“What more can I say, Zack?” Her voice cracked and she wished she were stronger. “Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg your forgiveness?”

Olivia ran her hands through her hair and paced. “I was eaten up with guilt. I felt responsible for every one of those girls who died. If I hadn’t been so positive Hall was guilty, maybe the police would have looked harder.”

Zack was about to interrupt, but Olivia held up her hand to silence him. “I know now it wasn’t just me. It was all the evidence together that strongly suggested Hall was guilty. But when he was first released, all I could think about was my own culpability.

“So I came out here to help. All I wanted to do was give you the information I had and see the face of the man who murdered my sister. I got so wrapped up in the case, I probably did things that would have gotten both of us in trouble, or killed. And for that I’m sorry, too.

“But mostly, I’m sorry I betrayed your trust. I never wanted to do that, Zack. Especially now. Especially now that I realize that I love you.”

“You love me, so it’s okay you lied.”

She spun around, glared at him. “Are you here to torture me? To show me what I can’t have? That’s cruel, Zack. I made a mistake, but not the one you’re blaming me for. If I had to do it over again, I would still have found a way to be here.”

“I know.” He looked pained, like he didn’t know what he wanted to say. “Liv, I’m trying. That’s why I’m here. I’m trying to understand.”

“Are you?”

He crossed to the window. It was late Sunday afternoon. Zack wondered why he had come.

“I don’t want to lose you, Olivia.”

“Zack.” She was behind him. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around his waist. Her face pressed against his back. “I don’t want to lose you, either.” Her voice was soft, sweet.

They stood like that for several moments.

Zack spoke first. “I was so angry when you told me the truth. It hurt. You didn’t trust me, just like my sister hadn’t trusted me. You expected the worst-that I would somehow stop you from avenging your sister’s murder. Amy also thought I would stop her from doing what she thought was right.

“Were you right? Hell, I don’t know. I’ve made decisions every day of my life, and I wonder whether some of them were right. I might not agree with your reasoning, but I understand why you got involved. And if it weren’t for you breaking the rules, Nina Markow could be dead right now.”

He turned around to face her. Tears shone in her eyes. He didn’t want to make her cry. The thought of Olivia sad made him ache. “We would never have learned Driscoll’s identity without your information on Brian Hall. You were a vital part of this investigation, and whether you have a gold shield or not, you’ve earned one as far as I’m concerned.”

Olivia closed her eyes, a tight smile on her face. “Thank you for that.”

“Open your eyes, sweetheart.” He pushed up her chin so she had to look at him. “I love you, Liv. I’m not going to let you walk away because of your misplaced guilt, or my misplaced anger. There’s something incredible between us, and I want to explore it. Fully. Intimately. Starting now.”

He kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, and he ravished her lips, her neck, her ear. He’d missed Olivia last night, missed her and needed her. All his pent-up frustrations, his love, his desire, poured from him into her. He couldn’t get close enough, he wanted to touch her all at once.

She entwined his hair in her hands, holding on tight.

“Make love to me, Zack,” she whispered in his ear.

He pushed the suitcase to the floor and they fell on the bed, urgent. His lips clasped onto hers while his fingers fumbled with the buttons on her blouse. One popped off, but he didn’t care. He needed to touch all of her, see all of her.

The sight of her injuries gave him pause.

“Zack?” she asked, frowning.

He lightly kissed her neck, the bandage on her chest. “I almost lost you forever. The thought of his hands on you, the knife cutting your delicate skin.” He cleared his throat. “Liv, I-”

“Shh,” she said, and kissed him.

“Are you okay?” he murmured into her lips. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She shook her head. “I’m really fine, Zack. I promise. Don’t hold back. Make love to me. Now.”

She kissed him long and hard, her passion edging him further down the dark spiral. The hope he’d thought was gone came back in a rush. The trust he thought he’d lost flooded him. This woman was his life. Olivia gave him everything he’d thought he lost when his mother abandoned him and when his sister died.

Olivia wanted Zack, needed to reconnect with what they’d had two nights ago. And it was there, everything she’d thought they had was still there, and stronger.

Their tongues battled and she moaned as his hands reached under her bra and gently massaged her breasts as he kissed her, his knee spreading her legs. He was cautious, avoiding her wounds.

Zack unclasped her bra and put his mouth to her breasts, his rough cheeks and hot mouth creating a wondrous sensation she savored. She held his head to her, urging him to continue. Urging him to move farther down to where she was already hot between her legs.

Zack’s forgiveness, his love, his need, spurred Olivia on. She pulled off her blouse and bra, reached for Zack’s shirt and pulled it over his head. His hard, sizzling chest pressed against her breasts. She reveled in her newfound sexuality, a side of her brought out only by this man.

In this highly-charged moment neither wanted slow and sweet. Zack stripped off her pants and kissed her between the legs. She gasped.

“Your skin is so soft,” he murmured against her thigh.

As he spoke, his coarse stubble rubbed against her clit and she moaned.

“Zack,” she gasped, her mouth dry.

His breath and his tongue teased and tantalized her. The kisses were warm and wet as his tongue ran along the sides of her labia, around and around, lapping her everywhere except that one spot that craved attention.

Then he hit the spot and she grabbed the bedspread in her hands as her back spontaneously arched to give him full access. She heard nothing, saw nothing, her entire body responding to Zack’s ministrations.

She was on the verge, gasping and wanting him to stop and continue at the same time. But when he pulled back, she shivered at the lost connection. He kissed her stomach, her breasts, kneading and massaging her, her intense heat tempered as he slowed the pace.

“Zack, make love to me.”

He stood and stripped off his pants. His body was hard, lean; Zack was the poster boy for tall, dark, and handsome. Handsome? Try to-die-for sexy.

She wriggled in anticipation. She wanted more.

He lay on her and she moved beneath, his chest pressing against hers a powerful sensation.

“I want you, Olivia.” He spread her legs and plunged in. She bit down a startled cry as an orgasm surprised her.

He didn’t go slow. He kissed her hard as he urgently made love to her, faster and harder until a second orgasm spiraled up, up, ready to take her away.

“Livia, I love you. Oh God I love you.” He strained and they were coming together, hot and sweaty, hands clenched together, souls entwined.

Her body trembled beneath his.

“I take it we’re okay now?” she asked, tentatively.

“Okay? I thought that was better than okay.” He smiled and kissed her. “Yes, we’re okay.” He touched her hair, her lips. “I love you, Liv. We’re going to make this work.”

Her lips trailed from his mouth, across his rough face, to his ears. Her hands fisted in his hair, hair nearly as long as hers. She kissed his neck, her tongue feeling his pulse beating a rhythm.

Now that the urgency was over, they could take the time to fully explore each other.

Zack matched her exploration, his kisses coming harder, his mouth sucking her neck, her chest, down to her breasts. She gasped when he drew a firm nipple into his mouth, her entire body on fire. She thought she wouldn’t be ready to make love so soon, but she found herself craving him again.