Besides, he had more important things to do. And waiting for the right moment to begin was sending what little patience he had into overload.
Two weeks after he’d knocked Justine to the floor in the courtroom to keep her defendant from shooting her, he’d met her parents. They were like he remembered his parents being, like what he thought his parents would have been had they not died. They had welcomed him into their home, the home where Justine had grown up. It had been a huge family dinner with her brothers and their families. He’d been so nervous he could hardly eat.
Justine had called him out on his nervousness.
Her mother, Abby, had hugged him.
Her seventeen year old brother, Avery, had threatened him with bodily harm if he broke Justine’s heart.
Her father, Roger, had thanked him for saving Justine’s life and called him ‘son’.
As the flashes of these memories passed through his mind, Dan knew calling Justine’s parents would be too cold, too heartless. They were his family and had been since the moment he’d first stepped into their home. He had to go do it in person.
“Dan?”
Steve drew his attention.
Dan looked at him, and did his best to keep his fear from reaching his expression. “What?”
“We combined your description of the suspect with that of Dorie’s and the other witnesses inside the store. We came up with this.” Steve held up a composite drawing.
Dan looked at it closely. “Yes, that’s him,” he said, even though he knew what was beneath the disguise and knew the composite meant nothing. “Or at least that was him. Hard telling what he looks like without the beard.”
“It’s going into the computer right now as we speak to find a match.”
He sounded more positive than Dan felt.
The darkness was coming alive with sounds of the cops searching the campground for clues and technicians working on the van, the sounds of insects, the sounds of cars passing by on the nearby highway. Dan concentrated on the sounds of normal reality and took a deep breath, never feeling so helpless before in his life. He couldn’t fight the shiver that moved through him. He hoped none of his actions appeared out of character or unnatural. Dan didn’t need a computer to find a match for the face that was drawn. Dan knew who he was. He knew how psychotic the bastard could be. He wished with all his being that Justine never had to be pulled into the nightmare of Dan’s past, but now she was, and he couldn’t change it. He could only hold on to the idea that hopefully he could make things right. He couldn’t wait much longer. Waiting meant leaving Jus in the hands of his old partner.
For the six years Dan had thought he kept Justine from reaching that part inside him that had been torn to shreds when Adam was killed. He’d also kept her safe from his dark past, that part of himself he refused to let anyone near ever again.
Now he knew he hadn’t succeeded. Not only was she caught in the dangerous grip of his haunted past, but his fear for her easily tore open those old wounds he thought were healed.
“Do you think she’s cold?” Dan quietly asked Steve.
“We’re going to find her,” Steve said.
Dan noticed Steve didn’t answer the question, but he let it go. “I know,” Dan replied softly. He said no more. He knew she’d be found. He thought he even knew where to find her, but he couldn’t share that with Steve. It was how she might be found that scared him. Hurt? Dead?
The thought made him shudder inside, and he hoped he managed to keep it well hidden. Behind him, he heard the muffled voices of other investigators. They were all guys he worked with on a daily basis. Now he felt like an outsider. He didn’t concentrate on the words. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t detach himself and feel like the cop he thought he was. Instead he looked out over the trees and remembered being at that same campground nearly six years before.
Chapter 11
Almost Five Years Ago
“How do you feel?” Dan asked.
He looked at Justine and took in the way she glowed. As if she’d somehow captured the rays of the sun. Her dark eyes sparkled with golden radiance. Her dark hair reflected rays of red, like shimmers of fire set by sunlight.
Beneath her tan, her shoulders were tinged with pink.
“Fine, why?” she asked.
“I think you got a bit of a burn. We shouldn’t have stayed so long on the lake.”
She smiled. How he loved her smile. “Oh, I’ll be fine. Besides, the lake was wonderful. It was so perfect. This little over-night vacation was just what we needed. It was just enough to forget about work for a while.”
He took her hand, and for the tenth time fought the urge to tell her the true reason for asking her on this little canoe trip. They had remained friends and had been taking it slow for a long time now—despite the fact he had time and again attempted to push his way closer. He was tired of taking it slow. He was tired of pretending to feel something that wasn’t quite right. He only hoped now he wasn’t making a mistake.
He wanted her. All the time. Out on the lake, watching the fluid movements of her shoulders as she paddled the canoe on the seat ahead of him had been enough to send him into the cool water of the lake twice, using the hot sun as his excuse. The heat within him had nothing to do with the weather. It all came from her sleek, little body covered with only inches of material thanks to a two-piece swimsuit.
He could only guess Justine’s true feelings. True, she talked to him a lot. He was certain she told him more than she ever told anyone else. And was that desire he saw in her gaze, in her entire expression when she looked at him? He thought it was, he was certain it was. Another thing he knew for certain was that she didn’t send this look to any other man when she looked at him.
What confused him, however, was the way she was able to hide her feelings from a jury. So just how easily could she do the same with him? Most of the time, all he had to do was lose himself in the darkness of her eyes, and he saw that her feelings matched his own.
