Zack (Armed and Dangerous Book 1) (12 page)

Zack drew away and smiled when she gave him a pout of protest. He played with the button of her shorts. “I want you to lift your hips a little if you can do it without hurting your ankle.”

She gave a sexy smile. “What hurt ankle?” she said as she rose up and then helped him push the shorts down to her knees.

Zack lifted his head to look at Sky’s almost naked form in his lap. She was so beautiful he could hardly stand it. Only a scrap of black lace panties covered her.

He stroked his thumb along the warm center of her panties, his cock hardening more just by feeling how damp they were. Moaning, she moved against his hand. He hooked a finger under the waistband as she lifted her hips, and he drew her panties down until they rode across her legs, above her shorts.

Trailing his hand along the inside of her leg, he groaned at the sight of the triangle of copper curls. His fingers glided into the hair and he cupped her mound with his palm.

“I can’t wait anymore.” She brought her hand to his chest and slipped it inside his shirt. “I need you inside me.”

Goddamn, the way she said it made him hot.

Zack studied Sky’s face intensely and she bit her lip as his fingers penetrated her soft, slick folds. She was so wet, so ready. Her eyes widened as he slid two fingers into her hot core. He thrust them in and out, just like he’d love to be doing right at that moment, driving his hard cock inside her.

“Zack, please.”

“I want you to come for me, sweetheart,” he murmured as his fingers moved to her clit.

She gasped and arched her back as he caressed her, crying out when his mouth captured her nipple again. He flicked his tongue over it and then the other. At the same time, his fingers coaxed her, urging her to climax.

When Sky tensed in his arms and Zack knew she was going to climax, he lifted his head and watched her face. Her lips were parted, her lids lowered, her gaze fixed on him.

With a shudder and a soft cry, she came. He continued stroking her, not letting up until she cried out that she couldn’t take any more.

When the last golden wave of Sky’s orgasm subsided, she realized that Zack was watching her with such an intense expression it made her shiver. He rested his palm on her belly but made no move to go any further.

It felt incredibly erotic with his jeans against her naked backside, her T-shirt up over her breasts. Her lips felt soft and swollen from his kisses and every part of her body tingled.

Zack looked so good, so sexy with his dark hair ruffled from her fingers, his gray eyes smoldering. Her nipples puckered as his gaze swept over her semi-naked body and back to her face.

Sky caressed his cheek that wasn’t bruised, his stubble rough against her palm. “Aren’t you going to take me to the bedroom?”

“Mmmm.” Zack kissed her, soft and sweet this time, his mouth gentle, his earthy smell surrounding her.

His lips traveled to her sensitive breasts and she moaned as his warm breath fanned over them. But instead of devouring her again, he pulled her bra up over her breasts and then tugged down her T-shirt.

“What are you doing?” She was still dazed from her orgasm and had no idea why he was covering her up.

She wanted his cock inside her so bad—the touch of his hands and mouth on her and that incredible orgasm had only whetted her desire. For a moment she tried to think of how they could manage it with her injured ankle.

Zack pulled her panties up, his touch sending shivers through her. He made her lift her hips as he did the same with her shorts. Then he brought the zipper up and buttoned them.

“What—” When she tried to sit, he only cradled her closer to his chest. She was frowning. “Why are you stopping?”

Zack’s expression became serious. “Before we go any further, there’s something I want first.”

Sky stared at him in disbelief. She had just been about to give it all to him. “What?” she asked, feeling a bit wary.

He eased his fingers into the hair at her temple and stroked it away from her face. “I want you to be mine again. Exclusively.”

She blinked. After all he’d put her through in the past he was asking her this? She shook her head. “Not happening.”

Gently, he cupped her face, but she wasn’t fooled by his calm. She could feel the tension in his body. “Start over with me.”

Sky lowered her eyes, afraid that if she kept looking into that intense gray gaze she wouldn’t be able to say no. But she couldn’t allow him into her heart again. Couldn’t afford to trust him that much.

As she remained silent, he shifted her in his lap so that she was sitting rather than cradled in his arms. “I’m not going to give up, Sky. I’ll keep after you for as long as it takes to make you mine again.”

