Christmas Knight (Heartthrob Heroes, Book 3) Read online

  "A check? But I have no money," Tori said in a sad, innocent voice. She revealed open, empty palms. Zach took her hands in his. He rubbed and caressed his hands over the softness of hers before finding his way along her wrists and under the sleeves of her white shirt.

  "I guess you'll have to wash the dishes, then." Zach spoke in a quiet voice as he caressed her arms. He pulled up her sleeves to reveal her bare arms. "What a shame, though, to see these beautiful hands in a sink full of pots and pans."

  Tori sat still as she welcomed Zach's stroking. She'd just about forgotten the wonderful, tingling sensation of a man's touch on her skin. But a faint voice cried out in the back of her mind: what was she doing? Why was she allowing this man to take control over her body? She ignored the nagging voice and allowed his touch to continue.

  "So? Is there any way I can repay you for this marvelous dinner?" she asked pertly. "I wouldn't feel right not showing you my gratitude somehow."

  Zach brought her arm to his lips and kissed the silky inside of her wrist. "I'll think of something," he said between each tender kiss. The sweetness of her skin made his insides grow hot.

  Zach forgot about playing their game. He forgot about the circumstances that had brought them both together. It all seemed so far away and such a long time ago.

  They shared no past and he knew they shared no future. But they did share the present. For the short time they'd known each other, they'd shared a camaraderie, laughter and adventure. Tori filled the void that he hadn't been able to fill, even if it could only be for a while. No woman had ever made him feel as crazy—or as strangely happy—as he felt with her.

  He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through her hair, the most beautiful hair he had ever seen. He slid both his hands down and wrapped them around the smallness of her waist.

  As he leaned into her, he kissed her neck and pulled her body toward his. He could feel her shudder to his touch and arch the small of her back, welcoming his weight against her. He leaned her back down onto the bed and his hands found their way under the front of her shirt. He stroked her skin before exploring the roundness of her breasts.

  The soft sigh that escaped Tori heightened Zach's arousal and hunger for her. He kept his touching gentle until he stopped to look at her. He could see the questioning in her eyes, asking why he stopped.

  "I'm afraid I'm going to break you. You're like a porcelain doll."

  He lifted her wrist to his cheek, a wrist so small that he feared he'd snap it if he held it too tightly. He kissed the base of the palm of her hand. She tasted sweet.

  "I'm not fragile. I'm flesh and blood just like you. Don't be afraid. You won't hurt me." Tori rubbed the back of her hand against Zach's cheek and gave him a reassuring smile.

  He leaned down and kissed her again. As his lips blazed a trail along to the base of her throat, he felt her chest rise and fall with each deepening breath.

  He could feel her hands massaging his own shoulders and then rubbing though his hair. It had been all the massaging he needed, and her touch stirred a more urgent rising within his jeans. He knew that this time he would not have the strength to control it. Not when he could hear the pitch of her sighs reach higher and faster.

  The faint knocking on the bunker door grew into a continuous thumping and a calling out of Zach's name on the other side. Zach's muscles tensed, wondering if he had actually heard his name shouted by some unfamiliar voice.

  "Someone's outside," Tori whispered and covered her mouth with her hands. Zach brought one finger to his lips, signaling to Tori to say nothing more. Zach eased himself off the bed and walked over by the door.

  "Who is it?"

  "I work the late shift here at the station. Got the message about your truck being here and your order for a replacement part from the earlier shift. Money wired through okay."

  "That's great." Zach answered back. After a pause, he asked, "Can I do something else for you? Is there a problem?"

  "No problem," the voice answered back, "I just need a signature on our order sheet. It's policy."

  Zach looked back at Tori who lay on the bed. She still covered her mouth and made no move. Her eyes wide and her lips plumped, she looked at him expectantly. When it came right down to Tori's softness against his body and a mere engine part, suddenly a slip of paper didn't seem so important.

  "Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Zach asked.

