by SJ McCoy
Zack nodded and led him to a booth on the other side of the restaurant.
“So?” asked Luke. “Am I right in guessing that you’re getting bored sitting around waiting for Maria to get off work?”
He nodded.
Luke smiled at him. “And do I have a sneaky, suspicious mind, or is there nothing wrong with her car really?”
Zack’s heart sank. He’d been hoping that was a plausible enough reason for him to be giving Maria a ride to and from work every day. “You are one of the least sneaky and suspicious people I know. So, I guess it wasn’t a very good cover story.”
Luke grinned. “No. I don’t think anyone else would give it a second thought. It’s only because I know. If you hadn’t told me when we were in here on Saturday that you’d finally crumbled and spent the afternoon with her, then I don’t think I would have blinked about it. It just sounded a little too coincidental, given the timing.”
“Yeah. I suppose.”
Luke gave him a reassuring smile. “I don’t think anyone thought Angel was carrying on with Logan when he was giving her a ride to work every day.”
“True, but then her arm was in a cast and she couldn’t drive herself.” He shook his head. “You don’t think he likes Maria, do you?”
Luke laughed. “I hate to break it to you, but she has breasts, so yeah, of course Logan likes her. He likes anything with breasts and a pulse.”
Zack had to laugh. “You’ve got a point there. I guess I’m getting a bit territorial.”
“Well, I don’t think you’ve got any worries. I got Angel talking about it, and she said that Maria’s liked you since the first time she met you—and she hasn’t dated anyone else since then.”
Zack smiled. “I know … she told me that herself.”
“So, is this serious—or going somewhere serious?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“But you’re going to keep it hidden?”
Zack nodded.
“Because you don’t want some shadowy figure from your mysterious past to find out about Maria?”
He nodded again.
“And what? What do you think would happen? Do you seriously think that someone would hurt her or kidnap her … or what? Sorry. I don’t know what I’m talking about, and to be honest, I’m finding it hard to even imagine it. I mean, shit like that doesn’t happen in real life.”
“Maybe not in your life.” Zack was on the verge of telling him the whole thing. He was tired of hiding. Tired of hiding in the hopes of never being found and tired of hiding his past from his friends—especially Luke who had been such a good friend.
“Are you ready to order?” The server appeared beside them and Zack nodded. It was probably for the best. Even if he was ready to tell Luke, he should do it somewhere more private than this where anyone could overhear them.
Luke gave him a rueful smile once she’d gone. “You’re getting closer to filling me in, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“Maybe when we go back to Nashville on Monday?”
“Oh, haven’t you heard?”
Luke shook his head.
“I saw Adam when I came in. He told me that Clay had a change of plans. He’s staying here. We still need to go, but only to collect Autumn and bring her back.”
Luke grinned. “That’s awesome. Do you know how long he wants to stay?”
“A couple of weeks, Adam said.”
“I need to tell Angel.”
Zack envied his friend as he watched him tap out a text to let Angel know he was going to be around for a while longer. He wanted to tell Maria, but they’d agreed that they should keep their phone calls and texts to a minimum—just in case.
Chapter Ten
“Do you want to do the safe or the cash register tonight?” asked Laura.
“I’ll do the safe,” answered Maria and went to lock the front door and flip the sign over to tell the world they were closed. She paused when she noticed someone lurking in the doorway of the beauty salon across the way. Goose bumps ran down her arms as the man turned and looked at her and then moved farther inside, out of sight.
She shook her head and turned back to start collecting the trays from the display cases. She was being silly. It was probably some poor husband waiting for his wife to come out. She took the first set of trays into the back and started loading up the safe for the night.
“Is Zack coming for you tonight?” asked Laura.
Maria bit back a smile. She hoped so; in fact, she planned to make sure he did. “He is.”
Laura gave her an inquiring look. “It’s good of him to bring you and collect you every day like this. How long do you think it’s going to take for your car to be fixed?”
“They’re going to work on it this weekend. I should have it back by Monday.” She hated lying. It was safe to say that she’d be using her own car again by Monday, since that was the day Zack was going back to Nashville.
Laura nodded thoughtfully. “You should give him a shot.”
Maria looked up in surprise. “What … what do you mean?”
Laura smiled. “I know he’s a good guy and everything, but do you really think he’s going all this way out of his way—twice a day just because he’s a nice guy? I think he’s interested in you.”
Maria shrugged. She didn’t know what to say. She’d love to tell Laura that yes, he was interested in her—and she was interested in him.
“Don’t tell me you don’t like him. I remember the first time he came in here with Smoke. I thought the two of you were a sure thing.”
Maria shrugged. “Of course, I like him. Come on, he’s gorgeous!”
Laura chuckled. “I’m not saying anything—so you won’t hear me disagree with you.”
Maria laughed. “I’m sure you don’t notice other good-looking guys. I mean why would you? You’ve got Smoke.”
Laura waggled her eyebrows. “I notice—I’m a jeweler, I admire things of beauty. But I’m not interested, and I don’t feel the need to comment.”
