The Bad Boys' Reluctant Woman (5 page)

Zoe only got the chance to eat one,
but that was more than enough for her. She knew the calories would go straight
to her hips.

“Did you make these?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re amazing. I’ve never tasted
anything so good before.” She licked her lips as her mouth watered for another
bite.

“Wait, you’ve got some right here.”
Connor ran his thumb at the corner of her lip. Her heart rate kicked up when he
placed the thumb with the little bit of chocolate frosting on it into his own
mouth.

“Delicious,” he agreed.

She smiled, tucking a strand of hair
behind her ear. “What brings you over here?” she asked.

“I was worried about you. This is
not a great part of town.”

“It is still part of Law Castle,
Connor. I’m fine here.”

“I don’t like you here.”

“You don’t get a say in how I live
my life. You don’t know me,” she said.

“Because you don’t
give me or us a chance to get to know you.”

Zoe took a deep breath. She knew
arguing with him would be useless. “Do Jake and Brent know you came over here
to bring me the cupcakes?”

He shook his head. “They’re on
break.”

She was a little hurt that they
hadn’t come over themselves.

Connor reached over and stroked her
cheek. “It’s not because they don’t care, Zoe. They don’t know how to approach
you. You refuse to open up.”

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t be in
Law Castle all that long.”

“Why are you running away?” he
asked.

Zoe stared at him. She saw the
conflict in his eyes. “I’m not running away.”

“Bullshit. I know fear when I see
it. You’ve got nothing to be afraid of, Zoe. Jake, Brent, and I will take care
of you. We want to.”

She shook her head in denial. “No,
you three want to fuck me and use me as some kind of living, breathing, sex
toy. I’m a person. I’m not going to be used.”

Zoe glanced up to see a mother
approaching the park area. “I’ve got to go. I need to get some stuff from
town.”

“Great. I’ll drive you.”

“That won’t be necessary. I can take
care of myself.”

Connor stood over her. His gaze was
focussed on her eyes. He cupped her cheeks forcing her to keep the contact of
their gaze. “I’ll drive you into town. Don’t argue with me, Zoe. You will not
win. That is a promise.”

She nodded her head, hating herself
for giving in. Zoe felt the heat of his words go southwards. Her pussy was on
fire and had been since the moment he’d joined her at the park. She nodded at
the mother who’d finally decided to be a parent. The other woman was too busy
looking at Connor. His bad boy reputation must precede him. She glanced at him
and saw he wasn’t paying any attention.

“That woman was looking at you,” she
said, testing him to see how he’d react.

“I don’t give a shit.”

He followed her up the flights of
steps to her apartment door.

“You can wait outside,” she said.

“Dream on, baby. I’ll wait inside.”

She growled in annoyance. Opening
the door, she tried to slam the hard wood in his face. Connor caught it and
closed the door quietly. Zoe stormed off to the kitchen, put her cup in the
sink, her book on the side and grabbed her purse.

When she got back to where she’d
left Connor she found him staring at her bare walls and threadbare furniture.
“There are no pictures,” he said.

“I don’t own any pictures.”

“Why not?
Everyone should have some
pictures.”

Her heart felt tight.

She shook her head.

Chapter Five

Connor stared at her for several
seconds and thought better of invading her privacy a little more. She was
clearly uncomfortable with talking about her past. He let out a sigh. No matter
how hard he tried to get closer to her, she tried to keep the distance between
them firmly in place. At least he’d finally gotten a look in her apartment.
From what he saw, it gave him no hope at all.

He knew she wasn’t running from
anything. A woman on the run wouldn’t be in an apartment or start to become
attached to children in a park. Zoe was running from something else, but what
he had no clue.

“Let’s go before Noah has a real
reason to fire me.” He grabbed her hand and opened the front door. A guy stood
on the other side with his hand raised to knock. “Can I help you?” Connor
asked.

A gasp from behind him alerted him
that Zoe wasn’t happy with the man at her door either. “I want a word with
Zoe.”

“Zoe, do you want a word with this
guy?” Connor asked.

“No. Bill, leave me alone.”

“Are you her boyfriend?” Bill asked.

Connor hated him on sight. He saw
the expensive suit for what it really was.
A costume.
There was something about the guy that turned his stomach. Bill’s gaze moved to
Zoe, and Connor saw the desire in his eyes. There is no way this man was going
near his woman.

“She’s mine,
Bill.
Back off.”

He thought Bill was going to say
something else. A quick glance between the two and the other man walked away.
“Lock your door.” Connor didn’t let go of hers hand. They walked down to his
truck together. He helped her inside then moved round to his own section. “Who
was that guy?”

“I don’t know. His name is Bill.
That’s all I know.”

“I don’t like him.”

A chuckle came from her. “You
wouldn’t. He’s not a good guy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say that Law Castle has
its bad side as well.”

Connor wanted to ask more. He filed
the information away for later. If he could get anything on the guy then he
wanted to make sure the Sheriff knew what was going on. Bill was a threat. He’d
seen and sensed it in the guy.

Pushing the thoughts away, he started
the truck and made his way into town. The market was in full swing with plenty
of people wandering around. He parked the truck along the street next to the
mechanic shop. Brent and Jake stopped working the moment they saw him. He
ignored them both and helped Zoe out of the truck.

The moment they saw her, they moved
over. Several of the girls had stopped near a bench next to the shop. Their
giggles as they stared at all three of them drove Connor crazy.

