Seek

by Anne Conley

  “Stop yelling my damn name,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.

  He pressed his erection into her thigh as he fumbled with the door behind her. Bonnie stifled her disappointment at the thought he might have been there to meet another woman, shoving it under all the other disappointments when it came to Zack. She was about to apologize for clearly interrupting something when she found herself in a storage closet.

  Alone. With Zack Ward.

  His mere presence was overwhelming. He was huge, for one thing. Way bigger than she remembered. And his smell was … everywhere. He glowered at her, in a weird way with those sunglasses on, but his mouth turned down and the lines bracketing it were annoyed.

  Wait. What did he have to be mad about? She was the one who deserved to be angry after what he’d done to her. Kissing Megan Watts where Bonnie would be sure to find them. In her bedroom. At her party.

  That was so long ago, then couldn’t she move past it? As her questioning eyes sought his through the dark lenses he wore, she was held up short by the furious lines of his face. Apparently, he was pissed about the last time they’d seen each other, when she’d actually used him for once. Bonnie felt the hot flush of the memory rise in her cheeks but ignored the pulsing in her nipples as they pointed outward, eager for more attention from Zack.

  Anger reared up, even though she’d wanted to pay her respects to him for his father’s recent death. All that flew out the window, though, with his pissed-off mouth judging her.

  “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to talk to you.” She squirmed, trying to get out of his hold, but he held her shoulders firmly, pushing her back against the door.

  “No. I’ve been meaning to talk to you since you came back, but now’s not the best time.” The lines on his face had softened, and now he seemed regretful. Bonnie was sure this was a look he’d perfected.

  “Yeah, well, good luck with that.” Especially with the way Simon and Quinten had her locked up. But her words had taken on a breathy quality she didn’t want right now. She wanted to be screaming and yelling at Zack, even as he was pushing an enormous hard-on into her hip. His body wasn’t the only thing that had grown, it seemed.

  “Bon-Bon, don’t be like this. I hate the way we left things.” He reached up for a tendril of hair, and she hated her body’s response to him.

  “The way you hooked up with Megan on my bed at my party, you mean? Yeah. I’ll be sure to apologize for my actions. Never.” Why was she even bringing up this ancient history? She heard the churlishness in her voice, although she hated it. There was nothing to be done about it now.

  Zack shook her slightly as he spoke. “I’m sorry about that. We didn’t hook up. But you weren’t listening to anything else. Can we talk about this another time? I’d love to take you to dinner and explain. Afterward, you can take me to the alley out back and give me the beating I deserve, but right now I’m being followed. I don’t think he was sure of who I was until you yelled my name out there, and I need to figure a way to get Ryan and me out from under his microscope.”

  A tendril of remorse flitted around her gut. She didn’t feel guilty for calling out his name. It was sort of his own fault for being Zack Ward; she shouldn’t have to apologize for that. But if she’d inadvertently put him and Ryan in danger, she should fix it so she could beat his ass later. That would be fun.

  She pushed him back out of her space. “Here, switch shirts with me.”

  “What? No. Then he’ll just chase you all over Austin.”

  “Pfft. I’ll find something else. I think they sell shirts here, I’ll just buy one of those.” Bonnie lifted her shirt over her head, and Zack’s eyebrows raised to the sky. “Wait. Can you see me?”

  He paused. “Not … specifically, no. But I’ve got a killer imagination.”

  Shoving the shirt into his chest, she replied, “Then give me something to cover up with before I walk out there in just my bra to divert attention.”

  Without another word, Zack’s hand went behind his head and he yanked his t-shirt over it, exposing a set of rippling muscles that made her mouth dry. Big mistake. He thrust his shirt at her before squeezing himself into hers. His sunglasses went askew and he adjusted them before attempting to tug her tiny t-shirt over his stunning navel.

  Zack’s shirt went almost to her knees, so she had to knot it at her belly, which took some time and was a helpful distraction. As soon as she was done, she couldn’t not stare at the man who was fruitlessly trying to stretch her shirt over his belly.

