An Eye for an Eye: Zach and Katie's Story (Redwood Falls)

by Chance, Lynda

  Her fingers began working the piping on the sheet. “Yes.”

  Zach glanced around the room until his eyes found hers again. “What was that all about?”

  She licked her lips. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean … do you have a lot of nightmares?”

  She hesitated. “No.”

  “So, what were you dreaming about?”

  Her expression looked haunted but her voice had regained its strength. “I don’t remember exactly.” When he looked as if he didn’t believe her, she bit her lip and continued, “I saw something upsetting yesterday morning and that was probably it.”

  He frowned at her answer. “What did you see?”

  “It’s not a pleasant thing to talk about.” She looked away and Zach felt as if she was shutting him out and he didn’t care for it.

  “I think I can handle it.”

  “I was watching the sunrise from my bedroom window and I saw … ” her voice trailed off.

  “What’d you see?” he nudged her.

  “I saw a coyote take down a fawn not fifty feet from my window.”

  The bloody, graphic image exploded in his head. But as Zach watched her expression, for some reason, he wasn’t sure she was telling him the truth. But what she was saying very well could be true, and if she’d witnessed something like that, it no doubt would have been upsetting to her. “I’m sorry, baby.” He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and as he made the move, he was fully aware he only used it as an excuse to touch her. “But that’s the circle of life, you know?”

  “I know, but I didn’t expect to see it outside in the yard in all its gruesome glory. Maybe on the Discovery Channel, but not in my backyard.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what you sometimes get when you have acres of pasture and farmland around you. You’ll forget about it soon enough.”

  “I guess so. I never thought I’d forget how it is out here, but after living in Arlington for so long, I kind of do.”

  “Yeah. It’s two different worlds. I know exactly what you mean.”

  Her eyes came to his before darting away again. “I thought you were in the Middle East.”

  “Just got back.”

  “Is Hannah asleep?”

  “Nope, she’s in the media room watching television and texting some kid.” Zach thought that was an innocuous enough statement, but when he said it, Katie flushed and looked away. Or was it his imagination?

  “I’m sorry I disturbed you,” she said in a raspy voice.

  Zach took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. She always disturbed him. “It was no trouble.”

  “I guess I better let you go to bed now.”

  Even though he understood that she was excusing him with a subtle hint, Zach made no move to stand up. “If you say so.”

  Katie was silent as she stared down and continued to rub the corner of the sheet between her finger and thumb.

  Zach studied her for a moment, trying to see inside her head. “Why’d you kiss me?”

  Her eyes flew up and crashed with his. “I didn’t kiss you.”

  “You didn’t?” He was fairly damn sure that she had.

  “It wasn’t a kiss. It was an… embrace. A hug. That’s all.”

  He raised a single eyebrow. “I’m not so sure. I seem to recall your lips against mine and that’s the definition of a kiss, not a hug.”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t a kiss.”

  Of its own volition, his hand reached out and lifted her chin. “Katie?” He felt the quiver of her body as her gaze clung to his. Heat traced down his spine.

  Her eyes were enormous but she stayed silent.

  “This is my definition of a kiss … just so you’ll know.” Without waiting for her agreement or disagreement, he lowered his head over hers and took her mouth under his.

  ****

  As Zach’s lips landed on hers, Katie felt a jolt to her midsection. Added to her already-shot nerves from the nightmare she’d just escaped from, her mind was a spinning mass of confusion. But one thing beat loud and clear in her bloodstream, and that was the fact that this was Zach. She was safe. She was okay. Zach would never physically hurt her. He wouldn’t.

  As his tongue slid along the seam of her mouth and began pushing inside, a wave of heat slid down her spine and settled in her stomach. Stunned, her body frozen, she realized immediately that this kiss wasn’t anything like the last kiss he’d given her, all those long, long months ago. That kiss had been angry and full of animosity; what she was experiencing now was a gentle assault on her senses.

  Her mouth opened slowly, and as he slid inside to taste her, Katie felt a deep rumble come from the back of his throat. It was a vibration of heat and passion, and it contained an urgency that for the moment at least, enthralled her. His tongue swirled around hers, and after a few seconds of trying to conquer the whirling in her head, she breathed in what oxygen she could manage and very slowly, joined him in the kiss.

  Hesitantly, she began swirling her tongue with his, and the second she did, his arms came down and encircled her within his embrace, lifting her from her pillow. One arm landed at the small of her back, where he pushed his fingers into her spine and began rubbing her there, his fingers moving in a slow circle, massaging her lower vertebrae. His other hand slid up to her neck, and held her captive.

  His kiss became more aggressive, and Katie knew she was experiencing only a small taste of what his primal heat would be like. A thousand emotions took off in her head: she was beguiled by his sexual need, she was fascinated by the feel of his masculine touch, and she was alarmed by the twin feelings of terror and desire that were unfolding within her.

  As his tongue dueled with hers, her eyes closed and she felt his hands reach around and grasp her face, as he made a small adjustment of his mouth on hers. He could taste her deeper this way, and he began taking more than she thought she was ready to give. Katie shuddered as tension accelerated in her already confused mind.

