What You Can't See (28 page)

Long minutes passed, her sobs grew louder, harsher, her throat felt raw. Blood pooled around her hands and her knees, the copper scent of it clogged her nostrils. Every day for the rest of her life when she looked at her hands she would see the stains of Zach’s life blood.

Her hands flinched.

Oh, dear God!

Against all hope she felt it. A beat. Barely discernible, but there it was!

She leaned in closer, her ear to his nose. Breath. Barely, but a breath. A warm breath.

Another heartbeat, stronger this time. Then another even stronger, and another. She looked down at him in wonder, then up to the stranger. Zach’s heartbeat thudded vigorously beneath her hands.

Raiden nodded and said, “Now your destiny is sealed. Go to the lake and retrieve the star.” Then he turned and walked out of the room.

Danica had no idea what had just happened or how to explain it, and at this point she was beyond questioning.

“Dani?”

She looked down at the man she loved to hate and hated to love. “I’m here, Zach.”

His eyes fluttered open. “What the hell just happened?”

“I have no idea.”

D
ANICA HELPED
Z
ACH UP
and onto the bed. Her body trembled with emotion and now her tears were joyful. Carefully she sat on the edge of the bed beside him. “My God, Zach! How do you feel?”

“Like I just got slammed in the chest with a hammer.”

No kidding.

“Are you—okay? Can you breathe?”

Zach nodded and lay back onto the pillows. “I just need a few minutes.”

He needed more than that. There was no way in his weakened condition they could leave the house anytime soon. “Zach, you need time to heal.”

Zach’s eyes softened at her concern. He reached out and touched her cheek. “Thank you,” he softly said.

Her brows furrowed. His soft warm smile persisted.

“After everything I’ve done to you, you saved my life.” His smile widened. “You’re either a glutton for punishment or you still love me.”

Emotion so full, so intense, so hard, mushroomed in her chest. Unsure how to handle it she squeezed his hand and said, “I don’t ever want to experience anything remotely close to that again.”

She caught his soft gaze, and refused to allow the building tears to further expose her vulnerability. She looked at the wound on his chest through the torn fabric of his shirt. From what she could see, for such recent damage it only looked red and swollen. She touched it in amazement. Zach flinched. She pressed her lips to it and kissed him. His body quivered and tightened and when she caught his gaze again, she read desire in them.

Her blood quickened. Her need to reconnect with him on a deeper level took hold of her. She kissed the thick column of his neck, trailing her lips up to his chin. Her lips hovered over his mouth, and she whispered, “Zach, you’re covered in blood. Let me clean you up.”

Gently she tugged at his hand and drew him from the bed and into the bathroom. Carefully she directed him to the bench near the vanity and guided him down to it. She reached past him and turned the water on in the large open shower stall. She turned back to him and her heart twisted. His color had lightened and he was soaked in blood. “Here,” she said, and rolled up his shirt. Instead of having him raise his arms she grabbed the fabric at the neck and tore it down his chest.

She caught her breath at the full sight of his wound. She could see, while it was raw, it no longer bled. Tentatively she reached out and pressed her fingertips to it. Zach grabbed her hand and pressed it more firmly against him. Waves of charged electricity flowed between them. The friction heating. Yet soothing, healing. She felt the energy in his body regroup and build. His fingers clasped her hand tighter, his power built, his chest surged, his eyes glowed. His lips cracked a smile, and she knew at that instant, their bond was sealed. Their fate, their destiny, was forever forged. They would live and die as one.

With his free hand Zach grabbed a hank of her hair and pulled her lips down to his. She melted into him, the fusion of their meeting on this plain intensifying the charge. He stood, bringing her closer into him, and moved her backward and into the shower.

Hot water sprayed their flushed skin. Blood ran in rivulets between them to the shower floor, fading to pink before disappearing down the drain. Zach peeled Danica’s clothes off. She rid him of his jeans.

Skin to skin, caught in the heat of each other’s gaze, they stood silent. All of the pain, the anger, the heartache, the distrust was gone. Washed away just like the blood. Danica pressed her hand to Zach’s belly, her gaze locked on his. She felt his body tremble beneath her palm. She smiled and pressed her other hand lower, brushing the tip of his penis. Zach hissed in a breath.

Liking very much the power she wielded over his body, Danica pressed her body to his. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she lifted her lips to his mouth and brought him down to her. Her body surged at the heat of his lips, and his tongue, and the way he took over. His hands dug into her butt cheeks, pressing her harder against him, his passion hard and full against her belly. His lips ravaged hers, his tongue swirled in her mouth, tasting, tempting, wanting all of her.

