She stared at him, her brown eyes getting heavy with need.
“I can feel your heat from here.” He drew his finger along the edge of her panties.
She licked her lips.
He was going to lick her lips. Both her mouth and between her legs. All night long. “Tell me you want me, Tess.” He slid his finger under the elastic and touched her. Her heat made him groan.
She arched slightly against him. “I want you. I want to see you naked.”
He could feel her holding back. That arch had been instinctive, seeking; then she had pulled back. He slid his finger between her folds and along her seam. God, she was wet. So damned hot. He felt the nub, gently circled it. “Sweetheart, I’ll give you anything you want if you’ll just open your legs a little more.” He shifted her, pulling her back in the cradle of his left arm, using his hand to spread her thighs.
She tensed up.
He’d put her in a vulnerable position, so he spoke to her, wanting her to relax and trust him. “Lean back, let me hold you. I want to hold you against me while I touch you.”
She relaxed.
He looked at her face, using all his self-control. “Close your eyes. Just feel me touching you.”
She slid her eyes closed. Her mouth parted.
He tried not to think about her mouth. Just pleasuring her, getting her to trust him. Her clit was swelling, getting so wet his mouth went dry with his longing to taste her. He pressed his finger to her opening. He slid it inside of her, watching her face. Pleasure darkened her skin with a flush. He felt her hips rise.
But again she stilled them.
She didn’t want to let go.
Too bad. Ark had every intention of making her let go and come. Over and over. While he touched her, while he tongued her, and while he was thrusting deep inside of her. He needed to feel her coming apart under him. Wanted it as much as he wanted to bury himself in her and come.
What started out as pure lust had become something much more. Deeper. Women like Tess did not come along every day.
He took his hand out from under her dress and slid it under her knees. “Put your arms around my neck.”
She opened her eyes. “I can walk.”
“You can also trust me.” He stood up, heading to his room on the right side of the suite. Where he had a big bed and plenty of condoms. At the closed door, he stopped. Looked down into her face. She was watching him, probably thinking again. Probably realizing they really didn’t know each other that well. But they had a very real connection. “You are safe with me. You can trust me, Tess.”
Typically, she met his gaze directly. Her brown gaze locked on him. Then she said, “I believe you.”
It eased something tight in his chest to hear her say it. He smiled. “Then lean down and open the door, Tess.”
She proved she trusted him by reaching down and opening the door. Then she pulled back. “Ugh, what’s that smell?”
Ark’s muscles coiled. He stepped back and set Tess down. “Stay here.” He had a bad feeling. It wouldn’t be the first time someone, a fan or reporter, had broken into his room. Carefully, he reached to the wall and hit the light switch by the door.
The first thing he saw was the dead man on the floor at the foot of the bed. He was sprawled on his back with his pants at his ankles. His dick still had a bright pink erection enhancer ring around the base with a clitoral stimulator attached. Scattered on the floor were a few blue pills that appeared to be Viagra and Ark’s box of condoms. What the hell was going on?
“My God, it’s Fred!” Tess tried to get past him.
Ark grabbed her by the waist and hauled her into his arms. “Tess, he’s dead.” He had a hole in his forehead. A small gun, no doubt one with a silencer or the entire floor would have heard the shot. Ark wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest.
Then he realized what she had said. Fred. The tabloid journalist he and Tess had had a very public argument with a few hours ago. Tess had been with him and was now with Ark. Then Fred turns up murdered in his hotel room.
He was so screwed.
Four
Tess sat on the couch in Ark’s suite. The horror would not leave her. Fred was dead—murdered in Ark’s hotel room. It just didn’t make any sense. Tess answered all the detective’s questions and let them search her suitcase. They took her box of condoms. Other than embarrassment, she didn’t care. One of Ark’s lawyers had arrived and arranged for some kind of gun powder residue test for both Ark and Tess. They were clean.
