Del. He turned just enough to lay eyes on her and clenched his jaw. Now that he knew she hadn’t tried to run, he concentrated on the old bitty in front of him. She was still coming at him, screaming for someone named Harold. A second later, a man came out of the men’s room still yanking on the strap of his faded denim overalls.
“What is it, Doris?” the older man asked, rushing up until he spotted Zak and then stopped abruptly.
Zak felt the sizing up that happens when two strange men meet. He gave a nod and the older man gave it back. A dip of a stubbly chin. Simple, manly acknowledgment. It might have ended there but Doris chirped at him, “This little perv walked in on me in the ladies’ room, Harold. Completely inappropriate.”
“Did he now?” Harold asked, beginning the sizing up process all over again, this time with more suspicion.
“Yes, he did. You should call Sheriff Billings and get him down here right now to deal with this vagrant.” Doris managed to look both scandalized and smug all at once like he’d only ever seen small town women do.
Zak could only shake his head. This had gone from bad to worse—and to top it off, Del still stood back by the wall of cold drinks, watching and quietly laughing at him.
This needed a solution, fast. If the Sheriff was called, Zak and Del would be detained for way too long. The coyotes would catch up for sure. He wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Johnny.” Doris locked eyes with something over Zak’s shoulder. The clerk, Zak guessed. “You won’t believe what just happened to me. Come over here and bring that cordless phone of yours. We need to call the Sheriff.”
“Like I said before, I was looking for someone,” Zak said again, this time more intently since he’d caught sight of the clerk finally giving them some attention. The young guy who’d been reading a comic book earlier was now edging toward them uncertainly with his cell phone clutched in one hand.
Doris’ eyes gleamed with the look of a woman who thrived on drama—and especially on being the one to cause it.
In a moment of panicked inspiration, Zak flung his arm out wide toward where Del still hovered, half-hidden by the trail mix as she edged toward the front door. “Look, she’s right there. See? This is Del. She was feeling sick and when she didn’t come back to the car right away, I got worried so I came in to check on her.”
“Sick, eh?” Harold, ever two steps behind, just squinted at Del like he was still processing everything Zak had said.
Doris was much faster. “Oh, honey.” She clucked her tongue and was on Del faster than anyone could have hoped to escape. She cupped Del’s cheeks, turning her head right and left as if she could literally spot the ailment. Del squeaked but stood rooted and now it was Zak’s turn to laugh quietly.
The cashier had apparently realized Doris’ change of heart and retreated without a word to his comic book.
Doris leaned in toward Del and her expression softened. “You do look a little pale, darlin’. You poor thing. Ya’ll must be passing through or I’d know you. I know everyone in this town, if you can believe it.”
Zak snorted, earning himself a glare.
“At any rate, you do look a little peckish. Harold, don’t she look peckish?” Harold grunted. “Ya’ll stayin’ over then?”
“No, we’re just passing through,” Del said, clearly not happy with the attention now on her.
Doris shot a look at Zak, clearly misreading Del’s discomfort. “Now, young man, forcing this young woman into the car for hours at a time while she’s feeling under the weather is no way to treat a lady. Marriage is about putting the other first, ain’t that right, Harold?”
Harold blinked and shoved his hands into his pockets. Doris went right on talking like he’d just given his tacit agreement. For all Zak knew, maybe he had. “You all go right on over to the Stop & Sleep. Tell Mable I sent you. She’ll give you the room with the big bed. After a good night’s rest, you’ll feel right as rain.” She patted Del’s hand like that settled it.
Del smiled tightly. “I appreciate your concern, ma’am, but I’m feeling much better now.”
Doris gasped, her eyes going wide. She leaned in as if speaking only to Del, but her whisper was almost louder than her regular voice. “Well, honey, if I were you, I’d pick up one of those pregnancy tests on the way then. Sounds like a good old case of morning sickness to me.”
“Oh, no, there’s no way I’m pregnant,” Del shook her head vigorously and looking all around disgusted. “I couldn’t possibly. We’re not even—”
“Trying,” he put in, sliding smoothly to Del’s side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He gave her a tight squeeze that made her stiffen and smiled a sugary smile at Doris. “We’re waiting until the right time,” he added loud enough for the cashier’s listening ears to turn red. “Just enjoying ourselves first.”
“A wise choice.” Doris winked which only made Zak smile wider. Oh, he was enjoying this. And the way Del had gone stone-stiff in his arms. He could feel the fury rolling off her and he took an evil sort of satisfaction out of it. The woman had infuriated him enough times already, he was happy to give it right back. “And don’t you two make the most handsome couple,” Doris added, looking back and forth between them with a twinkle in her eye.
Zak planted a kiss on Del’s cheek and grinned. “Well, thank you,” he drawled. “But I can’t take all the credit. My bride sure is a looker.”
Doris laughed, delighted, and turned to go. “Come on Harold, let’s leave these two love birds be. We’re late for the church potluck anyway.”
