see her yesterday.”
“Yeah?” Cabe’s voice lowered. “I’ve seen her here and there. That girl grew up into one beautiful woman.”
“Tell me about it.” The image of her flushed features and swollen lips after he’d kissed her flashed through Zack’s mind. He cleared his throat and dropped his hand from his face. “If you hear anything about the rustling, give me a call or drop-kick me an e-mail.”
“You’ve got it.”
After he’d ended the call with Cabe, Zack left the cell phone on the counter while he looked in the bare cabinets, then stared into the empty fridge. He slammed the door shut and picked up the phone, dialed information, got the number for Pizza Hut, and ordered. A couple of pizzas, an order of buffalo wings, and bread sticks. That ought to get him through dinner and breakfast.
Zack went to the sink and splashed cold water over his face. No clean dish towels or paper towels, so he used his workout towel to dry his hands.
The sparsely furnished apartment smelled of fresh paint and mothballs, and wasn’t even close to feeling like a home. He was renting until he found a place he wanted to buy, maybe a piece of land where he could build a new house. Most of his stuff was still in storage, and the apartment had about as much appeal as a jail cell.
Yeah, he had to figure out some way to get close to Sky again, to get her to let him back in her life. With a frustrated sigh, he went to the sliding glass doors and peered through the blinds.
The apartments had been built close to the fairgrounds where rodeo events were held several times a year. The Cochise County Fair took up four days every September, and it was that time of year again. In the darkness he could see the glittering lights of the midway and Ferris wheel, as well as floodlights illuminating the rodeo grounds.
That time of year. The same time of year he’d met Sky ten years ago. And this Friday would be the rodeo dance.
Zack smiled as he remembered watching Sky barrel race on her black Quarter Horse. With superb skill, she moved at breakneck speed. The way she rose slightly off the saddle and leaned forward as she and her horse ran the cloverleaf pattern around the barrels showed their pure athleticism.
Zack had had a glimpse of her beauty beneath her western hat as she took the first-place trophy. Everything about her had called to him, and he’d had to meet her.
When Zack had gone across the rodeo grounds, he’d stopped and hitched his shoulder against a chute and watched Sky with her friends. She had a slight flush to her cheeks and her green eyes sparkled as people congratulated her. She’d taken off her hat, and her long red braid hung down her back.
He watched her for a long moment before she looked over her shoulder at him. She stole his breath as their eyes met. She brought her free hand to her throat in a nervous movement before she clutched her trophy to her, as if warding him off, and she quickly turned away.
At that moment, he knew he had to make her his.
Mine.
Zack stared across his apartment at the cell phone still sitting on his kitchen counter and made up his mind. What was the worst that could happen? Sky could hang up, which would put him right back where he was anyway.
Alone and fantasizing about having the woman in his arms and in his bed.
Many times. Many ways.
Zack grabbed the cell and walked into the living room. He kicked a box of clothing out of the way and shoved aside a stack of newspapers. He sat on the couch and started pressing the numbers to call Sky. Funny how he still remembered the MacKennas’ phone number as if he’d called Sky yesterday. Unless she’d changed the number.
The phone rang a couple of times, and then Sky’s sensual voice said, “MacKenna’s.”
Damn, but just hearing her made him hard. “Hey, sweetheart.”
A pause. “Zack. I—I didn’t expect it to be you.”
His gut tightened. Who did she expect?
Of course she wasn’t expecting you to call, you dumb shit.
He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm. “Did you think it might be Wade Larson?”
“Wade? Why would you say that?”
“I saw him after I stopped by your place.” Zack clenched the phone so hard his knuckles ached. “He made it clear you two are together.”
Sky’s voice was filled with disbelief as she said, “He what!”
A little of the tenseness in his body eased from Zack’s muscles. At least Sky didn’t think of herself as Larson’s woman, even if she might be dating the man.
“He saw me coming from your place and gave me some advice. Told me in so many words to stay away from you.”
“Well, that’s taki
ng neighborliness a little far,” Sky muttered. “Is that what you called about?”
Jesus, Hunter, you sound like a jealous fuckhead. Okay you are a jealous fuckhead—get over it. And get on with it.
