Out of Eden

by Beth Ciotta

  AFFECTION AND PASSION proved a powerful mix, clouding the guilt Kylie felt for withholding information about Travis. Jack hadn’t said anything about visiting the man’s house other than—he wasn’t there. He wasn’t telling her everything, but she wasn’t being forthright, either. If she pried, he’d pry. The more she avoided conversation about Travis Martin, the less she had to dance around the truth. She really hated lying to Jack and had to keep reminding herself why she’d chosen to do so in the first place.

  To give an injured soul a fighting chance at life, at happiness.

  Yeah, that was it.

  Hopefully, Jack would understand her motivation when she showed him the letter. She wasn’t sure how he would feel about the money and the ticket. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the money and the ticket. Every time she thought about it, her stomach cramped. Not a good sign.

  Kylie squeezed Jack’s hand, focused on his strength and compassion. His tolerance. She pushed aside unsettling thoughts in order to embrace warm ones. Thoughts of her and Jack, together and in love.

  Maybe.

  Before she knew it, Jack pulled into the driveway of 146 Newberry Street, the house she’d grown up in. The house now occupied by her mom and grandma, only they weren’t here. They were in Alaska. Miles away, like Spenser. Thank goodness. Not that they’d mind her spending the night, she was always welcome, but they’d sure as heck mind that she planned on getting naked and messing up her little-girl sheets with a man.

  The McGraws were an old-fashioned lot. Even her globe-trotting brother. What was good for him wasn’t specifically good for his baby sister. Just because he’d sneaked a girl into his old bedroom and had premarital sex, that didn’t mean he’d approve of her doing the same. For some reason, every time she crossed the threshold of their childhood home, she regressed fifteen years in her brother’s eyes.

  Yeah, well. He wasn’t here to see this. So there.

  Thanks to her security-minded mom and a nifty autotimer, light shone through the living room window. She’d have to douse that lamp the moment they entered, otherwise a neighbor might catch a glimpse of her and Jack ripping off each other’s clothes. Talk about fuel for gossip.

  Her pulse skipped and skittered. Maybe it was the bizarre day. Maybe she needed to blow off anxious energy. Maybe it was the realization of how short life can be and needing desperately to feel alive.

  Kylie couldn’t wait to get Jack naked. She couldn’t wait to touch and kiss every exquisite part of him, to experience another earth-rocking orgasm. She wanted to lose herself, to forget the bad and to feel the good.

  Even with the porch light on, she had a hard time getting the key in the lock, probably because her hands were trembling so badly. A heady combination of nerves and anticipation. She breathed a sigh of relief when Jack took over.

  As soon as the door swung open, she yanked him inside and slammed it shut.

  He turned the dead bolt.

  She killed the light.

  They collided in an explosion of lust.

  Clothes flew and limbs tangled. Tongues dueled as Jack swept her into his arms and carried her up the pitch-black stairway. He knew this house as well as she did. A thousand memories assailed Kylie as he bumped open her bedroom door. Kid memories. Teenage memories. Suddenly, she was half her age and her dad and mom were only one room away. When Jack laid her on the double bed adorned with a pink bedspread and herd of stuffed animals, she bolted upright. “Can’t do this. Not here. Too weird.”

  He whisked her away and into the hall. “Spenser’s room.”

  “Is now Grandma’s room. Ick. And don’t even think about Mom’s room.” But even as she protested, she unbuckled his belt and unsnapped his jeans.

  Jack backed her against the hall wall, kissed her deep and long. Okay, she thought hazily as his tongue swept over hers and suckled, I can do this standing up. She even fumbled with the zipper of her jeans as his hands caressed her bare breasts. But then he hauled her up and over his shoulder, much as he’d done on her drunken birthday. Had that only been a few days earlier?

  “Jack—”

  “Trust me.”

  The air crackled with anticipation as he descended the stairs. All she could think about was getting down and dirty. She ached to know that the intense orgasm she’d experienced wasn’t a one-time thing. That he’d rock her world just as he had the night before. That he wasn’t a fantasy quenched, but a fantasy realized. The lover who’d satisfy her sweet and lustful yearnings again and again. The intensity of her desire nearly split her apart.

