Burning Love

by Debra Cowan

  "Harris Vaughn."

  Terra's gaze swerved sharply to Rusty. "LeBass applied to OCFD?"

  "Yeah. He figured you weren't going to retire any time soon. Plus with the budget crunch, who knows when we'll get another fire investigator."

  Terra had been promised one in the next fiscal year, but maybe that wasn't soon enough for LeBass. Besides, he would've known she wouldn't welcome working with him and probably expected her to fight his application. She watched LeBass disappear around the side of the ladder truck. "I bet he was pretty hot."

  "He did blow off some steam," the firefighter admitted.

  "To Harris? Did LeBass make threats?"

  "Who knows? He can be pretty mouthy when he gets going."

  None of the firefighters Terra had spoken with so far had heard Cecily threaten Harris either, but it didn't mean the threats hadn't happened.

  Harris's negative evaluation gave LeBass another motive for arson besides revenge against her, but murder? He certainly had the knowledge to do what had been done to Harris. She had to call Jack.

  "Hey, you okay?" Rusty touched her arm.

  "Yeah, sure. I better get busy."

  "We'll stick around for a while. Captain said you want to keep the camera rolling."

  Terra nodded as she picked up her tackle box and moved to the driver's side of the charred car. Broken glass crunched as she sloshed through puddles of water. Keeping an eye on LeBass, Terra pulled off one of her heavy gloves and unclipped her cell phone from the waistband of her jeans. She found Jack's home number, which she'd put in her phone's memory after he'd called her regarding the woman in Denver.

  He answered on the third ring, his voice gravelly and sexy with sleep. Terra's stomach did a funny flip-flop.

  "Sorry to wake you, but I'm at a fire scene. I wonder if you could meet me here?"

  "Sure. What's going on?"

  She didn't want to risk being overheard by LeBass or anyone else. "I'll tell you when I see you."

  "Okay."

  She gave him the address, then disconnected and got to work.

  After about fifteen minutes, Terra concluded this blaze wasn't the work of their serial arsonist. The drive and car reeked with the sharp odor of gasoline. Finding a length of cut garden hose under the car convinced her that gasoline, not cleaning solvent, was the accelerant in this case.

  She didn't need her "sniffer" to identify the substance, but still, she took samples from the car's upholstery, carpet and paint. The odor of gasoline in the garden hose and a charred lighter bore out the scenario she was piecing together. She also spied a light-colored baseball cap stuck on a high branch in the overhanging oak tree.

  Though it might be irrelevant, Terra collected the cap with the handle of her shovel. She carefully put it in a brown paper bag and walked over to the victim. "Lisa?"

  The girl turned, the light from an approaching vehicle sweeping across her face. Terra recognized the black pickup that parked across the street and the low-level hum of anticipation which she'd managed to convince herself was gone.

  As Jack walked toward her, she struggled to concentrate on the case at hand. He moved through shadow and light with a confidence that was lethally sexy. Though she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel his laser-sharp gaze on her. All over her.

  A shiver rippled through her. Work around it, she reminded herself. She nodded at him, then turned to the victim.

  Jack stopped a good distance away, giving her and the other woman some privacy. Terra opened the paper sack and, still wearing her gloves, carefully removed the hat she could now tell was light gray. "Do you recognize this?"

  "Ohmygosh." The girl squinted hard at the hat emblazoned with a local lawn care company's name then shook her head, anger flaring on her face. "That's Tom's hat. I gave it to him last week."

  "Is there any reason you can think of why it would be stuck in your tree?"

  Lisa looked quickly at the oak. "That tree?"

  "Yes."

  "I have no idea."

  "Okay, we'll talk to him. Thanks for your help."

  "Thank you. You're going to arrest him, aren't you?"

  "We have to talk to him first."

  "Do I need to do anything else?"

  "I'll want to talk to you again after I've talked to Tom."

  Lisa nodded, her mouth setting firmly. "What an idiot."

  Terra smiled in agreement. "Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?"

