If she were involved with that case, maybe she’d been bogged down with paperwork.
Or maybe she was with a lover. She wasn’t married, but maybe the background report hadn’t picked up a casual boyfriend. A boyfriend who might be jealous of time spent with him. Or maybe she’d hooked up with someone new tonight. He had no hold on her.
Jason, already agitated by his session with a new doctor, had cried himself to sleep tonight. He hadn’t wanted to go to bed a second night without seeing his mommy.
Damn her. Yeah, she had a right to be angry because of his father’s arrogant behavior, but Jason was the one paying the price.
At the sound of quick steps across the marble foyer, Trey closed his eyes, relief flooding him. She was back. She’d never summoned Hans for transportation, but she’d made it home.
By the time he got to the foyer, she was halfway up the staircase, moving fast. She wore tight black jeans, a bright red blouse and carried a duffel bag, likely containing her uniform and gun belt.
So she’d changed. Where had she done that? And why?
Trey followed her up the steps. He intended to talk to her before she disappeared inside her room. There was a lot left unsaid between them, and he intended to get it out there right now.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
KELLY EASED OPEN the door to Jason’s bedroom and peeked inside. Focusing through the dark on the little dude’s bed, she saw Jason breathing regularly, and the knot in her belly eased.
Of course the kid was fine. He was surrounded by an army. What had she been so worried about?
She closed the door, turned and bumped into the solid chest of Trey Wentworth, the collision knocking her off balance. He grabbed her upper arms so she wouldn’t tumble.
“Trey,” she blurted. She glared at him, her heart banging like a drum.
“Keep your voice down,” he said. He picked up her duffel and pulled her down the hallway, away from Jason’s room. Toward his.
“You’ll wake up Jase.”
Why wasn’t Trey in bed? She’d deliberately stayed out late enough to make sure he’d be asleep. She blinked at his five o’clock shadow. God, but that dark stubble made him even hotter. And a little dangerous. She swallowed. His shirt was open, and she could see a dusting of dark hair on his chest. With a jolt she realized he wore a bathing suit, the type competitive swimmers wore that left nothing to the imagination. She swallowed hard.
At Moe’s and Joe’s tonight, she’d tried to convince herself and her squad that everyone exaggerated Trey’s sultry good looks. Trice and Lana had laughed at her lame attempts to bring him down to ungod-like status.
Trey folded his arms. “Where have you been?”
Well, my goodness. The billionaire sounded unhappy. Too damn bad. She was a big girl. She could do what she wanted, and she’d definitely wanted to avoid him and his obnoxious father tonight.
“My squad was celebrating,” Kelly explained. “We took down some bad guys today.”
“You didn’t call Hans. How did you get here from the ferry landing?”
“One of the guards brought me in his golf cart.” She shrugged. “Professional courtesy, I guess.”
His lips tightened. “Jason missed you at bedtime.”
“I’m sorry about that.” She raised her gaze to his. “Did you miss me?”
A flash of something sharpened the intensity of his gaze. Some emotion she didn’t want to think about. She looked away. Why had she asked that?
“You’ve been drinking,” he said.
“It was a celebration,” she said, meeting his gaze again. She’d had only one drink and didn’t need to explain herself. “How many have you had tonight?”
He raked a hand through his thick dark hair. Kelly followed the movement with interest. She’d like to run her fingers through that glorious mess of hair. It looked soft, unlike the stubble on his chin. “God, listen to me,” he said, sounding disgusted. “I sound like your father.”
She giggled at the thought. “My father?”
He stepped closer. “What’s so funny?”
“I never knew my father.”
“Lucky you,” he said softly.
“Maybe.” Unsure exactly what they were talking about, she allowed her gaze to travel the length of his body to that thin strip of nylon that passed for a bathing suit.
Trey stood so close she could detect the spicy scent of his now familiar cologne, one she’d forever associate with him. She bit her bottom lip. What would his skin taste like if she leaned forward and licked his bare chest?
She touched a button on his open shirt. “Why are you almost naked?”
“I waited for you.”
“In your bathing suit?”
“I thought I’d join you in the pool tonight.”
“Oh,” she murmured, liking the idea of swimming with Trey, both of them all slippery and wet. She placed her palm over his heart and felt his heat. “Too late.”
“Yes,” Trey said, his voice husky. “It is.”
And then his mouth was on hers, taking what he wanted. All night long, while telling her friends how much she needed to get away from this man, all she could think about was this: his lips plundering hers and her willingly giving him everything she had without Jason watching.
Trey pulled away. She opened her eyes and found him staring at her. They were both breathing hard, as if they’d just sprinted fifty meters, but that was no reason to stop kissing her. She slid her hands up his chest, and he grabbed them, his dark eyes intent on hers. She ignored his attempt to stop her—it was half-hearted, anyway—locked her hands around his neck and stepped into his body, finding the proof that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
A shiver of something delicious ran up her backbone when Trey placed his hands on her buttocks and pushed her groin into his. Finally. No more frustrating kisses in front of a little boy.
