No More Talking: Hearts Are Wild, Book 1

by Rhian Cahill

  All he cared about was that he had Red in his arms again. When he’d woken to find himself alone, he couldn’t say what emotion had blindsided him more. The gut-wrenching thought of her sneaking out on him or the slashing disappointment of not seeing her face the second he opened his eyes.

  He wasn’t stupid. He knew he was in way deeper than he should be at this stage of the game, but that didn’t stop him from thinking things he’d never thought about with any other woman. Not even in a vague the-woman-I’ll-spend-my-life-with way. No one had inspired the kind of future plans he was suddenly entertaining about Red.

  “I need to get out.”

  Zac grunted in reply.

  “West will be up soon.”

  Shit. Nothing like the mental image of his pissed-off best friend staring him down to obliterate the contentment flooding his mind—to vapourise any happy thoughts woven around the woman in his arms. “What time do they leave?”

  “A car is picking them up at seven.”

  “Plenty of time.”

  “Not if you’re going to sneak out of the house without anyone seeing you.” She pushed out of his arms and reached over to turn off the water.

  Red mumbled something under her breath. Something that sounded suspiciously like she didn’t need to deal with another annoying male first thing in the morning. Zac wanted to call her on it. Wanted to know what about him annoyed her. Especially when her face was still flushed from the orgasm he’d just given her. But before he could utter a word, she’d wrapped a towel around herself and left him alone in the steam-filled bathroom.

  “Shit.” He snatched up a towel from the pile on the counter and rubbed himself dry.

  When he entered the bedroom, Red was already dressed in a pair of shorts and T-shirt. She obviously hadn’t wasted any time covering up. When she turned to face him, he noticed she’d not only donned the clothes to hide behind. She’d managed to mask her emotions as well.

  Those crystal-blue eyes held no clue to what she was thinking—what she was feeling—and Zac felt the loss of that doorway to the inner workings of her mind like a kick to the gut.

  “I’ll go out and make sure the coast is clear while you get dressed.” She headed for the door. With her hand on the knob, she glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t come out until I tell you it’s okay.”

  She left him standing in the middle of the room with a multitude of emotions burning through him. The one he chose to focus on was the anger. She’d dismissed him as though they hadn’t spent the night tearing up the sheets. As though he hadn’t been buried inside her tight body no more than ten minutes ago.

  He let the head of steam build while he searched for last night’s clothes. The last thing he wanted to do was have a confrontation with West, but he wanted to have it out with Red before she got farther away from him. She was pulling away, and he didn’t like it. Not one little bit. Dressed, he stormed across the room and threw the door open.

  And came face-to-face with his best friend.

  Neither of them spoke. Both were too stunned to utter a word until West looked over Zac’s shoulder into the room and saw the disheveled bedding.

  “You fucking son of bitch!”

  Zac didn’t have time to dodge the punch and probably wouldn’t have if he’d seen it coming. He figured West deserved one shot at him. But only one. He kept his feet when he took the hit and brought his hand to his throbbing jaw. “That’s your free one.”

  “West!” Kelsey grabbed on to her husband’s arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Let me go.” West yanked his arm from Kelsey’s hold. “I’m not done yet.”

  “Yes, you are.” Kelsey planted herself in front of West, her hands on his chest.

  Zac knew his friend could simply move his wife aside if he really wanted to and braced himself for the next blow. He wouldn’t be taking this one on the chin.

  “Kels. Move out of my way,” West ground out through his clenched jaw.

  “No.” Kelsey tried to move her husband back without luck. “You need to calm down.”

  “Calm down?” West nodded his head in Zac’s direction. “This fucker messed with something he shouldn’t have. I know you distracted me last night, but there’s no getting around it this morning.”

  “West.”

  As one, the three of them turned to see Red standing with her feet apart, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Zac thought it was poor form to note how sexy she looked all riled up, but he was a guy with a serious attraction and he couldn’t ignore the hot chick staring down her six-foot-plus brother without fear. He grinned. The glare she threw his way soon had him rethinking his smile.

  “You.” Red pointed at him. “Go home.”

  Zac took a half-step back. Her words caused more damage to his equilibrium than her brother’s physical blow had. “What?”

  “Go home. I can’t deal with both of you right now.” She turned back to West and Zac’s insides scraped raw at the dismissal. “Are you ready to go? The car will be here in fifteen minutes.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with this fucker hanging around.” West crossed his arms over his chest, and if Zac hadn’t spent most of his life wrestling with the guy, he might actually be intimidated by his friend’s aggressive stance.

  “Oh for God’s sake.” Red threw her hands in the air. “Fine. Beat the shit out of him. It won’t change a damn thing. What’s done is done.”

  Zac watched as Red stalked down the hallway and out of sight. He turned back to West. “I—”

  “Don’t say it.” West dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say unless it’s ‘I didn’t touch her’.”

  Zac pulled his lips between his teeth and held his best friend’s gaze.

  “Well, fuck.”

  For a moment, West glared at him in a similar expression to his sister’s and Zac marvelled at how the look worried him less than the one Red had given him. Then his friend of twenty-three years—the man who knew all his secrets bar one—shook his head and walked away, leaving him alone with Kelsey.

