Kenzie could feel her skin heating as Hunter coaxed her remaining undergarment from her body. Breathing hard, she did the same with his.
And then there were no barriers, no material obstacles left to get in their way.
Nothing but naked desire to cloak them.
She fully expected him to take her right then and there. Instead, he took his time, moving slowly. Making love to her by increments.
Hunter pressed a kiss to her shoulders, her arms and the sensitive area of her throat before he moved on to other parts of her.
She struggled to do the same with him, but it was hard for her to focus when her head was spinning wildly the way it was.
He made her feel beautiful.
And cherished.
And oh so wanted.
She tried very hard not to get lost in this burning sensation licking away at her, but it wasn’t easy. She was hanging on to reality just by her fingertips.
What Hunter was creating for her felt almost unreal.
This wasn’t her first time.
Or her second.
But it was the first time she had ever felt like this.
And that was what she was going to remember, Kenzie told herself, when this was just a faded part of yesterday.
If anything either of her brothers had ever said was true, there had been an entire squadron of women moving through Hunter’s life. But she was determined that he was going to remember being with her like this tonight.
She did things with him that she hadn’t even contemplated doing until this very moment. For every caress he bestowed on her, she returned one in kind. For every stroke, every touch, every wild, passionate, soul-melting kiss he imprinted on her, she did the same with him, summoning just as much fire.
Or trying to.
Somewhere amid this primal exploration, she had brought him into her bedroom. Lost in each other’s arms, they had almost made it to her bed. But some things couldn’t be restrained.
They wound up making love with one another the first time on her floor.
After covering what felt like every pulsing, eager inch of her body with a network of hot, passionate kisses, Hunter had drawn his throbbing body along hers. Watching her intently, he entered, his hands linking hers just as their bodies formed one joined entity.
As he began to move his hips, she felt the explosion growing, getting larger and larger with each thrust. And when it came, when that final wondrous climax seized them in its grip, Kenzie wrapped her legs around his torso, holding on for dear life.
Slowly, the mushroom cloud receded, leaving her feeling as if she was glowing in the aftermath.
But that, too, faded and reality elbowed its way back in.
Kenzie lay there, breathing hard. Waiting for her pulse to level out.
She expected that now that this was over, Hunter was going to say something politely inane, then get up, get dressed and leave.
Or maybe he wasn’t even going to be polite.
She braced, telling herself that she wasn’t going to be disappointed. After all, she wasn’t looking for a commitment, just a momentary diversion, right?
Kenzie felt Hunter stirring. It was starting. He was going to leave.
To her surprise, he moved over and continued lying next to her on the floor.
He raised himself slightly to look at her. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said cautiously. “Why?”
“Well, for a second at the end there, I thought you’d stopped breathing.” He wasn’t bragging. It was an observation. And then he actually sounded concerned as he asked, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
This was a lot more thoughtful than she’d thought Hunter was going to be. Swallowing her surprise, she said, “I’m hardier than I look.”
“Oh, there’s no doubt about that,” he assured her. “I just wanted to make sure that you were all right.”
She realized then that Hunter had threaded his arm around her and was cradling her against him. She could feel his heart beating against her chest, and for some reason, she found that immensely comforting.
“I’m fine,” she answered.
“Good,” he pronounced. Hunter pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
He did it as if there was affection between them, not just torrid sex that would soon play itself out. She had no idea what to make of that. He was systematically destroying all her preconceived notions about Hunter Brannigan, lady-killer.
This was a whole different person from what she thought he was.
“So, what’ll we do with the rest of our evening?” he asked her.
She had no idea why—maybe it was the way Hunter said it—but his question struck her as being funny. So much so that she started to laugh. And once she did, she couldn’t stop, not until there were tears streaming down her cheeks.
“So I take it you’re open to suggestions,” he deadpanned once the laughter had died down.
Kenzie felt as if something almost physical reached up and squeezed her heart.
The next moment, she was swept up in her emotions and acting on them.
Turning into Hunter, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him with every single ounce of strength she still had left in her body.
The fire that erupted between them was instantaneous, sweeping over them and taking them back to the place they had just inhabited a few minutes ago.
The lovemaking this time, if possible, was even wilder, even less restrained than it had been the first time.
They knew what was waiting for them, and they ran toward it joyfully and willingly, ready to embrace it and be part of it.
* * *
This time, they did make it up to her bed. Lost in the erotic fire they’d created, they consummated their lovemaking on a mattress. Somehow, doing it there made the act that much more official.
Hunter stayed the night and even though she was convinced she wasn’t going to sleep a wink, she wound up falling asleep in his arms.
* * *
When Kenzie woke up the following morning, the spot beside her was empty.
The letdown was immediate and oppressively tremendous, almost drowning her.
