I'll Be Watching You Read online

  Shar said, “Fine, let him make amends. But if he admits to the vandalism and the stolen orchids, he’ll be tied into the fire and so will Owen.”

  Owen finished his whiskey in one gulp.

  JoGene said, “I’ll make it right, okay?”

  Zell narrowed his eyes at the weasel. “I’m glad to hear that, JoGene. First of all, you’re going to be responsible for the loan Elva took to buy those orchids. Since I let her make payments, I’ll extend you the same courtesy. Two hundred fifty dollars due at the beginning of the month. I’ll tell her it’s being taken care of by an anonymous benefactor. Then you’re going to arrange to pay her liquor bill. Not only the outstanding bill but the one she’ll rack up replacing the stock. And do it so she thinks the company is extending her the courtesy.”

  “Zell, dang it, I don’t have that kind of money.”

  “You were planning to buy her bar, weren’t you? You’ve got to have some money stashed somewhere.”

  He lowered his head. “Yeah, I have a few bucks saved up.”

  “Good. Then you’ll have enough to pay for the replacement chairs, too.”

  Owen said, “Zell, whose side are you on, anyway?”

  “I’m on the side of what’s right. You don’t trash someone’s place because you want to buy it.”

  JoGene shot to his feet. “Elva was gonna sell it to me!”

  “She didn’t put it in writing, and now it belongs to Kim. Give it up, JoGene. The bar’s not yours, it’s not going to be yours, and if I catch wind of anything screwy going on with that place again, I’m busting your ass. If you try kissing up to her for it, I’ll bust another part of your anatomy.”

  JoGene dropped back into the chair. “You’re just mad because you want her.”

  Owen said, “You’re sleeping with the enemy.”

  Zell leaned down into Owen’s face. “I am not sleeping with her, but if I choose to, that’s my own damn business. I happen to like her and I don’t cotton to anyone trying to hurt her, financially or otherwise.”

  Winn’s voice was low when he said, “We’ll talk about that later.” He turned to the rest of the group. “No one will know about our involvement in what happened to the bar or the orchids.” He looked at Zell again, making that order clear. “JoGene will make amends. That should make you happy, since you’ve decided to take the girl’s side.” He turned to the rest of the group. “I don’t believe either Owen or JoGene had anything to do with the fire. But there will be an investigation, bet on it. Having an alibi will only do you good.”

  Owen blurted out, “I was in bed with my wife, sound asleep. We both were, weren’t we, hon?”

  Shar nodded. “The whole night.”

  Zell knew Shar would lie to cover for Owen, and he did look guilty.

  Owen was clearly sucking up to Winn, trying to be the good son Zell wasn’t anymore. “Winn, no way could you get in and set a fire and get away so quick. We can all testify that you don’t get around so fast these days. JoGene?”

  “I was sleeping by myself. Didn’t even know what happened until Owen called me.”

  “What about your father?” Owen asked.

  “Hell, I don’t keep tabs on him. My mom will give him an alibi if he needs it. I don’t think Buck would do anything like this.”

  Zell crossed his arms. “No, he has real morals.”

  JoGene winced at that bit of truth. “Sure, he doesn’t like Kim. He wanted her out of town, but he wouldn’t kill her.”

  Winn took in the group of conspirators. Zell was ashamed to be considered part of that group. Winn said, “So we’re in agreement, then? We know nothing about what’s been going on with Kim.”

  Winn made a point to look at Zell, who made a point not to nod. Of course, it was expected that he’d cooperate.

  As everyone filtered out of the room, Shar touched his arm and whispered, “I know you like her, and I’m sorry for what happened tonight, but be careful about putting yourself between her and the family. We’ve survived a lot, big brother. I’d hate to see this tear us apart now.”

  Winn stayed behind, honoring an unspoken agreement that he and Zell would talk after everyone left. Winn walked to the bar and fixed another whiskey on the rocks. “What does Kim think?”

