Zack (Armed and Dangerous Book 1) (27 page)

It had been a long fucking thirty-six hours.

Zack rubbed the bridge of his nose as he drove the half-hour trip along Highway 80 to Sky’s ranch. It was dark as hell out.

His mind replayed the events since last night. By the time everything had gone down, Zack’s massive adrenaline rush had faded. He was ready to sleep for a week, minimum.

He sure hoped Sky was expecting him, because he was going to climb into bed and hold her all night.

His mind whirled over the events since they’d met with the informant, gotten reports back from a surveillance team, run NCIC and TECS on suspects, caught the rustlers, and conducted the raid.

Thank God that Sky and Blue were fine. After the paramedics had taken a look at Sky’s face, she’d insisted she didn’t need to go to the hospital to be checked out any more than she’d already been. Zack had reluctantly left her home with her S&W but took off to take care of business.

The rustlers had been hauled off to the county jail and questioned. One of the men broke almost immediately to save his own ass.

Turned out the man was one of another agent’s informants. The agent considered him a reliable source even though he was as crooked as the dirt road leading up and into Horseshoe Canyon. The rustler slash informant had told them plenty, and the information he’d given them had backed up every bit of information that Marlin Jones, their other informant, had provided.

Zack yawned and turned up the radio to keep himself awake as he drove through the darkness along the lonely highway. An occasional car passed by, their headlights almost blinding to his tired eyes.

Before dawn, Zack and Eric had hustled to the office. Zack tweaked the affidavit, and by 6:00 A.M. the junior agent hauled ass on the two-hour drive to the U.S. Attorneys’ satellite office in Tucson.

In the meantime Zack had e-mailed the affidavit to Paul Davidson, one of the assistant U.S. Attorneys, to give him the opportunity to review the document by the time Torres reached Tucson.

Davidson had signed off and Torres went straight to the magistrate. Torres swore out the information in the affidavit and the magistrate agreed there was probable cause to execute a search warrant and signed the document.

By 9:00 A.M., Torres had the signatures and he contacted Zack. They had their search warrant.

Zack gave a grim smile as he drove. Like clockwork.

Most of the area’s ICE agents, including the asshole Denning, conducted the raid. The sheriff and every available deputy from the sheriff’s department were in on the fun.

The raid hadn’t exactly gone as smoothly as Zack would have liked, but they’d accomplished what they’d come to do. There’d been a little gunfire and one agent had been downed with a bullet to the thigh. Two of the smugglers had died.

Zack ground his teeth as he recalled the pens holding cattle bearing Sky’s Flying M brand. Cattle with Larson’s Coyote Pass brand as well as cattle with brands from other ranches had also been there. The cattle were ready to be butchered and processed.

What had looked like a barn had been exactly what Zack had thought—a meat-packaging plant.

Zack grimaced. The place had stunk like shit.

Smugglers had been apprehended tossing sides of beef into a tractor trailer retrofitted to be a reefer truck to keep the meat cool, the truck bearing Mexican license plates.

Smugglers in another truck had already been headed toward Mexico and floored it when ICE raided the plant. The truck almost crossed the border, but a team of ICE agents and sheriffs deputies cut off their path. The smugglers driving the vehicle had been apprehended and dragged back to the ranch.

It was with grim satisfaction that Zack had shoved that case down Denning’s throat.

When Zack reached the turnoff to the dirt road leading to Sky’s place, he rubbed his tired eyes. He was so ready for the movies of the night’s and the day’s events to stop playing in his head.

It was over. It was finally goddamned over.

At least this case was and Sky’s cattle weren’t going to keep disappearing.

When Zack pulled his Silverado up to Sky’s ranch house he turned off the engine and for a moment just listened to the hot engine tick.

His Adam’s apple grew tight as Sky opened the door, silhouetted by the light shining from inside. To have Sky waiting for him at the end of every day would be the most amazing thing that could happen in his life.

Blue tore from the house and straight for Zack’s truck. He climbed out and shut the door behind him as Blue wiggled his entire body in greeting. Every muscle in Zack’s body started aching as if he’d been working out the entire day.

