One-Click Buy: July 2009 Harlequin Blaze

by Julie Kenner

“Jarod,” she panted, and he thought maybe she was going to protest, but she just broke their kiss to say, “Get these off.” She pulled at his jeans, releasing his cock with nimble hands.

  “Good thinking,” he said, turning her so that they were both propped against the ledge, looking down over the city. He slid inside from behind in a hot thrust that had him closing his eyes to the amazing view.

  She gasped, moving back against him, and he lifted her tee, closing his hands over her breasts. He could barely wait to explode inside of her.

  “That photo session was so hot…the way you were looking at me,” she said, her tone husky and trembling with desire, “I couldn’t wait for them to leave so I could fuck you.”

  He loved how she talked dirty, and he found his desire pushed up a few more notches, if that were possible.

  “Good. Tell me more, what you want, just like that,” he said, wanting to hear her demands, her needs, and wanting to meet every single one of them.

  She would always surprise him, and he welcomed it.

  “You want to hear how I love feeling you get harder when you’re inside me? How it was all I thought about while I was taking those pictures?”

  “Yes,” he said roughly, increasing his pace. “I wondered if you were getting wet as you were looking at me through the lens, and I remembered how you taste, how hot, sweet…”

  She groaned and moved her hips in rhythm with his thrusts. It was heaven.

  Until he realized they didn’t have protection and his mind screamed in protest. How could he have forgotten?

  “Lacey,” he panted, fighting for control at the way she was writhing against him. “I’m not wearing anything,” he said, although the heated silky flesh of her sex felt tight around his shaft and he didn’t want to leave. But he would if he had to, even if it killed him.

  She paused slightly, and surprised him again. “It’s okay, we’re good, I’m on the pill, I just wanted to be extra careful before…just don’t stop, please,” she begged in the sweetest way possible, pushing her hips up and rotating her ass in a way that made him tremble.

  LACEY WAS MORE THAN HAPPY to forget everything in the world except the wonderful, wet, gliding sensation of Jarod’s cock as she looked out over the dizzying view.

  Power rippled through her, emotional freedom mixing with physical pleasure. He’d set loose her true nature. This was her. She was wild, willing to do anything he wanted, anywhere, and she reveled in the feeling. Staring at the sky and the expanse of the world below, she knew she’d never felt more free in her life.

  His eyes had telegraphed one sexual promise after another as she’d snapped the pictures, and nearly had her coming before they’d even finished the session. She was halfway there before he even touched her, and it pleased her that she could tell him what she wanted, how she wanted it, and her lack of inhibition only seemed to drive him further.

  They didn’t have time for inhibition—the guard could be back any moment, catching them, and the idea just made her hotter, made her want it more. When she imagined what someone would see, how they looked going at it here in the open, a low moan worked its way up from her chest, the arousal almost too much.

  He held her tight around the waist, and she savored every second of it as the sizzling sensation set off a myriad of others. Her inner muscles then gripped him in spasms of pleasure against his thrusts until he was so deep she was sure he was touching her soul. She’d never cared for being done from the back, the facelessness of it bothered her, but with Jarod, she was fully aware of whom she was with, and only wanted more.

  His body took its cue from hers, the heat of his own orgasm throbbing and flooding inside of her. He bucked hard, his hands grasping the soft skin of her bottom as he pushed harder, deeper, which sent another spike of release rocketing through her.

  Finally, they stilled, but the pleasure was so complete and so lingering she didn’t want to let go. The residual sensations traveled everywhere in her body, even to the ends of her fingers and toes. She didn’t want to return to the real world, to thinking.

  She wanted to stay up here with him and keep feeling this way…or stay anywhere with him and keep feeling this way? Maybe, she thought fuzzily.

  “Mmm…” She turned and nuzzled his mouth with her lips, sharing lazy, satisfied kisses. If she waited a little, she knew the embers settling between them would spark again.

  Until they heard the buzz—the elevator was back.

