Savor the Danger

by Lori Foster

  He blew out a breath and reminded himself to be patient. As he’d told her, his place was livable but sparse on furnishings.

  There was only one bed, so if she thought to put too much space between them, she’d just have to think again. For every night together, he planned to sleep with her, whether or not they had sex.

  “Okay, so it’s still early. Once we’re at my place, we’ll catch up on our zees. When you’re feeling more bushy-tailed, you can soak in the Jacuzzi tub. That ought to help revive you.”

  Through half-lowered lashes, she studied him, then asked tentatively, “You plan to go back to bed with me?”

  “Yeah.” He rolled a shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping. And until someone tracks down dumbass—”

  “You mean Marc?”

  “—there’s not a whole lot that can be done from my end.”

  She fell silent for a heavy beat of time, then asked quietly, “And after they do locate him?”

  A surge of determination flexed his hands on the wheel. “I want to talk to him.” For Alani’s benefit, he kept his tone void of menace. “He knows something. I’ll find out what.”

  “It wasn’t him in the silver BMW.”

  “You don’t know that, but so what? Guys like him have cronies who do most of their dirty work.”

  “A crony who has a car costing more than a hundred grand?”

  Yeah, okay, so that sounded off in many ways. “I don’t know, babe. But I’ll find out.” He pulled down the gravel drive to his home.

  Alani sat up straighter. “This is it?”

  He liked her tempered excitement. “Yeah. I’m pretty much hidden by trees, but this whole area is monitored.”

  Oaks, elms and sycamores grew so thick at either side of the road that, with the branches spread out, they formed a sort of canopy. It was as if they were driving through a green cave but with dappled sunlight everywhere. Jackson slowed for a rabbit that looked at the car, twitched its whiskers and finally hopped away.

  Farther down, he pointed out some deer to her. Birds darted in and around the trees, occasionally doing a kamikaze dive in front of his car. Alani gasped each time, even though the birds avoided colliding with his windshield or tires.

  Finally the front gates came into view and, beyond that, the house.

  Aware of Alani’s silence beside him, Jackson pulled off his sunglasses to enter the gate code. “Like Dare’s, it’s run by a keypad, but you can use a remote when leaving the property. There’s an intercom and sensor device so that I always know when someone approaches.”

  She nodded, looking beyond the gate to his home.

  Uneasy, Jackson waited for the gates to open and then drove over the long paved driveway to the house. “It’s a ranch, but set up like separate quarters all connected. I liked the architecture of it.”

  “It’s amazing.” Her gaze went all over the house, from the garage attached by a utility room, to the main entrance and to the jutting master suite.

  “Not a whole lot is done yet, but eventually the basement will be finished. There’ll be a fourth bedroom down there, an exercise room and a recreation room.”

  He pulled into one of the three attached garages and turned off the car. Alani immediately slipped on her sandals, opened her door and stepped back out of the garage to look around.

  Shielding her eyes, she looked up at the tallest trees with awe.

  “I deliberately built around the trees,” Jackson said as he joined her.

  “I’m glad. It’s perfect.” She headed up the walkway to his massive front door.

  “We could have gone in through the garage.”

  “I want to see the outside first.” She circled around to the side of the house, picking her way along the wild-flowers and weeds.

  “I haven’t even touched the yard yet.” He wished she’d slow down and say something, maybe tell him her thoughts. She didn’t know it, but through the process of choosing the house plans, the location, he’d been thinking of her. Considering her reaction.

  She stopped on the back porch and looked down at the lake. Ducks swam by. Off in the distance, a fish jumped.

  Alani brushed away a fly, then tipped her head back and breathed deeply.

  He liked seeing her here, like this.

  On his property.

  “It’s going to be a scorcher today.” But the July morning had nothing on his internal heat. “In a few more hours, the humidity will make you sweat as soon as you step outside.”

  “I don’t mind a little sweat.”