“Is that because Smoke wouldn’t like it? He’s a bit on the possessive side, isn’t he?”
Laura laughed. “Just a teeny bit. I always thought I couldn’t stand a guy who was jealous or possessive, but it’s just a part of who Smoke is. I understand why he acts that way—it stems from his past. And he’s not over the top with it, he’s just honest. And besides,” she shrugged, “I kind of like it. He never leaves me in any doubt about the fact that he loves me and wants me to be all his.”
Maria smiled at her. That was how Zack was, too. Except she didn’t know enough about his past to know if that was why he was like that.
“It strikes me that Zack and Smoke are quite similar.”
Maria nodded. “Maybe.”
Laura held her gaze for a long moment. “Are you hiding something?”
Maria stared back into her eyes. How could she lie?
“You are, aren’t you?” Laura grinned. “I knew it! He’s not just giving you a ride to work and back, is he?”
“I can’t say anything.”
“You don’t need to. It’s written all over your face. Right now, you look guilty as hell, and all week you’ve been starry-eyed. What’s the big secret?”
“I’m not admitting anything, but you know Zack is a very private person.”
Laura frowned. “Are you telling me that you’re sleeping with him, and he doesn’t want anyone to know about it?”
“It’s not like that.”
Laura folded her arms across her chest. “What is it like then? Tell me you’re not just his booty call? You’re worth so much more than that.”
Maria smiled. “No. It’s really not like that. I want to tell you, but we’re supposed to be keeping it a secret.”
“Why?! Tell me he’s not hiding something?”
“He is, he’s hiding the fact that that he cares about me, to keep me safe.”
Laura looked skeptical. “Safe from what?”
They both
turned at the sound of a knock on the back door. “Hey, lady. It’s me,” Smoke’s voice called. “Can I come in? I found a Zack lurking out here, too.”
Maria gave Laura a pleading look and spoke in a low voice. “Please don’t call him out on it. It’s not like you think. He cares about me. That’s why he’s doing it. He’s not just using me, I promise you.”
Laura made a face at her and went to open the back door.
Smoke came in and kissed her cheek. “I got finished early. I thought you might want to have a drink at the Lodge before we go home.”
Laura smiled at him. “That sounds great.” She turned to Zack. “And you’re here playing taxi for Maria again?”
Zack smiled at her. “I sure am.”
Laura gave him a long, appraising look, and Maria was sure she was going to say something. She let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding when Laura nodded. “It’s good of you to step in and help.”
Zack nodded. “That’s what friends are for.”
Laura looked at Maria. “Why don’t you get going. You don’t want to keep your friend waiting.”
Maria didn’t like to leave before everything was finished up, but she was glad to get out of here before Laura decided to start interrogating Zack. It was obvious that she thought he was just using her for sex. It was also obvious that she didn’t like that idea and wanted to protect Maria. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
Laura nodded. “Yeah. Go on. I leave you to close up by yourself more often than not.”
Smoke smiled at her when she picked up her purse. “I hope you’re going to buy him dinner to say thank you for chauffeuring you around all week.”
Maria nodded.
“She doesn’t need to do that,” said Zack.
Laura scowled at him. “I’m sure she’s already thanked you enough.”
Maria scurried for the door. This was getting awkward and she just wanted to leave. “See you tomorrow,” she said with a smile and hurried out.
Zack followed and caught up to her at his truck. “What was all that about?”
Maria made a face. “I’ll tell you on the way home.” She wanted to kiss him when he got into the driver’s seat and turned to smile at her, but she didn’t dare.
He started the engine and backed out. “What’s going on?” he asked as he pulled away from the plaza and out onto the main road heading back to town.
She blew out a sigh. “Laura was suggesting that maybe you had an ulterior motive for driving me around all week.”
Zack smiled. “I do.”
“Yes, but I kind of messed up. I couldn’t keep the secret very well. She was saying I should give you a chance, and I didn’t say anything, but she picked up on the fact that I already had. She’s got it in her head that you want to sleep with me, but that you don’t want anyone to know about it.” She sighed. “Which is kind of true, but not for the reasons that she thinks.”
Zack frowned. “She thinks I’m just using you as a booty call?”
Maria nodded.
“But why would I want to keep that secret?”
Maria shrugged. “Maybe she thinks you’re ashamed of me.”
“Why?! Why would she say that?”
“She didn’t; maybe that’s just me.”
“You don’t seriously think I’m ashamed of you, do you?”
“No. I don’t. I know why you want to keep us a secret. Well, I kind of do.”
“It’s to keep you off the radar. So, that if the people who are looking for me find me, they won’t have any reason to come after you as well. That’s all it is, Maria.”
“I know. I understand that. It was just that for a moment there, when Laura thought you were keeping me as your dirty little secret, I started to think that maybe she was right.”
“Well, she’s not. She couldn’t be more wrong. You’re not a dirty little secret. You’re the hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep. I want to tell the world that you’re my girl, that I’m the lucky bastard who gets to be with you. I want to tell every other guy that you’re taken, you’re mine.”
