Before she could blink again his mouth was on hers. He was a shocking kisser. It was the only way she could describe the experience, because he seemed to affect all her senses and for a moment it felt so damn good she couldn’t react. The only thing she could do was experience. Experience the slow slide of his tongue as it slipped deep into her mouth, experience the way his hands swept up her body, experience the way his hard chest felt against her soft one and the way her nipples turned into firm little points again as they ached for more of him.
One of his hands came up to rest on her cheek as he pulled her lower lip between his teeth and nipped it. The combination of the slight pain and pleasure spurred her into action, and she looked into his eyes for just a second before she returned the kiss.
She didn’t want to be passive with him. It was rare that she got to have this kind of pleasure. She wasn’t going to take it for granted. She yanked his shirt out of his pants, needing to feel more of him. She touched his stomach, running her fingers over his abs as she sucked his tongue back into her mouth. He groaned, gripping the back of her head, burying his fingers in her hair. The throbbing between her legs had grown painful. She was wet.
It normally took a lot to get her going, a long time until she was ready, but not with Colt. All he had to do was touch her and she was ready to go to pieces.
He broke the kiss, his breathing heavy, and for the first time since she had met him she saw him not composed, not cool, not aloof.
“Fuck,” he said softly.
“I was thinking holy freaking shit.”
“I-I have to go. I’ll be back soon.”
He walked out on her. And she was pissed, because that was the best kiss of her life and he’d just walked away from it.
Chapter 6
Colt got in his SUV and sped away from The Head Shed. His cock was so hard he could drill through a cement wall with it. He wanted her. That wasn’t anything new—he had wanted her since the moment he saw her—but just then in that storage room he’d been dangerously close to taking her. Right on the new washing machine she was babbling about.
He could have resisted her if she were a practiced seductress. But she wasn’t. She was far from it. She had zero awareness of what she was doing to him. She cleaned his face and scrubbed his hair. She touched him freely. It was like she was taking care of him. He couldn’t remember the last time anybody had done that. Lolly kept them clothed and fed, but there was no affection from her. She just gave them the tools to fend for themselves.
But Zanna was different. She had a big mouth and she was feisty, but she was different from most women he came in contact with.
He had known her for three days and she made him want to smile. She distracted him. Those lips. The way she just melted and let him kiss her at first. The way she turned the tables on him after he bit her lip. She came alive then, kissing him back with an almost ferocious sensuality as she slipped her soft, warm hands up his shirt and stroked him. That one kiss was better than most sex he had. And that troubled the hell out of him. She was the last thing he needed. That was the last thing he wanted in a woman. She was the type of woman he’d vowed to stay away from when he got out of this little shitty town. But he was back here and it seemed liked his old demons were rushing at him again.
He had less than thirty days to turn the shop around and get back to his life. The one where he knew what to expect, the one where he wasn’t exactly happy but at least was content. He wasn’t sure he could be successful with Zanna around. Everything about her made him want to return to his wild roots.
He pulled into the hospital’s parking lot after his body had calmed down and headed straight up to Lolly’s room.
She was sitting up in bed thumbing through a magazine when he walked in. “What in the hell happened to you, boy?”
“What the hell are you up to, old woman?”
“Nothing! I’m the hospital. I can’t get up to nothing.”
“What’s the deal with Zanna? Why didn’t you tell me she was your salon manager when I spoke to you?”
“You needed telling?” She shrugged. “You’re a smart boy. I assumed you would have figured it out.”
“She’s been here a year. You never said anything about her living with you. You never said anything about hiring somebody new when I’ve spoken to you.”
“Is she giving you trouble?” she asked innocently.
Yes! He wanted to shout his answer at her, but Zanna hadn’t really done anything—just spoke her mind and existed in his world. “Zanna has ideas for fixing the salon. Why won’t you let her?”
“What the hell are you up to, old woman?” This time the words came from Duke as he stomped into the room, looking madder than a demon from hell. He stopped and turned to Colt for a moment, his anger replaced by surprise. “What happened to you? You look like you been dragged behind a motorcycle.”
“I was trying to fix the air conditioner in the storage room.”
“You were trying to fix something?”
“Fuck you, Duke. Just because I choose to spend my life working without grease under my fingers doesn’t mean I can’t fix shit. Pop taught me just as good as he taught you, and if I wanted to, I could probably fix cars better than you.”
“Oh, now you’re fucking delusional.”
“And you’re a prick.”
Duke took a step toward him and Colt was ready for it. They hadn’t fought since they were teenagers, but he was fired up enough about Zanna that he was pretty sure he could take Duke on and hold his own.
“Enough of that, you two jackasses. What kind of boys come to visit a sick lady in the hospital and get into a fight? Now, Duke, what the hell are you mad at me about?”
Duke shook his head as if suddenly remembering why he was here. “I’ve got a kid!”
“What?” Colt’s head spun.
“At least I think he’s my son.” Duke looked at him and shook his head. Colt had never seen his brother look so miserable. Not even when he was sentenced to prison. Right now he looked as if the world had dropped out from under him.
