Zach crawled forward from the foot of the bed until he was on his hands and knees over her. He dropped his head and kissed her hard. Still kissing her, he lowered his body onto hers, found the entrance between her thighs, and eased inside her.
She was ahead of him in the race; he’d intentionally worked her up, knowing he would catch up quickly. Instead, he held back, driving her need before his. Keeping his own needs under control was like trying to keep a nitro-fueled racecar from exceeding the speed limit in a school zone.
It didn’t work. His body craved the release it would find in her dark, warm depths. His motor revved even as his mind screamed at him to stop. He scrounged for something that would cool his need. Half-formed thoughts and images skittered through his mind, too quick for him to grab hold. The ones that wanted to linger only reinforced his body’s desires.
Then the image of Vince’s face flashed through his mind, followed by how she must have looked at Vince when he made love to her. Zach latched onto it, letting his jealousy cool his desire. It still took a few strokes for his body to get the message. Even then, he couldn’t quite stop, but his tempo slowed noticeably.
Maddie clearly didn’t share his motivation. She grabbed his buttocks, urging him to finish the job. Zach couldn’t blame her; she was maybe only a few strokes from the checkered flag. When she dug her nails into his cheeks, Zach automatically drove into her like a piston. The shock of her nails in his skin gave him what he’d been hunting for. Deep inside her, he stilled himself.
As best he could, he ignored the thrust of her hips against his. “Maddie. Open your eyes.” His breath came ragged. “C’mon, Maddie. Look at me.”
She continued to writhe under him. Each breath lifted her chest, her nipples stabbing at his chest. He pushed his hips down, weighting her to the bed.
“Open your eyes, Maddie. Look at me.”
Maddie’s lids opened slowly. In her dilated pupils, he saw his reflection. It took his breath away. Christ, he could gaze into her eyes all night and die happy. Zach had to close his own eyes to block the image.
He moved gently inside her as he opened his eyes again. Maddie’s eyes had closed again. “No, Maddie. Stay with me. Open your eyes.”
Zach continued to move gently inside her as he coaxed her eyes back open. When he knew she saw him, he said, “If you close your eyes again, I’m gonna stop.”
“Why?” she asked breathlessly.
“Because I want you to see me. I want you to know it’s me who’s pleasuring you.”
The desire in her eyes didn’t fade, but a degree of awareness showed as well.
Wary that he could easily lose his hard won control, Zach let his rhythm increase. Holding her gaze with his, he brushed his lips against hers. “Say my name.”
He wasn’t sure she had the breath to spare, but he demanded again, refusing to coach her. Not wanting her to parrot him. “Say my name, Maddie.”
It came on soft breath. “Zach.”
His tempo increased a notch.
“Again, Sweet Maddie. Say my name again. Say Zachariah.”
Her response came on two breaths. “Zachariah.”
He rewarded them both with another increase in tempo. “Again.”
“Zachariah.”
“Who’s inside you, honey? Who’s making love to you?”
“Zach … Zachariah. You.”
He let his body find the rhythm that would take them across the finish line. Maddie’s lashes fluttered.
“No, Maddie. Keep your eyes open. You’re going to see me when you come.” He thrust hard into her, commanding her from between clenched teeth. “By God, you’re going to know it’s me.”
He held her gaze even as the first tremors took her. In the end, they both closed their eyes, too overwhelmed by the forces that shook them. But it was all right. As he collapsed, spent, she breathed his name.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sol stopped her at the foot of the stairs as Maddie started up to dress for the barn dance.
“There’s something I think you need for tonight,” he said as he dug into his pocket. Maddie took a step back when he brought out a diamond ring.
“Oh, Sol, I can’t …”
“Sure you can. You don’t want folks thinking Zach’s too cheap to get you a ring.”
“Is that the ring you gave Georgia? What if someone recognizes it?”
“Georgia didn’t have a ring. Not a diamond anyway. You don’t need to worry that any one’ll recognize it. Ain’t no one here ever seen it before.” Sol picked up her hand. The ring was a simple gold band with a single diamond, and it slid easily onto her finger, as though it had been bought with her in mind.
“Half a carat. Good clarity and color,” Sol said as though repeating a jeweler’s spiel.
“If it’s not Georgia’s, where did it come from?”
“I’ll tell you later.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the temple. “We ain’t gonna let nothing happen to you or your baby boy.”
