Better Watch Out

by Dani Sinclair

  “Sensitive.”

  “I…”

  His lips covered hers, tasting the flavor of the wine in her sigh of pleasure. “Tempting.”

  THE REALITY OF HIS KISS created a tide of yearning so strong she quaked from the force of the emotion. The taste of man and wine made a heady combination.

  Her arms sought his neck, drawing them closer together as the strange mix of emotions spread to aching womanly places. She wanted him.

  Jackie squeaked in surprise when J.D. lifted her without warning and carried her to the bed. He dropped her gently with a wicked grin and lay back against a pillow alongside her, hands cradled behind his head. “Take me, I’m yours.”

  Delighted by his playfulness, she leaned over him and tentatively ran her fingers across the hard planes of his chest. His muscles contracted beneath his dress shirt and the amused expression in his eyes suddenly sobered as she tentatively toyed with a button.

  “Are you going to undo that or just tease me to death?”

  Now, anticipation gleamed in his eyes. She released the button from its hole, suddenly anxious to bare his chest and touch the tempting flesh beneath. Fascinated, she ran her hands lightly over his exposed skin, pausing briefly when her finger crossed his nipple and his body reacted.

  Excitement tingled in every pore. Jackie inhaled his scent. Her tongue flicked over his flat nipple and his chest rose as she sucked gently on the tiny nub.

  He tenderly pushed her aside, his expression smoky with passion. “My turn.”

  He raised the hem of her sweatshirt and she remembered she wasn’t wearing a bra. Then she forgot everything as his mouth closed over one exposed nipple and suckled.

  Self-restraint shattered. Jackie cried out in sheer joy.

  J.D. withdrew the clip holding back her hair. His hands cupped her scalp, massaging and pausing to rub strands of her hair between his fingers.

  “So soft,” he murmured.

  She shook her hair so the mass fell free, and bent to trace butterfly kisses down his chest. His indrawn breath pleased her. She fumbled with the drawstring of his sweatpants. J.D.’s fingers eased hers aside to loosen the knot her fingers had made.

  Daringly, she slid her finger just inside, touching the crisp whorls of hair hidden from view. He looked at her with such love, her heart contracted. She laid her other hand along the pronounced bulge beneath the fabric.

  “You’re playing with fire,” he warned teasingly.

  “Is that what you call this?”

  “Can’t you feel the heat?”

  Oh yes, she could feel him all right. She stroked his length, watching him twitch beneath her ministrations. A heady sense of power nearly overwhelmed her. He made no effort to stop her fingers as she inched the sweatpants down with one hand, while the other stroked his velvety soft skin.

  “Jackie.”

  Her name came out a gasp, somewhere between a plea and a moan. She lowered her head then, her mouth closing over the pulsating shaft right through the soft material.

  “Hell,” he muttered, coming halfway to a sitting position. He pushed her down beside him, capturing her mouth with greedy lips. He stripped away her baggy pants, careful not to reinjure her ankle. Then his mouth closed over the nearest breast, drawing the air from her lungs. His other hand plucked her free nipple until her back bowed. She couldn’t stop a moan of sensual pleasure. Her body was on fire.

  He drew her against his chest. Her nipples tightened when they brushed his skin, electrifying her with unexpected sensations.

  He palmed her stomach, which quivered in reaction. Then, his hand moved lower, brushing the curls at the apex of her thighs.

  “Oh!” His gentle touch was indescribable.

  “I like the tiny sounds you make,” he told her. His hand continued to rest there, and Jackie squirmed in anticipation. Nothing had ever felt like this.

  Jackie pulled his face closer, trying to convey her emotions in the silent kisses she placed against his jaw and down his throat. Her hands skimmed down his arms and shoulders, delighting in the feel of him.

  She reached his waist and realized he still wore his sweatpants.

  “Roll over,” she commanded.

  A smile lurked at the corner of his lips. “If you tell me to fetch I’m going to be very disappointed.” But he rolled over, taking her with him.

