by Virna DePaul
At first glance, despite the fact that she was a knockout, she could be mistaken for boring. Next to Kate’s confident, animated beauty, Jenna seemed quiet and restrained. If he watched her long enough, however—and he could definitely get addicted to watching her—eventually her mask would crack and her slick, glossy red lips would tilt into the slightest of smiles, transforming the ice queen into something altogether different before the smile disappeared, leaving him wondering yet again if he’d imagined it.
The waitress walked away and Jenna turned to Kate. Despite how often she’d given him the cold shoulder, it was the memory of that gone-before-you-knew-it-was-there smile that had Noah standing and walking toward her. To his surprise, she watched his approach with a slightly furrowed brow instead of her usual indifference.
“I’m telling you, you can trust Noah,” he heard Kate say softly just before he stepped up to them. Though Kate met his gaze, Jenna’s suddenly flickered away.
Shit. Was Kate actually reassuring Jenna about him? That bothered him. A lot. He wasn’t the kind of guy a woman feared unless she was a dirty cop or a suspect in the middle of being interrogated. Quite the opposite. The fact that he was a cop made women feel safe. Protected. And he loved making them feel that way. What the hell had he ever done to make Jenna mistrust him?
Raising his arm, he drank from the cold beer bottle in his hand and turned his attention to Kate. “Spenser. How’s it going?”
“Better, now that you’re here, Noah.”
Her innuendo made him frown. He liked Kate. They’d even dated once, years ago, before they’d realized they were better off as friends. They were more like acquaintances now, so Kate’s words should have been teasing. Instead, they sounded completely serious. In response, Jenna made a stifled noise, one that resembled the enraged squeak of a mouse. Her face and neck flushed a deep cherry red. Again, it was just another peek at the vulnerability he’d suspected was there; but what was causing it to come out so obviously now when it never had before?
“Hi, Jenna,” he said quietly.
She acknowledged his greeting with a slight nod. “Detective James.”
His jaw clenched. “Noah, remember?”
“I see someone I need to talk to,” Kate interjected. “Can you stay for a second, Noah? Jenna, think about what I said, okay?”
Catching Noah’s eyes, Kate flickered hers to the open seat, a not-so-subtle message for him to sit. He saw his frown echoed on Jenna’s face, but there was also true panic in her expression.
They spoke at the same time. “Kate, wait—”
But Kate walked off.
Feeling completely off balance, Noah watched Jenna in silence. She licked her lips and kept her gaze averted. Finally, he asked softly, “Mind if I join you?”
“Actually, I’d prefer you didn’t. I—I’m here with someone.”
Noah’s brows shot up. She was here on a date? Then why the hell was Kate pushing him to stay? But that was the least of his concerns. Jenna’s words, although perfectly acceptable in form, were edged with disdain and an expectation of obedience. It immediately rubbed all of Noah’s dominant genes the wrong way, tempting him to defy her. Shock her. Make her reveal what was hidden beneath all that manufactured ice.
He also had the sudden feeling that something was very wrong. Her behavior. Kate’s. It had something to do with him specifically, but maybe it was because Jenna needed him as a cop, not a man. Why else would Kate suddenly be encouraging them to talk, while at the same time Jenna was sending him mixed signals? The why of it was compelling, but for a moment it wasn’t as important as his sudden need to reassure and comfort her.
With nothing but that thought in mind, Noah reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
Gasping, she flinched. “Don’t touch me!” she hissed.
Narrowing his eyes, he dropped his hand. “Even if I wasn’t a cop, you’re in a crowded bar, lady. I’m not going to attack you.”
She straightened and raised her chin, going for full-on defiance. Her recovery was fast, but not fast enough. Once again, Noah saw the sparks of vulnerability that she hadn’t quite been able to hide. The progressive chinks in her armor intrigued him far more than they should have.
“Touch me again and I won’t be able to say the same.”
