Zack (Armed and Dangerous Book 1) Read online

  And then he’d get her home and in his bed.

  Just the thought of what she was wearing under that scrap of a dress was enough to make him want to throw back his head and let loose a primal chest-beating howl, throw her over his shoulder, and take her home and bury himself inside of her.

  When he’d arrived at the fairgrounds, Sky had pulled in and parked her Rover directly in the row in front of him. After a moment she’d slid out of her SUV and her tiny dress had climbed up her thighs to reveal garters holding up sheer stockings. Pure lust had bolted through him at the sight. All thoughts of work, smuggling, and rustlers blew away with the breeze.

  Now she was in his arms, her scent of orange blossoms flowing over him, and it felt so completely right. He knew he’d been an idiot to leave her and he wasn’t going to make that mistake a second time. And he’d be damned if he’d let her go any time tonight.

  He lifted his head to look down at Sky, taking in her generous curves underneath that barely there outfit. Through the netting at the top of her dress, Zack could see the mole above her left breast. He yearned to peel away the material and run his tongue over that beauty mark, and every inch of her body.

  Sky’s green eyes met his, challenging him. “Your one dance is over.”

  He wrapped a loose strand of hair around one of his fingers. “Dance with me all night.”

  “I—no.” Her voice was firm as she shook her head, tugging at the strand.

  He brought his lips to her hair, traveling along her temple and down to her ear. His voice was a rumbling growl and his words came out as a demand. “Dance with me.”

  Sky gasped as Zack nipped at her lobe, hard, and when he raised his head he saw her eyes had turned a deeper green with sensuality and her lips had parted. He needed to kiss those lips again.

  His mouth neared hers. She lowered her lashes and tilted her head back. Her scent was warm and inviting, arousing him even more.

  “Zack.” Their lips came closer as she spoke in a husky whisper that made his cock grow harder. “I—”

  He didn’t let her finish whatever it was she was going to say.

  Her soft lips were his to take, her mouth his to taste. His hunger for her was so strong, so deep, that he took control of her body by dragging her close and pressing her tight against his erection. He cupped the back of her head, holding her so that she couldn’t draw away, even if she wanted to.

  And by the way she was kissing him that was the last thing on her mind.

  She returned his kiss with the fervor he remembered from long ago. Much too long ago. Her mouth, lips, and tongue were the sweetest, softest things he’d ever felt or tasted.

  Her moans and desperate whimpers grew loud enough for him to hear over the music and his body grew hot with such incredible need that he knew if he didn’t have her right now, he would die.

  Sky felt instantly robbed when Zack broke away from the kiss. The spinning sensation in her head and her belly made her almost dizzy from need. The place between her thighs ached and the crotch of her thong was soaked.

  His features were harsh and hungry—dangerous—as he looked down at her. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her farther into the darkened part of the dance hall.

  “Zack—,” she started, but broke off when she realized he was headed to the back door.

  “We need to talk,” he growled as he jerked the door open and he dragged her into the near darkness behind the building. The carnival lights barely illuminated where they were and the sound of the crowd was dimmed.

  He jerked her into more darkness, behind the trellis of some plant she didn’t recognize—and didn’t care about as he pushed her up against the building.

  “Zack—,” she tried again, but he pushed up the back of her dress and grabbed her ass at the same time he pressed her against the building, his cock like steel against her belly. Her ass was naked since she was only wearing a thong, and his hands burned her as he clenched her butt cheeks hard.

  Sky gasped into his mouth as he took hers with the force of a man hungry for his woman. Her own hunger burned inside her so fiercely she answered his kiss with her own. God, her moans and whimpers seemed loud in the night, but she didn’t care. Right now all she could think was that she wanted this. This moment with Zack.

  He cupped her bare ass, drawing her up and forcing her to wrap her legs around his hips. He ground his jean-covered cock against her wet crotch and she grew even more light-headed.

