Wrapped in You

by Jules Bennett

She wrapped her arms around her waist and headed back out the front door. Maybe he ran around front. Regardless of where he went, Sophie was confident Zach would find him and set him straight in the most loving of ways.

  * * *

  After frantically searching for nearly thirty minutes, Zach finally found Brock behind one of the two old cottages on the property. Brock sat on the ground just outside the back door and didn’t even look up when Zach took a seat beside him.

  Zach shot off a quick text to Liam that he’d located the boy.

  “You take off like that again and I’m going to think you don’t like our company.”

  A pebble poked Zach in his rear end, so he shifted, stretching his legs out before him and crossing his ankles. The sun was getting lower, sending radiant orange rays spreading out along the horizon, making a stunning reflection in the pond.

  “Liam and I have a history,” Zach started, staring at the pond and wondering about building a new dock, because focusing on work was so, so much easier than digging into his past. Unfortunately, this boy needed help, and Zach was going to have to put himself on the line. “Liam, Braxton—who you haven’t met—and I were all adopted. We had a sister, Chelsea.”

  From the corner of his eye, Zach saw Brock stiffen. “Had?” he asked.

  Zach nodded, plucking a clover from the ground beside him. He brought a knee up and rested his elbow on it, twirling the clover between his thumb and finger. He couldn’t sit still, not when he was about to open his heart to a virtual stranger.

  “She passed away several months ago,” Zach told him, hating how he had to speak of his vibrant sister in the past tense. “She was in a skiing accident.”

  “And you liked her?” Brock asked, as if family love was foreign. The question and the manner it was delivered broke Zach’s heart.

  “I loved her more than anything. She was literally the glue that held us together.”

  Zach heard footsteps seconds before Liam came into view. Catching his eye, Zach nodded. Liam quietly moved around to sit on the other side of Brock.

  Having Liam here only made this that much harder. But maybe he needed to be here; maybe this was perfect timing.

  “Liam and I have always rubbed each other the wrong way,” Zach went on, tossing the clover aside. “From day one he irritated me and I purposely irritated him. Braxton battled his own issues but kept trying to make peace between us. Chelsea loved us all and always tried to pretend we were one big, happy family. We were, but Liam and I definitely made things harder.”

  When Liam didn’t chime in, Zach continued. “We were always hitting on each other. I’d get mad, throw a punch. He’d get mad, throw a punch. On rare occasions Braxton would join in, but only when he was really angry.”

  “Yeah, I get that you guys punch a lot,” Brock mocked. “That’s what I was getting away from.”

  Zach appreciated his honesty, but he was missing the point entirely.

  “Even though Liam and I have our issues, I can speak for us both when I say we love each other.” Zach had to swallow. He’d not said those words aloud . . . ever. But he did love his brothers and should’ve said the words well before now. “We’re family and we’re always there for each other. Why the hell else do you think three dudes are working on opening a resort for women only? It sure as hell isn’t because we love to read up on massages and facials. We’re doing this to honor our sister. In the end, we’ve got a bond that nothing can break. And when we fight, we aren’t trying to show our power and anger. It’s just how we are.”

  Zach glanced over Brock’s head at Liam. His brother met his eyes, held them, and nodded in agreement. Something coursed through Zach . . . love, relief. He hadn’t been lying. He truly loved his brother, and having Brock here only helped Zach face the truth he’d known for years.

  “I’ve hurt Liam in more ways than I can count.” Zach prayed like hell he wasn’t going to have to dig into the accident portion of his past—or worse, start sobbing like some pathetic guy who couldn’t control his emotions. “But I hope he knows I’d do anything for him.”

  “Do you get what he’s saying?” Liam asked Brock. “We’d never hurt you. Ever. We might throw a punch at each other, yes, but we love each other. We piss each other off, but that’s just how we show our love. It’s warped, but you have to know you’re safe here. We’d never let anyone lay a hand on you.”