  "Nope. They can't release the replacement in the warehouse until I get a signature."

  Zach hung his hands low on his hips. The hot rising that had coursed through his body had cooled into frustration. He told Tori he'd be right back and stepped outside to do business with the attendant.

  After thanking the man, Zach reentered the bunker and found Tori sitting in the back corner of the bed. She sat up with her clothes neatly readjusted and hair smoothed back into place. She leaned against one wall alongside the bed and kept Spike by her side. She drew her sweet face up to his and offered an apologetic smile.

  "Okay, what's wrong?" he asked her, but she said nothing. She didn't have to answer. He could read it in her eyes and the way she kept her distance from him. Their special moment in time had been shattered by that damn knock on the bunker door and reality had settled in, whether or not he wanted it that way.

  "What we just did," Tori whispered, "was a mistake." She brought her fingertips to her lips as if she, too, wondered if their brush with intimacy had been only a fantasy.

  It should be his fingertips that touched her lips, Zach thought to himself. To pick up where they had left off. But instead of Tori welcoming him with open arms, she withdrew from him.

  "Right. What was I thinking?" he asked. He snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right, I thought I was on a date. I guess not."

  "I-I have Stephen to think about. He could get hurt if I, uh, got involved with someone."

  "It's not Stephen you're worried about. It's you."

  "That's not true—"

  "You're the one who could get hurt. You just hide behind the excuse of Stephen. That much is obvious."

  Tori sat in silence as his words stung her. It wasn't just what he said, but also how he said it. She heard the defeat in his voice along with a touch of irritation. But his eyes revealed a truth behind his emotions. She saw the hurt in those eyes after he'd tried so hard to please her by taking her into another world, even if only for a short while.

  But she had to stop them from making a terrible mistake. They were getting carried away by their closeness and she knew that. Her heart cried out to let him love her, on whatever terms, but her head couldn't allow it. A one-night stand would hurt them both, even if she had feelings for him.

  But she had no right to have any feelings toward a man who didn't know where the next road would take him. She had promised herself for her son's sake never to fall for that type of man, whether Zach would believe that or not.

  But this time, she had gone too far. When it came to trying not to fall for Zach, she feared her efforts came too late.

  Chapter 8

  "From the wife. Like I told ya' last night, she's always sending me into work with somethin' she whipped up. When I told her 'bout you two, she insisted I bring this." The old man held out a package wrapped in tinfoil for Tori. Squinting into the early morning sunlight, she reached down from the bunker door to accept the loaf-shaped package.

  "It's still warm," she said with delight. Any feeling of warmth was welcome after spending the cold night in the back of the cab. She couldn't wait for Zach to come back from the showers to show him.

  "Apple spice bread. Made it at the crack of dawn. How's that dog of yours?" The old man smiled his toothless smile as Spike appeared from behind Tori's legs. "He's looking like he needs himself a walk. I'll take him, if it's okay."

  Tori hesitated, unsure if Zach would want his pet out of his sight, but Spike had already squeezed past her and hopped down onto the ground. Before she spoke of her uncertainty, the old man hobbled with the dog back toward the ser
vice station office.

  "Come in for some java before you head out," called the old man. Tori agreed and started to shut the bunker door until a hand grabbed onto the door, forcing it back open.

  "You're up. I didn't think anything short of a tornado would move you this morning." Zach hoisted himself into the bunker, slammed the door behind him, and brushed by her.

  He didn't give his overpowering strength a second thought as he burst past, causing Tori to stumble back a few steps landing her on the corner of the bed. She sat for a moment to catch her breath.

  "Is something wrong? Is this about last night?" she finally blurted out. The rest of last night had gone well enough. After all, they'd been civil to each other—and had gone straight to sleep.

  "Nothing's wrong—especially about last night. What's that in your lap?" he asked.

  "Breakfast. The old man's wife made it for us." She set the loaf onto the small shelf alongside the bed. If he could be so detached about their brief romantic encounter, then so could she.