“Who’s the mother?” Colt asked him.
“Who do you think the mother is?” he snapped.
Grace. Colt didn’t say her name. He knew better than to. No one talked about the woman who’d sent his brother away. “How did you find out, Duke?”
“I caught him throwing rocks at his grandfather’s car and couldn’t help but see the family resemblance.”
“Maybe he’s not yours. Have you talked to her? Did she deny it?”
He shook his head. “I can’t get in touch with her. Believe me I’ve tried. She’s been avoiding me since we got back to town.” He looked back to Lolly. “You knew all this time that that boy was mine. You didn’t say a goddamn word. You let me miss out on my boy’s life.”
“I did not. Grace moved out of town after you got locked up. Nobody knew she had a baby until she moved back when her mama was dying. I suspected that the boy was yours, but I didn’t know for sure and she sure as hell wasn’t spilling the beans.”
Duke was the strongest man Colt knew. He had overcome a lot, but Colt didn’t know how the hell he was going to get through this. “What are you going to do?”
He rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m going to find out if he’s mine and if he is, I’m going to do what’s best for him. We grew up without a father. I’m not about to let my boy do the same.”
*
Colt King was a man of his word. A little less than two hours after he kissed the hell out of Zanna he returned to the salon, looking as fresh as ever in a new crisp shirt and slacks. He must have showered, because his hair was still wet when he walked in. For a moment she wondered if he had showered just to get clean or if he’d done so to cool down. She knew she needed to cool down after that kiss and hoped he would have stayed away for the rest of the day so she could do so.
She didn’t want to have to look up at him and be reminded of the kiss they’d shared. But it didn’t matter
if he was in the same room with her or across town; she would still get hot all over every time she thought about it.
“Who is the mean-looking hottie over there?” Suzanne, one of her out-of-town clients, asked her as she was putting the finish touches on her blowout.
“Colt King.” She glanced at him. He had been watching them all afternoon. Annie and Peggy both had clients. Bertie had none. The elderly beautician had done nothing more than watch soap operas since she came in that morning. Zanna knew she should have found something for her to do or sent her home but Bertie was seventy-two. She felt bad chasing after her.
“Colt King the CFO?”
“Yeah, how did you know that?”
“My husband watches King’s Customs Creates every week. His cute little brother is the host. The King brothers are like gods to a car-head. What’s he doing here?”
“He grew up here. This is his aunt’s shop.”
“Interesting. Is he going to get this place its own reality show? If that sexy Levi hosts it, you won’t be able to get me out of your chair.”
“I doubt that’s going to happen.” She grinned as she spritzed her with finishing spray. “I’m all done. You look gorgeous, if I do say so myself.”
“It’s all because of you. My hair has never been so healthy. If you came across the border to Oregon and opened your own shop, you would never have an empty chair. You’re too good to be stuck in this little salon. Hell, you’re too good for Oregon. You should be doing your thing in New York or California.”
“I did my thing in a big fancy New York salon.” She’d started out as an assistant for one of the best and worked her way up. She probably would have stayed there if the shit hadn’t hit the fan with her ex. In the end she was glad she left the city. She felt much more at home here. “I like it here. I know the place isn’t pretty, but we’re going to do our best to fix it up soon.”
“Is that why he’s here?”
Zanna nodded.
“You don’t look too excited about it.”
She actually had been excited since Colt barged into her life, but definitely not about him being in her shop. “We’ll get through it.” She glanced at Colt again, who was looking at her with that intense gaze of his, and she wondered if he had any idea what was running through her mind. “Let me ring you up. We need to set up an appointment to touch up those roots.”
*
“What smells good in here?” Levi strolled into the kitchen later that night just as Zanna had finished seasoning the mashed potatoes she was making.
“Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and garlic green beans. Sit down and have some. I made plenty.”
“I’m supposed to be taking Shelly out for a little dinner and line dancing,” he said, walking over, “but it’s been a long time since I had homemade fried chicken.” He plucked a drumstick off a plate and sank his teeth into it.
The moan he let out caused Zanna to laugh.
“This is the best damn thing I’ve eaten all year.”
“What is?” Colt walked in. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, showing off his powerful forearms.
“Zanna can cook,” Levi said, taking another big bite. “That on top of being beautiful. I’m not sure why you haven’t been snatched up by some man yet.”
“I don’t want to be snatched up. That’s exactly why I keep a gun under my bed.”
“I’m still pissed that I missed that.” Duke walked in with a black duffel bag slung across his shoulder. “I would have loved to see you point a gun at Colt’s head.”
“You probably should be glad it was just him that walked in on me. If all three of you showed up, I might have started shooting.”
“I wouldn’t have blamed you.”
“Where are you going, Duke?” Colt asked him.
“I’ve got some business to take care of in town.”
“What kind of business?” asked Levi.
“You didn’t tell him?” Duke looked at Colt.
“Not my place.”
Duke nodded and a look of understanding passed between the two brothers.
“Somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“I have to do some research,” Duke said. “See if I can learn the truth about something.”
