“You and I grew up near each other. We lived in the same town, Essex. Went to the same school, Eaton Marsh. I recognized you immediately when I saw you at the magazine.”
She looked at him quizzically. “That can’t be. Maybe you just thought you knew me, it may have been someone else....”
He bristled. “No, Raine—I’m not mistaking you for someone else. Is it so hard to believe I went to Eaton? I may not have been one of the upper crust, but my parents worked hard to send me to that school. They own the Arbor Inn—perhaps you know it?” He saw the recognition dawn, and continued. “I was there with you, whether you find that believable or not.”
Raine blinked. She had offended him, and hadn’t meant to. She just found this so hard to process, and wondered why he had kept such a thing to himself.
“But why didn’t you say something? When I thought I recognized you in the office, you said we had never met before....”
“We never did. Not really.” He looked her in the eye now, and felt more than a little uncomfortable. He grimaced, and kicked at the rug with his toe.
“I had a crush on you, but you were way out of my reach. I tried to talk to you once, but you didn’t say anything back. I figured you thought I was not exactly your type.”
“And what did you think my type was?” she whispered. She hadn’t had a type back then. She hadn’t had anything.
“Someone with a lot more money and position than me. It was intimidating as hell.”
Raine stood back, still shocked. He had known her? He had known her all this time, and had never said anything? And he had liked her? Had a crush? On her? Had been intimidated by her? That was ridiculous! She thought he must be joking, and it showed in her face. As she fought to come up with words, he read meaning into her silence that wasn’t there. She stared at him, and started to speak, but he interrupted, sounding defensive and even a little hurt.
“I should have said something about it sooner, I know. But obviously you don’t remember me at all. No problem. I knew that. Why would you have? Even at the office, for months, you would look at me and it was like I wasn’t even there. Let’s just chalk it up.”
He went back to finish putting the groceries away, and she stood for a moment, sorting it all out, then strode over to him, taking his elbow and tugging him back around to face her.
“Jack, I’m just surprised, that’s all. You have always seemed a little familiar to me, so that’s why.”
She stepped in front of him, looking up into his face. The lights played softly in his russet hair, but his jaw was tense. She discovered that she didn’t like it, the loss of connection with him, and she wanted to get it back. She lifted her hand to his cheek, stroked him with the back of her fingers, and spoke gently.
“I wish I remembered. I’m sorry. I was so alone and screwed up back then.... I knew the other students didn’t like me, that they thought I was strange—and I didn’t know how to make them like me. It was hard, I didn’t fit in anywhere. I didn’t belong at home, I certainly didn’t belong at Eaton. If you spoke to me, I wouldn’t have even known how to respond. If I didn’t see you, it wasn’t because of who you were, it was because of who I was.”
She smiled slightly. “As for the office, I was so busy thinking of Rider, I wasn’t paying attention to any other men. No one seemed to be able to measure up to him—and you were so pissy all the time. I figured you found me annoying.”
He smiled a little. “I did.”
She stared at him, and laughed. “You had a crush on me? An actual crush?”
He absorbed her words—he hadn’t been seriously offended, just slightly peeved, and quickly melted when her hand touched his face. He turned his mouth into her palm, covered her hand with his and pressed her soft skin to his lips.
When he smiled at her, she felt everything lighten.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep for thinking about you. You were so untouchably beautiful. You are beautiful…even more now than then. I guess I still have a crush on you.”
She smiled, and loved how the world zoomed down to the two of them. It all made her feel daring, and so she spoke her heart.
“Yeah? Show me.” She moved closer to him, looked into his eyes fearlessly. “I can see you pretty clearly now. I like what I see.”
His eyes sparkled with heat. She lost her breath in one whoosh when he grabbed her and pulled her flush against him. His mouth came down on hers in a branding kiss, a meeting of the lips meant to claim her and be claimed by her.
He wound his hands in her hair, tugging her head back and urging her to open for him even more as he tenderly explored every sweet curve and crevice of her mouth. She strained against him, moaning into his mouth, dragging her tongue across his teeth, tickling the roof of his mouth. He didn’t take his lips completely away from hers when he spoke, his voice guttural and full of undisguised need.
“Come to bed with me, Rainey.”
Her breath came in short gasps and she could only nod, letting him lead her from the kitchen, but they stopped in the hallway. Unable to wait, he pushed her up against the wall, finding her mouth again. Tearing at each other’s clothes, then underwear, they stood naked in the entry hall, hands and mouths all over each other. Raine caught their reflection in the hallway mirror on the wall across from them and laughed breathlessly.
“We’re never going to make it up to the bedroom, are we?”
Effortlessly, he lifted her, thrilling in the feel of her skin against his, and started up the stairs. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, snaking her arms around his neck as they climbed the narrow stairwell.
He smiled, and squeezed her to him, walking down the hallway past her room to his. Nudging the door open with his foot, he carried her in, and stood for a moment, holding her by the bed. The room was lit by a small lamp on the dresser, but even in the low light she could see the emotion in his face, and it overwhelmed her. He spoke, nuzzling her cheek, his face close to hers.
