“Mind telling me where you’re going? You do realize it’s a school night.” His tone held a note of warning.
“It’s a Disaster Relief Dance planning meeting.” Lauren told her last night she helped organized a benefit to aid tornado victims in two nearby states. She solicited merchandise and cash donations and the totals would be announced at a dance.
Matt made a noncommittal sound. “Who’s driving?”
“Mrs. Holtzapple, Kayla’s mom.”
“Is she a safe driver?”
Jac smiled at his questions. He was a good parent.
“Yes.”
“How long is the meeting?”
“Just an hour.”
Matt checked his watch. “I’m assuming the meeting is at six thirty. I’ll expect you home no later than eight.”
Lauren’s face puckered, obviously upset at having a wrench thrown into her evening plans, specifically her plans for her dad and Jac. “Well…we might stop for ice cream afterwards.”
“Mrs. Holtzapple will be picking you up?”
Lauren nodded.
“Then no later than nine and that’s firm.”
Lauren murmured her understanding and then shifted nervously, her hands twisting in the hem of her sweatshirt. “One other thing…”
“Yes?” Matt growled.
“Well, um, you see…”
“Out with it.”
Her shoulders lifted and dropped and she emitted a tortured teenaged sigh. “Since I’m on the head of the planning committee and helped organize the event, I should go.” She threw her hand up to hush her dad when he opened his mouth. “I know I can’t date until I’m sixteen but that is just a few months away and the dance will be swarming with chaperones and I’d double with Kayla or Marcy so I wouldn’t be alone with the guy at all.”
Pregnant pause. “Is there a particular reason why you brought this up in front of our guest?”
Lauren grinned openly. “I thought if you said yes, I could ask Jac if she’d to go dress shopping with me.”
“I’d love to,” Jac said prematurely but at Matt’s scowl added, “if your dad agrees to let you go.”
Four eyes turned to stare at him. He groaned in resignation and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, you can go.” Lauren squealed as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “But…” He waited until she calmed down. “I get to grill…er, meet the guy first and Jac doesn’t need to take you shopping. I will.”
“I don’t mind,” Jac reiterated.
“I’ll take her,” he repeated forcefully. Jac wondered what the look he gave her meant. It wasn’t a nice look.
“Thank you, Daddy.” Lauren threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. Jac thought she heard her whisper “Don’t worry, she’s nothing like Sue.” Was Sue the ex-wife? But didn’t Lauren call her mother Corinne? Dear Lord, how many times has this man been married? She gulped a hearty swig of wine.
A car horn sounded outside and Matt called out “Nine o’clock” as Lauren disappeared with a wave. The room became deathly quiet, the only sound the ticking of a wall clock down the hall. Finally Matt said, “We better dig in while it’s hot.”
Jac paused and gathered her courage. “I have to apologize again. Lauren totally misunderstood my intentions.”
“She’s pretty hardheaded sometimes. When she believes in something, nothing will stop her from her goal. Besides, it’s not the first time she’s pulled this stunt, though it is the first time she attempted it at home.”
Well now, didn’t that make Jac feel special? She was simply one in a long line of women.
“But I have to say, this is the first time I haven’t been tempted to ring her neck.”
Okay, that did make her feel special. “Thanks, I think.”
Matt’s sexy grin returned, the candlelight reflecting off his straight white teeth. Jac was mesmerized. “Hard as it is to believe, that was a compliment.” He laughed. “What I was trying not very gallantly to say is that you’re a beautiful woman and it’s nice to make your acquaintance, Jac Sera.”
Jac’s heartbeat hammered in her ears. She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. And did Matt Dianetti just call her beautiful? Sure, he might have said the same thing when she was ten years old, but he was just trying to calm a terrified child. He had no reason to say it now, unless…could he believe it? Maybe the alcohol went straight to his head. She checked his wine glass. Empty again. Darn.
“Jac?”
“Hmm?” She’d been busy pondering her thoughts and hadn’t even heard him ask a question.
