She skimmed over the physical description which she already knew fit Jack in a general way. Based on the rapist's repeated routine, it was concluded that, since he treated the victims with a twisted sort of respect but left the scene in a condition that would ensure the husband's knowing what had happened, he loved his mother and resented his father's power.
Though he carried a knife, he had never used it to do more than induce fear. Violent aggression was not his first choice. He was possibly a pacifist.
Jack interrupted her reading. "You see the part about how the rapist might be single and unable or unwilling to attract a wife of his own? And how I suggested the ski mask was hiding more than the rapist's identity, perhaps even an ugliness within? Maybe it was hiding an actual physical disfigurement."
She waved at him to be quiet while she finished reading. It was further concluded that the rapist was a local man who knew the area, could blend in quickly and easily before and after the crime and was able to keep track of everyone's schedules without anyone being suspicious of him. There was a strong possibility that the victims or their husbands were all acquainted with this man.
When she was done, Kelly shook her head and sighed. "It sounds to me like this could have been written about a lot of men but the perpetrator might have felt like you were drawing an arrow right to his house."
"Exactly. It might have been the proverbial straw that broke somebody's back. By the way, the line in there about the pacifist was also used against me."
"Do you think it would help to get a transcript of your trial?"
He shrugged. "I doubt it. I vividly recall every minute of it and the only thing it would help do is convince you that I deserved to be electrocuted."
* * *
By mid-afternoon, armed with copies of every article that was even remotely related to their search, they drove from the Atlanta Journal's offices to Kelly's townhouse.
"I can't get over how much the city has grown," he said for at least the tenth time since they'd left Charming that morning. "And these highways! How do you ever know which lane to be in?"
She laughed. "It's not so bad when you live here. Speaking of which, here's my exit."
A few minutes later they were parked in front of her townhouse. As she opened her front door, she smiled and said, "I can't wait to show you—" The moment she entered her front door, however, her good mood came to an abrupt end. She slowly set down her laptop and purse, pointed at a pair of men's loafers in the entranceway, then at a sports coat draped over the back of a dining room chair.
"What's the matter?" Jack asked, noticing her sudden change of expression as she looked around. Rather than answer, she bound up the stairs from the foyer, so he dropped their overnight bags and followed. He watched her grow more and more agitated as she checked her closet then several drawers.
"Damn him! Damn him to hell!" she exclaimed when she entered her bathroom. "I'm going to kill him." She shoved Jack out of her way and marched to the phone next to her bed.
His first thought was that she'd been robbed but her fury seemed to be directed at a specific male, probably the one whose toiletries were on the bathroom sink. "Does this have something to do with your ex-husband?" he asked while she waited for someone to answer their phone. He noticed that there was no cord connecting the receiver to the main unit but figured he could save that question for later.
She held up a hand to quiet him. "Is he there?" she demanded and was clearly dissatisfied with the response. "Oh. Well, when did he—" The sound of the front door being closed distracted her. "Never mind. He's here." She slammed down the receiver and again had to push Jack out of her path as she tore down the stairs.
"Kelly, wait—" The warning he was about to issue was clearly a waste of time since she was already confronting her nemesis on her own.
"How dare you! I have tried to be tolerant. I have done my best to be patient with this new obsession you have with me but now you've gone too far. You had better have one hell of an explanation—Never mind, I don't want to hear it. Yes, I do. Talk!"
Jack smothered a laugh as he imagined her cocky ex-husband trying to get a word in while she ranted at him and decided to spice up the action a bit more. Quickly, he shed all his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. Padding barefoot down the stairs, he loudly called, "Hey, babe, what's taking you so—"
His sentence hung in the air as he reached the first floor and saw a nerdy-looking guy with short blond hair and glasses... and very red cheeks. Whoever he was, Kelly's tirade had clearly rendered him speechless. When the man spotted Jack, a sound came out of his mouth but it was more of a squeak than a word.
Kelly scanned Jack from head to toe with a look of exasperation. Rather than being grateful for his attempt to help, she looked like she was about to turn her anger on him.
"Has every man on this planet gone completely nuts or just the ones around me?"
Jack opened his mouth to explain but she cut him off with a slashing motion of her arm and turned back to the nerd. "You first. Why are your things all over my house?"
Another squeak came out before he regained his composure enough to form words. "You... you gave me your key."
"To come in here and water my plants once a week. Not to move in and share my underwear drawer!"
The nerd took a deep breath, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and did his best to stand taller than his below-average height. "If you will let me speak without interruption for one minute..." He paused to make sure she would give him that much then began again. "My condo was tented for termites this weekend. I would have called and asked your permission to stay here instead of a hotel but your cell phone inbox was full and you chose not to give me a number where I could reach you. I really didn't think you would mind. How was I supposed to know you were returning home unexpectedly..." He frowned at Jack. "With company?"
Now it was Kelly's turn to be tongue-tied. "Oh. I, uh, of course I wouldn't have minded. I've just been under a lot of stress the past few weeks and when I saw all your things then added that to how insistent you were the last few times we talked, well, I'm sorry. I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion." She sighed and rubbed her forehead.
