The much-needed answers she sought hadn’t come to her while she slept, which was no surprise. The situation she currently found herself in was too big for such a simple solution. She’d have to let the answers come to her in their own time.
In the meantime, she’d take things one day at a time. Let what would happen between her and Jack happen. If fate, destiny, or whatever it was, was knocking at her door, who was she to keep it locked out? With the decision made, she continued down the stairs.
Stepping off the last step and passing through the large entry area, she reached the kitchen doorway and froze.
Jack was cooking. But as odd as that seemed, it wasn’t what made her pause to gape with appreciation.
His appearance caused her skin to heat and sent an ache straight to her core.
Standing next to the counter, Jack was busily mixing something in a large bowl, while wearing nothing more than a pair of low-slung jeans and a pink apron.
Letting her gaze slide over him, she soaked in the delicious sight. Her breath caught in her lungs with every ripple, every shift, of his muscular form.
His taut, slightly tanned skin, the muscles of his shoulders, chest, and arms, rippled as he moved around her kitchen. Her gaze slid lower to his flat stomach covered by the pink apron. She remembered the small, thin trail of dark hair that led, and then disappeared, into the waistband of his jeans before lowering her eyes to his well-sculpted legs encased in faded denim and finally settling on his bare feet.
“I could get used to this,” she whispered to herself as she continued to watch.
“Oh, you're up.” He smiled. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
Snapping her gaze to his face, she shook her head. “No, I was awake. What smells so good?” she asked quickly, trying to hide the blush burning her cheeks.
She needed to get herself together or she was going to be in one hell of a mess. If she didn’t think things through and ended up acting rashly, she’d regret it later.
Just let what happens happen.
“Pancakes.” He grinned. “I thought you might be hungry when you woke up.”
“That was thoughtful,” she said quietly. She walked to the coffeepot, removed a cup from the cabinet above the sink, and poured herself some coffee.
“I can’t believe I slept so late,” she said, stifling a yawn as she took a seat at the table.
“I’ve only been up for about an hour,” he said lightly. “I figured you could use the rest; it was a long night.”
Nodding in agreement, she sipped the coffee while admiring him from the corner of her eye.
“So, you cook?”
Grinning over his shoulder at her, he chuckled. “I can understand why you’d be surprised. Some men can’t cook to save their lives. The only thing my partner can cook is cereal.”
She chuckled.
Grabbing a heaping plate of pancakes in one hand and a large plate of bacon with the other, he placed the food on the table before turning back to the cabinet to retrieve two plates and silverware.
“I live alone, and after a while, takeout gets pretty old. I figured I’d better learn how to cook or I’d starve. So I did. Learn to cook, I mean.”
Smiling, she nodded and accepted the offered plate.
They worked in comfortable silence as they placed pancakes and bacon onto their plates and poured on syrup before digging in.
Much to her surprise, the food was delicious, and before she realized it, she’d finished her second helping.
Pushing her plate away, she leaned back in her chair and groaned. “That was delicious. Keep it up and you’ll be cooking every meal in this house,” she teased.
Smiling, he replied, “It wouldn’t bother me. I actually like to cook … now that I know how.”
Gathering their dishes, they worked together to clean the kitchen. She could feel his gaze on her as she worked alongside him; she felt it as keenly as if he’d reached out and touched her.
“You said you live alone?”
She couldn’t figure it out. Jack was kind, considerate, knew how to cook, and was beyond sexy. A man like that should have an entire slew of women hanging off his arm, but he didn’t. Why? Unless there was someone and he just hadn’t mentioned her, which Tess figured was most likely the case. Either way, she needed to find out. Just the thought of Jack with another woman twisted her insides with jealousy, jealousy she knew she shouldn’t have, but did.
And the thought of her lusting after the man when he might have a loving partner somewhere ate at her just as fiercely. Adultery was something she couldn’t stomach. Dean’s wife had cheated on him openly and without remorse, and she couldn’t stand the thought of being the other woman. That just wasn’t who she was, or ever would be, but the more time she spent with Jack, the more she found herself wanting him, and it was starting to frighten her.
When he nodded, she took a leap and forged on. She needed to know. “So I take it you don’t have someone … special?”
Chapter Nine
He knew exactly what she was doing. He might not be a cop, but he knew an interrogation when he heard it. Not that he minded. If she was curious about him, that was at least a step in the right direction.
“No.” He smiled. “I haven’t had a girlfriend in a very long time, and even then I lived alone. I just never found someone I had those kinds of feelings for. I know that sounds bad, but I couldn’t bring myself to take that step with someone I didn’t have deep feelings for.”
“Oh,” she said casually, closing the dishwasher.
“What about you?”
Stiffening, she glanced at him with surprise before schooling her features.
“No.”
So that’s how she wanted to play it. She wanted to know all the answers and yet give none in return. He could play that game … for a while.
