CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded, and then realized Holden couldn’t see. “Positive.”

“Does she know what you’re planning?”

Holding the phone with one hand, I pinched the bridge of my nose with the other. “Not yet, I’m going to tell her tonight.” I was apprehensive to clue Zoe in on my plans for John Hammond for various reasons. She’d confided in me that she’d been in such a dark place at one point, she’d gone looking for a gun.

I could still see the smile on her face when she told me that since she hadn’t heard anything from him in a while, she figured he’d finally given up and moved on. She was also positive that TCPD would prove he was the one who had started the gallery fire.

I, on the other hand, still wanted the bastard to pay for all the hurt he’d made my woman feel.

“Eli? You there, man?” Holden’s voice broke through my vengeful thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, you’re cutting it fine.”

Fine wasn’t the word. I had to be in TC by tomorrow night. Zoe was going to flip when I broke the news, I knew it. I only hoped she’d understand why this was the only way.

“Extremely,” I agreed. A knock on my office door had me lowering my voice, “Listen, I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, I stabbed the red button on my phone and then loudly said, “Come in.”

I was expecting to see Ester, maybe even Liam, definitely not Zoe sauntering into my office wearing my uniform shirt. Holy shit, she looked all kinds of hot; my shirt hit her about mid-thigh and the belt she had cinched around her waist drew my attention to her chest and hips. I had the sudden urge to hold on to those sinful hips while I bury—

The sound of the door clicking shut broke through the x-rated movie playing in my head. After a few rapid blinks, her gorgeous image came back into focus. As if she knew exactly where my thoughts had gone, she gave me a salacious grin before her tongue darted out to glide along her crimson-colored lips. Blinking slowly, she sucked the bottom one into her mouth then dug her teeth into the plump, wet flesh. “Hi.” Her breathy voice and the come-hither look in her slightly darker eyes registered straight between my legs.

Shifting in my seat, I cleared my throat. “This is a nice surprise.” Zoe pushed off the door. Hips swaying, she strolled toward me. Her index finger slid along the wooden surface of my desk as she rounded it. “I like your…outfit.”

“I wore it specially for you.”

Shit! This was a side of her I had yet to see and, damn, I would not survive it. She was in full-on vixen mode, causing my blood to pump that much faster. “It’s nice.” I wanted to roll my eyes at my stupid response, but it wasn’t my fault; she’d turned me into a gawking idiot the moment she stepped into my office looking all kinds of sexy.

“Nice?” She cocked her head while wrapping and unwrapping a strand of hair around her finger. “Just…nice.” When Zoe reached me, she perched herself on the edge of the desk, her eyes stayed trained on me while she ran her fingers down the buttons of the shirt she was wearing.

I was having a hard time getting oxygen to my lungs, not to mention the fact that my pants felt about three sizes too small. “You look like a tasty treat I want to unwrap and devour.” My confession was gruff.

Her hands lowered to the belt. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Nimble fingers undid the strap of leather, dropping it to the floor with a soft thud. Clearly not in the mood to waste any time, Zoe immediately started working on the buttons.

One by one they popped open, teasing me with just a hint of the creamy flesh that lay beneath it. If I wasn’t enjoying the show so much, I would’ve jumped up to take over. The instant she was done with the last one, she looked me dead in the eye while shrugging out of the fabric.

I was almost positive that my eyes bulged out of my head. There on my desk sat my Zoe wearing nothing but the skin she was born in. Placing her hands behind her, she leaned back, setting a foot on each of the armrests.

Swallowing hard, I wrapped my hands around her ankles then glided them up her calves. I was careful not to break the touch as I pushed to my feet to slide my palms over the back of her knees, then around to her thighs. Higher and higher I went until I could finally dig my fingers into her hips.

“Damn, sunshine,” I breathed out as I lowered my mouth to her collarbone. As it always did, the smell of apples hit my nose with every inhalation. Peppering small kisses along her skin, I worked my way to the hollow of her throat before sliding my mouth down to her breasts.

Usually, I had no trouble taking my time in tasting her, savoring her. Today, though, want overruled everything. The need to have absolutely nothing between us was so strong; it almost felt like I needed the warmth of her body more than I needed my next breath.

The urgency in Zoe’s movements when she sat up straight and reached for my pants clued me in to the fact that I wasn’t alone in my desperate need. Two seconds later, our bodies joined together at the very moment my mouth crashed down over hers.

A groan sounded from the back of my throat as her fingers curled around my nape and raked through the hair there. My tongue greedily lapped and coiled against her while we frantically moved together.

