Tracked by Trouble (Bad Boys Need Love, Too #3) Read online

“Twenty-six.”

  “Perfect,” he said.

  He liked her level of intelligence, her fascination with human physiology, her desire to help people increase their ease of movement following injury. She seemed like a good woman with a bright mind, as well as funny, sensitive, and intense. While they ate, Zed allowed himself an ale, while Beck drank white wine. He started to relax and let himself fantasize about the end of the night and what might happen. “You ready to go?” he said, after paying the bill.

  “Ready,” she said. She stood and slid her slender arms into her coat. She reached for his hand, surprising him, and led him from the restaurant, a goofy grin on his face. “You seem to have lost some of your nervousness around me.”

  “It was the ale—the ale did it.”

  “I thought it was my charm and wile.”

  “That, too.”

  When they got to the truck, he let go her hand to retrieve his keys from his pocket. His dick was already stirring back to life, in anticipation of the night ahead. Easy boy, he and his self-doubt urged. He opened the passenger door for Beck, expecting her to slide into the bucket seat. Instead, she dropped her purse on the floorboard, whirled around and grabbed the lapels of his coat, causing his eyes to widen.

  “Remember when you asked me what I was thinking earlier today? When we stood in the parking lot?”

  “Yeah. Are you ready to tell me?”

  “Maybe.” Her face flushed a bright, rosy glow, lit by the streetlamp overhead.

  “Going to tease me with withheld information?” Their lips were inches apart.

  “Maybe,” she said, running her tongue over her glossy red lips.

  “Not very nice, you know,” he said, placing his hands gently on her hips underneath her coat.

  “You know how I made you nervous?”

  “You used to,” he said, smiling.

  “It seemed to transfer to me.” She chewed her lovely lip, making his cock grow rigid.

  “Is that your secret? Seems more like a new development,” he said, before letting his lips fall open.

  “Maybe I can show you what I was thinking about,” she said, her eyes boring into his. “What I was thinking about earlier today.”

  “I like to be shown things. I’m not always a words kinda guy,” he said. “I can learn new things like that,” he said, lifting his hand and snapping his fingers next to her hips. “If you’re willing to show me.” He let his hand rest on her hip again, his thumbs making back and forth sweeps against the fabric of her jeans. His tongue slid between his lips, ran along his teeth and disappeared. He moved his mouth a little closer to hers. His hands kept her hips away from his, lest she feel the strength of his desire for her.

  Her breath came faster, puffing along his face in soft, little clouds.

  “Are you going to show me or should I guess?” He gently pushed the tip of his nose back and forth over hers. A buzzing sound came from her purse. “Need to check that?” he said softly.

  “No,” she whispered. “Whoever it is can wait.” She tugged at his lapels. “So earlier today, I was thinking…” She closed her mouth and swallowed.

  “Yeah? What were you thinking?” His straining cock was going to burst free like a superhero, cape flying, ready for action, any moment now. His lips were mere millimeters from hers.

  “I was thinking how I like your lips. Your lips look like the kind I’d like to…” Again with the lip biting.

  Zed wondered if he’d ever been so turned on in his life. His eyelids lowered, his mouth parted, he felt himself hovering, awaiting a signal to land.

  “I thought I might like to…to…to feel those lips pressed against mine.”

  “Did you, now?” Zed said. “Let me see if I got this right. Earlier today…” He brushed his lips against her soft, slick pillows of heat. “You were clocking me,” he whispered, nibbling on her plump lower lip, some of the confidence he used to feel returning. “And you wondered…” He sucked her lip between his teeth. “You wondered how it would feel to kiss me.”

  “Yes,” she breathed, the warm air tickling his face. “Bingo.”

  “I had thoughts like that last night,” he said into her mouth. Her breath tasted like ice cream, berries and sweet wine. “Whatever shall we do with thoughts like that roaming through our systems?” He let his hips fall into hers so she could feel the throb of desire awaiting her.

  Her hands slid around his neck and she brought her mouth to his, rolling her hips against his heat.

