by Maggie Price
The intimate contact made her nerves simmer. She dropped her gaze to his still-full cup. “You…don’t like the tea.”
“No offense to Mel’s uncle, but his tea tastes like a flower garden.”
“I can brew a different—”
Jake’s hand tightened on hers. “Forget it.” He dipped his head toward her plate. “Something wrong with the omelet?”
“No, it’s wonderful. My stomach’s still a little iffy from last night.”
“There’s more ginger ale in the fridge. Mel the Magnificent insisted it does the trick for iffy stomachs.”
“Mel is right. I’ll have some after I call Bill. I need to tell him about DeSoto.”
“He knows. I called him and Whitney last night and brought them up to speed on what’s happened. They’re cutting their honeymoon short a day and flying home this morning.”
“Because you need Whitney’s help on the case?”
“I can use it. Mainly they’re coming home because we all agree you need a safe place to stay until this case gets solved.”
Nicole glanced across the length of the living room at the bolted front door. “You really think I’m not safe here?”
“Not when there’s even a remote chance a killer thinks you’re a witness. The fact no one showed up here last night is a good sign, but I’m not taking chances.”
She looked down at their joined hands. At some point, Jake’s long, bronzed fingers had twined with hers. “I…haven’t thanked you for taking care of me last night.”
“I don’t want your thanks.”
“I know, but you’re getting it, anyway. You were under no obligation to bring me home. Certainly didn’t have to carry me into the building or swab lotion on my cheek. Or…” She looked away as she pictured her tattered red suit draped across the arm of the love seat.
“Or, what?” His thumb stroked the pulse point in her wrist. “What else didn’t I have to do?”
“Take off my suit. I know you undressed me to make me comfortable. It worked—I slept like a rock.” She was talking so fast that the words tumbled over one another. “I appreciate you taking care of me, Jake. I—”
“I got you settled on top of the bed,” he explained quietly. “Then I went next door and knocked on your friend’s door. Kathy came over and undressed you.”
“Oh.” She lifted a hand, placed her palm against his chest. “Thanks.”
“You need to stop thanking me.” He put a finger under her chin, nudged upward. “If I ever take off your clothes, Nicole, I’m going to want you wide-awake when I do it.”
Her heart shot right up to her throat and beat there like a drum. “Wide-awake would be good.”
When he moved his hand to cup the back of her neck, Jake felt her nerves jitter beneath his palm. He hadn’t planned to touch her again. Overnight, he’d convinced himself, very logically, that backing off would be the best thing for both of them. After all, they’d shared only one kiss. A kiss that had knocked him off his feet and onto his butt, but that was as far as they’d gone. It might take him a month of nights burning for her to get her out of his system, but he knew backing off was best.
That was before she’d walked into the kitchen this morning dressed in a cool turquoise blouse and black leggings that hugged legs just short of miraculous. The way she’d piled her golden blond hair on top of her head suggested she’d just gotten out of bed. Since he’d woken her throughout the night he had no problem imagining how she would look lying beneath him, her skin glistening with sweat, all that glorious hair spread like liquid gold across her creamy sheets.
He had never wanted a woman more than he wanted her. Had never feared anything more than this slender, lovely woman with eyes as blue as a summer’s day. He wanted her, even though she made him long for things he’d sworn he would never again risk taking.
Now he didn’t care about risk. All he wanted to do was take.
He studied her, marveling at how good it felt to have her sitting so close. He had not realized—hadn’t let himself realize—how much he missed something so simple as sharing breakfast with a woman he cared about.
Nicole made him remember.
Her lips were full and soft and unpainted; he needed to taste her again just as surely as he needed oxygen to survive. He hadn’t chosen to have this avalanche of emotion barrel down on him, but since it had, it was time he did something about it.
His blood pounding, he leaned forward, watching every shift and flicker of emotion in her blue eyes.
“I’ve got no business touching you, Nicole. No business at all.”