Despite himself, admiration filled him. A grin split his face. His dick pressed harder against the front of his pants, threatening to break the zipper. “You really try so hard to be the ice queen, but I’m not buying it. I never have.”
Real alarm skittered across her features just before a tall man walked up to them.
“Jenna, is this guy bothering you?”
Noah studied the good-looking blond-haired man before he glanced over his shoulder. Kate was watching them, her expression stiff. Subtly, she shook her head at Noah. Things were getting more and more curious. He turned back to Jenna. He tilted his head at the way the panic in her eyes had doubled. It seemed it was the other guy who was bothering her, but she looked more embarrassed than fearful.
“What do you say, querida? Am I bothering you?” His tone held more than a hint of suggestion. He’d wanted to push the other man’s buttons, but latent desire surged through Noah and he didn’t miss the answering flare of heat in her wide eyes. He actually took a step toward her before her friend placed a hand on his chest.
Looking down at the man’s hand, Noah raised a brow, then met his stare with his own. “I’d rethink that if I were you.”
Swiftly, the man’s hand dropped.
“Gordon, let’s just leave,” Jenna urged as she stood.
Gordon’s eyes widened and he grinned. “Are we going to—?”
He left the question hanging, his eyes narrowing when Jenna shook her head. “It was nice meeting you, but no, I—I—” She looked almost guiltily at Noah, hesitated, then bit her lip. “I’ve changed my mind about—about what we discussed.”
“But why?” Gordon’s voice sounded distinctly whiny. “It’s totally legitimate, Jenna. It’s what I do for a living and you clearly need it. You need me. I think you should reconsider.”
Although it was subtle, the guy’s tone held a hint of threat, one neither of them missed.
Noah waited, expecting Jenna to take him to task the way she had Noah. Instead, her eyes flickered and she swallowed hard, but that was all.
The man started to speak again, but Noah cut him off. “I don’t think she’s going to change her mind. Why don’t I walk you out?”
Gordon shot him an annoyed glance. “What, did she proposition you? Or did you hit on her, and now she thinks she’ll be able to work out her problems in the sack with a latin lover?”
Problems in the sack? At first, Noah thought he’d misheard. But Jenna gasped, telling him he hadn’t.
He lowered his voice and leaned toward the other man. “Use that phrase again and you will regret it, carajo estúpido. And know this—whoever she works it out with, it’s not going to be you.”
The guy’s fists clenched, but he wisely took a step back. Jenna seemed frozen in place, her embarrassment causing her breaths to jerk in and out of her chest.
“Come on, Jenna. Give me a chance.” When she ignored him, Gordon grabbed her arm, squeezing hard enough to make Jenna wince. “Damn it—”
“Uh-uh,” Noah murmured, just before he grabbed the taller man by the throat. Noah squeezed his windpipe, cutting off his air supply. The man’s gasps for air were unmistakable. Behind him, the bar went silent.
Despite the fact Kate was a cop and there were a few other familiar faces around, this wasn’t a cop bar. Given he was IA, hanging in a predominantly cop-anything had never been his first choice. As a general rule, he respected men in uniform—hell, he was a man in uniform—but he knew his presence made many of them uneasy. Not ideal, but it came with the job. Still, it didn’t matter. Cops or not, there were plenty in the bar who liked Noah and would back him up.
Not that he needed them to.
�
��Let go of her and I’ll do the same with you,” Noah said softly.
He released the man’s throat a split second after Gordon released Jenna. Ignoring the stares of those around them, Noah swiftly and not-so-gently escorted him out. When he was finished, Kate was back at the table, leaning over Jenna, who looked deathly pale.
Noah cursed. The guy hadn’t grabbed her that hard, yet she appeared close to hyperventilating. It told him that maybe his initial assumption had been right. Maybe she guarded herself from men because one had hurt her. Bad.
Kate rested a hand on Jenna’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Jenna. You’re safe. I’m here and so is Noah. Right?” Kate said, glancing over at him.
Noah didn’t take his eyes off Jenna. “Right.”