  He crushed his lips to hers, hungry for contact, eager for exploration. Perfect, he thought. He let the tip of his tongue sweep along her teeth and withdraw, sweep and withdraw, inviting her tongue out to play. When she let herself enter his mouth, he wanted to devour her.

  A musical ringtone replaced the earlier buzzing. “Leave it,” she said into his mouth.

  “Wasn’t going to answer it,” he replied. “Not my phone.” He widened his stance, placed one hand underneath her jaw and tilted it up so he could get a better angle. Once again, his lips sought hers.

  Her phone started in again. She pulled away from Zed, scowling. “Damn it all to hell,” she swore. She whirled, reached for the device, thumbed it on and said, “What the hell do you want? Doesn’t no, mean no, asshole?”

  She listened for a bit while Zed adjusted his Chinos, feeling somewhat dazed by the intensity of the kiss.

  “I told you, keep the damn couch.” She listened again, then, disconnected and threw the phone on the seat. “Asshole,” she muttered.

  “Anything I need to know about? Are you still involved with someone?” He hoped the answer was a big, fat no.

  “No!” She said it as forcefully as he’d hoped. “He’s my sadistic ex. We split up a month or so ago. He keeps trying to goad me into fighting with him, engage with me in whatever way possible.”

  “Seems to be working,” Zed said, disappointment starting to kick in. Why’s there always another guy in the picture?

  “Yeah. I could have let it go but he would have kept ringing.”

  “You could always block his number.”

  “I tried that. He somehow got ahold of this one. Look, Zed, I’m sorry. Take me to my house and I’ll see if I can calm down on the way. I’d really love to finish what we started.” She let a small smile appear on her face.

  “And what did we start?” he asked.

  “Felt like the start of an extremely hot fire, to me. You, my friend,” she said, tapping his chest. “Are a very, very, very good kisser.”

  “Thanks. Ditto.” He still felt somewhat deflated—cancel that—he felt pissed at the intrusion. He stalked around the front of the truck to let himself into the driver’s seat.

  “I’m sorry, Zed,” Beck said again when he’d put the truck in reverse.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Me, too. We were just getting to the good stuff. Actually, I enjoyed the whole night,” he amended.

  “Did you?” she said, sounding pleased. “I did, too. I like you.”

  “Good. That’s good.” He couldn’t seem to think of anything else to say, so they rode in silence. Talk about awkward, he thought. I need a recovery plan. “So,” he began. “You want to get together again? Go to the movies or go out dancing or something? Go for a hike? Bike ride? What do you like to do?”

  “Let’s see where the night heads before we plan the future,” she said, giving him a sexy smile. She reached for his hand.

  He gently tugged it away to make the next turn, feeling hopeful again. His mood fell hearing her swear as they approached the house.

  “Fucking hell,” she said, her face a mask of fury. “Fucking goddamned hell. Guess I have to deal with my ex again. His radar probably went into red alert sensing me enjoying myself tonight.”

  “How long were you together?” he asked, his cock heading toward hiding.

  “Two and a half long years. It never would have worked, never should have lasted so long. I’m really, really sorry,” she said, looking at him with moist eyes. “Will
you give me a rain check? Please, Zed. I’ll get this asshat out of my life, I promise.”

  “Yeah, okay, it’s fine,” he said, not believing the words for a second. With his luck, she’d find new things she loved about her ex and invite him to spend the night. Since her driveway now held a sporty Audi sedan, he pulled up next to her house at the road.

  When she leaned over to kiss him goodbye, he averted his face and kissed her cheek, avoiding her mouth at all costs. “I’ll see you later. Good luck.” He put both hands on the wheel and stared out the front windshield. “Take care,” he added, when she opened the passenger door. That’s what you say when you know you’ll never see the person again. He’d had it said to him a time or two.

  “I’ll call you,” she promised. “I mean it.”

  “Yeah, okay. Later,” he said.

  When the door slammed shut, he pressed on the accelerator, and took off as fast as he could, without looking back, feeling all of fifteen years old.