Zak let go of Del who visibly relaxed but Doris was already too far away to notice. Halfway to the door, the woman paused and doubled back. She stopped in front of Zak and despite the fact that she was two feet shorter than him, managed to look down her nose at him. “You watch how you barge into a place, buster. Sick wife or not, you’re going to end up scaring the mess out of the wrong woman.” She wagged a finger in his face. “Not everyone’s a Christian like me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, resisting the urge to salute her. He’d had drill sergeants that weren’t as scary as this woman. But at least he’d left an impression with the right people in this town. No doubt Doris would spread the word about the pregnant newlyweds that passed through town. With any luck, the coyotes wouldn’t dig too far past that bit of information and move on somewhere else.
Doris nodded, satisfied. And with that, she sauntered out with Harold at her heels.
Chapter Five
Zak turned back to Del who still hadn’t moved. “Ready, darlin’?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, fuming at him. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem? I can’t believe you have to ask. We are not married.”
“Well, obviously.” Zak reached out and Del flinched. Casually, he grabbed the soda on the shelf behind her and headed for the counter.
Del was close on his heels. “Look, I see what you’re doing, but I can’t even pretend something like that.”
Zak stopped and turned to face her, noting the flush that crept in whenever he stood this close to her. He was glad she reacted that way. At least he wasn’t the only one hyperaware of their bodies’ proximity. Of how easy it would be to reach for her, to touch her skin. Of how badly his wolf wanted it. Dammit, how badly he wanted it. “You can and you will if you want to throw those coyotes off our trail and make it home in one piece.”
Del stared back at him with narrowed eyes. “Ten years,” she said slowly. “Ten years in the military doing special ops, going undercover on dangerous missions. And your ingenious plan is that we pretend to be married?”
His mouth curled slowly. “Does that mean you asked about me?”
“What?” she stuttered, clearly off balance.
He couldn’t help it. He was having too much fun getting under her skin. “If you know that’s what I was doing for the past ten years, it must mean you asked about me while I w
as away. Did you miss me, Del?”
He closed the distance between them, his own heart pounding in time with hers. Slowly, so he wouldn’t spook her, he reached out and trailed his knuckles down her soft cheek.
“Maybe I did.” Her lashes lowered demurely. He couldn’t remember ever admiring a woman’s eyelashes but he was doing it now. The way they swept along the edges of her perfectly smooth skin. The sun kissed glow of her cheeks below them. He had the urge to wrap her in his arms and steal her away to a world where she wasn’t his enemy. Where he could be free to touch her. To kiss her. To love her.
Wait. Love?
She finally raised her gaze to his and he found her expression soft and open. Whatever she might say next, he realized with a jolt, would change things. He’d accidentally sent them into dangerous territory and he couldn’t let them venture any farther without serious consequences.
“Come on, wife. I’m starving. Let’s get your handsome husband something to eat.” He slung an arm around her shoulders but she shook him off, her wary mask firmly back in place as she stalked toward the door. He let her go first, not wanting to see the daggers she threw his way while he paid for the soda. At least the cashier wasn’t interested in conversation—or deciphering the tense silence. And if anyone came asking, Zak had no doubt the young man would only remember a married couple.
Del didn’t speak again as they headed for the car and he knew he’d ruined a perfectly romantic moment with the woman who literally graced his dreams nearly every night. Hadn’t he been cursing his own heart for years for not letting go of these very feelings? It was just as well that he’d ended it before it began now. But regardless of the reason, it didn’t sit well with him that he’d shut her down. God, he had definitely been in the desert too long, he thought as he followed her out.
Chapter Six
Nestled on the tail end of the Stop & Sleep, Frank’s Diner was both the best and the worst food Del had ever eaten. After almost twenty-four hours since her last meal, the first few bites were glorious. About halfway through her burger, she realized her hunger had been sated enough to allow her taste the bacon and beef between the stale bread. The bite she’d just taken hit her stomach with a nauseating flourish. She set her burger down and opted for finishing the rest of her Coke instead.
Frank made a mean glass of soda.
She sucked it dry and looked up to find Zak watching her from across the vinyl booth with an indecipherable look in his chocolate eyes. Ever since he’d pulled that marriage stunt back at the gas station, she distrusted even his facial expressions. He was hot then cold way too fast for her to keep up.
“What?” she asked warily.
“I’m just appreciating finally sharing a meal with a woman who isn’t afraid to eat,” he said.
“I’m not sharing anything with you.”
“That’s my point.”
She glared at him. “Maybe you should consider raising your standards on who you’re willing to share a meal with. You can’t trust a girl who only eats lettuce. Besides, those little bunny shifters you’re probably used to are notorious binge-eaters. It’s why you always see them hoarding chocolate eggs.”
He laughed. “Is that right? I had no idea.”
Del sat up straighter, a jolt rocking through her at the sound of his unexpected laughter. It was rich and warm—nothing like his usual demeanor. And for the first time, she wondered if there might be more to Zak Armsford than met the eye. She honestly hoped so. “Yes. In fact, historically, bunny shifters symbolize fertility. You looking to pro-create?”
His amusement shifted instantly and Del could swear she felt the cloud descend over them in the tiny booth by the window.
“No,” he said darkly. “I don’t intend to burden anyone else with the Armsford legacy.”
