by Laura Moore
IT HAD been a quiet night in Warburg. The calls that had come via dispatch were all routine: An elderly man had slipped while stepping into the bath, and his wife was terrified he’d broken his back; a family had mistakenly set off their security system and no one could remember the code or password; a couple had left their garage open and had returned from work to find their top-of-the-line Italian racing bikes gone.
The only incident that even ranked as serious involved the elderly man, but the EMS arrived at the couple’s home within seconds of Rob, and the paramedics immediately set to work, lifting the man out of the tub while Rob calmed his distraught wife. Not even that kept him from thinking about Jade for very long.
His shift over, Rob found himself heading toward Piper Road rather than in the direction of his own place.
Even as he turned into the drive for Rosewood Farm, he knew there were a half dozen good reasons not to seek Jade out. The reasons could have numbered into the hundreds, every one of them excellent, and he would have ignored them too.
He needed to see her, couldn’t stop picturing her horrified expression or the raw pain that dulled the brilliance of her eyes. Jade was so adept at presenting a carefree attitude, and there was such a remarkable energy and vitality about her, that one forgot she’d suffered a great deal in her life. As he’d learned today, hidden behind her freewheeling demeanor were unhealed wounds.
His car’s headlights picked up a flash of red, and he made out the shape of Jade’s Porsche. He slowed and then stopped in front of a cottage with a columned porch. Lights shone through the curtained windows.
He got out of his car and rapped on the door.
Footsteps sounded and the door swung open with Jade already speaking, her speech obviously prepared. “Will you quit it? I’m fine, really. You don’t have to—” Seeing him on her porch stopped the sentence midstream. “Oh,” she finished hollowly.
“You open your front door like that? You didn’t even look to see who it was.” Even if he hadn’t just come off duty, he’d have been appalled at the lack of caution she displayed.
“Of course not.” She folded her arms around her middle, as if hugging herself. “I thought you were Margot. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. You should take a minute to see who’s on the other side of the door before opening it. Warburg’s not without crime.”
“Right,” she snapped. “Next time I’ll look and definitely not open the door.” She eyed him suspiciously. “How did you know this was where I live?”
He raised a brow. “I used observational skills honed from years on the force. Your Porsche is parked outside. Are you going to let me come in?”
“Why don’t you use your excellent observational skills to figure that one out too?” She paused and then said, “In case you’re unsure, I’ll give you a hint. The word starts with an N and ends with an O.”
He bit back a smile, vastly relieved that she was acting all piss and vinegar toward him. He wanted her to be the strong, dynamic woman he was coming to admire.
“Too bad, because we need to talk.” He stepped over the threshold and brushed past her, ignoring her growl of frustration. A quick glance was sufficient for him to take in the funky charm of the interior. Its playfulness and airiness suited Jade’s character. The light colors and clean lines of the furniture did too. “You have a nice house.”
“Owen and Jordan did the renovation. It’s a great place to hang out and be alone,” she said, stressing the last.
She might be acting all defiant, but her expression was shadowed. He didn’t like the idea of her here, forlorn. In that, he apparently wasn’t alone. If Jade had gone so far as to prepare speeches when she opened the front door, her sisters must have waged quite a campaign.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure.” Her chin rose a notch, but the show of bravado failed. It only made it easier for him to see her drawn features and red-rimmed eyes.
As if she guessed that he wasn’t falling for it, she redoubled her attempt. “Of course I’m fine. Why shouldn’t I be? It’s been a great day. And now that we’ve got that straightened out, will you please go on your merry way—”
“What Christy Harrison said today was way out of line. Moreover, it wasn’t true.”
“Funny, I distinctly remember you confirming what she said. Your wife died the night you were arresting me at the Den.”
“Yes, but I don’t blame you for it. Not anymore.”
A slow shake of her head was all she needed to express her disbelief.
