by Debra Cowan
Jack's hand moved up to the center of her back, his thumb resting on her bare skin. "You look gorgeous."
"So do you." She pulled back and gave him an admiring look. When he'd shown up on her doorstep, his dark handsomeness had sent a jolt through her system.
The black suit and white shirt emphasized his lean good looks, the chiseled features. Blue eyes had seemed to pierce right through her. He was clean-shaven and his woodsy scent made her think about the night he'd backed her into the shadows and kissed her as if it were his last day on earth.
His heated gaze roamed over her halter neckline and down to the hint of cleavage revealed by the shallow V-cut bodice. "I like the dress, but I don't know if I have the strength to beat off all these guys who obviously like it, too."
She laughed, enjoying the way his gaze stroked over her bare shoulders. She had definitely needed her coat on the way in, but Jack was keeping her plenty warm now.
The music changed to a slow dance, matching the rhythm he had set all along. Their bodies locked and unlocked, moving together fluidly like muscles in the same body. Terra laid her head on his shoulder, loving the hard strength of his arms, the feel of him against her.
"You smell great." His voice rumbled in her ear, sending a ripple of sensation through her.
She turned her head and brushed a kiss over the small burn on his neck.
His hands tightened on her waist. "What are you thinking about?"
That she'd found someone who understood her dedication to her job, who was just as dedicated to his. After her mistaken belief in her marriage, she'd never thought to find that. Never trusted that she would. "How much I enjoy working with you. I think we make a great team."
"I agree." His hand slid down to the small of her back, pressed her tighter into his hips.
Her body draped his like silk. "I feel as if you think I contribute. That I'm valued."
"You are." His gaze fixed on hers. "You're a damn good investigator, Terra. When you're not busy in my fantasies."
She playfully pinched his shoulder. "That you respect what I do means a lot to me. My ex thought my job wasn't as significant as his, and for a while I wondered if he was right. I know he wasn't."
"No, he wasn't. The idiot."
She grinned, feeling as if they were floating. Her nerves buzzed with every warm brush of Jack's hand on her back, the whisper of his breath against her cheek.
Intoxicated by his touch, any hesitation she had about him crumbled. She slid her hands to his shoulders, brushing her thumb back and forth across the lapel of his jacket. "You're sure you're all right? Still no signs of smoke inhalation?"
"I'm great." He maneuvered her around an older couple. "Wishing you could've done mouth-to-mouth on me?"
"I would've let Rusty do it," she teased back, but when she looked up at him, her smile faded. "Jack, I was scared to death when I got that page to your house last night. I couldn't shake it until I saw you were all right."
He rested his forehead on hers as they swayed on the edge of the crowd. "I like you, too."
His words touched her. He'd been right to wait on their relationship until she was sure about what she wanted. She might not be prepared for another brutal heartbreak, but she was definitely ready to risk it again. "I didn't expect to care this much about you."
"How much?" he asked with a grin.
She cupped his cheek and said lightly, "A little."
"You know what scares me?" he asked.
"What?"
"That you might send me to that rent house alone tonight. After the fright I had last night, I don't think I can handle it."
"Well, we can't have that, Detective." The roguish grin he gave caused a tickle in her belly. She pulled back slightly so she could look into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes. "I've thought about what you said the other night. About what I want, about letting you know when I'm ready."
"And?"
Her gaze traced his features, lingered on the lips that had kissed her senseless. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to wait anymore."
He hesitated for all of one second. Fierce hunger flared in his eyes as he took her hand and led her off the dance floor. They stopped only long enough to pluck her coat from her chair and say goodbye to Clay.
Her heels clicked against the tile floor as they hurried down the wide corridor then veered left toward the front doors. Jack helped her on with her coat, which was a good thing because her hands were shaking so hard it would've taken her three tries to get it on.
Crisp fall air nipped at her as she held tight to Jack's hand and hurried with him across the parking lot. They quickly reached the low-slung black car he'd again borrowed from his brother-in-law.