  “That Elva was blackmailing whoever killed Rhonda, and that that person killed Elva. I thought it was crazy talk, to be honest with you, but now, I’m not so sure.” Zell gave in and took a beer out of the small refrigerator beneath the bar. He leaned against the back of one of the chairs and waited for Winn to settle into the chair opposite. “Did you kill Rhonda Jones?”

  Winn’s eyes narrowed to slits, but his anger at Zell’s insinuation passed quickly. He looked away. “It’s not that simple.”

  Dread tightened Zell’s chest. “Yeah, it is. You either killed her or you didn’t.”

  “Kim doesn’t know I’d been seeing her, does she? Ernest was too young to know that.”

  Ernest. The knot tightened. He didn’t quite have the Macgregor eyes. Not quite, but damn close. “She doesn’t know.”

  Winn rubbed the bridge of his nose. Zell wasn’t sure if his hand was shaking from the whiskey or nerves. “I loved her.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  Winn only nodded, looking more despondent than ever—and guilty.

  Zell said, “You know who killed her, don’t you?”

  Before Zell’s eyes, guilt turned to resolve. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything at all.”

  Zell felt uneasy about that answer. He wanted to believe that, for his family and his own peace of mind. He needed to believe in Winn’s innocence, like he had when he’d testified against Kim ten years ago.

  Winn cleared his throat. “Why Kim?”

  “Pardon?”

  “Of all the beautiful, talented women you’ve dated over the years, why fall for this one?”

  Zell hooked his thumbs on the pockets of his jeans. His first inclination was to deny that he’d fallen for her. He did feel things for her that he hadn’t felt for anyone else. Whether that was something close to love he hadn’t had time to analyze. “Not to piss you off, if that’s what you think.”

  Winn winced, but Zell went on. “Do you really want to hear the reasons? Do you want to hear how I got to like her better each time someone tried to stomp on her and she didn’t crumble, cry, lash out, or give up? She staked her claim here in the face of a lot of animosity. If you’d heard her speech at the bar…” That was when she’d started sneaking around the sides of his walls. “I’m tired of holding grudges against people just because I’m a Macgregor. It’s too much work.”

  “She didn’t report us,” Winn said, his ire softening.

  “What?”

  “When she came here to apologize and saw one of the orchid petals on the ground. She knew. I could tell by the look on her face, she knew someone here had stolen the orchids. And she never reported us.”

  Zell could well imagine the look on her face. That was the defeat he’d seen and heard in her voice. She didn’t tell him because she didn’t want to put him between her and his family.

  Winn said, “I see she never told you either. I suppose I’ve added more fodder for your fire.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “That’s another Macgregor trait, you know. Fire, passion. When we wanted something, we went after it no matter the consequences. We have always loved with everything inside us. I loved your mother that way, and I was devastated when she died. And there was Rhonda, so young—too young—and yet so womanly. So wanting, and so giving.” His fingers tightened on the arms of the chair. “I knew it was wrong, but I fell for her anyway.” Zell thought he saw traces of moisture between his eyelashes. “We love and live without bounds. Remember that it never seems to end well.” He fell silent.

  Zell left him there and returned home to Kim. Dim moonlight spilled in through the window and silvered her. As tired as he was, he watched her sleep for a while. He didn’t like her short hair, but someh
ow it looked good on her. She looked good, lying there in his bed. He started to back away and head upstairs to his room. Then he reconsidered. Maybe she’d wake in the night and need someone. Maybe he needed to be there when she did.

  The second bedroom light remained on throughout the night. Zell was in there with Kim. Though the curtain blocked most of the view, there was enough of a gap to see that they were lying on the bed together. So sweet, so touching. Zell had picked the wrong woman to get involved with. One way or the other, she was going to have to go. The fire had failed, but there were other ways to deal with her. Hopefully Zell wouldn’t get in the way.