  “Oh, no,” they said in unison, laughing and pushing apart, shuffling to a far spot where they quickly got their clothes in order.

  Lacey grabbed her camera in a desperate attempt to look as if they were finishing up a few pictures, but instead, she collapsed, chuckling at the fun of it. Her heart hammered at almost being caught, literally, with her pants down. She could only grin at Jarod as the guard appeared, looking bored and stoic.

  She took a few shots, and for fun, grabbed a couple of the surprised guard, as well, before they headed back down to the ground and back to reality.

  10

  “I SHOULD HAVE GONE back to the labs. You know, to make up for the time I lost,” Lacey said, staring at the ceiling and catching her breath after another bout of amazing sex with Jarod. She rolled over, covering him with her body, loving how big and warm he was. She threaded her fingers through his chest hair, leaning in to nibble a flat, brown male nipple until he moaned for mercy.

  “There’s always time for work.”

  “Maybe. I feel like I need to do double time these days, to make up for all the problems.”

  “Has anyone said anything else?”

  “No. I just e-mail in a progress report, and everything seems okay. There hasn’t been anything said about the pictures. Maybe you’re right, and whoever took them had no idea, or didn’t think they were worthwhile, or whatever. I have no idea.”

  The reminder was a splash of cold water. She really should have gone back to work, but the lovemaking up on the Empire State Building had been so exhilarating they’d been unable to take their hands off each other after, and had barely made it back to her apartment for more.

  Lacey had had several lovers in her life—nice guys, great guys and some obviously lackluster ones, too—but she’d never been as voraciously hungry for anyone as she was for Jarod. Just looking at him lounging in her bed was enough to make her throw all of her priorities out the window and…what?

  They hadn’t talked about anything. They didn’t have any kind of relationship or plans or promises. All they had was this, what they were doing right now.

  “Hey…you’re clouding up. What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I guess it’s just back to reality with a thud. I really should have worked—tomorrow is Saturday, and maybe I can make up some time this weekend, because Monday will be the last shoot we’ll be doing…”

  She let the thought drift, and felt a slight pang when he didn’t fill the void. So that was that, apparently. Come Monday, this little fling would be done.

  What had she expected?

  “Listen, Lacey, there’s something you need to know, and I guess I should have told you before now, but…well, I guess I was pretty happy being distracted from reality, too.”

  Lacey took a deep breath. Here it comes, she thought. His gentle letdown, the reminder that they never had more than sex, the long goodbye.

  “There’s an APB out on Scott. Apparently he found a way to hack the ankle alarm so that it didn’t go off, or he paid someone who knew how to do it. It’s been reading as if he’s there in the house. No one checked until he didn’t show up for work. He could have gone anytime the night before, so he has a good lead.”

  Lacey was stunned. That wasn’t what she’d expected at all.

  “When did you find out?” she asked in a whisper. “How can that be? I called…”

  “You called your Legal Aid office, and you spoke to the assistant Gena, right?” he asked gently, reaching for her hand and squeezing.

  “Yes.”r />
  “She’s missing now, too. They think she’s been working with him, using her position to help him out. She was probably covering for him when you called.”

  “Gena? She’s involved with Scott?” It was too bizarre.

  “Apparently they got together during your case, and kept it under wraps, but they found letters from her in his house, indicating an affair.”

  Lacey processed what he was telling her, and as the picture clarified, so did her anger. “She knew where I was, and she told him. He was probably using her to find me, knowing him. He’s not stupid.”

  “Possibly, which means she’d be in danger now, too.”

  She shook her head. The whole thing was surreal. Gena had always been such a doll to her, so sincere and convincing. But then, Scott could put on a good act, too. Poor Gena, Lacey thought, feeling sorry for the woman, and fearful for what could have happened to her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me right away?” she asked, unable to keep the accusation from her voice.