  “You mind telling me what’s going on down there?” The erection looked painful, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because of her. She couldn’t keep the laughter out of her voice and didn’t care.

  Zack palmed his hard-on lovingly. “I work with a funny guy.” His words were wry. He should have been embarrassed but obviously wasn’t, which reminded Bonnie she didn’t know Zack Ward anymore.

  “Neither of my brothers are funny guys, so it couldn’t have been them.” They’d lost all sense of humor years ago, little by little, as adulthood had taken over. Bonnie crossed her arms over her breasts, silently demanding the rest of the story.

  “Truth? Andrew, the new asshole, told me I was taking Aleve and gave me Viagra,” Zack deadpanned. “After Quinten cracked one of my ribs.”

  “Oh no! Did he really?” All humor left her voice, replaced with concern. Quinten was taking things too far. She wondered if he’d broken Zack’s ribs because of her. “What are you doing here? You should be in bed.” The betrayal and anger were still there, just under the surface, but pity was overriding them. She needed to get a handle on that. Bonnie dug deep, remembering the way Zack’s face looked as he’d clutched mindlessly at Megan’s breast while his hips humped furiously against her thigh, his face buried in her neck. And we’re back. She embraced the sudden rage flowing through her bloodstream.

  “Yes, it was really Viagra, and I’m just guessing on the other. It hurts like a bitch, though. Probably just bruised.” He smirked at her, and coupled with her previous thought, anger flared. He’d used that smirk to get what he wanted his whole damn life.

  Clinging to the frustration, Bonnie lightly slapped him across what she hoped was his wounded side. His mouth twitched in response. Oops. Wrong side. Before she could slap the other side, he grabbed her wrists, pinning them to the door behind her.

  Ever so slowly, Zack lowered his face to hers, inhaling deeply, his mouth falling open slightly to say something before his tongue snaked out to wet his lips. Bonnie thought he was going to kiss her, and she licked her lips in preparation. Her anger faded. She wanted him to kiss her. No, she didn’t. She most definitely didn’t want him to kiss her. Her pulse pounded and her breath came in short gasps. Yes, she wanted him to kiss her.

  “We’re so not done here,” he said before releasing her. Bonnie’s mouth flopped open like a dead fish. “I’m going to find you after this, and we’re going out. Whether you want to or not. I have some things to say to you. And obviously you have some stuff to say to me. But tonight, you stay the fuck away from me. It’s dangerous.” With that, he shoved her aside and walked out the door.

  He might as well have told her he was covered in chocolate. As soon as he said it was dangerous, Bonnie knew she’d be following him the rest of the night. Thoughts of meeting up with Brad and her co-workers had disappeared as soon as she’d seen Zack. Besides, if he were being followed, she could help.

  She had something to prove, dammit. Hell if she understood what.

  Chapter Five

  Outside, Zack filling his lungs with air, hoping to erase the memory of Bonnie’s scent. She smelled like she always had—coconuts and cherries. And he’d wanted to take her against the wall of the storage room they were in, bury himself balls deep in her wet heat until she screamed his name and forgot all his transgressions. But her willingness to toss them back at him, bringing up Megan more than once, told Zack she wasn’t ready to let them go.

  He’d felt her anger
swirling through the air around them as she clung to it. And he got it. He’d hoped she’d forgotten, but that was unrealistic. Dude was stomping around his brain, throwing a fit like a child, and Zack understood the frustration. They’d fucked up.

  “I’d hoped you were in there taking care of that massive boner you’ve been sporting all night, but it doesn’t look like you did.” Ryan’s voice next to him brought him back to reality.

  “You don’t know who that woman was?” Zack didn’t find it likely, but at the same time, Simon and Quinten were very protective of their sister and wouldn’t want her hanging around the guys at the firm. She was at the masquerade a while back but hadn’t been formally introduced to anyone.

  “Didn’t see her well,” Ryan said nonchalantly.

