by Debra Cowan
The walls closed in on her; her chest constricted. Time froze as she stared at his handsome raw-boned features and hate-filled dark eyes. Images of the attack tumbled back, mixed with painful jarring reminders of the rape.
Again she felt the violation of her body, the bonecrunching pressure of his weight on her, the slam of her head against the Jeep window as she tried to get away from him. The smell of sweat and beer rancid on her body.
Anxiety overwhelmed her. She wanted to drop the picture and run. A thread of common sense kept her in place. Just look at it and get it over with.
His thick brown hair was short and neatly trimmed, as he’d always worn it. Even in penitentiary overalls, his massive shoulders strained at the seams. Bulky arms and a thick neck testified that he was still into weight lifting, as he had been in college.
He looked the same—the deceptive careless smile, the cold, restless eyes, the hard mouth that had spewed such vicious obscenities at her. Pure fear knotted her gut. The only difference Jenna noted from eight years ago was a jagged scar that ran diagonally from his right ear to his collarbone. It had been too dark the other night for her to notice that.
Fighting back the nausea that threatened, she thrust the photo back at Mace. “That’s him. Deke Ramsey. It’s him.”
Mace folded the paper in half and stuffed it into his back pocket. “All right. We’re going to release this photo to the press then.”
Linc edged closer to her, asking in a low voice, “Are you all right?”
She nodded woodenly, a chill burning from the inside out to ice her fingers and toes. Her panic receded enough so that she could move and backed away from the open door, the stifling heat, reaching again for Puppy, something familiar and comforting. Ramsey’s face flashed through her mind interminably. She would never be free again.
Mace squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Your parents called.”
“Are they all right?” she asked anxiously.
“Yes. And they picked up your Jeep.”
“Good.”
His voice, calming and gentle, penetrated her apprehension.
“Jenna, starting tonight I’m going to put a man on your office for a few nights.”
“You think Ramsey might go back there?” She kept her hand on the softness of Puppy’s head, glad for his company.
Mace shrugged. “Right now, he’s probably still checking out hospitals, but when he can’t find you, he’ll definitely go back there.”
“How did he find me in the first place?” Jenna shoved her good hand through her hair, her voice as shaky as her hands.
Mace shook his head. “My guess is he started somewhere familiar. Since he knew you in college, he probably started in Stillwater.”
She stilled, horror swelling inside her. She glanced from Linc to Mace. “Maybe he got the alumni newsletter.”
Mace’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Do you keep up with that stuff?”
“Yes.” Agitated, she shifted from one foot to the other. “And I also volunteer every year to take an intern from the vet program.”
“That’s probably where he found you then,” Mace concurred.
She threw up her good hand, her voice bitter. “And there I was, an easy mark.”
“Hey, you can’t blame yourself for that.” Linc’s voice was low with conviction.
She glanced at him, compelled by the deep timbre of his voice. “I wasn’t blaming myself, not really. I know I did nothing to bring this on except put him in prison where he belongs.”
“Good.” Linc’s gaze held hers. “I’m glad to hear you say it.”
She tore her gaze away, flexing her fingers on the dog’s head. Puppy’s tail flopped happily on the stone tile. “Detective, I have to make arrangements for my animals. I don’t mean Puppy. I mean my patients.”
Mace nodded. “I can call whoever you want.”
“There’s a friend of mine—Steve Majors, who’s also a vet. He can take over some of my cases. I’ll just call and see if he can come out tonight—”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Surprise held her speechless for a moment. “Why not? I need someone to look after my animals.”
Beside her, Puppy seemed to sense her irritation and he growled low in his throat.
Mace shook his head, his gaze unyielding. “We don’t want to get anymore people involved here.”
“I can’t leave my animals unattended.” Despite knowing Mace was only trying to provide security, Jenna couldn’t bear to think what might happen if arrangements weren’t made for her patients. “I have to do something.”
“Come on, Mace.” Linc moved so close to Jenna that she could feel his heat wrap around her. “What can it hurt?”
