She wore a flared floral skirt that fell well below her knees and she’d teamed it with her prettiest blouse, an off-white button-down with delicate beading around the collar. The shoes on her feet were ballerina flats. Her make-up was understated, and although she had hoped for a sophisticated look, she knew she appeared to be exactly what she was, an elementary school teacher.
She put it from her mind, because it was, after all, the best she could do, and besides, for whatever reason, Zachary McIntyre wasn’t interested in her clothes. She knew that much.
When she arrived at the top floor, the receptionist led her to Zach’s office. After a brief knock, he called enter, and before she was ready, she was standing in his office with the door closed behind her.
When he looked up from the computer screen, he met her eyes briefly, and then he gave her body a cursory look before his eyes clashed with hers again. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, Miss Turner. What can I do for you?”
The rage Katie felt all the way up in the elevator escalated when she heard the sarcastic tone of his harsh voice, and she was mildly aware that any teasing or cajoling quality she’d heard from him before was completely absent. So be it. It should make the situation easier to deal with it. After all, she regretted the softer emotions that she sometimes felt about Zach. If he was going to be sarcastic, those softer feelings would be easier to suppress. “Don’t play games with me, Zach. You know why I’m here.” She held herself stiffly from across the room.
He pushed his chair away from his desk, leaned back and crossed one booted foot over his knee in a totally relaxed posture that Katie didn’t quite buy. “Do I?” he asked.
Katie ignored his question and continued her diatribe. “I can’t believe you did it. I can’t believe what you did to my parents. To Josh and to me.” She stopped speaking to catch her breath. She needed to slow down and breathe properly so she could retain what little control she had left.
“Are you referring to when I kindly stopped the bank from foreclosing on your parents’ farm?”
“You didn’t kindly do anything, you bastard. You purposely manipulated my mother into telling you her problems, and then you ruthlessly took advantage of the situation.” Her chest heaved.
“Is that what you think?” he asked softly, too softly, with a kind of heat in his eyes that she’d never seen before.
“Yes,” she hissed. “Your intention was to blackmail me from the word go. You had no intention of helping them, not ever.” She took a deep breath. “You have no honor.” When she said that, something shifted in the room and a dangerous sizzle filled the air.
He was quiet for a long moment as if debating something and then he inclined his head and said softly, “Thank you. It was quite the coup, don’t you think?” One dark, masculine eyebrow rose.
“I hate you.” Katie hissed the words.
At her words, some indefinable emotion hardened what was left of Zachary’s heart and he felt his features turn to stone. She hated him? His temples began to throb and his mouth flattened.
In the three years since he’d seen her mother and set up the loan, he hadn’t given the money he’d lent to them a lot of thought. He remembered feeling satisfaction at the time, knowing damn good and well he’d get to call in the loan eventually, if he chose to. He’d even admit he had ulterior motives three years ago. But he’d put it on the back burner, so to speak, and as the years had passed, he’d slowly began to feel remorse for what he’d tentatively planned. He couldn’t actually blackmail Katie. And he didn’t want to. He didn’t want antagonism between them. He’d never wanted it to be that way between them. He’d even thought about extending the loan to the Turners with more favorable terms for them but had been so busy he’d forgotten about it. He hadn’t even realized the loan had been called in; it had been done automatically, through his financial department.
But here Katie stood, in front of him now, spitting fire and accusing him of something that even if he was guilty of briefly contemplating three years ago, he had never planned on putting into action.
Anger and a healthy dose of embarrassment licked through him. He’d actually thought he could wear her down. He’d sent her roses after roses after roses and for what? For nothing. For her to throw them away and probably have a good laugh at his expense. He was embarrassed to admit he’d been almost lovesick over her in the past. But not anymore. She didn’t want him and he should just leave her the fuck alone. But instead, he found himself snarling at her and giving back as good as he was getting. “Hatred is fine for what I have planned for you. In fact, hatred is the perfect emotion between us. There is not and never will be room for anything else. Remember that.”