  "Smells good," Zach answered and rummaged through a file folder he pulled out of the cubby drawer.

  "It's the warmest thing in here," she snapped and wrapped the covers around her. Zach gave a humph and threw the pile of paperwork back in the small drawer.

  "I don't doubt that," he retorted, followed by another humph.

  "What did you say?" Tori looked at Zach, forcing him to finally face her once and for all.

  "Nothing, forget it." Zach zeroed in on Tori's bare legs. "No wonder you were so cold last night, look at you." Zach pulled away the blankets and gestured to Tori's body. Quickly, Tori tucked her legs under Stephen's quilt.

  She didn't have to hide the soft flesh of her legs for Zach to know of their shapeliness. He had felt them against his own body. Just thinking about those legs stirred up images in his mind of them wrapped around him, which was where they should have been last night. "You're wearing nothing but my flannel shirt again. It's a wonder you didn't freeze."

  "I wasn't all that cold last night. In fact, it didn't get cold in here until you just came barreling through that door."

  "That doesn't matter. You shouldn't be prancing around here wearing practically nothing and expect me not to—" Zach bit back his harsh words. Tori responded with a proud tilt of her chin in anticipation of his accusations.

  "Not to what? What were you going to say?"

  Zach stopped gaping at her body and mumbled something incoherent under his breath. "Nothing. Let's drop it," he finally said.

  "I'm managing the best I can, Zach Endicott. If I'd brought something more appropriate, I'd wear it. I don't exactly enjoy wearing this old, grimy, itchy shirt that belongs to someone else. Who knows where it's been? Or who else has been in it?" She touched the soft, broken-in flannel of the shirt that had been her only source of warmth and comfort last night.

  "That happens to be my favorite shirt. If you don't like it, then take it off."

  "Be happy to. When I'm good and ready." Tori kicked back the quilt and leaned over the side of the bed in search of her clothes.

  If he wanted his shirt, he could have it, she decided. She looked around for her white shirt and black pants, which had to be somewhere on the floor. She kept her gaze from meeting Zach's although she knew he watched her every move. The tension between them grew thick and unbearable. He wasn't the only one frustrated by last night's turn of events. He wasn't the only one hot and bothered either. But she had no choice to stop their romantic interlude and he'd have to accept it.

  "You'd better be damn good and ready to hand over that shirt," Zach said. Tori glared up at him and his eyes burned into hers. "If my favorite shirt isn't good enough for you, then I want it back."

  "So take it…right off my back if you want it so bad," she snapped.

  The heat between them simmered and despite her noble efforts, she couldn't stop her body's hot response to his crackling energy. So, she called his bluff and ignored his threat until she felt the grip of his hands around the shirt collar, drawing her into him. She became acutely aware of her need for his nearness. She stiffened, ready to fight him off, but instead, succumbed to her own wanting.

  "Take it," she pleaded.

  Zach's hard body enveloped hers and lowered her back down onto the bed. She felt the heat of his anger, an anger she'd knowingly provoked and welcomed in the form of searing kisses that descended upon her neck and shoulders. In one half-hearted attempt, she tried to muster the energy to tell him off, but her own warmed soul allowed her no ounce of strength to fight that battle. A battle she didn't want to win.

  Zach murmured her name after each small kiss he gave her under the flannel collar of the shirt. Tori trembled in response to the probing heat of his kisses, feeling a sensual warmth she had never allowed herself to fully experience. As the sensation swept through her, it awoke long-ignored needs and desires that could no longer be denied.

  The unleashed desire sparked by Zach could only be satisfied by him. And he no longer seemed to regard her as a fragile porcelain figurine, but touched her as a woman made of flesh and blood.

