But as much as her mind fought against it, Katie couldn't stop the slight tremor that shook her body. She knew he felt it, too.
"See? I haven't done anything to you yet, and it's happening already." He didn't give her time to answer as his mouth came down and closed over hers. She stiffened and gasped in shock, and when she did, his tongue slid deep into her mouth.
Katie stood frozen in his grasp as his hand tightened on her skull and he began kissing her in earnest. Through a wave of confusion and anxiety, she remained rigid in his embrace, as his warmth, his scent, his masculinity swamped her senses. Her rational mind knew that he wouldn't really hurt her, he was Hannah's brother for God's sake and she'd known him forever. An old, vague memory came to her of a time when she'd felt safe in his arms, when he'd picked her up and rescued her when she'd been a little girl. She tried to blank her mind, tried to temper her mixed emotions, and for a fleeting moment in time, she was another woman. She saw herself as if from outside her body, and felt his touch as if it were happening to someone else.
And then she understood; he knew full well what he was doing, and she realized that he was kissing her in a way she didn't want to be kissed. Kissing her with the intent to mate. He knew what he wanted. It was the same thing they all wanted. If she were any other person, at any other time, maybe she could have enjoyed his embrace. But she wasn't another person, and she couldn't let herself trust any man. The thought scared her and brought her back to herself, and she jerked back from him, her stiffened spine glued to the wall as she turned her face from his.
Zachary must have felt her withdrawal and he spit out a vicious, "Why?"
Distress pierced Katie's numb mind and residual shock bled through her veins. "Please don't touch me," she said in a voice so low, it was almost a whisper.
"You want me to touch you."
She shook her head.
"You need to admit it. Admit why you're here all the time. Admit that it's because of me and not my sister. Admit you want to give it to me."
Katie violently shook off his hands and moved to the door, grasping the handle with shaking fingers. Tears came to her eyes and clogged her words. "I'll never give it to you. Not in a million years. You've turned into a horrible, evil man and I don't ever want to have anything to do with you . . . not ever again. "
Zachary leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, and watched her with hooded eyes. He saw the tears glistening from her lashes and refused to feel anything. He thought of everything her family had taken from him and hardened his emotions against her. He wouldn't let her youth and seductive beauty sway him. "Don't kid yourself, Katie. You'd give it to me if I wanted it. I just don't want to catch something from a Turner." He tried to stop himself from hurling those words but couldn't and hit out with something that he knew would hurt her. He wanted her to hurt like he was hurting. "But mark my words, babe, someday you're going to admit you want me, for sex or for money. I don't know which, but someday, you're going to come begging me."
Chapter Two
In late June, Hannah and Katie were tanning by Hannah's swimming pool when Zachary's car pulled around back. He slammed out of his vehicle, glanced in their direction, and strode purposefully into the house.
"I didn't know your brother was in town." Katie knew her voice sounded unusually subdued but there wasn't anything she could do about it.
"I didn't know he was, either." Hannah looked toward the house, no doubt feeling her parents' absence. "I haven't talked to Zach much lately--" Her voice trailed off as she looked at Katie.
Katie hadn't seen Zach since that night a few months before when he'd pulled her into the study. He made her uncomfortable . . . more than uncomfortable. Just the mere thought of him made her feel distressed. She continued to stare at the house, turmoil roiling through her stomach. At her silence, Hannah said, "Please, Katie. We can't let it affect our friendship."
Katie glanced at Hannah and tried to smile, knowing that the younger girl was referring to the loss of her sister-in-law and Katie's uncle and the resulting awkwardness that continued to linger. The whole town had known of the affair; that Katie and Hannah had remained friends said a lot about the depth of feelings they had for each other. But Katie knew her face had gone white at Hannah's reference, and she felt the tension that bracketed the lines of her mouth. "I know. We'll try." She swung her legs over the side of the chaise longue and began to slip her flip-flops on.
"Where're you going? You just got here." Hannah's voice was surprised. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much . . . " Hannah's words trailed off.
