Читать книгу Taming Deputy Harlow - Jennifer Morey - Страница 12
ОглавлениеReese floated in an infatuated current all the way back to her hotel. Jamie’s big form sitting across the truck from her engulfed her senses. His strong thighs parted, his muscular arm extended as he gripped the steering wheel, his shadowy profile masculine and sexy. His blue eyes turned to her, zapping her with that electric attraction. Her whole body throbbed with desire. She tightened her hand on the door handle.
What about him so allured her? Was it his distance from her—his address, so far from hers? She had to admit, she felt safe opening up to him, especially sexually. He presented no danger of trapping her into commitment. After college, she’d promised herself the freedom to explore her life goals, without anyone—any man—holding her back.
He stopped the truck.
Not wanting the night to end, she didn’t move.
Killing the engine, he got out of the truck and walked around the front. Even the way he moved turned her on, with that long stride, unhurried and sure. Opening the door, he held out his hand.
“You didn’t strike me as the old-fashioned type,” he said.
She put her hand in his. “I’m not. I just don’t know what to do with how hot you make me.”
Taken aback at first, he stepped back as she got out.
“Come again?”
“Again and again.” She smiled along with her teasing. What more of an invitation did he need? She felt bold, maybe too bold, but she also knew if she didn’t act now, this night would be gone forever.
“Not old-fashioned at all.”
“Not easily drawn into bed with a man, either,” she said. “But you...” She let her gaze roam down his broad chest, at eye level.
He shut the door behind her, a definitive thud. Decision final. She heard the fob beep, indicating he’d locked the truck. All the while, he held her eyes in a long, heated look.
“Let’s see where this leads us,” he said in a deep voice that revealed his interest.
She walked beside him up to the double front doors of the three-story Victorian hotel, white brick with recently painted black shutters. Soft lighting added to this real-life fantasy. Her intense attraction to this man only added to the excitement that stole her caution. Something about him made her feel safe to be impulsive.
Inside, the sole clerk turned to greet them as they passed to the antique elevator. The smell of old wood and sound of cables protesting joined the fiery chemistry electrifying the air. Jamie put his hand on her lower back, further inflaming her. She looked up and back. He looked down, and as the elevator stopped, he lowered his face to kiss her.
She turned and slid her hands up his deliciously hard chest and pressed herself to him. With a gruff sound, he kissed her deeper as the elevator door shut. She didn’t care how long they stood there. Arrows of pleasure pierced her from her core outward. She’d experienced nothing else like it. Ever.
When the elevator began to move again, Jamie lifted his head and she laughed along with his chuckle.
“Oops,” she said.
And then all traces of smiles vanished as passion took over again.
He held her head and kissed her again. She thought she’d go out of her mind with ecstasy right then. But the elevator stopped and the doors began to slide open.
Jamie stepped back from her and she quickly moved to stand beside him. Back on the main level, a man and woman in their fifties looked from Jamie to her before entering. Reese tried to conceal her breathlessness. Jamie didn’t appear affected. He concealed the mad desire they ignited for each other rather easily. She fleetingly wondered where that ability came from before the older woman glanced over at them and distracted her.
The elevator rose to the third floor and stopped. She waited for the older couple to get out first. They went one way down the hall and Reese walked with Jamie in the opposite direction.
At her room, she unlocked the door and then pushed it open. Jamie held the door while she entered and followed her inside. Now that they were alone in her hotel room, the energy became much more personal and significant. What was she doing? The last time she had sex was in college, so maybe she could blame the long drought for this impulsiveness. That and the deep ache she had for Jamie.
She removed her jacket and draped it over one of two chairs on each side of a table in front of the window. The drapes were still open and during the day she had a view of the street. He walked toward her, passing the dark mahogany cabinet with a television on top.
Removing his suit jacket, he put it on top of hers and then turned to face her, his incredibly blue eyes communicating intent that hadn’t dimmed since the elevator. He lifted his hand and cupped her face. Just that touch alone stoked the fire to a hot burn. She closed her eyes, in a state of awe and wonder that he could do that to her.
It’s the fantasy.
Feeling his warm lips cover hers, she lost all thought of questioning whether she wanted this. She did. Oh, how she did.
Pressing against him as she had in the elevator, she sought more of him. He held her tighter and gave her what she asked and more. Time slipped away as she savored the contact and caresses of his mouth and tongue.
Jamie tugged at the pins holding up her hair. They fell and she shook her hair to release the rest. He sank his fingers into the strands and kissed her.
