Her cheeks grew even redder. She lowered her gaze. Hesitantly, she trailed her fingertip around his collarbone. “I…didn’t know…All these years I was afraid I wouldn’t like being touched by a man, not after what I saw in Larry’s “pleasure house,” so I kept men away. And I was so afraid of rejection, afraid that if I got into a relationship with a man and then I had a bad tic one day that freaked him out…” She trailed off, then whispered, “and it scared him away…”
Zach waited patiently when she grew silent, his heart aching for her. He would never reject her because of something she couldn’t help. Anyone who did that wasn’t worth getting to know.
“But you really don’t care about my tics,” she whispered, lifting her gaze back to his. “My Tourette’s doesn’t bother you.” She spoke with awe. “You’re special, Zach Sullivan.”
His heart squeezed. No, she was special. And he’d make sure he did this right and made it good for her. So good that she’d realize she couldn’t live without him.
“You want to touch me?” he asked gently, her shyness touching him someplace deep inside. Possessiveness overcame him. He wanted—no needed—to make her his. Forever.
She blushed again, jerked her head in a quick nod. Zach rolled off her, lying back next to her on the bed.
“Go ahead, Meghan. Do with me what you will.”
She sat up, looking nervous and anxious. Zach reached for her beautiful breasts, gently stroking them as she gasped and whispered, “Za-ach.”
“What?” He lifted his head and drew one nipple into his mouth. She let out a soft moan and leaned over him, allowing him better access. Grabbing her around the waist, Zach pulled her on top of him. She straddled him, moaning softly as he continued to tease and suck her breast.
“Stop,” she said breathlessly. “I want to touch you now.”
He leaned back on the pillow, releasing her. He let his hands drop to his sides. He was enjoying every minute of this. He would let her do whatever she wanted, as long as she wanted.
“You’re distracting me with those gorgeous breasts, sweetheart. I want to touch.”
She let out a nervous giggle and slapped his hand away. “Are they as nice as Susie Thompson’s?”
“Better,” he said matter-of-factly. “The best I’ve ever seen.”
She blushed again. Zach’s heart tugged. She was the sweetest, sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
“Darlin, if you don’t start touching me soon, I’m gonna’ have to touch you.”
“I can do…whatever I want?” she asked, lifting her gaze to his.
Zach swallowed hard. “Whatever you want.” He just hoped he could keep from losing it. Because as soon as her soft hands touched him, his muscles tensed. He tried to lay as still as possible as she gently traced her fingers up his arms, across his chest, down his stomach. She ran her fingers tenderly over his scars, exploring each one. She hesitated at the waistband of his pants, staring at the bulge for a long moment. Then she surprised him when she unsnapped and slowly unzipped him. He hissed in a breath. His heartrate went wild. Zach forced himself to remain as still as possible as she leaned back and stared down at him. Then she began to pull the pants down his legs. When he was dressed in nothing but his underwear, she leaned back again and stared down at him. He watched her face worriedly, afraid his massive erection would scare her away.
She licked her lips and lifted her gaze to his.
“You’re…so big.”
Hell yeah, he was. And hot and hard and aching with need. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
She swallowed.
“If I do this with you, I won’t be pure anymore. Larry probably won’t want me.” She spoke with a deep consideration, as if she was contemplating having sex with him just to keep Cummings from wanting her.
Zach went cold. What the fuck? He bolted upright in the bed. “Excuse me? Is that why you’re doing this? So Cummings won’t want you?”
She blushed. A guilty look spread across her face. “Partly,” she admitted. “I figured if I let you make love to me, then at least I’d have something good to think about when he was raping me later.”
Zach seethed with fury. She was just going to give herself to the guy? He slid off the bed and snatched up his pants, quickly pulling them on. What the hell had she gone to do today?
“But the other part of me is doing it because I want to,” she whispered urgently, her gaze moving back to his. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted to touch me like that.” Tears filled her eyes. “Oh Zach, he’s going to kill you.” She hitched in a breath. “You have to leave. You have to take Kristen someplace safe. Please. I couldn’t bear it if he hurt you.”
