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Katie bit her lip and nodded her head.
Zach roamed his hands down to her butt and sank them into her softness. “You sure, baby? You’re worrying about this too much. How can you doubt how good it will be between us?” His hand left her butt and picked up one of hers. To her dismay, he looked down as he entwined his fingers with hers. “You see how our hands are trembling? That’s chemistry, Katie. Strong chemistry. Why are you so nervous about this? I’m not going to rape you, you know.”
Katie’s breathing became erratic. The word he’d casually used sent anxiety screaming down her spine. That, and the shift in his personality confused her. “You acted differently before. I can’t—I don’t understand your moods.”
Zach lowered his head and skimmed his lips over hers, tasting the sweetness of her mouth without penetrating her. He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “I can’t explain it, so I’m not going to try, but I feel calmer now that you’ve signed the papers.” His hands clenched into her butt again. “But don’t think you can get away from me. ‘Cause you can’t. I’m not letting you out of our agreement. Understand?”
Katie lowered her eyes from his and nodded her head, just once. Then she lifted her eyes to his again. “But you’re not going to,” she inhaled deeply before continuing, “force me?”
The fear and apprehension in her eyes pierced a blade of guilt through the region of his heart. Jesus Christ, he was a fucked-up, selfish bastard. His answer was swift and sharp. “No. I’m not going to force you.”
He released her from his hold and turned and left the room.
Leaving her in her bedroom, he went to the main room and gazed out at the surf hitting the shore and questioned why he wasn’t right this moment demanding her cooperation in his bed. He poured himself a drink, and as he took a sip of bourbon and it slid down his throat, he grimaced. Alcohol wasn’t what he wanted this night. It hadn’t been what he’d wanted in a long, long time.
A vision from the past of Katie standing by the bedside of a grieving Hannah as his sister fought nightmares intruded in his thoughts. All that time their parents had been in Shreveport, Katie had been there for his little sister. In his mind’s eye, he could see the dark-haired sultry beauty reach out and gently run her hand over Hannah’s brow. Even knowing who her uncle was hadn’t been enough to make Zach stop craving her touch. He’d watched from the crack in the doorway as Hannah had settled down, finally falling into a tormented sleep. Anger at his own weakness had made him grit his teeth and turn the need he felt for a girl far too young, into anger. Hate and anger were feelings he could control, but the pure lust that raged through his system had been so much harder to fight against.
Turning away the troubling thoughts of the past, he threw back his head and downed the bourbon in one shot. He needed to get a fucking grip. He put the bottle away, knowing the alcohol would only hurt the situation, and wearily went to find his lonely bed.
****
The next morning, Katie hesitantly opened the door of her room and carefully stepped out. She had finally gotten to sleep in the early hours, but not before endlessly tossing and turning, which had resulted in dark smudges under her eyes.
Zach’s door was closed, and she made her way over to the stairway and walked down. Taking her time, she strolled over to the bank of windows and looked out. It was early, and the sun was still low in the eastern sky. The water was a deep blue, and the sounds of the surf and seagulls could be heard even through the windows. It was serenely peaceful and beautiful, and she couldn’t wait to go down to the beach.
Zach had said the days would be hers, and pushing the angst to the back of her mind, she ran into the kitchen to scope out the coffee maker. It was recessed into the backsplash of the kitchen counter, and as it was on an automatic timer, already had a fully brewed carafe ready and waiting. She poured herself a cup, found creamer and sugar, and lightly ran back up the stairs to her room.
As she savored the new morning, the aromatic coffee, and the knowledge she wouldn’t have to sleep with Zach immediately, she threw on her swimsuit and cover-up, grabbed a large tote bag and began packing it for a day in the sun.
When she came out of her room, Zach was leaving his. His hair was a ruffled mess and his eyes were bloodshot as if he hadn’t had any sleep, and as he gave her a once-over, he slowly asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Katie clutched her things to her chest. “You said my days would be mine.”
He shot back swiftly, “Did you give me last night?”
Katie stared, silent, as a jolt hit her nerves.
He sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and said, “If you want to go to the beach, give me ten minutes, and I’ll take you.”
****
Thirty minutes later, they were strolling down the beach side by side, close together, but not touching. A barrage of feelings inundated Katie. Excitement at having this unexpected vacation at South Padre. Fear of what tomorrow would bring. But first and foremost, unnerve that Zachary McIntyre walked beside her, casually flipping his keys around his fingers.
He was dressed in board shorts, and nothing else. No shoes, no shirt, just a wide expanse of hot male flesh beside her.
They left the house and headed south down the beach and after walking for twenty minutes or so, the scenery began to change. The rows of beachfront homes began to give way to waterfront hotels, one after another. It wasn’t what Katie was used to seeing in Galveston. There was no seawall, no road or boulevard to separate the huge hotels from the beach. These buildings were built directly on the beach, almost on the sand itself. One beautiful building led to the next, dotted with gorgeous palms and landscaping, intricate swimming pools, lagoons and tiki bars.
This morning, the tiki bars were unoccupied, but the tables around the swimming pools were filling up with early risers intent on eating breakfast while enjoying the view. Katie looked longingly at the sparkling waterfalls of the pools, the shaded tables and umbrellas, and the smells of breakfast coming from the five-star hotels.
Zach noticed Katie’s intense scrutiny of the vacation atmosphere coming from the hotels at the same time that an early morning hunger pang hit him. He had left the house before having coffee, and his appetite, always in good working order, didn’t fail him now.
“Let’s go get some breakfast.” He grabbed her hand and made a sharp veer in their footsteps toward the hotel in front of them.
Katie tugged on his arm to slow him down. “Can we?”
He stopped and looked down at her. “Why couldn’t we?”
“We’re not guests. You don’t even have a shirt on. We don’t have any money.” Her excuses were rushed together.
He smiled down at her and entwined the fingers of one hand with hers while holding up his keys with the other. Several key-sized credit cards flashed in front of her face. “I’ve always got money. You can count on that. And we’re at the beach, everybody is half dressed. And trust me, it won’t matter that we aren’t guests. They’ll take my money. No problem.” Explanation finished, he pulled her up a landscaped boardwalk that made a path from the beach to the hotel swimming pool area.
There was an outside kitchen recessed into one area of the building, and two chefs were in the process of cooking breakfast as soon as orders were being placed. Zach led her over to the buffet-style breakfast bar, where he placed their order for eggs, and then began filling up their plates with fruit and bacon.
In a matter of seconds, they were seated at a table overlooking the pool and ocean, a waiter having brought their eggs and taken their orders for coffee, and Katie was digging into one of the best meals she could remember.
It turned out she was hungry after all. The la
st few days, her nerves hadn’t allowed her to eat much, and now the relative safety she felt at having her own room, and the fact that Zach had seemed to back off a bit, brought her appetite to the fore.
After polishing off half his meal and taking care of the most pressing need for food, Zach spoke. “I’ve cleared my schedule for the next two weeks. There will still be a few phone calls I have to take, but for the most part, I’m taking a vacation.”
Her appetite suddenly vanished completely and she looked across the table at him with turbulence etched across her features.
Katie didn’t like the sound of that. In her mind, she had it all figured out. He would close himself in his study, work all day, and then only come out to join her for an evening meal. She knew she would be trying to avoid him at night, but now it looked as if this was going to turn into a game of staying out of Zach’s reach twenty-four-seven. Not a game she was looking forward to playing. She knew he had only given her a reprieve from his bed for a short while, and if he didn’t have anything else to occupy his time, she would quickly become the center of his attention.
When she made no response to his comment, his eyes focused firmly on hers, torturing her with the knowledge that his intent was inflexible. Her eyes lowered from his, and he returned to his meal. She couldn’t help but notice that nothing seemed to affect his appetite. It was just another small thing that wasn’t fair that she stored up in her arsenal against Zach.
A few minutes later, he’d signed the credit card slip, and was reaching down and dragging her to her feet. He was pulling her after him; she took a couple of steps before sanity prevailed. “Where are we going?”