“Have you ever been married?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Drying his hands, he leaned his hips back against the counter and looked out the window across the room. Dusk lingered on the horizon. With summer wrapping up and fall fast approaching, the days seemed to be growing shorter. Before long it would begin to turn cold. An image of he and Tess curled up in front of her fireplace formed in his mind. The thought of Tess circled in his arms, her soft skin pressed firmly against his chest sent a wave of undeniable arousal coursing through him.
“Jack?”
Shaking the image from his head, he peered at Tess.
“I haven’t found the right woman,” he answered honestly. “Not to mention, with my job, I didn’t really have time for anything like that.”
He watched as she tapped her chin once with the tip of her finger.
“You said didn’t. Does that mean you’ve decided not to work anymore?” She turned and started toward the living area.
Remembering their earlier conversation about their careers, he understood her curiosity.
“No, I’ve been thinking and finally decided I’ll work, just not in the field anymore. I think it’s about time.” He followed her into the living room then made himself comfortable on the sofa next to her.
“What do you mean?” she asked curiously.
Settling himself more comfortably against the soft cushions, he turned to meet her inquiring gaze. “When I started out, I had every intention of one day being able to work from an office or, better yet, home, instead of out in the field. Now I can. My partner, Robbie, loves being on the hunt, so I’ve decided he and two others who work for me will start doing the stakeouts and fieldwork. I’m calling Robbie later tonight to let him know my final decision, but I don’t think he’ll be surprised.”
She nodded.
“How long have you been a PI?”
“Since I was twenty-five.”
“Why didn’t you become a cop?”
That was always the question. When he said he was a private investigator, the first question people asked was, why not a cop?
Propping hi
s elbow on the back of the sofa, he leaned his head against his fist and smiled.
“I was always good at sneaking around and getting the info I needed, be it where Christmas presents were being hidden or other things, like who stole little Timmy’s bike. I don’t have anything against cops, but I just had no desire to become one.”
Her expression grew slightly serious before clearing, as if she’d been lost in a moment’s thought. He could only imagine what was running around in that head of hers.
“Do you like your job?” she asked suddenly.
“I like it well enough, I guess,” he answered honestly, “but, like I said, I don’t want to go back out in the field. I’ll work from home, making arrangements and whatnot, but that’s all. I just feel I need to settle down a little.”
Turning more fully toward him, she raised a brow. “How did you go from just being on vacation to deciding you want to stop working in the field?”
“I’d intended to only take a vacation. But part of this vacation was to help me see things more clearly. To figure out if settling down was what I really wanted to do after bouncing around for so long. Not to mention, I really love my new house. I hadn’t planned on buying it, but I had to have it.”
He motioned toward the window. “I’m right where I belong. I’ve found other things I’m interested in besides work recently … other things I’d like to try.”
Gazing at her intently, he watched as she digested all he’d just told her and knew the moment she grasped the meaning of his words.
A slight blush rose to her cheeks as she struggled to find her voice, another question, another excuse to change the subject she’d started, but he wasn’t letting her off that easy.
He’d had enough of the questions. He didn’t like talking about his job. It brought up too many bad memories of cheating spouses and deceit. Right now, all he wanted to think about was the delectable little woman in front of him, her plump, tempting lips, and how they would feel gliding against his.
Reaching out slowly, he tentatively touched her face, trailing his thumb across her cheekbone. When she didn’t immediately pull away, he slid his hand to the nape of her neck and gently pulled her forward.
He knew he was moving too fast and would likely frighten her away, but he’d never been one to be cautious. He’d yearned for her, through libidinous dreams and the memory of heated looks. He couldn’t go another minute without tasting her.
Leaning close, their lips mere inches from each other; he met her deep blue eyes. Her lids lowered as she regarded him sensually from under a tangle of thick, black lashes.
Blood rushed in his veins. His heart pounded as he fought the desire tumbling through him, urging him to haul her against his chest, press her back into the cushions, and take what he wanted.
Gathering his wits, he smothered the relentless need coursing through him and took a deep calming breath.
He’d never wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Tess, and it scared him. But he needed just one taste, just one kiss to ease the need filling him.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked, her voice the barest whisper as she raised her hand to hold his hand at her neck in place, as if she needed that contact to anchor her in some way.
“Because it won’t be the last time you find yourself in my arms.”
“What if I say it is?” she whispered.
He could feel her need as keenly as if it were his own. Her breath came in short puffs, almost panting as she gazed up at him. She wanted him, perhaps needed him as desperately as he needed her. She was trying to fight what she felt; he could see it in the depths of her eyes, could hear it in her voice.
Smiling, he tightened his grip on her nape. Wrapping his other arm around her waist, he pulled her tight against his chest. Her breath caught, held, as he splayed his hand against her back, pressing her breasts flush against his hard chest. She responded to him hot and fast as her nipples budded tight against him through the thin material of her t-shirt. Goosebumps dotted her skin as she blushed with desire.
Slipping his hand just under the hem of her shirt, the soft skin of her back like silk beneath his fingertips, he fought to suppress a groan.
“You won’t.”
*
The moment his lips touched hers, she was lost, caught up in a whirlwind of red-hot passion.