  Kelsey put a hand on Zac’s arm. “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Why? He has every right to be pissed, Kelsey.”

  “No, he doesn’t. Freddie is a grown woman and free to see whoever she chooses. West needs to remember she’s no longer the fragile teenager in need of his protection.”

  “She’s still his little sister. And I’m his best friend.” Zac glanced in the direction West had gone. “At least I was.”

  Funny how the thought of losing West’s friendship didn’t cut him as deep as Red walking away from him did.

  “Have a great time,” Freddie called out as she finally waved her brother and sister-in-law off.

  They were leaving thirty minutes later than planned, but thankfully, there was still plenty of time for them to make their flight. It had taken both her and Kelsey’s considerable effort to convince West he should go on their honeymoon as planned. He seemed determined to hunt down Zac and, in his words, “Teach him what it means to be a friend.”

  A reluctant smile tugged at her mouth. West might be on the overprotective side, but his intentions were pure. He loved her and didn’t want to see her hurt. She was just sorry it was his best friend he wanted to kill. With a sigh, she turned back to the house and found herself facing the very man West wanted to find, the one she’d sent home an hour ago.

  “What are you still doing here?”

  He cocked one eyebrow.

  Long seconds passed while she waited for an answer. Zac didn’t budge. He just stared at her with turbulent multi-coloured eyes, and for the life of her, Freddie couldn’t read anything in his gaze.

  “God save me from stubborn men.” She marched past him and into the house.

  Freddie didn’t bother to close the door behind her. Zac would ju
st open it again. When he trailed her inside, she pretended he wasn’t there and went about straightening up and checking everything was the way it should be before she had to lock up and return the key.

  His hot gaze followed her everywhere. There was no point looking at him. She’d only end up giving in to the arousal thrumming in her veins. Even being pissed off that Zac hadn’t left like she’d asked didn’t dampen her desire. Her body was primed and ready to tangle with him again.

  She couldn’t understand the sudden intensity with which she craved him. He’d barely blipped her attraction metre a year ago. Now she couldn’t think about him without getting hot and bothered, and that alone was enough to irritate her beyond reason. Add in the scene with her brother…

  Her gaze darted across the room, searching Zac out and finding him with a telling quickness. His jaw was red and the shadow of a bruise was already forming. “Does it hurt?”

  “Not as much as you ordering me to leave before we had a chance to talk.” He stayed where he was, but she could see the effort it took for him to remain there—his hands were fisted at his sides and held a tautness that appeared on the verge of snapping. “I didn’t like being dismissed, Red.”

  “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  His eyelids lowered and one corner of his mouth kicked up. “To remind myself to stay away from you.”

  “Stay away?” Freddie’s brows furrowed. “I don’t get it.”

  “Red as in danger zone. Keep clear.” He shrugged. “I started thinking of you as Red after I touched you the first time.”

  What the fuck? “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why would you need to stay away from me?” Freddie held her breath. She wasn’t sure what it was she feared, but there was no denying the streak of anxiety winding its way through her middle, drawing tighter and tighter.

  “I shouldn’t have touched you. Shouldn’t want to touch you.”

  “Why not? You’re not seeing anyone. I’m not seeing anyone. What’s the problem?”

  “You’re West’s sister,” Zac growled.

  She stumbled back a step. Her mouth opened but no words formed on her tongue.

  “My best friend’s little sister!”

  Freddie didn’t care for the emphasis on little sister. She couldn’t believe that he’d been thinking any type of sisterly thoughts last night or when they’d hooked up months ago. There was no stopping the twisted laughter that burst from her mouth. “Sister? You expect me to believe you were thinking like my brother when you stripped off my dress? When you threw me on the bed and shoved your cock inside me? When you fucked me against the wall in the shower? Twice!”

  “Jesus.” Zac scrubbed a hand down his face, flinching when he reached his bruised jaw. “I can’t believe how dirty your mouth is.”

  “You’re worried about my dirty mouth when you told me you want to fuck my arse?” She shook her head. “You know what? You’re right. You shouldn’t have touched me if all you see when you look at me is West’s little sister.”

  Freddie spun on her heel and headed for the bedroom and her overnight bag. She had to get out of here. Get away from Zac before she did something like throw the expensive vase on the hall table at his head. “Little sister my arse.” No man screwed a woman the way Zac had her and thought sister.

  She ignored the brooding man behind her and collected her things. Bag in hand, she walked through the house checking all the windows and doors were shut and locked. Freddie led Zac out the front door without a word. She’d be damned if she’d be the first to speak. As far as she was concerned, the idiot could take a long walk off a short pier.

  Fuming, she slung her suitcase into the backseat of her car and climbed behind the wheel. She slammed the door and fired the engine with a roar. Mindful of her agitated mood and the fact she was sitting in what amounted to a deadly weapon, Freddie sucked in a breath and tried for calm.

  Convinced she wouldn’t run the frustrating man over—on purpose or by accident—Freddie put the car in gear and reversed out of the driveway. She continued to mumble and curse him under her breath until she pulled up at the rental office and discovered he’d followed her.

