by Mari Carr
Zack, fool that he was, didn’t seem to realize the imminent danger he was in. He looked back at Kate with a smirk. “Just giving my wife what she likes. You should know, McAllister. The bitch goes for the rough stuff.”
Red-hot fury pierced her and she spit in Zack’s face. “I never gave you permission to rape me! I’m getting a restraining order first thing in the morning. Don’t ever look at me again or I’ll save Rick the trouble by shooting you myself.”
Zack wiped his face with his sleeve, an angry snarl curling his lip, but he didn’t say another word. He merely walked to the door.
“You heard the lady.” Rick’s words caused Zack to pause at the doorway. “You come near her or this house again and you’re a dead man.”
Zack stormed out of the house and Kate heard the sound of his car door slamming and the engine turning over before he peeled out of the driveway.
Her legs failed in their struggle to remain upright and Kate slowly slid down the wall at her back as all the strength in her body fled with a whoosh.
“Jesus, Kate.” Rick rushed to her side. The compassion and worry in his voice was her undoing as tears flooded her eyes.
She didn’t recall Rick picking her up and carrying her to the sofa in the living room, but she figured he must have because when the sobs finally subsided, she was tucked on his lap as he rocked her, whispering comforting words in her ear.
“I’m s-sorry,” she stammered. “I never c-cry.”
“Good God, Kate.” His grip on her tightened even more. “I think you’re allowed under the circumstances.”
As Kate struggled to pull herself together, she took several deep breaths and forced the tears to stop. “I’m okay now.”
Taking her chin between his fingers, he raised her face until she had no choice but to look into his dark eyes. She watched an angry scowl cross his face as he turned her head slightly to the left. “He hit you.”
Realizing Zack’s blows must have left a mark, she reached up to cover her cheek and nodded only slightly, afraid of the absolute fury she saw on Rick’s face.
“I’m sorry I didn’t shoot him. I’ll have to rectify that situation the next time I see him.”
His anger and tough words struck her as funny and sweet and incredibly macho and before she could think better of it, she laughed.
Rick looked at her, completely confused by her sudden about-face, which only caused her to laugh harder.
“Can I play Lois Lane to your Superman?” she asked in between giggles.
Rick merely smiled at her silly comment and took her breath away with his response. “You can be my Lois anytime, gorgeous lady, but do you think I’m kidding about shooting that asshole?”
Realizing she was laughing at his attempts toward chivalry, she quickly stopped and shook her head. “No, I’m sure you mean it. But you’re a smart guy, Rick, and I’m sure by tomorrow you and I can figure out a way to get even with Zack the Rat without going to prison. Trust me, he’s not worth that. Okay?” She hoped her light tone would help the seriousness of her words penetrate the anger that continued to linger in his eyes.
“Revenge without prison sounds good.” His gorgeous, dimpled grin was back in place and causing her to squirm on his lap. The movement brought her derriere in direct contact with a surprisingly firm part of him and she gasped, looking up into his eyes. The laughter and anger she’d found there in the previous moments were replaced with something much more disturbing and exciting—lust, pure and simple lust.
“Rick.” Her voice was a mere whisper and she fought to repress a shiver as his eyes traveled from her face down her body.
Glancing down, she realized she was as good as naked, with her shirt hanging open to reveal her lacy new bra and her skirt hovering around the tops of her thighs, leaving at least two inches of bare leg showing above her black garters.
“Oh.” Her unfamiliar feelings of lust and the lingering fear of Zack’s actions crashed in on her all at once and stole away the self-confidence she’d felt when the night began. She looked like a disaster and felt even worse. She struggled to cover herself despite the trembling of her hands. Rick grasped her hands in one of his to still them.
“No, let me.” He pulled her skirt down gently. “I’m afraid all the buttons are gone on this shirt.” The slippery material of the blouse refused to stay closed.
His words brought frustrated tears to her eyes. “The best laid schemes o’ mice and men,” she whispered under her breath, her voice hoarse from crying. As far as seduction set-ups went, this had to have been the worst in all of history.
