Midnight Secrets

chapter

FIFTEEN


Binoculars in one hand, walkie-talkie in the other, Zach kept a close eye on both the dry cleaners across from him and Savannah’s car at the other end of the street. He wasn’t expecting trouble. If Savannah saw anything at Ava’s Bakery, she was to do nothing more than notify him on the walkie-talkie and then leave. That had been their agreement. And before they’d left her house, he’d made it clear there’d be hell to pay if she did anything else.

She had been unusually quiet all evening. He didn’t have to ask himself why. Their brief interlude at the dinner party was still very much on his mind, too. He’d gone to bed, hard and aching, and had dreamed of kissing Savannah, devouring her sweetness and burying himself inside her. The next morning, he’d woken up even harder.

There had been no doubt she’d been turned on, too. Her breathing had been elevated and the rapid beat of her pulse when his thumb had passed caressingly over her wrist told him what she was feeling. And it was exactly what he wanted.

It was going to happen. As inevitable as the tide, he and Savannah would soon ease the desire building between them. Problem was, he owed her explanations before anything more happened. Would that destroy the need? Not for him, but would it for her?

Hell, he still didn’t even know if she had someone significant in her life. Just because he saw the heat in her eyes didn’t meant she wasn’t committed to another man. Separation of feelings from sexual arousal was something he’d learned long ago. No one before or after Savannah had ever captured both his heart and his passion. Only with this one woman had he ever come close to complete fulfillment. And the longer she stayed in Midnight, the harder it was going to be to let her go.

If anyone had told her that she’d be helping Zach Tanner out less than a week after returning home, she would’ve said a few choice words about their sanity. Yet here she was, sitting in her car, keeping an eye on Ava’s Bakery on the off chance that she could catch sight of someone vandalizing it.

But he had no one else to trust. She didn’t know why she wanted to help him. Maybe because when they had talked at her house the other night, the pain she’d seen in his eyes was a reflection of her own hurt. Seeing Zach hurting in any way wasn’t something she wanted. Way too afraid of the answer she’d get, she didn’t question why she felt that way.

Zach was at the other end of the street, watching Green’s Dry Cleaning. They were taking a chance the vandals wouldn’t choose Frank’s Hardware store two streets over. Savannah had suggested she keep watch on it, but that idea had been instantly shot down. When he got that hard look in his eyes, she knew not to argue.

This harsher, edgier Zach was difficult for her to come to terms with. The Zach she had known had been a gentle man through and through. Sometimes awkward and shy and always, always considerate of her feelings. Never would he have issued commands or given her steely-eyed looks. So why did a shiver of excitement zip up her spine whenever he did it now?

Savannah veered away from rationalizing the unexplainable. She took another sweeping glance with her binoculars and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Settling back against the soft leather of the seat, she took a sip of the strong black coffee she’d brought with her. Early in her career, she’d done some surveillance. “Boring” and “uncomfortable” were the only descriptions she could come up with. However, she was known for her patience, so boring though it was, she had usually gotten what she needed. The sooner the vandals were caught, the sooner she could get back to the real reason she’d come home.

Though she still had tons of work to do, she’d taken part of the day to meet with a real estate agent. Oddly, she’d gotten emotional a couple of times. She told herself she was ready to move on and say goodbye to the house forever, but now that the time was drawing near to do just that, it was harder than she’d thought it would be to let go.

One would think she would be anxious to get rid of the location where her mother was murdered and where, just a couple of yards from the back door, her father had hung himself. The place should be a morbid reminder of all the violence, heartache, and misery she and her family had endured. Instead, as she went from room to room, pointing out different aspects of the house to the agent, wonderful memories had come to her.

Christmastime had been a big deal for her mother. The house was always decorated to the nth degree, turning it from a beautiful old home into an enchanted wonderland. During the holidays, there had been parties galore, and she and her sisters always stayed up an hour past bedtime to be able to attend the festivities. And at every party she could remember, her mother and father had been front and center, seeming to adore each other. When had it all gone wrong?

The walkie-talkie beside her sputtered, startling Savannah from her memories. “Anything yet?” Zach asked.

They had chosen not to use cellphones since the light might attract attention. She pressed the talk button. “Nothing. What about you?”

“A couple of cars have passed by but nothing suspicious.”

“It’s only a little after two o’clock. Maybe they wait till later, when they’re sure no one will be around.”

“Maybe, but Dayton’s working tomorrow. As lazy as he is, I don’t see him staying up this late,” Zach answered. “Let’s give them a few more minutes and then call it a night. I’m sure you’re exhausted and want to go to bed.”