  Zach’s chest ached. He replayed all the things Brock had told him earlier and Zach wanted nothing more than to go throat punch a few people. What kind of monsters laid their hands on children out of anger? There was a special pocket of hell for those people.

  Brock glanced at Liam. “Did you get that scar from your parents?” he asked as if a parent harming a child was a normal conversation. Completely heartbreaking.

  Liam reached up and ran a fingertip over the red line down the side of his face. “Car accident when I was twenty-three.”

  Zach stared, waiting for more of an explanation, shocked when Liam left it at that. A bit of relief filled him, followed quickly by even more love. Even now, after everything, Liam was protecting Zach from retelling that story until he was ready.

  “I don’t know who to believe,” Brock muttered, jerking on the blades of grass by his side. Pluck, toss, pluck, toss. “I hate my life.”

  “I admit, you were dealt a rough hand,” Zach agreed. “I’m here to tell you that I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you never have to go back again.”

  Brock grunted. “Foster care is a joke, man. I did that once and they put me right back with my ol’ lady once she got out of jail.”

  “You’re not going back to her,” Zach promised, praying like hell he could keep it. “Foster care, I hope, isn’t an option.”

  “Where would I stay?” Brock asked, searching Zach’s eyes. “With you? What do you know about raising a kid?”

  Liam quirked a brow, silently agreeing with Brock’s concern.

  Zach shrugged. “About as much as you know about living with an adult who cares for you, but I’m damn well going to try my best and not let anyone hurt you again. Besides, I could use help with work.”

  “There are child labor laws.”

  Zach laughed. “You’re of age to work, and I think once we hone your electrician skills, you’ll come in handy.”

  For the first time since Zach first spotted Brock in the basement, Zach saw hope. No matter what, he planned to deliver on his promise to keep Brock safe. He hadn’t intended to keep the boy, but he’d damn well settled in with the idea the second he said it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sophie sanded in the bathroom around the vanity. The new layout was going to be gorgeous, especially if Zach opted for the paint color Chelsea had in her notes.

  But paint, renovations, and Chelsea’s binders were the last thing on her mind. Zach, Liam, and Brock had been gone well over an hour. The sun was starting to set and she was getting worried. She knew they’d found Brock, Liam had texted her, but she was still worried. That poor boy. What all had he endured? He was tough, though. He’d get through this, and with help from the stubborn, hardheaded Monroe boys, Brock had no choice but to head in the right direction.

  “As much as I love watching you work, I think you should go home and rest.”

  Sophie glanced over her shoulder. Zach stood in the doorway with a smirk on his face. “I’m not tired,” she told him, laying the sandpaper down and turning to face him fully. She swiped her hands together, ridding herself of the drywall dust. “How’s Brock?”

  “Right now? He’s okay. Overall?” Zach sighed and shook his head. “He’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “Why do you want me to go?” she asked.

  “I don’t want you to go. But Braxton is on his way and—”

  “Ah, I see. Some testosterone-filled evening of working, burping, and farting? The male bonding ritual?”

  Zach grinned. “Something like that.”

  Knowing they needed some time
to get Brock used to them and hopefully earn more trust, Sophie nodded. “If you need anything at all, call me. Promise?”

  “We’ll be fine.”

  She knew he’d never call, but that was fine. Zach didn’t need a sitter and he didn’t need her hovering. Besides, she had work to do.

  Once she said bye to the other guys, she headed home. A couple new listings had come through and she was hoping one of them would suit the doctor who was moving to town, because she was not about to show Zach’s house. He was keeping it.

  Sophie found herself smiling hours later as she sat in her favorite floral chair, Flynn purring beside her as she sketched some of the rooms in the Sunset Lake house. These sketches were visions of what she thought the rooms once looked like in their grandest of times. Most likely the first-floor parlor had housed ladies with skirts swishing about as they had afternoon tea while the gentlemen in the study drank whiskey and discussed ways to end the war and solve the world’s problems.