Jenna didn’t look at him, but she was surprised yet again. She studied Mace, her mind racing for ways to reassure him. “I haven’t seen Steve in almost a month, so if Ramsey has been watching me for the last two weeks, he can’t connect Steve to me.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Why don’t you write down what you want and I’ll get in touch with him?”
“I need to talk to him. I need to see him. He’ll be worried about me.”
Mace studied her with absolutely no expression on his face.
This time, Linc was silent. Frustration churned inside her. “Please, Detective. Steve is my best friend. You can depend on him to be discreet and I really, really need to see him.”
Mace frowned, his gaze flickering to Linc. “Linc can help you. He’s a doctor. Just tell him what you want.”
“For crying out loud, Mace!” Linc exploded beside Jenna. “I treat patients with two legs. All hers have four. Or wings. What do I know about cow udders?”
Pleased at his argument, Jenna nodded. She kept her voice even, trying to control the anxiety swirling in her stomach. After what had happened, she desperately needed to see Steve. “Linc’s right. He can help me do some things, but I’d feel better about my patients if I knew Steve was taking over.”
Mace scowled, looking from Jenna to Linc.
“Please.” Jenna moved toward Mace, desperation thinning her voice. “Can’t I see him and make arrangements? He can help me. He’s helped me before.”
“Jenna—”
“Come on, Mace!” Linc joined in with her and Jenna couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d stripped and run through the house naked. “If the guy’s careful, what harm could there be? You can certainly lay down a few guidelines to ensure her security.”
“I don’t like taking unnecessary risks.” Mace’s jaw hardened stubbornly.
“Well, you’re upsetting my patient and that’s risking her health.” Linc stepped over beside Jenna, his jaw firmed in the same way as his brother’s. “Her blood pressure’s probably skyrocketing. Letting this guy come out seems like something you could easily control. Come on. You’ll be putting her mind at ease and right now, I think that’s what she needs.”
Astonished, Jenna nodded and looked at Mace, her fingers working convulsively on Puppy’s head. Mace had to let her see Steve.
He had to.
Mace fisted his hands on his hips, glaring from Linc to Jenna indecisively. He threw his hands up in the air. “Oh, all right. Maybe between the three of us, we can pull this off securely.”
A radiant smile bloomed in Jenna’s eyes and she reached toward Mace, shaking his hand. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Steve will be careful. He will.”
“He’d better,” Mace grumbled. “All right, give me the guy’s name and number. I’ll get in touch with him and see if he can make it tonight.”
Despite the discomfort, Jenna smiled at Linc, noticing that his return smile seemed more a grimace. His features were now tight and closed. Did he regret helping her?
She rattled off Steve’s office and home phone numbers as Mace wrote them down. He slid his small notebook into the back pocket of his jeans. “I’ll call you once I hear from him, tell you what’s going on.”
“Great!” Profound pleasure w
ashed through her and Jenna realized with astonishment that it was due to Linc. He’d done so much for her, but nothing meant more than this.
She glanced at him. He watched as his brother walked down the steps and climbed into. his Mustang convertible. Mace started the engine and drove off.
Linc lifted a hand in farewell then moved back into the house, closing the door.
“How can I ever thank you?” Jenna’s voice was quiet, her throat tight with gratitude.
He shifted, his broad shoulders moving under the worn T-shirt he wore. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Ah, yes, you’re just repaying me for what I did for you.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat, suddenly wanting, needing for Linc to know how much she appreciated what he’d done. So much for staying out of his way. She and her dog were here now. In a few hours, Steve would be, too.
Wariness stole into his eyes and he jammed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Since you brought up repayment, I’d really like to apologize for what I did that night. In the barn. It’s way overdue.”
She froze, her mind skipping back to that evening. Even now she could feel the steel of his uninvited grip, the moment of heart-stopping fear when he’d pulled her near. And yet standing here with him, she wasn’t afraid. Certainly wasn’t repulsed. Still, she didn’t want to discuss it either.