Well, what did she expect? Kenzie heatedly demanded. Rose petals on her pillow? This was Hunter Brannigan, the lover of a thousand women, or so the legend went. He wasn’t exactly known as Mr. Faithful.
The man wasn’t about to hang around after their lovemaking was over. She was surprised he’d stayed as long as he had. If nothing else, he wouldn’t want her getting any ideas that this was in any way a preview of some sort of domestic bliss.
He was gone the way she knew he would be.
Kenzie sat up and swung her legs off the bed. She needed to get dressed. It was Monday morning and she had a serial killer to find and catch. She couldn’t do that sitting here feeling sorry for herself.
She needed to—
Kenzie stopped and sniffed the air. Was that the coffee maker?
Oh Lord, did she remember to turn it off last night? She’d gotten so caught up in what was happening, she had to have forgotten.
With visions of a fire breaking out, she ran into the kitchen, braced for anything.
Except for what she found.
Chapter 20
Kenzie’s mouth fell open.
Hunter hadn’t left. He was in her kitchen. She hadn’t smelled the coffeepot burning. What she’d smelled was Hunter preparing breakfast.
She’d walked in on him making eggs and bacon.
He had toast in the toaster as well as a pot of coffee brewing, although at the moment, he wasn’t making anything. He was staring at her.
“I take it you don’t like to dress for breakfast,” he observed dryly.
Suddenly realizing that she had rushed into the kitchen without putting anythin
g on, Kenzie yelped and grabbed for something to cover herself.
But then she stopped. Covering herself after the fact was ludicrous. Hunter had already seen her naked, so there didn’t seem to be much of a point for this sudden display of modesty.
Still, she moved strategically behind a chair. The high-back kitchen chair covered enough to make her feel a little more comfortable about her condition.
At least comfortable enough to explain why she had come racing in like that.
“I thought I’d left the coffee on last night,” she explained. “What are you doing?”
“Making breakfast,” Hunter answered cheerfully. “I thought it would be obvious.” He pretended to look down at the frying pans. “Unless I’m doing it wrong.”
Kenzie frowned. She hated being caught off guard like this. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
The toast popped and he began buttering the four slices. “You’ve been putting in all those long hours, so I thought I’d let you sleep a little longer.” Hunter deposited the slices onto two separate plates. “Sorry if I crossed any lines.”
Kenzie was getting to feel more and more awkward. “Um, now that I know my kitchen isn’t burning down, I’m just going to go and get dressed,” she told him, jerking a thumb in the general direction of her bedroom.
His mouth curved in a smile that defied being labeled. “Don’t feel you have to do it on my account.”
“Very funny,” she muttered. The next second, she had disappeared back into her bedroom.
Embarrassed and flustered, Kenzie got dressed even faster than she usually did. She was back in the kitchen in five minutes.
Hearing her enter behind him, Hunter asked, “Change your mind about getting dressed?” Turning around in her direction, he saw that Kenzie was fully clothed. “Oh.” The single word echoed with disappointment as well as surprise. “That was fast,” he commented. “And just in time. Breakfast is ready,” he told her, placing a dish with scrambled eggs, toast and bacon on the table. The next minute, the plate was joined by a cup of coffee. “I didn’t know how much creamer you took,” he explained as he sat down with his own plate and cup. “So I just put in a little.”
She looked down at the lightened coffee. If this was “a little,” then she was afraid to see what he considered “a lot” to be.
“Perfect.” She raised her eyes to his. She couldn’t resist asking, “Who are you and what have you done with Brannigan?”
“I told you I was a nice guy,” he reminded Kenzie. “I can’t help it if you didn’t believe me.”
She changed the subject, or at least tried to. But her mind kept being drawn back to the breakfast he’d just made for them.
“This is good,” she felt obligated to say. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until just this moment. “When did you learn how to cook?”
“I told you,” he said. “I raised my brother and my father. When my mother took off and my grandmother finally gave up on us, I realized that I had to learn how to cook—fast. The one time my father tried to make something, he almost blew up the kitchen. And thanks,” Hunter said belatedly, thanking her for the compliment.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” She was all but finished eating. “This is great,” Kenzie told him.
“No need,” Hunter began to say something, then stopped as her cell phone started ringing. He nodded at her pocket. “Sounds like duty calls,” he guessed.
Just as she took out her phone and opened it, his rang.
“Cavanaugh,” Kenzie responded. Turning away, Hunter answered his.
She heard Choi’s voice in her ear. “Kenzie, this is Choi. A ranger picked up some really freaked-out hikers late last night.”
“Okay,” she said, waiting to find out why he thought this was important enough to call her.
“You’re going to want to talk to them,” he predicted. “Seems they went too far and got all turned around. They saw a cabin, so they decided to take shelter for the night. They thought the cabin was abandoned. They were practically incoherent when the ranger found them.”
