by Anne Rainey
she proved that when she divorced Eric.”
Rick nodded and looked at Haley, brotherly pride shining in his eyes. “I suppose you’re right about
that.”
Haley spoke from her position at the stove where she’d been stirring a pot of something. She’d left them
to their arguing, obviously not willing to take part in their little testosterone performance.
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“Of course I can handle myself. I’m not an idiot, Rick.”
Rick moved beside her and turned her toward him. His voice was tender when he said, “I know that,
sis. Still, I can’t help but feel like shit for being out in California and leaving you to deal with Eric on your
own.”
She smiled at him. “I wanted to handle it on my own. If I’d wanted interference, I could have gone to
Mom and Dad.”
“That whole situation sucked. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She smacked his chest. “Could you please give me a little bit of credit? I do have some sense, you
know. I’m not dumb enough to get mixed up with two idiots. One was my limit. I learned my lesson,
believe me.” She sighed and looked at Jeremy this time when she said reproachfully, “And I do wish
people would stop trying to tell me I don’t know my own mind.”
Rick ruffled her hair as if she were a child. “You’ve always been too sassy for your own good.”
She laughed and pushed him away from her. “Go on your date, I’ve got your cell number if I need you.”
Jeremy was fascinated as he watched the byplay. He’d never had a sister, but he figured if he did, he’d
be just as protective of her as Rick was with Haley. His respect for the man grew.
Before Rick left, however, he grabbed an ice-pack out of the freezer, then glared at Jeremy and
stomped off to get dressed.
With her brother out of the room, Haley turned to Jeremy and invited him to stay for dinner. “It’s only
spaghetti with meat sauce and bread sticks, nothing fancy.”
He leaped at the offer. “I’m not a fancy man. Spaghetti sounds great.”
Apparently, she’d been in the middle of cooking dinner for herself, but there was still plenty for two. The
aromatic scents of breadsticks fresh from the oven and spicy meat sauce filled the air. Suddenly, he was
starving.
He helped her set the plates around the island, and soon they were situated on the stools. She was a
great cook. Just another mysterious Haley fact. He didn’t know much about her, but he was truly loving
the discovery.
Leave it to him to fall in love backwards.
Sometime during dinner, Rick popped back in to say he was leaving. He asked Haley if she’d be all right
without him, making Jeremy want to hit him again, only harder this time. Haley cut him off at the pass by
swearing she’d be fine. He gave her a peck on the cheek, gave Jeremy a look of warning, then left.
They were alone in the house and Jeremy hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her.
She was beautiful.
It had only been two days and he was ready to take her to the bedroom and make love to her all over
again. But he could see by her body language she wouldn’t be too keen on the idea. If nothing else, he
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did know how to read a woman’s body language. And most especially Haley’s. Besides, they had things
to straighten out first.
He made an attempt at small talk as he shored up his nerve. “I thought you said Rick was married.”
She frowned. “Yes, he was. They got a dissolution pretty much right after they were married.” She
shrugged. “According to Rick, they both realized they’d made a horrible mistake. Rick is home now and
I think he may be wanting to move back, leave California for good.”
“That sounds promising.” Jeremy could care less about Rick and his marital woes, but he wasn’t ready
to profess his feelings just yet. He wanted to watch her for a few more minutes. He could spend his life
watching Haley.
“Yes, it would be wonderful. I never much liked having him so far away.”
Suddenly, he blurted, “I’m sorry, Haley.”
She set her fork down and stopped eating, but she never looked at him and that nearly killed him.
“You already apologized for the blood.”
Her voice was so quiet and she seemed so fragile. The distance between them was too much. Jeremy
left the stool and went to her, crouching low beside her. He placed his hand on her thigh and thrilled at
the small contact. “I’m not apologizing for that, baby. I’m apologizing for being a dickhead back at the
cabin.”
She turned to him and Jeremy felt himself drowning in her expressive eyes. They were so vivid, so full of
emotion. “What do you mean?” she asked, still hesitant and wary.
Jeremy rubbed his palm over her thigh, aching to be able to do more, and whispered, “I should have told
you I love you. I should have trusted you to know your own mind.” Her eyes began to fill and he went
on, scared and anxious all at once. “I was the one who was afraid. You handed me your heart and I was
scared to give you mine in return.” He sighed. “I’m sorry for not being as brave as you were.”
“Oh, Jay!” Haley leaped from the stool.
“Oomph.” He caught her, but her momentum knocked him backwards and they both landed on the
floor, Jeremy on the bottom and Haley flush against him. He wrapped his arms around her and felt a
tremble. He was shocked to the core when he learned it was his body that shook with emotion.
Chapter Eleven
“I love you, but I was terrified if I told you that, you’d somehow wake up and see you were only
interested in me for the sex.”
Haley grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him all over. His cheeks, his eyes, then finally his mouth.