The nerd cleared his throat and held out his hand to Jack. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Bruce Hackett."
Without thinking, Jack raised his hand and a tiny spark leapt between them.
"Damn static electricity," Bruce said with a nervous laugh and grasped Jack's hand firmly before he could pull it away. "I'm an old friend of Kelly's. And her attorney when the need arises."
Jack was so stunned by the fact that his electrical charge had not thrown the man across the room, it took him a second to remember the name he'd given Kelly's ex. "Duke. Duke McCoy. I'm a new friend of Kelly's." He glanced down at his towel as the handshake ended. "Sorry about—"
"Don't bother, honey," Kelly quickly said, placing her hand on his arm with a meaningful look.
He felt another tiny spark when she made contact but nothing drastic. Suddenly he remembered how she had shoved him aside upstairs without being shocked. What had happened to his strange power?
"Kelly's right," Bruce stated in a more assured tone than his flushed face suggested. "No need to explain anything. I'll be out of here in a few minutes. In fact, I left the office early to come by and move out. Actually, my building was habitable as of last night but I had a late meeting."
Jack nodded with understanding as the attorney failed to hide his discomfort and nervousness with a flow of chatter. It occurred to him that something he was saying was a lie. What part, he wondered and how did it affect Kelly?
As soon as Bruce headed upstairs to gather his things, she whispered, "What happened?"
Since her gaze was on the towel around his hips, he thought she was referring to his impatient lover act. "I thought it was your ex and I figured—"
"Not that. I realized what you were doing once my anger at Bruce cleared up. I'm talking about the electricity. I
s it gone, or did you do something to get grounded just now?"
"I didn't do anything that I know of. But you touched me upstairs also and nothing happened to you then either."
"Maybe it has something to do with your physical location."
He gave that some thought. "I was electrocuted in Atlanta but when I came to I was outside of your cabin. If geography mattered, I would think being here might increase the charge."
"Then maybe it's worn off on its own. Remember how I touched you by accident yesterday and it wasn't that bad? And after you took the last bath you didn't glow nearly as much as you did the first time?"
"God, I hope you're right. It'll make everything a lot easier if I don't have to be on guard constantly."
Bruce came back downstairs hauling a garment bag, a large suitcase and a smaller tote. A few minutes later he had finished collecting the last of his belongings and made a hasty departure.
"Is he always so nervous?" Jack asked.
She pursed her lips. "No. He's usually very together. But I did attack him rather viciously. Of course, seeing you half-naked after I repeatedly told him I wasn't interested in a romantic relationship with him or any other man probably threw him for a loop. You see, he got it into his head that he's in love with me and I was hoping it would wear off if he didn't see me for a while."
"Just so I'm prepared in the future, are there any more men vying for your attention?" He meant to tease but once the question was out, he realized that he truly wanted to hear her answer.
"I've never stopped to count. A few thousand at least." She smiled at his reaction. "I have a lot of male readers, some of whom are temporarily incarcerated, who seem to think that I'm as beautiful and sexy as my characters. I think it's very interesting how female readers tend to fantasize about being the heroine in the book but the men—"
"Did you notice how much luggage he had with him?"
"What about it?"
"He said they were tenting his building this past weekend and that he could have moved back in last night. Why would a man need so much luggage for only two days?"
Kelly crossed her arms. "What are you getting at? Do you think I was right to begin with? That he had moved in here for more than a short stay?"
The instant her posture stiffened, he regretted mentioning it. "Naw. I'm just overly suspicious. But I am beginning to think that you have a rather addictive effect on men and it's not because of your writing."
That made her laugh. "Yeah, I'm a real siren. You'd better watch your step or I'll sing you one of my seductive songs and lure you to your destruction."
"Too late," he said, softening his expression. "I'm already bewitched and I haven't read a single sentence of your writing." He combed his fingers into the golden hair along her temple and rested at the back of her head.
As he took a small step closer, her eyes widened with awareness but she wasn't immediately certain what she wanted to do about it. The vulnerability in her voice contradicted the indifference of her words. "If this is a test, I think it's safe to say you're no longer supercharged." He stroked her cheek with the thumb of his free hand. The tenderness of it made her sigh and she gave in to the urge to touch him in return. Her knuckles brushed the coarse hair on his chest and his nipples responded to the light caress.
"Funny you should say that," he murmured. "I was thinking there was enough electricity flowing between us to illuminate the whole house." His hands slid slowly down the length of her arms then just as slowly, he brought her hands up to his mouth and placed a lingering, wet kiss on each palm.
The teasing stroke of his tongue sent quivers back up her arms and down to her lower abdomen. She was looking forward to whatever he would do next but he was clearly waiting for a signal from her. All it took was a tilt of her head and an invitation in her eyes.
Holding her gaze with his, Jack's head dipped down and his lips brushed over hers. He was still hesitating. She snaked her arms around his neck and shifted her hips so that their lower bodies were pressed together. In an instant his mouth took full possession of hers.