  No, she wouldn’t. Slipping his hands around her, Jackson brushed aside her hair, nuzzled the side of her throat and kissed the softest part of her neck. “When you’re up for it,” he said suggestively, “I’d like to lay you out here on a blanket and make you scream with pleasure.”

  She quickened. “In the open?”

  “Yeah.” He lifted one hand to rest just under her breast, and felt her heartbeat thumping. “It’s private enough. But I’d be able to see every inch of you.”

  Her hands settled over his. “You already did.” Her voice quavered. “Before, I mean.”

  “But it wasn’t enough.” He was starting to feel like a masochist. “Until then…” He stepped back from her, wrestled with and conquered his control. “What’s first? A tour, coffee or sleep?”

  She turned to face him. “If I drink coffee, I won’t be able to sleep.”

  “Then let’s go back to bed for now.”

  Her palm settled over his chest. “Won’t that be…hard on you?”

  “Yeah.” He grinned crookedly. “But it’d be harder knowing you were alone in my bed, all sleepy and warm and sweet.” He took her hand and led her back around to the front. “I’ll show you the master suite, and you can get settled while I unload our stuff.”

  As she looked everywhere, he took her in through the garage, through the vaulted kitchen and entryway, and down a connecting hall into the bedroom. Once there, he turned her and cupped her face. “I’m still working on things, so this is one of the few finished rooms—and the only bed.” Did she understand?

  She eyed the spacious room and the big bed, made up with a few pillows, sheets and a quilt. “It’s big enough for a whole family.”

  She said that tentatively, almost like a question.

  The thought threw him. Sure, the house was spacious, with enough rooms to accommodate most family units. But as a rule, family was never one of his considerations. He didn’t think of his folks since they’d never really been a stereotypical family, and while he’d enjoyed the women he’d been with, he sure as hell hadn’t looked at them as the start of a future. Sex was for relief only, and he was careful when it came to protection, so kids of his own had never been a concern.

  Briefly, he thought of Arizona—but no. He didn’t want to go down that path right now. He’d told Alani what she needed to know, and the rest would wait.

  Hell, he’d just gotten her to admit there was something between them. For now, he wanted to enjoy her—and only her.

  Guilt prodded him, but still he joked, “Your brother has no interest in being here, babe.”

  Something shone in her eyes, something elusive and female and wary. Her fleeting smile lacked genuine warmth. “Maybe for a visit.”

  Relieved that she didn’t push it, Jackson nodded. “Maybe.” Much, much later, if he had his way. “For now, there’s just the two of us, and we’ll be sleeping close.” He wouldn’t mind having her right on top of him—or better still, under him. He kissed her mouth. “Okay by you?”

  She reached up to run her fingertips over his jaw, down his throat. “All my life I’ve slept alone, but I wouldn’t have if I’d known how nice it is to sleep with someone.”

  “With me,” he clarified, in case she had thoughts of trying it with anyone else.

  “Yes.” She touched his bottom lip. “I do like sleeping with you, Jackson.”

  “Good.” She could so easily twist him into knots. When she touched him, even in su
ch a sweet way, maybe especially in a sweet way, he wanted to get inside her. “I need to secure the house, do a quick check of things.” And that’d give him a chance to bank the fires a little. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Take your time.”

  Like hell. He wanted to hold her as she fell asleep. It was important to him that she get used to being with him in all ways, that she enjoy it as much as he did. In less than fifteen minutes he ran through a check of the alarms, locks and monitors.

  When he came back into the bedroom, he found Alani in nothing more than the T-shirt and panties, looking out the private patio doors from his bedroom to the back of the house.

  He knew she could see the lake, the hills, nature and privacy.

  His attention narrowed on her, on her beautiful legs and the way her blond hair hung down her slim back, how the T-shirt barely covered her ass, captivating him. He’d known more beautiful women. He’d known sexier women—and more sexual women.

  He’d known women who concentrated on making him wild in bed.

  But none of them were Alani.