“This time is special, Rainey. I want you in my bed. I want to be able to roll over at night and touch you, to catch your scent off the pillow, hear you breathing. I want to make love to you in every way I possibly can.”
He set her gently down on the huge bed, and stood looking at her, risking more of his heart than she could imagine.
“I need to know you want that, too. That you want to be with me like that, as well. And not just for tonight.” He could barely keep his feelings for her from spilling over; it was time to risk it all. She extended her hand to him, her answer in her eyes. He smiled, relief and lust coursing through his body, chased along by something deeper. Lowering himself to the bed, he took her in his arms and held her—just held her—for a moment, as if she were the most precious thing on earth.
Raine listened to the drum of his heartbeat under her cheek, her body tense with anticipation, but easing as he held her, his breath fanning her cheek, his foot moving slowly up and down her calf. She was stunned to notice how even those parts of them, the curve of his instep along her leg, fit so perfectly. She’d never been held before, not like this—so close and so long that it was a source of pleasure unto itself. She slipped her arms around him, too, reveling in the sensation of closeness she had had so little of in her life. It was addictive.
Their bodies warmed, and his hands stroked the curve of her back and hip, his fingers moving lightly down her thigh, then back again. She answered his call, raining small kisses along his collarbone and fluttering her hand lightly over his back. With every touch he cherished her, and she basked in it. Once again, she felt what it was like to truly connect with someone, and the emotion made her giddy with desire. The fingers that lightly teased her skin began leaving trails of fire behind, and her nipples beaded against his chest in response.
Still on his side, holding her close, he reached down, lifting her leg up over his hip, opening her to a fuller exploration. When his hand found its way between her legs, seeking her through the damp, hot folds of skin, she moa
ned, and brought her mouth to his, sighing as she surrendered to his touches.
She let her body follow his lead, let herself be carried away on a wave of sensation that peaked when he slid a finger into her, and flicked her to a quick, soft climax that only increased her need for something more intense. Eyes dazed with passion, she looked up into his. He stared at her with such need, and such emotion, she thought she wouldn’t be able to breathe.
Moving a finger across his lips, she teased her fingers across his chest, experimentally pinching a nipple, heard him gasp, and was encouraged to continue. His fingers played with her sex absently, stroking her and creating wonderful sensations that urged her on.
Snaking her hands lower, she wrapped her fingers around his velvety, hard penis and stroked lightly, down to the base, then back. When she reached down a little farther, running her nails lightly over his balls, he groaned and removed his hand from her, pushing her back onto the mattress, and slid down her body, burying his face between her legs. She writhed on the bed as he brought her to the edge and left her there, tortured with wanting him.
“Jack…make me come…please…”
With a growl, and a promise to himself that he would stay in control for as long as he needed to, regardless of the fact that his body was taut as a wire, he brought himself up over her and slid the entire hard length of himself into her. Leaning down close to her, he kissed her deeply, rubbing his cheek, slick from her sex, over her face, and then licked it from her cheek with hungry kisses. His voice was hot and commanding next to her ear.
“Oh, you will come, Rainey. Hard and long…and with me inside you....”
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the panic and doubt starting to rise. The expectation chilled her. “I…I can’t…you know…”
He brought his hands up to her breasts, kneaded them, pinching the nipples sharply, causing just enough pain to draw her attention away from her negative thoughts.
“Look at me, Raine.”
She opened her eyes and he kissed her, staring into her eyes, hypnotizing her. He weighted her down almost flat to the mattress, his legs spread out flat as he lay between hers, and moved up, pushing himself into her in such a way that his hard pelvic bone pushed insistently against her swollen sex. His voice was rough, the effort of holding himself back warring with the powerful urge to let go and drive himself to completion.
“Focus on how it feels, Raine.... Feel me, every bit of me filling every bit of you....”
Opening her legs wide, letting them fall to each side, almost flush to the mattress, she rocked back against him and moaned, learning quickly how to maneuver in this position that touched all the parts of her she needed touched at once.
He said sweet, hot things to her, his voice becoming her world. He didn’t allow her thoughts to slip even for a second to any other subject but the two of them bound together. She kissed him deeply, her eyes never moving away from his as he cradled her head in his hands, thrusting into her in deep, sure movements that maintained the pressure in all the right spots.
She began to feel a sweet pressure that she wanted to let build, yet wanted to release as well, and she moaned, begging him to help her.
His breath was ragged, and she felt him swelling even larger inside her, knowing he was close to climaxing, and the knowledge pushed her even higher. He was beyond words now, murmuring unintelligible sounds. He buried his face in her neck, his hands wound in her hair so tight it should have hurt, but it didn’t. Tensing, he rocked into her harder, faster. She cried out when the burst of heat exploded from her loins and spread down her legs, curling up her back and twisting through her with the most wonderful sense of pleasure she had ever known. She pushed back against him fast and hard, seeking every last drop of it.
