Rock Hard (39 page)

How would he react if she did?

Envisioning it, she licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, and her mouth watered for the taste of his flesh.

Her hands moved upward along Zach’s legs, tracing the corded muscles of his calves. His springy leg hair felt rough against the sensitive pads of her fingertips. Heat radiated from his skin, scalding hot in contrast to the cool morning air.

She reached his knees and the hem of the dress. She hesitated for a moment, playing with the polyester material, pinching the fabric between her fingers, and then pushed steadily upward. In response, Zach grew statue still, not moving other than the pulse of blood in his veins, his heartbeat throbbing at the base of his throat, and a twitch of his jaw. His breath was a harsh rasp, quick and shallow, filling her ears.

The hem passed his knees and reached mid-thigh, but still he said nothing. Tension leapt between them, and the air grew thick with the mingled scents of perspiration and arousal. Theresa resisted meeting his gaze, fearing what she might find there. It was far easier and yet painfully intimate to continue to stare at the corded girth of his thighs. The man had a superb physique defined by exquisite details, sinew beneath tanned skin. Not a spare ounce of body fat marred his granite form.

He was a magnificent male animal…

The bunched material hit an invisible point of no return. The knowledge that she was mere inches from uncovering all of his masculine glory sent shivers along her spine.

Giddy with excitement, heat and moisture pooled between her thighs. Theresa licked her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. Her pussy ached and she got wetter with each passing second. No, not ache. Ache did not adequately describe how she yearned to be filled and stretched by his magnificent cock. An excruciating emptiness centered at her core. The primal response of a female to a robust male.

“I’m going to come just looking at you if you don’t stop doing that.” Zach’s voice emerged rough, a throaty rumble as his wolf added growl to the words.

Her startled gaze flew to him. His eyes were cerulean, blazing like stars thanks to the fierce energy causing them to glow. As she watched, his irises expanded until they eclipsed the sclera. Wolf eyes stared back at her with unwavering intensity.

Then her lips curved in a slow, sensuous smile and she dug her fingernails into the muscular outsides of his thighs, just hard enough to hurt. “Stop what, Zachary?” she asked, her voice a sultry whisper.

“Stop licking your lips, love, or you’re going to wind up with my cock down your throat.” It was not an empty threat.

Theresa tilted her head back to expose her throat, a gesture of submission and surrender. She shifted her position on her knees, pressing closer so that her stomach connected with his shins, causing the muscles of her abdomen to clench. Her nipples were erect, jutting against the thin cotton of her shirt. She lowered her face toward his lap so that the scratchy hair of his legs abraded her sensitive breasts, and she whimpered with pleasure.

Zach yanked the orange polyester skirt aside, revealing his erection, jutting and huge, rising up from between his legs. Although his skin tone was fairer than hers, his cock had flushed crimson thanks to the hot blood pulsating just beneath the surface of his skin. His balls were swollen and the same dark shade of red.

His free hand caught the back of her head, fingers tangling in the dark strands of her hair, and he urged her face toward his rod. “Suck me, wench.”

“Oohh, whatever you say, Zach.” She snickered and the musk of his arousal filled her nostrils. She fluttered her lashes and pressed a closed lip kiss to the ruddy tip across the slit. Her tongue flickered out to take that very first taste and the salt of his cum coated her taste buds.

“Theresa?”

Theresa blinked and focused upon Zach’s face. Leaning forward, he wore a puzzled expression, and there was no mistaking the look of speculative curiosity in his blue eyes. His brow knit and he repeated her name, speaking with a husky timbre to his voice. “Where are you, love? What’re you thinking?”

Abruptly, her fantasy fled her mind, jarring her into awareness. She flushed so deep that she must have resembled a boiled lobster. “Sorry, I was thinking about washing the kitchen floor.”

“Right.” Zach’s clipped tone conveyed his skepticism, and she felt his gaze boring a hole in the back of her head. Of course, he smelled her arousal, but it should be something he was used to given the affect his virile masculinity had on women.

Bending, Theresa made hasty work of his feet and finished toweling him dry. She stood, gathering the tub and towel in her arms. “I’m just going to put this stuff in the laundry room. I’ll be right back.”