  Determined to repay the pleasure he had given her, she tugged his pants and shorts over his hips, setting him free and planting feathery kisses along his strong thigh, amazed when he seemed to grow larger and harder before her eyes.

  He was so utterly male.

  Her hair brushed against his erection and he groaned.

  “You’re killing me,” he told her.

  He kicked free of his pants and positioned her across him carefully. Slowly, sensually, she slid down over him. She paused, sitting astride him, savoring the feeling. Exquisite agony. Then slowly she tightened her muscles around him.

  “Jackie!”

  They moved together in an ageless rhythm, building the pleasure until she thought she would die from the unbearable excitement. She reveled in his power and in hers. And when he took her hand and positioned her finger so they both touched the spot where they joined, all thoughts ceased as pleasure cascaded through her. J.D. drove himself to release inside her a moment later.

  Jackie collapsed against his sweat-slicked chest, not certain she would ever move again. Sure that she didn’t ever want to move.

  A long time later, J.D. settled her against his side. He tugged the blanket from beneath them, to cover them instead. Wind rattled past their window.

  “Sounds cold,” he said.

  “Uh-hmm,” she agreed around a yawn and nestled closer to his body. Her eyes fluttered closed. She felt his lips brush her hair, but exhaustion pulled her further and further down a long, dark tunnel.

  THE SCENT OF COFFEE woke her. Jackie opened one bleary eye to find J.D. perched on the edge of the bed, slowly waving a cup near her nose. The room was alive with brilliant sunlight that streamed through the sheer curtains covering the windows.

  “Good morning.”

  “What time is it?” she muttered.

  “Nine-oh-five.”

  “It can’t be!” Jackie sat up quickly, wincing as her body protested. She had some new aches, and a few were in places that made her want to blush. She tugged the covers up, suddenly conscious of J.D. staring appreciatively.

  His grin was sexy as sin and twice as naughty. “Here.” He offered her a sip from the cup in his hand. J.D., she noticed, was fully dressed in yesterday’s rumpled clothing. His hair was damp from a shower and he had even shaved.

  “Hope you don’t mind. I borrowed one of your pink plastic razors.”

  “I never even heard you get up,” she muttered.

  “I know. I’d have let you sleep some more, but room service will be here with breakfast shortly.”

  “I never sleep this late.” Heat suffused her cheeks, when she thought about the reason she had slept so long. “Has it stopped snowing?”

  “Yep.”

  She swung her legs off the bed a bit gingerly, feeling self-conscious in the extreme. As if sensing her discomfort, J.D. walked to the window. “While you get dressed, I’ll call home and check on Aunt Dottie and the kids. They canceled school today.”

  “Oh.” Jackie couldn’t think of anything to say to that.

  J.D. had left Jackie’s crutches near the bed, so she crossed the room and pulled clothing at random from the suitcase. His voice stopped her as she started for the bathroom door.

  “Has anyone ever told you what a delectable backside you have?”

  His teasing sent scalding heat to stain her cheeks.

  “Of course, the front side is even better,” he added evilly.

  Jackie suddenly found a smile on her lips. She threw back her head and tossed her hair from her face. Slowly, she turned her head to peruse him from top to bottom, settling her gaze just below his belt buckle.

&n
bsp; “You aren’t so bad, either,” she said seductively.

  J.D.’s startled expression was priceless. Then, his low, guttural laughter spilled forth to follow her into the bathroom. She had never felt more gloriously alive in all her life.

  He was watching a local television news station when she reentered the bedroom. He immediately switched it off and smiled at her. Room service had delivered breakfast, including a fresh pot of coffee.

  “How is everything at home?”

  “The kids and Aunt Dottie are fine. There’s several inches of snow outside and the entire neighborhood is out there playing in it.”

  “Several inches! You’re kidding.” She moved to the window overlooking the parking lot. Cars were buried under mounds of sparkling snow. “You aren’t kidding. They weren’t calling for this much snow last night.”

  “Didn’t you know Mother Nature has no respect for weathermen? Come on and eat. I’ll even share the paper—as long as I get first dibs on the sports page.”