Had his voice deepened, gotten huskier, with those last words? Savannah told herself to ignore the flare of heat. When he’d come by this evening, she had wondered if they would discuss the incident that had occurred at the dinner party. She’d left the Kilgores’ house in a state of arousal she hadn’t felt in years … all because of a little hand-holding and thumb action. The hurt he’d dealt might still be there but so was the attraction and the need—things that only Zach had ever made her feel.

Savannah gave herself a mental shake. Okay, so she didn’t hate him as she had once thought, but neither did she intend to feel anything warm toward him. He had broken her heart, abandoned her when she’d needed him the most. How could she just let that slide?

“Savannah, you there?”

“Yes … yes, I’m here.” Remembering his comment, she added, “And I am tired.”

“Everything okay?”

“Fine.” She winced. Going from warm and friendly to cold bitch in mere seconds was sure to bring about more questions. With Zach, it had always been about extremes.

“Okay.” Even with the distortion of his voice caused by the walkie-talkie, she detected the doubt in his tone.

Savannah dropped the walkie-talkie on the seat beside her and tried to tell herself she felt no guilt for being cool to Zach. They weren’t friends and she was helping him out. That was all. In fact, she shouldn’t even be here. She should—

The knock on her window caused her to jump a foot off her seat. Coffee splattered everywhere. Zach stood at the passenger door, peering in the window.

Savannah pressed a button to unlock the door. As soon as it opened, she said, “Dammit, Zach, you scared the crap out of me.”

Instead of apologizing, Zach slid into the passenger seat and said, “I can’t wait any longer.”

“Wait for what?”

“For this.” He pulled her toward him and put his mouth over hers.

Savannah ignored the dampness of the spilled coffee and the insistent voice telling her this wasn’t a good idea. With a groan of surrender, she melted into his arms. This was exactly what she wanted, what she needed. He tasted so incredibly wonderful—coffee, mint, and Zach. Weaving her fingers through his hair, she pulled him closer, opened her mouth to him, and let him take control.

Zach knew he could be making a huge mistake, but right now, he couldn’t think why. Ten-year-old memories and thousands of fantasies couldn’t compare to the reality of her taste, as addictive as any drug. He could spend a lifetime with his lips on hers.

Expecting her to pull away any minute, Zach took advantage of the time he had left. His hands roamed over her body, seeking and relearning all the secret places, silken sweetness, and inner fire. His heart thudded and his chest squeezed tight when instead of pulling away as he had feared, Savannah relaxed into him, accepting and needing.

His groan a combination of relief and thankfulness, Zach put all he had into the kiss. Every fantasy, every wakeful night, and every regret he had endured was pouring out like a gushing faucet. It might not change anything, but in this moment of sweetness, if this was the only chance she gave him, he intended to have all the things he had denied himself for so long.

As her tongue met and tangled with his, their hands roamed over each other, exploring all the delicious places they used to touch to drive each other crazy. Zach’s hands were beneath her blouse, finding the silky, soft skin he remembered. The firm flesh of her breasts was a welcome and beautiful weight against the palm of his hands.

Savannah’s hands roamed under his shirt, caressing his stomach, then delving into his jeans to clutch his ass in a tight squeeze. Zach groaned again. Much more of this and they’d be in serious trouble. Savannah’s little Mustang barely had enough room for him to sit, much less do all the things they wanted to do to each other.

Pulling away slightly, Zach whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”

She stared up at him. Though the car was dark, moonlight gave him enough light to see her expression. The passion slowly faded from her eyes, revealing a morass of emotions. Had he really thought she would fall into his arms and into his bed that easily and quickly?

“Savannah … I know we need to talk. I just—”

She shook her head and pressed her fingers against his mouth. “Let’s go home, Zach.”

This was beyond crazy. Sanity would return any minute, Savannah was almost sure of it. But the minute Zach’s mouth touched hers, she had been lost. Every aching dream she’d had over the last decade couldn’t compare to that one delicious but much-too-brief kiss.

He was following behind her in his car. Would he be cooled down by the time they arrived at the house? She knew she wouldn’t. In fact, just thinking about that kiss kept her throbbing and wet. One touch from him and she would explode.

How irresponsibly she was acting wasn’t something she was allowing herself to think about. If she allowed rational thought at all, she knew she would never go through with this. Regrets and recriminations would come tomorrow. Tonight was theirs.

She parked in the drive and was about to open the car door when it opened for her. Taking her hand, he said, “Do you want to talk first?”