He opened her door, then tugged her to him. "Come here."
His lips covered hers and she slid her arms around his neck, wanting to completely surrender. Always before, his kisses had been a measured seduction. Slow and sweet, chipping away at her resistance. Now they were urgent and reckless. His tongue swept inside her mouth and he plundered her. Terra's head spun. The want that had flickered off and on all night now ignited into a full flame.
The kiss went on and on. She clung tighter to him. She didn't want it to end, but eventually he lifted his head.
"Well," she breathed. "Hello, Detective."
He took her lips again in a dizzyingly fierce kiss. When he lifted his head, his eyes blazed with raw hunger.
A shiver danced through her. "Hurry," she whispered.
By unspoken agreement, he headed to her house. The drive was the longest blur of her life. Anticipation strung her nerves tight. She was aware only that Jack's hand burned through her dress, branding her thigh. That he smelled like primal male and sex and a new beginning. She kissed his neck, traced his ear with her tongue.
Sometime later—minutes or seconds—they turned onto her street, the scent of wood smoke drifting from the houses they passed. She leaned over, tugged on his earlobe with her teeth then laved the side of his neck, trying to be careful of the raw burn there.
His hand clenched on her thigh. "Did you move? This is taking too long," he growled.
"Two minutes." When her house came into sight, she pulled a remote from her purse. "Park in the garage. The front door has three locks."
Jack whipped into her driveway. The overhead door slid open noiselessly and he guided the car inside then killed the engine. She was out and had the door leading into the house open by the time he met her.
He stepped into the laundry room right behind her, punching the button to close the garage and shutting the house door. As the darkness settled around them, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her into him. He was hard against her bottom and she pressed into him, a low driving pulse throbbing between her legs.
He moved his hands to her shoulders, slid off her coat and draped it over his arm as she turned. She found his face in the darkness, then his lips.
Cupping her rear, he held her tight, tempered chest against her breasts, the warm bulk of her coat at her back. He ravaged her mouth. Her knees went soft as desire spread like hot honey through her, flicking all her nerve endings to life.
His mouth left hers, trailed tiny love bites down her neck.
"This is for more than tonight," he rasped against her flesh. "Tell me."
"Yes."
He lifted his head, took her chin. In the dim light, she focused enough to see the hard glitter of his eyes. "Take down your hair."
Her hands were shaking as she lifted her arms. In the shadows, his eyes glinted dangerously. Terra had never thought to feel this way again. Sexy and wanted. Necessary.
As she worked loose the French twist, she backed her way into the kitchen. Desire sharpened his features, made his eyes gleam like blue steel. He draped her coat over the back of a bar stool. She slid two pins out of her hair, then unbraided it and shook out the heavy mass so that it brushed her shoulders.
He reached out and cupped her nape, twining his fingers in her hair. Pu
lling her close, he buried his face in her neck. "I've waited a long time for this."
"I have, too." She hadn't realized just how long until tonight. She toed off her heels while unknotting his tie.
He pressed hot lips to her neck, his hand leaving her hair to trail over one bare shoulder. "What do you have on under here?"
She gave him a coy smile.
He grinned with wicked purpose and slid his hand to her nape to flick open the clasp holding up her dress. She let the top fall, her pulse spiking at the raging need in his eyes when he saw her low-cut strapless bra. "I've got to have you."
"Please."
He found the zipper at the middle of her back and palmed off her dress. She helped him with her hose, then stood before him clad only in the black bra and high-cut panties. His gaze scorched her. His hands skimmed every curve, teasing, molding. She gripped his shoulders and closed her eyes, riding the edge of pleasure that seared her.
He finally kissed her lips again. She reached for him, her nerves jumping as he hauled her hard into him.
Need clawed at her. "You've got on a lot more clothes than I do, Detective."
