CHAPTER 10
IT WAS ELEVEN O’CLOCK and her parents had retired to their room half an hour ago. Wynn could still hear them talking and laughing, though. Because her parents remained frisky even after all these years, she made a mental note to run her ceiling fan at night for background noise, and slipped out of her room.
Unfortunately, she was almost to Zack’s house when she realized the additional cars were still in his driveway; his company hadn’t yet left. She was about to turn around when a female voice called out, “You must be Wynn.”
Wynn froze. Zack had his porch light on and so did she, so she knew the woman could see her, but still she considered hiding.
The woman laughed. “I’m Del. Come on over and chat.”
Wynn hadn’t joined her brother and the others earlier when they’d gone to worship at the writer’s feet. She wasn’t much of a mystery reader, and beyond that, she hadn’t liked the idea of forcing herself into Zack’s company any more than she already had.
Her foot hurt and she was self-conscious in her robe, but she crept forward and even pasted on a smile. “Hello. Yes, I’m Wynn. A neighbor.”
Delilah Piper-Dawson stood leaning against a tree admiring the sky. When Wynn got close, Del offered her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh?” Who had talked about her, she wondered. Zack? What had he said? She stepped closer.
Though Delilah was tall for a woman, Wynn towered over her. Del had the type of slender willowy build that made Wynn feel like a lumberjack.
Delilah looked her over and asked, “You’re ready for bed?”
“Oh, no.” She fidgeted with the belt to her terry cloth robe and explained, “I have my bathing suit on. Zack invited me to use his hot tub. I, uh, I broke my toe today.”
“That’s right! I heard about that, too.”
Wynn studied the smaller woman. “What exactly has Zack told you?”
“Well, not much. Zack, as I’m sure you know, is very closemouthed and private.”
Wynn didn’t know any such thing.
“He’s also very calm and controlled.”
“Oh?”
Delilah laughed. “Yes, but Josh and Mick have both told me that around you, he’s just the opposite. Always losing his temper and grumbling and growling. I love it. It was so funny when he first started talking about getting a wife. He had all these absurd notions of what qualities he’d want.” Delilah shook her head and her beautiful, very shiny and sleek inky-black hair caught the moonlight, making it look almost liquid. Wynn reached up to smooth her own hair, which she’d ruthlessly contained in a tight knot on top of her head.
When she realized she was primping and why, Wynn dropped her hand and said again, “Oh?”
Delilah nodded. “Let me warn you though, if you do marry Zack, they’ll all expect you to get dressed up for the wedding.”
She said that as if it were the worst fate possible. Wynn despised dressing up, too, so she understood.
Del made a face. “But it’s not that bad, considering the end results.”
Wynn looked around, wondering what the hell she was supposed to say to that. When Delilah just waited, she blurted, “We won’t be getting married. Zack isn’t all that serious about me. He just wants to…well, he just wants me.” And to be completely clear, she added, “But not for marriage.”
Delilah stared at her, then took her arm. “Come on. Let’s sit down. Here you are with a broken toe and I’ve got you standing in the yard sharing confidences.” She turned, holding on to Wynn as if she, with her measly delicate strength, could offer substantial support. “Let’s be really quiet though. The guys are yakking and I escaped out here to get some fresh air. I don’t want them to join us yet.”
They stopped at the hot tub and Delilah sat on the edge, crossing her ankles. “The patio curtains are closed,” she pointed out, “so they won’t notice us. You can go ahead and get in if you want.”
Wynn shook her head.
“Okay, but let’s get back to this sex business.”
“I didn’t exactly mean to say that.” Wynn had no idea why she’d confessed such a thing to a complete stranger. Delilah had just asked and she’d answered.
“That’s okay. People are always confiding in me. I’m a writer, you know.”
Wynn had no idea what that had to do with anything.
“Your brother told me a lot about you, too. He says you’ve never been this serious about a guy before.”
“I’ll kill him.”