  "Yeah, I can call a girlfriend."

  "Write down the address and phone number for me so I can get in touch with you." Terra pulled off one glove and reached inside the pocket of her heavy coat. "Here's my card. You call if you need to. For anything."

  The girl took the card, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. "Thanks."

  Terra squeezed her shoulder. "If you'll go with Captain Maguire, he'll get you a phone."

  "All right."

  The captain led Lisa to the police cruiser where she could sit comfortably.

  Tugging on her glove, Terra stepped back up on the curb.

  Jack joined her. "What happened here?"

  "I'm still putting things together, but it looks like a jilted boyfriend tried to get even."

  "That's his hat?"

  "Yes."

  Jack's gaze traveled up the massive oak. "How did it get up there?"

  "I've got an idea, but I need more information." She tapped the bag which held the cap. "Not as good as a fingerprint, but we'll see where it gets us."

  She looked around to see if LeBass were within hearing distance. He stood next to the ladder truck with Ferguson and two other firefighters.

  The driveway and yard had been cordoned off with crime-scene tape. Terra ducked beneath it and Jack did the same. There were questions in his eyes, but he didn't ask them. She knew he was waiting for a signal from her that it was all right. She would feel better once LeBass left the scene, but she didn't know when that would be.

  Two of the local news channels had already arrived, including Dane Reynolds and T. J. Coontz, his cameraman. Great. Terra knew it would be a while before she had any privacy, but at least the news media would be kept outside the crime scene tape.

  "Walk with me," she said quietly to Jack, moving slowly along the driver's side of the car.

  Wearing a black leather jacket and jeans, he looked like a rowdy biker. And sexy as hell. His blue eyes, midnight-dark in the night shadows, burned with intensity.

  Warmth spread through her like honey. "Sorry for waking you."

  "I figure it was important."

  His crooked smile sent a shaft of heat through her. "I picked up some very interesting information about Don LeBass," she said in a low voice.

  They stopped at the driver's side window of the scorched vehicle. Jack stood close enough that Terra could see the shadow of stubble along his jaw, smell the dark masculine scent of him. "Yeah?"

  His gaze locked on her face and for an instant, Terra wanted to forget why she had called him. Anticipation strummed her nerves into high pitch. Good ever-lovin' grief, the man was yummy. And he tasted that way, too.

  She cleared her throat. "Rusty Ferguson just told me that LeBass applied for a fire investigator position with Oklahoma City."

  "Recently?"

  She nodded. "His request was rejected three to four weeks ago because of a negative evaluation."

  Jack's eyes narrowed. "From Harris?"

  "Yes."

  Jack's gaze sliced over the hood of the car to LeBass. "Well, well."

  "Hey, Luscious, what do you have here?"

  Reynolds. Before turning to face the reporter, Terra gave Jack a look. He tensed, but she stepped in front of him. "I'll release a statement when I know, Dane."

  The reporter's gaze slid to Jack, then back to Terra. "I've been thinking about the conversation we had a couple of days ago."

  "Oh, yeah?" Jack moved up beside her.

  "I just know we can help each other, Investigator," the other man said silkily. "I scratch
your back, you scratch mine."

  "Dane, c'mon." T.J. bumped the reporter's shoulder with his camera. "Knock it off."

  Jack planted his hands on his hips, his badge flashing dully at his waist in the dim light. "Buddy, I think Ms. August already made it clear that she's not scratching anything of yours."

  "What about answering some questions, then?"

  Terra sighed. "Like what? I already told you I haven't reached any conclusions on this scene yet."

  "But you've probably reached some on the Harris Vaughn fire. Or the fire at the dentist's office. Or the photography studio." Dane stuck a microphone in her face. "Turn on that camera, T.J. Investigator, do you have any hard evidence in the serial arsons that have plagued Presley in the past couple of months?"

  She wanted to strangle him. "Not at this time."

  Beside her, she felt tension snap through Jack's body.