At the first feather-light whisper of her lips on his, Jeremy took command. Prying her lips apart, he
sucked her tongue into his mouth and felt her melt against him. His heart jumped. She wasn’t just an
aberration. She was real and she was in his arms and she was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman.
He pulled away from her questing tongue and demanded, “Say it, Haley. Say you love me. I want to
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hear those words leave your mouth right now with you here on top of me. I want that before I make love
to you, baby. So say it quick.”
She laughed full out. “You are quite demanding aren’t you?”
His brows drew together as he realized she was teasing him. “Say it or I’m liable to spank your sweet
ass for disobeying me.”
She pretended to think about it, then in a husky bedroom voice said, “I don’t know. You’re the one
who tried to convince me you were catching me on the rebound. I think maybe I need to reflect on it
some more.”
Jeremy let a grin appear just a second before his palm came down on her white-cotton shorts. “Bullshit it
was rebound. Now say it, or you’ll get another one.”
Jeremy saw the desire in her eyes as she went submissive in his arms. He glided his hands over her
body, feeling her curves as if it were the first time. He stroked her thighs, then let his hands slip between
them. Jeremy groaned when he felt her heat. Her words, uttered sexy and low, had his cock eager and
aching in his jeans.
“I do love you, Jay. It feels backwards, though, because it’s like we fell in love first and we’re just now
doing the courtship part. But I
felt a connection to you. The dream brought you to me, and I’m not going
to give you up. Not for anything.”
“Jesus. You sure know how to make a man beg.” Then he lifted her to a sitting position and skimmed off
her shirt. He flung it to the floor and murmured, “I’ve got two days to make up for. I’ve been in hell
waiting for you.”
“Your fault,” she managed to get out between pants as she let him touch and play with her nipples. He
pulled her down toward his face so he could suck on one turgid peak, but just as his tongue darted out,
stroking her heated skin, she pushed away from him, gaining a frown from him in return.
“What now?”
“How did you know where I lived? I’m not in the phone book.”
He shrugged. “Brad told me.” He started to pull her down again, his mouth fairly begging for a taste of
her, but she held firm.
“What?” Jeremy growled. He knew he sounded harsh, but if he didn’t get inside her tight little body
soon, he’d die.
“Dr. French told you where I lived? He can’t do that.” She frowned. “Can he?”
“Ah, don’t blame him, honey. I was prepared to toss him in lock-up overnight.” Then he thought of Lisa
and Mara and said, “Plus, he had a few other things on his mind at the time.”
Her eyes went wide with shock. “You were not going to arrest him.”
“I was. No one was going to keep me from you. No one.” His voice went low and raspy as he
admitted, “I need you. Like I need the air to breathe. I swear, my heart can’t pump without you, my soul
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can’t exist without you. For two days I’ve nearly died wanting you.”
She stared at him in astonishment and Jeremy had a sudden need to plead his case. “I want to lie with
you for the rest of my life. Wake up next to you in the morning and tease you when you’d rather sleep.
Rub your back when you feel achy after a long day at work. I want to come home to you every night,
sweet baby, and know you’re mine. All mine.”
Haley started to interrupt him, but he wasn’t quite through yet. He wanted to put all his cards on the
table and if she accepted him afterward, then he’d be the luckiest son-of-a-bitch alive.
“Truthfully, I don’t have much to offer you. Hell, I wouldn’t blame you for kicking my lame ass out the
door. I’ve got a shitty apartment that’s not fit for me, much less a lady, though I do have a healthy bank
account. Money isn’t an issue, baby, you can trust me on that.” He paused, caught by the tenderness in
her eyes. Jeremy knew he needed to get on with it or he’d lose his nerve. Damn, the police academy had
been easier than this.
“There will be days when I’m going to be working way too many hours. There will be long periods when
I’ll be immersed in a case and may not even realize you exist. I apologize for that ahead of time.” His
mouth kicked up in a rueful grin. He wasn’t doing much to convince her what a great catch he was. “But
I swear I’ll try to make you happy. No one will ever love you as much as I do, Haley. No one.”
“Oh, Jay,” she whispered, touching his jaw with her small, delicate fingers. Jeremy’s chest felt tight as he
saw her eyes suddenly fill with tears. “It’s not material things I’m after,” she told him, then shrugged.
“Besides, my job is very demanding, too. Lordy, when I’m writing script, I’m practically in another
world.” Haley’s face softened a fraction and Jeremy breathed easier knowing she wasn’t going to let the
tears fall. Her strength was just one more thing he loved about her.
She took him by surprise when she ran her finger over his lips and murmured, “But that doesn’t mean I
can’t make time for you. I’m exactly where I want to be. Right here in your arms. For the rest of my life,
I want to be right here in your arms.”
He stroked her back. “Good, then we’re agreed. Living without each other is not a fucking option.” His
impatience grew to new heights as he stared at her sweet tits. “Now, if you don’t make love to me, I’ll
have to tease you until you cry uncle.” Her eyes lit at the prospect and Jeremy’s body vibrated with
anticipation. He truly enjoyed the way Haley responded to him.