  With one of her hands laced with his and pinned against the bed, she used the other to firmly press against the small of his back, urging him closer. She gloried under his strength and wondered if he felt her heart pounding against his own chest, giving away the whirlwind of emotions she felt for him. For now, she could only succumb to the delicious physical pleasure. His chest hair brushed against the exposed skin where the shirt opened freely and plunged far too low. The gentle tickle, mixed with the heat of his body, drove her to an even greater yearning that she refused to tamp down.

  The word crazy went through her head, but not in its usual sense. Perhaps she hadn't done anything so crazy—or so healthy—in her life. She felt Zach's caresses soften as their urgency lessened. An urgency that had stemmed from endless hours together in cramped quarters brushing up against one another, only to leave them wanting more. He skimmed the curving outline of her lips with his own.

  Zach's lips brushed lower before finding their way along her neck. Tori parted her mouth to speak, to say anything. She wanted to ask why they were doing this. And why had fate brought them together in this oddest set of circumstances? But only a sweet sigh came from her parted mouth, hungry for Zach's kisses and his giving of himself.

  His mouth finally rested and hardened on hers. He released the hand that was laced with hers so he could caress the side of her exposed thigh, drawing up the flannel shirt. Tori shuddered as each caress shook through her in anticipation of his next exploring touch.

  The rational thoughts in her head tangled and twisted with the irrational emotions in her heart. Why was she allowing herself to succumb to her desire for this man? Perhaps she only wanted him now because she couldn't have him forever. After this trip, she'd never see Zach again.

  Had she fallen so fast and so hard for a man she barely knew that she chose to love him even when she'd have no future with him?

  Her thoughts dissolved as she felt his lips on hers one more time, warmed to her soul by his closeness. Even the scent of him filled her head, leaving no room for any more reasoning.

  As their bodies entwined, he pushed back the flannel shirt to her waist to leave nothing between them but the fragile barrier of her lace panties and his tight jeans. Even through the denim she could feel his hardness and the intensity of his desire. His desire for her.

  He moved some of his weight off her, but only so he could run his hand across her midriff and trace the faint, soft hairs that ever so lightly made a line down along her belly.

  His light, lingering fingertips teased her with desire as the energy of his touch intensified. Zach unbuttoned the shirt more, then moved on to explore the plumpness of her breasts, tracing the nipples with his fingertips and watching them respond to his touch.

  He brushed a hand along one shoulder to further draw away the flannel shirt that still covered her. Tori instinctively released one arm from a sleeve, then t
he other. She offered no struggle, nor any words to stop him.

  She wanted him.

  She had known early on in their journey—back when her eyes had opened from a dreamy sleep and she awoke beside Zach to see him smiling down at her. She knew it when he stroked her hair while she lay in the truck; yes, she had welcomed his touch while she drifted off to sleep the first day driving with him. And as she welcomed his touch now.

  Zach drew the shirt out from under her body. He gazed down and took in every curve of her. But then, he hesitated. His smiling eyes dimmed to a cheerless look. He took a deep breath and pursed his lips. After gently covering her up with the flannel, he placed one finger on her lips before she had the chance to say a word.

  "Shhh." He smiled a sad smile and rolled over to the edge of the bed. He turned back around while gripping her duffel bag.

  "I can't do this," he said as he eased the bag onto the bed between them.

  "I-I don't understand." Tori's emotions churned with confusion and sheer frustration. Had she done something to offend him?

  "Neither do I," he answered as he gave her already mussed hair a soft tousle. "You don't want it this way. You don't deserve it this way." He moved toward the foot of the bed and sat with his back to her.

  "Who gave you the right to decide what I want?" Tori tugged on the shirt. A chilly vulnerability shivered right through to her bones.

  She looked at Zach's broad back and wondered how the man who had made her come alive with desire just minutes ago could now turn away from her so easily.

  "Are you teaching me a lesson? Want me to know what it feels like to get all fired up only to be dropped cold? Like I did to you?"

  He groaned. "No, Tori, that's not it. You were right for stopping us last night. We both know that I won't be here for you tomorrow. And you deserve a better man than me."