  She needed Jack.

  Inside her.

  Now.

  Draped over his broad shoulder, she slid her hand beneath the waistband of his jeans and cotton briefs and palmed his butt. Taut. Sexy. Oh, the things she ached to do to him. The things she prayed he’d do to her.

  At this point Kylie didn’t care if Jack bent her over the living room sofa.

  She breathed deep, willing her erratic pulse steady, and caught a whiff of apple cobbler and pumpkin pie. The fragrant mixed potpourri her mom used to keep the recreation room smelling fresh. Mostly this room had been a male hang—her dad and grandpa, Spenser and Jack and their friends—although, when she was younger, Kylie used to horn in on the fun. A pool table that doubled as a Ping-Pong table. A pinball machine and an old foosball table.

  Oh, yeah. And a pullout sofa.

  Kylie anticipated the feel of worn, soft cushions and instead felt the erotic bite of a harder surface. The felt-covered pool table. Holy cripes.

  “Just so I’m clear,” Jack said. “This. Tonight. It’s just about sex.”

  “This is as close to just sex as I’ll ever get,” Kylie said.

  He grasped her chin and nipped her lower lip. “Understand you’re forfeiting flowery words of endearment.”

  “In exchange for down-and-dirty, earth-rocking sex? Understood.”

  “No pressure there.”

  She smiled her naughtiest smile.

  “Don’t move,” Jack said.

  Move? She was paralyzed with anticipation!

  He flicked on a small table lamp, filling the room with soft amber lighting and sexy shadows. Next she heard music. Journey—Spenser’s favorite eighties rock band. The cassette had probably been in the old player since the last time her brother was home. Escape was one of his favorite albums. “Don’t Stop Believing” was one of Kylie’s favorite songs. The raw energy of the rhythm and melody transported her to another world as Jack’s hands roved and caressed her naked torso. Or maybe it was his hot, possessive kisses that shot her over the moon.

  She was delirious with need by the time he peeled off her dress and satin panties. Oh, my, God. Was she panting?

  “Flexible, huh?”

  “Let’s just say I’m capable of most of the positions featured in the Kama Sutra,” she rasped as he smoothed strong hands down her thighs and calves.

  “You’ve read the Kama Sutra?”

  “Mostly I looked at the pictures,” she teased, heady with naughty anticipation as he clasped her ankles. Truthfully, she’d explored the book in a quest to link pleasure and spirituality. But the picture thing sounded sexier.

  Jack’s grin was downright wicked as he urged her legs up and open. Suddenly, he hovered over her, his hands braced on the table, her ankles resting on his shoulders, his rock-hard shaft brushing her wetness.

  She’d read about this position—the Deep One. Total penetration. Oh, yeah.

  “You game, Tiger?”

  Hopped up on an erotic rush of adrenaline, Kylie reached down and urged him inside. “Slide home, Jack.”

  MOONBEAMS SLICED THROUGH the edges of curtains. Silence filled the apple-and-sex-scented air. Body and mind limp from an energy-charged day and sexually charged night, Kylie snuggled with Jack on the sleeper sofa. The pool table had been exciting, but the mattress was much more comfortable. Besides, now all she wanted to do was sleep. “Just sex is pretty awesome,” she whispered, overly exhausted.
r />   “Just with me,” he said, close to her ear.

  “Bossy and arrogant,” she teased.

  He smiled and smoothed a hand over her bare hip, inciting a rush of goose pimples. “Kylie.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I’m having a hard time thinking about you with anyone else.”

  “Me, too.” She couldn’t imagine anyone setting her body and soul on fire the way Jack did. “You’ve ruined me for other men.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Me, too.” Eyes closed, she snuggled deeper into his strong arms. She didn’t want to think about yesterday or tomorrow. She wanted this moment to stretch on and on. She wished Jack would shut up, because she was pretty certain he was going to say something she didn’t want to hear.

  “I’m a protective bastard.”

  “I know.”

  “And selfish.”

  She managed to lift her head from his shoulder and regarded him through bleary eyes. “How so?”

  “I want you even though I’m not right for you.”