Zack cleared his throat. “I wanted to ask you something.”
A long pause, then Sky said, “What?”
How hard could it be? He swallowed, feeling like he should have had a few beers before calling her. “Ah, I was wondering if you’d like to go with me this Friday to the rodeo dance at the fairgrounds.”
Silence. Too long. She finally said, “Are you asking me on a date?”
She wasn’t going to make this easy. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
A longer silence. “Why are you doing this?”
“It’d be a start toward being friends.”
What the hell am I saying?
“Friends,” she repeated, her tone flat, even a little hard. “That’s all you want?”
Zack rubbed his hand over his jaw as he pictured her beautiful face. “It’s a beginning,” he said.
He heard a thump as if Sky had hit something beside her phone, hard. “A beginning to what?”
This sure wasn’t going the way he’d wanted. What did you expect, Hunter? “Will you go with me or not?”
Sky sighed and he imagined her fingers at her throat, the soft skin turning pink. “Tell you what,” she said. “I’ll be there, and I’ll save a dance for you.”
“One dance?” Zack leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. If that was all she’d give him, he’d take it. For now. “All right.”
“See you Friday, then,” she said softly. God, but her voice was sexy. “So long, Zack.”
“Later.” Zack ended the call and tossed the phone onto the couch.
Shit. He’d gotten as far as getting her to agree to go. Now he just had to get her to spend more time with him, more than one dance.
How the hell was he going to handle seeing any other man dance with her?
Keep her too busy dancing with him to want to dance with another man.
He got to his feet and headed to the bathroom to wash off the day’s grime and sweat from working out.
Once he was beneath the hot spray, Zack couldn’t help but remember the times he and Sky had showered together. When he’d washed her hair, soaped her breasts, rinsed her off, and explored her naked body with his tongue and light nips of his teeth. And while under the spray he’d knelt and licked her folds until she cried out from the strength of her orgasm.
Moist steam clouded the bathroom as Zack soaped his own body, imagining it was Sky’s hands washing him, stroking him. As he rinsed off, he took his cock in hand, wrapping his fingers around his erection. Warm water pelted his back and rolled down his spine as he closed his eyes and he worked himself from base to tip and back.
He wanted to see her again. Spend time with her. Hear her voice for hours, and watch her smile. He wanted to know everything about this Sky, now, in the present—and fall in love with her all over again.
Then he wanted to make love to her for hours. Days.
Yeah, he could feel himself sinking into her. Her head thrown back, her hair a wild tangle of copper across his pillow, and she would be crying his name, shouting at him to go harder. Faster.
Zack’s body corded as he came in a rush and he barely bit back a shout. He continued milking his cock, the semen squirting onto the glass shower door until he was empty.
When he had spilled every drop, he placed both hands on either side of the shower door and let the shower spray pelt his relaxed muscles.
Damn, but Friday couldn’t come fast enough.
Sky might think she was only giving him one dance, but Zack would be claiming her, and to hell with everything else.
Chapter 6
Sky finished applying her mascara, then studied her reflection.
Sky. It had only taken a couple of days with Zack having returned to start thinking of herself as Sky again.
Crap.
And in a little under an hour she would be at the rodeo dance in Zack’s arms.
She shivered and leaned against the sink. She must have been insane to agree to spend even one minute more with Zack, let alone agree to a dance. She would be pressed up against his big, hard body. Those thick, corded arms would be wrapped around her, holding her close. All it had ever taken was one touch from that man to destroy her, to lay her bare and strip her of all her defenses. She felt like she had barely survived that kiss he had laid on her.
Sky’s heart began to pound and she touched her throat. She raised her eyes to look at herself in the mirror.
“I can’t,” she told herself in a whisper. “I can’t do this.”
Oh yes, you can. Or are you going to let him see that he has you running scared?... He’ll only chase you, you know.
Sky felt light-headed. Zack on the hunt was even worse. Besides, she wasn’t a runner and she’d be damned if she let some man cause her to be one. Even if that man was Zack Hunter.
She took a deep breath as she stood up straight, turned, walked into her bedroom, and looked at herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors of her closet door.