  Zack tore his mouth from hers and lowered his head to suckle her nipples through her dress at the same time he gripped her ass and rubbed his erection between her thighs.

  Sky tried to keep her cries low so she wouldn’t be heard—she couldn’t stop them from coming from her mouth. She squirmed against him feeling such fire and need that she couldn’t stand it.

  “Hold on,” he rumbled, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and crossed her ankles behind his back.

  She was so light-headed and hot she was barely aware of what she was doing, just that she needed something. Now.

  Zack. She needed Zack.

  Sky clung to him as she heard something crinkle, then the sound of a zipper.

  He pulled aside the crotch of her thong—

  Then drove his cock deep inside her.

  Sky would have cried out loud and long from surprise and pleasure if Zack hadn’t clamped one of his hands over her mouth.

  “I always loved that you’re a screamer,” he said in a low, throaty growl. “Next time I want to hear you scream my name.”

  With every thrust of his hips, Sky cried out beneath his hand. His cock was thick and long inside her, and he fucked her hard and deep enough that it felt like his cock reached her belly button.

  The need to come was so intense that moisture gathered at the outside corners of her eyes. She couldn’t take much more. She wanted to tell him, to shout at him to make her come, but he kept his hand over her mouth as he watched her eyes and took her.

  Zack pounded in and out and she clutched him around his neck and hips as he pressed her up against the wall.

  Oh, God, she was so close. So close that she whimpered and cried behind his palm.

  He moved the hand that had been gripping her ass and slid it over her thigh. He drove into her again as he fingered her clit.

  Sky felt like she’d just exploded. She screamed behind his hand and as her whole body flushed with her orgasm. She jerked and cried out again, every part of her throbbing, her mind flying.

  The walls of her core clenched his cock and every thrust drove her higher and higher until she came again. And again.

  Then Zack came with a hard slam against her mound. He threw back his head, his jaw clenched as if holding back a shout of his own. His cock pulsed inside her, causing her to experience small aftershocks from her orgasm.

  He finally released her mouth and pressed his body completely against hers as he rested his chin on the top of her head. His breathing was loud and harsh and she was having a hard time getting oxygen into her lungs, too. The night smelled musky— of his masculine scent and the smell of their sex. Whatever bush they were behind smelled sweet, like honeysuckle.

  After a moment, Zack took a deep breath and let her slide down so that he drew his cock from inside her and her feet touched the ground again.

  He placed his hips on her waist, letting her dress fall back over her ass, and kissed her again. “Goddamn, you make me crazy, Sky.”

  Slowly Sky became aware of her surroundings, the light-headedness slipping away. The sound of the midway and the throbbing beat of music from the dance hall brought her back to reality. She’d lost her clip and her hair was a mess around her face and her breasts cool from the damp fabric where Zack had sucked her nipples.

  “I-I. Oh, God.” She stared up at Zack in shock, her eyes wide as she pushed at him.

  Zack allowed their bodies to separate and tucked himself away and straightened his clothes while she scrambled to do the same. He watched her, his eyes hood
ed but intense while she hurried to tug down her dress, run her hands through her hair, and try to make herself look like she hadn’t just been fucked up against a wall. She had a feeling that she failed miserably.

  “We need to talk, Sky,” Zack said finally.

  She wanted to laugh hysterically. Right. Look at where “we need to talk” had gotten them.

  Sky shook her head, still feeling flushed and utterly and completely overwhelmed. “No, I-I can’t.”

  Then she did the only thing she could do at that moment. Actually, it was one more thing on a short list of things she had promised herself that she wouldn’t do this evening.

  She ran.

  Chapter 9

  Sky halted just inside the dance-hall entranceway, her heart pounding as she frantically tried to remember where she had left her purse and her jacket. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Zack coming after her, like a wave about to crash down over her once again.

  Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

  She plunged herself into the crowd on the dance floor, allowing all of the bodies to swallow her up. The crush of people, along with the sour smell of beer and cigarettes, was enough to make her claustrophobic.

