Dangerous Desires

by Dawn Altieri

  “Jake?”

  Emma’s soft voice mingled with the scent of the flowers and cast a wave of lightheadedness over him as he turned to face her. God, she was beautiful. Maybe not in the classic sense, but more of a fresh, girl-next-door sort of way. Her dark brown hair fell softly around her face and over her shoulders. The pretty pink blouse she wore draped perfectly over her sweet curves, and her slim gray skirt showed off her shapely legs to perfection. She stole his breath away. More so than any of the brazenly sexual women he’d known in the past ever could.

  He pulled himself together. “Please. Come with me.” He ushered her out to the common seating area near the building’s elevators where Mack stood waiting for them.

  “Ms. Sloane.” Mack greeted her with a solemn nod.

  “Detec— Mack,” she said, wringing her fingers together. “I didn’t touch them. I didn’t even look for a card.”

  “It’s okay.” Jake grasped her hands to stop her fidgeting, and the tremble in her fingers traveled straight to his chest, tugging at a spot that had never felt a pull quite like this before. “We’ll take care of it.”

  She pulled her hands away, smoothed them down her skirt, and flashed a sideward glance toward Mack as he stood watching them.

  “Emma, there’s no question this is someone who knows you,” Jake said. “We need to look at your acquaintances, see if there are any names in common between the lists of the victim’s friends, family, coworkers…”

  She peeked over her shoulder toward the office door. The strained look on her face told him she understood how he and Mack would be spending their afternoon. “I don’t want to cause any problems here,” she said quietly.

  Her reaction wasn’t unusual for someone in her situation. She’d always seemed shy and hated being the center of attention. And here he was, about to shine a damned spotlight on her in front of everyone she knew. But there was no other way to get to the bottom of this. “I promise you, Mack and I will keep things as low-key as we can, but we are going to talk to everyone.” He threw a glance in Mack’s direction, silently imploring his partner to give him a minute with her. Mack grimaced, pulled out his cell, and stepped away to make a phone call.

  Once again, Jake fought the urge wrap Emma in his arms to soothe her nerves. Instead, he hardened his tone. “Emma, we need to do this. He’s escalating now. He’s making it clear you’re his real target.”

  The muscles in her throat worked a hard swallow as she nodded. “I know.”

  “Why don’t I drive you home later? I’ll check your place and make sure everything’s okay, maybe stick around for a while.”

  Her warm, brown eyes widened with a hint of acceptance…until she seemed to remember something. “Um… I have plans with some friends tonight.”

  He clenched his jaw hard to stop himself from telling her she shouldn’t be out in public, to calm the beast that suddenly came to life inside him where her safety was concerned. He’d never forgive himself if—

  Even in his head, he couldn’t finish the damned sentence. He’d made that mistake once before, disregarding his instincts and leaving someone vulnerable. He couldn’t let it happen again. But tonight, he didn’t have much choice. He’d have to trust her friends to watch her back.

  He glanced over at his partner, who’d been waiting for his cue. Then he laid a hand on Emma’s shoulder and guided her toward the office door. “Okay. Mack and I need to get to work.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Damn,” Matt said as Emma opened her apartment door that night. “Look at you.”

  “What?” She glanced down at her lacey black top, jeans, and black leather boots. Not too revealing, but far from conservative. She’d never been to Donnelly’s Pub, but from what Matt had told her, tonight’s band would be playing classic rock covers. She’d thought she’d done a good job picking an outfit, even without Lauren’s help. “It’s a rock club, isn’t it? Do I look okay?”

  Matt moved closer, surrounding her with his arms. “Yes, it’s a rock club, and you look more than okay.” He brought his cheek near her ear and lowered his voice. “You look fucking hot.”

  She pulled back to playfully smack his shoulder, and he responded with a deep laugh.

  “Are you sure we can’t just stay in?” she asked. “We can have Thai delivered in less than an hour and binge movies all night.”