Yesterday Sky’s capricious best friend, Rylie, had gone shopping with her in Tucson and they’d had a great time. It had been good not to think about real life—failed relationships, missing cattle, and the ranch’s dwindling resources.
And they’d found the perfect outfit for the dance tonight. The ivory halter dress was gorgeous and made Sky feel slightly dangerous and very naughty. Sheer netting rose from just above her breasts to the neckline that encircled her throat like a choker. The dress completely bared her shoulders and back, all the way down to the top of her ass. She enjoyed the feel of the material, silky, and luscious against her skin.
She usually kept her makeup light and natural so that it hardly looked like she was wearing any. But tonight she’d gone all out—her cheekbones appeared higher, her eyes wider, and her lips more full and sensual.
She’d pulled back her hair and swept it up with a pearl comb, copper ringlets spilling out the top in a controlled mess. She smiled at the fact it gave her that just-got-out-of-bed look that she knew would drive Zack crazy.
Whoa, slow down, girl. This dress was not about Zack.
Sky turned and viewed herself from another angle, then shook her head. Who was she trying to fool? This dress was all about Zack Hunter and showing him just what he had walked away from.
She pulled on the matching bolero jacket, then slid her feet into a pair of ivory sandals with three-inch heels. Her toenails were painted with dynamite red polish to match her fingernails. The new garters and thong underwear felt positively delicious beneath the dress. Too bad Zack wasn’t actually going to see what she had on underneath.
No, it wasn’t too bad at all. She was just going to give him a taste of what he’d been missing all these years.
She took another deep breath and grabbed the purse she’d bought to go with the outfit.
After tossing her lipstick into her purse, out of habit she thought about slipping her S&W out of its hiding place. No. She’d be away from the ranch, and the very real threats weren’t likely to follow her there.
She said good-bye to Blue and strode out the door into the gathering darkness, taking care not to stumble down the stairs in her sandals. The pinching around her toes was a good indication she should’ve settled for something a little more sensible, but she’d loved the way the sandals looked with the dress.
And at this moment, she felt anything but sensible.
A crashing sound jerked Sky’s attention to the barn, causing her heart to jump.
Satan bawled and she heard more crashing like the bull was butting his stall.
Were those footsteps pounding the ground away from the barn?
Heart racing, Sky unfastened the purse and withdrew her cell phone, wishing she did have her Smith & Wesson with her after all. The purse slipped from her hands and dropped by her feet. Vaguel
y she was aware of the contents tumbling out, thumping and clattering across the porch.
With her gaze still fixed on the barn, she punched the speed dial number for her foreman and brought the cell phone to her ear.
The line rang once. “Rider.” He sounded slightly out of breath.
“Luke.” Her heart still thundered as she stared at the long rust red building. “I think someone’s breaking into the barn.”
“I’m close,” Luke said. “Where are you?”
“The front porch.”
“Get back in the house,” he said in such an authoritative tone it surprised her. “Lock the door.”
Sky wasn’t exactly dressed to head out to the barn, but she wasn’t going inside her house. She could handle herself just fine if someone came up on her.
The yearling’s loud bawl bellowed from the barn, followed by another crash. “Something’s spooked Satan,” she said.
“I’m already here.”
The line cut off and Sky startled for a second when she saw the shadow of a man with a gun, his back up against the side of the barn. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she realized it was Luke. How’d he get there so fast?
Even though it was night, she made out the forms of two more of her ranch hands hurrying toward the barn, each armed with a rifle.
With his handgun held in both hands, Luke motioned with his head for Sky to get into the house.
He didn’t wait for her to obey as he slipped into the barn.
Sky moved behind the countless potted vines and flowers on her porch and peered through the plants.
Darkness. Quiet.
Another crash. She jumped.
Her pulse rate spiked.
Lights flooded the barn and Sky blinked away the spots in front of her eyes.
She realized she was holding her breath and slowly let it out as she kept her gaze fixed on the now lit-up barn.
“Clear.” Luke’s voice cut through the night. “No one’s in the barn.”
“Nothing on the east side,” came Hector Ramirez’s voice.
Zack (Armed and Dangerous Book 1) Page 5