Sensual Stranger (23 page)

Every part of his being wanted to punish her mother and
Bauchmann for what they’d done to her, to make things right for Toni, to offer
her back all the years she’d lost.

This isn’t about my past,
she’d said their first
morning at his house.
It’s about here and now. You and me. Having some fun.
Then I take off. No harm done. You go back to your life. I go back to mine.

A nomadic existence with no real future.

You’re actually going to let her go back to that
daredevil stuff?
Em had asked only weeks ago.

Zach’s belly ached at the thought of Toni on such a
heartbreakingly lonely journey. With what he’d found out, he knew it wasn’t
necessary any longer. She had options because of the trust fund set up by her
father, one she hadn’t known about. But what if after telling her, she decided
to give the money to Belle and Lucky, going back to them, leaving here?

Even if she agreed to remain in Indulgence, what then? Would
they still live together with her working at his shop and sleeping with him
every chance they had? Would she burrow more deeply into his heart than she’d
already managed to do? Would they build a life together? Would she someday get
pregnant?

Did he want that?

Did he love her?

The answer came effortlessly, solace washing over him.

Even so, he sat frozen, staring at his computer screen, not
knowing which decision to make, except for the obvious one. He couldn’t tell
Toni he’d found out about her past. She’d never forgive him for looking into
it. She’d resent such an invasion of her privacy.

She’d surely wonder if his knowledge of what she’d lost was
the sole reason he wanted her to stay. Toni’s pride wouldn’t allow her to
accept his concern about what she’d been through. Only his love would convince
her otherwise.

He swallowed hard. To reveal his heart now was more than
Zach could handle. Sure, Toni liked him and enjoyed having sex, but what if it
didn’t run deeper for her than that? What if Bauchmann coming into her life
kept Toni from trusting or loving any guy, including him?

A faint rattling sound captured his attention. Staring at
the door to the bay area, he saw the knob turn.

Zach’s heart banged into his throat. A second before Toni
stepped into his office, he clicked on his computer’s desktop icon, bringing it
up, leaving only the bar at the bottom of the screen that displayed no more
than the first two words of Anunciata’s report.

Looking from it to Toni, Zach lost track of any greeting
he’d planned to say. The ends of her hair touched her pale cheeks, throat,
neck. Her tank top and cutoffs no longer seemed funky to him, but shabby, the
colors faded from too many washings.

He recalled her cheerleading uniform and the stylish clothes
she’d worn in her other school photos. An image of the kind of house she’d
grown up in—where her mother and Joe had lived until recently—flashed in his
mind.

Profile still to him, she closed the door, glancing over as
Zach left his chair and went to her, his heart pounding…his soul kneeling to
her.

Toni’s lips parted at his hands cupping her face, his thumbs
stroking her cheeks. Her lids slid down as he brushed his mouth over hers with
respect and love.

On a breathy sigh smelling faintly of beer and pepperoni,
she slumped against him, her arms slipping over his shoulders, wreathing his
neck, her tongue gliding into his mouth before he could do the same to her.

Tenderness receded quickly, replaced by hunger Zach couldn’t
contain. His hands went to the back of Toni’s head, fingers pushing through her
hair, keeping her to him as he suckled her tongue.

Hips grinding, she rubbed her mound against his stiff cock
and fisted her hands in his tee, pulling it up.

By the time he broke free of their kiss, she had the shirt
past the center of his back. Pressing his face to her throat, he inhaled deeply
of her lavender scent, so female, so comforting, it told Zach he’d found the
right woman and his way home.

Overcome with longing, he spoke in a strained, anguished
voice. “I don’t think I can wait to have you.”

Toni’s hands moved up and down his bare back, her nails
raking his skin, sending lush sensations of warmth, comfort and desire coursing
through Zach. Although she kept her pitch low, mischief filled her voice. “Then
don’t.”

He tried to be reasonable, to maintain some measure of
control. “Tourists are still on the street. They might hear.”

“Then you’re going to have to be very quiet.” She snuggled
closer, giving him a love bite on the corner of his neck. At his muffled groan,
she said, “If you think you can.”

Cupping her ass, Zach pulled her into him. Mouth to her ear,
he growled, “You have no idea what I can do, sweetheart.”