  "Maybe you can tell the good people of Presley why you called in Harris Vaughn's widow for questioning. Is she a suspect in his murder and arson?"

  What?! Terra barely kept from gaping. How had Reynolds found out about that? From the way Jack stilled, she guessed he was as stunned as she was. "No comment," she said.

  "Investigator August, isn't it true that you did interview Ms. Vaughn at the police station?"

  "She said no comment," Jack growled.

  Dane aimed his mike at Jack. "Detective Spencer, are you speaking for the fire investigator?"

  "This investigation is a joint effort between the Presley police and fire departments."

  Oooh, good, Jack, Terra thought.

  Dane smirked. "Would you say this 'joint effort' involves more than just the investigation?"

  What a jerk. Anger erupted at his insinuation and Terra advanced on the reporter, but Jack beat her there. His handsome features were rigid and furious; he looked intimidating and downright dangerous. Terra wouldn't want to cross him in a dark alley.

  He got right in Reynolds's face. "Investigator August has been a lot nicer to you than I'm going to be. She's not interested. She's pretty much spelled it out for you. Back off."

  The reporter put his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, take it easy. I'm just doing my job."

  "Go do it somewhere else," Jack growled.

  "C'mon, Dane." T.J. nudged the guy away from Terra and amazingly he went.

  She realized T. J. Coontz had turned off the camera, thank goodness. She didn't want to speak until Reynolds was a safe distance away, but she wasn't sure she could find the words anyway. Part of her thrilled at the way Jack had put himself between her and squirrely Dane Reynolds. But another part of her was annoyed. They'd agreed to keep things strictly business between them. Jack's riding to the rescue didn't make Terra want to keep things platonic. At all.

  "I could've handled that myself."

  "I know, and no doubt you would've done it better than I did. But I'm sick of seeing Reynolds bird-dog you." He took her by the elbow and guided her none-too-gently under the crime scene tape and into the shadows of the house.

  "Jack?" She glanced over her shoulder, relieved to see that no one seemed to be watching. Especially the reporter. The last thing she and Jack needed was to be shown on the morning news huddled together in the shadows.

  He pressed her into the wall of the house, his body lean and hard against hers. He was plainly aroused and Terra's stomach dipped in reaction.

  "Jack," she whispered, her hands going up involuntarily to grip his biceps.

  "I can't stand to think about that guy putting his hands on you," he gritted out. "Not when that's what I want to do."

  In the next breath, Jack's mouth came down hard on hers. Hungry, relentless, possessive.

  Her world tilted. She gripped his broad shoulders, her legs turning to rubber. His mouth was hot and dark, his tongue stroking hers in a way that had her plastering herself against him. Her body trembled. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Didn't want to.

  He pulled away, his breathing ragged, his eyes glittering like onyx in the hazy light. "I want to kill that guy for the way he strips you with his eyes."

  Terra could barely get a breath. "I…thought…we were going to keep things professional."

  "I can't." His eyes darkened with secrets, fire, promises. Terra wanted them all. "Can you?"

  Her breasts rose and fell against his chest, the small friction causing an ache between her legs. Lips still moist from his, she looked into his eyes. The raw hunger she saw there, the want also burned inside her. In answer, she pulled his head down to her. "No."

  She kissed him this time, but when he changed the pace, she let him. Her knees went soft as he slowly savored her. With one hand, he tilted her head back, the other he slid beneath her turnout coat, resting it just below her breasts. White-hot need clawed through her.

  Twining her arms around his neck, she let herself sink into the solid-as-brick chest, the strong thighs splayed on either side of hers. She wanted more. All of him.

  He lifted his head, eyes blazing. His breath mingled with hers. Then he kissed her again, softly, quickly. "I thought I was going to have to put some whup-ass on that guy."

  She laughed, giddy pleasure and desire tightening her belly. Humor and yumminess. She liked that in a man.

  Jack's hand slid down and hooked into her waistband. His gaze flared hotly as he murmured, "If there weren't so many people around, I'd show you what I really want to do."