Maddie didn’t know what to think. Coming from Sol, the gesture surprised her. Like Georgia, Ruth didn’t have a diamond either; she told Maddie that Jeb had been too poor when they’d gotten married to afford more than their simple wedding bands. She couldn’t imagine Sol had bought the ring just for this occasion, and even if someone had, how had they known her ring size?
She wondered as she dressed if there’d been another girl in Sol’s past besides his ex-wife. Someone he’d bought the ring for but never given it to. Or maybe she hadn’t accepted it. Apparently, he was better at keeping secrets than his family imagined.
Wondering about the ring kept her from second guessing herself about rejecting Jeb’s proposal that they park Jesse and Hannah at a neighbor’s for the evening. If Derek showed up, he had to believe his son was there. If he overheard someone mention that Jesse was elsewhere, their chance to trap him would disappear. He would swoop down on the neighbors to retrieve his son, and he’d already proven he’d kill to get him. Maddie couldn’t live with the idea of putting innocent lives in danger like that. It was enough to convince Jeb and Ruth even though it wasn’t the real reason Maddie had vetoed the idea.
Letting Ruth take Jesse to Louisiana had felt like cutting off a limb. Selfish though it might be, she didn’t want Jesse someplace where she couldn’t check on him. If she was going to get through the night, Maddie needed to be able to reassure herself at a moment’s notice that he was okay. Besides, no one else would willingly die to keep Jesse from his father.
After she dressed, Maddie let Jesse scoot around the floor while she watched the neighbors arriving for the barn dance from the bedroom window. She had hoped she might be able to spot Derek as he arrived, but watching from the second floor foreshortened her perspective so much she couldn’t even tell Zach from his brothers. Most of the men wore cowboy hats anyway; some even wore their Sunday Stetsons, all of which hid their faces.
Finally, Zach appeared at the door. “You ready, honey?” His black jeans had that crisp, new look, just as his black cowboy hat had a rarely worn appearance. Between those two items, he didn’t need the shiny, silver-gray shirt or the blue bandana around his neck to look dressed up. She was surprised to see he still wore his everyday cowboy boots though he’d made an obvious attempt to polish them. She should have worn a skirt, Maddie thought, instead of jeans and an off-the-shoulder peasant blouse.
“It’s not even dark yet.”
“Folks are asking to meet you.”
She turned back to the window. “Did I tell you I’ve never been to a barn dance before?”
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back into him and closed her eyes.
“Everything’ll be all right. I ain’t gonna let nothing happen to you.”
Maddie chewed on a nail, wishing she could be reassured so easily.
“What’s that?” Zach asked, pulling her hand from her mouth. The diamond flashed as it caught the light from the lowering sun.
“Sol thought I needed a little window dressing.” The thoughtful look on Zach’s face made her ask, “Do you know where the ring came from?”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
His voice was soft but filled with an emotion she couldn’t name. She twisted to try to see his face. “Where?”
“Later.” He shook off whatever he was feeling as he turned her to face him. “Here’s another bit of window dressing.” He pulled a matching bandana from his hip pocket and tied it around her neck. “Gotta look like a cowgirl at a barn dance.” He held her away from him to look her over. “Oh, yeah.” His smile reassured her that she at least looked the part. “We need to go down now before I start thinking about things I’d rather do with you.”
She freshened her lipstick before she picked Jesse up, straightening his sleeper, and steeled herself to meet the McKnights’ neighbors.
Jeb stopped them as Zach steered her out through the kitchen.
“You look properly Texan,” he told Maddie, “but that young ‘un, he needs something.” From the top of the refrigerator, Jeb took a miniature cowboy hat. He set it on Jesse’s head and tightened the lanyard under his chin.
Jesse grabbed the curled brim, turning in Maddie’s arms, his eyes wide, as though looking to her for approval. She tugged the brim down over his face just to see him push it back up.
Jeb’s pleasure was so obvious it made Maddie want to cry. She’d been so lucky to meet Zach and his family.
“Thanks, Daddy.” Zach nudged Maddie out the door. “Your little man makes a good-looking cowboy. He’d better not try to steal my girl.”
“Where are the dogs?” Maddie asked as they stepped off the porch.
“We shut them up in the stock end of the barn. Mamma don’t want ‘em jumping on folks. There’s a couple neighbor kids that’s scared of dogs, too.”
“Country kids afraid of dogs?”
“I hear some folks are scared of clowns, too,” Zach said with a grin. “That don’t make no sense to me neither.”