  “At first, I didn’t want to disturb your work. You were having such a hard time. And I figured, as long as you were with me, you’re safe. I wouldn’t let him get within ten feet of you, you know that,” Jarod said seriously, sitting up and edging close.

  “So he’s here,” she said flatly. “Fine. Let him find me. Then it will be settled.”

  “Yes, it will be because I’m not leaving your side until it is.”

  “Jarod, we’ll be done with work on Monday, and you have to go back, and—”

  “I have vacation time coming, and I’m not going back until I know you’re safe—already told you that. Unless…you’d like me to leave?”

  She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it herself, the speck of uncertainty that flickered in his gorgeous eyes as he asked the question. And leaned down to kiss her fingers where their hands were folded together. She shook her head.

  “No, I don’t want you to go. That’s kind of a problem, too, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know. It’s certainly not something I counted on, getting in this deep this fast, but I can’t say I regret it,” he said, sliding a hand under her chin and leaning in for a kiss.

  “Me, either,” she admitted, noting how the heated desire that was automatic between them was picking up a warmth that it lacked before. A deeper sense of connection as they admitted, just a little, that what they had might be more than a fling.

  “Good. We’ll do this together. You’re not alone,” he promised, drawing her against him so tenderly that her eyes pricked with tears, but she blinked them back. This was good. Jarod was good, and things were going to be okay. She had to believe that.

  She ran a hand along the inside of his thigh, marveling at his strength, inside and out.

  “If he’s watching, then the best thing to do, the fastest way to end this, is to take control of the game. It’s the weekend. Let’s go out. We’ll be tourists, we’ll be visible, we’ll make it clear we’re lovers, which won’t be an effort at all,” Jarod murmured against her skin.

  “You want to flush him out?” she asked, shivering, but not from fear. The idea of taking control, of ending this on her terms—their terms—was appealing.

  He kissed her shoulder, tasting her lightly with his tongue all the way down to her elbow.

  Her professional life was at risk, and her crazy ex was on the loose, and yes, all she could do was admire how gorgeous Jarod’s body was. The mutual agreement that they had something special between them, regardless of where it was leading, was a definite turn-on. She shifted a little, letting her hand move higher on his thigh, her palm closing over his cock, stroking him to hardness.

  Nestled in his lap, his hand wound in her hair, the sheets tangled warmly around them, she sighed against his skin, knowing a moment of perfect connection and happiness unlike any she had known before. Right now, here with him, she didn’t want to think about anything but Jarod. The rest would come soon enough.

  He smelled great, musky and male. Their scents mingled, seducing her, and she shifted a little more until she could rub her lips over the head of his erection in a way she knew he liked. She smiled at the murmur of approval, the shudder that worked its way down his long body.

  Using her hands and her mouth, she wanted to bring him more pleasure than he could imagine. She set about the task with steady purpose, inventive in her kisses as she kept him in her throat, curling her soft tongue along his length like a lazy cat. She continued teasing the tender skin of his sex until he was gasping mindless exclamations, his body hard and rigid, held taut under her own.

  Her fingers gently stroked his legs, stomach and sac, keeping him on edge. When she sensed he was about to come, she pressed firmly on the area below his scrotum while sucking him to orgasm once, and holding back his ejaculation successfully.

  He pushed up on his elbows, panting, as she slid her mouth down over him again and erotically met his gaze.

  “How…?”

  She released him from her sexy kiss and smiled. “Little tantric secret I learned…it makes it so you can come more than once, and it’s more intense. Was it?”

  “My head nearly came off my shoulders,” he confessed, shaking his head in amazement.

  “How about we try it again?”

  “Sure. You can join me this time,” he said with a sexy growl. Suddenly, he rolled her over into the mattress, his knee pushing her thighs apart as he pulled her calves over his shoulders and his cock found the slick entrance to her body.

  “You’re close, too,” he said, sliding a finger down between her legs and she couldn’t help but cry out.