“Go astray?” Rick finished her quote with a question in his voice.
Kate was startled by his knowledge of the Burns poem and the annoying fact that he always answered her mumblings. She shook her head in amazement. “How in the hell did you know the rest of that line?”
Rick laughed. “Tenth-grade English. We read Steinbeck’s novel. I must have paid attention that day. What was it referring to here?”
Regretfully, Kate rose from his all-too-cozy lap. “It’s not important.” Her seduction plans for Rick were hanging in tatters around her, much like her ruined shirt. So much for making a better first impression on Rick than the one she’d managed in May. She’d started the night feeling confident and beautiful. Now she could feel the mascara tracing the tracks of her tears, her hair hanging limply down her back and her sexy new clothes were utterly ruined.
“I should run up and change my clothes. I’m a bit indecent.”
Kate thought for a moment Rick was going to say something, but he merely nodded and she escaped to her bedroom. As she closed the door behind her, she fought back the fresh round of tears that threatened. Walking to the mirror, she inspected her face. The damage Zack wrought was worse than she’d feared. Her mascara was indeed smeared down her face. Almost all of her hair had escaped its French braid and she could see a dark bruise forming on her right cheek where Zack slapped her not once, but twice. The thought of his attack and her image in the mirror didn’t upset her as much as it made her furious.
“That son of a bitch,” she muttered. “Who the hell does he think he is?” Zack Summers married her fresh out of college, stole her innocence and then steadily ignored her for the next six years. Now, just as she was getting back on her feet, the bastard returned for round two.
“No sir. Not going to happen.”
Catching her reflection in the mirror once more, Kate felt her confidence crumble, considering her plans for tonight once more. “Not going to happen.” How could she seduce Rick? Even with fancy clothes, hair and makeup, she’d been a nervous wreck.
“Back to square one,” she said to herself as she briefly toyed with the idea of calling Jill to get another much-needed pep talk.
No. No Jill. There was no way in hell she was going to let Zack the Rat ruin one more night of her life. She’d worked hard for tonight and she deserved it. She wanted one night—well, actually one week of magic with a man who made her toes curl and, by God, she was going to have it. No more acting like her usual bumbling, mumbling, nervous, shy self. Grabbing a tissue, she started to scrub away the mascara.
“You can do this,” she chanted as she washed her face, combed out her tangled hair and changed her clothes.
When she looked in the mirror again, she saw herself—Kate Harper—and again she was filled with uneasiness. Considering her sister’s silly advice, she wondered, what would Jill do?
Go downstairs and rip the man’s clothes off.
“Oh yeah,” she muttered with a light laugh. “Good luck with that, Kate.”
Chapter 9
It took all the strength in Rick’s body not to follow Kate upstairs to her bedroom. He could see she’d taken special pains for his homecoming tonight as he glimpsed the banner lying in a heap on the floor and he knew Summers’ attack had ruined her plans, as well as her pretty outfit.
Reaching for his cell phone, Rick walked back out onto the front porch despite the chil
liness of the night. Calling his friend, a cop at the Madison police department, Rick tipped Josh Kendrick off that Summers was driving back toward town dead drunk. Josh assured Rick he’d intercept the sleazy lawyer, all too pleased to help bring down the arrogant Mr. Summers. Revenge without prison, Rick thought with a grin, recalling Kate’s earlier words.
As he glanced back at his car, Rick could see the driver’s side door hanging open. When he’d heard Kate’s scream and saw the strange car as he’d pulled in the driveway, his heart had stopped. Grabbing his gun, he’d flown up the front porch steps in a single leap. Seeing Zack Summers with his two-timing hands all over Kate made him see red and it was all he could do not to follow the example Kate set in November and shoot the bastard between the eyes. Not that his Kate was anybody’s weak victim. She gave as good as she got and he’d been proud to see the way she fought back. He would have to teach her some self-defense moves one day soon.