Zach forced the anger, and the hurt, aside. “What kind of deal did you make with him?”
She turned away. She bent and scooped up her bra, covering those gorgeous breasts, and clipped the bra back in place. Then she retrieved the dress from the bed and quickly pulled it on.
She turned back to him. “He said if I went to him willingly, he’d let you and Kristen live.”
“And you agreed, just like that?”
“What choice do I have? I don’t want you to die. I don’t want Kristen to die. I know what he’s capable of, Zach.” She hitched in another breath. “Please. He’s only giving me a few days.”
“What exactly does he want from you?”
She lowered her gaze. “He wants me to marry him.”
“What?” Zach hissed out a breath. “No way. He’s not marrying you. I’ll kill him first.”
“You can’t stop him,” she whispered. “He’s too powerful.”
“Why?” Zach nearly snarled the word. “Why would you just give yourself to this creep? Why?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Because I care about you. So much.”
Zach’s heart clenched. “Dammit Meghan. Have a little more respect for yourself.”
Her gaze flew to his. “You think I want him to t-touch me?” She shivered, a look of revulsion crossing her face. “You think I want to marry him? What else am I supposed to do?”
“You don’t fucking give yourself to him! I won’t let you.”
He dragged her into his arms, crushing her against him.
“I need more time,” she whispered, clinging to him. “I have to bring him down. I have to.”
Zach brushed a lock of strawberry blonde hair out of her face. “You’re not marrying him. Let me help you. We’ll figure something out. I won’t let him hurt you, okay?”
She met his gaze. She nodded. “I trust you. But I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Zach closed his eyes, squeezing her tight.
Meghan wouldn’t feel safe until Cummings was behind bars. Frankly, neither would Zach. As long as that man was out there somewhere, Zach would worry about Meghan’s safety.
Zach knew he wouldn’t be able to make love to her until he was sure she wanted him as much as he wanted her, that she was doing it for the right reasons.
And if that meant waiting until Cummings was taken care of first, then so be it.
Zach would wait.
What they had was worth waiting for. He wasn’t about to let Cummings take that away from them.
Zach wasn’t letting Meghan go. He would fight for her.
And when they finally made love, he would show her how special she was and just how much she meant to him.
* * *
“I want the daughter captured and brought to me. Alive. No one touches her in any way.”
Larry eyed his man from behind his desk. “Do it quietly. Sullivan has a military background, so he may be hard to slip past. Be cautious. Use whatever means you have to, even if it means taking out Sullivan. Meggie won’t put up a fight if I’ve got the girl and Sullivan is dead. And whatever happens, don’t get caught. The FBI’s already sniffing around. I don’t need you getting caught and spilling your guts.”
Bill reddened. “Got it, boss.” He rose and left Larry’s office.
Larry didn’t trust
Meg to come in willingly, so he was sending a man to kidnap Sullivan’s daughter to make sure Meg did as she was supposed to. The girl would be perfect bait. And if he liked what he saw, if the girl showed potential, he might just keep her, train her, and sell her off. She might prove to be lucrative.
But Sullivan worried him. He hoped Meg wasn’t sleeping with the guy. He’d warned Meg what he would do to anyone who touched her. There was no telling how many men she may have slept with over the years, but Larry couldn’t do anything about them. He could, however, get rid of Sullivan. And once he had Meggie, he could make sure no one ever touched her but him.
Sullivan might try to protect her. In fact, Larry was positive he would. The man was a war hero. Larry had already checked him out. Sullivan had been a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient for “personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty” while serving in Iraq. The son-of-a-bitch had also received a Silver Star for his participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Larry couldn’t really blame Meg if she had fallen for the guy. Sullivan’s history and his good looks were the type that attracted women. But now that Larry had his sights on Meg, he would be damned if he let Sullivan take her from him. He was not about to share her with anyone. She was meant to be his queen and no one, not even Sullivan, would get in his way.