  Lost in thought, she looked very reflective and a little withdrawn. Did she resent being stuck here with him? Was she worried about that ass Tobin, or fearful of the threat?

  Was she already wishing she could get back to her job, her home, her routine?

  Jackson realized he was fretting, second-guessing himself, and that annoyed him. He’d gone hand to hand with murderers, been in shoot-outs with human traffickers, traveled over borders to retrieve kidnapped victims and dealt justice to the ones who’d taken them, all without fretting. He knew what to do, he did it, end of story.

  Frustrated, he dropped her suitcase and his duffel bag. Alani looked up.

  Even as they watched each other, her uncertainty, her nervousness beat at him in waves…until a yawn overtook her.

  Full of mumbled apologies, she covered her mouth with a hand.

  Jackson relaxed again. While she was here, he’d take care of her, pamper her; he was good at making women feel special. Usually in bed, but so what? He’d handle the “out of bed” stuff, too.

  After turning back the covers, he patted the mattress. “C’mon, sleepyhead. In you go.”

  Barefoot, she padded over the thick carpet and climbed in. “I’m sorry I’m so tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night, or the night before.”

  “Because of me.” He didn’t want her worn out, but he enjoyed knowing he was responsible for her exhaustion. “Because of us.”

  “True.” Liking the sound of that even more, he drew the drapes to shut out much of the morning sunlight. Gray shadows now filled the room.

  “I can’t believe you’re not more tired. After being so sick, you’ve gotten as little sleep as I did.”

  “But I’m a man.”

  “And that makes you impervious to weakness?”

  No, but as a man he wanted her enough that he barely noticed other discomforts. She probably wouldn’t appreciate hearing that, so instead he said, “I’ve done without sleep plenty of times. Guess I’ve adjusted to it.”

  With Alani watching his every move, he sat on the end of the bed to remove his boots and socks, then peeled off his T-shirt. He stood and disarmed himself, putting the weapons on the nightstand at his side of the bed.

  “It’s odd, you know.” By the second she sounded sleepier, a little mysterious. “You treat weapons with the same comfort as your car keys.”

  He glanced at her. “In a pinch, I’d rather have my gun than my keys any day.”

  Turning on her side and tucking a hand beneath her cheek, she stared at his chest. “I don’t regret it, you know.”

  “What’s that, babe?” He eased the zipper down over his boner, and shucked off his jeans but left on his boxers. Better not tempt his control at this point. Now that he’d had sex with Alani, he wanted her even more. Knowing she was here, in his home where he’d so often envisioned her, only heightened every combustible feeling.

  “Doing without sleep to be with you.”

  Hearing so much more than the simple words, Jackson went still.

  Alani stared at his body. “Before that, before you, when I thought of going without sleep, it was to remember that airless little trailer where the traffickers took me.”

  Ah, hell. His heart in his throat, Jackson sat on the bed by her and put a hand on her hip.

  She turned her gaze up to him. “I was too afraid to sleep, then, too afraid to even close my eyes. I didn’t know what they’d do to me. Not that I could have stopped them just by staying awake. But I at least wanted to see it coming.”

  He lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He’d always boasted an overactive libido. Many times he’d gone without sleep in favor of a sexual marathon.

  Right now, Alani needed different things. He wouldn’t be walking away from her tomorrow or even the next day, so he didn’t have to get his fill up front. “You can sleep now. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  Her tone soft, her voice low, she whispered, “But I hate wasting our time together. It’s so nice seeing you like this, at ease, being yourself, letting me see you for who you really are. I’d rather be awake.” She licked her bottom lip. “I’d rather be soaking up more experiences.”

  “Tease.” It amazed him how she could take his dark and dangerous mood and fracture it with tenderness and humor. “Now that we have an agreement, I’ll try harder to balance things, okay? Sleep with sex.”

  She smiled. “And food, and sightseeing and more talking?”