“Hey there, boy.” Zack crouched and stroked Blue’s head. “I owe you big-time for what you did for Sky. Steaks for life.”

“Don’t go spoiling him,” came Sky’s soft voice. “He’s on a prime, vet-approved diet, and that doesn’t include steak.”

Zack couldn’t hold back a smile as he rose and faced Sky. A second later he had her in his arms, embracing her so hard she gave a soft gasp.

“I missed you.” She leaned her cheek against his shirt as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I thought you’d never get home.”

Home.

That damned lump crowded Zack’s throat so tight he almost couldn’t speak. “Nothing could keep me from coming back to you, sweetheart.”

Sky gave a sigh. “God, you feel so good.” She tilted her head to look up at him, her nose wrinkled. “But you stink. What have you been into?”

Zack laughed softly. “You don’t want to know.”

“Let’s throw you into the shower.” She met his gaze. “And then I’m kicking your butt into bed. You look like hell.”

***

Tempting aromas teased Zack’s nose. He blinked away the light and realized he was alone in Sky’s bed. By the early-morning light peeking in the window he guessed it was close to eight in the morning.

Through the open bedroom door came the delicious scents of coffee, sausage, and eggs—and, if he wasn’t mistaken, maple syrup. His stomach, tired of dry cornflakes and milk every morning in his lonely apartment, growled a loud demand for the food he smelled.

Zack pushed away all thoughts of the past few days and concentrated on Sky and his eagerness to have her in his arms again. Last night he’d been too exhausted to do anything but take a quick shower and fall straight into Sky’s bed.

He got up and pulled on his jeans, then walked barefoot and shirtless along the cool ceramic tile to the kitchen. The sizzle of sausages and clanking of plates met him as he rounded the corner and saw Sky.

She stood in front of the huge stainless-steel range top, using a spatula to scoop a pancake from the griddle and then flip it onto a plate.

For a moment he leaned against the doorway and just watched her as she poured more batter onto the griddle and then set the bowl down. She scooped sausages out of another pan and onto a plate, then turned the burner off beneath the frying pan.

Her long copper hair hung wild and loose down her back, and if he wasn’t mistaken she was wearing his T-shirt. It came to mid-thigh on her, and her legs and feet were bare.

A lump formed in Zack’s throat at the homey image Sky made as she cooked breakfast. What would it be like to wake up with her every morning? Having her beside him for conversation over pancakes and coffee. Being with her after work and sharing what had happened in each of their days. And to have her to hold in his arms every night.

Sky glanced over her shoulder and greeted him with a grin that warmed his blood and made his cock rise. “ ’Bout time you got up, cowboy.”

Smiling, Zack walked across the floor. When he reached her, he slid his arms around her waist and hugged her from behind, nuzzling her ear. “Mornin’.”

She sighed and leaned back against him. “Hungry?” “Starving.” He nipped at her ear and moved to the curve of her neck. “Everything smells so damn good.” He met her eyes. “Including you.”

With a soft laugh, she replied, “This pancake is going to be burnt to a crisp if you don’t stop messing with the cook.”

“Small price to pay,” he murmured. But he stepped back, releasing his hold on her. For now.

“Where’s that hero dog?” he asked as he shoved his hands in his front pockets. “I’ve got to give him one of those steaks I promised.”

“He’s outside.” Sky wrinkled her nose and gave a pretend haughty sniff. “And you’re not going to ruin his diet.”

Zack grinned. He’d have to sneak Blue a New York strip.

The rumble in Zack’s stomach was louder and more painful this time. He leaned over the plates of pancakes, sausages, and scrambled eggs. Damn, they smelled good.

“Sounds like breakfast is none too soon.” Sky flipped the last pancake onto the stack and turned the burner’s heat off. “Help me carry these to the breakfast nook and you can dig in.”

Zack took his hands from his pockets and picked up the plates of pancakes and sausages. “Your every desire is my command,” he said as he headed to the round oak table near the bay window.

“That’s what I’m counting on.” Her tone was sultry and teasing, and damned if it didn’t make his cock ache.

He set the food in the middle of the table, which was already set with plates, flatware, and napkins. He went back to the counter and picked up the dish of scrambled eggs and the pot of coffee.