The police had determined that Fred had been dead for more than two hours. He’d apparently been killed when she and Ark were at the restaurant. Ark’s credit card receipt showed the time they left, and the waitress from the restaurant had verified it. They were semicleared as suspects.
Giles was questioned, too. He’d brought Tess’s suitcase up to the suite. Fortunately, he’d had a woman, Ark’s publicist Maureen Michaels, with him, who vouched they’d only dropped off the suitcase. Maureen had come with Giles to deliver some head shots for Ark to sign. The suitcase and pictures were exactly where Giles and Maureen said they’d be.
“Doctor?”
Tess looked up. Maureen stood in front of her. She resembled a short, less attractive, Nicole Kidman in a camel-colored power suit. Her long red hair was swept up into a French twist. Maureen had been huddled with Ark, Giles, and the lawyer at the bar for the last hour or so, all of them using cell phones and looking very concerned and important. “Yes?”
“We’re getting Ark settled into another room for the night. I checked with the detective, and you are free to go home now.”
She turned and saw the hotel manager talking to Ark. She knew the only available room was the one she and Fred had been in. The police had already searched Fred’s room and found nothing. They wanted Ark’s suite sealed off at least until tomorrow. They still didn’t know how the killer had gotten into the room, but they must have had a keycard, or master card.
Ark rubbed the back of his neck and lifted his gaze to her.
It was time for her to leave. She was getting in Ark’s way, giving him one more thing to worry about.
She looked back at Maureen and stood up. “Thank you.” She headed toward her suitcase and purse by the door.
Ark met her there. “Tess, you’re not going home. You’re exhausted, and it might not be safe.”
She frowned and looked up at him. “Not safe?” Did he mean because she’d drunk wine earlier?
“We don’t know why Fred was killed. You were with him, so whoever killed him might be after you, too.”
The detective said from behind her, “He could be right, Dr. Collins. Why don’t you call a friend to stay with? I can escort you to your car, if you like.”
Maureen walked up to stand next to Ark and said to Tess, “I’ll call a friend for you, Doctor, if you’ll give me the number.”
Ark ignored both the detective and Maureen. “Tess, stay with me. I just need to know you’re safe. Please.”
She could call Josie and go to her house. Or Gwen’s or Nikki’s house, but she was tired. And sick, disappointed, sad . . . she’d been going to have mind-blowing sex with Ark. And it had come to a screeching end at Fred’s murder. Poor Fred. What was he doing in Ark’s room? God, she couldn’t get the picture of him out of her head.
Ark touched her shoulder. “Come on, the room is ready. Let’s go get some sleep.”
A half hour later, Tess was sitting on the bed, wearing her short red nightgown and surfing through the late night programs on TV. Her thoughts of sex had been replaced by murder. Over and over, she wondered the same thing—who killed Fred? Why?
Ark came out of the bathroom. She looked up. “Have you ever ...” She stopped talking, totally forgetting what she had been going to ask him. He wore only a pair of black boxers. She couldn’t help but stare at him. Muscular chest, flat rippling stomach ... she wanted to touch him.
His gaze was locked on her. She’d thought the moment for sex
was over. They were worn out, confused, and worried. But his hazel gaze was sizzling.
His boxers were growing in front.
He tossed the clothes in his hand in the direction of his suitcase and came toward her.
She slid off the bed, reached for the covers, and pulled them back. Her nerves were so tight she felt as though she might snap. The whole night was too much. She didn’t know how to handle Ark in bed with her—and with him sporting a growing hard-on. She wasn’t in control of herself.
Ark yanked back his side of the covers, his eyes still watching her. Then he got into the bed, slid down, and rested his head on the pillows.
She looked at him stretched out. And hard. Watching her. “Uhh, do you want to watch TV?”
His face was tight. “Turn it off and come here, Tess.”
She picked up the remote, clicked off the TV, and set it back down. Then she sat down on the cool sheets and lay on her back.
