Crazy Little Thing Called Love (20 page)

That wasn’t the case with Zach. Every word he
said in that husky rumble made her ache and tremble even more. He
was so big and so powerful that with every roll of her hips and
thrust of his she edged further out of control. She’d known he’d be
good at this. She’d known it but she still couldn’t quite believe
how consumed she was. She was lost and for the first time she was
found at the exact same time.

She was close, so close, so lost in passion
and desire and lust that she squealed when she felt him move
suddenly. In one quick movement her back was pressed into the
mattress and his big, hot, hard body loomed over her, sinking in
even further than she’d imagined. He’d flipped them like she was
weightless and managed to maintain a pace at the same time. The
change in position made her gasp as the first trembles of her
orgasm loomed.

“Zach please, oh God please…”

“Legs around my waist.” His order was harsh
and she knew she was seeing the rougher Zach now, the one he kept
down behind the gentlemen cowboy act. It was hot, really, really
hot so she wrapped her legs around him and locked them together.
Skin smacked hard against skin, grunts and moaning accompanied the
noise and she broke into a million pieces.

Her boots must have dug into his back but he
kept going, pushing her through her orgasm as fire broke out in her
veins and then over her skin. She trembled and the waves crashed
through her body again and again. The intensity of the orgasm
scrambled her world and made everything fuzzy around the edges as
it continued to pound.

Just as it began to ebb she felt Zach twitch
inside her. His big hands gripped her hips and pulled her tight
against him so hard she’d probably have bruises but she couldn’t
think to care. He held her through the flood of her orgasm and then
through his. She heard his throaty growl as he fell over the edge
and collapsed against her. He nipped at her throat as he pulled
back and a smile touched the corners of his mouth.

“I do like it when you beg baby-doll.”

Blue was still trying to catch her breath
when she felt him move beside her. Her eyes fluttered open and she
bit her bottom lip as she watched him roll to his side and then sit
up in the bed. That was quick. Usually men were all but asleep
after sex, he just kept surprising her.

She sat up, clutching the sheet over her
breasts. Her thighs still tingled and she stretched to ease the
ache. It was a good ache though, one she hadn’t felt in way too
long. Still, he was reaching for his boxers so she resigned herself
to reliving the memory from her bedroom at home.

“Can you toss me my dress?”

He turned to face her then and a sexy smirk
rose up his face, “No.”

“No?”

“No.” He stood and she got a healthy look at
his tight ass as he slid into his boxers. “You hungry?”

“What?” She had to have heard him wrong.

“I worked up an appetite so I’m going to make
some food and you look like you haven’t eaten in weeks. Come join
me when you’re ready.” His eyes sank to her cleavage spilling over
the top of the sheet, “Clothing is optional.”

She watched his broad shoulders retreat
through the doorway and sank back into the bed. He wasn’t kicking
her out. He was getting food. A smile touched the corners of her
lips. He was repowering.

She looked at the digital clock on the
nightstand. It was still early. She could probably stay a little
while longer and nobody at the Oaks would know any different. She
scrambled from the bed and grabbed her panties and bra. She picked
up her dress and then rethought it and tossed it over a chair in
the corner, grabbing one of his shirts instead.

A quick detour into his bathroom to
straighten out the mess that was her hair revealed a mostly
demolished vanity. She tiptoed around the floor, used the restroom
and tried to straighten her makeup. Her lips were swollen and red
but there wasn’t a thing she could do about that, not that she’d
want to. She padded down the hallway back to the kitchen to find
him and leaned against the doorway in appreciation when she
did.

He hadn’t bothered to find the rest of his
clothes. She didn’t blame him. If it was up to her he’d be naked
every single second she was alone with him. She felt her cheeks
blush when he looked up and caught her staring.

“Nice shirt.” A smile tugged at his lips, “It
looks better on you.”

“I seriously doubt that.” She shrugged and
walked over to where he’d spread out a batch of condiments on the
island.

