by Debra Jupe
Frustrated, mad, and cold, he shoved his phone into his pants pocket and stomped away. He stopped and spun around, arms held out to his sides. “Okay, Katie. You win. What’s the plan?” His hands dropped. “I want to help” A cloud of misgiving wavered in her eyes. “I’m serious this time. No tricks or anything.”
“How can I trust you?”
“The same way I trust you.”
“You don’t.”
A side of his lip curved. “There’s your answer.”
“We’re at a stalemate.” She pushed away from the jeep, leaving the driver’s door gaped. “You’re free to leave, Jack. I can do this on my own.”
Jack pursed his lips so not to smile. “Don’t doubt it for a second. But I think I’ll hang out. I want to see how this ends. What’s your strategy?”
“I need some. Maybe you can assist me, and by assist, I mean us not going to the police until we have something to take to them.”
“Understood. First thing we should do is look somewhere besides Vanessa.” He held up a palm as she opened her mouth to protest. “I’m all for considering your idea, but after we explore other options. Let’s take your things inside and go through the list of possible suspects, and study each person in detail, one by one. Aaron’s company has given me access to conduct background checks. Some pretty deep ones. I’ll log into the account and we can build from that and see what we come up with.”
“Oh Jack.” She rushed to him and threw her arms around his shoulders, embracing him before she realized her actions. Soft, warm palms skimmed across his chest as she backed away. Hands covered her mouth. She stared with a horrified expression. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
He nodded and swallowed. “Heat of the moment.” He walked to the rear of the jeep trying to shake the brief encounter, and failing miserably. “Raise the lift and I’ll unload your stuff. Then we’ll get started on our investigation.”
Katie stretched inside for her keys and pressed on the pad to unlatch the lock. Jack lifted the hatch and leaned inward to retrieve her bags. A dull gleam, embedded next to the wheel-well caught his attention.
“What the hell?” He crawled inside to get a closer look. He tugged to peel the carpet away, and jerked backward, landing on his butt. He stared at his discovery, holding in a monstrous gag.
“Is something wrong?” Katie appeared behind him, with a worried expression. He glanced at her before he returned to his find. “Jack? What is it?”
He motioned for her to come closer. Carefully, he separated the outer layer from the interior. “This,” he showed her.
Katie leaned further in. Her eyes grew bigger than the moon. The missing knife. “How did that—” She gasped. Her hands flew to her cheeks.
“Look at the amount of blood caked on the blade. I’m more sure this was the murder weapon. The question is; how did it get inside your car?”
Chapter 19
“I can’t believe this,” Katie mumbled, though she wasn’t sure she was coherent. She handed Jack a towel and garbage bag, and climbed into the jeep after she’d fetched the provisions from inside. “How did that get in here?” she asked for the hundredth time.
“No clue.” Jack shook into a shirt she’d brought him. He covered the knife with the cloth, and cautiously placed the blade into the plastic sack, careful to keep his fingers away from anything incriminating. “Do you have a spare key to your jeep?”
“At the loft.”
“You sure?” He glanced at her. “Someone’s been going in and out at will. Could’ve taken it.”
She touched her forehead, swiping a windblown lock of hair from her eyes. “You’re certain that’s what was used to kill Hazel?”
He threw a glance in her direction. “Unless you make a habit of hiding plasma coated knifes in your car.”
“I do carry spares for wedding cakes. You’d be surprised how many couples forget to buy one.”
“Oh, I don’t think I would be that shocked.” A worried frown spread across Jack’s face. “You don’t look so good.”
“Something a girl never tires of hearing, especially after the implication of her being a murderer just increased times a million.”
“I mean your skin is pale. Like you’re going to pass out.”
“I was about to tell you the same thing,” Katie gazed back at him. “You’re a little pasty, too.”
He hesitated, as if debating whether to speak again. “Blood and I don’t get along.”
“You and what?”
“The sight of blood makes me nauseous. Sometimes just the memory can turn my stomach inside out.” As if on cue, he paled, slapped a palm over his mouth to cover a gag reflex.