  In the back of her mind, she was aware that his touch was pleasant; it was more than pleasant, it begged her to let go. She felt safe in his embrace. His hold on her was hot and persuasive, inviting her to join him. She tried to go with it, this was Zach, after all, and how many times had she seen him from a distance in her pre-teens and young teenage years and dreamt about a day he might kiss her?

  Too many to count.

  Zach was her secret, hidden crush. In her younger teenage years, she imagined herself in love with him. He was the man who was too old for her, already married, and in her mind, totally beyond her reach. But that never stopped her from dreaming about him.

  But now here he was, not angry, not married, and so within her reach that she could feel every ragged breath he took. She could taste the essence of his hunger; she was becoming intoxicated by the male pheromones that radiated from his skin.

  He wanted her. She’d known for a long time that he wanted her. She’d known it deep down, in her subconscious, for the longest time, even if she was only now admitting it to herself.

  What once would have thrilled her to death was now too frightening to contemplate.

  She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and tried with everything she had to think of nothing but his kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, she kissed him back, she tried to temper the fear that beat through her bloodstream.

  He must have felt the change in her, because his hands tightened on her skin and a low growl came from the back of his throat. His mouth slanted over hers again; his fingers felt as if they wanted to crush her skull. His muscles corded under her hands and oxygen rattled in and out of his lungs as he took rasping breaths.

  The motivation for his kiss seemed to change and a dangerous sizzle filled the air around her. Katie could feel the sexual need that poured from the large frame that held her and when one steely hand dropped from her face and enclosed her breast with a possessive grip, she gasped and reared back.

  Their eyes flew open at the same time, and Katie cou
ld see the raw fervor that smoldered in his gaze. She sucked in oxygen as he did the same, and as they stared at each other, each breathing raggedly, no words were needed. But Katie knew in that instant that nothing would ever be the same between them again.

  Gone was the Zachary McIntyre of her youth, gone also was the man who mostly ignored her in his anger. Somehow, they’d crossed a line and Katie suddenly knew that the subdued heat she’d always seen in his eyes when he looked at her would be manifested in a new way. She was something he wanted, and Zach McIntyre always got what he wanted. Her pulse shot up to the stratosphere as fear congealed in her stomach.

  She wasn’t ready for a sexual relationship with him. She wanted to be ready, she really did. But the choice had been stripped from her and now all she could do was try to protect herself from what he wanted from her.

  She didn’t think he’d give up easily.

  And as he studied her now and pressed a soft, closing kiss on her forehead, she was astonished to realize that the prayer she said deep down in her subconscious was that he wouldn’t give up easily.

  ****

  Katie barely slept for the remainder of the night, and as she walked into the McIntyre kitchen the next morning looking for coffee, she steeled her nerves, expecting to find Zach.

  And find him, she did.

  He glanced up from his laptop, but he was silent as he studied her. She felt the heat of a blush cover her face and after turning her quivering lips up in a half-hearted attempt at a smile, she walked past him and made her way to the coffee maker.

  After she poured a cup and added creamer, she strolled over to the window and looked out. She stalled as long as she could, and when she turned back to him, he was still watching her intently.

  His stare became pointed and he lifted a single eyebrow.

  She blew on her coffee and took a small sip. “Good morning.”

  “Is it?” he asked in a low, gravelly tone.

  Katie ignored his question. “Is Hannah still asleep?”

  “I imagine. She’s still in her room.”

  Katie’s insides twisted up at the thought of being alone with Zach. She just couldn’t take it right now. She took another sip of her coffee, and then quickly dumped it in the sink and rinsed the cup.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Oh, nothing.” She answered vaguely. “I’ve got to go.”

  “No, you don’t,” he negated quietly in a firm voice.

  “I’ve got a million things to do today before I head back to school. I need to spend some time with my parents, catch-up, talk to them for—”

  “You need to sit your butt in that chair and talk to me,” he ordered as he pointed to the chair at the kitchen table across from him.

  A shiver of heat landed in Katie’s stomach as a sliver of dread slid down her spine. How could she feel such opposing sentiments? “We don’t have anything to talk about,” she said as neutrally as possible.

  His eyes narrowed. “Katie. Don’t give me that shit. I’m not in the mood for it. I didn’t sleep a goddamn bit last night, and we’re going to talk about it.”

  The tone of his voice was making her feel trapped and she swung around, intending to head for the guestroom to grab her stuff. “We don’t have anything to talk about,” she reiterated a bit more strongly, moving toward the door.

  She never reached it. She heard his chair scrape back from the table before she felt his hand on her arm. He swung her around and backed her up until her spine hit the wall. “Nothing to talk about?” His eyes ran over her from top to bottom before settling back on her face. “How about the fact that you chose to take refuge in my arms last night and the feeling was so fucking intoxicating that I almost lost it?”

  Oxygen became lodged in her throat as pleasure blossomed through her veins, pleasure that she knew she had to quickly subdue. She scraped her bottom lip between her teeth in agitation and could only answer him with a slight shake of her head.

  “No?” He asked with a deep scowl.