Delilah laughed. “Don’t worry. No one overheard him. But you should know, it’s the same for Zack. I thought Mick was a recluse when it came to women, but Zack is even worse. It’s amazing considering they’re both friends with Josh, and that man knows no moderation where females are concerned.”
Wynn started to say, “Oh?” but caught herself in time. “I gather Josh is something of a lady’s man.”
“He likes to think so. Unfortunately, most of the ladies agree with him.” Then she said, “Now back to you and Zack. I want to tell you, whatever you do, don’t give up. I almost gave up on Mick, but luckily his family talked me out of it. Since we’re like Zack’s family now, I feel honor bound to do the same for you.”
Wynn gave up without a whimper. She flopped down beside Delilah on the edge of the tub and hung her head. “It’s no wonder Zack isn’t interested in getting serious with me. Every time I’m around him, I end up doing something dumb. Like wrestling him to the ground—”
“No kidding?” Delilah looked very curious about that.
“And insulting him and then I fell and broke my stupid toe…”
“Why do you insult him?”
Wynn shrugged. “I’ve always been treated like one of the guys. It’s all I really know. I speak my mind, tease and harass.”
Delilah nodded. “Yeah, Mick and Josh and Zack do that all the time.”
“So does my brother and the guys from the gym.”
“Hmmm.” Delilah got up to pace. She wore a tiny T-shirt with a smiley face on the front, baggy jeans, and strappy sandals, and still she looked utterly feminine. If the woman wasn’t being so nice, Wynn might not have liked her. She sat again and took Wynn’s hand. “I think you should tell Zack how you feel.”
“Really?” Wynn winced even considering it. “Is that what you did with Mick?”
She laughed. “Too much so. Poor Mick didn’t know what to think of me. But I’m not used to hiding my feelings, especially feelings that strong. I knew almost from the moment I noticed him that I wanted him for my own.”
Wynn nodded in understanding. She’d felt the same about Zack. Almost from the first, she’d known what a wonderful person he was.
“Okay.” Delilah stood. “Off with the robe and into the hot tub. I’ll get Mick and Josh to leave and I’ll send Zack out. What’s your bathing suit look like?” Her eyes widened and she asked with scandalized delight, “Or are you wearing one?”
“Of course I’m wearing one!” Wynn almost sputtered at the idea of traipsing across two yards in nothing but a thin robe. “I wouldn’t leave my house naked.”
Delilah looked let down. “Okay, let me see the suit.”
“It’s…um, kinda skimpy.”
“Because you wanted to entice Zack? Good idea, not quite as good as being naked, but still… Not that he needs any enticement, you know. He’s been antsy and pacing and impatient all night. We all knew he wanted us gone so he could visit with you, so of course that made Mick and Josh more determined to hang around, just to watch Zack fret.” Delilah shook her head. “They’re all nuts, but I love them.”
Once she finished talking, Delilah just waited. Then she cleared her throat. “Can I see the suit?”
Wynn hadn’t had any really close female friends before. She hung more with the guys, and that had always suited her just fine. But Delilah, well, she was easy to talk to, friendly and open. Wynn liked her on the spot.
“Okay, but don’t laugh.”
“Why would I laugh?”
Wynn squeezed her eyes shut, gripped the lapels of the robe, and held it open. She wasn’t naked, but the string bikini was as close as she could get.
Delilah whistled. “Wow. Zack’ll be lucky if he lasts half an hour. You look great. Like a model.”
Wynn snatched the robe shut. “The only time Zack and I made love it was pitch dark and he couldn’t really see me.”
“Well, that suit’ll make up for it! I almost wish I could hang around for his reaction. Will you call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes?”
Dumbstruck, Wynn stammered, “Uh, well, yeah. Sure.”
“Wait! Better still, let’s have lunch. I just finished a book so I’ve got some free time. I need to let my brain recoup before I start plotting again. Where do you work? I could meet you there.”
