One Toni would never miss watching. It was like mother nature was giving him the thumbs up. Sure enough, she sat in her usual rocking chair on the porch watching him as he walked up. A glass of wine dangled from her fingertips and an unopened bottle of beer sat on the small table that separated the rockers.
For him.
That had to be a good sign, right?
She kept her gaze on him as he approached, but she didn’t smile. She looked serious, lost in thought. And hotter than sin with a black ribbed Hell’s Handlers tank top and itty-bitty shorts. Shell must have given her the shirt. It was the first time he’d caught her in any of the Handlers’ gear and seeing his club’s logo scrawled across her tits had his cock begging to be released.
He climbed the three steps to the porch then leaned his shoulder against a white column. “Country?” he said, indicating the music playing on a cell phone resting on the table. “Really? Didn’t peg you as a country fan.”
Her unpainted lips turned up in a half smile and she tilted her head. Her hair was down, but un-styled, like she’d let it air dry after a shower. She looked young, fresh, and he wanted to drag her in the house and to her bed. “You can’t be raised in Tennessee and not at least have some appreciation for musical twang.”
“You have a point. Blake Shelton, right?”
That got her chuckling. “See, even you know your country artists.”
He shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
Silence fell between them. Not uncomfortable, but full of unacknowledged emotions. Zach stepped forward until he was just two feet from Toni. He held out his hand. “Dance with me?”
Her laugh was disbelieving. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he said with a nod.
She studied him for a moment before placing her wineglass on the table and giving him her hand. With a gentle tug, Zach drew her up and against his body. He circled her hips with one arm, holding her against him. The other hand held hers and tucked it against his chest, between their bodies.
For a few moments, they swayed to the low sound of Blake Shelton as the sun dipped behind the trees. She stared up into his eyes as they moved to the music and he saw everything she tried so hard to hide.
Vulnerability.
The need to be loved and accepted.
Fear of being hurt.
He’d had fear too, and maybe he should have talked to her about it. Maybe it would have helped her to know she wasn’t the only one. His fear stemmed from his worry that having a woman would take him away from the club. From his family. From his responsibilities.
But, hell, Toni blended with his family as though she’d always been there. She cared for his brothers, cried with them over Special K’s death. She’d risked herself to save Maverick. Having her in his life wouldn’t detract from his commitment to the MC, it would enhance it because she would be a part of it too.
“It’s okay, you know,” Zach said in a low voice.
“What’s okay?” There was an uncertainty to her question.
“It’s okay to want me. To need me.”
She tried to look away, but he raised their joined hands and turned her chin back to him.
“It’s okay to want what’s between us.” He leaned forward until he was speaking next to her ear. “It’s also okay to want to act out your every dirty thought and naughty fantasy with me.”
“Zach.” She stiffened a bit but he wasn’t having it. It was vital for her to understand she could trust him with her mind, heart, and especially, considering her past, her body.
He pulled his head back so he could see her again. “I’m serious, Toni. You can’t even begin to imagine all the things I want to do to you. With you. Only you, baby. Deep down, you know what I’m about to tell you, but I’m going to say it anyway.”
She blinked and the arm around his back tightened. “What?” she whispered.
“I will never ask you to do anything you are uncomfortable with. What we do together, no matter what it is or how kinky we get,” he winked and squeezed her bottom, “it will only ever involve two people. You and me. I will never allow another man to see or have what’s mine. You don’t have to be afraid of repeating your mistakes, because I promise you, I’ll kill any man who tries to touch you. Brother or not.”
Her eyes grew wet and a tear tracked down her makeup-free face. Zach rubbed his cheek against hers, wiping it away.
“You’re right, Zach. My heart did know all of that. But I’ve been having a hard time getting my brain with the program. It keeps injecting me with this paralyzing fear of making the same mistakes I have in the past. I needed to hear what you said though. To calm my brain.”