  "Same here." Her throat was so tight it hurt. Her gaze didn't waver from his, even though her nerves shimmered wildly.

  He grinned, glancing out at the crime scene. He braced one arm against the wall over her head. "I think we should go to dinner tonight."

  "Dinner?" she squeaked. "Like a date?"

  He nodded, his gaze locking on her lips. "Like a date."

  She swallowed. "Okay."

  "I'll pick you up around six-thirty. All right?"

  "Great." She was proud she could formulate a single word.

  The sounds around them penetrated Terra's desire-fogged mind. Captain Maguire yelling at his crew. The deep gunning of a starting fire truck. The calm voice of Paul Lewis, the public information officer for Presley's fire department as he answered questions by Reynolds and his rival reporters.

  "We'd better get back out there," Jack said.

  "Yes." Terra felt dazed, her nerves jangling just like they had at her first fire. A date with Jack Spencer. After he'd said he didn't want to get involved.

  After they'd both said they wouldn't.

  This was probably a mistake.

  She couldn't wait.

  Chapter 9

  Jack had a hard time focusing on his job all day. All he cared about was burning daylight so he could see Terra again. He thought about the way she had responded to his kisses. About how he wanted to get her somewhere private and finish what they'd started in the shadows of that fire scene.

  But the last thing they needed was word getting out that he'd dragged her behind that house and made out with her like a teenager who had finally gotten past first base. If his common sense hadn't returned, Jack would've taken her right there against the brick wall.

  And she would've let him.

  The realization heated his blood all over again.

  He'd told the truth when he'd said she was too distracting, but he was past caring. Last night, he hadn't given a damn about professional distance or who might have seen them. That was dangerous. It was also dangerous that he had reached the point where he would be more distracted if he didn't explore the attraction between them.

  Watching Dane Reynolds sniff around her had slammed home to Jack what he had tried to get past. He wanted her. Wanted to know her, wanted to be with her, wanted her beneath him.

  He'd been drawn to her from the first moment he'd seen her, but the perceived dangers of her job had kept him at arm's length. Working with her the past few weeks had shown him her job was like his. She was an investigator, not a firefighter. That common ground, and the mind-blowing kiss
es they'd shared, had erased the last of his reservations about becoming involved with her.

  He was amazed to find himself counting the hours, then the minutes until he picked her up for dinner. Even so, he wasn't prepared when she opened the door.

  "Hi," she said.

  "Hi." His nerves charged as he took in the thick, golden-red hair swirling around her shoulders. Subtle makeup highlighted her sculpted cheekbones and elegant neck. The curve of her glossy coral lips brought memories of her mouth on his and his body tightened.

  His interest in dinner right now was zero. He'd much rather stay here and have her. Which was why they should go on to the restaurant. "Ready?"

  "Yes." She walked out on the front porch and locked the door behind her.

  Despite the no-holds-barred participation Jack had gotten last night, her green eyes were guarded. He caught a glimpse of a gold sweater beneath her tan cashmere coat and brown slacks that hid the model-long legs he'd fantasized about most of the day.

  His brother-in-law's sleek black two-door sat at her curb rather than his pickup truck. Jack opened the passenger door, his lungs filling with the provocative spice of her scent as she moved in front of him to slide into the passenger seat. Tracking his gaze slowly up her long, lean legs to her eyes, his heart kicked hard when her lips curved into a slow, lush smile. "Did you see us on the morning news?"

  "Yes, and all through the day," she said dryly. "I really liked how Reynolds said there was no comment from either the police or fire department about the official interview with Ms. Vaughn."

  "I noticed Cecily's attorney said the same thing."

  Terra nodded. "The mayor called me four times today."

  "I heard from him, too. I told him we were doing all we could, as fast as we could."

  "Same here."

  He walked around to the driver's side and got behind the wheel. Shutting himself in the car with her made his gut tighten in awareness of the scent of musky woman beneath the perfume. "I thought we'd go to Newberry's."