Page 38 (1/2)

Filled with a tenderness he had never felt before, Zack kissed her cheek, the curve of her throat, her eyelids He toyed with the idea of carrying her up to his roo her It would be easy, so easy If only she wasn’t a nice girl If only he didn’t love her with every fiber of his being But someday--someday she would be his, body and soul

A sudden heaviness in his liht fro slowed

Ti her in his arms, he carried her up the stairs He had just reached the door to her room when her mother appeared at the other end of the hallway

"Put your ’s okay We were downstairs, talking, and she fell asleep on the sofa, that’s all"

"I believe you I was just co overprotective, but with everything that’s happened" She shrugged "I can’t help it"

She opened the door to Kaitlyn’s room, then turned down the covers on the bed

Zack lowered Kaitlyn to the mattress, drew the covers over her, then bent down and kissed her cheek "Sweet dreaarded him a moment, then said, "I can never repay you for what you did I don’t knoe’d have done without you"

"You don’t oweI’m in love with her"

"I know She loves you, too" It was easy to see why He was tall and strong and handso for the woman he loved

"How do you feel about that?"

"I’ would be so much easier if she’d fallen in love with one of her own people But I trust her judght"

Elena stood there a hter How quickly the years had gone by Her little girl was all grown up Once upon a time was past She just hoped Kaitlyn would find her own happily-ever-after

Kaitlyn woke in her own bed with no recollection of how she had gotten there The last thing she re asleep in Zack’s arms She had hoped to wake up there--which probably wouldn’t have been very sht she was sleeping with Zack--an idea that grew lanced at the clock on the nightstand--five PM She was the only one in the fah she was able to internally discern whether it was night or day

Zack would be awake soon She grinned, thinking how surprised he would be if she was in his bed when he awoke

Pleased by the idea, she threw back the covers and went into the bathroom, where she took a quick shower and washed her hair After drying off, she applied her makeup and a dash of perfu to decide what to wear Although she had taken all her favorite clothes to California, her closet at Wolfram was nowhere near empty

She decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a cranberry-colored cashoould have been her first choice, but she didn’t have enough nerve to hop into his bed wearing soet-me

Barefooted, she padded down the hallway to Zack’s room, opened the door, and peeked inside

He was still asleep She stood in the doorway, her gazearms A sheet covered him from the waist down; his bare feet poked out froht be naked under the sheet brought a rush of heat to her cheeks

Her flush deepened when thein? Or are you going to stand there gawking at ht?"

Kaitlyn closed the door behind her, then hurried across the room and slipped under the covers

Zack’s ars you here?" he asked, a note of ahtened around her "Wanna bet?"

"I never bet against a gairl" He brushed a kiss across her cheek She srinned as the sheet suddenly tented above Zack’s groin

"Sorry," he s just can’t be hidden Or controlled"

She laughed and blushed at the sauess you carried me back to my bed"

He nodded "Yeah About that--"

She propped herself up on one elbow "What about that?"

"Youryou to your room just before dawn"

Kaitlyn’s eyes widened in alarm "Does my dad?"

"No Just youron Zack’s shoulder Had her mother told her dad? She considered that a moment, then shook her head Her mother hadn’t snitched on her the last time Besides, if her father knew, she would have heard about it by now Big time

"Katy"

She looked up at him, alarmed by his solemn tone