Overwhelmed by Delilah’s enthusiasm, Wynn heard herself giving the address for her brother’s gym. “Conan will wet his pants if you actually come and say hi.”
“Your brother is a real sweetheart. It always makes my day to meet up with a reader. In fact, don’t tell him yet, but I’m thinking of setting a book around a gym. Can you imagine? With all that weight equipment and the pool and the sauna, why, all kinds of stuff could go on there. Like maybe…” Delilah caught herself and laughed. “There I go, plotting again. Ignore me.”
Wynn was charmed. “I think it’s interesting. And I’m sure Conan would be thrilled to help out by showing you around and answering questions.” Her brother would owe her big time for this one, Wynn thought, and smiled.
“That’d be great. So what time is lunch?”
Delilah Piper-Dawson had a quick mind and Wynn could barely keep up. “Eleven-thirty?”
“Perfect. I’ll be there. Now into the tub and I’ll send Zack out.”
“It was nice meeting you, Delilah.”
Over her shoulder, Delilah said, “Same here. And call me Del.”
Wynn stared after Delilah, feeling like she’d gotten seized in a whirlwind. Then she caught herself and realized Zack could be out any second. She didn’t want to have to disrobe in front of him! She dropped the terry robe over a chair and slid into the warm water. The jets weren’t turned on yet, but the hot water felt heavenly—and it covered her mostly bare body.
She only hoped Zack appreciated her immodesty.
* * *
ZACK STARED at Josh and Mick, who stared back, and wondered how in hell he could get rid of them. The show featuring Delilah’s interview was long since over, but still they hung around, drinking more coffee and chatting as if no one had anywhere to go. Delilah had tired of it and gone outside to stretch her legs, or so she said.
No sooner did Zack think of her than she reappeared. She walked to her husband, took his hands and pulled him from the couch. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Mick asked, teasing her.
“Home. Zack has company and we’ve overstayed ourselves.”
All three men turned to stare toward the kitchen where Del had entered. Zack asked, “Wynn is here?”
“No, her dad.”
“What?”
Del laughed. “Just teasing. Yeah, it’s Wynn. And what a nice woman! I really like her, Zack.”
Zack’s eyes narrowed. “Just how long has she been out there, Del?”
“About ten minutes, that’s all.” She winked. “We were chatting and getting to know each other.”
Mick shook his head. “Honey, why didn’t you bring her inside?”
“She didn’t want to come in.”
“Why not?”
“She’s in this teeny tiny little string bikini.”
With arrested looks on their faces, the men all turned toward the kitchen.
Del caught Mick around the neck. “Oh, no you don’t. If you want to see a mostly naked woman, you can just take me on home.”
Mick grinned and his dark eyes heated. “That’s a hell of an idea.”
Josh took two steps forward and Zack stepped in front of him. He crossed his arms. “I don’t think so.”
Trying for an innocent look, Josh said, “But it wouldn’t be neighborly of me to leave without saying hello first.”
“I’ll give her your regrets and tell her you said ‘hi.’”
Josh almost laughed. “Ah, c’mon, Zack. You can at least appease an old friend’s curiosity.”
“Get out. And you can leave by the front door.”
Josh sauntered over to Del and slung an arm around her shoulder. “Del, honey, I guess you’ll just have to tell me all about it.”
Del smiled. “She’s gorgeous, Josh. I can see why Zack is hooked.” Then she turned to Zack. “But she’s also very nice.”
Josh nodded. “Agreed.”
Zack hastily bent to kiss Del’s cheek as she stepped out front. “Do me a favor, will you, hon? Make sure neither of them sneaks around back.”
As soon as he got Del’s laughing promise, Zack closed and locked his front door then raced for the patio. Dani was long since asleep, his company was finally gone, and Wynn was already in the tub. Finally, the day was beginning to improve.
He pushed the patio curtains aside and stared at Wynn for several seconds before opening the doors and stepping out. She looked beautiful, though he could only see her from the shoulders up. The rest of her was hidden beneath the water.