Ark wasted no time. He rolled to his side, put his arms around her, and pulled her to him, nudging her face into his chest. He smelled like soap and steam. The contact of his skin pressed up against her, his arms around her, eased her a bit.
Into her hair, he said, “Are you okay?”
She could feel his hard-on pressing into her thighs, but he acted more concerned about how she was. “Yes. But I don’t understand how Fred ended up murdered. What was he doing in your room?”
Ark sighed. “Looking for dirt on me, most likely. Maybe planting something. Obviously he wasn’t alone.”
“What was that ... thing ... on Fred?” Tess was curious. Who would leave him like that? Kill him, then leave him exposed to the world? Her training challenged her to understand.
“It was an erection enhancer with a clitoral stimulator attached to it. The enhancer goes around the base of his cock to hold in the blood, to get bigger and stay hard longer. Judging by the Viagra pills, Fred must have had a problem. The clitoral stimulator on the cock ring is to help a woman come to an orgasm while he’s thrusting into her.”
Well, she had asked. But she wasn’t really embarrassed. Not with Ark holding her and answering her without judgment. “I didn’t know they made stuff like that.”
“It’s for lazy men, sugar,” he said softly. Then he reached down and pulled her face up to look at her. “We don’t have any condoms. The police collected all mine as evidence and took the ones from your suitcase with your permission.”
She could still feel his erection pressing into her. “It’s not important.” Not now, not with all that had happened.
His gaze stayed on her. “What’s important is that you know how much I want to be inside of you. I want it all, Tess. I want to wait until we have condoms, and we aren’t both wrung out from the shock of finding a body.”
She smiled. “Afraid I’m going to attack you, Hollywood?”
He blinked at the nickname, then recovered. After kissing her softly, he pulled her back against his body. “Sweetheart, you have no idea what you are doing to me. I can’t believe it, it’s not like I’ve been hiding my erection. I’d give you anything you wanted just to feel you touch me.”
Was that what he wanted? Just to get off?
“But I want to wait, Tess. The first time I come with you, I want it to be while I’m deep inside of you.” He brushed his hand over her hair. “I want it all,” he repeated softly.
His words touched her. Something warm and scary took root and blossomed in her chest. She didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to sleep with Ark. Just lie here and be safe with him for a few hours.
Ark held a cup of coffee and watched the breaking news on a morning show. “Ark Underwood, NASCAR star, linked with the Sex Toy Murder of a tabloid reporter who was found in the racer’s hotel room last night. Police aren’t releasing any more information, but an unnamed source says there’s a connection to sex shops that Ark Underwood allegedly frequents. We’re going live to the Fontana Speedway to get a comment.”
“It’s going to get worse, Ark.”
He turned to look at Maureen. She’d arrived with the newspapers right before Tess got into the shower, her face tight with worry. He knew Maureen was convinced his career hung by a fraying thread. She was coordinating contact with his sponsors, the media, and various others, doing her best to control the damage. “It’ll play out, Maureen. After a few days, and once the police find the killer, we’ll be okay.”
“Did you see the newspaper headline?” She picked up the closest one and read, “Ark Underwood Connected to Sex Toy Murder.” She looked up at him. “Who leaked that little tidbit to the press?”
Ark set his coffee down. “Tess was here with me.”
She shook her head. “I’m not accusing her. Could have been any of the cops, the hotel manager, anyone who wanted their five seconds of fame.” She tossed the paper down and went to pour herself some coffee. “My point is that Tess being here is making it worse for you. And she’s going to get smeared with the same brush the press is going to paint over you.”
Ark winced at that. It was true. The press loved to portray him as the bad boy—what would they do to Tess? He knew what he had to do. Get her away from him. But he wanted her close by. He wanted her, period. More than once, more than as just a one-night stand.
“Ark, she checked into the hotel with Fred. Then the three of you had a very public fight. Then when she’s with you, you find Fred murdered in your hotel room.”