  “Sure, because I just love the chick flicks you watch. Accept it. We’re going out. And don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

  She shrugged. “Worth a try.” She had no doubt he’d keep his word and protect her, and she really didn’t want some stalker to prevent her from living her life. She’d already allowed one man to do that.

  Tonight, she vowed to keep the mood light, to avoid the topics of the Abigail Murray murder case, the would-be mugger outside her building, and the lilacs in her mailbox and at her office.

  “Lauren’s meeting us there,” Emma said as she draped her black cross-body bag—barely big enough to hold her keys, a few bills, and her ID—around her neck and followed Matt out the door.

  After a cab ride to the Village, they arrived at the pub, and Matt held the door for her to enter. It had been ages since she’d been to a bar, and the densely-packed crowd and mind-numbing din reminded her why. Even without the attempted mugging fresh in her mind, crowds and close quarters made her anxious. She stuck close to Matt’s side as she searched for Lauren.

  “There she is.” She gestured toward the bar. “And it looks like she found someone to keep her company.”

  Lauren sat on a barstool tossing back her blond locks while a familiar-looking dark-haired man stood before her. “Hey, Em,” Lauren called out as Emma and Matt approached, and she hopped off the stool to give them both a hug. She turned back to the man she’d been talking to. “Emma Sloane, Matt Sommers, this is Kevin Quinn.” She broke into a mischievous grin. “Kevin’s in the band.”

  Emma shook his hand as she struggled to figure out why he seemed so familiar.

  “Emma?”

  The deep voice behind her sent a surge of warmth through her veins. She turned to find Jake standing tall in dark jeans and a fitted black T-shirt, one that showed off every well-defined muscle in his upper body. Casual and confident, he could’ve stepped right off a Calvin Klein billboard.

  Well, maybe not with that scowl on his face.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  For a moment, she cowered under his scrutiny, the likes of which she hadn’t felt since Justin was alive and questioning her every move. When she finally found her voice, she couldn’t help but sound defensive. “I believe I told you I had plans with my friends,” she snapped. “We came to see the band.”

  The scowl melted away as he seemed to rethink his own sharp tone. “Oh.”

  “Glad you could make it, Jake,” the man next to Lauren said.

  “Of course,” Jake replied. “Emma, this is my brother, Kevin.”

  His brother. Hence, the same last name and the uncanny resemblance.

  “Kevin, this…is Emma Sloane.”

  “I got that,” Kevin said with a laugh. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

  Finally? She glanced at up Jake, but he was staring questioningly at Matt. “Oh, uh, Matt Sommers, this is Detective Jake Quinn.” While the men exchanged handshakes and pleasantries, she eyeballed Lauren, who raised her brow with an excited grin. Emma turned back to Jake. “You probably met Lauren at the office this afternoon.”

  “I did. Nice to see you again.” He raised an arm to flag down the bartender. “What are we all drinking?”

  Lauren lifted her nearly full bottle of beer. “I’m good.”

  “I’ll take a beer,” Matt replied.

  “I’ll have one, too,” Emma said.

  With a nod, Jake faced the bartender.

  “New York’s finest, huh?” Matt whispered in E
mma’s ear. He tipped his chin to where Jake leaned across the bar on his elbows, stretching his T-shirt taut over the sinewy muscles of his back. “Something you forgot to tell me?”

  Matt’s teasing tone left Emma’s cheeks flushed as she shot a glare in his direction. There was nothing to tell, and she didn’t need to be reminded of Jake’s good looks and his tempting body. She’d been thinking about that all day— along with her low level of confidence in his ability to find the man who’d attacked her.

  The unexpected sense of safety and security she’d begun to feel in his presence, as much as she hated to admit it? That surely had more to do with the gun he carried than anything else. She dropped her gaze to his waist. Was he carrying tonight? No holster, but maybe he’d hidden it somewhere else.

  Jake passed out the beers and kept a Jack and Coke for himself. Matt reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Jake waved him off. “This round’s on me.”