She had her impossible hair piled on top of her head, but the steam from the hot water had still affected it. Tiny curls at her temples sprang free, giving her the appearance of a newly hatched baby bird.
Zack smiled and he had to admit, it wasn’t just lust making his stomach tight. “Hey.”
Wynn lifted her head from the back of the tub and stared at him. “Hi.”
Watching her, he began unbuttoning his shirt. “I didn’t realize you were here or I’d have come out sooner.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t mean to interrupt your visit with your friends.”
“Did you and Del have a nice chat?” More than anything, he wondered what they had talked about. With Del, there was no telling.
“She’s really nice, isn’t she?”
“Del’s a sweetheart.” He dropped his shirt and sat in a lawn chair to remove his shoes and socks. “Mick’s crazy about her.”
He set his shoes aside and stood to unfasten his slacks. He heard Wynn squeak, and looked up. “I’m not going to bother with trunks. You don’t mind do you?”
She stared at his abdomen and shook her head. Zack was already so hard there was no way she could miss his erection. He wanted her, even more now that he’d had her and knew how incredible it was.
They were behind the privacy fence, so no one could see them. Still he reached inside and flipped off the lights, casting the hot tub into shadows.
Wynn muttered a complaint, which made him laugh. “Your eyes will adjust, but I don’t want to take the chance of your parents wandering over.”
“They’re in bed,” she said. “Nothing short of a natural disaster would get them out of there now.”
Zack removed his wallet from his pocket. He took out two condoms and put them close at hand, then pulled his slacks and his boxers off and put them over the back of a chair. He stepped into the tub. “Do you want the jets, or is this good enough.”
Wynn swallowed. He stood in front of her and he could feel her stare like a hot touch moving over his groin. He braced his legs apart and waited.
“Zack?”
“Yeah?”
“My eyes have adjusted.”
He grinned and started to sit down, but she caught his hips. “No, wait just a minute. Let me…look. I didn’t touch you much the other night. I kept thinking about that, you know, that I should have and wishing I had. Now I can.”
Her hands slid down to his thighs then back up again. Zack watched her watching him, and it was so damned erotic he almost couldn’t bear it. “I didn’t give you much of a chance to touch me.”
“You were remarkable.” Without warning she leaned closer and cupped his testicles. Her hands were hot from being in the water, wet and gentle. His heart pounded.
She used her free hand to touch him everywhere, except where he most wanted her touch. His cock pulsed and flexed, but she ignored it as her wet palm moved over his lower back, his abdomen, his butt, with a gentle and exciting curiosity.
When she leaned forward and kissed his hipbone he groaned. “Wynn, you’re a tease.”
“No, I just want you so much. All of you.”
Because she was always so open, so bold, he knew she meant it, every word.
He couldn’t take it. He reached down, caught her wandering hand. “Right here, Wynn,” he said, and curled her fingers around him.
Looking up at him, her beautiful eyes bright, she said, “Like this?”
A woman with large hands was a blessed thing, he decided. Her fingers circled him, firm but cautious, strong but soft. The contradictions made him wild. A sound of pleasure escaped his throat and he said, “Yeah.”
Without releasing him, Wynn shifted to kneel in the tub. Zack caught sight of her barely contained breasts in the skimpy bikini top at the same time she indulged him with a long, slow, heated stroke.
Steam rose around him, expanded within him. He said, “That’s enough,” and reached for her hands.
“But…”
He hauled her up and held her in front of him. “Easy,” he said, looking her over with hunger. “Don’t hurt your foot.”
She gave him a lopsided grin. “What foot?”
He smiled too, and reached out to cup her breast. “Christ, you’re beautiful.”
“I’m big,” she said.
“And sexy.”
“I’ve never worn a suit like this before.”
“Thank God for small favors.”
“My mother bought it for me when she was trying to get me married off.”
His head snapped up. “What?”