  Suddenly she was wide awake…or at least more alert. “Who says you’re not right for me?”

  “I suck at marriage. I’m too committed to my work. Too set in my ways.”

  “Your protective ways,” she ventured.

  “Mmm.”

  “Well, guess what? I suck at marriage, too.”

  “You’ve never been married, Tiger.”

  “That’s what I mean. I’m thirty-two and I’ve never even been engaged. Just almost engaged. And it’s not for lack of wanting a husband and family.”

  “That’s another thing. Children. You want them.”

  “Sure. Don’t you?”

  “I’m not comfortable with the notion.”

  Her stomach flopped. “But you’d make a wonderful dad. You’re so loving with Madeline.”

  “She stole my heart the moment she first spoke to me. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if something bad happened to her.”

  Kylie processed that comment and caressed Jack’s face. “And, by nature, if something bad happened to one of your own children, you’d be even more devastated. An understandable fear, but isn’t the potential joy worth the risk?”

  He clasped her hand, gazed into her eyes. “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

  Kylie grappled to make sense of this unexpected news. She put herself in Jack’s shoes, in the shoes of a homicide cop, and it clicked. “Is it because of your job? Because of the things you’ve seen?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “Because you don’t want that stuff in my head?”

  “Damned right.”

  She wasn’t surprised and she even understood. Still… “Maybe you should talk to someone else. Someone neutral, subjective.”

  “Like a shrink?”

  “Well…yeah.”

  “Saw a marriage counselor a few times. That was as close to a head doctor as I want to get.”

  She wanted to shake him. “How can you keep all that stuff bottled up?”

  “It’s my way.”

  “Well, your way stinks. Maybe it’s time to step out of your comfort zone.”

  “I already did. Numb was my comfort zone. Now I’m feeling again and it’s an adjustment, goddammit.”

  Kylie fell back on her pillow with a groan. “Why did you have to bring this up tonight?”

  “Because I know marriage and children are important to you and I don’t want to mislead you.”

  “Noble,” she grumbled, “but annoying. Whatever happened to taking this slow?”

  “I’ve never fallen for anyone so fast and certainly not as hard.”

  Kylie’s heart bumped against her ribs. “Just when I was good and mad, you had to say something romantic.”

  Jack pulled her into his arms. “Let’s not go to sleep angry, Tiger. You never know what tomorrow will bring.”

  “Wise and cynical at the same time.”

  “Something tells me I slipped off my pedestal tonight.”

  She didn’t comment. As exhausted as she was, her mind was spinning like a tornado.

  “What are you thinking?” Jack finally asked.

  “That you’re trying to sabotage our relationship before it barely gets off the ground. What are you thinking?”

  He kissed her forehead. “That I’ve finally met my match.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  THE FIRST STREAKS OF DAWN peeked through the partially opened curtains of the McGraws’ recreation room. Kylie stirred in Jack’s arms, but she was still fast asleep. He’d been awake for hours. The sleeper sofa was comfortable enough, and having Kylie safe in his arms was a blessing, but his mind and conscience wouldn’t shut down.

  Growing up, Jack had spent a lot of hours in this room. He’d had a lot of laughs, played a lot of games. Last night, he’d played dirty and played for keeps.

  He’d never felt guilty about having sex, but he was feeling a little uneasy about what could only be equated to calculated manipulation. He knew Kylie hadn’t experienced ultimate satisfaction in lovemaking until their first time together. He knew she was adventurous and hungry for more. He’d used that knowledge to his advantage, pleasuring her in countless ways, in countless positions, making it impossible for any other man to compete. He hoped.

  Fundamentally, he’d been motivated by lust and honest affection. But there’d been a troubling dose of jealousy and insecurity in the mix.

  In the heat of the moment, Travis Martin had invaded Jack’s mind. It’s not that he thought anything sexual was going on between Kylie and Martin, but there was a bond. A deep connection, something Jack avoided, according to that quack he’d agreed to visit in a failed attempt to salvage his marriage. Only now, Jack realized that counselor had been dead-on in his assessment. Jack had been a guarded coward. It pissed him off that Martin had more “emotional” guts than he did. Worse, he was certain the man had a tarnished past. He felt it in his bones. It chafed that he couldn’t prove it. It made him seem overly suspicious and petty in Kylie’s eyes.