How to get her to understand what he’d never consciously acknowledged but now knew to be true? Impulsively, he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the long off-white sofa. He sat down, bringing her with him.
“Hey, buster, who do you think you are? I specifically didn’t invite you to sit down—”
“A gross breach of politeness, but I’m willing to overlook it. I need you to listen, and I’m hoping to have better luck if you’re sitting. You certainly didn’t seem inclined to when you were standing and glaring at me.”
“I can sit and glare. And I can ignore too.”
“I’ve already noticed you’re multitalented,” he replied, unfazed by her dirty look. Jade could give as good as she got. But so could he.
“Listen to me, damn it. Yes, there was a time, whenever I thought of how Becky died, that I couldn’t help remembering you and that if you hadn’t been stupid enough to step your underage foot inside the Den, I wouldn’t have had to drag you down to the station and waste my evening dealing with you. I blamed you for a good long time, Jade. It was wrong of me, and stupid too. Because if I were to hold you responsible, then I would also have to blame my father, my uncle, and even my brother Scott for having influenced me in deciding to become a cop. Because if I hadn’t been a cop, I wouldn’t have been anywhere near that goddamned bar on the night Becky died.
“But when I was grieving for Becky, you were an easy target to rail against: a smart-ass adolescent. The thing is, I probably wouldn’t have needed you as a scapegoat if I wasn’t feeling so incredibly guilty myself. I never suspected that Becky was suffering from something more serious than a nasty stomach flu. I should have made her go see a doctor, but it never occurred to me that her body was fighting for its life.”
Rob was sitting close enough to Jade to feel her recoil, then begin to shake as she listened to his explanation. But he was convinced it was better to state things baldly if they were to have any hope of settling the question between them. If they were to have any hope of a future together. And suddenly he knew that he very much wanted Jade Radcliffe in his life.
He reached out and cupped her chin with his hand, drawing her head around so that he could look at her, impossibly moved when he saw the tears filling her eyes. “Don’t cry,” he said softly.
“I can’t help it,” she replied in a raw voice. “Your wife, Hayley’s mom, is gone because of—”
“A cruel turn of events. A twist of fate. Becky’s death was meaningless and senseless. It shouldn’t have happened. But holding you responsible doesn’t change any of that. And now that I know you, there’s no way I could ever blame you for it.”
“What?” she said, clearly startled.
“It’s true. For the first time in a long time, I feel something—something good. I’d forgotten how much I love life. And the reason I’m remembering is you, Jade.”
Awe made her heart strangely heavy. Her gaze locked with Rob’s. He’d lost so much, yet instead of despising her for the inadvertent role she’d played in his loss, he was saying that she’d given him something. The notion boggled the mind, yet the light in his brilliant eyes never wavered.
“Jade.” Her roughly whispered name was a seductive command. Irresistible.
It was impossible to know where this thing between them might lead. But for now, for the present, for tonight, she knew all that mattered. She longed to feel Rob’s arms around her again, to be swept away by the promise of his
kisses, to fall under the spell of his mouth and hands caressing her, to answer the pounding rhythm of his body moving deep inside her.
And to offer him the same fierce, glorious pleasure.
The desire she’d battled since parents’ night broke free. She accepted its superior strength, understood that this man meant too much for her to walk away. What would happen would happen. Her lips brushed his, featherlight. Her hand slipped into his.
“Come with me.”
The hushed, deliberate mood that pervaded was no less potent for its quietness, no less thrilling for its purposefulness. Clothes were shed slowly, to sighs and husky murmurs voicing their appreciation, their pleasure. Naked, they faced each other, their bodies mere inches apart while their hands touched and mouths drank, relearning and exploring anew.
“You’re trembling,” he whispered, trailing his mouth down the slope of her shoulder, breathing in the warm scent of her, as his hands cupped her breasts, kneading gently.
“I know. I can’t stop.”
“Are you nervous?”
“No—yes, I guess I am. This feels different somehow.” How much different, how important, she couldn’t admit to him—or herself.
