Heartbreakers: Treat Her Right / Mr November

“As if it’d do him any good to try!”

Zack sighed, but it turned into a laugh. “I wasn’t suggesting it would. And seeing as you know that, why do you let his every comment rile you? You know he doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just how he is.”

Mick grumbled, “That wasn’t your sentiment when he was trying to seduce Wynn.”

It was Josh’s turn to choke. “I wasn’t trying to seduce the woman! Hell, all I did was hold her hand.”

“You’re both nuts,” Zack concluded out loud. “Let’s forget Wynn and the calendar and women in general. Mick, you can go on pining for your wife since I know you can’t help it.” He grinned. “Now, let’s play cards.”

Three hours later Zack was ready to call it a night. His neck was still stiff and his mind refused to pay attention to his hand, so he’d lost more than he’d won. Mick, too, was yawning, and mumbling that Delilah had likely finished writing for the night. Josh, the only one to look fresh, decided to call a woman from Zack’s house and made plans to visit her that night.

Mick and Zack both shook their heads.

The night was cool and crisp and black as pitch when Zack waved goodbye from the doorway. He stood there until the headlights had disappeared out of the driveway, then he locked the door and tidied the kitchen.

On his way through the house, he picked up toys and drawings and a lone frilly sock peeking out from beneath a chair. He checked all the locks and headed upstairs.

Dani slept peacefully, her small body barely visible beneath the sheet. Zack smiled and pulled her door closed.

On his way to his own room he stripped off his shirt and stretched his aching arm and shoulder muscles. He kicked his shoes into the closet, then sat on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. After he turned out the light, he went to the window, breathing in the night air as he unzipped his slacks.

And from there, in a shaft of moonlight, reclining in the damn hammock like a sexual offering, he saw Wynn. For a single heartbeat lust raged through him, making his blood churn and his imagination grind.

Then a clearer picture formed; she looked to be sound asleep, which nearly made his mind explode with incredulity. She was a single woman, alone, in a new neighborhood, and she was stupid enough to pass out asleep outside, unprotected.

Jaw locked, Zack left his room with a stomping stride and iron determination. He’d known the moment he saw her that she was going to be nothing but trouble, both to his sanity and his libido.

FIVE (#ulink_ff16a735-f4c1-56cc-8cbf-288b7edbfedd)

THE WELL-TRIMMED GRASS was wet and slippery beneath his bare feet, and a gentle evening breeze stirred his hair. His temper remained hot; it rose in degrees as he closed in on her.

Wynn didn’t so much as move an eyelash when he stood directly over her lush, limp body. She had one arm above her head, palm up, her fingers slightly curled. The other drooped over the side of the hammock, almost touching the ground. Those mile-long legs of hers were crossed at the ankle, her feet bare.

She’d changed clothes.

Zack surveyed her, at his leisure. Without those piercing hazel eyes watching him or her sharp tongue challenging him, he felt steady, more in control, free to look his fill.

The halter and shorts were gone, replaced by a long, loose white nightshirt that almost reached her knees. Or at least he thought it was a nightshirt—until he read the front. Lane’s Gym—Workout For A Better Body. Obviously an advertisement for her brother’s gym.

Clouds drifted across the moon, darkening the sky so that only the faint light from her porch illuminated her. Her lashes looked feathery in the dark shadows, her mouth very, very soft.

The scent of shampoo and lotion rose from her warm body to mingle with the damp night scents.

Zack felt himself reacting to the sight of her, and it angered him. “Wynn.”

She didn’t move.

He didn’t want to touch her. “Damn it, Wynn, wake up.”

Her lashes stirred and a soft sound escaped her slightly parted lips, causing his abdomen to clench, his pulse to race. Then she resettled herself with a husky groan.

Zack’s eyes flared. His stomach knotted with carnal awareness. He reached down and caught her shoulder for a brisk shake. “Damn it to hell, Wynn, will you get your ass awake before I—oompf!”

One moment he’d been indulging his temper and the next he found himself flat on his back in the dew-covered grass, the wind knocked out of him and Wynn’s knee in his chest. Her fist was drawn back, ready to clout him.

Zack reacted as suddenly as she had, grabbing her legs and holding on as he flipped them both, putting her flat out beneath him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Both her knees came up to shove in his ribs and he groaned. Taking advantage, she pushed him facedown to the side and crowded in close to his back. Her elbow locked around his throat. He could hear her frantic breaths directly in his ear. “Just what did you think you were—”

Swallowing down a roar of anger, Zack reached back, caught her by the head, and flipped her over his shoulder. Her grunt was much louder than his and she wheezed, trying to catch her breath. She held still, not moving, just staring up as if to see if she’d broken anything.

Zack took immediate advantage, and this time when he covered her he did so completely. He held her wrists high over her head and pinned her legs with his, not about to risk his poor body again. Her knees had caught him so hard it felt like she’d broken his ribs. He’d always known her legs would be strong, but...

When she started to wiggle he squeezed her so tight she gasped. “What,” he asked through his teeth, “the hell is the matter with you?”

He hadn’t meant to yell, but never in his life had a woman attacked him physically. And absolutely never had he thought to attack a woman! Thank God there weren’t many women like her.

When Wynn didn’t answer, he leaned closer to try to see her face, now afraid that he’d hurt her.

She spoke barely above a whisper. “I didn’t know it was you.”

Zack grunted. So she’d thought she was defending herself? He was far from appeased. If she hadn’t fallen asleep outside, it wouldn’t have been an issue.

“Do you realize,” she continued, “that I’m letting you do this?”

Disbelieving her gall, Zack reared back. “Letting me?”

Her head moved in a slight nod. “I could have bitten your face just seconds ago. Even your jugular.”

“Of all the—”

“Even now,” she taunted, “if I wasn’t afraid of hurting you, I could toss you.”

In that instant Zack became aware of her long lean body beneath him, the cushion of her plump breasts, the giving dip of her wide pelvis, the strong, sleek thighs... He had hold of her wrists—not delicate wrists, but large-boned for a woman—and he lifted them above her head, keeping her in a submissive position.

So he could control her.

Oh yeah, his body liked that a lot. Too damn much. He had no doubt she’d already noticed his hard-on, being as it was pressed rigidly into her soft abdomen. Well too bad. Zack leaned closer again so he could see her face. He looked at her lush mouth, open now as she struggled for breath, and then to her incredible hazel eyes. Damn she had sexy eyes. In nothing more than scant moonlight, they were the eyes of a wolf, and they stirred him. “Try it,” he offered, and waited with his own breath held.

“Oh, no.” She stared at his mouth, and he felt her attention like a hot lick. “I don’t want to hurt you—now that I know it’s you.”

Without meaning to, Zack pressed into her. Only the thin cotton of her nightshirt and his slacks separated them from entry. He closed his eyes, tipped his head back and moved against her rhythmically.

The alignment of their bodies was perfect, chest to breasts, groin to groin. He could kiss her and ride her at the same time, and never miss a single deep stroke. That realization made his muscles ripple.

Her nipples had puckered and he felt them rasping against his bare chest. She shifted her thighs, maybe trying to accommodate him, but he refused to take any chances. Her arms hung limp in his grip, in no way fighting his hold. Still he secured her, stretching her out a bit more, aware of her strength, and her yielding.

He felt on fire. “Wynn...”