Midnight Secrets (21 page)

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 fucking 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 fucked 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. 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.

Chapter

Sixteen

Hands pressed against the wall of the shower, Zach let hot water gush over his head as the memories he had squashed for the past few hours returned full force. Savannah had been within seconds of climax. He had felt her pulsing against him, had heard the soft hitch in her breath—something he remembered from past experience. Just before she came, she would release the softest and sweetest little gasp. He could get hard just thinking about that small delicate sound.

He’d almost had what he had been longing and dreaming about for years. But with that one phone call, everything had come to a screeching halt. Not only had it been painful for both of them to stop, he knew full well they were going to have to start all over again. Just how long would it take to get back to that place? Who knew, but he wasn’t going to stop until they both got what they wanted.

The hell of it was, the untimely interruption had been all for nothing. The vandals at Miller’s Feed and Seed weren’t the same people. Not only had they caused more damage than was typical of the other vandalisms, the idiots hadn’t noticed the camera in the corner recording every move they made. Now two teenagers were locked up, their parents were furious, and Zach was no closer to catching the other idiots than he was before.

He hadn’t slept but that wasn’t an issue. As an Army Ranger, he’d gone for a couple of days or more without sleep. Didn’t mean he would be in a good mood, though. Sleep deprivation combined with an unquenched thirst for Savannah just made him doubly pissed.

He turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. Drying off quickly, Zach was dressed and headed out the door in a matter of minutes. Going by to check on Savannah before he went to work was probably not a good idea. She was most likely still asleep. And if she wasn’t, it meant she hadn’t slept well. The reason she might have had difficulty sleeping was one of the reasons he wanted to see her. If he could clear the air as soon as possible, maybe he could regain some of the ground he’d lost last night when he’d walked out the door.

No, he wasn’t stupid. He knew they had a lot more to get through than that one event. However, he did owe her an apology. If there was one thing the past had taught him, it was to own up to his mistakes. And he had one major one to make up to Savannah. Question was, would she let him?

After another hour of tossing and turning, sleeping only a few moments at a time, Savannah gave up. It was close to eight o’clock and all she had to show for it was a headache and a severely overheated body. Too bad she couldn’t blame it on the hot temperature outside, but since the thermostat was set at a cool seventy-two degrees and she’d yet to step outside, she knew the weather wasn’t the issue. Zach Tanner was the problem. Last night he had awakened feelings and emotions she had successfully squelched for years. And now they were back and had apparently brought along some risqué friends. Never had she had such erotic dreams.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Savannah sipped her second cup of coffee and tried not to stare at the wall Zach had pressed her up against last night. She’d been two seconds away from climaxing when his cellphone rang. She didn’t blame him for answering the call and leaving. That was his job. No, she blamed herself for being in that position in the first place. How many times had she sworn that if she ever saw Zach Tanner again, she would tell him exactly what she thought of him? Instead, she’d kissed him like there was no tomorrow and had almost gone to bed with him.

Savannah still remembered the bewilderment she had felt when he didn’t show up that morning. She’d known he was having breakfast with his family, but he had promised to stop by before he left town at noon. At eleven-fifteen, after getting no answer to the numerous voice-mail messages she’d left him, she had swallowed her pride and gone to his house. His mother had greeted her at the door but hadn’t invited her inside. She had said Zach had left early that morning. She’d told Savannah he wasn’t coming back and that she should forget about ever seeing him again.

In shocked denial, Savannah had stood on the tiny, worn porch of Zach’s house, shaking her head in disbelief. Only hours before, she had given him her heart and her body, and Zach had given her his promise. She had been wearing that promise on her finger. No way had the woman been telling the truth.

The hurt had been crushing but Savannah had refused to give up. One week went by and then another. Her grandfather had offered to contact him. Had even gone so far as obtaining the phone number where she would be able to leave a message for him. Savannah hadn’t wanted to use it. Though the hope faded with each passing week, pride and hurt prevented her from making the call. Then came the day when she’d had no choice. She had made the call. Five calls in three days. He hadn’t returned any of them.

On that last call, when she had hung up the phone, she had accepted it was over. Whatever had changed Zach’s mind about them no longer mattered. She had locked the promise ring away and her heart as well.

If only that had been the end. She soon learned that there were different degrees of pain and heartache and they could come in stages. Some were like the tide: they came and then drifted away, leaving residue but no real destruction. Others came and stayed, became a part of who you were—as much a part of you as muscle, blood, and bone. That kind of pain changed you, developed you … could almost destroy you if you let it. She had almost let it.