  When Kim woke the next morning, the first thing she thought of was the fire. The scent of smoke still clung to her, making it hard to pretend that it had only been a nightmare. It was hard not to remember that all she had in the world was in her purse and at the bar. The bar that would probably have to be sold—or half sold to JoGene.

  Once all the bad stuff had washed over and through her, she became aware of where she was—and the weight of a body next to her. She could hear his deep, even breathing and smell soap and male. Oh yeah, the rest of it came back too, her desperate attempt to get him to make love with her, his gentle refusal on the grounds, no doubt, that she was slightly out of her mind.

  Hopefully that had been the reason. Even in the midst of personal disaster, a woman had her pride. She turned her head slowly so she wouldn’t wake him. He was lying face-up on top of the sheets wearing wrinkled cotton pants. She, on the other hand, was naked beneath the sheets. His hands were tucked behind his head, bulging out his arm muscles. His hair stuck out in odd angles, but he still looked all kinds of gorgeous. In the curious ways of males, though he was fast asleep, a part of his anatomy was fully awake.

  It stirred something inside her. Even if she had been out of her mind last night, feeling him around her—inside her—would have taken her away from all that awaited her.

  He stirred and turned to look at her. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself,” she said.

  “How are you?”

  Hungry, she thought, watching him stretch and scrub his fingers through his hair. He rolled onto his side to face her.

  “As best as can be, considering.” She supposed she ought to stop looking at his magnificent chest and think about facing her burned-out house. And the questions. And the state fire marshal. She glanced down to make sure she was covered. “You didn’t take advantage of me last night.”

  “Wasn’t because I didn’t want to.”

  “You’re supposed to be this womanizer, this carefree Casanova.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Don’t believe all the press.”

  She rolled onto her stomach, pulling the sheets with her. Apparently not all of the sheets by the way his gaze slid down her backside. “Do me a favor. Take advantage of me.”

  It only took him a second to realize what she was saying. He didn’t weigh it, didn’t, thankfully, ask if she was sure. Before she could even think about laying herself out there and having him turn her down again, he kissed her the same hungry way she’d kissed him the night before. He ran his hands over her sleep-heated skin, leaving a trail of fire that pooled deep in her belly.

  She touched him too, relishing the contours of his muscles. While they explored each other, their mouths melded and their tongues tangled in mindless fervor. They were breathless when he started kissing from the corner of her mouth down to her chin. When his mouth moved across the skin of her neck, she shivered. He nibbled on her earlobe and then tickled the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue. She shivered and shirked away from him.

  He didn’t mind, obviously, because he was already making his way to her stomach, via the valley between her breasts, which he lathed with his tongue. He nibbled on the soft skin of her stomach and gently tugged on her belly button ring with his teeth. When he started going lower, she sat up and started kissing him again.

  “Is this the scary part?” he asked between kisses.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your eyes are squeezed shut.”

  She kissed him hard. Keep it physical. Keep it simple.

  “Open your eyes,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to see you seeing me.”

  That’s when she realized she liked the darkness, liked hiding behind it while making love. She’d blamed Simon for wanting the lights off, but she wanted it that way, too. She opened her eyes.

  He slid onto his side. He ran his hand across her breasts, down her stomach, and toyed with her belly button ring. The look on his face was part assessing and part mischievous. “What are you afraid of?”

  She bit her lower lip as his touch sensitized her nerve endings. “Nothing.”

  His finger trailed lower, tangling with her pubic hair. His voice was low and smooth when he said, “You sure about that?”

  She could only nod when he trailed even lower. “I…can’t we just…do it?”

  She tried to take the situation in hand, but he took hold of her hand instead. “What’s your hurry? Don’t you like foreplay?”

  No, she didn’t. It was too personal. Sex was physical, two people giving and taking pleasure simultaneously. In an odd way, foreplay was more intimate. There was too much time for eye contact, for connecting on a deeper level, and too much focus on one person at a time. She tried not to remember his discourse about a woman’s important parts.