She pulled his shirt free of his pants and he loosened his tie. Pulling the tie over his head, he watched her begin to unbutton his shirt, letting her push it off his shoulders. Shrugging out of the shirt while she ran her hands over his smooth, hard chest, he unzipped the back of her jersey dress. The dress sagged off her shoulders and dropped to her feet. She stepped out of the pooled material as he stared at her breasts and underwear.
“Something else you bought today?”
“Yes.” Even before he’d dropped her off at the hotel, she’s secretly prepared for this. At the time she hadn’t really thought anything would happen, but imagining it had sure been a delight. The lacy black panties and matching bra proved to be worth it.
He removed his shoes and unfastened his pants. Down to his underwear, she admired the protrusion before he moved forward, guiding her to the bed.
“My boots.”
“Leave them on.”
She scooted back on the bed as he crawled over her.
“All I want you in are those and that bracelet,” he said.
She opened her legs as he lay on top of her, his erection pressing against the lacy underwear.
A fire so potent that she stopped breathing for a second scorched her. She arched as he took her breast into his hand and ran his thumb over the hard nipple through the material. Reese pushed down the hem of his underwear, getting impatient for what she’d longed for ever since he’d kissed her that first time.
He unclasped her bra and the contraption sprang open, releasing her breasts from the frilly binding. Instead of removing his underwear, as she’d hoped for, he put his mouth on her breast, licking and then sucking with sensual care.
Reese tipped back her head and moved her hips to grind against him. He loved her other breast, making her wait longer. When he finished tasting his fill, he ran his tongue down the center of her torso to the top of her underwear. She was going to erupt if he didn’t hurry.
Taking her panties in his fingers, he pulled them off, removing them all the way over her boots and dropping them to the floor. She lifted her knees, digging the spiky heels of her ankle boots into the mattress, and put her hands over her head.
Jamie made a gruff sound as he saw her pose and then quickly removed his underwear. Not too large and definitely not too small, he made her thirst for him more. Now.
As breathless as her, he slid his hands up her legs as he positioned himself between them. Then he guided himself to her opening.
“Yes,” she rasped.
He filled her and drew back before pushing in again. Everything fell away except him, his ruggedly handsome face, passion-filled eyes, his breathing, and the ripple of arm and chest muscles as he moved back and forth. Wild sensation took her mind away with unbearable pleasure.
She cried out as she reached her peak almost instantaneously. He may have been surprised, but she didn’t notice in the grip of such an intense explosion.
As he continued to thrust back and forth, another wave of pleasure began to build. Gradually he increased his tempo and she could tell he was close. So was she. She ground herself against each penetration and as he reached his limit, she cried out again, writhing with him.
Several tumultuous seconds later, he rolled off her and they both lay on their backs awhile, catching their breath. Then he turned his head and opened his arm for her. Uncertain over what she felt about this, she curled to his side. He said nothing and she said nothing. If he felt anything like her, no words could adequately explain what had just occurred.
When she’d invited him into her hotel room, she thought she’d be safe getting a little reckless. Now she wasn’t so sure. Upon reflection, maybe she should have paid attention to the strength of her attraction to this man. Now she felt strongly that she’d like to see him again. She’d learned the hard way that that didn’t work so well for her. She had plans, short-term plans for her life that she would not, and could not, alter. She had to stay true to herself. She couldn’t allow her feelings to sway her. She wanted to be sheriff someday.
What feelings were these, anyway? She’d just had fantastic sex with a drop-dead gorgeous man. What woman wouldn’t love a night like this?
Tomorrow she’d be gone. This would fade into a pleasant memory. Maybe when she achieved the sheriff position she’d be ready for something serious. Even that amendment churned inside with dread. The thought of sharing a checking account frightened her, and not just the financial part. She didn’t think she’d be able to relinquish control, to have someone else managing that for her—or with her.
Stay focused on telling Kadin your news.
That should be plenty to keep her mind occupied and off how much Jamie made her feel. But it paled in comparison.
* * *
Jamie woke with a smile lighting his heart. He couldn’t have dreamed a woman would feel better than Reese. This fit exactly what he envisioned for his new life. Rising up onto his elbows, he didn’t care about his sappy grin as Reese stepped out of the bathroom. Expecting her to still be naked, he was surprised to see her fully dressed.
“You should have waited,” he said. “I’d have taken a shower with you.”
She eyed him warily. “I...didn’t want to wake you.”