  Zack clapped Ryan on the shoulder. “That, my friend, is the infamous Bonnie Pierce.” A low whistle was Ryan’s response, and Zack understood where it was coming from. Ryan had undoubtedly seen something between them, something Zack himself didn’t understand at all.

  “So you swapped shirts with her without doing anything else?” The laughter in Ryan’s voice had Zack tugging at the shirt. It was tight everywhere, and he couldn’t get it to cover his stomach, no matter how hard he tried. He settled for adjusting his bulge, pointing it upward in an attempt to not make it as obvious.

  “Yeah. Does it say anything?” He had a sneaking suspicion he was flaming harder than Richard Simmons right now.

  Ryan almost couldn’t get the words out with all his laughing, but managed to choke out, “Sprinkles are for winners.”

  Zack’s mouth quirked up in a wry smile. Touché, Bonnie. “I can rock it. I’m secure.”

  “Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, man.” They were walking down the street to the meeting place. Zack did alright without his cane—the streetlamps on the corners alerted him to curbs, and he could step down and back up with little difficulty. The people bumping into him randomly were just added obstacles to overcome.

  Story of his life.

  “So y’all dated in school?” Ryan asked, probably distracting him from the shit traveling around in his brain. It was a good thing. Zack was about to head into some darkness he didn’t really want to visit.

  “Yeah. Her parents didn’t like it, but they tolerated it. My parents knew I would probably go blind, and they were trying to prepare me for it. It’s a genetic thing, and my number was up for it. They would send me to blind camp so I could learn braille and shit, hoping I would meet a nice little disabled girl and fall in love, but Bonnie was it. She always has been.” Well, he was headed into the darkness anyway. Might as well embrace the shit.

  “What happened? She go off to college?”

  Zack ignored the question. “You know what it’s like growing up, knowing you’re going to have this horrific thing happen to you but not really understanding? Everyone tried to prepare me for the worst, you know?” Zack was walking, trying to be aware of the shadows and lights around him, not wanting to look over at his buddy. “Our parents were friends, moms on the PTA together and shit. They talked. Bonnie’s parents didn’t want us together. I can’t blame them, really. None of that didn’t mean I was good enough for her. I was going blind. How can a blind man take care of the Pierces’ baby girl?”

  Zack could remember the first time he’d brought up a future with Bonnie to her family. It was her thirteenth birthday party, and she was running around their immaculate backyard wearing a white dress that came down below her knees. She looked like something out of a fairy tale. Everyone knew it was her mother’s doing—the dress—but it was beautiful.

  He was there with Quinten, who had to be there for his little sister but had disappeared. So Zack was standing next to their father, who he’d always simply referred to as Mr. Pierce.

  Zack was fifteen, Quinten almost a year older, and Simon was already a cop, proudly wandering around the party in uniform to tease the kids.

  But Zack only had eyes for Bonnie. For so long, she’d been the pesky kid sister, but he’d seen something in her, something that brought a brightness to his boring life. She was funny, kind, and worshipped the ground he walked on. When she smiled, Zack could see the sort of woman she would become, and as inappropriate as it was to have those sorts of thoughts about his best friend’s sister, they were there nonetheless. And in typical Zack form, out of his mouth without a filter.

  “Someday, sir, I’m going to marry your daughter.”

  Mr. Pierce reacted with a riotous laugh that had Zack’s head spinning away from Bonnie and back to the man. He laughed and laughed, and eventually, Zack started laughing, too. Even though he didn’t really understand why it was funny. But it only steeled his resolve, his stupid, immature sense of pride he wouldn’t be able to get out of without hurting Bonnie.

  Zack and Ryan walked silently for a while. But Zack had started, and whether Ryan liked it or not, he was getting the rest of this out. Dumbass had asked, breaking the seal, so to speak.

  “When we started dating, everyone thought it was something we’d just get out of our system, but as she got closer to college, they put a lot of pressure on me to end things so she wouldn’t be tied down. I caved. I tried to break up with her gently, but she wouldn’t go for it.” He stopped walking and turned to Ryan. “Look at how I turned out. What the hell do I have to offer a girl like her? She has a trust fund bigger than what I will make in my entire lifetime. I’m just a blind man stumbling around Austin with a massive erection.”