The shirt hung off her like a sheet. She had
to roll the sleeves three-fourths of the way up just to get it to
her forearms. Still, it smelled like him, like man and outdoors and
she was going to enjoy that while she could, at least another hour
or so.

“You want a tomato on your sandwich?”

“Sure.” She leaned a hip against the counter,
“Can I help?”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure I can handle a
sandwich. The only real need to worry would be if I decided to turn
the stove on.”

“Ditto that.”

“I thought all true Texas ladies knew how to
cook seven course meals?” He tore off two paper towels from the
holder and set the bread slices out on them.

“I picked up the basics from Arlene over the
years but I never crossed into actually enjoying it and I think
that’s a requirement to being good at cooking.” She watched him
hold up two different dressings and pointed to the mustard.

“Who’s Arlene?”

“Arlene Evans, she’s worked at the Oaks since
before I was born. She’s kind of like a house mom for the hands.
She cooks three meals a day for them and cleans up too. She’s cook,
housekeeper and fill-in-mother.”

“Hmm.” He cocked his head to one side, “And
she took care of you too?”

“Most of the time yes.”

He motioned to the fridge, “You can grab
those beers now.” She stuck her tongue out but did as he asked.
“How many hands does Montgomery Oaks have?”

“When I was little, probably twenty or so.
Now…” she shrugged as she bent over, grabbed the beers and kicked
the fridge door shut behind her, “I have no idea.”

He was staring when she looked back at him.
His hand was frozen over a slice of bread unmoving. His eyes had
that slightly glazed look again and they were directed at her ass.
Yeah, wearing only his shirt and her panties had been an excellent
idea.

“What?” She asked innocently.

“You know what.” He pulled his eyes to her
face with a sheepish grin, “That’s a lot of men running around a
house with a little girl. Arlene was the only woman on the
ranch?”

“Yeah, probably why I ended up nearly
flunking charm school. I’ve always been better at swearing and
shooting than cooking and curtseying.” She set the beers on the
counter.

“I don’t know about that. You’ve definitely
got your charms.” His eyes lingered on her breasts and she
giggled.

“These babies aren’t the reason I passed
charm school.”

“No? What was?” He popped the top on the
beers and slid one back to her.

“My last name.” She took a long drink and
shrugged, “Or more accurately, my middle name.”

He raised one eyebrow up his forehead,
“Montgomery?”

“Uh huh. My mama was Liza Beth Montgomery
Carter and if you’ve never heard the stories she was kind of a big
deal around here.” She motioned to where he was dropping the knife
into the sink, “You done?”

“Yeah, grab your sandwich and a seat.” He
motioned to the table a few feet away.

She slid the sandwich he’d prepared into one
hand, grabbed her beer in the other and followed him to the small
nook off the side of the kitchen that held an oak table. It was a
square table with only four chairs. Strange to think how very
different it was from the table at Montgomery Oaks just a few miles
down the road.

“What?” Zach slid into a chair and looked up
at her.

“Nothing, just thinking how long it’s been
since I ate at a regular sized table.” She shook her head and sat
down across from him.

“Regular sized? You’re not trying to hurt my
feelings talking about size again are ya Bluebell?” Laughter
sparked in his eyes and she grinned.

“No, definitely not.” She shrugged, “We just
never had a table like this, for family. The dining room at the
Oaks has this mahogany monstrosity that can probably seat twenty
people. It’s all shiny and unused. I can’t remember ever sitting
down to eat at it, not once.”

“Where do you eat?”

“In the bunkhouse.” She took a napkin and put
it under her beer so it wouldn’t leave a ring, “After my mama died
Daddy always ate out there with the other hands. I guess it made
sense; Arlene already had all the food out there so it would have
been pointless to drag it back into the house for us.”

“You don’t remember eating with your mother
before she died?”

“This is really good Zach.” She took a big
bite of her sandwich, chewed and swallowed before she shook her
head, “But no, I don’t remember eating with her. I’m sure we did. I
obviously wasn’t a starving child for the first five years of my
life. I just don’t remember.”