Neither of them had said the word ‘love’ or anything in regard to a commitment, but he wondered what the reaction would be.
It hadn’t been easy, but for the short time they’d been together, he’d held back, doing all but tearing himself away from her ‘friendly’ kisses or touches. He wanted her heart before he had her body. Not that he wouldn’t take what was offered to him. He was still a man. Yet, he wanted the entire package, and he was tired of waiting for it.
She had to know this was more than just a ‘date’, or a night out having fun, more than just a canoe trip. Surely, she realized it was a turning point in their relationship. There would be no simple kiss and him walking away, leaving her on her doorstep, unless he planned to sleep out on the picnic table. No, he didn’t plan on that. They were sharing a small tent together.
It was true, he had to admit, friends could share a tent.
He took in Justine’s sweet, curvy body that was tucked nicely into her bikini. Then he looked at the small two-person tent. His heart skipped. There was no way in hell he could share that tent with her and remain ‘just friends,’ nor could he lie close to her and not touch her. No, when the sun came up in the morning, he was certain either she would be his forever, or she would never be his at all.
“We should have done some fishing while we were out there,” Dan said. “We could have caught supper.”
“I’ve got hamburger in the cooler. How about cheeseburgers?” Justine asked. “After we shower and get cleaned up, we could make them over the open campfire in the grill cage. I love them that way.” Her eyes sparkled with a fire all their own.
“That sounds perfect,” he replied. She could ask him to walk through the campfire, and he didn’t think he would feel as hot as he felt now.
They each took a shower in the main rest rooms near the entrance to the campground. When she came out of the women’s room, his first thought was that he needed a colder shower.
Her freshly washed hair shined like dark fire. Her
fine skin was a mixture of pink and gold and bronze from the sunshine. She wore short cutoffs and a large, loose T-shirt.
She took his hand. Hers was warm, almost too warm. But he couldn’t have let her go if his life depended on it.
When they returned to their campsite, the two of them made cheeseburgers. Everything Dan did, from helping with the burgers to getting some lemonade to drink and bringing out a few snacks and chips, was done in autopilot. No matter how hard he tried to shake the thought, all he could think about was the fact that each passing moment brought them closer to being together in that small tent.
“You’ve got something on your mind and don’t deny it,” Justine said when they were finished and dusk was settling in around them, bringing with it the many sounds of chirping insects and other campers and campfires. Someone nearby strummed a guitar.
“Okay, I won’t,” he said. “Would you like some coffee?” He wondered how she could read him so easily.
“No, I want to know what you’ve got on your mind.”
Dan ignored her slightly as he took his time pouring himself a cup. Not that he really wanted any. He wasn’t even sure why he was stalling, he just was. Not to mention, he was already hot. Coffee was the last thing he needed.
Near the fire, he sat down on a log, and held his cup of coffee, never drinking a drop.
The log was big enough for both of them, and Justine sat down beside him a second later. The falling night settled over them like a blanket, spotted with stars twinkled like diamonds. She leaned over and put her head against his shoulder. “Tell me what’s up with you, Officer Franklin. Or do I have to guess?”
“Jus,” Dan started. He hated feeling uncertain. Uncertainty in his job led to disaster. He stared at the small fire, feeling its heat, although it wasn’t quite as warm as Justine. “I love you,” he said quickly.
There was no other way for him to be but direct.
For a long time, Justine was completely still.
“Don’t you have anything to say to that?” he finally had to ask her. He hadn’t expected her to reply that she loved him too, but it would have been a nice reaction. It was the fact that she’d said nothing that worried him.
“Are you just telling me this because in a bit we’ll be squeezing into that little tent?” she asked.
Squeezing was not the word he needed to hear her utter just then.
“No…yes…it doesn’t matter. It’s true either way. And I know this sort of throws your idea of just being friends out the window,” he said.
“I know,” Justine replied quietly. Her head was still against his shoulder, and she stared at the fire.
“If we share that tent, everything about us, about our relationship right now, will change. We won’t be able to go back to just being friends. I’ll still be a cop, and I know how you feel about it but that won’t change. That will never change,” he said. He was babbling. This was not going how he planned it.
“I know,” she said again.
“The truth is I don’t think I can ever go back to just being friends.”
“I know,” she said a third time.
Dan wished he knew what she was thinking. For a while, they were quiet. Only the sounds of nature and the crackle of the fire and the muffled sounds of other campers reached them.
“Not only that, but after we share the tent, I know what we do in that tent will happen again and again because it’s what I want. So if you don’t want that, then we need to walk away right now.”
When Justine said nothing, Dan asked, “Would you please tell me what you’re thinking?” This waiting and wondering was worse than any stake-out he’d had to endure.
“I love you, too,” she said softly.
