Yours for the Night (34 page)

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 moaned, 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

L
IFE
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.

* * *

T
HE
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.

She had almost completely forgotten about the holiday. It had never meant much to her, as she’d never had anyone to celebrate it with. With Gwen, she had celebrated her first holidays, and had bought—and received—her first real Christmas gifts. She looked forward to it, but this year she almost had completely forgotten.

And Jack—should she be thinking of something for him, too? What was to become of them once this was finished? He had told her the night before that he wanted her in his bed, in his life, for more than one night. She wasn’t completely sure what that meant.

Jack drove into a parking space quite a distance away from the coffee shop so that they could split up and go ahead separately. They had about a half hour, and he hated to admit that he was edgy enough to turn the car around and head back to the house. He looked over at Raine. She seemed cool enough, gazing out the window at Christmas decorations, lost in her own thoughts. He hoped that he was included in them.

“Okay—you have the tape recorder in your purse? It will only pick up forty-five minutes, so hopefully it won’t take more than that—hit it before anyone comes in.” He turned in the seat, grabbed her hand and pulled her over to him. “I’ll be nearby, and I won’t take my eyes off you.”

He pressed his lips to her cheek, letting them drift to her mouth, where he kissed her with such tenderness it eased the anxiety that had taken hold of her. She sighed against his mouth, kissing him back, then set her forehead against his.

“It’s going to be just fine. I’ll be fine.”

He nodded. “Okay, let’s go get this over with.”

She moved away from him, then checked the recorder in her purse. Stepping out of the car, she started down the walk by herself, confident that Jack was not too far behind her. She saw the coffee shop and felt her stomach tie into a knot, but she kept walking, across the street, in the door, to a table in the back that, thankfully, was free. She sat, shrugging off her coat, and looked around. The door chimed again, and she looked up, saw Jack come in, and he looked away, heading for the counter directly across from her but facing her direction. His back was to the door.

Raine took a deep breath. It was shortly before one, so she turned on her recorder, and left her bag lying half-open on the table.

A waitress came over to her table, took her order for a coffee, black, and Raine sat back and waited, pretending to be involved in reading the local newspaper. Minutes ticked by slowly, and she looked up at Jack; his gaze burnt into hers for a moment, and then he lowered his eyes.

He isn’t coming.
Raine felt a sense of despair drift over her—she had so hoped this plan would work. But fifteen minutes passed and all she had on her tape recorder was the sound of her drinking coffee and rustling a newspaper she’d already looked over three times. Her head popped up when the door chimed, and her eyes went wide.

Jack saw, and pivoted swiftly to see what had caused her alarm, and groaned inwardly—
great—just freakin’ great.
He saw Raine’s friend Gwen, on the arm of his employee Neal, hustling in the door, laughing and talking, their heads close together, until Gwen saw Jack and squealed in delight.

“Jack! Neal—it’s Jack!”

Raine got up from the table and headed to the counter, and when Gwen saw her, another shout went up. Raine tried to smile, but was frustrated beyond reason when Gwen’s arms came around her in a big hug.

Even so, how could she be mad when Gwen was telling her how worried she had been and how much she missed her? Dammit! They were busted. Even if the stalker did come in now, there was nothing they could do. Worse, he might think she was trying to set him up by having her friends there. Terrific. She caught Jack’s eye, and knew he shared her thoughts. “Hi, Gwen. Neal.”

Gwen slid right over the tension in the air, not even appearing to notice it. “Raine—I hate being at work without you—it’s so
boring
there. Except for Neal, of course. But I miss coming by your office for girl talk. I called you at home and no one was there. What’s up? You had me worried sick! Ask Neal, it’s all I could talk about yesterday.”

Neal smiled in agreement, then sent a knowing look at Jack. “She did. She is very worried about you, Ms. Covington. Jack, you are working from home?”

Jack nodded, but Gwen jumped in before he could say anything else. “Raine, where have you been? You called me the other day when you left the office, but I haven’t heard from you since then. I was worried—I called your house and there was no answer, and your car was gone.”

Raine felt color edge up in her cheeks, and she stumbled a minute, but Jack interrupted this time.

“She’s staying with me, Gwen, at my place up near Gloucester.”

Gwen’s eyes widened; she stared at Jack, then at Raine, when a huge smile overcame her face and she nodded at both of them in a very knowing way. “Oh, that’s terrific! I knew you two had something going on. I knew it!”

Raine tried to interject, wanting badly to change the subject, but Gwen pressed on.

“We’re on lunch—do you guys want to get something to eat with us?”

Raine shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think so, but—”

“But why don’t you both join us for dinner tonight. You can come out to the house.” Jack’s invitation was smooth and quick, and he ignored Raine staring at him, her eyes slits.

“I know Raine has missed you, too, Gwen, and it’s been kind of a crazy few days, so we can catch up. Neal, we can talk shop.” He grabbed a napkin from the counter, took a pencil the waitress had left there, and scratched out directions. “Here—how about seven?”

Gwen hugged him and accepted for them both. Saying some quick see ya laters, Raine and Jack headed back to the car. The plan had failed, they hadn’t accomplished anything. He had dearly hoped that by this time today they would have something solid, something to help wrap this mess up. He bent his head to Raine’s ear, his voice low and sympathetic.

“I know. It’s too late for us to do anything now. We’ll have to send another message maybe, since this got blown out of the water. Could be that he never even got the email—or chose to ignore it.”

Nodding, she got into the car, feeling bad-tempered and frustrated.

“He won’t come back. He could have been there and seen the whole thing. If he knew we were trying to set him up this time, he’ll be especially cautious, and probably livid—God knows what he’ll try to do this time. Maybe burn my house down.”

Jack glared at her. “Don’t even joke, Raine. We just have to play the hand we’ve got. Anyway, we can keep working on it—I know this came from inside. I want you to tell me about anyone you have had a hard time with, anyone who was passed up for a promotion that you got, someone you refused a date with—anything. We’ll start there, and I am going to get into the files and find whatever leads I can, and we’ll still keep trying to flush him out.”

She felt a little less disgruntled at the idea. At least they could keep working at it.

“But how are you going to get into people’s files?”

“You don’t want to know.”

His eyes had taken on the glimmer of the hunt, and Raine felt heat curl through her body, responding unexpectedly to the bad-boy appeal he emitted. She was coursing with emotion from the afternoon, switching back and forth between anxiety, despair, and excitement so quickly she was on overload. She felt as if she had just downed about ten coffees. Though she’d barely finished one.

Raine reached over and laid her hand on Jack’s thigh, felt him tense. He looked over at her, his eyes hot, and she squeezed, sliding her hand up a little higher, and felt powerful when she heard him catch his breath. He sent her a sidelong glance.

“If a little illegal hacking gets you all worked up, I’ll willingly turn to a life of crime, Rainey.”

She laughed, and leaned over, stretching the seat belt as far as she could, and traced the tip of her tongue along his ear, then dipped it inside and felt him shudder. Fortunately, they were close to the house, and he managed to concentrate on the road as her hands explored other, more interesting places and her mouth worked magic on his skin.

By the time they parked in the driveway, he seriously considered tumbling her into the backseat again and just taking her there, fast and hard. Turning off the ignition, he hauled her across the middle and into his arms, covering her mouth with his in an insistent kiss, but his hands were frustrated by the thick material of her jacket, and he growled.

But his jacket was unzipped, and the next thing he knew, she shifted over and was unbuttoning his jeans; he grabbed her hand, protesting. Then he looked into her eyes, saw the fire there and let his hand fall away from hers.