Katie fought back a gurgle of laughter. Even with the severity of the situation, she delighted in Jack’s humanness.
“Go ahead. Laugh.” He wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow before he continued to bind the plastic around towel multiple times. “You want to.”
“No, I don’t,” she denied, but couldn’t stop her smile from broadening.
“This is how I’m convinced you’re not a murderer. You’re a terrible liar.”
She laughed out loud. “To see you, a big, strapping guy brought down by a spec of dried blood is funny.”
“Happy to make your day.” He laid the covered weapon on the floorboard and brushed his hands.
Katie got control of her outburst and gave him a sad smile. “A flash of humor makes everything better. For a second, anyway.” She continued to gaze at Jack. “It’s like they’re watching me, anticipating my next move.”
“Didn’t you say someone followed you earlier?”
She nodded and drew her jacket closer, not so much from the cold, but because from the unknown exposure.
“You’re a pretty easy read these days. Anyone who is acquainted with you well enough, and understands how you work can track you with no trouble. Remember, I figured you were going to bolt.” He snapped a glare at her, as his mouth straightened. “Twice.”
“Sorry.” she said in a small voice.
He refocused his attention recovering the mat. “That knife is thick. I don’t see how we missed it. We practically slept right on top of the damn thing.”
“That edge is sharp. We’re lucky neither of us were cut, the way we…” Katie stopped, not sure how to go on or if she should. She stared at Jack. Her current problems faded away at the mention of the other night. Memories from their closeness revved Katie’s pulse into overdrive.
The corners of his mouth lifted as he gazed back at her. “I doubt either of us would have noticed if we’d been fatally stabbed.”
Neither tore their eyes away. The air turned thick. Reflections of those moments brought on a slew of sensations that crashed into the pit of Katie’s stomach. Excitement swirled throughout her body from the mere thought of Jack’s lips on hers. He discharged a noisy, unsteady breath. His expression revealed, those fiery seconds were on his mind, too.
A burst of frosty wind reeled through the opened jeep, cooling them instantly. A quiet rumble crackled from above. They glanced outside, surveying the sky. Black clouds shadowed a strong draft. Rainclouds revolved overhead and draped the atmosphere.
“Weather doesn’t look good,” Jack murmured huskily as he observed the gloomy vapors circling lower. “Why don’t you go inside before the storm hits?”
“What are you going to do?”
Only in a t-shirt and hair still damp, he scrubbed his palms over his bare arms. “Freeze my ass off while I do a thorough search. Make sure there are no more little surprises stowed away in here.”
“You’d think we’ve found everything.”
“The way things are going, I wouldn’t be shocked if a copy of Hazel’s will turns up—with you inheriting all she owns. That would for sure seal the deal in making you the prime suspect.”
“Do you want me to help?” She was climbing out of the vehicle as she posed the question. She needed to get away. This new evidence and his cynical suggestio
n didn’t alarm her as much as the two of them in such an enclosed space with fresh of memories floating around. “You may discover something else bloody and faint.”
“I’m fine.”
She pointed to one of the old barns and raised her voice above the roaring gusts. “I’ll wait in here, close by. Call me if you find anything else.”
Katie unlatched the bolt and shoved the wooden door ajar, using a larger rock to hold it open. The musty, scent of hay tickled her nostrils the minute she entered. She walked to the far end, finding a broken bale and sat down to contemplate. She should be deliberating the weapon, and the insinuations connected because the killer most likely put it there. Her thoughts remained on Jack instead, and how she ought to check her feelings, for good. He’d made his intensions clear. Even if he wavered a bit, she was sure he’d stick to his convictions in the end.
****
Jack watched Katie tread to the barn until she disappeared inside. This was crazy. He was here to help her. Bring her home, back to her family, and face the predicament ahead of her. Yet all he could think about getting her naked and follow his primal instincts. These reactions could stem from the unfinished encounter from the other night, and his need to complete their backseat tryst overpowered his common sense.