In the utility room, Theresa emptied the tub and tossed the filthy towel into the washer. She drew several deep breaths, striving for calm, and splashed her face with cold water. Once she’d regained a semblance of her composure, she returned to the front entryway where he loitered on the stairs.

“You still have a change of clothes here,” she said. “They’re hanging in the downstairs closet.”

“Back in a sec.” He surged to his feet and departed the room in a flash of orange.

Theresa headed into the kitchen. When Zach returned a few minutes later, he wore appropriately masculine attire—a rugby jersey with tight-fitting blue jeans and white athletic shoes. He carried a crumpled orange ball under his arm.

“Would you like for me to make sure that finds its way back to Widow Crawley’s laundry line?” Theresa held out her hand.

“Yes, thank you,” Zach said with such marked relief that she snickered. He passed her the bundle and she set it aside to deal with later.

“I’ll wash it first.” Theresa regarded Zach with fond amusement. “Hungry?”

Zach nodded. “I’m a mite peckish.”

“I only have bacon and eggs.” Anxiety crept into her voice. She would never begrudge Zach a meal, but a male wolf his size could easily break her food budget. She didn’t worry about herself, but she had to place the interests of her daughter first.

Unfortunately, Zach perceived too much and understood her precarious finances too well. He cocked his head and regarded her with a long look. “Theresa, I won’t ever allow you or Isabel to go hungry.”

“I know that.” Heat suffused her skin. She hung her head in embarrassment. Were all of her thoughts so transparent to him?

Zach’s hand brushed her arm. “Coffee?”

She shook her head, grateful for the diversion. “No coffee. I’m out. Is tea okay?”

“Tea will be splendid, thank you.”

“I’ll get some.”

Before she reached the pantry, Zach caught the inside of her elbow. Theresa stopped in her tracks, responding to the implicit command of a dominant wolf. “Theresa, has Antonio shorted you on child support again?”

Her neck and ears burned with shame. She despised admitting her money problems to Zach because it served to shine light on the fact that he had too much while she had too little. However, it did no good to lie to him or deny it. One way or another, he’d figure out the truth.

“He’s a week late. He says business at the shop has been bad, but rent is due this Friday. The landlord said I can’t be late again or he’ll evict us.”

Zach’s jaw clenched. “Let me give you the money.”

She flushed and wanted to sink into the floor in humiliation. It was a sign of his innate generosity that he hadn’t hesitated to offer, but there was no way she could accept. She knew the money came with no strings attached, but standing on her own two feet was a point of pride. She shook her head. “No, thank you. I appreciate it but I can’t take money from you.”

His entire demeanor conveyed his displeasure. “You and Isabel shouldn’t be made to suffer because Tony is a deadbeat dad. I’ll speak with him.”

“No, it’s okay. I can handle him myself.” Theresa dared lift her gaze to meet his somber blue eyes.

The tick in his jaw indicated his skepticism. “Theresa, I’ll deal with your ex-husband.”

With any other dominant male, Theresa would have backed down for fear of physical retaliation, but Zach would never hurt her. She flushed with anger, her tone grew sharp. “You’re my best friend, but this really isn’t any of your business.”

Her open defiance caused him to tilt his head back. The gleam in his eyes and the flash of his teeth conveyed his approval. “All right, you deal with it.”

Theresa stared at him in disbelief. “That was too easy.”

Zach offered a bland smile but made no reply. His silence ended the conversation and the clatter of feet descending the stairs made it impossible for her to say anything else. Her five-year-old daughter burst into the room.

“Mama!”

“Good morning, Isabel. How did you sleep?” Theresa opened her arms and her daughter flew into her embrace. The child had black eyes and dark, curly hair, light brown skin, and a stubborn chin.

“Okay. I had a nightmare about a bad fairy.”

“Why was the fairy bad?” Theresa released the girl and returned to making tea.

“It just was.” Isabel’s gaze fell on Zach and her entire face lit up. She headed straight for him, arms flung wide open. “Zach!”

“
Chiquita
! Look at you! You’ve gotten ten times prettier since the last time I saw you!” Zach caught Isabel, lifted her, and spun her so she laughed. He deposited her on one of the four oak chairs around the small kitchen table and took the seat beside her.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Theresa asked.