The harshness of his own words pricked at his conscience, but damn, what did he have to lose? She hated him and always would. He hadn’t wanted it to be this way between them, but he was stunned to realize that after all this time, he was prepared to take her any way he could get her.
He came to his feet and crossed the large expanse of carpet until he stood in front of her. Taking her hand, he led her over to one of the two upholstered chairs facing his desk. He deposited her there and leaned over her with his arms caging her in. Fully cognizant of the fact that he was making a decision in anger that he knew he was going to regret later, he enunciated clearly, “Just so we’re clear on the deal. I’m assuming you know what I want from you to clear the note? Or am I wrong and you’re going to let me foreclose on your lovely parents?”
Katie shifted in her seat and closed her eyes. “I hate you.” She took a deep breath. “I hate you. I h—”
“Be quiet,” he hissed back at her, her hatred fuelling an emotion he refused to acknowledge. Instead, he allowed his anger to salvage his pride. “You’re being a sore loser and frankly, I expected better of you.”
“Really? You reduce me to whoring for you and you expect me to take it lying down?” The accidental double entendre of her words made him laugh, even though he was feeling no humor in the situation.
“Exactly. I want you lying down.” Zach grabbed her chin and was mildly shocked that his frustration was making him act so out of the ordinary. But God, he wanted her. And if he couldn’t have her heart, her mind, then he’d soothe himself by taking her body. He studied the striations of her deep green eyes and felt another vicious jolt to his guts. “I want you every way I can get you. Lying down, standing up.” He lifted her face up to his and held it clamped in the vise of his large palm. “And bent over, babe.”
Katie gasped and he took immediate advantage. He closed his lips over hers and took her mouth in a brutal, searing kiss that was indicative of how their future relationship would play out. Tears came to her eyes and one slowly rolled down her cheek and blended with the open-mouthed kiss.
He jerked his head back when he tasted salt and roughly used his thumbs to wipe away the moisture from her face. “Stop that. I don’t want a goddamn martyr in my bed. Tears do nothing for me. They won’t help your case at all. In fact, you keep that shit up and it’s going to piss me off. I promise you, in your situation, you don’t want me pissed.”
Katie shivered and lowered her eyes from his. If this wasn’t an example of him being pissed off, she didn’t ever want to experience the real thing.
She took a few sustaining breaths and tried to gain some control over her erratic emotions.
Zach stepped away from her. “That’s better. I need to explain the situation to you so you know what you’re getting into. I don’t want you to come back at me later with any complaints. After all, you can still back out. You don’t have to agree to anything. You have a choice. I won’t be accused of tricking you or forcing you. Understand?”
Katie nodded her head slightly.
He leaned back against his desk and surveyed her. “You’ve got what, a week or two left of the school year?”
“Yes. The rest of this w-week. I work at a private school, it lets out early.” Her voice was shaky.
“And have you sign
ed a new contract for next year yet?” He demanded to know.
Katie felt dread pool low, down deep in her belly. “No, not yet,” she whispered.
“Good. Don’t.” His answer was short, succinct.
“But, I—”
“Do you want to make a deal with me or not? If not, it’s your choice. Your parents will need to vacate the property by the first of next month. If you want to work something out with me, don’t sign a fucking contract. That part is non-negotiable.”
How had this happened to her? What on earth had she ever done to be treated this way? Her brain raced around trying to find a way out of this situation, because she couldn’t sleep with him. She couldn’t. She couldn’t.
She attempted to reason with him about the contract, even though she didn’t like what she was suggesting. “Zach. I need my income. I have an apartment lease that I have to pay rent on. I don’t have a lot in savings. Maybe we could see each other at night. After school.” Her voice broke.