“Yeah. It does.”
It helped to know that he recognized it too; it made her feel less vulnerable emotionally. The physical responses he aroused were overwhelming enough. Like now, she thought, as his tongue dipped into the hollow of her collarbone while his thumbs stroked her nipples in achingly slow sweeps. He remembered just how much pressure she liked. She arched in silent supplication, letting loose a moan of gratitude when his mouth replaced his thumbs, latching on to one breast, then the other, and drawing her nipples deep into his mouth as he suckled.
Liquid heat pooled deep inside her as streaks of pleasure lashed her. The dual onslaught made her knees buckle. Luckily, the bed was within reach. She fell back upon the blue-and-white-patterned comforter, exulting in the weight of his body as he followed her down. Wrapping her legs about his hips, she rubbed the steel silk of his shaft and felt herself grow slick with desire.
“Please, I need you.”
His smile was fierce, beautiful. “You have me, sweetheart. Take me any way you want.”
The room might have spun a little just then, whirling with all of the ways she’d like to make love with him. A kaleidoscope of delight. The best part was that she could pick one and know she’d enjoy his choice equally. A win–win situation. She pushed Rob over onto his back and climbed over him, pulling her nightstand drawer open and retrieving a handful of condoms, then letting them fall within easy reach.
At his raised brow, she said, “Every modern woman should be thusly equipped.”
He squeezed her butt. “I am in total agreement.”
“Good.” She gave him an impish wink. “Now, I seem to recall this as being very nice.” Balancing with her knees on either side of him, she positioned herself over his hips, letting her short curls brush the tip of his cock. When it lengthened, straining, when his hips bucked in instinctive response, she smiled, awash with feminine power. “Does it meet with your approval?”
“It does.” His voice lowered to a rough whisper. “I’ve dreamed of you like this, Jade.”
“Me too,” she said, and, with the beat of his heart hammering against her flattened palm, she sank down his rigid length, letting him fill her, inch by dizzying inch. To the sound of his soft groans of pleasure, she began to ride.
Rob’s eyes held hers as he answered her every descent with a powerful thrust, watching her graceful body undulate as his hands covered her breasts and fondled them boldly. He kept pace as her rhythm quickened, as her core tightened, milking him, as she quivered from the sensations racking her.
She was beautiful as she neared her climax, her slender body tensing as she reached for it, her hair flowing wildly about her shoulders, the image of a wanton goddess—his wanton goddess, a voice inside him decided possessively. Knowing what would bring her to her peak, and desperate to give her that pleasure, his hands moved. One clasped her hip, urging her to take him even deeper, while the other hand moved between her legs to brush her swollen clit. With a shattering cry, her body bucked and her passion broke over him like a tempest unleashed. The force of it triggered his own climax. With a hoarse groan, he surged into her, coming in a flood that left him shaken and dazed.
Spent and seemingly boneless, she collapsed on him. The slap of their slick bodies made him smile as he lazily wrapped his arms about her damp back. Nuzzling the crook of her neck, he inhaled the floral scent that clung to her hair and realized he felt better than he had in weeks. It wasn’t just the sexual release, powerful though it had been, but the sense of rightness as he held this armful of warm girl close. It felt almost as if he was absorbing her into himself. She might wreak havoc in his life, but she also was a perfect fit.
And she was funny, smart, sensitive, gorgeous, and sexy as hell, and his body was already responding to the sweet curves draped over him. Shifting his head against the pillow, he found her lips and kissed her deeply, savoring her. Languidly, their tongues dueled, and with each thrust, parry, and slow suck, heat built between them.
A roll of their bodies put Rob on top. Dragging Jade’s arms overhead, he gave rein to his hunger, trailing his mouth along the insides of her arms and circling the sensitive underside of her breasts as she writhed and whispered her need. Her words inflamed him until his own body shook with need.