Then he smiled like a man who had already divided and conquered.

As Sky remained silent, Zack said in a low voice, “No matter what you think, I’m not giving up on us.” He pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her softly.

She still said nothing but relaxed more fully against his chest, her head resting over his heart.

“Hungry?” he asked as he nuzzled her hair. “If you’ve got the makings in the fridge I can throw together a sandwich.”

“I could use something.” She met his gaze. “Since I didn’t get what I was really hungry for.”

The corner of his mouth quirked. “That’s all up to you, sweetheart.”

“Humph,” she said, and he gave a pain-filled smile as he carefully moved her ass off his still rigid jean-covered cock and eased her onto the couch.

He’d just gotten to his feet and had Sky’s foot propped on the hassock when his cell rang.

Zack whipped the phone out of its clip on his belt. He wasn’t surprised the display said “Unknown.”

As he walked toward Sky’s kitchen, he answered, “Hunter.”

“Clay Wayland here,” a deep voice said. “Returning your call.”

“Sheriff,” Zack replied as he looked back at Sky, who cocked her head with an interested expression on her features. “I called to see how your investigation was going on the missing MacKenna cattle.”

“I understand you’re with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Wayland’s tone was even as he spoke. “What’s ICE’s interest in rustling?”

“These rustlers might be transporting the cattle across the line into Mexico, which puts it right under our jurisdiction.” Zack turned his back on Sky and went into the kitchen. “I’m assigned to the case. I’d like to see if we can work together to make some headway on this situation.”

Wayland filled Zack in on what he knew and his own theories. He mentioned he’d had a similar discussion with Luke Rider.

“Do you trust the man?” Zack said in a low voice so that Sky wasn’t likely to hear.

“You know as well as I do that in law enforcement you hold some of the cards close to your chest,” Wayland said. “I have a feeling Rider’s doing the same thing.”

“Something about the man strikes me as off.” Zack walked farther into the kitchen, away from Sky. “He’s holding back more than a few cards.”

“I cover my bases,” Wayland said in a slow drawl. “And my ass.”

“Smart man,” Zack said. He imagined he was also being checked out by Wayland while the sheriff was looking into Rider’s background.

After he ended the call with the sheriff, Zack opened the fridge and pulled out whole wheat bread, ham, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, and mustard. “You ready for that sandwich?” he called out to Sky.

“Sure.”

As he threw together their lunch, he asked, “How about some of that iced tea you’ve got in the fridge? And maybe a couple of ibuprofen to go with it?”

She gave a soft groan. “Make that a double on the meds.”

When Zack was finished, he picked up the paper plates filled with thick ham sandwiches and barbeque potato chips he’d grabbed out of the pantry. He carried them to the living room and handed Sky her plate while setting his own on the ironwood coffee table. After he retrieved the pain reliever, paper cups of tea, and paper towels to use for napkins, he sat at the opposite end of the couch.

“So what was that call all about?” Sky asked in between bites of her sandwich. “Why were you discussing the rustling situation?”

“I’m going to meet with Wayland on Monday,” Zack said. “Got a couple of notions that I’d like to discuss with him.” He crunched a potato chip before he spoke again. “Wayland mentioned someone went after your bull, before the dance.”

“Yeah, that’s what it looked like.” Sky gave a scowl.

Zack went into his theories with her and she listened intently while eating her sandwich and drinking her iced tea.

When he finished, Sky said, “I can see the rustlers slaughtering the cattle they’ve been stealing.” She shook her head. “But I bought Satan at top dollar to help build my herd and my ranch’s reputation, and now someone’s trying to take him. And for what? Hamburger? Not likely.”

Sky set her plate down on an ironwood end table and crossed her arms over her chest. “I think they want him because he’s valuable,” she continued. “Of course Satan’s registered with the American Angus Association. His pedigreed name is Black Ice Hellfire’s Satan. He’s the offspring of Black Ice on High Lonesome and Donovan’s Apache Tears from Flagstaff—one hell of a match.” She shook her head and uncrossed her arms. “But Satan’s not worth a damn thing if the thieves don’t have his pedigree papers.