  She pushed her way through until she came out about where she thought she had left her things.

  Sky almost sagged in relief when she spotted her jacket and purse, still lying on the table next to Zack’s Stetson. She checked with the person watching everyone’s belongings before she snatched her things up. As fast as she could, she thrust one arm, then the other into her jacket to cover her wet nipples, then whirled around intending to head straight for the door.

  Instead, she ran smack into Wade Larson.

  “Whoa,” he said, catching her by her arms. “Where’s the fire?”

  “Wade.” Sky pulled away from him and barely managed a smile. “I was just leaving.”

  “Leaving?” he said with a frown. “I was hoping that we could dance.”

  “Sorry.” She eased away while her gaze darted around the room. She needed to leave before Zack spotted her. “I’m really all danced out.”

  Wade put a hand on her arm, halting her. “I’d like to talk. About you and me.” His expression was serious.

  Sky stared up at him in disbelief. Had all the men lost their minds tonight? “Wade, there is no ‘us.’ We haven’t dated in months.”

  Wade slid his hands in his pockets. “Well, I’d like to change that, Skylar. I think things could be good between us if you give me another chance.”

  Sky closed her eyes and put a hand to her head. Why was this happening to her? Had she angered some god somewhere and was now paying the price?

  She dropped her hand and looked up at Wade. “I can’t do this right now. I really have to go.”

  Then she turned and fled. Again.

  “Skylar, wait,” Wade called.

  She pretended not to hear and pushed her way through the crowd as if wild dogs were nipping at her heels.

  Oh. God. I just let Zack fuck me. I fucked him.

  The memory of Zack’s hard body was still imprinted along her breasts, her stomach, her thighs. The feel of his hard, thick cock still inside her. She knew she would wake up in the middle of the night, her core still clenching at the feel of him inside her.

  While she strode to the parking lot, Sky held the opening of her jacket tighter as she clutched her purse. Darkness closed in on her, the lights from the midway and the occasional floodlight barely enough for her to see where she was going.

  Her high heels wobbled as she raced across the rocky lot, and then she stepped into a good-sized pothole.

  She stumbled and barely managed to keep from landing on her backside. But the twist of her left ankle and the immediate, shooting pain of her injury were unmistakable.

  Sky couldn’t move, her eyes watering as pain screamed through her ankle. She almost dropped to the ground to hold her knee tight to her chest so that she could take the pressure completely off of it.

  Terrific. Pain made her eyes water, the tears rolling down her face, no doubt tracking makeup over her cheeks. She hugged her purse as she hobbled to the truck closest to her and balanced herself long enough to wrench the sandal off of her good foot. She bit her lower lip to keep from crying out as she carefully slid the sandal from her other foot, trying not to move her injured ankle. Which was pretty much impossible.

  More tears from pain trickled down her cheeks as she carried her sandals by the straps and hobbled toward her Range Rover. Rocks pricked her feet, and by the time she reached her SUV, her nylons were shredded, and her thong was riding the crack of her ass.

  She’d lost her hair comb when Zack had fucked her, and the whole mess was probably tangled in the back from where she’d been pressed up against the wall. She managed to brush the tears from her cheeks with the back of one hand while holding her purse and shoes with her other.

  Doing her best to balance on her good foot, Sky shoved her hand into her purse and dug out her keys. Just as she unlocked the door of her Rover, a male voice spoke behind her.

  “Skylar.”

  Sky yelped and almost fell as she turned to face Wade Larson. The night darkened even more as she felt herself almost pass out from the shooting pain in her ankle.

  Holding her free hand to her pounding heart and leaning against the Rover, she said, “Damnit, Wade. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  “Sorry, hon.” Wade looked her up and down, from her wild hair to her stocking feet. “You okay?”

  Irritation ripped through her, borne on pain. “I’m not your hon, and I’m fine.” Sky shoved her hair out of her face and glared up at him.