  “Sure, if that’s what you want.” With one arm under and around her, Jackson held her hip, keeping her close. The other hand he cupped over her shoulder. In stark contrast to him, she was small-boned, her features so fine and feminine. “Food, then sex. Sightseeing, then sex.”

  She laughed. “Talking and sex?”

  It wasn’t a combination he usually enjoyed, but what the hell? “As long as you’re not running away from me, I reckon we can fit all that in.”

  “I can’t really go anywhere, now can I?”

  He mulled over that sentiment, resenting it, wanting her to want to stay. “You shouldn’t feel like a prisoner.”

  Curled into his side, she murmured, “Believe me, I know the difference.”

  Shit. “I’m a dumbass. I didn’t mean—”

  “I know.” She fell silent for a moment, then said, “We talked about that the first time, you know.”

  “The first time we had sex?” The time he couldn’t recall. When she nodded, he asked, “About what?”

  “How long this would last.”

  His heart stuttered. What the hell had he told her? It was damned awkward not knowing.

  She levered up on one elbow to look at him.

  For only a flash of a second, he thought he saw culpability in her big innocent eyes, and he wondered at it. “Alani?”

  “We agreed that as long as it stays fun and exciting, and we’re both enjoying ourselves, sexually I mean, we would keep…experimenting.”

  What the hell? Had he really spelled it out so bluntly? Sure, he sometimes did that with other women because he didn’t want them to get ideas. He wanted them to know up front not to have expectations. But that was other women.

  Had he been that insensitive with Alani, too?

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, so instead he said, “Why wouldn’t it be fun?”

  “I don’t know.” She didn’t quite meet his gaze. “You promised me great sex, and you’ve more than delivered. But neither of us wanted to get locked down.”

  “We didn’t, huh?” That didn’t sound like her. He knew better than most that Alani had never slept around. She was an all-or-nothing kind of woman—or so he’d always assumed. But her sheltered life might have kept her from sowing any wild oats.

  Was he her damned oats?

  Great sex, that’s what she wanted—what she expected? How much pressure was that? Sure, he had every intention of delivering, but all guys had an off time now
and then. If he didn’t leave her limp and smiling, did that mean she’d go off to a different guy with newfound sensuality and confidence?

  Over his dead body. Before he let that happen, he’d—

  “Jackson?” Gentle fingertips touched his brow. “You’re frowning.”

  Because she turned him upside down. He was just disgruntled enough to mutter darkly, “You’re already expecting me to fall short!”

  Her eyes widened…and then her mouth twitched. “Not really.”

  “But if I do, you’ll use that as an excuse to book, won’t you?”

  “We already agreed that I couldn’t book, remember?”

  That provocation brought a feral growl from deep in his throat.

  His attitude left her playfully puzzled. “Do you expect to be a bad lover?”

  “No!”

  Then…

  “You shouldn’t use that as an excuse to cut things short.”

  Searching his austere gaze, she bit her bottom lip and ventured cautiously, “Just how long do you expect this to last?”

  “Uh…” Damn it. He’d talked himself into a corner. He wasn’t the insecure sort, but he didn’t really want to fumble through a confession of his indecisive feelings without knowing exactly how she felt first.

  And a plan came to mind. She’d just made it clear that she expected mind-blowing sex. Fine. He’d blow her mind. Big-time. He’d yet to meet a woman who didn’t eventually spout her feelings during release. Vows of affection went hand in hand with orgasms.

  Give ’em an O, and they got lovey-dovey in return.

  Most of the time he was indulgent about professions of love, sympathetic to the attitude if not the actual significance.

  “Do we have to decide right this second?” Once he had her blindly moaning out her darkest secrets, then he’d figure out what he wanted, and how much.

  As her shoulders slumped a little, Alani let out a breath. “No, of course not. I wasn’t pressuring you.” And then, defensively, “You’re the one who brought it up.”

  Jackson knew he’d both confused and embarrassed her. He cuddled her closer. “Why don’t we talk about all this later?” Much, much later. He kissed her forehead. “For now, let’s get some sleep.”