Startled, she looked up at him. He was giving her an out. An opportunity for their long-overdue discussion to take place. Could she make love to him without knowing the truth? Her mind whispered No, but the rest of her body said something else. Whatever Zach’s reasons were, he still wanted her. And stupid and foolish as she might feel tomorrow, she had wanted this for too long to back out now.

Taking chances had never been her thing. Impulsive and reckless were not her personality traits. But right now she wasn’t the too-serious and boring assistant district attorney. She was Savannah Wilde reborn and was going to make love to the man she’d given her heart and trust to years ago. The fact that he had broken both couldn’t matter right now.

“Let’s talk after.”

Still holding her hand, he pressed a kiss against her palm and released her. “Race you to the bedroom.”

Like two teenagers, they ran to the house and entered through the side door, closest to the kitchen.

At the slam of the door, Zach slowed things down. Pressed up against the wall, Savannah watched as he moved in for another devouring kiss. This time, his mouth molded over hers, sipping and drawing deep groans of need from deep within her. Her only thought to get them skin-to-skin as soon as possible, one of her hands tugged at his shirt buttons while the other went for his zipper. Zach grabbed both of her wrists and, with one hand, held them above her head.

“What are you doing?” The breathless, needy voice barely sounded like her.

“I’ve waited too long to rush this.” His mouth roamed over her face and neck as he murmured softly, “We’re going to take it slow and easy and it’s going to last all …” He punctuated the last words with a hot kiss to her mouth. “Night.” And another deep kiss. “Long.”

Heat almost consumed her as Zach moved from her mouth, down her neck. He stopped briefly to unbutton the front of her cotton shirt and then expertly flipped open the front clasp of her bra. Before she could appreciate the coolness of bared skin, his hot mouth was covering her breast, drawing a nipple deep into his mouth and sucking hard. Savannah’s whimper of need joined in with Zach’s groan as he moved to her other breast and set up the same delicious suction.

With him still holding her arms above her head, her only recourse was to press her lower body against him. When the long, hard length of his penis settled against her mound in the perfect spot for maximum pleasure, she began a slow, steady rub against him. The throbbing in her sex flushed her entire being with a need she wanted to never end. At the same time, she wanted to end it immediately, to attain that seemingly insurmountable peak of exquisite bliss. As she reached for the glorious feeling she’d only ever felt with this man, the sound of a phone barely penetrated the roaring in her head.

She felt the change in him almost immediately. One moment he had been devouring and insatiable, the next he was pulling away. Though he was breathing heavier than normal, his eyes and expression changed in an instant from desire to almost expressionless. How could he turn it off so quickly?

As he grabbed the cellphone from his pocket, he let go of her arms. Savannah pulled away from the wall and wrapped her arms around herself. Feeling vulnerable and exposed, she turned away from him and looked out into the backyard.

Vile curses spewing in his mind, Zach answered the phone but kept his eyes on Savannah. Of all the f*cking times for an interruption. He answered with a growling “Yeah?”

“Sorry to disturb you on your night off, Chief, but we got a situation over at Miller’s Feed and Seed.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Looks like the vandals struck again, only this time there’s a whole lot more damage than usual.”

Shit. Miller’s Feed and Seed was not on his list of probable locations. His theory of Henson’s and Dayton’s involvement just got a whole lot iffier.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Zach ended the call and looked over at the woman across the room. She didn’t need to say the words; her body language spoke volumes. Severe regret had set in. Didn’t matter that going to bed with her before getting the past out of the way had been a bad decision. He had never wanted to say to hell with doing the right thing more than he did right now. If that call hadn’t come in, Savannah would be wrapped around him right now and he’d be deep inside her. At that thought, a new wave of arousal hit him hard.

Teeth gritted with the need to shove aside his responsibilities and go after what he’d wanted for so long, Zach said, “I’m sorry … I’ve got to go.”

The quick and jerky nod of her head, along with the sight of her arms wrapped around her waist in obvious self-protection, hit him hard. He had hurt this woman in so many ways. If he was the good, decent man she had once called him, he’d turn around and walk out the door. Leave her alone to patch up the new wounds he’d caused. She deserved so much better than anything he could offer. So why the hell was he walking toward her, instead of away?

“Savannah,” he whispered as he reached out for her. “I don’t want to leave you. You know that. Right?”

“Just go, Zach. This was a mistake. If that phone call hadn’t come, I would have eventually realized it. We can’t go back to the way it was. There are too many problems. Too much has happened.”