“What do you remember about her?” He took a
drink of his beer and then popped a chip in his mouth.

“Umm, I remember little things mostly, like
her voice when she would read me a bedtime story or the smell of
vanilla on her skin when she’d come to wake me up in the morning.
It’s the bigger things that get jumbled with the stories I’ve heard
from people that confuse me as memories.”

“How so?”

“All my life everybody in Fate has been
telling me stories about my mama. Sometimes I’m not sure if I
really remember some detail about her or if I’ve just been told
about it so many times that I feel like I lived it when I really
didn’t.” She took another bite.

“Like what?”

“Like how everybody in town swears I look
just like her? I’ve seen the photos and I guess we resemble but she
was really pretty, stunning even, she was a beauty queen and I most
definitely was not.”

He chuckled, “I’ve seen a picture of her
before in one of my dad’s old yearbooks and you definitely look
like her Bluebell.”

Had he just called her beautiful? Just
another of his easy compliments, he was so good at those. Still,
all the talk about her mother was leaving her with a strange
feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t spoken about her
mother this much in years, not to anyone. She’d practically talked
his ear off and all he’d done was ask questions. Turnabout was fair
game so she changed the subject.

“Do you look like your father?”

“For the most part.” He took a swig of his
beer and grinned, “I got my mom’s eyes though.”

“I’ll have to remember to give her my
compliments if I ever run into her in town.” She smirked.

“Your eyes ain’t so bad either.” He took
another two bites of his sandwich.

And the topic was back on her? No way. Not
already. As a journalist she was used to being the one asking
questions. She was used to ferreting out information even from
people that’d rather keep their mouths shut. Obviously, Zach was
the strong, silent type but everybody had their topics they
disliked. She’d just have to find one he did.

“So you helped raise your little
brothers?”

“After my dad passed away.” He nodded and
shoved a couple of chips into his mouth before reaching for his
beer again.

“How old were they?” She pushed.

“Riley was ten. Devin was fourteen.”

“I remember Riley from school.” She offered
and watched his head pop up.

“You do?”

“Kind of. I remember he was Molly’s partner
in chemistry class. I remember he was really smart. I remember he
asked me to go to the homecoming dance with him.” She smirked as
his eyebrows furrowed, “I said no. He told me the other night I
gave him his first broken heart.”

That story earned her a full on chuckle and
Zach grinned, “That kid always had balls.” He took a sip of his
beer and then offered, “Always had a thing for pretty girls
too.”

Another compliment? Another try to turn the
conversation away from him? She pursed her lips. She wasn’t here to
talk. He’d said that much himself. Still, he’d started it with the
offer of food, real food, and not whipped cream.

“Thank you.” She sipped her beer, “I see
you’re doing some renovating. Your bathroom looks like a bomb went
off in there. I don’t know if your team is any good at construction
but they’re certainly good at demolition.”

“I’m flattered.”

“You’re doing your own renovations?”

“Yeah, I already finished the bedroom and
just started work on the bathroom. I’m pulling out the old tile and
Devin’s going to help me lay the new in a few days.”

“You know how to lay tile?”

“I’ve been told I’m a good lay.” His smile
was instant as his eyes lowered to her mouth.

She giggled and shook her head. Yes, he was
very good at certain other aspects of laying. He was better than
any man that’d touched her in a good long while, possibly ever. He
was also the most mysterious.

He was one of the most handsome men she’d
ever set eyes upon but behind the soft green eyes and hard façade
was a big brick wall she doubted anybody ever got past. He didn’t
lie. He was what he was, but he didn’t give up much about
himself.

That was fine for her. That’s what she’d
agreed to. She was leaving soon and she didn’t have the time or
energy to deal with scaling walls. Scaling his body was a
completely different story though. He surprised her again by
continuing his story.

“I’ve always liked breaking things. Took me a
while to realize I like putting them back together too. When I did,
I took an interest in construction. I’ve picked up a few things
over the years.”

“What all are you planning to do to the
house?”