  Refusing to acknowledge him in any way, she got out of her car and went inside to return the keys.

  Finding him waiting for her when she was done didn’t give her a thrill like it would have at any time in the last six months. Instead, she felt suddenly drained of energy and in need of solitude.

  Freddie knew she’d have to deal with Zac sooner or later, but right now she didn’t have the strength to handle her emotions, never mind his. With a sigh, she got back in her car and headed home.

  She only hoped he’d take the hint and leave her alone when she got there.

  Zac knew he’d blown it. He wasn’t sure where it had gone wrong other than the obvious arrival of West at the bedroom door. What he did know was that he had to fix it. Now.

  Shame he didn’t have the first clue of where to start.

  He leaned his head back against the car seat and stared through the windshield at Red’s house. He’d followed her home over an hour ago with the intention of getting out and talking to her when they got here, but one look at her face and Zac had known nothing he said would make things right.

  So he’d turned off the engine and sat brooding while she’d gone inside without him. Zac had gone over and over this morning until he couldn’t think anymore. If he could just get her in his arms, he knew he could convince her to stay there.

  Maybe.

  There’d been something in her gaze back at the house when she’d turned away that last time that sat in his chest like a bad case of heartburn.

  Zac rubbed the spot on his chest that burned hottest. His phone buzzed beside him but he didn’t bother picking it up. Coop had been calling and texting for the last hour. He figured either West or Kelsey had rung his brother, and Zac wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone except Red.

  And before he could do that, he needed to work out what to say.

  His phone rang out twice more and he was reaching over to turn it off when Red’s front door opened. She stood in the doorway, phone in her hand. He could see she was tapping away at the screen and then his phone rang again.

  Glancing over at the phone, he saw Red’s name and quickly grabbed it and hit answer. “Hello.”

  “Go home, Zac.” She sounded so tired.

  He sighed. “We need to talk.”

  “No. No more talking. Not now.”

  Zac debated getting out of the car, but her next words stopped him.

  “Please, Zac,” she pleaded. “Just go home.”

  He closed his eyes. It was the please—the shaky way she’d said it—that did him in. “Okay. But first tell me when we’ll talk.”

  Zac was sure his heart didn’t beat for the eternity he waited for Red to answer him. He definitely didn’t take a breath.

  “I don’t know. I need to think.”

  “Tomorrow?” Zac wanted to say tonight but didn’t want to push her away any farther than he already had. He could feel her backing away from him—from what they’d shared—and cold fear slid down his spine. “At least send me a text to let me know you’re okay.”

  Her heavy sigh filled the phone line. “Sure.”

  “And you’ll ring if you need anything?”

  The laughter that met his ear held no humour. “What could I possibly need, Zac?”

  Me.

  He didn’t say it, but he felt it in every part of him. And that was the moment he realised Red wasn’t the only one who needed time. Because no matter what his body wanted. No matter that he’d gladly walk inside her house and take her again, he still couldn’t get past the fact she was his best friend’s little sister.

  Chapter Four

  “Argh.” Freddie tossed her phone on the sofa. “M
en are idiots.”

  Not only had her stupid brother called her from the airport, but he also contacted Coop and sent him around to check on her. Although, to give Cooper credit, he’d told her it wasn’t her he was checking on exactly. He was looking for Zac.

  She was so worked up over her brother’s interference that she almost lied about seeing Zac. But in the end, Freddie had given Coop what little info she could.

  After telling Zac to go home, she’d come inside so she didn’t have to watch him leave. She knew it was best for both of them to take a step back, but part of Freddie—a big part—was afraid she’d stop him from going if she saw him leave. So she’d avoided all windows for a good twenty minutes.

  And when she’d finally given in to the need to find out if he’d done as she’d asked, the street in front of her house was empty.

  Freddie had to admit she hadn’t liked the hollowness that filled her chest. She shouldn’t have been disappointed to see Zac gone—she’d asked him to leave after all—except there was that little piece inside her that crumbled anyway. He’d given up.

  She glanced at her phone.

  He hadn’t called or sent a text either. Everyone else—including her mother—had. But not Zac. He’d done as she asked and she wished he hadn’t. She really did need to get a handle on her emotions or she’d never work out what to do about them.

  And to top it off, now she had to deal with Pierce Taylor. The personal trainer she occasionally worked with hadn’t taken no for an answer when she’d told him she couldn’t consult about one of his clients today. Mind you, the man they were supposed to discuss did have serious health issues that required not just the exercise program Pierce would put together for him. Any exercise affected blood sugar levels, and as a recently diagnosed diabetic, Mr. Turner needed to be sure he was managing his diet around the times he worked out.

  At least she’d managed to convince Pierce to meet her at the office. The idea of meeting at a café hadn’t sat right with her and only brought home the fact she needed to set him straight. His overtures had been subtle enough that Freddie had questioned whether or not he was coming on to her. Until today. Ending their call with, “See you soon, sweetheart,” with a syrupy tone to his voice had set off warning bells in her head.