Time stood still, their two bodies molded, meshed, a perfect fit. The water cooled. But their body heat climbed off the charts.

Danica pushed him back against the tile wall of the shower. His surprised look made her laugh. She grabbed the big sponge and lathered it up. “I’m not leaving. I’m going to lather you up.”

She began at his throat and rubbed the thick creamy lather over his skin. Each time his hands slipped around her waist, pulling her against him, she pulled away. “My way, Zach.”

Inch by inch she lathered his body, her hands swirling and kneading his skin. When she lathered his penis, and in bold up-and-down strokes washed him, Zach closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and stood rigid against the tile wall. In perfect cadence to her hand his hips rocked against her, his passion mounting. It was all Danica could do not to mount him right then and there. The hard thick heat of him coming alive in her hands made her feel more womanly, more seductive, more sexy than she’d ever felt. Hot sparks of desire pricked at her womb. Her hips undulated in response, slipping and sliding up and down his thickness.

It was more than Zach could bear as well. He turned the tables on her. Pressing her against the wall, he growled low and took the sponge she’d just tortured him with and lathered it up. His big hands ran over her body, reveling in the silky softness of her skin. Her full breasts came alive in his hands. He pressed his cock against her hip, and suckled one cherry-tipped nipple. Danica arched and moaned beneath him. “I missed you so much, Zach.”

His heart twisted. He’d been such a bastard. He didn’t deserve her. And she sure as hell deserved better than him. He kissed her hard, wanting her to forget everything but here and now.

She answered his call, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her body harder against him. He let the hard spray of the water rinse off the soap. Then, not breaking the kiss, Zach picked her up in his arms. Leaving the water running, he stepped out of the shower and strode with them both dripping wet into the bedroom. He pressed her sultry body back onto the mattress. He paused, his gaze drinking in every line, every curve, every peak and valley of her body. He trembled as their gazes locked. Her eyes were soft limpid pools of love. She was his now and forever.

“Make love to me, Zach. Make love to me like there is no tomorrow.” And she meant it, because in her heart she knew they faced a foe of superior strength and cunning, and more than that, Mark Santos had no conscience.

“Danica, I promise on my life, by this time tomorrow we’ll have the star.”

Danica’s heart swelled and with every fiber of her being she wanted to believe him. She wanted a future with this man, but their present seemed so uncertain she could only live for each moment they shared.

She arched against his hands sliding up her waist to her breasts. His lips captured a nipple in his mouth. Danica moaned, unleashing everything she had to give to this man. His big hands cupped her breasts, his lips ravaging one then the other. Hot wet desire flooded her. Her fingers dug into his thick hair as she gasped for breath. Like two starved beings, ravenously they kissed, licked, bit and sucked, unable to consume enough.

He took her in one long fluid thrust. Danica cried out, the sublime experience nearly undoing her. The heat and strength of him filled her, electrical jolts like lightning sparked in her eyes, in her heart, in her womb.

Tied, bound together as one, Zach began the slow, long, deep fluid thrust of mating, a ritual as old and sacred as time itself.

Danica’s arms tightened around Zach’s neck, his lips pressed to hers, his kiss deep, protective, loving. This was where she was meant to be. Their bodies undulated; perspiration slicked their bodies, their limbs entwined.

Zach’s blood quickened, his seed erupted. “Danica!” he cried out. Her thighs quivered and she followed him with a shattering orgasm. The cosmic energy of it exploded inside of them, shocking them both with its intensity.

Danica gulped for air, her body shuddering as the waves of the orgasm rippled through her body. Zach gathered her tighter in his embrace, burying his face in her damp hair.

“Jesus, Danica,” he breathed, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

He felt her body tremble then her shoulders shake, her breasts, and then her hips.

She was laughing. He drew back to look at her ecstatic smile. Her laugher was music to his callused ears.

“Zach! We were damn good together before, but that was out of this world! Had I known, I would have had my way with you in the hospital!”

Relief flooded him. He rolled over onto his back and pulled her into the safe circle of his arms. He snuggled his nose in her hair and inhaled her sweet scent. “I’ve been trying to tell you…”

Danica chuckled and snuggled up tighter to him. She yawned, the toll of the day taking a sudden hit on her. “Let’s sleep, Zach, just for a minute…”

She closed her eyes and drifted off into the first peaceful slumber in three years.