“You brought the handcuffs?”
“Damn right I did.”
“Oh, yes. Pretty please, can we?”
“Yes, baby, anything, I promise,” Jeremy assured her and he meant every word. “But, first the floor. I
can’t wait any longer to be inside you.”
“Great idea,” she said, then leaned down to kiss him, but he was the one stopping this time as he
remembered the minor detail of the DVD. He hated bringing it up, especially now, but he had to clear the
air about that one issue. After that, there’d be nothing else between them. Well, accept for a few articles
of clothing. A tug here and a pull there and that problem would be happily solved.
“You forgot something back at the cabin,” Jeremy ventured, praying she wouldn’t freak when he told
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her what he’d done with the movie they’d made together.
“No, I didn’t,” she mumbled, then she tried to kiss him again, but he held her firm.
“Yes, you did. You forgot the DVD. But I’m not going to destroy it, so don’t even bother asking.”
“No, I didn’t forget it. I left if for you.” Her grin was impudent and her cheeks turned a pretty shade of
pink. “I didn’t want you forgetting about me and I wanted to prove to you that I trusted you,” she
whispered. “I felt like you needed that, I guess.”
“Damn, Haley.” The air left his lungs in a rush. “I’ve watched that friggin’ thing about a dozen times.
Every single time I’ve driven myself nuts waiting until tonight to come for you. It’s nearly killed me to
wait.”
“You watched it? Alone?” she asked, stunned and intrigued
He yanked at a lock of her silky hair. “No, I invited my brother over to watch it with me,” Jeremy
taunted. “Of course alone.” Haley’s tongue darted out and slowly licked her lips. Christ, he was nuts
about her.
“What did you do when you watched it, Jay?”
Her eyes had gone all sexy and drowsy. That was all it took for his erection to grow thicker. Damn, if he
got any harder, he’d pop his zipper.
“Now what do you think I did when I watched it?” he asked devilishly.
She spoke so low he barely heard. “Did you…touch yourself?”
He laughed at her shy response. “Yes, I did, and every single time I wished it was your hand on my
cock instead of mine. Your hand squeezing and pumping.”
“Oh, me, too.” She sounded so sweetly sincere. All at once, Haley shook her head and turned her nose
up in the air. Crossing her arms over her chest, she declared, “Then again, I think you deserved a little bit
of torture for sending me away.” She glanced away and Jeremy knew just how much he’d hurt her.
“It hadn’t been my intention to hurt you, baby. I swear it.”
She smacked his chest. “Well, of course I know that, silly, or I wouldn’t be about to make love to you.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’ve got a real smart mouth, do you know that?”
“Yeah? So what are you going to do about it?”
The time for talking was over. It was time for Jeremy to make love to the woman who’d stolen his heart
in just under twenty-four hours flat. Fuck, that had to be some kind of record.<
br />
Jeremy reached up, grazing her right nipple with the back of his hand as he whispered huskily, “I think
you need to be punished. Two days away from me and already you’re being very naughty.”
“Mm, you think so?” she asked in that breathless voice that pushed his body into overdrive.
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“Oh, most definitely. First things first, though. Get those shorts off so I can see all of you.”
Haley never hesitated. She stood above him, mimicking the move he’d pulled on her at the cabin, and
slipped her shorts down as far as they would go, then she lifted her left leg the tiniest bit. Jeremy helped
by yanking at the leg of the shorts and soon they were on the floor. Jeremy stared at a pair of white bikini
panties. She looked innocent and brazen all at once.
Such a lovely combination.
He gritted his teeth, ravenous and aching, but waited and let Haley take her time about it, giving her the
reins for the first time ever.
Haley didn’t disappoint him. She shed the panties, too, and it took Jeremy mere seconds to get his own
jeans undone. He pulled his cock free and groaned. He was throbbing for the tight pull of her pussy.
“Sit down. Real slow, so I can feel every inch of your wet heat, baby.”
“Oh, Jay, I’ve missed you so much,” she moaned.
Haley used his chest to brace herself as she slipped his cock inside inch by inch. Torturously slow, just
as he’d wanted. Jeremy had to lock his hands behind his head to keep from wrapping them around her
hips and thrusting her down onto him. He wanted desperately to pound into her. He was so hard it hurt
and Haley felt so damn good. So perfect. When she arched her back and began a slow, sweet rhythm,
Jeremy knew he’d found his heaven. It was just that simple.
Epilogue
“Brad, you can’t keep her at home if she wants to leave.”
“She’s staying put.”
Jeremy sighed. He’d never seen his brother so unmovable. He was dead set on keeping Lisa in bed and
off her ankle. It was three weeks since the accident and Brad had practically stood vigil by her bedside.
Hell, he’d even gone so far as to temporarily move into her home so he could be there whenever he
wasn’t working. When he did go to the office, he had someone else watching over her. Jeremy and