His reputation of being slow to anger vanished in an instant. “Like hell it was a mistake.” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around to face him. “Yes, we need to talk, but listen and listen good.” Ignoring the fact that her arms were still crossed, he plastered his body against hers, their foreheads touching, and said harshly, “We will finish this. We both want it. Before you leave town, we’re going to have each other. Make no mistake about it.” To emphasize the point, he ground his mouth against her hot, supple lips, taking comfort in the fact that not only did she not bite him, she opened her mouth and kissed him back.

Knowing if he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t leave for hours, Zach dropped his arms and backed away. “Get some sleep. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

Before she could tell him no or to go to hell, he turned and strode out of the room.

“What do you mean you kissed him?”

Savannah winced at the censure in her sister’s voice. She had spent a sleepless night aching for something she knew she shouldn’t want. At first light, she’d given up on sleeping. Every time she closed her eyes, she thought about him. Even alone in bed, Zach was there with her.

Knowing if she didn’t talk to someone soon, she would explode, she’d grabbed her cellphone and called Sammie.

“Well, it was more he kissed me but I let him.”

“Where?”

“In my car … and then in the kitchen.”

“I mean on your person. Did he kiss you on the mouth?”

“Of course on the mouth, Sammie. He’s not my uncle.”

“No, he’s the man who f*cked you and left.”

Savannah winced. This was more of a Bri reaction than a Sammie one. Sammie was the romantic of the family. That’s why she had called her instead of Bri. If anyone would understand her feelings, it should be her. But she should have remembered that when it came to defending her sisters, Sammie could be as ferocious and protective as a mother bear.

Unable to argue with the truth, Savannah sighed and said, “I know that’s how I should see him, but I don’t.”

“Did he at least explain why he did what he did?”

“He tried.”

“And?”

“I stopped him.”

“Holy hell, Savvy. Have you taken leave of your senses? If I’d known you’d react to him that way, I would have taken time off and handled the house myself.”

Pride stiffened her spine. Okay, so she’d acted rashly, which was an unusual occurrence for her. That didn’t mean she couldn’t handle the situation. And despite the unpleasant lecture, talking to Sammie had helped. “I just needed to regain my perspective.”

“Don’t let him use you again, Savvy. Men will do that in a heartbeat, without blinking an eye.”

Savannah sat up in bed. She’d been so focused on her own problems, she had paid little attention to the undercurrents of Sammie’s comments. She swiftly reviewed her sister’s remarks. The bitter words had sounded more like Bri’s, with maybe a side order of some ultra-feminist man-hater’s. They’d definitely not been characteristic of her usually sunny-side-up sister Samantha.

“What’s wrong, Sammie?”

There was only the slightest hesitation before Sammie answered, “Nothing. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Now, other than the inappropriate kissing, tell me what else is happening in Midnight. You’ve been there almost a week, so I’m sure you’ve been apprised of all the goings-on.”

Savannah allowed the change in subject, more than aware that her sister wanted to avoid her questions. As much as she wanted to pull the truth out of her and find out what or who had hurt Sammie, she trusted her sister. She would tell her when she was ready. That had been their pact since they were little girls. When one of them was hurting, the other two would be there for her no matter what.

Wanting to hear her sister laugh and get her mind off her worries for a while, Savannah weaved as much humor as possible in with the news she’d heard since she had returned home. Glad to hear Sammie’s laughter, she settled back against her pillow with a relieved sigh.

“So how’s the packing coming?”

“I’ve got most of Granddad’s room packed up. I’m spending the next few days in the library. I’d forgotten what an extensive book collection he had.”

“Okay, I’m calmer now. Let’s get back to Zach.”

“Oh, Sammie, I don’t know. The moment I saw him … it was like the first time. He’s even more beautiful than before and almost everyone here loves him.”

“Including you?” Sammie said softly.

A swelling ache developed in her chest. No, she couldn’t love him again. Not after everything she’d gone through … she just couldn’t. Instead of denying it as she should, she said, “I don’t know.”

“If nothing else, Savvy, find out why he did what he did before you do anything crazy. Okay?”

Her sister was right. She’d almost fallen into bed with Zach before she knew what really happened ten years ago. That would have been beyond stupid.

“You’re right and I will.”

“I’ve got to get ready for work. Keep me updated. Okay?”

“Will do.” Unable to let her worry for Sammie go, she added, “Call me if you need me. Okay? I can be there in just a couple of hours.”

Her sister didn’t ask what she meant, she simply said, “Thank you, Savvy. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Dropping the phone on the nightstand, Savannah rolled over in bed and pulled a pillow over her head. Hiding from her problems wasn’t really her thing, but maybe, for just today, that’s exactly what she would do.