  If only he’d found incriminating evidence against Martin when he’d searched his sequestered farmhouse. But there’d been nothing suspicious. No hint of a former life. No hint of being dragged out against his will. Just verification that he was widowed and, after speaking with his boss, probably on a much-needed vacation.

  Or…he was swimming with the fishes.

  Kylie rolled over and rested her cheek against Jack’s chest. She flung a leg over him and slipped her arm around his waist. Snuggling closer, she made a sleepy, satisfied sound that warmed his blood.

  Jack clung to her goodness, her optimism. It had taken him seventeen years to discover the power and beauty of Kylie Ann McGraw. He didn’t want to lose her to another man. Although if he didn’t change his views on marriage and children, he certainly stood that risk. Unless her views changed. Or, hell, maybe they’d both mellow and find a happy medium. Who knew what would happen in time? He told himself to take a breath. Slow down. Maybe Kylie was right, maybe he was trying to sabotage their relationship. If he committed heart and soul at the deepest level, he’d be doomed if he ever lost her. He thought about all the atrocities he’d seen. The accidents and homicides. Imagining Kylie suffering any one of those fates turned his insides to stone.

  No, he cautioned himself. Don’t shut down. Fire up.

  Mind racing, he pressed a kiss to Kylie’s temple, then gently untangled himself from her gloriously flexible limbs. She snuggled deeper beneath the covers while he quietly dressed, then stole away into the kitchen. He placed a call to Officer Anderson, asking him to drive over and to keep tabs on Kylie until further notice. While waiting, he made a cup of instant coffee and ticked off a mental checklist, duties he could delegate to his officers regarding the Apple Festival, facts he wanted from WITSEC. He also intended to push County to step up their investigation. He wanted to know what he was dealing with. He wanted this over. He wanted Paradise i
n the Heartland and a shot at happiness with Kylie McGraw.

  KYLIE RELEASED A PENT-UP BREATH when she heard the front door open and shut. Jack was gone.

  It had taken him a good fifteen minutes to leave. Pretending to be asleep while he’d dressed had been hard, but certainly easier than addressing the bigger lie—Travis’s whereabouts. Yes, she was unsettled about Jack’s hang-ups about marriage and kids, but that was way down the pike and this snafu with Travis was right in her face. She’d wrestled with the dilemma in her dreams. It’s not that she didn’t trust Jack. She didn’t trust the situation. What if she shared the information with him and then he shared it with WITSEC and then somehow news leaked? What if, for the sake of easing her conscience, she put a man’s life at risk?

  Somewhere in the middle of her exhausted sleep, she’d decided to keep quiet awhile longer. Maybe County’s investigation would show that she had indeed been the victim of a hoax. Or maybe they’d find the actual body and the authorities would focus on that poor soul rather than Travis.

  The trick was to put it out of her mind, otherwise she’d fret herself sick. She was already worried about Faye. Even though her friend had called last night to say she and the kids had arrived in Florida safely and that her dad was doing great for a man who’d broken both legs, she’d still sounded stressed to the max. Kylie had volunteered to drop everything and fly down to help, but Faye had insisted they were fine. “Besides,” she’d said, “you need to focus on McGraw’s grand reopening.”

  No one could argue with Faye and, besides, she was right. UPS had promised an early delivery. With luck, Kylie would have the Bada-Bling! imports on display before she opened the doors for business. Those customized sneakers were the last slice of the renovation pie. Today, Eden would get a peek at the new and vastly different McGraw’s Shoe Shoppe. How sad that Travis wasn’t here to see people ooh and aah over his creative masterpiece.

  Don’t think about Travis!

  Right.

  Instead, she thought about Jack. Kylie stretched her normally limber muscles, aching in new and wondrous places. With anyone else, some of the sexual intimacies and positions she’d engaged in last night might have felt weird or wrong, but with Jack they were just wildly exciting. She was in touch with her spiritual side enough to know it was because she was deeply, madly in love with the man. Real love. True love.