  “I thought guys liked to get right down to it.”

  He smiled. “Sometimes. I thought women liked lots of foreplay.”

  She shifted her gaze down. “Not me.”

  He tipped up her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I don’t think that’s true.” To prove his point, he did a little movement with his finger that curled her toes. “Ah, exactly what I thought.”

  “Zell…”

  “That’s what I want to hear, you saying my name in that breathy, pleading way.” He slung his leg over her legs so she couldn’t move.

  Even as warm, liquid pleasure rolled through her body, she said, “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “Because I want to. And I think you want me to.”

  She shook her head, but the hitch in her breathing gave her away. He was watching her, demanding that she meet his gaze instead of hiding from him.

  “Tell me how much you want this, Kim. How much you want me.”

  Normally she would have kissed him in answer, but he’d pinned her down. Zell was demanding more, demanding everything, as she’d suspected he would. She arched as pleasure built to a peak inside her.

  His voice was honey warm and just as sweet. “Tell me how much you want me. I want to hear you say it.”

  “Bastard,” she said. “You’re so full of yourself.”

  “If I was, I wouldn’t need to hear you say it. I want you, angel. I want to hear you say that you want me.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “All right, all right, I want you, Zell. I—”

  “Look at me when you say it.” He’d stopped the movements that were sending her so close to the edge.

  “You are a bastard,” she said, opening her eyes again. “I can’t give that much to someone. I’ve never given that much.”

  “Then it’s time you started.”

  She took a ragged breath. “Okay.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “I want you to keep…doing what you were doing. I want you to take me all the way.”

  He kissed her, stirring her with just that. Then he started moving his fingers again, sliding in and out of her folds and even inside her. She started to close her eyes but stopped herself. Damn him, she didn’t want to go off with him watching.

  In the end, she had no choice. Pleasure rushed over her like a tidal wave. She couldn’t even contain the heavy sigh that rolled from deep within her and out of her mouth. And oh, yes, he was watching her with those misty-green eyes of his. Even as she swam through the waves of her orgasm, he was sti
ll touching her. At first, she couldn’t handle the sensation, and then she was sure she couldn’t come again, and then she was coming again.

  Zell was grinning, genuinely enjoying her pleasure it seemed. He leaned over and kissed her while he opened the drawer and grabbed a condom. She took pleasure in giving too, sliding her fingers over his rigid flesh, relishing each intake of his breath. When she’d teased him to the edge, she smoothed the sheath over him, pulled him back down on the bed, and guided him inside her. As they moved together, she felt the oddest sensation. Not only the building of tension in her belly, but something bigger. Like riding a roller coaster, click, click, click, stomach tightening, fear, anticipation, getting near the top, ready to plunge.

  All the while, she kept her eyes on his, knowing he would demand nothing less. Did she want him? Oh, my, yes. She didn’t want to want anyone like this, didn’t want to lose her heart. Click, click, click.

  She’d reached the peak of that imaginary roller coaster. It was downhill from there at blinding speeds. She held onto his shoulders. “I want you, Zell. I…do…want you.” Then she plunged down.

  She shuddered and tightened her grip on him. He kept moving, intensifying the sensation until he exploded inside her. Even then, he thrust in and out, sustaining the feelings coursing through her. He held her tight as they rode the dips and drops and mind-bending curves.

  She loved the feel of his weight on top of her, though she suspected he was levering himself up a little. Once they caught their breath, he rolled onto his side. She sneaked a glance at him. He was still breathing heavily, but he gently stroked his finger down her arm.

  She felt more naked than she’d ever felt before and resisted the urge to pull a sheet up over her breasts…breasts he was now tracing with his finger. You don’t feel naked, Kim; you feel vulnerable. She shivered at that realization. If he said the wrong thing, she’d probably shatter. Where had the tough redneck chick who always protected her heart gone?