  Wade stepped closer and put his hands on her shoulders. His tone softened. “Skylar, stop running from me and just listen for a moment. You know I care about you. I always have. I can make you happy if you just let me.”

  “Wade—”

  “I’ve always been serious about you.” Wade leaned close and she felt his warm breath as he murmured in her ear, “I want to be inside you again.”

  Sky flushed at the reminder of the few times they’d slept together. Why had she ever gone to bed with him? It was obvious he wasn’t the type of man for casual sex—at least with her. And apparently the only kind of serious sex her body was interested in having was with Zack. Serious, sweaty, heart-pounding, mind- numbing sex.

  Like what she and Zack had just done behind the dance hall.

  “I can’t deal with this right now.” Sky gripped Wade’s arms with both of her hands and gave a little tug, but he didn’t loosen his grasp. “Not a good time. So just let me go, all right?”

  He ignored her and moved his mouth close to her lips as if he intended to kiss her.

  Just as she was about to wallop him a good one, Wade suddenly jerked away from her.

  Sky stumbled back against her Rover.

  Zack’s expression filled her vision.

  Total and complete fury.

  Her heart seemed to stop for a moment. She couldn’t breathe and her body froze.

  Zack had hold of one of Wade’s shoulders. “Stay away from my woman, you son of a bitch.”

  He slammed his fist into Wade’s jaw.

  Wade lurched back a couple of steps, surprise, then rage on his features.

  Zack was already driving his fist toward Wade’s cheekbone, but Wade blocked it. At the same time Wade punched Zack in his solar plexus.

  Zack didn’t even seem to notice. He hit Wade with an uppercut while blocking Wade’s next swing.

  For a moment Sky couldn’t move. Horror tore through her at the sight of the two men fighting. Blood poured from Zack’s nose, and Wade’s split lip bled. Their hats were on the ground and they went after each other with punch after punch.

  Sky came to her senses, her body no longer frozen, her heart now beating frantically, as she screamed, “Stop!”

  Neither man seemed to hear her or they chose not to listen as she screamed so loud her throat hurt, “You bastards, sto
p!”

  Tears came out of nowhere. They rolled down her cheeks as she cried at them again and again to stop fighting.

  Sky did the only thing she could think of. Despite the pain in her ankle, she pushed herself away from the Rover, dropping her purse at the same time.

  She hobbled over to the two men and thrust herself between them just as they each were reaching back to take a punch at the other.

  “Fuck you. Fuck you both.” The tear tracks on Sky’s face were cold in the night as she looked from one man to the other as they lowered their fists. “I don’t want to ever see either one of you again.”

  Silence fell and all she heard was the rough sound of their breathing and the fury at the two men in her head.

  Her skin chilled as she turned away. She didn’t look at them as she hobbled to her Rover, scooped up her purse, and gritted her teeth from pain as she climbed inside her vehicle.

  “Sky—,” Zack started, as Wade said, “Skylar—”

  She slammed the Rover’s door, locking their voices out. More tears flowed down her cheeks and she felt like she was going to throw up. She started the SUV and the tires spun in the gravel as she tore out of the parking lot.

  Zack’s muscles remained wound up like a loaded spring as he watched the red of the Rover’s taillights fade. Larson stood a few feet away, his body stiff as he gazed in the same direction. So much adrenaline was pumping through Zack that he barely felt any pain from the blows Larson had landed.

  Anger at Larson punched Zack’s chest as hard as the man’s fists had.

  What the fuck is the matter with you, Hunter? Zack clenched his jaws as he wiped blood from his upper lip with the back of his hand. He rubbed his knuckles onto his Wranglers, smearing the blood on the denim. You haven’t changed a goddamned bit. You’re still the same lousy son of a bitch who couldn’t control himself ten years ago. You don’t deserve Sky. And she doesn’t want anything to do with you.