Midnight Secrets (20 page)

She sighed shakily. If a subtle caress of his thumb could create this burning heat inside her, what was she going to do when he tried to do more? No use trying to deny … it would happen. The look in his eyes when she’d left had said it all. Zach not only wanted her, he intended to have her. Perhaps the scariest part of all was, she knew she wouldn’t deny him.

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 irresponsible 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.