“Scrambled eggs!” Isabel said, and turned to Zach to regale him with tales of kindergarten and garden fairies. He paid more attention to the child than she ever received from her father.

The second the thought crossed her mind, Theresa strove to suppress it. She prepared breakfast and allowed their voices to blur together into a background din. She longed for a happy family, but it was a dangerous fantasy. Zach far outranked her within the pack hierarchy; she might as well reach for the stars. Besides, he thought of her as a friend. If she wasn’t careful, her schoolgirl crush would lead to a broken heart.

Theresa placed a plate of food before Isabel, and another containing ten times as much food in front of Zach. He inhaled with an appreciative gleam in his eyes.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Theresa blushed with pleasure. Nothing pleased her more than earning his admiration, and she had so few opportunities.

She prepared a plate for herself and sat across from Isabel. Her daughter dominated the conversation until Zach cleared his throat and pinned Theresa with his gaze. “I’ve been talking with Adam…”

She tensed at the mention of the pack leader’s name and strove to sound unconcerned. “What about?”

“It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but Adam is talking about resigning as pack leader. He and Becky want to retire and do some traveling.”

“Adam is going to leave us?” Dismay and worry suffused Theresa at the prospect of a change in the pack’s leadership. The Alpha before Adam had been an abusive tyrant.

As the Alpha male and most dominant wolf, Adam Teller acted as protector and leader of local werewolf pack. His reign was absolute—he gave orders and expected to be obeyed without question. But he also ensured that lower ranked wolves, such as Theresa, weren’t abused or exploited. He was stern but fair.

Ranks within the pack ranged from Alpha to Omega. Robert Blane held the title of Beta, making him the second highest ranked wolf; Zach’s title as Gamma meant he held the third position within the hierarchy.

“Adam was never meant to be a long-term solution, Theresa. He’s sixty-six. When he stepped in to assume leadership five years ago, it was only until a younger male took his place.” Zach’s power spilled over her, exerting a cooling influence, and the panic crushing her chest lightened.

Isabel’s gaze shifted from one adult to the other. Her eyes were wide. “What’s wrong, Mama?”

“Nothing, sweetie.” Theresa settled a reassuring hand on her daughter’s arm, but her nervous gaze remained on Zach. Yes, she’d known all along that Adam would eventually leave, but the knowing and the realization were two different things.

She assessed Zach, regarding him in a whole new light. Did Zach aspire to be the pack leader? The prospect of radical change made Theresa uneasy. She enjoyed a close friendship with Zach and had ready access to him despite the differences in their ranks. If he became Alpha, that would change. His new duties and responsibilities would take up all of his time. And of course, he would have to take a mate. There were so many more appropriate females than her, and when he chose one, she would lose him. The prospect terrified her, causing her heart to ache within her breast.

“Who would take over? You? Robert?” she asked nervously.

Zach set down his fork. “Most likely one of us, though I’m willing to bet that Charlaine could hold her own if she set her mind to it.”

Theresa burned with envy to hear him speak with such open admiration of Charlaine Gale, the pack’s highest ranked female wolf. Her shoulders tensed and her face tightened into an unhappy mask. “I thought you were content as Gamma.”

Zach gazed at her but did not rush to answer. He stabbed a bite of food, chewed, and swallowed before answering. “I have aspirations.”

“But you’re not really well suited to—” She cut herself short, aware that she sounded surly. The last thing she wanted to do was to give Isabel the wrong idea. Her daughter had big ears and a bigger imagination.

His brow rose. “I’m not?”

Theresa stuttered. “I mean, what about deadlines and book signings?”

Zach’s eyes narrowed. “What about them?”

“It’s just…” Theresa stumbled to a verbal halt. Just what? She felt like a hypocrite, hiding her selfish desires behind concerns for his career when she really wanted to keep him all to herself. Mentally, she braced for the possibility of losing Zach, but the prospect set her teeth on edge.

Zach’s brow rose. “Just what?”

“Nothing.” Theresa hung her head.

“I think Zach would make a good pack leader,” Isabel said.

Zach smiled at the girl. “Thank you for the show of support,
chiquita
.”