Rick walked back to his car and retrieved his suitcase. The sound of Rex’s hysterical barking brought him back into the house. The poor animal had been barking since his return, but Rick had failed to really hear it as anything more than background static until now, his concern for Kate overshadowing everything around him. He moved quickly toward the basement and opened the door to release his beloved pet. Rex barreled out of the room, the fur at the back of his neck standing straight up, teeth bared.
“Easy there, boy.” Rex ran around the room, apparently looking for the intruder. Satisfied it was only Rick in the room, he launched himself at his owner in obvious joy. Placing his two front paws on his chest, he began licking all over Rick’s face. Rick laughed and half-heartedly tried to escape the big creature’s wet, sloppy kisses.
“That’s a good boy,” Rick said with a chuckle. “I missed you too, big guy.
A soft voice from the bottom of the stairs interrupted their brief reunion.
“I think he knew you were coming home.” Kate came back into the living room. “I had to put him in the basement because he was so excited, I thought he would break something. I swear to you, Rick. I’ve never locked him away before today.”
Rick smiled, hoping to reassure her. He knew how much Kate loved Rex. He could hear it in the emails she’d written about the crazy dog’s exploits and adventures. “He can sense when something good is about to happen. Some sort of sixth sense, I suppose, and it does make him a pain in the ass. I had a friend from college come to visit last year. Rex picked up on my enthusiasm and ended up knocking the kitchen table over. Our whole dinner hit the floor. It’s okay, Kate. I’m just sorry he couldn’t help you when you needed him.”
“Me too.”
Rick took a moment to study her to make sure she was okay and savor the image of her. She had changed into comfortable lounge pants, a long-sleeve tee and thick socks—and he found this outfit as stimulating to his libido as the silk and velvet one Zack had destroyed.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Thanks to you, I’m fine. But I don’t want to talk about Zack any more tonight.” Kate was obviously anxious to forget the whole sordid ordeal. “It’s your first night home.”
“So it is.” He started to walk toward her. “I’ve miss—” he began, but the sound of a smoke detector caused Kate to cry out.
“My casserole!”
She ran by him into the kitchen and Rick arrived just in time to see billows of black smoke streaming out of the oven. Kate grabbed a potholder and pulled a charred casserole to the counter with a curse. Quickly, Rick raised the window above the sink and opened the back door. Kate picked up a towel and tried to send the smoke out the window while the detector continued its ear-piercing scream.
When the incessant beeping failed to stop, Rick watched in amazement as his mild-mannered librarian turned into a tiger. Fury filled her face as she grabbed a metal spatula from the counter and swung as hard as she could at the annoying noise.
“Shut up!” she yelled as the detector flew off the ceiling, breaking into at least a dozen pieces.
“Ouch. Remind me not to piss you off in the kitchen.”
Embarrassed by her sudden fit of anger, she groaned. “I broke your smoke detector.” Her voice was filled with remorse and Rick struggled not to laugh as she closed her eyes and immediately started her usual, adorable mumbling. “Great, Kate. Brilliant, just brilliant.”
Unable to restrain himself, Rick responded to her self-recriminations with a laugh. “I thought it was rather brilliant. I mean, I understand the purpose and need for those damn things, but my God, that noise is unbearable, isn’t it?”
Kate looked at Rick rather shell-shocked before a light giggle escaped. Rick smiled and bent down to pick up the pieces of the destroyed detector as Kate’s giggles turned into great peals of laughter.
“Dolly Parton said in Steel Magnolias that laughter through tears was her favorite emotion and after the night I’ve had, I have to say I agree. Oh Rick.” Tears of mirth streamed down her face. “I cannot even begin to count how many ways tonight has gone wrong.”