“Listen to me, Katie.” His voice came softly, as if he was trying to soothe a small child. “I told you how it would be. I even warned you three years ago it would be bad for you to make me wait. Remember that conversation, sweetheart?” He reached up and almost gently brushed a lock of hair from her face. “But you didn’t listen. And now you say you hate me. What do you want me to do? Your family took everything I had, and God knows why, but you’re what I want in recompense. You’ve kept me simmering for years. I always wanted you to come to me, you know? But you didn’t and now it’s time. I know one damn thing; there’s no reason in hell I should just give your parents three hundred and twenty thousand dollars, but hell, I’m a reasonable man. If you can tell me why I should, I’ll listen to your argument.”
Katie felt lashed by his absurd reasoning and opened her mouth to argue. “My parents didn’t do anything to you. It was Chris Turner’s fault, you know that. My parents are innocent! I’m innocent. You’re taking this out on the wrong people. Listen, I agree with you about Chris. He was a piece of crap. He was a lazy bum who never worked a day in his life and beat the crap out of my cousin so badly he’ll be scarred for life. Chris was the man who ran off with your wife.” Her voice ran out of steam and she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I can possibly do to make it right.”
Zach reached out and pulled her to her feet and into him with one smooth movement. She fell against his chest, all her fight gone. “Pretty speech, babe. But like I said, somebody owes me one accommodating female. And you’re it.” He reached down with his mouth and closed it over hers. He took light sips from her lips as she stood silently, stiffly in his arms. After a moment, he lifted his head. “Don’t worry about your apartment or your bills. I’ll cover them as long as I need to. A couple of quickies aren’t what I’m looking for, so I need you with me. This is going to take awhile. Get used to the idea.”
“How long?” Any spirit she had left seemed to leave her and she sagged against him as he almost absently rubbed his hand along her spine.
“I don’t know the answer to that question yet. Maybe five days, maybe five years.”
She stiffened and pulled back from him. “You can’t be serious.”
“Your parents owe me a shit-ton of money. You do the math.” He answered her absently, continuing to run his hand up and down her spine in a gentle caress that held a different message than the anger she could hear so clearly in his voice.
Katie started pushing against him, trying to free herself as another wave of belligerence rose over her. He tightened his clasp, and she began arguing her point. “It was your bitch of a wife who got all that money! How the hell is it fair that you’re taking it out of my hide? What the hell did I ever do to you?”
“Don’t play the innocent with me. I saw you all those years, strutting around Redwood Falls. Gliding around like you owned the place and every man there. Always acting innocent; always acting like you didn’t know what you were doing to the men around you. There you were, the most beautiful girl in town, and every man wanted you. Well, now you get to pay. And you’re going to pay for as long as I want.” His harsh words were somewhat mitigated by his gently caressing hands. “But don’t worry too much, before long you’re going to love being in debt to me.”
Katie was stunned at his words. She shook her head back and forth in denial. She truly didn’t know what he was talking about. But a tiny quiver ran through her when he said she was beautiful. She wasn’t, of course. And no one watched her. At least no one that she had ever noticed. She purposely never looked at men. Zach was either obsessed with her, or he had a very vivid imagination. A shudder went through her. What would have happened if she’d called him back and agreed to go out with him? What if, just once, she’d responded to the flowers that he’d continually sent? Would there have still been the anger she heard in his voice? Or would he have treated her gently, as his touch seemed to indicate?
He continued to speak. “While you finish out this week of school, I’m going to get my lawyers to draw up a contract between us. I realize we’re going to need a cover story for our families. I’m warning you now, the contract will be in my favor. But I’ll put some safeguards in there for you, as well. You’re going to have to trust me on that part. You also need to go shopping this week. If this outfit is an indication of the clothes you own, you’re going to need new ones.”
He reached around and pulled a credit card from his wallet and handed it to her. “Buy day wear, a couple of evening dresses, and plenty of clothes for the beach. I have a house at South Padre and we’ll be there a lot this summer. I don’t want to get pissed off because you don’t have the correct clothes for an occasion; use the damn card now and don’t inconvenience me later.”
Katie was seriously in shock and reflexively took the card and slipped it into her purse. “All right.”