Sullivan had once worked beneath Larry, years ago, but Larry barely remembered the guy. He had a lot of officers beneath him and couldn’t possibly remember them all.
Larry couldn’t afford to lose any more men. The FBI was breathing down his neck. They were trying to infiltrate his businesses, but Larry was cautious. He never allowed any outsiders in. He wouldn’t let them catch him.
Since the FBI had come sniffing around, some of his guys were running scared. Afraid of being caught. He now only had a few trustworthy men left. The others had chickened out. No one wanted to go to prison. Including him.
If all went well, tomorrow by this time, he’d have Sullivan’s daughter. He’d leave Meg a note letting her know who’d taken the girl and leaving her instructions to follow. He would tell her if she didn’t do as he said, the girl would die. Then he’d go after Sullivan. Larry would do anything to get Meg to behave. She was his. Not Sullivan’s. If that son-of-a-bitch had touched her, there would be hell to pay. Sullivan would die if he touched little Meggie girl. She was his Meggie. Only his.
Larry rubbed his hands together in anticipation. She would make the perfect sheriff’s wife, so lovely and prim and proper. He shouldn’t have waited fifteen years to get his hands on Meggie. He should have snatched her up years ago. She was even more beautiful than he’d imagined.
Soon she would be his for good.
* * *
The doorbell rang. Meg tensed, leaning away from Zach. Her gaze skittered up to his.
“Who could that be?”
He flushed slightly, lowering his gaze.
“Zach?” she whispered. He knew who was at her door. His reaction told her as much. “Who is it?”
“Why don’t you go see?”
She swallowed nervously. Who would he send to her door? And why? She looked into his eyes. She trusted him.
Meg turned and headed down the hallway. Zach followed, veering off into the kitchen to retrieve his shirt and belt from the counter. He came up behind her, buttoning up his shirt, when she opened the door.
Curtis stood on the front porch. “Hi Sis!” He grinned.
“Curtis!” With a shout of joy, Meg threw herself into her brother’s arms. “He let you out!”
“Whoa, take it easy.” Curtis chuckled, stumbling back. “I told him you needed me to help take Larry down, so he agreed to let me out.”
Meg glanced at Zach. “You did?”
Zach flushed. “Yeah. On the condition you two let me help with whatever you’re planning.”
Meg glared at Curtis. “We can’t involve him. It’s too dangerous. I won’t be responsible for him getting hurt.”
“Come on, Meg,” Curtis whined. “He wants to help. Why won’t you let him? The more help we can get, the better. You know that. And he’s a cop. He’s trained for this kind of stuff. We aren’t.”
Meg groaned. Curtis was right, but she didn’t want Zach to get hurt. “We don’t have much time. Larry told me I only have until Friday before he sends someone to get me.”
Curtis glanced at Zach. “Then we have to act before then. I’ll see if I can get the ball rolling sooner. I’ll call my contact right now.” He left the room.
Meg glanced up at Zach. “I can’t let you get involved,” she whispered. “I won’t let you.”
Zach stepped toward her. He snagged her around the waist and drew her against him. “You don’t have any choice. If you refuse, I’ll just put Curtis back in jail.”
Meg tried to wrench free, but he just tightened his arm around her waist. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would,” he whispered. “You know he has two warrants. I didn’t have to let him out.”
Meg again tried to pull away and this time he released her. She stumbled back.
“I don’t want you involved, Zach. Please, stay out of it. Let me do what I’ve been planning for fifteen years. Let me take him down on my own.”
“Let you get yourself killed, you mean?” He narrowed his gaze. “Do you even have one speck of evidence against him? Anything at all?”
She lowered her gaze. “Not yet. He’s too sneaky. But we will soon. Curtis thinks he might have found out where Larry’s new pleasure house is. He’s just waiting for confirmation from his source. But you kept him locked up, so he couldn’t make contact. That’s what he’s doing now, seeing if they know anything yet.”