"Let me have a little fun, sweetheart. You're more than I ever imagined."
He lowered his head and nudged down her bra, taking one aching breast into his mouth. Sinking into the vortex of sensation, she arched her neck. His tongue flicked over sensitive flesh, drew her nipples into hard buds while his other hand slipped between her legs.
He cupped her through the silk of her panties and she gasped his name.
His touch ignited the wild fire that had been slowly burning. She reached out and fumbled open the buttons of his shirt, tugged it down his arms.
He yanked his T-shirt over his head and hauled her to him. "I want you. Now."
"Yes." Her knees trembled so violently she had to grip his arms.
She met his demanding kisses with her own. He lifted her, his mouth going to her other breast. She wrapped her legs around his waist. His belt buckle dug into her inner thigh, but she didn't care.
"Bedroom?" he said against her mouth.
"End…of the…hall. Straight ahead."
Somehow, despite their constant kissing and touching, he found it. Her blood was so hot Terra thought she would burst into flames.
At the edge of the bed, she unlocked her legs and slid down his body, resting her hands on his chest. The feel of supple flesh, warmed by her own, made her heart clench. Her hands went to his belt buckle and he unclasped her bra, peeled off her panties.
He had her on the bed before she finally got him naked.
"I wanted to go slow." He slid a finger into her silky heat. "But I can't."
"We can do slow later." She pulled his head down for another kiss.
Together, they fumbled a condom down his length. He entered her in one smooth thrust and Terra caught her breath. He felt perfect inside her. And then he began to move. Mind-numbing pleasure rolled over her in stormy waves. Clutching at his hard-muscled back, she matched his insistent pace.
He grasped her hips, guiding, giving. Tension coiled inside her, tighter and harder, then unraveled. She reached the peak quickly, but even as she thought she'd outpaced him, he moved faster. Reached some deeply buried core of passion she'd never known existed.
Jack drove her higher and higher. When he pushed her over the edge, control shattered. His body stroked hers to another blinding climax. His shoulders bowed and her hips arched with his. She cried out his name.
She'd never felt such a soul-deep connection, layers beneath what she'd ever shared with any other man. As they both shot into oblivion, Terra knew she never would. Only with Jack.
* * *
Wow. For a moment, that was all Jack could think as he rolled to his back and pulled Terra next to him. A fine sweat slicked his chest. He shouldn't have an ounce of strength left, but still he wanted her. He'd never craved a woman like he did Terra, never been so single-minded about a woman.
She rolled toward him and dropped a kiss on his collarbone. Light from a streetlamp outside filtered through the blinds. Pale shadows danced across her sheets, the slender leg that lay atop his.
"It's a good thing I didn't know what I was missing the other night," she said drowsily, "or I wouldn't have let you leave."
He grinned, his thumb stroking the velvet of her arm. Complete male satisfaction filled him, but it took him a moment to realize what was different. He was different. The part of him that had only ever been linked with Lori was still there, but now it was separate, as if it had been carefully packaged and stored.
The pain over the loss of his wife had at last given way to acceptance, enabling him to care about someone else. It had happened without him being aware, but he couldn't miss it now. Terra August was definitely in his life, and for more than a roll in the hay.
He'd spent weeks telling himself he couldn't be involved with a woman like her. Wouldn't be. Now he was. It wasn't the first time he'd been wrong.
"If you thought this thing between us was distracting before, what about now?" she teased, trailing her nails across his stomach, low on his hips.
Desire hooked into him. Her scent, soft with flowers and his aftershave, drifted around them. "I can't decide if you're more distracting at the job or like this. I imagine neither one of us will get a lick of work done now."
"Maybe we could just stay in bed." She traced his nipple with one fingernail.
"Works for me."
They lay there for long moments, the silence comfortable and cozy around them. She was so still Jack thought she'd gone to sleep, but suddenly she looked up at him. "You're not having regrets, are you?"