  “Sucking you makes me hot,” she admitted plainly, and was rewarded as he took her mouth in a deep kiss, fucking her mouth with his tongue as he thrust into her body, both of them starving in spite of all the previous loving.

  He moved her legs down off his shoulders, staying inside her, but he gentled and slowed his strokes, making her wait, making them both wait as he framed her face with his hands.

  “I can’t seem to get enough of you…”

  “I feel the same way,” she said, even though her heart was crying out words that were too soon to say—right?

  All words quickly became unimportant as they held on for as long as they could. They moved more quickly, then slowed—a few times stopping altogether to see how long they could take it. He also showed her a few of his own tricks to prolong their anticipation and their pleasure. Finally, need took over and drove them both to release; hands clasped, they were connecting even more deeply than perhaps they knew, or were ready for.

  Jarod collapsed over her, and then moved to cuddle her into his side.

  Lacey was limp from satisfaction, and maybe a little sore, but that even felt okay. Dozing, it took her a minute to realize the sound she heard in the background was the ringing of her phone.

  Pushing herself up, she grabbed her cell from the table with a sense of trepidation, but saw Jackie’s name show on the screen and felt relief instead. “It’s just Jackie.”

  At the same time, Jarod’s phone rang, and they smirked, their peaceful moment well and truly intruded upon.

  “It’s Tom, my captain—it’s still afternoon there, work hours—I have to take this.”

  “No problem, I need to call Jackie back, too. She was getting the list of other applicants for us, but I don’t know if we’ll need it.”

  “Get it anyway. Can’t hurt to cover all the bases.”

  “Sure,” she said with a sigh, hoping that no matter what, this would all be over soon.

  “Jackie? Hi, yeah, Lacey. If you’re calling about the list—what? Oh, no…”

  Jackie was calling from the hospital. Someone had attacked her, and Lacey had a terrible feeling that Scott had found yet another victim.

  JAROD PINCHED the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, staving off a headache. He had to get off the phone and go with Lacey to the hospital, but he’d gotten a dose of his own bad new
s. Although it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

  “Tom, any chance we can dust that envelope for prints?” Jarod asked.

  “Already sent it—left the pictures in my desk drawer, of course.”

  “Dammit all to hell. I understand if you have to report—”

  He didn’t get any further.

  “Jarod, there’s no way I’d tell anyone about this, and with any luck, we can clean it up quietly. You think this is the same guy who’s stalking the, uh, woman in the photos? And I’m sorry that I looked at them, it just took me a few minutes to process what it was I was looking at, until the note dropped out. Seems like someone is taking a serious shot at your reputation, and there’s no way I’m letting that happen to any of my officers, least of all you.”

  “Well, we think we know who’s behind it. A man named Scott Myers. He was Lacey’s boyfriend, broke her arm, hurt her some before he got sent away.”

  “Son of a bitch.”

  “Yeah. She’s the photographer on the shoot, so this could cost her her job, as well. I want this guy as soon as possible so we’re going to try to flush him out.”

  “You watch your step, Jarod, and maybe bring the local guys in on this, especially if you’re involved with this woman.”

  Jarod took a deep breath, knowing Tom was right. “I’ll contact a guy.”

  “Is this thing serious?”

  “Hell, yeah, this guy is—”

  “Not the case, the girl,” Tom said, laughing.

  Jarod paused, feeling foolish. He looked up when he heard the shower turn on. “Yes, I think it’s getting there.”

  “Then taking this promotion might be good for you—keep you alive longer, home more—unless you’re thinking of moving to New York?”

  “No, no, nothing like that.”

  “So you want the job? I have to know if you’re going for it.”

  “What about the pictures?”

  “What about them? Some asshole is trying to ruin your reputation, and I’m not letting that get in the way of my best man moving up. You didn’t do anything illegal there, well, maybe in Texas, but as you’re in New York…” Tom teased, and Jarod found himself grinning. Some of the stuff he’d done with Lacey, and what he wanted to do, was probably illegal in several states.