  She could only shake her head again, struck mute by anxiety, embarrassment, and a subtle sexual tension that she wouldn’t allow herself to acknowledge.

  “Katie,” he began, but she finally found her voice.

  “Thank you for helping me last night,” she began as his eyes held hers. “I’m glad you were there … ” her voice trailed off.

  “But?”

  “But I’ve got to get going.”

  “Are you going to pretend it meant nothing?”

  She shut her eyes for a second before opening them again. “It didn’t mean anything, Zach.”

  “You kiss all men like that?”

  She froze as his harsh words pierced through her. She didn’t owe him an explanation. And he wasn’t going to get one. “No, I don’t,” she bit out as she ripped out of his hold. She paced to the doorway. “Goodbye.”

  She recognized that her voice was flat. There wasn’t anything she could do about it though, her emotions were flat, her life was flat.

  She turned and left.

  ****

  Zach watched as Katie left the room, resentment building in his gut. Obviously, last night had only been an anomaly. She’d been soft and feminine in his arms because of the nightmare she’d had. That’s the only reason she’d reacted the way she had and now he had to start from point A all over again.

  So close. He thought he’d been so damn close.

  But it had only been a figment of his imagination. Jet lag and stress from his trip to the Middle East must have addled his brain.

  Katie hadn’t wanted him anymore last night than she ever had. He was just as screwed as he’d been since day one.

  Wanting her with an irrefutable ache in his gut and forced to do without.

  Chapter Four

  Fort Worth, Texas

  Katie rushed around the crowded restaurant trying to be thankful she had a job. She had to remember that she was lucky she had a job. So many of her friends at UTA hadn’t been able to find anything at all this semester. Admittedly, waiting tables wasn’t the best, but it was a job and the tips were cold, hard cash.

  Something she desperately needed to make ends meet.

  The restaurant was near the stockyards in Fort Worth, and it was close enough that she could be there in twenty minutes, if the traffic wasn’t bad and if her old car didn’t give her any problems.

  Today the traffic had been ferocious and she’d been ten minutes late. Her manager had bitten her head off, before he’d rushed her out to begin waiting tables.

  Katie had just finished dropping off a cheeseburger basket and the sirloin special to two businessmen when she saw Zach walk through the front door.

  He stood inside the crowded restaurant and stopped at the hostess stand as if he owned the place. His hair was dark and tousled from the wind, but that was the only thing that looked out of place about his appearance. He wore a dark grey bespoke suit that appeared as if it had been hand-tailored for him, and as he casually glanced around the restaurant, Katie realized he looked nothing like he usually did when he was at home in Redwood Falls.

  She had no idea why he was in Fort Worth today, instead of his office in Dallas, but seeing him again after a few months was causing her stomach to roil in agitation and her palms to sweat. As she held the empty tray in front of her like a shield, she saw the hostess, a new girl named JayLynn, scan the seating chart and then look back up at him. Katie swore she could see the blush on the girl’s face from here, and she knew exactly why.

  Zach McIntyre could make any woman blush, whether she was eight or eighty.

  Katie held her breath and bit her lip as the younger girl led Zach to a table for two.

  A table in her section.

  She closed her eyes and groaned.

  Not today. God, not today.

  ****

  Zach had waited as long as he could. He’d spent the last several months purposely buried under a pile of work to keep from thinking about Katie Turner. He’d filed the
necessary permits to build a new wind farm near the Permian Basin and the work involved had been intense and complicated. He’d travelled back and forth and lived out of a suitcase as he worked with his lawyers to negotiate settlements with land owners, registered with the appropriate commissions, and sought the best contracts he could find to furnish the structures themselves.

  But now he was all played out.

  He needed to go see Katie and get a fix. He’d tried to stop himself, but it was impossible. It had been a relative cakewalk to find out from Hannah where Katie was working. Did he have a deeply ingrained need just to see her? Yeah, he did. Was he checking up on her and making damn sure nobody was trying to move in on what he saw as his territory? Yeah, he was. He wasn’t going to dwell on it too long, and he wasn’t going to try to make excuses for himself. He was going to walk in, make sure she was okay, and in the process, remind her that he was still alive and damn, how should he put it? Interested. And the restaurant in Fort Worth worked perfectly for his cover story, should it come up.

  The only wrinkle would be the actual day and time he went. He could only guess at when she’d be working, but hell, if he missed her, he’d try again.

  He’d had a small moment there when he’d felt like a sociopath because he’d lurked outside the window, in an attempt to figure out which part of the restaurant she was working in. He wanted this to look like a coincidence to her, so he couldn’t risk asking to be placed in her section. As he’d glanced through the window, he’d spied her immediately.

  She was beautiful as usual, but her harried and frazzled look contorted his features into a grimace and upset him at once. He detested that she was forced to work so much. Hannah had mentioned Katie’s plight and how difficult it was for her to maintain both her scholarship and a job at the same time. He felt a moment of guilt for the ease his college years had been. He’d certainly never had to worry about money. He couldn’t remember being spoiled exactly, his father had been too disciplined and strict for that, but he did remember that he’d only been responsible for keeping his grades in check.