  Chapter 5

  The damn cellphone buzzed in his pocket again. It’s probably Beck. She’d been blowing up his phone since last night with pleas to call her, text her, contact her. “Not in the mood,” Zed said. “Not with another guy in the picture, no thanks. The sex would’ve been nice, but I’m not that desperate.”

  He looked up from the two sets of plant starters resting on the wooden slatted table, as footsteps approached. “Jace! What are you doing here?” He glanced at the water past Jace’s shoulder, glistening with sunlight in the cove. The Farm had a private dock down the hill. “You bring a boat?”

  “Yeah, taking one out for a shake-down cruise for Neil,” he called out. “What’s going on?” Jace said, striding along the dirt path to where Zed stood. “Those little guys don’t look so good.” He pointed to the tray on the left. The leaves were pale, almost sickly, while the plants on the right were dark green and twice as big.

  “Yeah. Same plants, same seed stock, different mulches. You saw the ones your wife is growing, using my mulch mix, right?”

  “Oh, yeah. She calls me out almost every day to show me their progress. They’re growing at a phenomenal rate. What’s your secret?”

  “You know how it is,” Zed said, wiping his dirt-covered hands on a rag he kept in his pocket. “If I told you…”

  “You’d have to kill me,” Jace finished. “Yeah, yeah.”

  “I’ve applied for patents on it. They’re still pending but I’m pretty sure I’ll get them. I’ve spent years perfecting it. It helps prevent erosion, it’s organic, it’s an excellent soil boost…” Zed’s eyes lit up as he spoke.

  “Huh. When did you find time to perfect mulch when we were in full tilt party mode?”

  “When I was off the boat. Don’t forget, I wasn’t the bar rat you all were.”

  “True. I’d forgotten. Speaking of bars, how’d your date go with Rebecca, er, Beck?”

  Zed’s stomach seemed to grow as heavy as clay. “It went well until her boyfriend showed up.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah, ouch. She said he’s her ex but that’s where the date ended, with her getting out to confront him. He’d parked in her driveway. We were headed to…you know. Explore.” He shoved the rag back in his pants pocket. “It’s probably for the best. I’ve got training to do, right, coach?”

  “Exactly. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to show you this schedule I came up with. I picked the brains of a couple of triathlon athletes at my gym. They said it’s totally doable to get you in shape in three months.” He pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and unfolded it, spreading it next to the starter plants. A brisk wind started to lift it off the wooden slatted table and he quickly slammed his palm on it. He tapped the schedule with his fingertip. “You’ll want to work out five days a week, about four hours a week.”

  “That’s all? I thought I’d have to give up my day job, you know?” Zed rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. “Kidding. I need to work.”

  “Not hardly. With a minimum of twelve weeks we can get you into good shape. Since you’ve got fourteen weeks, you’ll be in great shape. You can do this.”

  “Okay, so what’s it look like? My new schedule, I mean.” Zed stared at Jace’s neat, artistic handwriting.

  “We’ll ease you in with some combo workouts—walk-run, walk-run intensives, followed by thirty minutes biking. You’ll do two swim workouts per week. Ten fifty-yard swims with quick rests between. We’ll pick up the pace with everything as your endurance increases. Do you have a gym membership?”

  “No, I let it lapse.”

  “Join the Y. They’ve got the right size pool, and you can do your sprints there, too. What kind of bike do you have?”

  “I’ve got a decent road bike in the garage. It’s a Trek.”

  “That’s a good one. Knobby tires or slick?”

  “Knobby.”

  “Replace ‘em with slick.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “I’ve got a list of essentials you’ll need to get for the race, but we’ll get to that.”

  Zed nodded. He felt a growing sense of comradery with Jace and his eagerness to help him train. “What about swimming in the Sound? Doesn’t it make sense to train in the water I’ll be swimming in?”

  “Totally. We’ll add those to the regime as you progress. This is going to be great. I’m stoked to be helping you prepare.”

  “I really appreciate it. This is all new for me.”

  “I know the feeling. When I started training at the muscle bar, those beefy dudes made me feel a little intimidated at first.”

  “But look at you now. You’re a beefy dude.” Zed chuckled.