She waved him off. “That was a long time ago. Why don’t we—”
“Jenna, please let me do this.” His voice was hoarse and fervent. “I was drunk that night, but it doesn’t excuse what I did—what I tried to do to you. I’m very sorry and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
His gaze drew hers and she couldn’t look away. In the gray depths was reflected old pain, deep loss. She saw that now, just as she recognized his remoteness hid a wealth of feeling. “I accept and I hope you’ll believe me when I say you didn’t harm me.”
“Good.” Relief shone in his eyes. “I’m glad we got that out of the way. If it makes you feel any better staying here with me, I haven’t had a drink since then.”
“I’m not worried about that,” she said softly. And strangely she wasn’t. “Please let me thank you for what you’re doing now.”
“It’s nothing, really.” Linc shook his head, taking a step past her.
Without thinking, she put her hand on his forearm, stopping him.
His gaze dropped to her hand, then rose to her face. Electricity hummed between them. Disbelief, hunger and uncertainty clouded his eyes.
Firm muscle and smooth skin warmed her palm. Jenna licked her suddenly dry lips. She rarely touched anyone, outside of family, but a small bit of trust had been forged today with Linc. “Thank you for everything. For letting Puppy stay—”
Upon hearing his name, the dog whimpered and thumped his tail. His dark eyes watched Linc and Jenna.
“For going to Wilbur’s grave with me. And for helping me see Steve.”
“I understand your concern about your patients.” Linc shifted, bringing his hip within an inch of hers. Spice-scented warmth emanated from him and wrapped around her. “And I really don’t want you upset.”
Her blood heated at the deep huskiness of his voice. Before she even realized it, her gaze went to his lips and she wondered what it would be like if he kissed her, with her consent, with his gentle deliberation.
His muscles flexed beneath her hand and she jolted at the kick of desire in her belly. Her gaze locked with his and she saw hunger flare in his eyes. That raw, frank interest should’ve scared her; at the very least, she should’ve stepped away from him.
But Jenna was rooted to the spot by curiosity and a want that unfurled along her nerve endings. Would he kiss her? Should she let him?
His gaze grew more intense, more heated. And he leaned toward her. A thrill shot through her veins, tempered by caution and apprehension, but she waited for him. After so many years, she wanted to know, wanted to taste him just once.
She kept her gaze on his, her breath coming in small ragged pants. His breath caressed her cheek, her lips and she stood completely still, waiting. Hoping. Uncertain.
His muscles flexed under her palm. Tension coiled through his body, spiraled around her. He drew nearer, nearer. Then he closed his eyes and stepped back.
Desire and doubt warred on his features. He opened his eyes, now metal dark with regret.
Why had he stopped? It had been years since she’d felt mutual attraction to any man, but she thought she remembered how it felt. Had she been wrong? Was he unaffected?
He opened his mouth, to form an apology she knew.
She couldn’t bear it. Perhaps she should’ve been embarrassed that she had wanted him to kiss her so badly, but she felt only a sharp disappointment that he hadn’t. She didn’t understand that, didn’t understand why she was so drawn to him. So much for staying out of his way.
Tearing her gaze from his, she felt a blush heat her neck. “Thank you for everything. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. And Jenna?”
“Yes.” Her gaze met his, searching, measuring, expectant.
“I’d like to at least be friends. Do you think we could do that?”
She paused, swept away by the urging in her heart to be capable of more than friendship. But that’s all she was good for, thanks to Ramsey. And perhaps Linc inherently sensed that. “Yes, I certainly do. I’d like that, too.”
“Good.” He smiled, broad and unguarded and it burned her clear to her toes. “I’m glad.”
“Me, too.” She couldn’t draw a full breath and her chest ached. She’d never seen such a beautiful, welcoming smile. A smile that ignited a secret craving inside her, made her want to win it again, to delve deep beneath the scarred layers of the man and see his soul, to be part of him.