He covered her hand with his. "No, not at all. Are you?"
"Not one."
But something was bothering her. "What's wrong?"
"You're just…quiet."
He went with his instincts and pulled her on top of him, framing her face with his hands. "You're the first woman I've wanted to be with since Lori's death."
"Really?" She smiled softly, locking his heart up tight.
"I've been with a couple of others, but I was trying to forget. They didn't interest me. And I don't mean just the sex."
She traced his lips with her finger. "I'm still not sure I should trust my feelings, but I can't seem to help myself. I'm glad I'm here with you."
"I am, too." He stroked a hand down the petal-soft skin of her back and murmured into her hair, "At least I don't have to worry about you walking into some life-threatening situation."
"Like your wife?"
He nodded.
A small frown puckered her brow, then she pressed a kiss to his lips. She gave a contented sigh and laid her head on his chest.
Jack held her as she slept. When she woke a couple of hours later and looked at him, he read the want-to in her eyes. She touched him and his body hardened. They came together this time without words, their hearts beating in perfect rhythm. She rode him, but Jack went slow, the way he'd wanted to before, showing Terra with his body that he was ready to move on.
Maybe this attraction would grow into something strong and lasting. He was willing to find out. Because of his first impression about her job, he'd kept her at a distance for as long as he'd been able. Seeing her in action made him realize she faced the same risks he did and that was something he could handle.
Early in the morning, when the sky was still black, Terra stirred and woke him. He must've dozed off after they'd made love again.
She pressed kisses across his chest, on his lips. "I'm starving. Are you?"
He reached for her, but she swatted at him. "For real food."
She got out of bed, taking the sheet. Grinning, he grabbed it, enjoying the sight of her lean curves as she tried to wrestle the linen away from him. She goosed the inside of his knee, causing him to loosen his grip and lunge for her. She snatched the sheet and danced away from him, leaving him naked on the bed.
"Hah." She wrapped the pink linen around her as she walked
out.
He followed her, stopping to grab a towel from the hall bathroom and wrap it around his hips. By the time he reached the kitchen, she had a carton of vanilla ice cream and a bottle of root beer on the cabinet.
"How about an ice-cream float?" She dipped large spoonfuls of ice cream into a tall mug, then poured in the root beer.
They shared the foamy treat. Jack couldn't recall ever eating ice cream in the middle of the night. Certainly not with a woman who turned him inside out. Her breasts swelled over the sheet she'd knotted sarong-style around herself. Her tousled golden-red hair and swollen lips immediately gave away that she'd been thoroughly loved. By him.
An unfamiliar warmth pushed through his chest.
"What are you smiling at?" She scraped out the last large bite of ice cream.
He leaned in and kissed her, lips now cool from the dessert. "You. And I think that last bite is mine."
"I don't think so, Spencer." Eyes sparkling, she lifted the heaping teaspoonful to her mouth.
He reached for it and she quickly gobbled at the bite. Root beer and ice cream dripped down her chin and onto her front.
"Oooh," she squealed, jerking in reflex. "That's cold!"
She turned to get a rag from a nearby drawer, but Jack hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "I'll get that."
"Oh?" She wiggled suggestively against him.
He dipped his head and swiped his tongue over her chin, then flicked his way down her neck. His blood heated at the taste of her mixed with the sweet ice cream. He kissed and nibbled his way over the curve of her breast.
Her hands speared into his hair and she held him to her. "Take me to bed, Jack."
He lifted his head, thinking he could get lost in the dark want of her emerald eyes. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her back to the bedroom. She looped her arms around his neck, nipping at his earlobe, breathing urgent words in his ear.
He laid her on the bed and unwrapped the sheet, staring down at the pale perfection of her body. Her breasts quivered under his gaze, causing his erection to throb painfully. Levering himself down on both elbows, he kissed her. She opened to him, mouth and body, making a sound deep in her throat that shot pure fire through him.