“Zoe,” Jake said. He lifted her hand
and kissed her knuckles.

“It sounds like you have a bunch of
admirers,” she said.

Connor cursed. “They’re annoying
little school-girls, Zoe.
Nothing to feel threatened by.”

She turned to stare at him. He saw
the flash of hurt in her eyes. Her walls came up firmly in place. “I’ve got to
go. Thanks for the ride.” She brushed past him, and in the next second she’d
disappeared into the crowd.

“Wow, what did you do to her,
Connor?” Brent asked.

“I’m not giving up, and it’s pissing
her off. Have either of you two heard of Bill?” He stared at his two friends.

They both shook their heads.

“What’s up?”

“I was coming out of Zoe’s apartment
over near the trailer parks. A guy was waiting for her. I don’t like him. He
stinks of awful shit.”

“Maybe he just needs a shower?” Jake
said.

Connor didn’t rise to the bait of
the joke. “I don’t think so. I didn’t get that vibe from him.”

Cheryl came out of the shop followed
by Noah and Drew. Connor watched as both men embraced her before she walked off
to where she worked. He wanted that. He wanted Zoe to visit him with a smile
and treats and be happy to be their woman.

Connor rubbed his chest as an ache
began to fill him.

“Go and ask the sheriff. I’m sure
he’ll know something if that’s the case.”

He nodded then made his way back to
work. The sound of the giggling school kids was driving him crazy. Zoe filled
his mind, and all he thought about was the frustration of the fact he didn’t
have her.

If he didn’t catch her soon, he was
going to lose his mind.

****

Several days later

Brent sat at the bar watching Zoe
work. Connor and Jake were at home. Connor had fallen asleep after being awake
for nearly forty-eight hours. When he started with the insomnia, Jake and Brent
let him sleep whenever he could. Brent was under no illusion that he’d be out
watching Zoe during the night.

Vicki handed him a beer. “Why are
you alone?” she asked.

“The others have left me,” Brent
said, never once taking his eyes off the woman at the far end of the bar. Since
the moment he’d taken his seat, she’d made sure to stay as far away from him as
possible.

“Are you three still determined to
have her?”

“That’s none of your business,
sweetheart.” He handed her some money.

“I just think you’re wasting your
time with her. She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

“Shut up, Vicki.”

“You’re all panting after her like
lovesick puppies. Is that why you’re still here?” Vicki asked.

Brent glared at her. He saw she
didn’t mean anything bad by what she was saying. “It’s none of your business.”

“Zoe intends to leave Law Castle in
the next couple of weeks. I heard her talking about it the other day.”

That was news to Brent. He didn’t
like it. “Thanks for the beer.” He remained in his seat.

She threw her hands in the air in
exasperation. The Dugout was busy once again. Tristan Carmichael, the local
Sheriff and all around bad-ass, took the seat next to him. The guy had more
tattoos than Brent did. Tristan was forty-five years old with a heart made of
stone. He’d declined to be part of the Law Castle Bad Boys. Brent had a lot of
respect for the Sheriff. He kept the town clean, at least most of it.
 

“Connor came to see me the other
day,” Tristan said, raising his hand to get the attention of the barmaids.
Brent smirked when he saw Vicki purposefully be busy and send Zoe over instead.

“What can I get you?” Zoe asked.
Brent knew she’d never seen the Sheriff. Tristan rarely came into The Dugout.
He had more particular tastes.

“Zoe, I’d like you to meet Law
Castle’s finest Sheriff, Tristan Carmichael.”

The two shook hands. “What can I get
you?” she asked again.

There was no change in her attitude.
Zoe didn’t like law enforcement either.

“A beer would be great.”

“Coming right up.”

She disappeared.

“Is that the girl I’ve heard so much
about?”

“If you mean to ask, is she the girl
busting mine, Jake, and Connor’s balls, then the answer is yes.”

“Here’s your beer.” She handed the
beer, took the money then placed the change on the counter without touching
Tristan.

“She doesn’t like you.”

“Criminals or runaway foster kids
don’t,” Tristan said.

“Zoe’s not a criminal.”

“I know.”

“She’s a foster kid?” Brent asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

Brent sat down staring at the guy
next to him. Tristan was a strange guy. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’ve looked at her file. Zoe Howard
is her name. She’s got some interesting facts about her, and no, she’s not a
criminal, but she might be a runaway foster kid.” He watched as Tristan tipped
the bottle and took a long swig.

“I fucking hate you right now.”

“She’s the one that has Connor
asking after a Bill?” Tristan asked, moving on as if Brent hadn’t spoken.

“Yes, he’s
hassling
the girl.”

“Walk away from this one, Brent.
Bill is not your problem.”

Brent sat down. He didn’t like
taking orders.

“He’s a problem to Zoe.”

“She hasn’t reported a problem. Take
my advice and back the fuck down. Bill is not a Law Castle problem. If you
don’t listen to my advice, you’ll be in a whole shit-load of trouble.”

Brent’s anger was beginning to rise.
He didn’t like being told what to do.

“You know we can’t accept that,
Tristan. Why are you really here?”

“Out of courtesy
to an old friend.
The Law Castle Bad Boys are good for business. The women come for a piece of
the bad boy pie, and it brings business to a potentially dying town.”

“What’s this got to do with Bill and
Zoe?”

“All towns have their bad parts,
Brent. Bill is simply the bad piece in a puzzle.”