It was a kiss unlike anything she had ever experienced... except in recent dreams. His lips firmly pressed and released and pressed again. His teeth nipped and she opened her mouth to his tongue. He wasn't just kissing her, he was tasting, testing... remembering. Neither seemed to be able to get as close to the other as they wanted to be.
His hands ran down her back and cupped her bottom, squeezing, lifting and holding her hard against him. And she pushed back just as hungrily. She wanted this. She wanted this man, whoever he was.
What? She didn't want to think about that or any of the other questions she had about him. She just wanted him inside her, quenching this unfamiliar desperation. Despite the roiling hunger, practicality had effectively tainted the moment. Slowly she eased her body away from him. "I'm sorry. I'm just not ready for this, evidence to the contrary." She took a deep breath. "You're right about there being plenty of electricity between us but I know better than to act on it. I earn a living writing about the mysterious attraction that occurs between men and women. This would be a major mistake."
"A major mistake? I think that might be exaggerating it a bit."
She took another step backward. "For you maybe. You have nothing to lose. Technically, you're dead. If I were in your shoes, I might find it very hard not to give in to a great many temptations. After all, any second you could get zapped back into that electric chair. And maybe if I was a girl from the sixties, I'd jump into bed with you without a single thought about tomorrow.
"But I can't do that. Will is the only man I've ever been with and what happened between us is enough to stop me from rushing out and having sex for the sake of sex. If I ever get into bed with a man again it will be because of things like compatibility, intellectual equality and emotional commitment, not just chemistry."
"Two out of three's not bad," he said with a lopsided grin.
"But it's not good enough for me. And don't try to tell me you have real feelings for me. If anything your primitive male instincts have been triggered because two other men wanted me in your presence."
He smirked at her. "Who's playing amateur shrink now? Okay, I'll admit that making a pass at you right after you throw another guy out of your house might have been bad timing, if you'll admit... hmmm..." He rubbed his chin with an expression of deep thought. "If you'll admit that you are as beautiful and sexy as any of your heroines."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Go put your clothes back on and I'll introduce you to some of the wonders of the twenty-first century."
He did as she ordered, taking their bags upstairs as he went.
Kelly let out the breath she'd been holding as soon as he was out of sight. She had just told one of the biggest lies in her entire life and she'd gotten away with it. The truth was, every cell in her body was screaming for her to throw caution and prerequisites to the wind and jump into bed with Jack.
The hell with tomorrow. Live for the moment. Take a chance on discovering whether all those great sex scenes she'd written over the years were actually possible.
Logic be damned. She knew everything she needed to know about Jack. The truth was, she was already half in love with him. Considering the way her insides melted the moment he touched her and the fact that his kiss nearly brought her to orgasm, she knew without having to experience it that sex with him would finish her off. She'd be head over heels in love.
With a man who could vanish in the blink of an eye. Then where would she be?
Alone, as before, but with a hurt much greater than she'd ever felt because of Will. No, it didn't matter how good it would be with Jack, it wasn't worth the pain that was sure to follow.
"Kelly," he called down to her. "Come up and show me how this telephone works without a cord."
* * *
"Jezebel!" Gabriel roared. "That was a clear foul. We agreed to non-interference."
"I did not break the agreement," she insisted, though s
he didn't quite meet his eyes. "It was unfair of you to create a scenario that would result in giving him that electrical charge to begin with. I merely neutralized it."
"Hmmph. I suppose it won't make any difference in the long run. She'll keep him at arm's length just as well."
"Hah! That shows how much you know about the female of the species, especially women who've been without the company of men for some time. She'll give in before they return to Charming."
Gabriel rubbed his jaw. "Would you care to make a side wager on that?"
Jezebel slithered forward. "What did you have in mind?"
"If you're right, the six-week time limit is halved to three. If you're wrong, it's doubled to twelve. But it must be absolute unemotional fornication before they leave Atlanta."
"Not possible. She's already emotionally involved. I'll agree to copulation without a commitment from him."
"Done. And positively no further interference." Gabriel was confident that the already existing poison ivy rash would be interference enough.
"On either side."
"Agreed." Gabriel pretended not to be pleased with the terms, when, in fact, he was quite satisfied. Even if Kelly's resolve to keep their relationship platonic dissolved, the rash was sure to enforce another night of celibacy and by the time it was no longer a problem, they would be on their way back to Charming... with six additional weeks to fall in love and admit it.
Chapter 9
Beginning in her bedroom, Kelly explained portable and cell phones, voice mail and caller ID. In her bathroom was an adjustable shower head and a large Jacuzzi bathtub that she promised he could try out later. Though she couldn't demonstrate one, she told him about the photosensitive panels in public restrooms that control water flow and flush toilets.
Downstairs, she started with a tour of her office equipment. In spite of his reading about technological advancements, she still managed to delight him by placing his hand on the glass surface of her printer and instantly producing a color photo that clearly showed every line on his palm. The only way he had ever seen copies made was with a noisy, messy mimeograph.
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