His heart pounded at hearing the words, and he nearly let out a sigh of relief. Did that mean, yes she wanted to share the tent with him and all that came with it?
“And I knew from the very beginning we could never just be friends,” Justine went on.
“You did, huh?” he asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“So why didn’t you ever say anything?” he asked.
She shrugged slightly. “I guess I was afraid that I wanted to be more than friends, but you didn’t. I didn’t need my heart broken.”
He grinned and turned to look at her. “I guess I felt the same way. Do you have any regrets?”
“About loving you? No.”
“Good.”
“Do you?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“You do?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
That made her smile.
He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. This wasn’t as he’d planned it, and yet it felt so right, so real. With the sounds of nature all around them as their music, the dark sky filling with stars, their big blanket, the fire, their candlelight, Dan realized he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
He felt breathless and heady, but knew what he was doing was so right. He pulled her into his arms and the warmth of her affected him like no other heat ever could.
She’d been made to fit him like the flawless piece of a puzzle. And she filled him with a sense of completeness he hadn’t until that moment known he needed. She had some time ago become his life. She shared his heart. One thing he realized was how the night was more than just a turning point for their relationship. It was a turning point for his life. He felt like a man who could have his cake and eat it, too.
“There can’t be any regrets,” he said.
“I won’t have any. Do you want me as much?”
Dan would have laughed then, but he was afraid she’d think he was choking. It took nearly all his strength not to drag her into that small tent right then and show her how much he wanted her. “Oh, yes, can’t you tell?” he replied, thinking he still sounded as if he were choking.
When he’d always dreamed of touching her, of making love to her, of feeling her skin against his skin, he always thought of lots of romance with candles and a big bed, soft cool sheets and music. Yet, he had everything he needed there in that tent.
She leaned up and kissed him. This kiss was not her usual quick, brotherly touch of lips like in the past.
It was hot and wild and wanting.
It left his heart pounding. It set his soul on fire.
With her hand in his, he led her to the tent where piece by piece, their clothing came off. As he laid her back on all the bedding in the small space, he felt everything in the darkness—her body, her warmth, her need, her touch. And it was perfect, as if she’d been made for him, only him.
One kiss melted into the next.
She tasted of Justine, all woman, all desirable, familiar and exciting at the same time.
“Dan…” she moaned softly between his kisses.
“Hmmm?” he let out as he moved to taste her breast.
Delicious.
She gasped at the touch of his tongue.
He took her nipple completely in his mouth, and she nearly came off the sleeping bag.
“Dan, wait…”
He met her gaze through the darkness.
“You said no regrets,” he reminded her.
“I do have one,” she was forced to admit.
Was it his imagination, or was she avoiding looking at him. Now was not the time to hear about any regrets. He needed her. He was ready for her, hard as a rock ready. Her heat beckoned him, how could she ask him to stop now?
“What?” he forced out, thinking all he had to do was nudge her legs apart and he could be inside her and they could stop all this useless talk.
“I’ve never done this before.”
He stared at her for a long moment, wanting her so much he hurt. He forced in a few much-needed breaths, holding himself above her, feeling her softness beneath him. He licked his suddenly dry lips. “Never?” he asked.
“Class was so much more important in college, making the grades I needed to keep my scholarship, and to tell the truth
, I just never met anyone I felt worthy…” she tried to explain.
He blinked once, twice. “And I’m worthy?” he had to ask.
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.
He brought his lips back to hers.
When he moved his kiss to her throat, she asked, “You’re not angry?”
He leaned up to look at her again. “Angry? Angry that you saved it for me? Hell, no. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
She was warm and soft. And he was pretty certain neither of them were disappointed. He held her all night and listened to her breathing.
After hours of making love, with her still in his arms, he saw the soft light of a new morning outside of the tent. It was more than just a new day. For him, he felt as if he’s stepped into a new life. He looked down at the beauty of the woman sleeping against him. He wanted her again, even more than before. And he couldn’t believe the strength of the building passion searing through him. Without hesitation, he leaned over and kissed her awake.
They lay quietly, listening to the sounds of the morning as the rest of the world woke.
“You didn’t disappoint me,” she whispered.
“You didn’t disappoint me, either,” he said gruffly. “Jus?”
“Yes?”
“Marry me,” he said softly in her ear.
“Okay,” she replied without hesitation.
He fought the urge to hoop and holler with joy. He felt as if he’d really stepped into a new life. He looked down at the woman in his arms.
He sealed this promise with a kiss.
“Please tell me you love me again,” she said, with an urgency he’d never before heard.
“I love you.”
“I’ll never grow tired of hearing that.”
“I’ll never grow tired of saying it.”
“You look like the cat that just swallowed the canary,” she noted.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he replied. “We can share everything. We can wake up together every morning. We can talk and love and build our dreams. I can hold you all night long and we can do it for the rest of our lives.” Dan stopped, and gave into the sudden urge to laugh.
“What?”
A Twist of Betrayal Page 9