“Oh, shit.” Her jaw dropped and it felt like an icy wind rushed over her. “Maybe—maybe that was why Blue was poisoned, so someone could get by him and into the barn office. That’s where I keep all the pedigrees.”

Zack focused his attention on Sky, his eyes now gunmetal gray.

Sky felt like she was babbling as a sort of jitteriness took hold of her. “I’m usually in and out of the office during the weekdays, but what with Blue getting sick, going to the dance, twisting my ankle, the cattle rustling—” Christ, the past two days all she’d been able to do was think about Zack and the dance. “I’ve been preoccupied.” She glanced down at her ankle. “This week I never had a chance to make it into the office.

“That’s why they might have tried to take Satan Friday night,” she went on. “If they have his papers...” She forced herself to release her clenched fists. “God, I hope I’m wrong and the office wasn’t hit the night Blue was poisoned. Like I said, too much has happened this week and I just didn’t make it to the office.”

Zack had a grim expression. “We need to check it out just in case you’re right.”

Sky tried to push herself up by bringing her injured foot off the hassock and onto the floor.

“No, you don’t.” Zack’s big hand caught her around her upper arm. “Whether you like it or not, I’m going to help you so you don’t hurt that ankle any worse than you already have.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t been thinking clearly. As bad as her ankle was, she couldn’t climb down the stairs without a little help, even with her crutches.

While he grabbed her crutches, her heart pounded. Had someone been in her office? Taken anything that was valuable to her?

“Hey,” she said as he lifted her into his arms while she held on to her crutches with one hand. “I just need help down. You don’t need to carry me.”

“Shut up and enjoy the ride.”

“Yeah. Enjoy the ride,” she said as she pictured her office.

He got her down the steps before resting her on the ground on her good foot and helping her balance on her crutches. She made her way to the barn as fast as the crutches allowed her to, gritting her teeth as she moved.

The usual smells of hay, sweet oats, dust, and manure hit her as soon as she stood inside the doorway. Her horses whickered on their side of the barn and Satan bawled on his. Sky let her eyes adjust to the shadowed barn before Zack supported her the rest of the way on to the hard-packed earth floor.

When they reached the office door, Sky felt a hint of relief when she tried the antique brass doorknob and found it locked. “I’ve got a key hidden nearby,” she said as she pointed toward an old U.S. Cavalry feed bag hanging from a rusted meat hook, next to several other antique items she kept tacked to the wall by the office. “No one knows about it.”

“Anyone else have access?” Zack said as he helped her balance while she dug into the bottom of the feed bag.

“Just Luke.” She clasped her hand around the key in seconds and Zack got her back to the office door.

Zack took the key from her, inserted it, and twisted the knob. He pushed the heavy oak door open on its well-oiled hinges.

Her heart took a nosedive at the same time his voice dropped, anger inflected in every word. “Looks like you’ve had a visitor.”

“No.” Sky felt like ants crawled up and down her spine as she grabbed the door frame and looked inside. “Oh no.”

As always the rich oak-paneled room smelled of lemon oil that she used on the solid oak desk that had been around since the days of the Old West. The office also smelled of leather from the oxblood brown overstuffed leather couch and chairs, as well as halters and saddles hanging in the back.

Sky could barely process what she was seeing. Instead of the clean, well-cared-for office, the place was a disaster. The computer’s flat-screen monitor lay face down on the glossy surface of the desk. Broken glass from the family photos glittered in the dim light. Paper was scattered over every surface from the coffee table to the floor.

She cut her gaze to the huge metal file cabinets that were normally locked and closed—only now every single drawer was open and folders were tossed everywhere.

“Christ.”
The word came out like an explosion from Zack. He wrapped his hand around Sky’s upper arm and held her back when she tried to enter the room. “Don’t touch anything. We’ve got to call this in and have the county sheriff’s office dust the place for fingerprints and check for any clues the bastard may have left behind.”

Zack withdrew his cell phone from its clip on his belt with his free hand. Sky felt almost dizzy from the shock of the violation.

She held her palm to her queasy stomach and eased back on her crutches, out of the doorway.

She barely heard Zack’s voice as he got through to Sheriff Wayland and rattled off the information with unemotional professionalism.