I should’ve been worried about where we were and the level of noise we were making, I just couldn’t bring myself to give a damn. Not when being with Zoe felt so good, so right. It didn’t take long for her to slip into a state of pure bliss, the sound of my name on her lips as she did pulled me right along with her.

I dropped my forehead to her shoulder, my breaths coming hard and fast. She had one hand lodged in my hair and another draped over my shoulder. Banding my arms around her waist, I held her close.

“That’s another first for me,” I finally managed as soon as my breathing became less ragged. Lifting my head, I looked into her beautiful eyes, “What are you doing to me, sunshine?”

She never missed a beat, “Hopefully making you fall as hard for me as I’ve fallen for you.”

Tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, I declared, “Oh, I’ve fallen all right.” And because I could, I kissed her again. Slowly, deeply this time. When we finally broke apart, I helped her slip back into my shirt, groaning when I realized I had to send her back out there without any underwear.

Would it be bad to insist she stay in my office until my day was done?

“I had a meeting with Mrs. Crane today.” Zoe secured the belt before smoothing her hands down the shirt.

The day she’d told me she was looking into an art program for the kids, I’d had a hard time containing my excitement. Not only because the school was in desperate need of one, but because it meant she was serious about staying in Willow Creek, which in turn translated to her being serious about us.

“And?” The anticipation was killing me.

Her face held no emotion, then a breath-stealing smile suddenly broke free. “It’s a go!”

“What? Are you serious?” In answer she nodded excitedly, I scooped her into my arms. “I’m so freaking proud of you.” It finally felt as if all the little pieces that made up our lives were falling into place. All, except one. Setting her back on her feet, I took her hand in mine, “I gotta talk to you about something.”

“Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good.”

I led her to the two chairs in front of my desk. After I took a seat, I motioned for her to do the same. Her face was masked with concern as she slowly lowered herself onto the leather. Scooting to the edge, I placed my hands on her knees. “I have been obsessed with John Hammond ever since you told me about him.”

“Eli—”

“I know, I know.” I gritted my teeth, tension pulling my muscles taut. Sucking in air through my nose, I took a steadying breath. “He hasn’t bothered you again. But he’s still out there, sunshine. He could be planning something horrible for all we know.” For the first time, I could see in her eyes that she was worried about that, too.

“It’s my job to serve and protect. When it comes to the people I love, I tend to go a bit overboard with the protecting part.” She opened her mouth to say something again, but pressed her lips together when I shook my head. “That man is everything that is wrong with this world. The fact that he is free to do whatever the hell he likes ain’t right either.”

“Eli, what did you do?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Nothing yet.” Closing my eyes for a beat, I mustered up the courage to divulge the plan Holden and I would set in motion tomorrow. “I have a friend in TC, and he is going to help me teach John a lesson. That’s all you need to know right now.”

“The hell it is.” Zoe jumped up and started pacing. “Why can’t you let this go?”

“Because he hurt you, Zoe!” My voice reverberated through the office. Standing up, I stopped her by placing my hands on her shoulders. Softening my tone, I vowed, “I won’t let him do it again.”

She peered up at me, the emotions swirling in her eyes indecipherable. “What are you going to do?”

“Zoe, I can’t—”

She shook her head firmly. “You can, and you will.”

Scrubbing a palm over the back of my neck, I released a long breath through my nose. “The short version? We’re going to frame him for drug dealing. He won’t get a lot of time, but that doesn’t matter. We only need him to get some time in TC State Pen.”

I searched her eyes, looking for some kind of sign that she was angry or disgusted in me. I found none, so I decided to brave on. “Holden and I have a few friends on the inside who are dying to give John a taste of his own medicine.”

It was easy to see the moment realization dawned; her eyes widened as thick, hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “This is dangerous! You could end up in jail yourself if you get caught. Why? Why would you risk so much?”

That was easy to answer. I gently swiped at her tears, then moved to tuck my fingers under her chin, guiding her gaze to mine. “You wanna know why? Because I can’t stand the thought of a man like that walking the streets and possibly one day crossing paths with Molly.” Pausing for a second, I looked into her eyes. “Because you’re everything, Zoe, everything.” I swallowed a few times before I finally confessed the words that’d been on the tip of my tongue for weeks, “And because I love you.”

More tears spilled from her lids. “Oh, Eli.” For a moment I wondered if I’d gone too far, but then she threw her arms around me. Her body shook, and I wasn’t sure whether she was laughing or crying. It didn’t matter which it was though; I got everything I needed the moment she twisted her head and whispered, “I love you, too.”