“Oh yeah?” In a voice even throatier and laced with sass,
she said, “Show me.”

Fevered, Zach kissed her as he hadn’t before, holding
nothing back. Not lust, need or a desire to love and protect her that was so
fierce it eclipsed anything he’d ever experienced.

It also stopped him from declaring himself. He had no idea
how to begin, fearful of her reaction, terrified she might leave to claim her
inheritance and return to Belle and Lucky. If he thought this out and made the
moment special, he might be able to convince her that she’d have a good future
at his side. He’d never abandon her.

He drove his tongue deeper into her mouth, wordlessly
claiming her, gratified at her response. She clung to him as his body demanded,
allowing him to take what he willed.

Finished for the moment, he ended their kiss. The sound of
his huffing breaths mingled with Toni’s and the muffled conversations of
tourists on the street.

Eyes still glazed, she glanced from the closed blinds to
him, her lips puffy from the savageness of his kiss, her skin rosy with
expectation.

Excitement at taking her in here, with strangers just
outside, battled with Zach’s yearning to keep her safe, to cherish her as she
deserved. Reaching out, he stroked her baby soft cheek with his knuckles.

Toni turned her face into his hand, licking his wrist.

One of the tourists laughed.

Zach started at the unexpected sound. Toni seemed not to
notice it, lifting her eyes to his. In them, he saw strength, courage and the
ability to yield, a powerful combination that would bring any man to his knees.

Closing her eyes briefly, she swallowed, then whispered, “We
can use your desk.” She took his hand to lead him to it.

Remembering what was on his computer, he held back. Toni
looked over. Zach inclined his head to the sofa and spoke in an equally low
voice. “It’s softer.”

Wickedness glittered in her eyes. “For who?”

His grin felt so damn good, young and foolish. Leaning in to
her, Zach said, “Not you, that’s for fucking sure. You’re going to get it
harder than you’ve ever imagined.”

Using his body, he forced her toward the sofa. The moment
the back of her legs hit the cushions, vinyl crackled in protest.
Instinctively, Toni turned her head to the side. Zach swooped down, latching
his mouth onto her neck, lapping her sweet skin with his tongue, while suckling
lightly.

Her knees bumped into his. She fisted her fingers into his
tee and moaned.

“Damn,” a female said, her voice muffled by the door’s
glass. “I forgot to get cigarettes at the diner.”

“Take one of mine,” a male voice said.

Stepping back, Zach pried Toni’s hands from his shirt.

She complained immediately, her voice a whisper. “No. Don’t
stop.”

“I’m not.” He turned her around. Cheek pressed to hers, he
snaked his arms around her waist, his fingers working the button and zipper on
her cutoffs.

She whimpered.

Zach trailed his fingers over the gentle swell of her tummy,
not yet reaching her mound. An indistinct sound escaped her, sounding hungered
and wild. Fighting for control, he murmured, “Did you wear panties tonight?”

Mewling, Toni shook her head.

His balls liked that so much, they started to hurt. His cock
wasn’t any better, every nerve ending firing at the brush of her body against
his.

Hastily, Zach pushed her cutoffs past the flare of her hips
and thighs. The garment hit the red-and-black checkered linoleum with an
abbreviated smack.

Up the street, a horn blared.

“Is that Steph?” a female voice asked.

Another woman answered, “Think so. Hey, Steph!” she
hollered.

Footfalls slapped against the concrete walkway, indicating
another group approached, their murmurs and laughter deeper, rougher, surely a
group of guys.

Zach curled his hand over Toni’s mound. His fingers combed
through her dark curls, reaching her slick vaginal lips, touching her erect
nub.

The back of Toni’s head hit Zach’s shoulder. She went to her
toes, her hands clamping on his arms—whether to pull them away or to keep them
on her, he didn’t know.

The front door rattled slightly from someone’s weight
against it.

Mouth to Toni’s ear, Zach continued working her clit. He
whispered, “Put your hands on the arm of the sofa, bend over and keep quiet.”

Tension stiffened her body. Her fingers dug into his
forearms.

“Now,” he ordered in a lowered voice, his strokes
deliberately slow and maddening.

“Crap, she doesn’t see us,” the female from before said. “We
better get her or we’ll have to walk to that bar.”