  “Yeah,” Jace scoffed. “You can always tell how much stress is in my life by the size of my muscles. I’m eternally grateful to Mitch for setting me straight and turning me on to an outlet for my anger. But truth is, I actually enjoy pumping iron now. And no complaints from Zoé.” Jace smirked. “No complaints at all.” He let out a deep, rumbling laugh.

  “Rub it in. Man, I want what you have, Savage. You’ve turned your life into a good one.”

  “Yeah, well, you don’t need all the headaches I endured to get here. My life was trouble city there for a while. Brutal.” He paused, rubbing his chin. “Don’t give up on Beck. Wasn’t she dating that guy in the minors?”

  “Since I didn’t know her until a couple nights ago, how would I know?” Zed said, a sour taste growing in his mouth. Not only was his asshat brother coming to town, he now had to compete with a pro ball player for a woman’s interest.

  “Yeah, I think she was. Tyler…Danson, or Donnelly or something. A bit full of himself if I’m remembering the right guy.”

  “Maybe that’ll work in my favor,” Zed said. “I come out on top when there’s an egotistical prick in the mix…not.”

  “What’s gotten into you? You used to bed them as much as I did.”

  In his mind, he stared at a tree, heading for it at sixty-five miles per hour. “Hardly.” Zed scoffed. “I’ve always been the underdog. As a teen, my brother would saunter in the room, all smiles, good looks and charm, and there went that date. Then when you were pissed at me, I had to eat your leftovers, remember? Not that they weren’t nice women, or anything. Leftovers,” he said, shaking his head. “I always hated that term. It reads loser. It reads Waldo.”

  Jace winced. “Yeah, I remember. I’m sorry about that. I was taking out my rage against Kate on you. If it helps, some of the women asked about you.”

  “While you were fucking them or after?”

  “I don’t know, I didn’t take a tally sheet to bed or anything,” Jace grumbled. “I think some of them wished I hadn’t gotten to them first. They wanted you. They probably thought I was the leftovers.”

  Zed let out a quick, sharp laugh. “Right.”

  Jace bowed his head to study the schedule. “You were always the nice one, Zed. You’re a truly decent guy. I’m the hot head, you know that.”

  “Yeah. You know what the
y say about nice guys. Women love the bad boys.”

  “Come on, stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

  “It’s true. My sister even told me she reads smut where the heroes are all bad boys with snarly attitudes. Dickheads with hidden charm. That’s not me.”

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t get the prize in the end. We’ll turn you into an athlete, work on your charm and you’ll be right back in bed with Beck. Or with whomever you want.”

  “Does the offer come with a money back guarantee?” Zed asked with a scoff.

  “No, but it does come with the assurance I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

  “Thanks, that’s something.” He swallowed, eager to move the conversation along. “So, you coming to the big party this weekend?”

  “Yeah, we’ll swing by. Afterwards, Zoé’s heading over to a client’s for a consultation, so it will be you, me, Marni and the gym. Get your membership rolling at the Y. You’ll have to guest pass me in. Hopefully, they won’t mind a child in a backpack. Hopefully, Marni won’t mind being in the pack.” He chewed on his lip. “Maybe they’ll have some sort of kid care.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, we’ll start with the outdoor stuff. Hell. I’m still not used to this dad stuff.”

  “Yeah, I’ve watched it change my sister’s entire focus,” Zed said. “She went from this prom girl party queen into Madame Diapers and Daycare.”

  Jace sighed. “We’ll head over there at about, what do you say, two? Does that give you enough time to satisfy your social obligations?”

  “More than enough. I’d be done around one thirty or even one. Or how about eleven and we skip the party altogether?” He smiled, hopefully.

  “And miss meeting your brother? Not on your life. I’m curious now.”

  “Maybe you and he will be besties.” Zed smirked. His phone buzzed again.

  “You going to check that?” Jace asked.

  “No,” Zed said with a scowl.

  Jace cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Who do you think it is? Your bro?”

  “Nope,” Zed said, squatting to lift a couple bags of soil leaning against the table. “Make yourself useful and stop prying.”