  “Naturally.”

  They grinned at one another and ate in contented silence. Jackie was just finishing her second cup of coffee when the telephone rang, startling her.

  J.D. didn’t seem surprised. He crossed the room before Jackie could move. “Hello? Good morning to you, too.” Light sarcasm laced his tone. His gaze flashed to her, his face suddenly serious. “No one does. That was the whole point.” He listened for several long seconds, then uttered an expletive and dropped his gaze to the nightstand.

  Thompkins. She knew it as surely as if she heard the officer’s voice. The coffee turned to bitter acid in her mouth. She replaced the cup in its saucer and waited.

  “No. She’s in the bathroom,” J.D. lied.

  Time had caught up with them. Time and reality.

  “Yeah. Okay. I’ll tell her.”

  Jackie waited, watching him replace the receiver and knowing she wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.

  “That was Thompkins. Sorry, but this morning I told Aunt Dottie it was okay to give him this number. He was annoyed we didn’t check in last night. They found your car.”

  Her stomach clenched around the breakfast she’d just consumed. “And the elf?”

  “He was in the trunk, Jackie. Just like you said.”

  J.D. ARGUED, BUT THE state police insisted Jackie view the body. They did let him go along, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “Strangled,” she whispered. “That explains his distorted expression.”

  “Jackie, don’t.”

  “I’m okay, J.D. You have to remember, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen him.”

  His nails bit into his palm, and he forced himself to relax. Jackie stayed remarkably calm during questioning. Her story never once deviated from her original statement. The police admitted the elf was almost certainly Brad Volmer, based on the identification in his pocket.

  Volmer had over five hundred dollars in his wallet. Robbery obviously wasn’t a motive. J.D. wondered how much cash Oggie Korbel and Donnie Lieberman had been carrying.

  “Rather a lot of cash for a kid that age,” J.D. pointed out. His thoughts suddenly stretched in a strange new direction. “Look, I know you guys know your job and everything, but I’m just wondering…how sure are you that Donnie Lieberman is dead?”

  Jackie’s eyes widened in shock. The officer stopped in the act of rising from his chair.

  “What makes you ask that, Mr. Frost?”

  J.D. shrugged, giving Jackie an apologetic look. “I’m not sure, exactly. Jackie said Lieberman’s body was burned beyond recognition. It was supposed to be an accident, but what if it wasn’t? Or what if he isn’t the one who was killed? You read about this kind of thing all the time.”

  The officer sat back down.

  “We’re talking reality here, Mr. Frost, not fiction. Forensics is an exacting science. If they ruled the body belonged to Donnie Lieberman, you can be pretty certain there was compelling evidence to that effect.” He paused before adding, “We’ll be taking another look into the Lieberman car accident.”

  “Good. There has to be some sort of connection here.”

  The officer was noncommittal. “Thank you for your help. We’ll be in touch.”

  J.D. and Jackie walked in silence to J.D.’s car. Unbelievably, they’d spent most of the afternoon with the police.

  “Do you really think Donnie might still be alive?” she asked.

  “Probably not, but who knows?” He opened the door and helped her inside. “I just want to make sure they take this seriously. Pinta was in your house at least once moving that body. And he did try to burn the place down,” J.D. reminded her grimly.

  “Unless I knocked that candle over myself when I fell.”

  J.D. waved that aside. “If he didn’t kill Volmer, why move the body?”

  “To get it out of the house?”

  “Why? Let’s say they had a fight, Pinta kills Volmer and you show up unexpectedly. He hides the body in the overhead to cover the crime. Why not just leave it there? Why come back and try to get it out of the house?”

  “I don’t know, J.D. Maybe he wanted to cover the murder completely by dumping the body where it wouldn’t be found.”

  “Then why leave it in the trunk of your car? And how the hell does this tie in to Zalewoski?”

  Fear lurked in her expression. “I don’t know. Larry was there. How else do you explain the. wedding picture or the rings? Even Bessie couldn’t have known what my wedding rings looked like.”