“Meet me back here Friday at one o’clock sharp. That will give you three days to get everything in order and give me time to get the contract ready. We’ll go over it then, and if you want to back out, you’ll have a final opportunity.” As he spoke, he reached between them and calmly started unbuttoning her blouse, his hands gentle but efficient as he unveiled her skin a bit at a time.
Chapter Eight
Katie’s pulse went haywire and she had trouble forming words when she felt Zach’s touch on her skin. “What—what are you doing?” She stood powerless in his grasp as alarm and a tiny, hidden ribbon of curiosity slid through her.
He kissed her forehead and slid his lips to her ear as he replied softly, “I want a down payment.” Another button came undone.
“No, I—”
“You can’t say no, Katie,” he whispered into her ear, his mouth brushing against her skin as he seemed to inhale her scent. He continued, his voice soft but uncompromising. “The only thing you can say no to is the whole deal. Otherwise, I make the rules. You need to understand that right now.” If his tone had been hard and implacable, Katie had no idea how she would have reacted. But it wasn’t. His voice was warm and persuasive and contained a hint of tortured impatience. A ribbon of desire slid down her spine. In her confusion, her bottom lip wobbled and a single tear slid down her cheek. She hastily wiped it away with the back of her trembling hand.
Zach came to the last button and spread her blouse apart until her white skin was bared; the pale globes of her small breasts peaked from the top of her white cotton bra. He studied the bounty he was unwrapping with both satisfaction and self-hatred for doing this to her. But he couldn’t stop. He stared down at her chest. The plain, unadorned bra somehow highlighted the beauty of the top swells of her breasts. His stomach muscles clenched in anticipation. “Don’t cry, baby. You’re too pretty to cry.” Zach slid his hands from her blouse to the small cups of her bra and tugged down. Her breasts popped out.
Katie swayed in shock before she lowered her lashes over her eyes.
Zach looked at her small, perfectly round breasts with the delicate pink nipples and felt him
self swell to his fullest. He’d slept with a lot of women. A lot of women. But he had never seen breasts more perfect than hers. He cupped them gently in his hands and simultaneously, ran his thumbs over her pink nipples. She let out a tiny mewling noise and he continued to abrade the tips. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he lowered his head and swiped his tongue where his thumb had just been.
Katie began to tremble uncontrollably. He spoke against her breast. “You like that, babe?” He continued to take strokes with his tongue.
Katie was being bombarded with too many emotions at once. “Yes,” she whispered, too shocked at the feelings beating inside of her to lie. How long had it been since her breasts had been touched in a gentle, loving way? She knew exactly how long, but she’d never expected to feel even an ounce of desire if it ever happened again.
Zach held her to him and reached for her mouth as he said, “A Turner who can tell the truth.”
As his lips touched hers, Katie absorbed his cutting comment and started pushing against him. The hatred and anger he had for her family was still there and it probably always would be, no matter what he’d tried to make her believe three years ago. She couldn’t change the Turner blood that ran through her veins. Nor would she want to.
She managed to take him by surprise and broke free from his hold and stepped away from him. She stood rigid. “That’s all you’re going to get until I see a contract. Until I see some proof you’re not going to foreclose on my parents and make them homeless.” She adjusted her clothing as she spoke and managed to button her blouse with shaking fingers.
Frustration screamed through Zach. Why the fuck had he made that goddamn comment? Was he absolutely stupid? Katie didn’t wait for a reply to her statement. She moved away from him and slammed out of his office. As he lifted his nose and smelled her lingering scent in the air, he knew he had to get his shit together. He had to get his head out of his ass and figure out what the hell kind of emotions were still fucking with him. The last three years hadn’t been good. He’d never expected her to continually ignore him as if he didn’t exist. And that had produced resentment and now he had to deal with it. But he knew one thing, she’d never come to him of her own free will. It would never happen. It might be fucked up, but he was going to take advantage of the position he now found himself in.
An Eye for an Eye: Zach and Katie's Story (Redwood Falls) Page 10