He grit his teeth. She was like a bulldog once she latched on to something. “I get it, Maureen.”
She looked at him. “I’m just doing my job, Ark.” Then she took her coffee and left.
Tess came out of the bathroom. She’d been in the shower for a long time. He turned and felt a lump in his chest. She wore a short white skirt that revealed her long tanned legs right down to her sandals, and a red sleeveless top that left her smooth arms bare. Her hair was wet and sleek with just a hint of the waves that would form as it dried. Her face appeared tired and worried.
He wanted her more than he had last night.
But he had to do the right thing. It wasn’t only his career; it was all the people who counted on him for a job. And the sponsors who invested in him. Everyone.
He resisted the urge to go to her, to take her in his arms. Instead, he asked, “Do you want some coffee?”
Her gaze shifted to the TV, then back to him. “How bad is it?”
It was better to just get this over with. “Tess, it’s bad. The press and media will drag you into this if I let them. I’m not going to let them.” He refused to look away. She would understand. “It will be better for everyone if you go stay with a friend. And stay away from the media.”
The shower-induced color faded from her face. She nodded and went to her suitcase. She dropped in her nightgown and panties, along with her bag of toiletries. She lifted her head and looked around the room. Then she shut and zipped her suitcase.
He watched her. She did understand, didn’t she? She looked ... upset. “Tess, where are you going? You’re not going to stay at your house, right?”
She lifted her suitcase from the bed to the floor and faced him. “No. I’m going to my friend, Josie’s. I’ll be fine. Go on and good luck qualifying today.”
God, she was so beautiful with honest brown eyes, a mouth he wanted to kiss forever, and a will of iron. The whole thing about her not experiencing passion was bullshit. But Tess controlled herself. He could see the effort in her taut slender neck and the clench of her jaw.
As if she was trying not to cry. Like she had cried all those years ago when his father had held her. And her father had yelled at her. Ark had not forgotten, had never forgotten. Tess’s mother had flitted around worrying about Tess getting his dad’s clothes wet and ruining the shoot. His father had been disgusted with both her parents.
But this wasn’t about a little girl getting hurt. He just needed to make Tess understand that he was trying to protect her, too. “Doc.” He softened his voice, trying
to get his own frustration at the entire situation under control. He felt as though he’d been handed a gift with Tess, and now it was being snatched away. And he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
She looked directly at him. “Ark, I understand. I saw the paper; I heard the news. I checked into the hotel with Fred. The three of us had a fight in public. Then I was with you in your hotel room late at night when we found Fred dead. It’s all in the police record now. I get it. With some luck, the media will never find out I stayed here last night. And I’ll be perfectly safe where I’m going. You just concentrate when you are driving. You have to concentrate; you can’t think about the murder when you are on the track.”
The knot moved up to his throat. She was worried about him. Shit. “It’s just until this mess calms down.”
She smiled a sad smile. “You just worry about your driving.” She picked up her suitcase and her purse.
Ark went to stop her, to make sure she knew he wanted to see her again, when a hard knock sounded on the door.
He changed direction, went to the door, and opened it.
Giles walked in. “Get a move on, Hollywood. Time to roll.” He saw Tess. “Hi, Tess.”
She walked past them. “Hi, Giles, good luck qualifying today.” Standing in the hallway, on the other side of Giles, she looked at Ark. “Be careful, Ark. Bye.” Then she turned and left.
He couldn’t let her go like that. He started after her.
Giles put a hand on his shoulder. “Hasn’t she been through enough, Ark? Call down to the manager and get someone to make sure she gets to her car okay. The media is swarming.”
It took every ounce of self-control not to shove Giles out of his way and go after her.
Five
After two days of being a virtual prisoner in Josie’s house, Tess had had enough. The media had found her at work on Friday after she left Ark at the hotel, then followed her to Josie’s house. But enough was enough. She insisted on going to the store while Josie waited for Nikki and Gwen to arrive; then they would all watch the NASCAR race.
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