The feel of his firm lips pressed against hers sent a shiver down her spine. She melted like butter in the sun against him, against the rock hard chest pressed so adamantly against hers.
His fingers found their way into her hair, where they wrapped in the raven tresses to tilt her head and deepen the kiss. When she felt his tongue slip in to rub suggestively against her own, she couldn’t contain the sigh that slid past her lips.
Threading her fingers through his hair, the soft-as-silk strands beneath her palms sent chills across her overheated skin.
She’d been kissed before but never like this. Never had there been this much heat, this much desire behind the act, and never had she been swept away so easily by just the sound of a man’s wicked promises. But that’s exactly what happened. She knew he was right. This wouldn’t be the only passionate embrace they’d share.
There was too much in his voice, in the hard expression he wore as he made that promise to believe otherwise.
If he were to press her further, she’d allow him whatever liberty he wanted, and that frightened her, but not enough to make her stop. Not nearly enough to make her push his warm mouth from hers, to force the fire-hot palm from the small of her back where it played teasingly.
They were lost on a sea of desire.
As Jack held her to him tightly, she felt the beating of his heart against her sensitive breasts. Riding the waves of pleasure his kiss sent crashing over her, she clung to him as though he were her only lifeline in a hurricane.
Without breaking the kiss, he lowered his hands. Gripping her waist, he pulled her over to straddle his lap.
They were moving too fast, but she couldn’t find the strength to stop. This, being with Jack on such an intimate level, felt so right. How could she ask him to stop when she didn’t want to?
She was a grown woman, not a child. She needed this, needed what Jack had to offer, and she would take it. If it ended badly, then that was a chance she’d have to take, but right now, only one thing existed. Jack.
Settling herself onto him fully, she felt the length of his erection pressing hard and insistent against her aching core.
She gasped as Jack slid his slightly calloused hand beneath the hem of her shirt, over her stomach and then to her breast, where he squeezed then kneaded and teased through the silky material of her bra. He drove her wild with his intoxicating kiss before surging up gently, thrusting his manhood against her erotically.
“Tess, are you home?” Patrice’s voice carried through the door.
They froze. Tension sizzled hot and heavy in the air between them.
“Come on, Tess, I saw your car in the driveway. Open the damn door, this stuff’s heavy!”
Drawing a deep breath, Tess peered down into the fathomless pools of Jack’s radiant blue eyes.
“We have to stop,” she said quietly. Where she found the strength to do so was beyond her. They’d been as good as lost before the interruption.
Swallowing thickly, Jack slipped his hand from her breast before lowering her shirt, smoothing it back into place gently.
“A friend of yours?” he asked breathlessly with a small smile as the knocking on the door turned into a pounding.
“Yes.” She chuckled as Jack helped her to her feet. “Hang on!” Tess yelled, then laughed quietly. “I forgot she was coming over tonight. She was supposed to bring some tile samples for the kitchen and bathrooms.”
Smiling, Jack leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” He smiled. “I need to make some calls.”
Nodding, she walked beside him
to the stairs, only now realizing he still wore the pink apron he’d donned while cooking, and the sight made her grin.
At the base of the stairs, Jack grabbed her hand and kissed the tender skin of her wrist.
She took a quick, calming breath as the look in his eyes told her more than any words ever could. She had no doubt they would end up right back where they’d been moments before—wrapped in each other’s arms, silently begging for everything the other had to give, and willing to give everything they had in return.
“Aren’t you going upstairs?”
“I want to make sure she’s alone. Can’t take any chances, you know?”
Nodding with understanding, she jogged to the door, grabbed the knob, and hauled it open.
“What the hell took so long? I’ve been out here forever,” Patrice complained from behind a plethora of boxes of all shapes and sizes.
Tess laughed. “Sorry, I’ve been a little busy.”
Taking some of the boxes from her friend’s hands, she led Patrice into the entry. A giggle bubbled past her lips when Patrice froze in her tracks. A look of complete shock and curiosity twisted Patrice’s features as Jack immediately moved forward to take some of the heavy boxes.
Of course, Tess couldn’t blame her friend’s reaction. A shirtless Jack in a pink apron was quite the sight to see.
Her hands full of boxes, Tess nodded toward Jack. “This is Jackson Blake. Jack, this is my friend, Patrice Monroe.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Patrice,” he said politely, juggling boxes to extend his hand.
With wide brown eyes, Patrice shook the proffered hand then turned back to Tess.
“Damn, Tess, what maid service are you using?”
Chapter Ten
“I should’ve known something was up,” Patrice said with conviction as she ran the box cutter over the thick, brown tape holding the box closed. “I’m just a receptionist in that place, but I know when something’s going on. I should’ve called you. I’d seen it in the papers but didn’t realize…”
“And what would you have said? Someone found a dead woman? That kind of thing happens every day, especially in the city. We live in New York, for crying out loud. It wouldn’t have done me a bit of good. Besides, Melanie’s death and my attempted kidnapping have absolutely nothing to do with each other.”
The Stranger Next Door Page 8
