“Tough. Your problems are my problems. Got it?”
His fingers slid through her hair at her temples. “Ican’t lose you.”
It was the same truth she knew in her heart. She couldn’t lose him either. Whatever they were doing here, it was too precious to squander. “You’re not losing me. I’m right here.”
His eyes searched her face. “You’re the only person who has ever stayed.”
Every reminder of the life he’d grown up in was a punch in her gut. How had no one taken the time to love this man? “I’m not leaving,” she whispered.
Zach inhaled a deep breath and shifted until the side of his nose brushed against hers. The small touch sent her heart racing.
“I think about you all the time,” he whispered. “You’re too good for me, but I want you so badly.” He sucked in another breath as his mouth moved an inch from hers. His words were rough and low, near enough that she felt them on her lips. “And that kiss.”
Her heart pounded against the cage that held it in place. “I think about you all the time too. And that kiss,” she whispered back.
His hands moved in her hair. “Angel?”
“Kiss me,” she demanded. Strong and sure like her feelings for him.
Zach crashed into her, pressing his lips over hers in a rush of desperation and awe. His grip in her hair tightened, and she wrapped her arms around him. He was her anchor as the ship tossed in the storm. Every move stoked a fire within her that had been kindling for months.
He slid his hands down to the backs of her legs andhoisted her up. She grabbed onto his shoulders and wrapped her legs around him as he walked out of the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” she asked, breaking the kiss to look where they were going.
“You’re going to sit on the couch like you’re supposed to, and we’re going to have a little talk.”
“About what? Is this a good talk or a bad talk? I want to exempt myself from bad talks.”
“Hush, angel. It’s good. Or should I say, it’ll be good as long as you cooperate.”
She laughed and pressed a kiss to his temple. “You’re so bossy.”
“I thought you were the boss in this relationship,” he quipped.
Asa and Dawson’s words came back to her from one of their talks when Zach had just been released from prison. They’d called him a wild card. Now, Lauren wasn’t sure which of them was more impulsive, Zach or her.
“How about we do everything together. Not always equal, because we both have our strengths, but something close to that.”
“Sounds perfect.” He set her down on the couch and took the seat next to her. “But what are we going to do about Anthony? And how are we going to handle things now that I’m back in the business?”
She held up a finger. “I have thoughts.”
“Of course you do. You think more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life.”
“It’s a good thing because one of us has to do it. Now, here are my thoughts on your situation. You have to agree to inform.”
Zach groaned and let his head fall against the back of the couch. “Really? I thought you were going to give me another option.”
“Nope. No other option. We need to protectyou, and that’s the only way to do it.”
“What about you? Are you still going to look for Anthony?”
“Yes, but I promise to do it safely,” she said.
“What is safe? He’s a known criminal. You know if you find him, you’ll have to turn him in.”
“I might have to, but if that’s what happens, then I can’t do much about it.” She didn’t want to turn him in. She wasn’t even sure she could do it. But she needed answers, and maybe she could even help him.