“Duke.” The warning was clear in Levi’s voice. “Don’t do anything stupid that will land you back in prison. We’ve got too much to lose.”
“Maybe I should leave you all alone to talk.” Zanna dropped the dish towel she had been holding and took a step toward the door. Private family matters weren’t something she should be a part of.
“No.” Duke put his hand on her arm to stop her. “There’s nothing else to talk about. I’ll be fine. I’ve just got to take care of some business.”
“Ain’t that some shit?” Levi looked back at them, confusion all over his face. “What the hell do you think he’s up to?”
Colt just shook his head. He knew better than to reveal something before Duke was ready. But he had thought about the possibility that there might be another King man since Duke had told him. He could only imagine how Duke felt. Their father had given up on them, disappeared without a word, without a trace, and Duke had taken care of them for a long time. Colt knew that his brother was an honorable man. He went to prison because he was too damn honorable. He would never let anyone in his family go without. He would never to do his son what their father had done to them. “I guess we’ll find out when he wants us to find out.”
“Do you know something about this?” Levi looked at him suspiciously.
Levi was a grown man. Colt knew that he would be able to handle the news without a problem, but Duke had always wanted to shield their younger brother from most of the shit they had gone through. Levi never knew how bad things were in their childhood. He didn’t know that sometimes Duke went without so that Levi could eat, or the punishment that Duke took for Levi when they were kids and their father was drunk and angry. “I know what Duke just told us. If he wants us to know more, he’ll tell us.”
Levi nodded. “That’s Duke for you. He didn’t even tell us he was going to open King’s Customs till he knew he could make a go of it. He doesn’t reveal a damn thing until he’s absolutely ready.” He grabbed a paper towel off the counter, wiped his mouth, and tossed the chicken bone in the garbage before he turned to face Zanna. “You’re beautiful.” He kissed her cheek. “You make beautiful chicken and one day soon, I would very much like to have another piece.” He kissed both of her cheeks and she found herself blushing. “I’m going line dancing. You want to come?”
“Maybe next time, champ. You have fun.”
“I’ll be thinking about you the entire time.” He winked at her as he backed toward the door.
“Call me if you need a ride later,” Colt said quietly.
“Aw, Colty. You do care!” Levi grabbed Colt up in a bear hug, Colt didn’t return it but Zanna couldn’t miss the twinkle of amusement in his eye.
“All right, get the hell off me.”
“Okay. See you two later. Don’t wait up.”
Zanna was left alone with Colt again. For a moment they just stood there staring at each other. He looked cool as usual and it annoyed her. It probably shouldn’t, but she knew he was cool only on the surface. There was something very hot about him; he simply needed to be turned on.
“Are you hungry? I just finished making dinner. Have some.” She motioned to the stove where her potatoes were still steaming.
“You don’t have to feel obligated to invite me. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Colt King, are you accusing me of being polite? If I didn’t want to feed you, I would have told you to go stuff it. Now sit down.” She turned away from him to make him a plate. The truth was she was being polite, but only a little. She hated cooking just for herself. She made dinner for her and Lolly every night before the older woman went into the hospital. But she had been there for over two weeks now, and Zanna kind of missed sharing her meals with somebody.
She set the plate and fork before him, watching him as he surveyed the food. He was probably the type of guy who had a gourmet chef prepare all his meals. The type of guy who turned his nose up to anything fried or fatty or really good. “Well, aren’t you going to try it? I swear I didn’t poison it. I didn’t have time. I might have if I’d known you were going to be joining me this evening.”
“I was waiting for you to join me. You may not be polite, but I am. It’s rude to eat before everyone is served.”
“Oh,” was all she said, knowing that he was right.
“I didn’t know that rule until my sophomore year of college. Lolly was always served first. She didn’t wait for the rest of us.”
“Lolly was served first?” she asked, plating her own food. “She didn’t do the cooking?”
“Duke cooked. Duke always cooked. Even before we came to live with Lolly.”
“You all didn’t always live here?” She took the chair next to him at the small table and as soon as she sat down she knew she had made a mistake. She should have sat across from him because now they were too close. Their knees were brushing, and she felt that silly little tingle along her skin that only he could produce.
“No. My father was a drunk—probably still is, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him since I was twelve. Duke made sure we stayed fed.”
“Where was your mama?” she asked softly.
“She died,” he said matter-of-factly. “Cancer. I was eight.” He dug his fork into his cooling mashed potatoes. “Levi was barely four.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said softly, wishing she hadn’t asked.
“Don’t be sorry. Death is a part of life.” He took a bite of his food, then another. “This is good, Zanna. I can’t remember the last time I had potatoes this good.”
The compliment brought her unexpected pleasure. “It’s all about the butter and cheese. You can eat that, right? You aren’t on one of those no-dairy, no-flour, just-kill-me diets, are you? People who look like you usually are.”
“People who look like me?”
“Or maybe I should say people who feel like you.” Memories of that afternoon unwillingly flooded her again. He was solid and warm and made her feel a little bit reckless.
The Bad Boy CEO Page 6