Relentless (Code R.E.D. Book 4)

Chapter 6

With Willow sitting on the other side of the console, fire coursed through Zane’s body as he drove his Chevy Silverado to his home in Quincy. Images of taking Willow in every way possible kept rolling through his mind and he had to grind his teeth to keep his focus on the road.

He glanced at Willow. “You don’t strike me as the type of woman who meets a man in the Common and goes to bed with him the same night.”

Her dimple was easy to see in the glow of the dashboard lights as she smiled. “Like my friend Linda says, I don’t even date much less have sex with strange men.”

Zane had to force himself to keep his eyes on the road before he glanced at her again. “Why me?”

“The moment I noticed you watching me, I felt a connection.” Willow raised her slender arms and drew her hair over her shoulders before she lowered her hands to her lap. She looked at him with frank honesty in her eyes. “A connection that I’ve never felt with anyone.”

He tried to swallow but his throat was too dry as he looked back to the road. “I told you I don’t do relationships.”

“Why?” she asked with clear curiosity in her voice. “What is it you’re afraid of?”

Zane couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with any woman. Yet with Willow, he felt comfortable for the first time in telling the truth.

He looked at her and then the road again. “My job is dangerous and the people I care for could be in just as much danger if they knew the truth.”

“You”re not actually Secret Service.” She said it with such ease and lack of judgment. “You’re with whatever agency Stacy was in.”

Zane almost stomped on the brake from the shock that tore through him. He cut his gaze to her. “What did Stacy tell you?”

“Nothing, really.” Willow shrugged. “I just knew she wasn’t an interpreter no matter that she could speak nine languages. I had no doubt she was in some branch of law enforcement.”

He focused on the road long enough to make sure he was in the right lane and not about to roll his truck thanks to the shock.

Willow clasped her hands around her knee. “It was in the way she always sat facing a doorway when we would go out to lunch, the way she observed everything and everyone around us without actually looking like she was doing it.”

Damn.

“Stacy had a kind of tenseness about her on some days but other days she would be relaxed, and it was obvious she was truly enjoying herself,” Willow said. “That was mostly at her home. She didn’t like to go out of the house much when she wasn’t at work.”

Zane didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t just compound the lies he already lived.

Willow stared out the window at the dark scenery streaking by. “I asked her about it once and she almost choked on a bite of chocolate cake. She denied it of course, but I could see the truth in her eyes, along with a touch of fear—for me because I’d guessed.”

When he glanced back from the road Willow was studying him again. For the first time, he saw true pain in her gaze. “Tell me Stacy didn’t die randomly. That she wasn’t just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I won’t ask anything else, and I won’t say a word to anyone. I just need to know.”

What could he say? Zane only knew he couldn’t lie about Stacy to Willow.

He waited a couple of heartbeats as he gripped the steering wheel. Finally, he met Willow’s eyes and managed to get out the words. “Special Agent Stacy Randolph died a hero.”

“Thank you.” Willow whispered the words as she looked at her hands in her lap.

Zane cleared his throat. “My—one of the agents found the sonofabitch who did it and made sure he got what he deserved and then some.”

“Lexi.” Willow nodded and his heart almost crumbled for her when she wiped a tear away that had streaked down her face, and she kept her gaze on her lap. “Stacy talked about Lexi a lot, and I knew she’d take care of whoever killed my cousin.”

“If everyone was so damned observant as you,” Zane said as he glanced at Willow, “we’d be in deep shit.”

Her smile was still a little sad as she raised her eyes to meet his. “I wish her parents knew she wasn’t just another victim and that she probably has a blank star on the wall.”

Zane’s muscles tensed so much his entire body felt coiled. “It’s dangerous for you to know as much as you do.”

“I have no intention of letting anyone else know that I made a few guesses about the truth.” She wiped at both of her eyes and gave a soft laugh. “I don’t even know enough to have it tortured out of me.”

“Don’t even talk about things like that.” Zane ground his teeth and reached for her hand as he drove with his other.

Willow interlocked her fingers with his and squeezed. “I understand, Zane. Just know that with me you don’t have anything to be afraid of.”

“I have everything to be afraid of,” he said quietly.

* * *

They remainedsilent the remainder of the way to Zane’s house, their hands joined and resting on the padded console as he drove.

Their conversation played through Willow’s mind as she thought about Stacy and the dangerous life she must have led. And that Zane lived now.

When he came to a stop in front of a colonial style home, he parked, climbed out, then went around to her side and helped her out of his big truck. When her feet were firmly on the sidewalk, Willow found herself staring up at Zane, his hands resting on her waist.

His eyes were shadowed in the darkness that was relieved only slightly from a nearby streetlight. He just looked at her for a long moment before she reached up and kissed him. At first, he seemed hesitant, almost like he was afraid she would break. But then she drew him into the kiss and his hunger and strength of his need flowed through her.

He needed her.

She needed him.

Not in the sexual sense, but in the soul-deep sense.

Although the sex was a must.

Zane drew away, his expression as dark as the night and just as easy to read.

The doors locked almost silently as he used the remote before he took her hand.

Willow said, “It looks like a nice street.”

“I’m not home a lot, but the neighbors watch out for one another.” Zane continued to hold her hand as they went up the front stairs. “It’s a nice community.”

When they finally made it into the house, Zane didn’t give her much time to take in his living area and kitchen. She only caught a glimpse of hardwood floors, leather furniture and granite countertops because he immediately flipped on a light that illuminated the stairs and began leading her up.

Three open doors led off the upstairs hallway and Zane took her to the farthest one. She caught a glimpse of a darkened weight room and a small, tiled bathroom on the way. He flipped another switch and soft light illuminated the room from either side of what was definitely a master bedroom. It was entirely masculine. Thick, rough natural pine furnishings and a stone fireplace with a pine mantle, along with wood blinds and wood flooring gave it a rustic look. The colors suited him, too. Forest green bedding and throw rugs by the fireplace and bed.

“This is not what I’d call messy,” she said as she looked up at him.

He shrugged. “You should see Lexi’s house if you want to see a mess.” Zane gave a quirky smile. “I have a cleaning service come in once a week. Lexi needs one daily.”

The covers on the bed were pulled back, and her heart started beating faster as he led her to it. He maneuvered her so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed and he knelt and eased off each of her heels.

She thought he was going to take off her dress, but instead, he guided her so that she was on the bed lying on her side and watching him watch her.

“God, you’re beautiful, Willow.” Zane looked almost helpless. “And not just on the outside.”

“Whether or not you believe it, Zane Steele,” she said softly, “so are you.”

She didn’t take her eyes off him as he kicked off his boots before slipping out of his overshirt. He removed his shoulder holster and put his handgun into the drawer of the nightstand next to the bed.

Then he slid onto the mattress so that they were both on their sides, fully clothed, and looking at one another. Not touching, just being.

Her gaze traveled over the power in his body, his defined biceps, corded forearms, and strong hands. His thick black hair was a delicious contrast to his green eyes that held fire and warmth, danger and excitement—and fear.

It was the fear that tore at her heart.

After a few moments, his muscles shifted in his shoulders and arm as he brought his fingers to her face and traced her jawline. His expression was serious, pained. “I’m scared to death, Willow.”

She brought her hand to his and felt his warmth beneath her palm. His callused hand was rough over her cheek as she turned her head just enough to kiss his palm before meeting his gaze again. “Don’t be,” she said.

Zane brought her hand to his chest, over his heart and she felt the strong rapid beat through his shirt. “Feel that?” His throat worked as he swallowed. “It would break if I fell for you, and anything happened that would take you away from me.”