Long before they reached the barn, people were stopping them to meet Maddie and exclaim over Jesse. They gave a condensed explanation that was mostly true: he was her sister’s orphan child that Maddie was raising. Ruth had been discreet about mentioning him, so his appearance ensured he figured prominently in people’s discussions throughout the night. If Derek did show up, he’d have no doubt his son was within reach.
When Zach’s arm tightened around her shoulder, Maddie looked up to follow his gaze. A couple about his parents’ age had his attention, but Maddie saw nothing about them to justify the tension Zach exuded.
He disengaged them from the neighbors he’d just introduced her to and pulled her aside. “You need to keep it together, okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Maddie asked, picking up his tension.
“Vince’s folks are coming our way.”
“God, I didn’t think— Do they know about me? About who I am?”
“This didn’t seem like the right time to tell them.”
Figuring that if Derek had discovered her alias, it would look suspicious for her to reclaim her real name, the McKnights had agreed that they would introduce her as Maddie Grey. She was grateful for that since Vince’s parents would have no reason to connect the name Grey to their lost son.
Vince had clearly gotten his height and looks from his father, though his father’s black hair was heavily shot with gray. His mother was a small bird-like woman, but they both seemed pleased for Zach. If she hadn’t known who they were, she wouldn’t have seen the backdrop of sadness in their eyes. For the first time, the thought of Vince’s death made her ache more for someone else than she did for herself.
Had she had more forewarning, she would have been too nervous, but as it was, she thought she played her part well. When they told Maddie she was marrying into a great family, she assured them she already knew that, hardly choking up at all.
Zach made sure they didn’t linger too long, moving her to another group. After introducing Maddie, one of the ranchers asked Zach about his breeding plans for the season.
Zach kept a relaxed hand on her shoulder, but Maddie’s attention wandered to a conversation between an elderly, white haired gentleman and a younger man. Their easy use of legal terms Maddie had heard but didn’t know the meaning of made it no great difficulty guessing their profession. She listened to them speculating in detail about what someone named Bill was going to use as grounds for an appeal.
When the younger man was distracted by a new arrival, the older man caught Maddie watching him. He smiled and Maddie slipped out from under Zach’s touch.
“You must be the prospective bride.”
“What gave me away?” Maddie asked, smiling.
“That would be the possessive way young Zachariah watched you until he saw you weren’t going to talk to some young buck.”
Maddie laughed. “I don’t know about that. Maybe he’s a little too sure of himself. There’s a quality older men have that younger men lack.”
His silver eyebrows rose as he tsked. “Flirting with elderly gentlemen will get you whatever you want, young lady. Though it can’t be a divorce, since you’re not even properly married yet.”
“Is that the type of law you practice?” Even if things worked out well, she’d need a good lawyer to cement permanent custody.
“I used to practice criminal law, but that got tiresome. I switched to family law twenty years ago.”
Practically made to order
. “Do you like that better?”
“It’s more rewarding, and it eased me into my retirement.”
“Oh.” Maddie tried not to let her disappoint show on her face, but he was too astute.
“Now we’ve already eliminated you needing a divorce … unless you have another husband tucked away somewhere?”
Maddie shook her head.
“What about a prenuptial?”
“Oh, no. I just—” Maddie took a deep breath and shifted Jesse to her other hip. “This is Jesse.”
“Your sister’s boy.”
“Yes.” Obviously, the grapevine was functioning well. Maddie was grateful not to have to go through the prepared history. “I only have temporary custody.” She raced ahead, forestalling the lawyerly assurances she knew were coming. “Permanent custody shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know.”
He reached out and let Jesse grab his finger. “One of the nice things about being self-employed is that you can come out of retirement any time you want. The McKnights are good folks. You’re going to be one of them soon, so if you need someone to stand for you, I’ll be glad to.”
Zach’s hand slid around Maddie’s waist. “You making time with my woman, old man?”
“Now is that a respectful way to address your elders?” Maddie’s new friend asked with a glint in his eyes.
“After the way you took Melvin Gunderst’s side against Daddy? I don’t expect I’ll catch any hell over it.” But Zach’s fond smile took the sting out of his words.
The two men shook hands as though the posturing was part of their greeting ritual then Zach introduced her to Silas Marchbanks, “the most tenacious lawyer in the state.”
“You’d best be careful, Zachariah. I just promised this pretty girl of yours I’d come out of retirement for her.”
Zach chuckled. “Don’t get any big ideas, Silas. Your heart’s not that good. She’d kill you the first night.”
Instinct drove Maddie’s fist into Zach’s shoulder even before she looked around to see if any of his family was close enough to have heard his indiscreet praise.