“Need a ride, ladies?” a male voice asked.

“Maybe,” one of the females cooed.

The group struck up a conversation, no more than a few feet
from where Zach and Toni stood.

Mouth to her shoulder, she tried to muffle her whimpers.

Not wanting her to come too quickly, Zach withdrew his
fingers from her clit. “Bend over,” he whispered again.

On a shuddering breath, she released his arms, her hands
dropping down. Using his shoulder, Toni braced herself as she stepped out of
her cutoffs. Freed, she edged to the side, grasping the sofa’s arm, bending
over, presenting her body to him.

An indescribable gift.

Emotion constricted Zach’s throat. He caressed the tattoo on
her buttocks, a reminder of what she’d been through. Pained at the thought, he
couldn’t help but marvel at the courage it took her to survive. She adopted
people who’d thankfully loved her, doing all she could to help them out, to pay
them back for caring when most others in her situation would have whined about
their lousy luck.

Toni was the finest woman he’d ever known. Having her want him,
even if it proved to be only for sex, humbled Zach.

He unbuttoned his jeans and lowered the fly, pushing his
clothes down, pressing his naked flesh to hers.

Her resultant sigh told him how much she liked it and craved
him. He prayed it wasn’t only for a few more nights.

Carefully, he entered her, a groan forming in the base of
his throat as he filled Toni to capacity, the base of his cock flush against
her body. Heat swept through him, prickling his skin. A rush of air poured from
Toni, followed by a weak mew.

Desperate for closeness, a connection nothing could break,
Zach draped his torso over hers. Mouth to her shoulder, he brushed his lips on
Toni’s smooth skin, leaving a trail of kisses ending at her neck. With his
cheek nuzzling hers, he wrapped one arm around her waist while his other hand
settled on her mound, his fingers dipping over the side.

She wiggled, her body moving into his, bringing them even
closer.

A sense of his world being right at last…fully
complete…filled Zach. He squeezed his lids, trying to clear moisture from his
eyes. Tonight wasn’t about the past any longer. He hoped it would be the first
step toward their future.

Foregoing his own pleasure, he tended to Toni’s clit.

Her back arched, her ass bucking against him.

The horn from earlier blared again. This time, others joined
it, most likely bored teenagers making noise to celebrate their existence,
their claim to all the tomorrows. A few voices joined in, shouting their
approval at the clamor. Footfalls hurried past the front door, the sounds
receding as they moved up the street.

What continued outside became no more than static.
Painstakingly, Zach focused on Toni’s happiness, attuned to her body’s needs,
listening to her breathing. How it accelerated and hitched with his every touch.

At the peak of her climax, she curled her fingers into the
vinyl, her nails clawing it, her guttural moans pleasing Zach beyond reason.
Her sheath’s powerful contractions pulled him deeper, urging him to complete
the act.

Easing back, he plunged into her, repeating his actions,
gaining speed, his brash thrusts meant to bring them nearer so neither of them
knew where the other began or ended.

Until they came as one, breathed as one, loved as one.

Chapter Fourteen

For Toni, morning came too quickly for a variety of reasons.
One less day remained of her promised month and of all the things she wanted to
do today, work wasn’t in the equation.

Slumped in the passenger seat of Zach’s pickup, with it
stopped at a red light, she asked, “Are you sure we have to go to the shop?”

He didn’t answer. Looking over, she saw he’d draped his arms
over the steering wheel, head bent to it. She asked again. He grunted,
“Uh-huh.”

She muttered, “Fuck.”

“Oh shit, not for a little while. Please.”

Toni managed a laugh until her lusty yawn stole it,
depleting what little energy remained.

Last night had really been something. After screwing like
two delinquents in Zach’s office, they’d gone into the bays. The retiree who
owned the Lincoln Town Car would never know what had happened in his vehicle’s
backseat…by then, she’d been barefoot, her toes leaving no marks on the car’s
headrests and ceiling.

Next, she and Zach had moved to a silver Hyundai Sonata in
need of new brake pads. With tourists still milling on the sidewalks just beyond
the metal doors, she’d rested her palms on the car’s sleek bumper, spread her
legs and lifted her ass, struggling not to moan as Zach plowed into her.