Zach swore. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” He cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “How the hell do you plan to take him down?”
She wasn’t sure yet, but she’d know when the time was right. She imagined she’d go to the place and confirm it first. Then she’d call the FBI and try to free the girls while she waited for the FBI to get there. Larry had eyes and ears everywhere. She had no doubt that as soon as she called it in to the FBI, that Larry would find out and he’d clean out. That’s why she’d have to try to save as many girls as she could before Larry stopped her.
Zach’s radio went off. He turned away from her. He spoke into the mic, responding to the call, while Meg nervously shuffled her feet back and forth. She didn’t want Zach involved. She couldn’t let him get hurt.
Finally he turned back to her.
“I have to go. A bad accident on The Long Bridge in Sandpoint. They need all the help they can get.”
She nodded.
“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” he said. “Promise me.”
She nodded. “I’m not dumb.”
Zach sighed. Then he lowered his head and kissed her. Tenderly. Finally he drew back with a soft groan. “I want you to be here when I get back,” he whispered huskily. “So we can finish where we left off earlier.”
Her face suffused with heat. She wanted that too. “Okay.”
He searched her gaze for a long moment. “Please be careful. I’ll stop by later. As soon as I can.”
Again she nodded. “I will.”
Meg walked him to the door. He paused in the doorway, then leaned down and kissed her again. This time he held himself back and just gave her a soft peck on the lips, though she could see from the desire in his eyes that he wanted more.
“Everything will be all right,” he said. “We’ll figure this out. Stay safe, okay?”
She nodded. Since Larry had given her until Friday, Meg didn’t think he’d be sending any men after her unless she didn’t show up by then. But she had no doubt he would send men to spy on her. They were probably out there right now, hiding in the woods. But that wouldn’t stop her from using this time to plan. To prepare. She had to come up with a way to outwit Larry before Friday.
Meg watched as Zach drove away. She closed the door and leaned back against it with a sigh.
&
nbsp; Curtis came down the hallway, his cellphone to his ear. He lowered the phone and ended the call, smiling at Meg.
“My source thinks he’s found the place where Larry’s keeping the girls. He’ll call me back as soon as he has confirmation.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kristen’s stop was the last one, since she lived the farthest away from school. She always sat in the back of the bus, away from the other kids, listening to music on her iPod. The rest of the kids ignored her anyway, so why bother sitting next to them? She liked being alone, away from the stuck up cheerleaders and the cocky boys who thought they were hot shit. At least in Spokane she’d had friends. No one liked her here. They all thought she was weird. She could see it in their glances, their giggles, their whispers. There were all a bunch of country bumpkins, anyway. She couldn’t relate to any of them. She hated it here. She wanted to go back to Spokane.
The bus finally rolled to a stop in front of Kristen’s house. She’d been the only kid on the bus for the last mile and a half.
She rose, snatched up her backpack from the seat, and ambled toward the front of the bus. The driver opened the door for her.
“Have a nice evening,” he called cheerfully.
Her gaze darted to his, then away. “You too,” she whispered, shyness making her cheeks heat. The driver had never talked to her before. He was about her dad’s age, maybe a little older, with blondish-brown hair and a beard. His eyes were dark brown. She’d never really looked at him before.
Kristen bounded down the steps and landed on the ground. The driver waved at her and drove away.
Okay, so maybe not everyone around here was stupid. The bus driver seemed nice.
Kristen headed across the yard toward the house. She paused, wondering if Meg was home. Turning, she headed toward Meg’s house instead. She wanted to hear what had happened last night. Her dad had refused to tell her anything, said it was official police business or some crap, but she was pretty sure Meg would tell her. Meg was her friend.
Her only true friend here. She still couldn’t believe Meg was in danger. Why would someone want to hurt her? Meg was sweet. And she was so pretty. And classy. Kristen felt frumpy and goofy compared to Meg. She wanted to be more like her. Elegant and sexy. No wonder her dad had the hots for her.
Deceived (Unlikely Heroes Book 3) Page 27