She moved her hand up his chest, slid her fingers into his hair. “I’ve got no business wanting you to touch me. But I have to tell you, Jake, if you don’t put your mouth and your hands on me in the next couple of seconds, I’m going to have to get rough with you. I work out, you know. I could probably take you down.”
“In that case…” With hunger slicing through him like a silver blade, he lowered his head and plundered.
The kiss was desperate, ravenous, tongues tangling, teeth nipping. The low, humming moan that slid up her throat went straight to his head like a potent drug.
When he tasted the arousal on her trembling breath, he shoved his fingers into her hair, arched her head back and fed on that lush mouth. Her scent wrapped around him; his head hammered as air tore in and out of his chest.
“I want you.” His lips trailed over her jaw to her throat. Her skin was like cream, cool and rich. He could spend hours savoring the taste of her flesh. Just savoring. “I tried not to want you, but I do.”
“Jake, I…” Her hands were inside his shirt now, her fingers skimming his flesh, arrowing pleasure and lust into every part of his body. “This is probably a mistake,” she murmured as her mouth savaged his throat. “I’m…sure…it…is.”
“Me, too.” His hand moved up her rib cage, then higher to cup her breast. Her nipple budded hard and tight beneath her silky blouse. “A big mistake.”
“I’m glad…we’re making it.”
“I’m with you.”
The pounding in his brain changed in tone, shifted. Suddenly he realized the noise was external, coming from across the room. The front door.
Jake jerked his head up just as a key slid into the dead-bolt lock. “Anybody else have a key to this place?”
“I…” She blinked, her eyes wide and glazed to a smoky-blue. “Bill. Just Bill.”
“Since he’s somewhere between here and Cancún, we know it’s not him. Stay here.”
Jake reached the middle of the living room in three long strides, scooped his Glock off the coffee table without pausing. He jacked a round into the chamber, the harsh ratcheting sound echoing off the high ceiling. He stepped into the entry hall just as the door swung open.
Glock aimed, he moved into view as a tall, dark-haired man strode into the entryway, a key ring dangling from his fingers.
The man froze like a dazzled rabbit, his eyes wide with shock as he stared into the automatic’s single dark eye.
“What the hell?”
“Police,” Jake said. In one smooth move, he gripped the man’s shoulder, spun him around and shoved him against the wall.
Chapter 7
“Wait!”
Nicole’s voice squeaked from the other side of the living room as Jake used one shoulder to hold the intruder face-forward against the wall.
Over the past few minutes, his system had throbbed with lust, then veered to alarm. Now, adrenaline had his insides pumping as he conducted a deft, one-handed pat search for weapons.
“Jake!”
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Nicole rush into the entry hall.
“Stay back!” he ordered.
“I know him.” Her eyes were huge, the bruise on her cheek a dark contrast against the pallor of her skin. “This is Cole Champion.”
“Your ex?”
“Yes.”
His body smashed against the wall, Champion inched his head
sideways and gave Nicole a pained grin. “This is some watchdog you got, Nicky. What say you call him off so I can stop polishing your wall with my new suit?”
Biting down on a snarl, Jake took a step back, holding the Glock’s barrel aimed toward the floor. “Turn around. Nice and slow.”
While Champion complied, Jake’s brain cataloged styled jet-black hair, hollowed cheeks and heavy brows above dark, clever eyes. A black suit, crisp white shirt and blood-red tie completed the slickly handsome package. Jake had felt muscles as hard as marble beneath the tailored suit. That kind of strength sent the message Champion could knock anything out of his path without breaking stride. Including a startled woman on a dark front porch.
Jake tightened his hand on the Glock. Despite the sizzling kiss he and Nicole had just shared, he hadn’t forgotten he’d spent the night on her couch in case her assailant showed up. Now, he thought with grim satisfaction, Cole Champion had stepped into the web.
Jake turned his head, met Nicole’s gaze. “You said Bill’s the only other person who has a key to this place.”