The sound of her laughter was infectious and Rick found himself carried away with the humor of the situation as well. He crossed the room to stand closer to her and found himself reaching out to touch her before he could think better of his actions. His fingers gently tucked a piece of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. After everything she’d been through tonight, the fact she could laugh touched his heart. Kate’s laughter calmed at his gentle touch and he watched her big blue eyes widen as he bent down to her.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” He moved until his lips barely touched hers. He watched as she studied his approach, her breathing suddenly labored. “I can’t think of anything nicer than coming home to a beautiful woman and a nice meal.”
He punctuated his words with a light kiss before retreating again. He knew he needed to take things slowly with Kate, especially after Zack’s attack, but he found her very hard to resist after such a prolonged absence.
For a moment, she seemed spellbound by his soft kiss before gathering her wits and contradicting his words. “Beautiful woman? How could you determine that through the thick layer of mascara running down my face? And your nice meal is that hunk of charcoal over there on the counter. By the way, it was chicken.”
“Kate.” Rick reached out to cup her freshly washed, makeup-free face with both hands. “You are beautiful and I’m not hungry.” Before she could fight his words again, he bent down to press another quick kiss to her moist lips. At least, he intended for it to be quick. The second his lips touched hers, his best intentions flew out the window as he ran his fingers through her soft hair, taking her mouth in nothing less than an absolute possession.
Kate stood stock still for only a minute before he felt her hands rise to his shoulders, clinging to him briefly before they moved behind his neck.
Tightening his grip, he moved his tongue along her lips, begging for entrance to her warm mouth. When she parted her lips on a gasp, he took advantage, claiming her breath as his own. After several tentative swipes, Rick silently rejoiced when her tongue joined in on the action, traveling to his mouth, teasing his lips and teeth.
After a few minutes or perhaps a few years, Rick reluctantly released her. He pressed his forehead against hers. “Perhaps I should clarify. I’m not hungry for chicken.”
Refusing to give her a moment to ponder the kiss or his words, he grabbed her hand and towed her toward the living room. Settling her next to him on the couch, he kept a tight grip on her hand.
“Rick. Why did you kiss me?”
Rick smiled at her, the question one he had anticipated and expected. “I wanted to.” He loved teasing her with the brevity of his response.
She rolled her eyes in mock impatience. “But why did you want to?”
“Because,” Rick began, “I’ve spent eight long months in dingy motel rooms with only Wes for company. If not for your emails and phone calls, I would have gone crazy. You were the only
thing getting me through that last mission, Kate.”
“I loved your emails too.”
“Look at you.” He brushed his hand through her hair once again, unable to stop touching her. “You look good enough to eat.”
“Good thing,” she replied, “considering there’s no dinner.”
Rick laughed at her response. “I like your new haircut.”
He watched as she blushed with his compliment. “I’ve lost a lot of weight too.” Obviously she thought Rick only cared about her external changes.
Rick leaned back and looking more closely at her. “You look beautiful, Kate, but it’s more than that. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s as if someone turned a light on inside you.”
“My God.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
Rick reached out to wrap one arm around her shoulders, pulling her over to lean against his side. He pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. “You’ve changed since you’ve been here. I noticed it in the emails, but seeing you in person…” He shook his head. “Kate, you take my breath away.”
Squirming out of his grip, she peeked up at him with a coy grin he couldn’t quite read. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course you can.”
“Before Zack showed up, I mean, tonight. I, umm…”
Rick gently nudged her knee with his as encouragement. “Just say it Kate.”
“I know we’ve only spent a little bit of time together. Only a few hours when you stop to think about it.”
Rick grinned. “That’s true. The first day we met eight months ago and tonight.”
“But I really feel as though I know you. Maybe better than I’ve ever known anyone else. Does that make sense?”
“It does to me. I feel the same way.”
“Tonight I planned to seduce you.” She spoke so quickly he had to struggle to understand her words.
“Seduce me?” Her words hit him with the force of a two-ton truck. He anticipated having to convince her they should begin dating and as far as seduction, he thought he would be the one initiating any bedroom play. To hear she was thinking along the same lines thrilled and relieved him. Hell, more than that, he was aroused beyond belief.
