Page 26 of Treat Her Right

“Yes,” she insisted. She grabbed his ears and held him still. Then, “God, you’re incredible. So hard and sexy and sweet.”

Sweet?Zack rolled to the side, literally dumping her off him, but the second she was flat, he stood. His chest worked like a bellows and his brain cramped at the effort it took to resist her. When he turned to look at her, his damn knees almost gave out. Her shirt had hiked up and he could see her panties, could even see her navel.

He stared—until she held out her arms to him and the sight of her offering herself, wanting him, looked so good, so right, he couldn’t stand it.

Jerking around, Zack said, “Get up.”

He didn’t watch to see if she did as he asked. He couldn’t. Finally he heard a slight creak and turned to see her perched sideways on the hammock, her feet on the ground, her hands beside her hips, her gaze direct and waiting and unapologetic.

Zack drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

After a heavy beat of silence, she said, “Yeah, me too.” She smirked and shook her head.

That drew him up. “Sorry for what?”

Wynn pushed to her feet and faced him eye to eye. “At the moment, I’m pretty sorry for everything.” She turned away. “Good night, Zack.”

He was so stunned by the dim sight of her wet back, the cotton shirt clinging to her behind and upper thighs, that he almost let her get away. He shook himself. “Wait a minute!”

“No point in waiting. Believe me, I understand.”

Zack caught her arm and whirled her around. In the next instant she was on tiptoes and huffing in his face.

“Don’t think for a single second that you bested me, buddy!” She poked him in the chest, making him stagger back a step. “The second I realized it was you, I went half-go. Besides that, you caught me asleep and sluggish. Now I’m wide awake and you’re done kissing and you’re acting all nasty and hateful again, so donottry manhandling me.”

Zack had at least a dozen questions for her, but what came out of his mouth was, “You actually think you could best me in strength?” He was so incredulous he barely knew what he said.

Wynn snorted. “I’ve trained all my life. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

And she thought…what? That he was a marshmallow? She’d called himsweet.What the hell had she meant by that? Through his teeth, Zack heard himself say, “No way, lady. Not on your best day.” Then he wanted to smack his own head for challenging a woman!What was he thinking?

With a look of utter disdain, she said, “You keep living that dream if it makes you happy, big boy.” And again she turned to walk away.

“Wynn.”Even to his own ears, her name sounded like a warning. But then it had been strained through his clenched teeth.

Arms spread, she whipped around to face him and demanded,“What?”

He was a reasonable sort, Zack reminded himself. He was logical and calm and a pacifist. He absolutely, under no circumstances, wrestled with women, not even big bold pushy ones.

One slow deep breath helped a little. The second breath pushed the red haze out of his vision so he could see her clearly, or as clearly as the night-dark sky allowed. “Why,” he asked, sounding more like a sane man, “were you sleeping on the hammock?”

She looked at the hammock as if to verify which one he meant. Then she shrugged. “I’d worked all day, I was hot and sweaty and after my shower I just wanted to rest my tired bones and get some fresh air. Only I nodded off. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Zack clasped his hands behind his back to keep from reaching for her. Brows raised in inquiry, he said, “Do you, by any chance, know how risky that can be for a woman?”

“You mean with crazy neighbors lurking about ready to throw me on the ground and kiss me silly and paw me until I’m all excited and ready and then stop with no warning?” She gave him a smug, distinctly mean smile. “Yeah, I do now.”

“I meant,” he said, inching toward her, but watching her closely at the same time, “because of strangers who would do things to you without a second’s hesitation. Men who would rape or murder or…”

“Rape and murder about covers it. No reason to go overboard.”

“This is not a joke, damn it!”

She crossed her arms under her breasts and cocked one hip. It shouldn’t have been a seductive pose, but damn, it made him sweat.

“Did I just say it was an accident, that I didn’t mean to fall asleep? I thought I did, but given your attitude, I can’t be sure.”

Tension mounting, Zack flexed his shoulders and rolled his head on his neck. “It was irresponsible.”

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