“I asked if we’d met previously. Your name sounds familiar but I think I would have remembered if we had.”
Oh no, not going to remind him of the pathetic ten year old who clung to his leg, beseeching him to stay. She averted her eyes and avoided his question. “Maybe you recall it from the infomercial.”
“Maybe, but I think I would have remembered your lovely face.” He said the words casually as he refilled their glasses, obviously oblivious to the herd of wild horses he unleashed in her stomach. She could feel him studying her and she flushed from her toes to her scalp.
Trying to divert his attention she tasted the lasagna. Her eyes closed in ecstasy and she groaned softly. “Um, this is absolutely delicious.” Running her tongue across her lips, she speared another bite with her fork.
“Uh, yeah, Lauren. She’s um, she’s a great cook,” Matt replied distractedly.
From under her lashes, Jac realized he wasn’t eating. Lifting her eyes, she noticed his penetrating stare. Stiffening, she jerked the napkin off the table. “Please don’t tell me I have sauce on my chin.”
* * * *
Matt watched the stunning stranger dig into the lasagna. The way she savored the food, relished it, was positively orgasmic. He felt as if Dionysus, the Greek god of Ecstasy, grabbed a bow and shot an arrow filled with lust straight to his groin. Her rapturous moan made him imagine her moaning in another scenario, his body buried deep inside her making her shiver in pleasure. Her little pink tongue darted out and he wondered how it would taste.
“Please don’t tell me I have sauce on my chin.”
Sauce? Matt blinked and pried his eyes from her lips. She looked horrified, her mouth gaping and a napkin poised in her fingers. Tell her that her beauty distracted you. Say that her lips look as sweet as the wine. Say something to reassure her and bring a smile to that lovely face.
“Uh, yeah, a little, right here.” He indicated a spot on his chin and groaned inwardly. He was usually more suave than this. Most women even called him charming.
She swiped at the imaginary smudge and then primly placed her hands in her lap. He watched as she visibly stiffened her spine and then looked directly into his eyes. Not a good move on her part. He would have a hell of a time concentrating on whatever it was she wanted to say.
“I need to discuss a serious matter with you.”
“Judging from the look on your face, I’m not going to like it and it would be a shame to let a great meal go to waste. Why don’t we finish dinner and then you can ruin my evening.”
She deferred to his wishes and they finished the meal with light conversation and laughter. He told her about the parade of chefs, each specializing in one cuisine or another, his mother insisted on hiring to teach him to cook when he was growing up and how she did the same now to Lauren. She told him about the club she was remodeling and he offered assistance with design or contractors.
Once they finished, they blew out the candles and carried their drinks to the living room. She chose one end of the sofa and nervously fiddled with the stem of her crystal. Matt sat on the other end and slung one arm over the back.
Jac downed a fortifying gulp, placed the empty glass on the table and gathered her courage. “There is no easy way to say this so I’m just going to come right out with it.” She met his gaze, inhaled, held her breath. “The reason I need to speak to you is because I’m afraid you’re the next target of a
deranged serial killer.”
Seven
Matt choked on the wine. He coughed and sputtered, one hand trapping the liquid in his mouth as he leaned forward to deposit the glass on the coffee table.
“Are you okay?” Jac jumped to her feet but he held up one hand to stop her, the other still covering his mouth. “I’m fine,” he croaked. Once his breathing returned to normal, he mused, “I must say, that had to be about the last thing I expected to hear from you. I’m a little disappointed that the only reason a beautiful woman comes to my house is to tell me to watch my back.”
She eased to the sofa cushion next to him, her unsteady legs refusing to support her. Two times now he called her beautiful. If the threat of mortal danger wasn’t hanging over their heads, she would be in Heaven. Unless it was the wine talking…
“Would you care to tell me why you think I could be targeted by a demented killer?”
An unwelcome blush crept up her face and she chewed on her bottom lip. Now came the humiliating part—telling him about the list. She closed her lids and concentrated on breathing from her diaphragm.
