Hush (46 page)

Acadia grinned. “You're a superhero.”

He shook his head. “I'm no superhero. Just a man. I've sold ZAG Search. It was something for me, Gid, and Buck. It's time for a fresh start. A new company.”

“In Seattle?”

“So far I have the name but not the location.” He searched her face, but her expression gave nothing away. “The company is small. Just me. I'm calling this new venture Lodestone. Acadia, I can find people, I can find things—anywhere, anyone. I found you. Come back to
Seattle with me. God only knows I need your organizational skills. And the University of Washington has an excellent Architecture–Construction Management, dual-degree undergraduate program, if you want to go to school.”

“I came
here
to go to school, Zak.”

“Then I'll move here,” he replied immediately. “Wherever you are is where I want to be. When I thought I had nothing left to feel, you taught me to love.” He threaded his fingers through the silky fall of her hair.

Her beautiful eyes clouded. “Our worlds are nothing alike, Zak. I think you're confusing the heat of the moment with something else. Maybe … maybe you built what we shared into something bigger than it was.” She bit her lip. “I'm just—I'm just me. I don't like heights; I'm not jumping from a plane unless it's on fire
and
I have two parachutes. Our time together was high-octane passion, but for me, it was almost like visiting someone else's life.” She lifted her chin. “I like popcorn and television on Friday night, not being gunned down by guerrilla terrorists. I can't compete with all the bells and whistles, all the excitement you thrive on.”

Zak's heart twisted. “I love
you
, Acadia. I love the way you plan your day, I love the way you stay true to who you are.” He leaned in and kissed her until the protests he saw forming behind her delicate features vanished. “I love your passion, I love how meticulously organized you always are, I love that you're my center in a storm, and that you lie through your teeth when you're scared. I love your sense of humor, and your strengths, as well as
the way you combat any perceived weaknesses. I love the whole Acadia Gray package.”

Sunlight streamed through the uncurtained window behind her, highlighting her golden hair and the smooth curve of her cheek. Zak felt an overwhelming surge of love mingle with the intense lust.

“I—”

He pressed two fingers across her lips and smiled into her eyes. “I have some plans I think you can help me with.”

“Help you …” She blinked. “
What
plans?”

“I'll be building a dozen or more adventure camps in Gideon's name for underprivileged kids all over the country. Exotic places like Angel Falls, as well. I'll need an enterprising, well-organized architect to stay on top of such an extensive project.”

“Lovely.” Her lips twitched. “A job offer before I even start school.”

“More of a lifetime commitment.”

“Do I say, ‘Draw up a contract and I'll show it to my lawyer'? Or do I just keep it a simple yes or no?”

“Let's start with the simple yes; then if you feel the need to have an attorney, we'll get you one.”

“Be very sure, Zak.” She pointed to her bare walls. “Simple. Uncomplicated.” Zak realized the place was painted stark white—the whole place was still in boxes, which surprised him. From the way she could pack a pair of pants, he'd figured her for a nester. She led them toward a plain beige sofa, which faced a small TV on a box. Hardly a home.

Heart in his throat, he seized the thread of her protests. “If ‘simple' means bravest, strongest, and most daring, then yeah. You're simple.”

She stopped before the couch and laughed, her fingers toying with another button on his shirt. “I was scared to my bones from the moment I met you in the cantina that night. But how I wanted you! Before that I'd never gone out of my comfort zone. I'm not brave. You made me brave.”

“Bravery is doing what has to be done even when you're too terrified to do it.”
Like now
, Zak thought with self-deprecating humor as she continued to undo his buttons, thinking he didn't notice. Oh, yeah, he noticed. And every button that slipped from its hole was another notch slipping on his limited supply of control. The fact that she was doing this gave him hope. Explosive, mind-bending sex was something they had in common, all right, but there was more. At least, he wanted it to be more. “I wouldn't be alive without you,” he reminded her.

“You're too stubborn to die.” She paused, then said softly, “No attorney. Yes.”

“Yes?”

“That was your convoluted and rather obscure proposal of marriage, wasn't it?”

He wrapped her in his arms, resting his cheek on top of her head as he inhaled and let out a deep, contented sigh. “God, yes.”

He felt her smile. “You've thought of almost everything.”

“Not ‘almost.' I've thought of everything. Over and over.” He kissed the corner of her smile. “Name it, and it's yours.”

Her hands were busily investigating his back under his untucked shirt. “There's something I really, really want.”

He couldn't think of a single thing he wouldn't buy, or do for her. “Grapes.”

She did a double take.
“Grapes?
”

“In the box I left by the door. Twenty pounds of seedless Thompson.”

“Okay. I'll bite.
Why
did you bring me twenty pounds of grapes?”

“You told me once that you wanted me to parade naked while feeding you peeled grapes in gratitude for your being so resourceful, so helpful, so ably equipped to repeatedly save my life.”

Her beautiful laughter poured over him. “You're a crazy man.”

“About you.” He started reversing her toward what he hoped was a bedroom.

No adrenaline rush in the world could provide him what she did with a single touch. A cool, rock-solid sense that no matter what happened or what he did, they'd be together. They'd have each other. Love and support and incredible sex; he couldn't ask for anything more. “Thank God,” she murmured, walking backwards, her footsteps matching his as they kissed, shuffled, and talked their way to the bedroom. “I love you, Zak. You've taught me that love can be messy, and scary, and confusing. But above
all,
amazing
. Thank you for accepting me for who I am, and who I want to be. You're everything I never knew I wanted.” She paused to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him tenderly.

“I was in the process of packing up and moving to Seattle, where I was about to start stalking
you
until you came to your senses.” She pressed her smile against his lips, and the heat and joy of it spread through him like sunlight.

As something in his heart eased, fluid and gentle, Zak knew he'd never again need the rush that had put him at death's door so many times. Her skin, her hair soft as silk in his hands, her smile, would be enough thrill for a lifetime. Here in Cambridge or there in Seattle, whether in exotic, dangerous Venezuela or calm and normal Junction City, wherever Acadia wanted to be was home.

Without breaking contact, Zak fumbled for the door handle behind her. “I love you, Acadia Gray.”

Her arms tightened around his neck. “Thank God,” she whispered, her eyes lifting to his. “Never doubt that you'll always be my hero, Zak. My light. My love.
My
lodestone.”

He opened the door to the linen closet and, with Acadia's laughter filling his world, shut the door.