“My turn. Open for me, sweetheart.” He rocked his hips, pressing his cock against her cleft.
Her breath caught on a soft moan as she met his thrust. Then, drawing her instep up his calf, she teased huskily, “Missionary pose, huh? Kinda dull.”
“Brat.” He laughed and nipped her earlobe. “I promise I’ll do my best to keep your attention from wandering.”
Much later, a sleepy-eyed and sated Jade watched Rob pull on his clothes. She felt too good to move. Sitting up was a definite impossibility. Besides, if she sat up, the graze of the soft cotton sheet against her naked skin would remind her of how his hands had caressed her while they made love, and she would start to want him again.
His lovemaking had been exquisite. Sometimes teasing, other times demanding, he’d wrung responses from her that made her feel as if she’d never really been touched before. At another time it might have worried her that Rob seemed to know her body better than she, but right now all she could think was that she was one incredibly lucky girl. She stretched and smiled, contented as a cat.
“Want to tell me what that smile is about?”
“I’ve decided that maybe the missionary position isn’t so dull after all.”
A grin spread across his face. “Only ‘maybe’? I thought I had you converted.” He gave an easy shrug. “That’s all right, I’ll be happy to continue doing the good work.” Buttoning the top metal button of his jeans, he crossed over to the bed and sat down, his weight causing her to roll into him. She put her hand on his blue-jeaned thigh and felt his quadriceps harden beneath it.
In response, he laid his hand on her naked shoulder, then slowly trailed his fingers over its rounded contours.
“So about this thing between us: Are you okay with it? Because I want to keep seeing you and spending time with you.”
She tamped down the panic that threatened. “Let’s just take it one day at a time. I don’t want Hayley to figure out what’s going on and begin to form expectations. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
Clearly pleased that she wanted to protect Hayley, Rob nodded. “Fair enough. But, Jade, you should know I believe in commitment. If we’re together, then it’s only you and me. I don’t share.”
Before she could retort that she wasn’t the kind of person who slept around when dating—easy to say, as she’d always avoided relationships—his lips were over hers and he was kissing her with a thoroughness that had her toes curling and her fingers clutching at his back. Then he was gone, the front door shut firmly behind him, and Jade was sti
ll trying to catch her breath and calm her pounding heart.
How had this happened? she wondered as her panic returned. How, after going out of her way to avoid emotional entanglements, had she managed to not only find herself in a relationship but in one where the stakes were so high?
Because she was very much afraid that, after tonight, she was already half in love with Rob Cooper.
THE PONY barn was full of little people diligently at work yielding currycombs and bristle and soft brushes. After demonstrating how to use each brush, Jade had divided the group into pairs to work on three ponies first. Walking up and down the aisle, she’d observed them, making sure they were moving safely around the ponies attached to the cross ties. Then at each station she gave a demonstration on how to pick the ponies’ hooves, the most essential grooming lesson of the afternoon.
Once she was satisfied that they’d gotten the hang of manipulating each of the grooming tools, she—along with Tito and Ned, who’d volunteered to help out until the kids reached the stage where they could groom and tack on their own—returned the ponies to their stalls so the other three could be readied.
Next came a lesson in how to tack. Using Doc Holliday because he was an old pro, Jade showed them how to insert the bit of the bridle into his mouth. Something of a show-off, Doc curled back his muzzle as if to show the kids exactly where they should exert pressure against his yellowed teeth. Adjusting the noseband and the throatlatch was more straightforward, involving only a discussion of how snug the noseband should be and how much give the throatlatch should have.
As the ponies all used snaffles and none wore a martingale, she postponed any further discussion of the parts of a bridle for the next lesson. It was pointless to overload the kids with information they wouldn’t be able to retain, and, besides, she could tell how keen they were to get in the saddle.
Nevertheless, she did take the time to stress the importance of proper saddle placement. A saddle placed too low or high could hurt a pony’s back, causing it to go lame. “And we don’t want that, do we?”