Something she would never do, thanks to Ramsey. What man wanted a woman who couldn’t respond to him? No man. And certainly not a sensual, attractive man like Linc Garrett.
Friends. If they became even that, it’s all they would ever be.
Chapter 5
You idiot, what were you thinking? Linc hadn’t thought at all. He’d simply reacted to the sweet heat of her, the sincerity shining from her eyes and the feel of her hand on his arm.
She had touched him voluntarily, for the first time. Humbled by that fact, he’d also been spiked by pure need. So, what had he done? Tried to kiss her.
Still, she hadn’t tried to pull away from him. There had been no revulsion or horror darkening her beautiful eyes; instead they had glowed with gratitude.
What would’ve happened if he had kissed her? Would she have run from him then? Would that heart-wrenching terror have come into her eyes? Linc was glad he hadn’t found out. And part of him was just as sorry.
He responded to her physically. What man wouldn’t? But that didn’t mean he wanted to get tangled up with her. After what she’d been through, she needed a man who could give himself totally, openly and Linc couldn’t do that He had nothing left to give. Michelle had destroyed every last piece of his soul.
He shouldn’t want anything from Jenna West, but he did. He wanted to erase that wariness in her eyes, wanted to coax open those soft lips and kiss her hot and openmouthed and ease some of the desperation coiling in his gut.
He wanted to stroke the velvet of her skin with his hands and tongue, to lave away the bruises- .
Stop. This thinking was futile. A dead end. Just because Jenna hadn’t bolted when he’d tried to kiss her earlier, didn’t mean she was interested in anything physical. And physical was all Linc was interested in.
Disgust rolled through him. How could he be thinking about sex after what had happened to her? She had just been attacked, nearly raped again. What kind of man did that make him? He wanted her. There was no use denying it, but he wasn’t proud of it. And he certainly wouldn’t act on it, no matter how loudly or insistently his body screamed.
That evening, he still ached from that missed kiss. Regret stabbed at him, but he knew he’d done
the right thing by walking away from Jenna. Despite the slow burn of need inching through him, he’d turned and kept going. For the first time, she’d looked at him with something other than wariness in her eyes and he’d started to kiss her.
Linc cursed inwardly. She didn’t need that from him. She needed a friend, a protector. Not a lover. But he ached anyway, with regret and unanswered want.
As he watched her and her friend, Steve, standing in his entryway, Linc felt that desire spread through him with the throb-throb of a slow pulse.
A savage urgency rose up inside him and he wondered if she would ever look at any other man—him—the way she looked at Steve Majors, completely trusting, her eyes shining, her emotions plain on her face.
She looked at the guy as if he were a cross between Mel Gibson and Santa Claus. Linc went with Santa Claus. Dr. Majors had come bearing a grocery sack full of something and in the other hand held two foil-covered pans stacked on top of each other—blackberry cobbler from his mother and peach cobbler from Jenna’s.
Mace had called earlier, saying Jenna’s friend would be there around eight o’clock. At eight on the dot, the lean, lanky doctor, who looked more like a ranch hand than a veterinarian, arrived.
He and Linc exchanged guarded hellos at the door, then Linc had taken the cobblers into the kitchen and stored them in the fridge.
When he rejoined them in the living room, they stood just inside the front door exactly where he’d left them.
Their voices were low and Linc couldn’t catch the words. But the sight of Steve’s fingers floating familiarly over Jenna’s neck as he examined the marks around her throat had Linc’s body tightening as if braced for a blow.
Assaulted by a burning grip on his gut, he moved a few steps closer. “I put the cobblers in the fridge so you can find them when you’re hungry.”
“Thanks.” Jenna hardly spared him a glance, staring up at her friend with affection and absolute trust.
Steve Majors wore long Wranglers with ragged hems that skimmed the tops of his scuffed boots. Upon entering the house, he’d removed his light straw cowboy hat and set it on the polished entryway table. Linc figured Steve would be his exact height without the boots.