“That’s what I thought.” Propping her hands on her hips, she shifted her attention. “Cole, you said you gave me all your keys when you moved out.”
“I thought I had.” Small lines at the edges of his eyes crinkled as his mouth curved into a smile that revealed perfect teeth. “I swear.”
Annoyance flashed in her eyes like lightning as she took a step forward. “Don’t bother swearing anything to me. Where did you get the key you just used?”
“It’s an extra…” Champion’s smile faded as she stepped fully beneath the bright overhead light. “Lord, Nicky, what happened to your cheek?”
When he moved toward her, Jake locked a hand on Champion’s arm, shoved him back against the wall.
“I told you to turn around. I didn’t say you could move.”
Champion made a futile attempt to shrug off his grip. “Who the hell are you?”
“Sergeant Jake Ford. I’m the cop who’s going to haul you in on breaking and entering.”
“You’ve got it all wrong, pal. I didn’t break in. I used a key—”
“Which you’re not supposed to have,” Nicole interjected.
“Come on, Nicky, give me a break. It’s an extra I forgot about,” Champion explained, his expression all innocence. “I found it the other day in a box of stuff, so I slipped it on my key ring. I planned on giving it to you the next time I saw you.” He swept a hand toward the marble floor where his key ring had landed when Jake jerked him against the wall. “If your intense cop will let me move, I’ll give you the key.”
Jake unclenched his hand from Champion’s arm. “Pick it up.”
Champion scooped up the key ring. “Anyway, Nicky, I knocked first.” The diamond in the pinkie ring on his right hand glittered as he nudged a key off the loop. “I knew it was too early for you to be at work, so when you didn’t answer, I let myself in.” He gave her the key, along with a smile that edged on intimacy. “No big deal, I used to live here, after all.”
The knowledge that Nicole had once belonged to the man curled a snake of envy in Jake’s gut. Realization hit him like a sledgehammer. Without his realizing it, his feelings for her had pushed right past protective. He now felt possessive and wildly territorial, too. When the hell had that happened? he wondered.
“I figured you didn’t answer because you were in the shower,” Champion continued. “I was going to come up so we could talk.”
Nicole’s hand snapped closed around the key. “You were going to come up?”
“And wait in your bedroom. I didn’t plan on walking in on you while you were in the shower, or anything.”
Although he wasn’t touching her, Jake could almost feel her spine tense beneath her turquoise blouse.
“Sergeant,” she began in a cool voice, “can I borrow your gun? I promise to give it back right after I shoot him.”
“There’s a tempting request,” Jake murmured, deciding he would thoroughly enjoy disliking Cole Champion.
As if reading his mind, Champion slid the key ring into the pocket of his suit coat while his gaze sharpened on Jake. Instantly, Jake was aware of the coolness of the marble floor beneath his bare feet. His hair was uncombed, he needed a shave and his shirt was unbuttoned, its tail hanging out of his jeans. Not the look to convince anyone he was there on business.
A muscle in Champion’s cheek jerked. “It’s apparent I’ve come at an inconvenient time.”
Damn right, Jake thought. If Champion hadn’t shown up, he and Nicole would be upstairs in bed by now…if they’d made it that far before he’d managed to get her naked. The thought had Jake setting his jaw. He knew taking her to bed would have been a monumental mistake. He would only want more of her, and she was a woman he didn’t want to risk having…and losing. Logically, he knew all that. Knew, too, that when he got around her, logic no longer came into play. Which was another mistake.
Hell.
He matched Champion’s stare. “Why are you here?”
“To talk to my ex-wife,” he replied. “Nicky, did you hear about DeSoto? That he died last night?”
She touched a fingertip to her right temple. “I heard.”
“No one I’ve talked to knows any details. I came here to ask you to call Bill. Since your brother and my boss are…were friends, the A.D.A. might have some information.”
“Why not call the A.D.A. yourself?” Jake asked.