  People were going around them, stopped in the middle of the street, and apparently, Zack was louder than he’d anticipated. Murmurs of “Get you some” “Woo-hoo” and “TMI, man” flitted around him.

  “So what did you do? You had to do something.” There was no judgement in Ryan’s voice, which Zack appreciated.

  “I made out with a friend of hers at her graduation party, where she’d find us. It broke her heart, but my twenty-year-old self saw that as the best way to do it. Now she hates me and has every right to. Quinten must know about it because things have been different with him since then, too.”

  “Well, if he’s as protective of his sister as it seems, I’m surprised he didn’t kill you for breaking her heart.”

  “He was just as against us being together as anybody else. I can’t imagine why he’d be so pissed I made her never want me again. I tried to break up with her the right way first, but she wasn’t listening.”

  “Is that why you are the way you are with women? Just use ‘em and dump ‘em?”

  Zack shrugged, walking again, needing to get a beer. “I guess.” He suddenly had one desire, and it would do far more than simply taking the edge off anything. It would change his life. But it would never happen.

  “I gotta say, man, I’ve never seen this sensitive side to you. You always act like a jackass, like nothing fazes you. If you’ve still got it that bad for Bonnie, you should fight for her.”

  Zack’s ribs twinged at the thought. “Yeah, I’m deep. Lots of layers.” He’d have to fight both Pierce brothers to get her.

  “You know she’s following us, right?” Ryan was still at his elbow.

  Zack didn’t look. “Of course she’s following us. She’s going to get herself in trouble.” Trepidation rose inside him, turning his insides to heavy weights.

  “You still love her?” Ryan had turned into a counselor of the best variety. Zack couldn’t see his facial features, only know he was there, listening. Like a friend.

  Shit. He’d never stopped loving her, but he’d tried to forget her. When Bonnie had moved back, Zack wanted to talk to her, to explain what his idiot self had thought he was doing. But yeah. He did still love her. Not that he had a chance with Bonnie Pierce.

  “Never mind, man. Enough talk. We’re here.”

  Chapter Six

  Bonnie followed Zack and Ryan several blocks. She barely knew Ryan, having heard her brothers talking about work and stuff. And she remembered seeing him at the charity fundraiser of Valerie’
s. But his build would have given him away as someone who probably worked out with her brothers in their piecemeal gym. Simon had taken her there once, after hours, telling her she was welcome anytime the guys weren’t there. But she preferred to just do her Pilates video in her own home since they wouldn’t let her get a gym membership where she wanted.

  Her ire at her brothers was ever-present, but she pushed it aside to watch Zack as he walked with his friend. He seemed to be pouring his heart out about something, but she wasn’t close enough to hear. She knew better than to hope it was about her, but she couldn’t help it. She did hope he still had feelings for her.

  Even if he had hurt her. Badly.

  But her heart went out to him; he looked tense. The set of his massive shoulders looked like he carried the weight of the world on them, and Ryan’s concerned glances spoke of a friendship she was jealous of.

  Wearing jeans that hugged his ass just right, Bonnie settled for just plain old gawking, occasionally casting her eyes about for somebody besides her following them. But the crowds were ridiculous. She hadn’t been in a crowd like this since her freshman orientation at college—before the danger. She’d been alone in crowds of parents and fresh-faced college youth innocently looking forward to their future. Quinten and Simon had been blissfully ensconced in their own lives and hadn’t bothered with her. She’d soaked it up.

  This time, she had a certain cynicism on her side, eagerly looking for danger to jump out and hit Zack and his friend.

  If anyone was following them, she couldn’t tell. When they stopped outside a burrito place, she hid next to a building and peered around the corner.

  They went inside, and Bonnie wondered what she would do next. She didn’t know why they were going in there and could only assume they were working on something. Leaning against the building, out of the way of passersby, she let out a huff of air.