  She couldn’t wait to do the various exterior images with the old mossy oak trees, the porch stretching across the house. The entire property was absolutely breathtaking, and once word got out about the resort, women would come from all over the country for a relaxing getaway, whether alone or for a girls’ retreat. Sophie might even check in herself.

  Her pencil slid easily over the paper as she shifted her bare feet beneath her, careful not to disrupt her sleeping feline. She added curtains to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the parlor. Sophie just knew they would’ve been made of thick velvet, probably in dark green or sapphire. A rich shade held back by gold tassels.

  Once her parlor and study images were done, Sophie’s hand was cramping. She wanted to draw that grand staircase, but that would require a good amount of time and dedication. Yawning, she set her tablet on the coffee table, laid her pencil on top, and had just put her feet on the floor when her doorbell rang. The chime pulled Flynn from his sleep. He stretched back, then arched up on his paws before prancing from the room, as if he didn’t have time for visitors.

  Sophie had lost track of time, but when she glanced at the antique clock on her small corner desk, she saw it was nearing ten. She wasn’t a bit surprised she’d been at it for nearly four hours.

  At first glance through her etched-glass door, Sophie knew the shape of those shoulders. A thrill shot through her that he’d want to see her at the end of his day. She hated setting her hopes so deep into him, into whatever this was between them, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d been denied for so long.

  With a flick of the dead bolt, she tugged open the heavy oak door. The porch light lit up one side of his face and the dark of night shadowed the other. That image right there summed up her Zach in the proverbial nutshell.

  Wait . . . her Zach? Yes, he was hers. Always had been, if she was honest with herself.

  His eyes raked over her body and Sophie resisted the urge to wrap her arms around herself. She’d shucked her bra when she’d changed, and now she wore a black tank and old gray cotton shorts. Had she known she’d have company . . . nah, she still would’ve chosen comfort.

  “Your light was on,” he stated.

  Smiling, she reached out and tugged him inside before closing the door and sending the dead bolt back into place. “You can always stop, even if the light is off.”

  Zach took a step closer, narrowing the gap between them. “I have no reason to stop. I just found myself driving here and . . .”

  Sophie reached out for his hands and squeezed. “Stop there. That’s good enough. I don’t care if it’s because you were afraid to go home to your crazy neighbor or you were afraid of facing the worries with Brock, or even that you weren’t wanting to share your bed with an eighty-pound dog. I don’t care. You’re here. That’s all that matters.”

  With a smile stretching across his face, Zach stared down at her. The gesture had his dark eyes crinkling in the corners. She wished he’d smile more. The man was absolutely breathtaking when he did.

  “Can it be that easy?” he asked. “Can this between us be that simple?”

  “It already is that simple. You just have to accept it.” She stepped in closer, lifting their clasped hands and holding them between their chests. “You ready to admit this isn’t casual anymore?”

  “I’m ready to admit I don’t want to spend this night without you.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I’m ready to admit these past few weeks have been the best I’ve had in a long time and I’m ready to admit . . .”

  Zach closed his eyes and Sophie waited.

  “I’m ready to admit I want more with you than just sex.”

  Her heart swelled at his quiet statement. This was all she’d waited for, all she’d prayed for and dreamed of.

  “Why now?” She asked because she had to know.

  Zach eased his hands out and framed her face. Easing back just enough to look her in the eyes, Zach stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.

  “Because you matter. We matter.” He kissed her lips softly. “This matters.”

  She’d waited on him to say those words, to come to that realization on his own.

  Sliding her hands up his hard chest and over his shoulders, Sophie smiled. “Where’s Brock?”

  Zach settled his hands around her waist, started walking her backward. “Liam is staying at my house. Those two are bonding.”

  She fully allowed him to take the lead and steer her down the hallway toward her bedroom. “And they’re going to take care of the dogs?”