Whoa there, buddy. Del sat back, too startled by the quick change in his mood to respond. Awkward silence fell between them. “Well, then,” she said finally, picking up her glass and raising it to signal the waitress for a refill. “No cubs for you. Noted.”
Her chest ached as she said it though and even she could hear the slight melancholy her words held. Strange that she’d care whether he wanted cubs or not. Why should she? He wasn’t her concern, nor was his future family or lack of. But still, her heart ached as if it had been pierced. She wondered at it but couldn’t make sense of it. Best to move past it as fast as possible.
The words Fated Mate rang in her head, but she snarled inwardly until her puma went silent.
“What will you do when you get me home anyway?” she asked, hoping it sounded as if she didn’t care one way or another. “Where will you go?”
Zak shrugged, chewing and swallowing the last of his meatloaf. “Everywhere. Anywhere. I have no plans right now.”
“Anywhere but Fort Jericho, you mean.”
His mouth drew into a tight line and again she felt the dark cloud that seemed to accompany him. It hadn’t been there before he’d left for the military. He’d always seemed moody but not like this. She wondered what had caused it. What he’d seen that he couldn’t let go of. Or if he even knew he carried it. “I’ve seen enough of war. Fort Jericho has too much of it for me.” He looked up at her. “You must have had your own reasons for wanting to get away.”
She nodded slowly, hesitant to share. On the one hand, if they were going to pretend to be married, he should probably know something about her life. But she also had a closet full of skeletons she didn’t intend to offer up to the one person who would exploit them—and her—the first chance he got. “History,” she said simply.
His brow arched and she went on, sticking to safe ground. “The summer after high school I did an internship for a community outreach program for Janet’s company. They fought for historical rights for various landmarks throughout the state. I saw firsthand how the history of a space could change the way it’s framed today. And I saw a way to get some distance,” she admitted. She knew if anyone could understand her reasons for leaving, it was Zak. “Fort Jericho—my family—can be…”
“Suffocating?”
Her eyes widened but she recovered quickly. “Something like that,” she murmured. It was half true. In the end, history itself had driven her out. The memory of him everywhere she went. And his absence. It had infuriated her that he’d affected her so much when they’d barely known each other all those years ago, and so, she’d found a new passion. Something to take her away from it all. Hopefully for good.
Ironic he would be the one to force her to return.
“I think we can both agree that family has always been a blessing and a burden,” he said.
She winced. “The burden part for sure. My mother was a constant voice in my ear. What to wear, how to behave, what social functions to attend. Hobbies, interests. Everything. I needed something that was all mine. Something without family obligation to stifle it.”
Or her own father’s murdering legacy tainting it. She still hadn’t given up on righting that wrong and clearing the slate for them both. But she wasn’t going to get into that.
He leaned forward. “And what did your mother say when you told her?”
“She had a complete meltdown,” she admitted. Vases were broken. I might be out of the will.” She snorted. “If only it were that easy. I mean, I knew she’d be pissed but I’d just reached a point where I knew no one was going to hand me anything but this damned legacy of war. I decided if there was something I wanted, I had to take it.”
Zak’s eyes glittered. The air between them practically sizzled with a sudden tension that she recognized easily from all those years ago. The long looks across a parking lot or school yard. She’d drank him in through glimpses, rumors, broken conversation. And she knew he was thinking of those times too.
Across the diner, silverware clanged to the floor, shattering the moment. Del exhaled. Slowly, the sights and sounds and smells of reality returned to Del’s senses.
Zak blinked and leaned back. “But… archaeology? You d
igging in the dirt?” he prompted, his smile twisting sardonically. “Doesn’t seem a likely hobby for the princess.”
The joke rubbed at her. Her temper flared but she didn’t give him the satisfaction. She’d already realized he only used it to get to her. “Almost as shocking as a thug signing up to work for the good guys. Although, organized crime is organized crime, isn’t it?”
He snorted. “Can’t argue there.” Instead of getting angry, he shook his head. “Killing is still killing no matter who or what country’s name is on it.”
“You didn’t enjoy the military?” she asked, genuinely curious now. It had been the entire reason he’d left town after all.
“I enjoyed seeing the world.”
“There are less violent ways to see the world.”
“There are less dirty career options that would take you away from Fort Jericho. Although, I must say, I like the idea of you being dirty.”
She threw a French fry at him and he laughed. Rich and warm like before. She shivered.
“Cold?” he asked and she shrugged, unwilling to admit she was in fact hot in all kinds of strange places. His eyes narrowed and she squirmed in her seat, positive he was picking up on what were in fact becoming very dirty thoughts indeed. Damn her puma and its pheromones.
“We should find a place to stay for the night,” he murmured, eyes still locked on hers. She shivered again and this time, she knew he understood why.
He reached into his pocket and pulled some folded bills out of his wallet. Tossing them on the table, he rose and offered her his hand. She should have refused the touch. She should have walked in the opposite direction—no ran—when she’d first seen him back at the dig site. But she hadn’t. And when her hand slid into his rough palm, a tingle of pleasure slid down her spine and straight into her boots. And she knew then, she wouldn’t be running anywhere tonight.
Guarded By The Alpha Page 3