His smile dropped away. Something was off about her. He threw off the covers and stood, still naked. She averted her gaze as he approached. “If you’re uncomfortable about last night, don’t be.” He slid his hand to the back of her neck and kissed her chastely.
She moved away and then stepped back from him.
A sense of warning doused what remained of his elation and prospects of a great future with her. “Is something the matter?”
“I need to go talk to Kadin.”
That wouldn’t take long and they’d already gone over most of the case yesterday. He supposed she might be anxious to solve her four-decade-old murder case.
“All right. I’ll get ready and take you there.”
“I think it would be best if you went home to get ready. I’ll drop in your office before I leave this afternoon.”
She seemed eager to get rid of him. How could she so easily push him away? This was not what he expected at all, not after the magic they’d generated together. He wrestled his disappointment under control.
Maybe the intensity scared her. And they had only just met yesterday. He shouldn’t rush her. He may be ready to take that plunge, but maybe she wasn’t.
“All right.”
“Good.” A flicker of a smile curved up her mouth, but seemed rather forced. “I’ll see you there, then.”
With that, she left him standing nude in the bedroom, unmade bed to his left and the smell of her shower wafting from the bathroom.
She might be running scared, but he wasn’t about to let go so soon. One night wasn’t nearly enough.
* * *
Sitting in the bright lobby at DAI, Reese stared out the front window. Last night tracked through her head, from the treat of seeing the wild horses to the moment she fell into contented sleep, wrapped in Jamie’s strong arms. Any more of that and she’d be lost. She’d belong to a man who’d sweep her away from everything she’d worked so hard to achieve. He didn’t realize it, but getting messed up with her would only lead to a broken heart. She’d be doing him a favor by leaving as casually as possible.
If only her knotting stomach would agree.
The front door clicked open and the sight of Jamie in tan pants and a dress shirt with a tie and a leather jacket came with a familiar electric zap. She could see his glowing blue eyes from all the way across the lobby. She began to get hot just watching him stride toward her. Even her subtle rejection this morning hadn’t dimmed his inexhaustible supply of confidence. She might have gotten herself into a fine mess with this one.
He stopped in front of her.
The receptionist had gone in the back office and hadn’t returned. They were alone.
“I can see now we should have had a much more in-depth conversation about our expectations,” he said.
“It’s too soon to talk expectations,” she replied.
“I was in the military before I joined a private military company. I didn’t have time for serious relationships. I had a couple, but they didn’t last and didn’t come near what we had last night.”
“Jamie...” She stood.
“What about you? You’re pretty young, so I’m guessing you haven’t had many, if any, serious relationships.”
Why was he going into this now? He seemed to have a habit of getting right to his point. He knew precisely what he was after, and right now that was her. Maybe he was operating on unfamiliar ground. He’d never gone after a woman this seriously before.
She decided his tactic was wise. Just come out and lay it out for him right now. “I’ve dated and been with two men fairly long-term. They lasted a year and two years. I’m not looking for anything serious right now. You said it—I’m young. I’m not ready for that yet.”
In his silence, she couldn’t tell if that crushed his hopes or not.
“Of course,” he finally said. “We only just met yesterday. It’s far too early to be talking serious relationship.”
Did they have an understanding? Why did she get the feeling he’d strategically set his course in action?
“Ms. Harlow?”
Grateful for the interruption, Reese said to Jamie, “I’ll stop by your office on my way out.”
“Mr. Tandy will see you now.”
Reese stepped around Jamie and followed the receptionist through the back offices. The receptionist let her pass at Kadin’s door.
Her heart thumped harder and faster. How would Kadin take the news she was about to drop?
He approached the door and, seeing Jamie walk toward the opposite office, called after him, “Jamie. You might as well join us.”
Reese smothered a gasp. “No, it’s all right. You and I can just talk.”
“Don’t be silly. Jamie was here yesterday. He might as well listen in now. I don’t have much anyway, not more than we already discussed.” He turned and walked back into his office. “How was your evening together?”
So, that’s why he invited Jamie. He didn’t know how tortured she would be with him near her, much less given what she was about to tell him.
Jamie grinned as he passed her, winking in a way that warmed her to the point of awkwardness. She couldn’t resist him. Her body wanted to smile and so it did.
Reluctantly, she went to the seating area, where Kadin waited.
Jamie sat next to her on the sofa and she wished she had taken the chair adjacent to Kadin. His mere presence, with his big body and fresh scent, sent a pleasurable shiver through her.