Suddenly in a hurry, Trey half carried and dragged her into his bedroom, but she resisted and reached for her duffel. She couldn’t leave her service weapon in the hall, which meant she knew exactly what she was doing. She was doing what she wanted to do, what she’d fantasized about for days. Ever since that first bogus good-night kiss.
Trey made an impatient noise and grabbed the duffel. Holding her with one hand and the bag in the other, he moved into his bedroom, kicked the door shut and tossed the duffel into a walk-in closet larger than her bedroom.
She only had a second to absorb the fact that she was in Trey’s bedroom, that the bed was turned down and that the room was super neat—but of course Maria would keep it that way—before he was back to kissing her and unbuttoning her blouse at the same time. A delicious tug in her belly made her long to feel her bare flesh pressed against his. She stepped away, unzipped her jeans and wiggled out of them.
Wearing only her bra and panties, she faced him, for the first time unafraid that a man would see the brand left on her by Roy. Trey had already seen her scar of shame.
He released her bra, and she sucked in a deep breath, the air cool on her skin. He cupped her right breast with a warm and gentle palm. She closed her eyes to savor the sensation as he ran a finger around her nipple, urging it to a peak.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly.
Kelly opened her eyes. She felt beautiful right now. Trey made her feel like a princess, a strange sensation for her. He stared at her with open admiration, the way every woman wanted a man to look at her.
She reached up and slid the shirt off his shoulders, skimming both hands down his arms as the material fell away. His skin was smooth and warm, the muscles hard from years of tennis.
“Kelly—”
“Don’t talk,” she whispered, interlocking her fingers with his and stepping backward until her calves bumped into his bed. She didn’t wan
t to talk. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel. She’d chicken out with too much conversation.
She was going to do this, and nothing was going to stop her.
She lay down on the bed—God, the sheets were so smooth they had to be silk—and extended her arms overhead glorying in the sensation. She probably looked wanton, like some hooker from the streets, but didn’t care.
Trey placed a knee on the bed, looked down at her, his expression impossible to read. But she didn’t know this man. How was she supposed to understand what he was thinking? Maybe he wanted to tell her something, something she didn’t want to hear. Not right now, anyway.
She lowered her right arm and used her index finger to circle her nipple, her gaze locked on his.
“No talking,” she said in a stranger’s breathless voice.
His mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “Whatever you say, Officer.”
* * *
LOOKING DOWN AT Kelly stretched out like a goddess on his bed, Trey was hard to the point of pain. Maybe this was a mistake, but there’d be no turning back now, no matter what the consequences.
He removed his bathing suit in one quick movement, joined her on the bed and smoothed off her panties. She rolled toward him with a soft moan, pressing her perfect body against his, reaching for his hardness, her touch making him crazy with need.
He slid his hand between her thighs and found her wet and ready for him. Responsive to his seeking fingers.
“I want to feel you inside me,” she whispered.
He wanted to ask her what the hurry was, but she didn’t want dialogue. And neither did he anymore. He understood her urgency, was glad for it.
He wanted her, wanted her now.
He’d fantasized about making slow, sweet love to Kelly, but that would have to wait for another time. He hoped there’d be another time.
He found a condom in the nightstand, sheathed himself and entered her, watching her face as she closed her eyes in what he knew was pleasure. Bliss was all over her face.
For him, though, this act of love had become more than satisfying a desire for sexual release. His need for her had become something elemental, the feel of being inside her, part of her. The mounting pressure was something essential to his being, his happiness.
She matched his rhythm, making sexy sounds of encouragement that drove all thought out of his mind until he emptied himself into this one very special woman, Officer Kelly Jenkins.
* * *
KELLY CAME ALERT with a start, feeling luxuriously soft sheets beneath her. She was stark naked.
She looked for the digital clock on the bedside table and instead found the equally naked body of Trey Wentworth stretched out in the bed beside her. Sound asleep.
Before she could react to this unbelievable development, the door burst open. Wearing his pj’s, Jason ran across the room and leaped into the bed. She yanked sheets over her body.
When the little dude came up for air and spotted her, he looked as surprised as she felt to find her in his father’s bed.
“Mommy,” he squealed in a too loud voice, and snuggled up next to her.
“What?” Trey bolted up in bed, his gorgeous hair mussed out of its normal perfection. “What’s going on?”
Maria appeared hesitantly in the doorway, and Trey covered himself.
“I’m sorry, sir, but—” The wide-eyed, open-mouthed shock on the housekeeper’s face made Kelly shut her eyes. Unwanted, the memories came flooding back. That couldn’t have been her. But, yes, it was, because she’d never forget the exquisite pleasure of her body entwined with Trey’s while they rolled around in this bed last night.
Maria shifted her gaze from Kelly back to her boss and finally found her voice again. “I’m sorry, sir. He couldn’t find his mother and thought you would know where—” Maria swallowed. “Where she was.”