Shrugging, Wynn explained, “I told you I don’t date much. That bothers my folks. They hooked up young and they’ve always been happy and they want me happy.”
Zack eased her closer, trying to quell the sick feeling in his stomach. “You need marriage to be happy?”
She looked away. “I’m in no hurry.”
He wasn’t at all sure he liked that answer anymore. “Why not?”
“Like you, I guess I’m looking for something special. That must be why I’ve never been that attracted to too many guys, right? And I did just get my own house. I want to have fun with it for a while before I start changing things again.”
“I see.” But he didn’t, not really.
“Can we stop talking now?”
“You want to get on with it, do you?”
She moved her hands over his chest, and then lower. “Yes, I do.”
Zack eased down into the water on the bench. “Come here, Wynn.”
She stepped close and he reached around her to unhook her bikini bra. He draped it over the side of the tub. “One of these days,” he said, “I’m going to get you laid out in the sunshine so I can see all of you.” Before she could respond to that, he leaned forward and suckled her right nipple.
She clasped his head. “Zack!”
“Shh, sweetheart, keep it quiet. We don’t want to wake anyone up.”
He switched to her other breast, flicking her with his tongue, and she moaned low. “I’m ready now, Zack,” she whispered urgently.
“Impossible,” he said. “We’re just getting started.”
“But I’ve been thinking about it all day, even during that stupid party.” She lifted his face to hers. “Please, Zack.”
He stared at her while he slipped his fingers beneath the leg of her suit. Hot water swirled around her, but she was hotter still, wet and slick, her flesh swollen and soft. He removed his fingers and hastily pulled her bottoms off. Raising himself to the edge of the hot tub, he donned a condom, then eased back into the water to sit on the very edge of the bench seat.
“Straddle my hips, Wynn.”
As she did so, her breasts moved over his chest, their skin wet and slippery and hot. He helped position her, taking care not to jostle her bruised foot.
“Brace your hands on my shoulders.”
She did, and he eased up into her, hearing her soft moan, feeling the stretch of her inner muscles as she gripped him. He pressed his face into her throat, filled with so much emotion, so much pleasure, it was almost pain. He held her carefully and rather than thrust, he rocked them both, constantly kissing her and whispering to her; there was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t understand himself anymore. He only knew he wanted her, and now he had her.
When he felt Wynn tightening around him, he pressed his hand between their bodies and helped her along. She bit his shoulder as she came, and licked his mouth when he came seconds later.
Resting against him, she murmured, “Will we ever make love in a bed do you think?”
Zack wanted to say yes, that he wanted her in his bed right now. The more he saw her, the more he wanted to be with her. He didn’t want to say good-night and send her back to her own home. He wanted to hold her all night, wake up with her in the morning, share breakfast with her and Dani, even argue with her.
But nothing was decided. All the issues still remained. He didn’t have only himself to think about; he had to think of his daughter, too.
He said only, “I’m off for a week now. Dani has preschool two afternoons so the house will be free. If you can get away then…”
She kissed his chin. “I’ll get away. But Zack?”
“Hmmm?” He’d just finished loving her, and already he was thinking of when he’d have her again. He felt obsessed.
“Are you seeing anyone else right now?”
“No, why?” He tried to see her face, but she kept it tucked close to his chest.
“You said you were looking for a wife. You said you had plans tomorrow night, too. I just wondered.”
He smiled. “Tomorrow I planned to do my cleaning. That’s all.”
“Oh.” She lifted up to look at him, winced when she bumped her toe, and finally got comfortable. “If you should decide to see anyone else, I want you to tell me.”
Zack cupped her cheek, so smooth and sweet. “Why?”
“Because then I wouldn’t see you anymore.”
Just hearing her say it made him want to shout, made him want to drag her inside and keep her there. His chest felt tight, but he nodded. “All right.” He smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Same goes for me.”
Wynn stared at him, then resettled herself on his chest. “All right.”