“Your cold case is quite interesting,” Kadin began. “The notes are all very small-town, but the sheriff did a thorough job collecting evidence.”
“Small-town?” Should she be insulted?
A flash of a smile lifted his lips. “It was like reading a mystery. I could follow his thoughts like the character in a book. He made comments about the people of Never Summer that made it rather entertaining.”
When she’d read it she hadn’t picked up on that. But then, she lived there.
He stood and went to the whiteboard on the wall beside the seating area. “Even though it seems there wasn’t much to collect, I’m confident we’ll find some trace evidence.” He picked up a marker and wrote Ella, Tourism and Highway 149 in a row and spaced apart. “There are a few areas I’m not sure were examined close enough.” He turned to look at them, marker in hand. “Ella is from California. No one checked there for family because she told everyone she had no family.” He drew a line from the word Ella and wrote Family? “That includes checking out Jeffrey’s alibi. Also, why did Ella move to Never Summer? When did she move there? These are all questions that were never asked at the time of her murder.” He drew a line from the word Tourism. “Never Summer survives on its tourism industry. Since no one in town was a suspect, it seems likely a stranger passed through and may have committed the crime. I found nothing in the report to suggest any tourists were questioned.” He wrote Locate and Question Tourists. “And the highway. Why dump the victim’s body on that road? Sure, it’s remote, but it’s also close to Never Summer and no attempt was made to hide or conceal the body...” He wrote, Why this highway in this direction?
Reese sat transfixed and in awe. He’d just laid out the course of her investigation for her. She could learn a lot from this man...her father.
“I can help more if you’d like.”
The offer chased her awe away. If he helped with the investigation, she’d have to see more of him. He didn’t even know she was his daughter. That had to be addressed first. She had to tell him before any of this went any further.
“Yes, well...” She cleared her throat and adjusted her position on the sofa, clasping her hands on her lap. This was harder than she thought. Not only for her, but for what it would mean to him.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Kadin’s brow rose a fraction and Jamie looked sharply at her.
“I...I didn’t come here to talk about the case. I...I mean I did, but...but there’s another reason.”
Kadin looked from Jamie to her, clearly perplexed.
“Maybe you should sit down for this.” Oh, God, she was nervous. Did she really want to do this? What choice did she have? He deserved to know. He had a right to know.
She licked her lips and looked down at her clasped hands, which were turning white in her tight grip.
“Whoa.” Kadin put the marker down on the metal shelf below the whiteboard. “This is serious, then.” He faced her but didn’t move to sit.
She looked at Jamie. He really shouldn’t be here for this.
“What is it?” Kadin asked. “Just tell us.”
Lifting her head, she looked up at Kadin. “It’s personal.”
“Personal.”
“Yes. Between you and me.”
“Me and you.”
“Yes.”
“I would have remembered an affair and I never sleep with women as young as you.”
“No.” She shook her head, lowering it again and then catching a glimpse of Jamie’s rapt expression. “It’s not that.”
The quiet hummed. She heard Jamie’s exhale. Kadin just waited.
At last she looked up at Kadin and said, “I’m your daughter.”
Jamie choked on what must have been a midswallow with her shocking announcement.
Kadin’s face remained impassive. Wearing no cowboy hat, nothing shaded his bright gray eyes or hid thick black hair, trimmed but unruly. She’d gotten her blond hair and brown eyes from her mother.
“I read all about you,” she said. “You had another daughter you lost to a terrible tragedy. I didn’t come here to be what she must have been to you. I want that said up front.”
Still, Kadin only stared at her.
“I was adopted by my parents, Mya and Nelson Harlow, in New York when I was an infant. My mother was too young, just sixteen, when she had me. She never told you she was pregnant or that she gave the baby up for adoption.”
“That’s impossible,” Kadin finally said. Then he jabbed his thumb at the whiteboard. “Is that case real or did you use it as a ruse to get in here?”
“No. It’s real. Yes, I did use it, but...I...I didn’t know how to tell you. I only thought you deserved to know.”
“Why are you really here?” Kadin now demanded.
Reese sat back, not expecting this kind of reaction. But then she realized he would be shocked at first, and then skeptical.
“Giselle Yates,” she said. “I’m not sure if Yates was her last name when you knew her. She moved from Massachusetts before she gave birth. She didn’t tell you because her parents forced her to give up the child—me. I only just met her. Giselle. My biological mother. She told me what happened and about you. I didn’t know you were my father until she came to see me.”