  “Thanks, man,” Matt said. “I’ll get the next one.”

  Jake gave Kevin a slap on the shoulder. “What time are you guys going on?”

  “Any minute now. Just waiting on the manager to give us the go-ahead.” Kevin glanced over his shoulder to where the rest of the band was setting up, then back to Lauren. “You want to move up front by the stage?”

  “Sure,” Lauren said and jumped down from the barstool.

  “I’ll come, too,” Matt added before he glanced back at Emma. “Em?”

  “It’s too crowded up there for me,” she said with a shake of her head.

  “I’ll hang back with you,” Jake said.

  Matt and Lauren both turned to her with their trouble-making smirks, as if they were in on some secret that didn’t actually exist.

  Emma pulled herself up onto the barstool Lauren had vacated, and Jake moved into the space next to her, touching his glass to her bottle with a clink. “I did not expect to see you here,” he said with a hint of admonishment before he took a sip.

  She started to stifle the burst of indignation that flashed through her, as she’d done so many times when Justin had tried to keep her at home and under his thumb. But she quickly changed her mind. Who was Jake to tell her where she could and couldn’t go?

  “Should I just never leave my apartment again?” she demanded.

  He shook his head, unfazed by her defiance. “No. As long as you’re smart about it and stick close to your friends. There’s not much the department can do unless there’s a specific, direct threat against you, so you just have to be careful. Everything okay since this morning?”

  “Yes.” Although her nerves had yet to recover from both the bouquet of lilacs and the police questioning her coworkers.

  “Good,” he said with a nod. His eyes took on a playful glimmer. “So…come here often?”

  It took her a minute to realize he was joking, another minute for her resentment to melt away. And when it did, she chuckled and let down her guard. “Actually, this is my first time. Matt suggested it. Sort of a forget-your-troubles kind of night.”

  “Ah, this place is perfect for that. Wait till you hear the band. They’re awesome. And I’m not even saying that because Kevin’s my brother.” He glanced down and twirled the ice in his glass. His lighthearted air faded. “We didn’t have much luck at your office.”

  Her heart sank. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Your boss is quite a character.”

  She chuckled. “That’s one way to describe him. Probably wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on him.”

  “I’m keeping an eye on everyone, Emma.” Any hint of humor in his voice was gone as he stared into his drink.

  She cleared her throat. “Everyone?”

  “Yes. Everyone.” He turned to face her fully. “This is someone you know. Or at least, someone who knows you. Possibly someone who wants you but feels he can’t have you.”

  “Oh God,” she muttered, fighting the nausea his assessment brought up. How could there be someone in her life who fit that description without her knowing it?

  Jake swiveled back to the bar. Several long moments passed before he spoke again. “We haven’t come up with anything on the lilacs yet, either. I would’ve called you if we had. The clerk at the flower shop couldn’t remember who placed the order. They paid in cash and didn’t leave a name.”

  Emma shook her head and took a generous sip from her beer. “Can we not talk about the investigation anymore tonight? I’m forgetting my troubles, remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right. Forgive me.” His shoulders relaxed the slightest bit, and a thin smile graced his tempting lips.

  Up on the stage, Kevin broke into the grinding guitar riff of an Aerosmith tune for the band’s opening number, and Emma took Jake’s interest in the band as an opportunity to study his profile. The muscle in his jaw clenched as he nodded his head in time to the drumbeat. Like everything else about him, it was sexy as hell, and just as aggravating. As if he felt her eyes on him, he turned to her and lifted his brow.

  She took another long pull from her beer, savoring the surge of warmth as the alcohol seeped into her system. She’d never been much of a drinker. “Sorry,” she said, barely loud enough for him to hear her over the music. “Just…enjoying the view.”

  She wasn’t sure why she’d said it, but now that it was out there, it was too late to reel it back in.

