Guardian (6 page)

“There has to be a way,” Gabe mused under his breath.
 

Zach hoped he could find one. If she was going to be in there, he wanted to know if she was in danger. A camera or mic was the only way, since she couldn’t take a phone in.
 

“Figure it out,” he ordered. He was so tense he was surprised he didn’t snap. He was even more surprised when Mallory reached over and squeezed his hand.
 

“It’ll be fine,” she whispered. “Chill out.”
 

Yeah, right. Like that was happening. She only resisted a second when he tugged her close enough to wrap his arm around her shoulders. A few seconds more and she relaxed into him. Gabe ignored them and slipped the card into what looked like a small box. Lights on the front lit up and he turned to the computer, typing in commands.
 

“This will take twenty to thirty minutes. You want to wait or pick it up in the morning?”
 

She hesitated, biting her bottom lip. Zach answered for her. “She’ll get it in the morning. Leave it on my desk.”
 

Gabe nodded and Zach pulled Mallory into the hall. “I can wait, Zach. It’s not a big deal.”
 

Maybe, but the one instinct he wasn’t fighting right now was to take care of her. And she was exhausted. He felt it through their bond, which grew stronger every day, could see it on her face. “You need to rest, baby. We’re going home. Tomorrow is soon enough to dive back into this insanity.”
 

She heaved a sigh and allowed him to pull her out the front door, but they didn’t move towards her car. Instead he tugged her to one of the paths that led off behind Brax’s house.

“Where are we going? Zach, I really just want to take a shower and sleep. A midnight stroll is not on the list.”

He laughed. “It’s a long way from midnight. And it’s a surprise.” She was such a sucker for surprises. Damn him for knowing her so well.

There were many wide, well-worn paths from Brax’s house. Inside the compound, golf carts were the main mode of transport and most of the trails accommodated them. When they turned off a much narrower and newer trail, she knew where he was taking her and dug in her heels until he was forced to stop.
 

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said.

“It’s finished, Mallory.” He lifted his hands and cupped her face. “The house is finished and it’s beautiful and it is exactly what you wanted. But it’s lonely as hell. Please just come look at it.”
 

She could hear the ache in his voice and it seared her to her core. She couldn’t speak; she could only nod. And they continued the last several yards until the trees broke to reveal the clearing they’d chosen for their dream house. It was almost impossible to hide her pleasure. It was a two-story antebellum reproduction, but built with modern energy concerns in mind, if he’d stuck to the plan. It would have a huge kitchen open to a dining room and living room on the first floor. A large library for both of them. And four bedrooms upstairs, for the family they’d planned. She couldn’t believe he’d finished it. It had only been in the beginning stages when she lost the baby. And she wasn’t sure she could handle going inside.
 

“This is such a bad idea,” she whispered.

“Why?” he asked, turning to her. “Forget my job and your job, forget all the Elect security concerns. This house is about me and you and what we wanted together. This house is just about us, and maybe we both need to remember that.”

“You forgot about us long before you finished this house,” she said so softly she couldn’t believe he heard. He took her hand, laced their fingers together and held on hard.

“I never will again, I swear.”

He was going to kill her, piece by piece, if this wasn’t real. If he wasn’t really going to try. She looked up at the house—the perfect, beautiful house she’d wanted to fill with perfect, beautiful children—and knew it was all a myth. She could walk away. He’d let her. Or she could move forward. It might be messy and sometimes ugly, and if she was very, very determined, maybe a little bit awesome.
 

She took the step. She had no real clue why, just that it seemed stupid to not see for herself, but when she stepped inside the house, she froze. All they’d agreed on three years ago was the floor plan. The house wasn’t just finished on the outside, though. She walked in and saw the floors she’d wanted. The paint colors and fixtures she’d wanted. But she’d never had a chance to discuss any of that with Zach. When he came in behind her and shut the door, she turned to him.

“How?”

His shrug was almost sheepish. “You left a notebook with your ideas. I did what I thought you wanted.”

“And you never asked?” She cocked an eyebrow. She was in shock. The place was perfect.

“I wanted to give you a gift,” he said. “I never thought when I was doing it we’d be apart this long.”

She was so not taking him back for a house. Even if it was perfect. “You’re insane.”

“Not insane,” he said, shaking his head. “In love, yes.”

His declaration froze her in place. He’d always told her he wanted her. He needed her. But love? She knew he loved her as much as he was capable, but he almost never said it.
 

“Who are you and what have you done with Zach Littman?” she quipped.

He actually laughed with her. She wasn’t sure if she should soak it in or call for help. Then he stepped closer, set his hands on hips and backed her up to a wall.
 

“I surprised you,” he said, staring down at her.
 

She nodded. She couldn’t deny it. He leaned down and kissed her just under her right ear, then moved to whisper to her.

“I love you, Mallory White Littman. I have since I was a boy.”

She shuddered. Could he really mean that? He’d never said that before, never hinted. Love was not a word in his vocabulary. There was a time she’d thought she was okay with that. Now that he was throwing it around she wasn’t so sure. Her insecurity was obviously showing through. His lips pressed against hers softly.

“I will make sure you know, baby, every day,” he whispered. He leaned his forehead against hers and she could hear him grind his teeth. “I need you to know,” he said. “I won’t let you go easily, but if you leave, it won’t change anything for me. We’re a good match, Mallory.”

She pulled away. “I can’t do this right now.”
 