Kaden just stared at her again.
“I decided to meet you because I think you have a right to know,” she repeated. “M-maybe I was mistaken.”
She started to stand.
“No.” Kadin put up his hand and then ran his fingers through his hair. Then with a curse, he walked away from the seating area and leaned over his desk.
“I know this must be difficult for you.” Reese stood.
“I’ll leave the two of you.” Jamie stood and went to the door, closing it softly behind him.
After watching him go, Reese went to the desk. “With your daughter’s murder... I’m so sorry.”
“She never told me,” he said, still bent over the desk. “After all these years. She never told me.”
“She was afraid you’d talk her out of giving up the baby and at the time it was more important for her to repair her relationship with her parents. What they thought of her took priority. And then time passed and she decided it was too late.”
“Too late?” He straightened, anger storming his eyes. “She should have told me.”
Reese nodded. “I agree. That’s why I came here. You needed to be told, and now I have.”
“How long have you known?” he asked.
“I’ve known I was adopted since I was a young girl. I was raised in a good home. We lived in New York for a while and then my dad wanted to go back to his hometown, Never Summer. We’ve lived there ever since. My mother couldn’t have children so they adopted me. It wasn’t until I was in college that I began to get curious about who my biological parents were. I started to search for them...for you. I found my mother first. She traveled to Never Summer to meet me last month. She told me your name and didn’t know what had become of you. Then just a few days ago she sent me a link to an article about your agency. That’s when I learned about you.”
She watched him take in her facial features while haunting memories must have been swirling inside his brilliant mind. Did he wonder if his murdered daughter would look like her had she lived? That twisted her heartstrings.
“I’m going to need some time to absorb all of this.”
“Of course.”
“Please don’t take offense. This is quite a shock for me.”
It must be, especially after losing his second daughter to murder. “No, I completely understand. I didn’t come here to force a father-daughter relationship. You don’t have to worry about me injecting myself into your life. You can keep in touch if you like, but no pressure from me.”
He didn’t seem to register what she said. Giving him the space she could see he needed, she turned to go, quietly closing the door behind her.
She almost forgot to stop by Jamie’s office. In the hall, she spotted him getting up from behind his desk. He stopped just inside the doorway.
She walked to him. After she entered, he closed the door.
“You sure can deliver a bomb.” He whistled. “Kadin Tandy’s daughter, huh?” His words were light but his tone was leading. “That’s incredible. The media is going to go berserk. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The media doesn’t have to know.” They had an intimate dinner that had led to sleeping together. She could have easily told him over dinner, but the magnitude of meeting her real father had kept her from saying anything. It was still too personal.
He waited a few seconds as though expecting her to explain. When she didn’t, he didn’t seem put off, which touched her deep down.
“They won’t hear it from me,” he said. “But eventually, word is going to get out.”
“Thanks for the warning.” She did not look forward to that. “And your discretion.”
He nodded and moved a step closer.
This would be goodbye now. She didn’t evade him when he put his hand on her lower back, fingers caressing her rear before gliding up to pull her to him. He made her hot for him just like that. Breathless yet again, she ran her hands up his chest as he lowered his head and kissed her. He moved his mouth with hers, gently, reverently at first, but the hot desire they had for each other couldn’t be quenched with just that. In an instant, she opened to him and he to her. The kiss grew fevered and out of control.
“It wasn’t a dream.” Jamie pressed her to the door and kissed her again.
Unable to stop herself, Reese reached for the clasp of his pants. He kissed her ravenously and then withdrew, taking her hand in his to stop her from continuing.
“Not like this,” he said.
Both of them breathing heavily, Reese tipped her head back.
“It has to mean more,” he added.
She feared he’d deliberately left off the rest of his thought—to you. This had to mean more to her.
She pressed with her hands on his chest until he moved back a step. “I should get going. I’m going to miss my flight.”
“You’ll have plenty of time.” He released her hand and stepped back some more.
She turned and started to open the door.
“You know what this means, don’t you?”
She looked back over her shoulder.
“I’m going to be seeing a lot of you.”
A flash of apprehension shot through her. “You’re in Wyoming and I’m in Colorado.”
“That isn’t going to stop me. Besides, a man like Kadin Tandy won’t allow you to walk out of his life. His daughter.”
She stared at him as the implications became clear. She wouldn’t be able to avoid running in to him. While her pheromones cheered, her mind had other plans.