Jack moaned when he felt her contracting around him, felt her hot, wet muscles shudder and clench, and he buried himself in her as deep as he could, letting her climax take him the rest of the way. He came furiously, chanting her name, his body unable to stop thrusting even after the orgasm passed, he laid on her, quivering with the sheer intensity of it.
She was slack and panting beneath him, and he waited a few moments before rolling to the side, knowing he must be heavy, but smiling when she whimpered an objection as his softening cock slipped from her body.
He gathered her close to him, kissing her hair and yanking the blankets up to fend off the chill of the room on their hot skin. It was dark now, and the room was quiet except for the sounds of their gradually calming breathing. Kissing her hair, and feeling her curled up close against him, Jack took the reckless leap into love.
14
LIFE WAS GETTING more complex, but she didn’t have too much time to sit around and think about it. After making love, they’d gotten back up, dressed quietly, touching and murmuring as lovers do as they walked back down to the kitchen. They got some wine and went to the office. It wasn’t the most romantic follow-up to an evening of passion, but it had to be done. The trap had to be set.
Raine’s hands were cold as she sat in front of the laptop trying to ignore the words on the screen. She hit the reply button and sat staring, then looked at Jack.
After a few moments she focused on the screen and typed experimentally:
We know you work at the magazine. It’s only a matter of time before we find out exactly who you are. If you agree to meet me, and tell me why you have done what you did, and make things right, I might not report you to the police. If you don’t meet me, I will absolutely report you as soon as we track your identity. This is not a bluff—we have proof that some of your emails were sent from computers in the magazine’s offices. At the very least, we will inform the magazine of recent activities, and advise them to launch an inside investigation. Make it easy on yourself, and meet me at the Main Street Coffee Shop at one, tomorrow. RC
Jack nodded—that should get his shorts in a twist—but looking at the words on the screen, he felt a sudden flash of trepidation and wondered if this was such a smart idea. She hit the send button before he could say anything else, and heaved a sigh.
“Well, I guess now we just wait and see what happens tomorrow. Maybe he isn’t even checking email.”
Jack rubbed her shoulders through the soft material of her sweatshirt.
“Let’s hope he takes the bait.”
She nodded and looked at him. “I want to wait for him—alone.”
“No.” He squeezed her shoulders once and walked to the other side of the office. She spun the chair around, aggravated at the tone of his voice, and her own cooled.
“Listen, he may be watching before he comes in. He may sense it’s a trap. If he sees me there, he will be more inclined to think it’s not a setup. And you can still follow him, get a picture, proof—”
“Raine, the plan stays the way it is. This guy is plainly dangerous. You don’t want to meet him face-to-face. Anything could happen, too quickly for anyone to help.”
“It’s a busy coffee shop. There are lots of people there all the time, nothing can happen—”
“No, I can’t let you do it.”
She frosted over and looked at him, arching one eyebrow in a way that had him shaking his head and muttering to himself as he crossed the room toward her.
“It’s too dangerous. We should keep it simple. I can sit at the counter and see who comes in that we know, and then follow him out, and everyone is safe.”
“What if it is someone we don’t know?” She closed her eyes.
“Jack, it could be anyone—a janitor, a secretary. Do you honestly think you can recognize everyone? Remember, over two hundred employees work for the magazine. I don’t know half the people in my department, and you rarely come out of the basement.”
He swore. She had a point. He scowled, and paced the office behind her.
“I don’t want you in there, at least not separate from me. We don’t know what he might do, especially since you threatened him.”
Raine shivered a little, but pressed on.
>
“True—but I won’t lift my butt out of that chair to so much as go to the ladies’ room, and you will be there, along with dozens of other people. I’m sure if things get out of hand, the cops would be there before we knew it. And that is if he even shows up—though I hope he does. I want my life back. I want this nightmare over with. A little risk seems like a small price to pay.”
Jack watched her, and felt love and fear and admiration well up together in his chest. He wanted to take care of this for her, he wanted to keep her protected, but he saw strength in her eyes that he had never seen until just this moment, and he couldn’t deny that she had a right to be involved.
“Okay. Okay. But you will not go anywhere alone, where I can’t see you, no matter what happens. And if anything hits you wrong, you make noise, and lots of it.”
She nodded and smiled.
“Thanks. For understanding that I need to be part of this. I need to get the control back.”
He nodded, and drew her next to him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek against hers. She moved her hands soothingly up and down his strong back and smiled. This was nice. For a moment, she believed everything was going to be okay.
* * *
THE NEXT DAY SHE didn’t feel so sure of the plan as they drove into Salem. Nerves skittered along under her skin, giving her goose bumps and making her hands freezing cold, even under her wool sweater and jacket. She looked at the holly and garland on the lampposts, the colorful lights on the houses and businesses, the Santas ringing bells collecting coins in black pots. The world was a very odd place indeed.
So many happy and sad things always going on at once, you only had to look in one direction or the other to see someone sad or happy, ugly or beautiful, and if you were wondering if things would change, all you had to do was wait a minute. Here she was, herself, going to meet a criminal who had been terrorizing her life, while simultaneously thinking that she needed to look for a Christmas present for Gwen.
Yours for the Night Page 35