Kenzie had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Where are they now?” she asked.
“The ranger called the police and one of our patrol cars brought them to the station,” Choi told her.
She saw Hunter looking at her quizzically. He was obviously trying to piece together her conversation. “Did you see them?” she asked Choi.
“Yeah. I got in early,” Choi explained. “Those two hikers haven’t stopped shaking since they were brought in.”
“I’ll be right there,” she promised, ending the call. The second she did, Hunter filled her in on the call he’d received.
“Valdez located that tattooed victim’s sister and brother-in-law. He’s going to go talk to them, see if they can’t shed some light on the victim and who he might have interacted with before he was killed.” There was more, but he’d overheard her tone when she was on her phone. Something was definitely up. “Who called you?” he asked, nodding at the cell phone Kenzie was still holding in her hand.
“That was Choi. He called to say that some hikers had stumbled across a cabin.”
Kenzie crossed over to a bookcase that was next to her flat-screen. She kept her weapon there when she came home. Securing her weapon, she turned around and noticed that Hunter had collected their dishes and stacked them in the sink.
The man just kept on racking up points, Kenzie thought.
“What did they find in the cabin?” Hunter asked as he watched her get her purse. His own weapon was already strapped in beneath his jacket. He saw Kenzie look at him quizzically. “Choi’s not going to call you to report a potential tourist attraction,” he pointed out.
“I’m not sure. Choi didn’t go into any detail, but he said we’re going to want to talk to these two people. It seems that whatever they saw, the hikers can’t stop shaking. They were incoherent when the ranger picked them up.”
“Well, it’s for sure that it wasn’t meeting Yogi Bear that spooked them,” Hunter said. “What do you want to bet that our hikers came across more body parts?”
Kenzie set her mouth grimly. “No bet,” she said, locking the door behind her. Desperate to lighten the mood, at least for a second, she said, “You put the dishes into the sink.”
“You didn’t want me to?” Hunter questioned, curious.
“No, it’s just that—” Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. But since she’d started this by bringing the subject up, she knew she might as well finish. “It was just thoughtful, that’s all.”
His mouth curved as they walked to the parking area. “If we weren’t in a hurry, I would have washed them. I learned early on that you have to take care of things as they come up or you’ll wind up being overwhelmed.”
In more ways than one, Kenzie caught herself thinking.
Coming up to the parking lot, she said, “I think we should go in separate cars.”
Hunter nodded. “Good idea. We wouldn’t want people talking.”
Kenzie couldn’t help glancing at him. “Someone might notice that you’re wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday.”
“They might notice,” Hunter agreed. “But no one’s going to ask anything because they know I won’t say anything.” He smiled at her and for a split second, it felt to her as if they were the only two people on earth. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
And there it was, Kenzie realized, what she was secretly worried about. That somehow, their night together would become public knowledge. “I thought you did,” she confessed.
“Rumors,” Hunter told her. “Rumors that are based on nothing, have no foundation and have a way of unaccountably mushrooming with a life of their own. You have nothing to worry about,” he assured her. “Unless you wind up telling someone about last night, because I won’t.” Hunter unlocked his do
or and slid in behind the wheel. “I’ll meet you at the precinct.”
She nodded, hurrying over to her designated parking space.
* * *
Driving to the precinct a short distance away, Kenzie couldn’t help thinking what a difference twenty-four hours could make.
No, she immediately upbraided herself. She wasn’t going to do that. She wasn’t going to let herself think about Brannigan, not in that way. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted. They had a killer to find.
This had been a fling, an enjoyable fling, but for all she knew, it was already over and mentally, Brannigan was already moving on.
But oh, she really hoped not.
Get a grip, Kenz. You need to be 110 percent on the job, not anywhere else.
She took in a deep breath and focused.
Parking in the rear of the precinct, as was her habit, Kenzie all but ran up the concrete steps that led to the back entrance.
Choi had really piqued her curiosity. She asked why these hikers were, as he had so eloquently put it, “freaked out.”
Had they found more body parts, or was there some other reason the hikers were “freaked out”?
She walked quickly to the bank of elevators.
When she entered the squad room, she looked around but she didn’t see Hunter. She hadn’t seen his car either. However, there was no law that said he had to park in the back.
He was probably in the back room already, working, she guessed.
He wasn’t.
They’d left at the same time, Kenzie thought. If anything, he’d left a couple of minutes earlier. Where was he?
No, she silently insisted, she wasn’t going to make noises like some paranoid girlfriend. Maybe Hunter was just taking his time so it wouldn’t look as if they were coming in together. She really had to learn to start giving him credit for behaving like something other than a Neanderthal.
Old habits, she told herself.
Choi was instantly on his feet when he saw her, crossing to the room’s threshold.
“The hikers are in conference room one,” he informed her with a note of excitement. “Wait until you hear their story.”
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