Or perhaps he’d just lost his mind. He preferred to believe his enamored disposition was due to his long stretch between carnal encounters, but that was no longer the case. He was beginning to feel something for Katie Drapier. Something indescribable. Confusing.
What bothered him more was his awareness of her sentiments for him. She may deny, but they experienced the same emotions and those feelings were growing stronger. If they stayed together much longer, who knew what would happen. Jack sighed and glanced in the barn’s direction. He knew.
Time to divert. Get her home, and then get her out of his life before he made a colossal, irreversible mistake.
He lifted his chin and stared out the car window. Lightning flashed, followed by piercing booms overhead. The storm was moving in quick. He should hurry.
Complete his search. Proceed to his next task.
****
Inside the barn, Katie removed her jacket. She lay back, pulling an old blanket over her legs, and enjoyed the course, flexible straw beneath her. For a brief instant, she allowed her problems and the man of her dreams to drift from her mind, and just appreciate the simplicity of how the hay felt underneath her.
Streaks of lightning flickered outside. Thunder rumbled. The shed dimmed, as the sky opened. Fat raindrops pounded the tin roof. A harsh wind shrieked through the cracks of warped boards. The door creaked, escaping her makeshift doorjamb, and banged against the building. Katie pushed to a sitting position, ready to dash into the rushing rain to readjust.
Jack hurried though the opening. His clothes, soaked from the downpour, and had glued to his body. All wet again. Amazingly sexy. He caught the door, and closed it behind him.
“Please tell me you didn’t find anything else.” Her gaze didn’t waver as he approached.
He lowered onto the hay next to her. Icy beads spewed as he shook the moisture from his hair. “Car’s clean.”
“What’s our next move? Go inside and do research?” A blast from overhead vibrated throughout the barn. “After the storm passes?”
Jack paused. He bit his bottom lip as if he were deliberating. “We need to leave. Go home.”
Katie groaned a huge sigh. “I thought we’d settled this whole thing earlier? I am not going anywhere until I have solid proof to turn in to the police showing I’m not Hazel’s killer.”
Jack pressed a thumb and forefinger into his closed eye sockets before he looked up “I don’t know how to put this, so I’m just going to say it. My reason for wanting to go has nothing to do with Hazel’s murder.” Katie had a retort ready, but before her mouth opened he turned to her. “I need to get away from you.”
His words struck her as if he’d pommelled her stomach with his fist. “You’re driving me crazy. If I stay around you much longer, I’m going to do things I shouldn’t. Like finish what we started the other night.” He sifted a hand through his wet hair again and rotated away. “I could care less about the killer right now. And that’s wrong. What’s even worse is, all I want to do is rip your clothes off and,” he stopped and turned back to her, pinning her with a spellbinding gaze. “You know what comes next.”
Tiny quivers summer-salted inside her chest. He wanted her. Except he wasn’t saying he liked her. Instincts told her he did, but she’d been wrong before.
She refused to be anyone’s fool again. Especially Jack’s. On the other hand, she sensed her imminent arrest was on the horizon, and the police might show up at any time. Perhaps she shouldn’t worry about his reasons and live for the moment.
“So why don’t you?” she asked in a soft voice, holding her arms out to her sides. “Rip away.”
He shook his head vigorously. “Katie, I can’t. We can’t.”
She moved closer and traced a finger over his dampened arm, spreading the drops across his skin. “Why not, Jack? I’m willing and your vow is stupid. We both want this.”
“I have no clue if I can fill your emotional needs afterward. I’m already fucked up. I won’t take advantage of your situation.”
“I’m aware, Jack. You need to also understand at this point that doesn’t matter.” Katie smiled slightly. “True, your life is a mess, but so is mine. I might go to prison. This may be my last chance, to,” she leaned nearer so her lips hovered below his, “you know.” She bravely brushed her mouth against his.