Sky grabbed a glass carafe of orange juice from the fridge. She stopped to retrieve the saucepan of maple syrup that had been heating on the range top, and then joined him at the table.

“Oh, the cream.” She jumped back up and went to the fridge. Zack watched her as she bent over to search the lower shelves, his T-shirt hiking up over her hips and exposing her bottom.

She wasn’t wearing any underwear.

Zack’s mouth fell open as he stared at the exposed pink folds, and he wondered what refrigerator sex would be like.

Ice-cold air blowing over their naked bodies as he bent her over in the open door of the fridge. Sky clutching the shelves that held milk and eggs, her nipples hard from the chill. Her screams of pleasure as she yelled at him to take her harder while he thrust his cock deep inside her.

“Found it.” She stood and turned, holding the small container of cream, then shut the fridge door with a bump of her hip.

She returned to the table and sat in a chair with a grimace as she put the cream on the table.

He frowned. “Did you get hurt last night?”

“Could have been worse.” Sky shrugged. “One of the men knocked me on my ass and my tailbone’s a little sore.”

With a scowl, Zack raked his gaze over her. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Just a headache.” Sky pushed aside her hair that had been covering the side of her face that was bruising near her eye. “And nothing any worse than you’ve already seen.”

He nearly vibrated with renewed anger at Woods. Zack wanted to knock the shit out of the son of a bitch. Between Sky’s and Blue’s assaults on Woods, the former deputy was in a world of hurt. “That night doesn’t seem real, does it,” she stated.

Zack heaved an angry sigh. “Glad that’s over in more ways than one.”

Sky nodded, then looked at his plate. “Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t touched a thing.”

His thoughts turned to the image of Sky bent over with her pussy showing. He cleared his throat. “Ah, just waiting for you.” She gave him a smile and poured two cups of coffee. “So, my cowboy prince is a gentleman, too.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he muttered as he added a touch of cream to his coffee. He piled pancakes on his plate and had just slathered them with butter and warm maple syrup when he glanced at Sky.

The way she was looking at him made him wonder how he managed to keep himself from wiping the tabletop clean with one swipe of his hand and taking her on top of it.

When they finished, he captured her around the waist and lifted her onto the polished granite surface of the kitchen island.

She laughed, her eyes sparkling, and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m having brunch.” Zack brushed his lips over Sky’s and her nipples went ice hard. “And this is just the right height.” Sky shivered. “I never knew granite could feel so cool and delicious against my skin.”

Trailing his thumb over her bottom lip, Zack said, “Especially when you’re not wearing any underwear?”

She cradled his jaw with one hand, stroking his stubble with her thumb. “How did you know that?”

“Lucky guess?”

She pulled him toward her and kissed him hard. His groin tightened as her fingertips skated over his chest and worked on down to the button of his jeans.

Her orange blossom scent flowed over him, his cock already hard from the feel of her soft body pressed to his. As she drew back, Sky’s mouth was red from his kiss, her nipples pebbled under his T-shirt.

His gaze dropped to the open neck of the T-shirt and he saw a familiar chain and his throat grew tight. He reached up and grasped the heart pendant he’d given her their first Christmas together. Their only Christmas together. He’d chosen the stone because it matched the color of her eyes and it was her birth- stone. And he had chosen the shape because she had captured his heart.

He grasped the pendant in his palm. As his gaze met hers, he shook his head in wonder. “I thought you might have thrown it out in the pasture.”

Lips curving into a grin, she gave a throaty laugh. “I gave that some serious consideration.”

“I’ll bet you did.” Zack released the heart and kissed her softly.

How could he be so blessed with such an incredible woman? The truth was loud and clear as he slowly and softly moved his mouth over hers. This was the most special woman in the world and she was his.

***

Sky’s entire body went on alert as Zack slid his hands onto her bare ass. He pushed the T-shirt up and over her head before he tossed it onto the kitchen floor, leaving her naked.

Thoughts of last night and the pain in her head vanished, replaced by thoughts of Zack.

Tingling thrills went through her body as he pressed his jean-clad cock against her folds. She wiggled her hips and worked on the button and zipper that kept his cock out of her hands. And not inside her.