Danica woke curled up in the circle of Zach’s arms. Darkness filled the room. It was still night. Not moving for fear of waking him, she lay still, listening to the deep, even sounds of his breathing.

Gently she pressed her fingers to the wound on Zach’s chest. It was gone! She raised up on an elbow and squinted in the low light of the room. Where only a few hours ago there had been a raw fatal wound, now smooth reddened skin replaced it. Amazing. Her brows knitted when she thought what they were up against. They had their work cut out for them. But instead of trepidation, righteous power surged through her veins. She and Zach were a team now and a formidable one at that. Mark Santos would have to pull all the stops to even come close to destroying them. She pressed a kiss to Zach’s lips then slowly backed off the bed, careful not to wake Zach.

For a long moment she stared down at him. The sheet covered his lower half, his chest rose and fell in steady rhythm to his heartbeat. She smiled softly. His sharp features were slack in repose. She smoothed away a lock of his dark hair from his brow and wondered how a mother could shun a son’s love. He’d always blown it off like it didn’t matter, but she knew the gaping hole in his heart would never close.

“My God,” she whispered.

With sudden clarity she understood his need to eradicate the streets of pedophiles and rapists. He wasn’t about being a vigilante or cowboy disregarding the law, it was about saving the children. If the system couldn’t protect them from the slimy bastards, then Zach would. Her heart swelled. The emotion bittersweet. Why hadn’t he told her? She would not have liked it, but at least she could have understand what drove him, and perhaps even why he had sacrificed their love. After all, if he were off the streets, who would protect the children from the monsters?

Danica stepped back. Poor Zach, he probably didn’t know himself. How could he tell her?

It didn’t matter. Whatever Zach had done in the past was moot now. For the first time in her life a sense of purpose filled her. And no matter which road she traveled, it would be with the man she loved by her side.

Instead of throwing her off balance, the thought comforted her. Despite their bitter past, he’d never stopped loving her, and because of that she could forgive a lot.

Adrenaline juiced through her veins. They had their work cut out for them and she was up to the challenge. Quickly she went into Marcie’s room and rifled for the second time that night for clothes. She slipped on a pair of Marcie’s jeans and a lightweight sweater. On a mission, she went downstairs to Troy’s office and opened his gun case. She loaded two .357 Magnums and took two boxes of hollow-tipped bullets from the drawer. She pulled out a backpack from the bottom drawer and stuffed the weapons and ammo inside. She also took a hunting knife and a pair of binoculars. Wanting to be prepared for anything Mark could throw at them, Danica hurried out to the garage and the vast workbench there. She stuffed the bag with wire cutters, saw, hammer, nails, and a wrench. She stood back and perused the plethora of tools that hung like trophies on a Peg-Board behind the workbench. A girl couldn’t have enough tools.

After stuffing the bulging pack into the back of the Jeep, she couldn’t ignore the growl in her stomach. Danica realized the poor pizza delivery guy must have gotten pretty frustrated waiting for them to open the door. She headed into the kitchen. There must be something she could fix.

Less than thirty minutes later, Danica walked upstairs with a tray. Soup and crackers would have to be enough. Setting it on the nightstand, she looked down at Zach.

Although his body twitched and he softly moaned as if having a bad dream, he still slept. To comfort him she pressed her hand to his brow; it was cool to the touch and she was happy to see his skin glowed a healthy pink beneath his tanned skin. His body quieted.

Quickly she got back to work. She picked the bloody sword up from the floor and wiped off his blood. She debated whether to put it in the Jeep now or wait for Zach. It warmed in her hand when her gaze turned to Zach still asleep in the bed, so she set it beside him on a pillow. Then she hurried back to the master bedroom and dug through Troy’s dresser. While Marcie’s hubby was the same height as Zach, he didn’t have the bulk of muscles. She shrugged and took the largest T-shirt she could find, along with a button-down long-sleeved Ralph Lauren shirt and a pair of jeans. Gently she roused Zach. Time they didn’t have was wasting.

He started. Wide-eyed, he popped up in bed, fists clenched, ready to fight.

Touching his shoulders, she softly said, “It’s okay, sweetheart, it’s just me.”

Instantly his wild eyes cleared to lucid. “The lake. Raiden said the star is at the lake.”

She nodded. “Let’s eat then go.”

Thirty minutes later the Jeep roared down Highway 4 toward the main interstate then to Lake County.

The night was dark and moonless, yet stars twinkled high in the stratosphere. Nervous energy charged Danica’s cells. Her senses opened and she felt stronger, more capable, and more focused than at any other moment in her life. This was her purpose.