“Bill and I don’t exactly get along. I’m not looking to stir things up with him. I just want some information.”
“What sort?” As he spoke, Jake shoved his loose shirttail aside and slid the automatic into the waistband of his jeans.
“I want to know what happened. One minute DeSoto’s fine, the next his assistant calls to tell me he died last night. Nobody seems to know why. DeSoto wasn’t just my boss, I liked the guy. Dammit, I want to know what happened to him.”
Champion’s curiosity about his boss sounded logical. Still, Jake knew he might be lying through his teeth. He could have murdered Villanova, then planned on using whatever firsthand information Nicole got from Bill to make sure the investigation didn’t head in his direction.
Jake glanced at Nicole, saw the reluctant sympathy for Champion’s plight in her expressive blue eyes. She had forgiven the guy for breaking his vows and tossing their marriage onto the trash heap. They were now “comfortable friends.” Jake doubted it had occurred to her that, if Villanova had been murdered, her ex-husband would land on the suspect list.
Jake let out a slow breath. He needed to interview Champion, give him some rope and see if he threw out a lifeline or hung himself. Because Nicole’s presence might have Champion trying to save face at some point, Jake needed to separate them.
Cupping his palm on her elbow, he eased her to face him. “Champion and I need to talk,” he said quietly. “I’d appreciate it if you’d download those two match lists you and I talked about.”
“Right now?”
“That’d be best.”
“Fine.”
“Make yourself comfortable, Champion,” Jake said, dipping his head toward the living room.
“Sure. I’d appreciate you finding out what happened to DeSoto for me.”
Champion took two steps, then halted in front of Nicole. “That’s a nasty bruise,” he said quietly. “You okay, Nicky?”
“I’m fine.” She stared up at him, her mouth curving at the edges. “Cole, I don’t mind you coming by once in a while. I just want you to call first. And don’t think you’re free to use any other keys you might have forgotten about. Understand?”
“Clear as crystal.” He flicked a finger down her nose. “You always did know how to get a point across.”
She turned to Jake. “I’ll be in my office.”
“Right.”
In silence, Jake studied Champion while the man’s gaze tracked his ex-wife across the living room where morning sun slanted through white wooden blinds. Regret, th
en a far deeper emotion darkened his eyes.
He’s still in love with her, Jake realized.
That knowledge shot his thoughts back to Bill and Whitney’s reception, to the moment Nicole had smiled coyly up at Villanova as she slid her business card into his coat pocket. The open, smoldering desire in the Latino’s eyes had sent a clear message. Granted, Champion hadn’t been at the reception, but he might have witnessed a similar exchange between his boss and the woman for whom he still harbored feelings. Unrequited feelings. What Nicole considered harmless flirtation might take on a different meaning when viewed by an envious ex. Jake had seen a good number of murders committed because of homicidal jealousy.
Champion’s admission that he was not only a co-worker but a friend of Villanova’s automatically put him on the suspect list. Still, Jake decided to forgo Mirandizing him. The jury was still out on whether Villanova had been murdered, and there was no tangible reason at this point to think Champion had killed him.
Jake hitched a thumb toward a wing chair upholstered in the same gray-blue as the couch. “Have a seat, Champion.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you know of anybody who’d want to harm your boss?”
“No.” Champion blinked as he settled onto the chair. “Does that mean someone murdered DeSoto?”
“I don’t have the M.E.’s report yet so I have to cover all bases. Know of any arguments Villanova had with employees? Any dissatisfied customers?”
“No. He was a good guy and a great boss. He didn’t have enemies.”
“Where were you last night?”
Wariness crept into Champion’s eyes. “Out. Why?”
“I like to get a time line so I’ll know where everybody was,” Jake improvised. “You went out where?”
“You said you were going to give me information.”
“We’ll get to that.” Jake snagged his badge off the coffee table, clipped it onto the waistband of his jeans. “What did you do last night?”
Champion’s dark brows slid together. “I had a date.”