  He threw an arm around her shoulder and tugged her into his side as he leaned toward her ear. “Stare all you want. Then I won’t feel bad when you catch me doing the same.” He released her, lifted his drink to his lips, and returned his attention to the stage, as though the remark were a simple statement of fact and not an attempt at flirtation.

  What was he doing? And why did she like it so much?

  This could be her chance to have some fun. Lauren and Matt had encouraged her for years to lighten up, let go, and live a little, and damn it, she was ready to do it. This man had consumed her thoughts over the last few days for reasons she still fought to deny. Now that she had the opportunity to experience off-duty-Jake—though not far removed from interrogator-Jake who’d stared her down in the interview room at the police station—she was even more drawn to him. Intimidating and broody were one thing, but the bold confidence he was going with now was sexy on a whole different level.

  But what was he doing? He was hanging back from the stage to keep an eye on her and keep her safe, which was part of his job. He may have hinted at an attraction, but that was a far cry from wanting a relationship with her.

  Well, she didn’t want a relationship, anyway.

  Right?

  Confused by her own thoughts, she pushed them aside and shimmied a little to the rhythm of the music. The crowd grew, with several patrons squeezing toward the stage, and she drank some more.

  Jake faced her during a lull between songs. “You’re just itching to dance, aren’t you?”

  Dancing was something she hadn’t done much of after she met Justin, a man who avoided dance floors like they were quicksand pits that would suck him under and never release him. He wouldn’t even consent to dance lessons to prepare for their upcoming wedding.

  She imagined Jake dressed to the nines, twirling her around a ballroom. He’d make a stunning dance partner, if he was into that sort of thing. “It’s been a while, but yeah, I love to dance.” She hesitated, then added, “Do you?”

  He tilted his head and scrutinized her once more. “I should warn you, I’m good.”

  “Seriously?”

  “No.”

  She gasped as he gripped her hand, tugged her off the stool, and whisked her to the back edge of the crowd watching the band. He positioned her in front of him, turned her to face him, and dropped his hands to her waist. His fingers rested there for a moment before he raised her hand, spinning her beneath his arm until she was wrapped tight against him with her back to his chest. He unraveled her
to her original position, circling his arm around her, pulling her close to whisper in her ear. “I still can’t believe you’re here.”

  His seductive tone made the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck stand at attention. His fingers brushed the bare skin of her waist where her shirt had ridden up. The brief embrace filled her with a sense of safety she hadn’t felt since this mess began…along with a hint of possession she never would’ve expected to thrill her as much as it did.

  What the hell was going on between them?

  As the band segued into a David Bowie tune, she caught a glimpse of Lauren—who was watching her in whole-hearted approval—and for the first time in a long while, she made a deliberate choice to enjoy herself. And Jake was the perfect man to keep her safe while she did so.

  She faced him again, draping her arms over his shoulders. She sang along with the vocalist, giggling through the song’s lyric about dead hair and underwear and wiggling her hips. She hadn’t had much to eat all day, which would explain the carefree buzz that had come over her after only one beer.

  Jake’s eyes glittered in obvious amusement as he watched her with his palms still loose on her waist, refusing to fully give in to the smile that pinched the corners of his mouth. The musicians ran through a handful of classic rock tunes, and after a while, she was out of breath, desperate for a break. She grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him with her toward the bar.

  “You’re too young to know these tunes,” he called from behind her.

  She held his hands in place on her waist as she worked an exaggerated strut back to their seats, which were still empty since everyone had moved toward the stage. “I’m not that much younger than you,” she said. He waved the bartender over for another round of drinks as she pulled herself onto a barstool. “But,” she said, catching her breath, “I am completely out of shape.”

  “Oh, I beg to differ, Ms. Sloane.” He passed her the beer bottle from the bartender. “You are in fine shape. I should know. I’ve been checking you out all night.”

  She poked her finger in the middle of his chest. “You’re too kind, Detective. If we were really dancing, I bet I’d barely be able to keep up with you.”