He didn’t blink. The instant fire in his eyes answered any reservations she may’ve had from her actions. He wrapped his arms around her and said hoarsely, “I would hate to be the one to squash your final opportunity to,” he smiled. “You know.”
Katie raised her chin, opening her mouth slightly. Jack pressed his lips into hers, savoring her wordless offer. A velvety moan escaped as her arms automatically glided across his shoulders. Mouths open, the kiss sizzled. Ravenous tongues interlaced, setting her insides on fire triggering her entire body to shout. Gently, he steered her into the hay’s softness, keeping the bond between their warming bodies joined. He lowered his weight on top of her.
He abruptly interrupted their kiss. “You’re sure about this?” he asked in a rough whisper.
She pressed her fingers deep into his shoulder-blades and dragged him to her. He found her lips again, pushing his body into hers. Her hands slipped round his biceps, flowing over his chest, loving the feel of him beneath her palms. He groaned, shoving his hips against her, thrusting a rock-hard erection into the softness between her thighs. She opened and raised her legs, attaching around his and squeezed. Another thick growl vibrated from his throat.
Slightly rising, he urged her shirt over her head. The bra quickly followed. The cool air tensed her nipples. Or maybe Jack’s hungry look was the culprit of her tightness. A hand slid across her bare skin. He stroked one breast then moved to the other, his mouth closed hungrily over her nipple. His tongue drew over the tip. She arched her back, squirming in delight with each caress. Heat amplified, spiraling and throbbed in the middle of her legs. A primitive moan ripped through her. His touch, even his kisses wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She needed more.
As if reading her thoughts, his fingertips skimmed over her, stopping at her waist to unsnap her jeans. He rolled away and quickly removed her pants and panties at the same time. Longing filled his gaze as he took her in. Normally, she would have experienced shyness from the look, but the only thing on her mind now was to get him naked too. She raised high enough to tug at the hem of his shirt.
He elevated his arms, allowing her to pull the wet garment over his head. The corners of his mouth turned up into a naughty grin as he lay down, giving her access to the top button of his pants. Katie didn’t think twice. Within seconds his jeans and underwear were tossed somewhere into the unknown.
She gazed at his naked
ness as a smile crawled across her lips. She’d been waiting for this for years. She should be nervous, but she wasn’t. With a hand, he took her wrist and steered her lie back. Fingers traced over her skin, finding their way to the middle of her thighs. She was moist and warm. Ready.
He kissed her gently as he stroked her, driving her to the threshold of recklessness, her interiors overflowing with demand. She reached for his penis. Rock-solid, it flinched at her touch. He moaned, forgetting the foreplay and lowered his body onto hers, easily gliding into her.
Their hips automatically moved in a slow rhythm. Katie gasped as he edged deeper inside. He clasped her mouth with his. She hugged him tighter as he rode her faster, harder, prompting her consciousness to waft. They swayed together back and forth, the movements, strong and smooth.
Sizzling sensations pulsed as she neared the point of ecstasy. Explosions burst. Her fingers dug into his skin. Her mind vacated as her body detonated, bracing into rigidness before she released a soft, but clear moan.
Jack beamed, brushing his lips over hers, pushing into her again. She flexed her inner muscles around him. He groaned. His strokes were slight at first, but within instants, escalated into heated friction. After only seconds, Katie’s body locked, clutching him to her. She muffled a shriek into his shoulder. Jack shuddered, and then toppled onto her.
Neither moved. Jack finally raised and smiled. “That was—wow.”
“Yeah,” she sighed.
“You’re okay?”
“Better than.” she yawned sleepily.
Jack spun off her, snatching the blanket wadded at her ankles, covering them both. “I think we’ll consider that our practice run for your last time.” He leaned over and kissed her temple, and grinned.
She raised her brows and smiled back at him. “Oh?”
“Yeah, we may have several more tries at this before we get to the finale.”
Chapter 20
“Wake up.”
Jack sighed with a smile, his eyes shut. “Gimme minute, babe,” he mumbled.