“Jacqueline?” he prompted.
Opening her eyes, she inhaled and forbade her voice to tremble. “This is a rather embarrassing story and I don’t think I can look at you while I explain.” Inhale. “Ten years ago, after watching an old episode of Friends—” her eyes widened—“er…I mean two friends and I watched a television show where the characters made up a list of people, yada, yada, yada, we made our own list and I put you on mine.”
Whew, that was easier than she thought. She didn’t mean to reveal the show in case he’d seen it and purposely left out the part about the list being ideal bed mates. Relieved, she blew out a breath and met his gaze.
“You yada, yada’d over some pretty important information. What sort of list are you talking about?”
Her lips curved down. “Um, people we wanted to…meet.” Ooh, quick thinking on that one. “I was a big Miami Knights fan. We decided—”
“Just people you want to meet? No other criteria, say dead or alive, male or female?” His sapphire eyes rounded with innocence but she would swear he knew exactly what she was talking about. She huffed in annoyance.
“It was people we wanted to go on a date with, okay? We thought—”
“Just a date? Nothing else, say, oh I don’t know, marriage, kids…yada, yada, yada?” His eyes danced with mirth.
Jac clenched her teeth and forced out the words, “It was a list of men we wanted to sleep with, okay?”
“Was yours laminated?”
Her eyes flew to his, her mouth dropping open. “Oooh, you knew! You knew what I was talking about and you still made me say it.”
He grinned shamelessly, stroking his chin. “My ego needed a boost.”
She scoffed. “If your ego boosted any more your head could rent out space and hover over the Indy 500.”
Matt threw back his head in laughter. “Beautiful and funny. Lethal combination.”
He was going to have to quit calling her beautiful. It scrambled her brain.
“I’m sorry.” His laughter died down. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Please, finish you story.”
Now that the hard part was over, the rest came easy. She poured out the entire saga and showed him the folder of information she collected. He flipped through the pages and pulled out her original list.
“Aw, how clever,” he teased.
“What?” Jac grinned and looked over his shoulder. Her grin died as quickly as Los Del Rio’s music career. If she hadn’t been completely mortified, she’d wonder how she remembered the name of the group that crooned the infamous Macarena.
“Oh God.” She forgot all about her cute, nineteen year old girl doodles on the list, including all the hearts around Matt’s name and the title that proclaimed: “The Official Laminated List of Men Jac Wants to Attack in the Sack.”
Well, hell.
Matt chuckled but thankfully tucked the note inside the file and continued perusing, saving her from ripping the document from his hand and inflicting hopefully fatal paper cuts across her wrists.
When he finished he closed the folder, tossed it on the table and ran a hand across his jaw.
“You don’t believe me.” It was a statement, not a question.
“It is pretty implausible, you have to admit. Why would someone want to do this, go to these lengths to kill?”
“I wish I knew,” Jac whispered.
The silence lengthened and concentration lines deepened between his brows. “Each death was ruled an accident?”
She nodded. “And each accident was believable, as if the killer studied the victims first. According to a report in the paper from a former girlfriend, Caleb Flinn sat in his hot tub all the time watching television. Ty Baxter was a known drug user, Riley Henderson ate a bologna sandwich every single night and Jere Burns accumulated so many speeding tickets, they were thinking of naming the traffic school after him. It’s as if the killer gets to know the person and then uses a weakness to kill them.”
He relaxed against the sofa cushions. “Maybe we should take this to the police.”
Jac laughed dryly and shook her head. “I tried. They laughed me out of the station. They said I was—”
A loud crash in the back yard shot them to their feet. The lighting in the room made seeing out the large windows into the darkened night impossible.
“Stay here,” Matt ordered.
“Like hell,” she muttered, two steps behind him. He slid open the patio door and stepped gingerly outside, his eyes scanning the yard.
Jac angled around his wide frame. “I’m a black belt in karate.” She positioned her hands in front of her body.