Katie grabbed her t-shirt and began shaking it out as she stood next to Hannah's chair. "It's okay. I don't know why it makes me uncomfortable to be around your brother. I know that I'm not to blame for what happened. But I better leave. I--I'm sorry."
As she stood gathering her stuff, the back door slammed again and Zachary made his way over to the swimming pool. Katie was momentarily shocked into stillness. Tension etched up another notch and anxiety slid down her spine. She had truly thought she would have enough time to slip into her clothes and leave before he came back out of the house. She really didn't need the menacing accusation she knew she would see on Zachary McIntyre's face. She didn't need to hear his hurtful words. She didn't want to be the focus of his attention. The way she'd been feeling recently, she didn't know if she would ever want a man's attention again, especially a man like him.
Katie's heart began to pump blood rapidly through her system as Zachary came to stand within three feet of them. Standing in her one-piece swimsuit, fumbling with her shirt, she felt naked and exposed as his gaze narrowed and ran up and down her body.
Her hands shook as his eyes coldly moved from her head to her feet and her fingers became clumsy as she tried to get the t-shirt over her head. She was mortified when she almost became tangled in the shirt, and it took longer than it should to cover herself. Finally, she got the shirt in place and slowly, taking his time, his eyes released her from his hold and he moved his attention to Hannah. "Where are they?" his sharp voice asked without preamble.
"At the feed store," Hannah hesitated, and Katie could tell the younger girl was upset that her brother was being so rude. "Zach, you remember Katie, right?"
Katie froze as Zach McIntyre's gaze turned back toward her. A glacial expression crossed his features and her blood ran cold. He stared at her for an agonizingly long moment before turning toward his car and saying to Hannah, "Tell Dad the papers he needed me to sign are on his desk."
Zach drove off and she and Hannah stared after him, lost in their own thoughts and the impossibility of the situation. When his vehicle was out of sight, their eyes met and Hannah said in a rusty voice, "You don't have to leave now."
Zach pulled away from the ranch house and as he barreled down the dirt road leaving a trail of dust behind him, he fisted his hands on the steering wheel and tried to breathe evenly. What the fuck was it about that girl that made him act the way he did? Even now, months after the accident that had claimed his faithless wife, and agonizingly, his child, he didn't, couldn't feel sane around Katie Turner. Jesus Christ, she was only a girl. He desperately needed to get a hold of his runaway emotions. Emotions, for God's sake. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn't do emotions. Was he a total pussy, or what? Why couldn't he feel nothing around the girl? He managed to forget about her when he was in Dallas, for the most part, but every time he came back to the ranch, there she was, in front of his goddamned face, and the bulge in his pants seemed to throb even harder for her.
And now she'd graduated from high school. She was still just a kid, but she was getting temptingly close to an age where he could seduce her if he felt the need. And fuck, he felt the need. He admitted to himself that the passing months had lessened his anger. Now what he felt for her was turning into pure sexual need. A wanting on his part that he didn't think would go away until he'd had her. No, he'd fantasized about it too often in the past when revenge had been his motive. He wouldn't be denied forever; she was in his blood now.
But there was still that look of fear in her eyes, and there probably always would be after the way he'd treated her. She was scared of him, and of what he wanted from her. She would probably always remember the animosity between their families. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd never get her in his bed in any normal, usual way, not now, not after everything that had happened. Katie would never stand still long enough for him to speak to her, let alone talk her into his bed. The past would always stand between them, and she'd never give him the time of day. She certainly wouldn't just fall panting into his bed the way she did in his dreams.
He fisted his hands around the steering wheel. He'd screwed up when he'd taken his anger out on her. Screwed up bad.
So now he was fucked. And he didn't think he could accept total defeat because someday, maybe not soon, but someday, he had to have her.
He would have her.
Katie left for college at the end of August and she had to admit, it was going better than anticipated; she'd made some friends and joined an intramural soccer team as well as a technology club. Several young men had asked her out, but she still couldn't bring herself to go on a date. It had only been a year. Surely it was enough that she was attempting to be social at all?