  Frustrated, J.D. closed the car door and walked around to the driver’s side. He still found it amazing that the woman in the wedding picture could look so much like Jackie.

  “Well,” he said, sliding behind the wheel, “you’ll have more new locks for the house after today. Luke’s meeting Ben Thompkins over there right now.”

  “I should be there.”

  He shot her a stern glare. “You shouldn’t be anywhere near that place! Everything centers around that damn house.”

  “Why?”

  He started the engine and shook his head. “I wish to hell I knew.”

  They drove in silence. The main roads were in good shape this late in the afternoon, but some of the side streets were still impassable.

  “Can we stop by the shop, J.D.?” Jackie asked suddenly.

  About to protest, he decided she probably needed a distraction. The store would be safe enough in broad daylight.

  Inside, Angel contended with an amazing number of customers. Among them, Joan Honnrue sat at a table, surrounded by what appeared to be half the children in their neighborhood.

  “Daddy!” Todd launched himself out of his seat and straight into J.D.’s arms. J.D. hugged his son tightly, pleased by the glow on that small, round face. Heather approached with more dignity, but her happiness at seeing Jackie and him together was just as obvious.

  “Hi, Dad! Hi, Jackie!”

  “Hi, yourself,” Jackie greeted. “What have you guys been up to?”

  Her face automatically softened as she talked to J.D.’s children. She genuinely listened and in minutes she was surrounded by kids clamoring to describe snow forts and snowball fights.

  Joan came to stand beside him, a smile lighting her pleasant features.

  “Thanks, Joan. I owe you one.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll collect. Actually, I’ve hardly seen anything of the kids since this morning. They headed outside to play as soon as school was called off. I walked up here for some milk and everyone insisted on coming along.”

  “The entire neighborhood?”

  “Only half.” She grinned back at him.

  The bell jingled as the door behind them opened and more people crowded inside. Before he could introduce them, Jackie excused herself to give Angel a hand.

  “Looks like everyone in walking distance had the same idea. You would have thought it would be too cold for ice cream, wouldn’t you?” Joan asked.

  “It’s never too cold for ice cream,” J.D.
assured her. He watched Heather begin to collect empty containers from the table where she’d been sitting. After a minute, Todd joined her. Soon all the kids were picking up their trash and depositing it in the nearest receptacle.

  “Amazing. Your Jackie certainly has a good influence on the children around here,” Joan said.

  His Jackie. J.D. liked the sound of that.

  Heather rushed over to him. “I need to help Jackie. The floor needs sweeping and the tables need to be washed. Can we stay? Is it okay?”

  He looked from her to the woman behind the counter braced on one crutch, scooping ice cream into a dish.

  Had there really been a day when Jackie wasn’t part of their lives?

  “You’d better get to work,” he told her. “Looks like Jackie needs a lot of help.”

  “Thanks, Dad!” He returned her hug and watched fondly as she set off for the counter.

  Joan smiled as she gathered up the other children and their belongings and herded them toward the door.

  “Joan, thanks again.”

  “Any time. I’ll talk to you later.”

  As more people entered the store, J.D. realized Jackie couldn’t be safer. No one would approach her with all these people inside.

  “Jackie, I’m going to run home for a minute. Will you be okay?” he asked, crowding up to the counter. She never missed a scoop as she glanced in his direction.

  “Fine. Go ahead.”

  “The kids plan to stay and work.”

  Surprise crossed her features, but J.D. waved and headed for the door.

  Dottie looked up from her television show in surprise when he walked in the house a few minutes later. “I’ve got to shovel the driveway to get my car off the street,” he told her. “And Jackie will be spending the night here.”

  “Good.” She said. “I like that girl,” she told him again.

  “So do I,” he replied.

  The snow was wet and heavy, so it took him more time than he planned. When he finished, he called his office to check in. He’d left a message earlier to let Carol know he wouldn’t be in. Now she reported briskly. Two things had come up, but she’d handled both with her usual competency.