Within a few seconds, he saw the color return to her face. She began to breathe more easily. “Can we leave?”
Kate nodded and Noah escorted them to the door. As Jenna slipped outside, Noah said to Kate, “What the hell is going on?”
Kate sighed, looking torn. She stared at him with consideration, then nodded as if she’d made up her mind about something. “Come with us, Noah.”
Whoa. All kinds of interesting images popped into his head at Kate’s invitation. “Does she want that?”
“No. But she needs you. And she knows it. So come with us.”
He stared at Kate as if she was crazy, making her smile. “You aren’t going to get lucky, Noah. At least, not with both of us. But if you play your cards right …” She looked meaningfully at the door through which Jenna had disappeared.
Okay, so he hadn’t misinterpreted what was happening. Kate was pimping him out to her friend. “Why me?”
Kate laughed. “Why not you? You’re supposed to be the best of the best. Plus, you’re a good man. One who’s not afraid to balance strength with gentleness.”
“And she needs gentleness?”
“And strength,” Kate confirmed. “Hopefully you can give both to her.”
Slowly, she walked out the door to follow Jenna. Noah hesitated. Then he swiped a hand over his face and went after them.
CHAPTER TWO
“He needs to leave,” Jenna said desperately. Her gaze swept Kate’s small guest bedroom as if searching for an escape route. Of course, there wasn’t one. If she was going to leave, she’d have to walk past Detective Noah James to do it. She wasn’t sure she could.
From the moment Kate had introduced them three weeks ago, Jenna had been overwhelmed by the temptation to get close to Noah. Even tonight, when he’d asked to join her at her table, she’d had to force herself to say no rather than lean into him and wrap her arms around him the way she’d wanted to. With his suave good looks and exotic voice, she would have expected him to be arrogant. Pushy. Instead, he seemed grounded and safe. At the same time, he scared the hell out of her. The combination was strangely alluring. She’d fantasized about asking him over several times, but now that it had finally happened, she still couldn’t believe he was here. In Kate’s apartment. And that she was actually considering doing what Kate was suggesting.
“Okay. If that’s what you really want.” Kate watched her carefully. “Is it? Because I thought what you wanted was to bring Judge Stavish down, and to do that, you’ll need to get pretty close to him.”
What Kate meant, and what Jenna already knew, was that she was probably going to have to sleep with Stavish in order to get the information she needed. She was going to have to rely on the face and body that men seemed to be so fascinated with. She was no whore—hell, she didn’t see the point of sex during the best of circumstances, and she hated it under the worst of them—but to get justice? To make sure what happened to her didn’t happen to another woman? She’d do whatever she had to. “I know that. But … him?”
Instinctively, she sensed how sex with Noah might actually interfere with her plans. That he might make her forget Stavish and simply want to be a woman again, lost in the arms of a man who’d be gentle but still wouldn’t let her shy away from the pleasure he could bring her. Given that, he should be the last person to ask this favor of.
“Better him than that slimeball Gordon. I still can’t believe there’s such a thing as therapeutic sex surrogates.”
Jenna sighed. “I told you, the legality is on the shaky side, but most juries make a distinction between sex for money and sexual gratification and sex for money and therapy. It’s apparently a legit business. At least Gordon would have made things halfway clinical. At least he—he—”
“At least he doesn’t threaten you. Not the way Noah does.”
Instinctively, she raised her chin. “Detective James doesn’t scare me.”
Kate just looked at her, and Jenna rubbed her hands up and down her arms, her bravado quickly deflating. “Okay, so he does scare me, a little.”
“The fear Noah inspires in you is the good kind, Jenna. He turns you on. That’s what scares you.”
“But I—I don’t want to be turned on,” she said swiftly. “I just want to be able to let one specific man touch me without freaking out. Even if that man is going to end up being Judge Stavish.”