She was so conflicted. Thankfully, he let her walk away and wander around the bottom floor a bit. The walls were the exact color she wanted, the floors the perfect reclaimed pine. Finally, she let him bully her upstairs to the master bathroom into the shower, which she knew she’d love in the morning when her brain cells were working, and then to bed. But the exhaustion was emotional, not physical, and she stared at the ceiling, wishing for sleep but unable to find it. She heard the shower turn off and the sheets rustled as he slipped into bed behind her. He pulled her close, his chest to her back, one arm slipped under her neck and the other wrapped around her stomach.
 

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
 

“Nothing,” she answered.
Everything
, she thought. It felt too good to lay in his arms. In this house. Would be too easy to welcome him back into her life. And would hurt like hell when things eventually went south. But she didn’t want to think about any of that now. She just wanted to feel the bliss he could bring her.
 

She turned around and lifted her face. “Just kiss me.”

His eyes searched hers for a moment. “With pleasure,” he murmured.
 

His lips brushed hers before tracking across her face. Cheeks, nose, her closed eyelids. Gentle, teasing contact from such a hard man. She felt the tenderness rising in him, but she didn’t think she could handle it. She stroked her palms down his chest, felt his muscles spasm when she reached his abdomen and kept going. She hesitated at his pelvis, her hand hovering over his erection.
 

“Touch me, baby,” he whispered a second before nipping her earlobe and she let the last bit of her reluctance slip away.
 

She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and slowly stroked up. When her thumb brushed over the slit on the head, already wet with pre-come, he exhaled with a hiss. “Yes,” he whispered. “You know what I like.”

She knew what he wanted and she wanted it more. She loved the control. Loved the taste and feel of him in her mouth almost as much he enjoyed it. She felt the desire in his mind and slid down his body to kneel between his legs. He sat up and leaned against the headboard. His anticipation amplified hers and she stretched out, flat on her belly, propped on her elbows. She blew a breath over the head of his cock, then gave it a long, slow lick. Zach’s hands twisted in her hair, but he didn’t pressure her for more, didn’t try to force her to take him into her mouth. He let her go at her own pace, let her pleasure him as he had done to her.
 

She trailed her tongue down the pulsing vein on the underside of his shaft. Back up to circle the head before taking it between her lips, sucking as she let him slide further in until her hand, still wrapped around the base, blocked further access. She was fine with that and he didn’t complain. She set an easy rhythm. Stroke, suck. She cupped his balls, judging how close he was to coming by the way they tightened. Just when she knew he was ready, he stopped her. His hands slipped under her arms and easily pulled her up to straddle him. His cock prodded her entrance insistently.

She didn’t hurry. She wanted to drag this out, wanted to savor every moment as she took him inside her. His hands gripped her ass and, staring into her eyes, he slowly entered her. Gasping, she let her head fall back as, inch by inch, he filled her. God, he felt good. When she didn’t move, he rolled them over, still buried to the hilt inside her. He thrust, gentle, shallow, and took her nipple in his mouth. He sucked her just as gently as she’d sucked him. There was none of the hurried, desperate frenzy of the previous night but a greater focused intensity.
 

Zach held onto his control by a frayed thread. He couldn’t bear the sorrow and fear he felt in her. It was a vicious, clawing ache. She tried to hide it, but he knew he was the cause. She still expected him to leave her or push her away once this was over. He didn’t know how to convince her other than time passing by as he stayed at her side. But perhaps he could show her since he definitely couldn’t repress his instincts toward his mate. There were so many things he wanted to give her. Safety. Peace. Love. He wanted her to feel the love. She’d been so surprised when he’d said it earlier. Was he so much a jerk he hadn’t made sure his wife knew he loved her?
 

This much I can give without causing alarm, though
, he thought, thrusting into her cunt. The bliss, the joy they shared when they came together physically. The incredible, mind-blowing pleasure. His grip on that fraying thread slipped a little. He withdrew from her sweet grasp, flipped her over to her hands and knees and immediately stroked back through swollen, needy folds. He set a steady, firm rhythm, holding her hips in a grip hard enough she might bruise but unable to force his fingers loose. He rotated his hips in a way he knew she loved and was rewarded with a drawn-out groan. As sweet as the sound was, he knew he wouldn’t last much longer, but he wanted to bring her with him.

Touch yourself
, he whispered to her mind.
 

She did, her fingers going straight to her clit to strum with a firm touch and pace that matched his thrusts. She was so damned hot. It took more control than he knew he had to hold back his orgasm and wait for her to catch up. Thankfully, it didn’t take long. Just when he lost it, she cried out and her pussy clenched around his cock. He fucked her through it, shooting every last bit of his seed into her, and realized they hadn’t once discussed birth control.
 

Chapter Six

“I need these files as soon as possible, Ms. Jackson.” Mallory watched as the young intern handed a small piece of paper to the floor’s charge nurse. When he walked away, Mona muttered under her breath.
 

“Damn it, I don’t have time for this today.”
 

Mallory understood why. It was visiting day. She and the other nurses and orderlies had spent the entire morning escorting their patients from their rooms to the hospital lobby and back.
 

“I’ve got a few minutes. I can get them, if you want,” she offered and held her breath. It was against the rules, but she needed into that records room and Mona had access to most of the building.
 

The other nurse bit the corner of her lip and deliberated a minute before reaching into her pocket. “It’s in the basement. You’ll need my keycard.”
 

Mona handed her the paper and card. Mallory skimmed the five names before putting both in her front pocket. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
 

The other nurse nodded. “Thanks.”

Mallory was alone when she got on the elevator, swiped the keycard, and hit the B button for the basement. The panel flashed green and the elevator began its descent. She knew from carefully worded questioning that any time a request was approved for the sub-level, the elevator would not stop to pick up passengers from any other floor. The only thing she needed to worry about was encountering anyone when she got off the elevator.