“I found her,” Jason piped up in his little boy voice, placing his warm hands on her cheeks. “She was with Daddy.”
The expression on Trey’s face made Kelly want to laugh. Was that what she looked like? So he was experiencing the same confused panic as her. Jason was the only one of them who appeared to be delighted by last night’s sleeping arrangements.
“That will be all, Maria. Thank you.” Trey uttered these words with so much formal dignity—considering the circumstances—that a laugh erupted from Kelly.
Trey shot her a look.
Maria fled into the hallway.
“What’s so funny, Mommy?”
“Never mind, buddy,” Trey said. He met Kelly’s gaze and a slow smile curved his mouth.
Kelly took a deep breath. How would this new state of affairs affect the little dude? Would it make things better or worse? Well, the deed was done and there was no going back now. If Trey could act dignified, so could she. And she needed to get moving. She was on duty today.
“What time is it?” she asked. Faint light streamed in around the window, but she couldn’t tell how high the sun was. God, her gut was tied into a thousand tight little knots. What had she done?
Trey scratched his head, appearing befuddled. “I don’t know.”
“It’s time for breakfast,” Jason said. “I’m hungry.”
“I need to go to work,” Kelly told Trey.
“I know,” Trey said. “How do you feel?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. What was he asking? How was I? Was it good for you?
“Other than the fact that I don’t have on any clothes under these sheets, I’m fine.” She motioned with her eyes toward Jason.
Trey swept a hand through his tousled hair, obviously plotting a way out of this sticky situation. She bit her lip, watching him think.
She’d had sex with Trey Wentworth last night. Unbelievable, but definitely true.
Maybe it was because they’d been intimate, or maybe because no one looked their best in the early morning, but for the first time Trey Wentworth appeared vulnerable.
Well, well. She’d finally succeeded in demoting him from that godlike status Patrice had teased her about.
And then a horrible thought crashed into her brain, making her want to pull the covers over her face. Senior was an early riser. What if Mean Bully heard the commotion and came to investigate? She raised her chin. Well, the hell with him. She had nothing to be ashamed of.
“Do you think your father is up yet?” Kelly asked.
“He’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“I sent him packing back to New York.”
“Did you now?” A wave of pleasure washed through her, making the knots in her belly resolve. Trey had said he was leaving, but she hadn’t truly believed it.
Trey wrapped the bedspread around his lower half and scooped up Jason. He looked sexy with his kid perched on one hip. His beard was even longer this morning and that added to his allure.
“Go take a shower,” he said, striding toward the door with his giggling son. “I’ll take care of Jason.”
“Wait,” she said, a new kind of worry creeping into her thoughts.
Trey turned back.
“Where’s my duffel? My service weapon is in it.”
“In the closet,” he said, motioning with his chin. “It’s safe. Jason can’t reach the handle.”
Kelly blew out a breath. “Okay. Good.”
Trey’s gaze pierced hers. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “We do.”
“When you get home tonight?”
“This isn’t my home, Trey,” she said softly. And I need to remember that.
His face tightened. “When is your next day off?”
“Tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Good.”
When father and son had disappeared, Kelly gathered the d
eliciously sensual sheet around her body and tucked an edge to hold it in place. Man, she’d love to sleep on this material every night. She hurried to the walk-in closet to retrieve her duffel and gaped at the rows and rows of shirts and jackets and slacks and belts all suspended from some sort of machine that moved so their owner didn’t have to reach. Everything was perfectly arranged, neat and tidy, photo op ready.
Well, yeah. Hadn’t Patrice told her this closet had once been featured in some architectural monthly magazine?
Her uniform would be a wrinkled mess inside the duffel. She’d been in too big a hurry to get Trey naked to bother to hang it up.
She hefted the bag over her shoulder. She’d had her fun. A nice little break from reality. But Jason might never regain his memory. Trey needed to face that fact, and so did she. She was sorry for the little dude, but he wasn’t her problem.
He wasn’t her son.
A nasty pang shot through her gut at that reminder. She needed to get out of fantasyville before her life spiraled so completely out of control that she’d never get back on track.
But how could she walk away from Jason? The little boy still needed her.
Or maybe she needed Jason. Or was it she didn’t want to leave Trey?
When had she become such a damn fool?
She’d tell him about Maria and then she was out of here.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“BUT YOU CAN’T go home,” Trey told Kelly, placing a glass of wine in front of her on the bar. Why was she talking about leaving?
They’d had a pleasant dinner—one far more enjoyable without his father’s glowering presence—and Jason was now watching his allowed thirty minutes of television before Kelly read him a bedtime story. She was off tomorrow, and he had plans for his strange family.
But now she was talking about leaving. Why couldn’t he ever figure out what she was thinking?
Trey took a sip of the wine, watching her, trying to read her thoughts. He’d been looking forward to their good-night kiss ritual, which promised to be the highlight of an already satisfying day spent working on his tennis clinic. He wanted her to spend the night in his bed again.
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