“To do that, you’ll have to actually let yourself be touched. To disguise your fear of sex. Given the way you reacted to Gordon grabbing you earlier, you’re a long way from that, Jenna. Maybe Noah can help. He’s a good guy. He won’t hurt you. And I’ve seen how you look at him. You want him.”
Jenna hesitated, glancing toward the doorway. At the other end of the house, Noah was nursing a drink in the living room. Despite his patience and watchfulness, he’d obviously been confused by Kate’s invitation to join them. Who wouldn’t be, especially given how Jenna had previously brushed him off. “But what will he think of me? I should have simply hit on him. I still can. I don’t have to explain why I—”
“And let him go in blind?” Kate shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. He has to know your hang-ups. That’s why you looked into a sex surrogate in the first place, remember? It would be counterproductive otherwise and it wouldn’t be fair to lead him on, let him touch you, and then have to deal with you wigging out on him.”
“No,” Jenna said ruefully. “That wouldn’t be fair. Or pretty.” Gordon Forks, on the other hand, had been plenty pretty. Technically, he was even better looking than Noah, with a classically chiseled face and light green eyes. But the instant she’d met him, she’d known she couldn’t do it. Despite his credentials—and yes, the testimonials on his website—the idea of the man’s hands on hers had made her sick. But then, the idea of any man’s hands on her nowadays made her sick.
Not so with Noah though. Not as much, anyway.
Kate was right. Somehow, although the idea of Noah touching her was scary, it wasn’t scary enough to make her desire go away. In fact, the fear only seemed to amplify her lust. At least she knew she was still capable of being sexually attracted to a man, even if she didn’t have the guts to act on it.
“You were assaulted, Jenna. It’s normal for you to fear sexual intimacy again. Let Noah help you and then we can discuss what you want to do.”
Jenna shook her head. “No. If I do this, it’s only so I can go after Stavish, which I’m going to do whether you help me or not, Kate.”
Her friend sighed. “I know. That’s why I am trying to help you, Jenna. Plus, when you’re done with Stavish, I’m hoping you can go on with your life. Finally reach out for the happiness you deserve. Happiness that can involve a man. Maybe it’ll even involve Noah.”
Jenna laughed. “Noah James, the police department’s lothario? Didn’t you tell me he’s a sexual powerhouse, screwing a different woman every week?”
“Doesn’t mean he can’t commit. He had a long-time girlfriend till about a year back. And even though they broke up, they’re still friendly. That says a lot for a man’s character, don’t you think?”
“Depends. Are they friendly with benefits? Because maybe he’s just friendly because he wants to keep getting laid.”
“And t
hat is exactly why you need to do this,” Kate responded quietly. “Frankly, your opinion of men sucks. Granted, it’s understandable given your experience, but—”
“As much as I want him, I doubt a night in the sack with Noah James is going to change my opinion of men …”
She heard a male throat being cleared behind her and froze. Several seconds passed before she forced herself to turn around. The bedroom door had been slightly ajar and Noah had pushed it open. He stood in the open doorway, his dark eyes lasering into her. Humiliation punched through her, taking her breath away.
“Maybe not,” Noah drawled. “But why don’t we give it a try? I’m game if you are.”
CHAPTER THREE
Noah saw Jenna’s surprise in the way her body tensed and in the horrified expression on her face. For a second, regret filled him but it was soon washed away with anger. He’d walked in to check on them and had caught them discussing the merits of screwing him. Their conversation confirmed Jenna was attracted to him and while he should have been jumping for joy, he’d found himself getting pissed. She thought he was a “lothario.” And their discussion hadn’t been about want—it had been about calculated manipulation.
He didn’t like being manipulated.
Neither woman said anything so he turned to Kate. “Now that I’m here and know the score, you willing to leave us alone so we can talk?”
“Is that okay with you, Jenna?”
He tensed, waiting while Jenna bit her lip, her particular “tell” when she was nervous. Her answer was key, because if she didn’t trust him enough to be alone with him, she certainly wasn’t going to be able to get down and dirty with him. And that was, after all, what she wanted from him.