“Are you kidding me?” He lifted her by the armpits and moved her aside. “Sweetheart, I used to get hit by four hundred pound linebackers for a living. I think I can protect us.”
Another loud noise rang out. She sucked in a loud breath and gripped his arm.
“Ruff, ruff.”
Murphy bounded on the deck, a long, silver pole clutched in his mouth. It rattled across the deck as he dropped it, plopped on his behind and proudly wagged his tongue. His tail slapped happily against the wood.
“I think we found our specter,” Matt quipped, bending down to pat the dog. Matt pointed to the pool cleaning net. “He thinks this is a big stick to fetch. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hidden it.” Murphy tried his best to drench Matt’s face and then noticed Jac. He yapped excitedly and bounded to her, knocking her flat on her butt—again.
“We’ve got to quit meeting this way,” she sputtered, fighting off his slobbering kisses.
“Murphy, you big, dumb mutt.” Matt pulled the drooling dog away and then offered his hand. “Sorry. He has the IQ of a doorknob.”
Jac accepted his assistance but her foot slid on the dew covered deck and she stumbled against his chest. His hands grasped her waist to steady her and his touch burned all the way through her clothes. When he didn’t immediately release her, she lifted her eyes to his. He was a foot taller and twice as broad. Their gazes locked and she was helpless to look away.
My Lord, he’s gorgeous. Women would kill to have those thick, inky lashes. He still wore his work clothes, minus suit jacket and tie, the top two buttons on his mint green oxford open. A small tuft of black hair peeked through and she wanted to glide her fingers through the coarse curls.
As if in slow motion, he lowered his head. Her heart grabbed hold of her rib cage and rattled it like prison bars, trying to leap from her chest. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, didn’t dare breathe. Her dreams were about to come true. She was going to be kissed by Matt Dianetti.
* * * *
Matt felt silly for flinching when Murphy sprung onto the deck. Thoughts of a serial killer had him a little jumpy. He just had time to free Murph from his anchor when the dog leapt at Jac.
Well, he didn’t blame the big dopey pooch. He felt like jumping her as well.
He hadn’t meant to touch her again after that initial contact in the hallway when sparks shot up his arm and ricocheted throughout his body. That wasn’t good. But then she stumbled and he couldn’t help but gather her close. She was small but definitely not dainty. She had all the appropriate feminine curves but her body was toned and solid. It was obvious she took great pains to stay in shape.
She’s lovely. Her sun-kissed blonde hair framed a heart shaped face dominated by unique and mysterious eyes that looked blue one minute, green the next and gray the one after that. He found them fascinating and felt trapped in their gaze. He followed the line of her pretty Grecian nose to her perfectly formed mouth. It looked soft and sweet and he had to taste her.
Grasping her head, his thumbs stroked the soft skin over her exotic cheekbones as he leaned down. His eyes drifted shut and he felt…small bursts of air tickling his face? Snapping his lids open, he realized the puffs came from Jac. He eased away to find her gaping in horror, her chest heaving rapidly.
She was…hyperventilating!
“Hey, it’s okay. Relax. Relax. Purse your lips and breathe. That’s right. Like you’re blowing out a candle. That’s it. Good.” Matt murmured encouraging words until her breathing returned to normal. Not even her ears escaped the deep red stain. She wrapped her arms around her waist and keened softly, rocking back and forth. She looked like a sexy blonde Rainman.
“I-I better get going.” She brushed past him. “I think I’ve humiliated myself enough for one night.”
He grabbed her arm. “Hey, you haven’t humiliated yourself at all.”
She looked up at him dubiously. “No? You’re used to strange women coming to your house and announcing that they want to…er, wanted to…sleep with you? Years ago, I mean.”
“Believe it or not, that has happened,” he admitted, his eyes sparkling. “Not necessarily the years ago part. But I have had women throw themselves at me and offer to bear Lauren’s siblings.”
That elicited the sought after smile. Barely. “How about women fainting when you kiss them?”
He fought it hard but his lips curved anyway. “I do have to say that’s a first.”
The List Page 5