  A beautiful, toe-curling smile spread across Zach’s face. “Everyone is taken care of and all I’m worrying about tonight is you. And all you’re going to worry about is doing nothing but focusing on my touch.”

  Definitely something she could handle.

  When she reached to turn on her light, Zach’s hand covered hers. “Leave it. Go open your blinds. I want you wearing nothing but moonlight and me.”

  Sophie shivered once more. Every now and then Zach’s romantic streak made an appearance, and when it did, she could hardly control herself. She wanted him—now.

  Flynn rubbed against her leg as she made her way slowly across the hardwood floor. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she knew the floor was spotless. She figured Flynn was already out the bedroom door, not interested in having people disrupt his nap.

  Once the blinds were open, the full moon cast a glow into the room. Thankfully her bedroom faced the back of the house and a yard full of flowers and large live oak trees, decades old, covered in Spanish moss. Total privacy.

  “I’ve missed you.” Zach’s footsteps slowly moved across the room. “Missed touching you, kissing you. Making love to you.”

  Sophie closed her eyes, her breath caught in her throat as Zach’s hands settled on her shoulders. She eased back against his chest.

  “Stay the night,” she whispered. “I want to wake up with you.”

  Kissing her forehead, then turning her in his arms, he murmured, “I have no intention of leaving.”

  Zach’s rough hands slid beneath the hem of her tank. He spanned her waist and jerked her even closer. Sophie smoothed her hands up and over his shoulders, threading her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

  “I know we said this was not going to get complicated.” Zach laughed as his thumbs stroked her bare skin. “But I’m beyond complicated when it comes to you, Soph. I’m falling here.”

  She never thought he’d be so open, never thought the bedroom was where he’d choose to loosen up.

  “I love you,” she told him. “I don’t know where your feelings are for me, but you need to know how strong mine are for you.”

  Zach kissed her, softly, gently, and absolutely perfectly, as if she was the most precious thing in the entire world and he just wanted to savor her. When he eased back, Sophie swiped her tongue over her bottom lip, wanting to taste more.

  “I know how you feel,” he told her, whipping her tank up and over her head. “I see it when you look at me
, I can feel it when you touch me.”

  Sophie gripped the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it off, flinging it to the side. “I want you to know it, in everything I do. I never want you to doubt where you stand with me. Even if you can’t love me back, I won’t hide my feelings from you.”

  Those rough, strong hands roamed down her sides, dipping in at her waist and rounding over her hips. “I never want you to hide anything from me, Sophie. Never.”

  Zach dropped to his knees. Slowly he eased her shorts and panties down. Bracing her hands on his shoulders, Sophie stepped out of her clothes and stared down at the top of Zach’s head. One hand gripped her hips as he stared at her abdomen. A lone fingertip traced her scars, causing her stomach to quiver, her nerves to kick into high gear.

  Before she could utter a word, Zach leaned forward and kissed her imperfection. Then he moved to her hip, where she’d had a pin put in. He did the same, tracing the scar with his fingertip and following that up with a kiss.

  His eyes roamed up her body, settling on her face. “I love you too. Maybe I always have and could never let myself admit it.”

  Sophie’s breath caught in her throat, her heart clenched. “Zach—”

  In an instant he was on his feet, framing her face between his large, callused hands. “You deserve to be loved, deserve to know passion and have every desire come true.”

  “I only want you. That’s every desire.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, Zach pulled her flush against his body and captured her lips once again. She’d never expected him to declare his love. Oh, she’d hoped, she’d dreamed, but she’d also been realistic.

  Sophie eased back, gripping his biceps. “One of us is very overdressed.”

  Zach quickly removed everything, leaving him standing in the glow shining through the open blinds. Placing his hands on her hips, Zach backed her toward the bed. As soon as she sat on the edge, he followed her down, pressing her back against the thick covers. His weight was absolutely perfect on her. He settled perfectly between her legs as his lips slid along her neck, nipping his way toward her breasts.