She gave him a small smile. “You mean that, don’t you?”
“More than you know.”
“Maybe one day we’ll be able to.”
“We will. And I’m going to do what I can to make sure that day comes sooner rather than later.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m tired of hiding. I don’t want to keep what’s going on between us a secret. I want to start thinking about us having a future, and I can’t do that until I deal with my past.”
Maria’s heart started to race. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to start by talking to my dad.”
Maria’s eyes widened. “Do you realize that’s the first time you’ve mentioned your family?”
“I do. One day soon, you’ll understand why. But I’ll talk to him this weekend. I’ll tell him about you. Well, he already knows about you. He’s known since we first met, but now he needs to know that I failed.”
“Failed? At what.”
He glanced over at her, his expression unreadable. “Do you remember our first dance?”
Maria nodded. She’d gone over that night so many times. She’d thought it was going to be the night they got together; but instead, it was the night that he’d distanced himself from her.
“I’d talked to my dad before I came out that night. I told him about you, I told him I was going to ask you out, and he warned me that I shouldn’t. He told me I had to hide my heart from you to keep you safe. Now I have to tell him that my heart refuses to hide anymore so we need to come up with a new plan.”
Maria sat back in her seat. If she was honest, she’d had an inkling that Zack might be hiding her from his family. He never talked about them. Though he didn’t hide the fact that he came from money. She’d thought that maybe they wouldn’t approve of her, that they might think she wasn’t good enough for him.
He glanced over at her and she gave him a weak smile. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just tell me if you think I’m worth it.”
She laughed. “Of course you are.”
“Good. Then I’m going to find a way for us to be together and not have to hide it from anyone.”
~ ~ ~
Instead of going to Maria’s, Zack carried on past her road and went to his house. It bothered him that she had doubts about his intentions. To be fair, they were Laura’s doubts, but he needed Maria to understand how important she was to him. If she was thinking that maybe he saw her as a friend with benefits, he needed to show her that she meant so much more than that to him. It wouldn’t be easy to show her while keeping their relationship a secret, but he figured he’d have a better chance in his own house than by spending all their time at her place.
He pulled the truck into the garage and waited until the door rolled down behind them.
She turned and smiled at him. “Did you come to get something, or are we staying here?”
He smiled. “I thought we could stay here tonight. I can cook for you.”
“Ooh. I like the sound of that. What are we having?”
“Pasta. I’m not the world’s greatest chef, but I make a mean spaghetti, and you haven’t tried it yet.”
He climbed out of the truck and waited for her at the door that led into the house. Once they were inside, he locked the door behind them and pressed her up against it. “I missed you today. I miss you every day.”
She looped her arms up around his neck and landed a kiss on his lips. “I missed you, too. And I’m going to miss you even more next week.”
“You won’t get a chance to. Clay changed his mind. He’s staying here for a few weeks. Do you think you can stand to have me around for longer?”
She rubbed herself against him. “I think I can stand it. As long as you’re going to take care of me.” She made her meaning apparent when she took his hands and placed them on her ass.
“T
ake care of you? Is that what we’re calling it now?” He backed her against the door and pressed his hard-on between her legs.
She nodded breathlessly. “I don’t see why not.”
“Do you want me to take care of you right now?” He dropped his head and spoke the words into the soft skin of her neck, making her shudder, which in turn made him harder for her.
“Right now,” she breathed, and began to fumble with the zipper on his jeans before pushing them and his boxers down over his hips.
It seemed she was in a hurry and he was happy to oblige. There was no time to go upstairs or even as far as the sofa in the living room. He pushed her skirt up around her waist and slid his fingers inside her panties. She was already soaking. He couldn’t resist thrusting his finger deep, loving the needy little moan that escaped from her lips.
Her sense of urgency had affected him, though. This wasn’t the time for finesse.
“Give it to me, Zack,” she murmured. “Give it to me hard.”
She didn’t need to say another word.
He hooked his arm behind her leg and brought it up to wrap around his, spreading her wide open. His cock throbbed when it found her wet heat, but before he had a chance to slide inside, she thrust her hips and impaled herself on him with a low moan of, “Fuck me, Zack.”
His hips obeyed her command without a conscious thought from him. He clamped her leg to his side and drove deep and hard, over and over, showing her no mercy as she clung to him, gasping out her pleasure. He lost himself inside her every time. She was so wet, so tight, clenching around him and promising to take everything he had to give.
He didn’t last long before he gave it to her. Her low moans and gasps built to a crescendo, and when she screamed his name, he let go, finding his release deep inside her. He came hard as she gripped him tight, pulsating around him as wave after wave of pleasure carried them away.
When they finally stilled, she looked up into his eyes. “Told you I missed you.”
He chuckled. “I told you I missed you, too.”
She smiled. “If we can only just make it inside the house after not seeing each other all day, what are we going to be like when we don’t see each other for weeks?”