Jen_C’s Reviews > In Zach's Arms > Status Update

She looked in every direction and suddenly she understood what Zach had accomplished in building this room. He was telling her that he loved her, without ever saying the words. She knew it in her heart and soul, and, as she looked around in wonder, she knew he had built this room specifically for her. Before all the trouble had begun.

Jesse tensed and then went calm. “Call it, Zach. Where do you need me?” Jesse’s Jeep was parked nearby, since he had been planning on going into town to check on the business. Zach never gave the business any more thought and neither did Jesse. This was about protecting one of their own—Beth.

She was everything that was beautiful in his world. His light, his smile, his heart. If anything happened to her, he would die. But he couldn’t keep her in a cage or behind glass, because then she would die. Or leave him. And that, he couldn’t stand.

“Victim statement,” she read aloud. “I hate that word. Victim. It makes me feel small and useless.” “It’s just a word, Ms. Russell,” he said kindly. “It doesn’t have to be a mindset.” And she wouldn’t let it be any longer.

“When are you going to marry her?” “As soon as I can find a preacher willing to perform a ceremony with a handcuffed and gagged bride,” Zach replied grimly.

Zach could feel his jaw clench. “I thought we were clear too. I wanted it to just be sex, Beth. But it’s not. It never has been with you and me and I can’t pretend that it is. So at the risk of having my pride and my heart stomped on—again—I’m asking you to think about it.”

He’d locked Elizabeth’s door from the outside, trapping her. Hours passed & he didn’t let her out, not even when the storm blew out the power across town. She pounded on the door, begging to be let out. It wasn’t until the next day, when Zach & the police found her curled up on the floor by her bedroom door that she learned about the accident.

“I’m good at taking care of things. It’s what I do. And I’m even better at taking care of you.” And she knew it, Zach thought, or she wouldn’t be here. She tried so hard to be Miss Independent, but when it came down to it, she depended on him, to a certain extent. He would always be there for her. Because she was his first love.

Elizabeth’s mind immediately went to her friend. Her confidante. The only person who made her feel safe. Zach. Once upon a time, she’d offered him her body. He’d offered her marriage instead. She was only eighteen; he was nineteen and going into the Marines and marriage was something that she would never, ever consider.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her chest to keep the tremors at bay. A quick glance across the room and a single tear streaked a path down her cheek. Not the bookshelf. That was the only piece of furniture she’d spent any money on. She treasured her books and loved how the hand-carved shelves seemed to cradle them.