In Safe Arms (18 page)

It also allayed his fears about whether she was ready.

She ripped the packet open and withdrew the condom, clasping it in long, delicate fingers. He turned towards her and gripped the side of the bed, praying he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

She glanced down at him, her eyes widening a little. ‘You’re beautiful.’

Nate went rock hard. He clenched his teeth, unable to tear his eyes away as she rolled on the condom and proceeded to smooth out the air bubbles. So much for lowering the sexual tension, he was at risk of losing it before the main game began.

To his relief, the rest of the application went smoothly, and soon she was cuddling into him, kissing his neck and running her fingers through his chest hair.

‘I can’t believe we’re doing this,’ she whispered. ‘I used to imagine it.’

Nate closed his eyes and thought of Margaret Thatcher. If Josie started whispering her fantasies in his ear, it would well and truly be over.

‘At work — sometimes.’

That was it!

He flipped her on her back and took her mouth, bracing himself on one hand, the other fisting in her hair and supporting her head. He searched for her tongue, enticing it into a heated tango that spiked his core temperature to flash point.

He lowered her head onto the pillow, freed his hand and parted her legs. Settling between her thighs, he nudged at her hot moist flesh.

‘Feel okay?’ He pulled back and spoke against her lips.

‘Yes, don’t stop.’ Her hands snaked around his neck and he knew she was trying hard to avoid touching his shoulder. ‘It feels so good.’

When she wrapped her legs around him, he pushed part way inside.
Jesus!
She was hot and tight and she gripped him with a surprising strength for someone so small.

He nipped her bottom lip to distract her, brain no longer his control tower. She opened her mouth, and he sank his full length inside her, swallowing her gasp, then holding still, giving her time to grow accustomed to the feel of him.

She relaxed, and he kissed her hair, looked into her eyes to make sure she was alright. She smiled, clenched her muscles around him again and shifted her hips.

‘Josie.’ Her name was torn from him, his voice disembodied.

And then she was cupping his face and murmuring his name, and he was lost. He began to move, gently at first and then with more urgency, taking his cues from her body, responding to what she liked. Her hands shaped his shoulders, his back, his hips, fingernails scraping across his skin when she wanted more friction.

And then her breathing turned shallow and her eyes closed. She cried his name, her body bowing beneath his as she shattered around him.

Only then did Nate give in to his own pleasure, revelling in the feel of her throbbing climax. He drove harder, lengthening her orgasm and feeding her rapture, until his mind shut down and his heart swelled, body shaking in an orgasm so powerful it felt like a dam had burst. His vision hazed, and he buried his face in her hair, riding out the blissful spasms with her locked tightly in his arms.

Afterwards, he held her while she slept, content and at peace for the first time in years. Josie might be young, but she was more emotionally mature than many thirty-year-olds he knew. And what did age matter anyway, when you possessed a head full of common sense? Surely once everyone reached adulthood, the playing field levelled out.

Feeling her skin cool, he untangled her limbs from around his and leaned down to pull the coverlet over them. She stirred, and he tucked her against his side, smiled as she slipped her arm around him.

‘How’s your shoulder?’ Her voice was husky, sexy, the voice of a woman who’d just been made love to.

‘Can’t feel a thing.’ He brushed the hair out of her eyes. ‘Sex is the best painkiller not on the market.’

She laughed, cupping a breast and lifting it out from where it lay squashed between them.

Nate’s throat went dry and he turned hard again, had to move a bit to hide his arousal. He’d never thought of himself as a boob man before, more a general admirer of feminine beauty. But there was just something about Josie, and the shape of her breasts that drove him to distraction.

‘Is Dickson okay?’ she asked.

Nate stretched out his legs. ‘I’d forgotten all about him.’

She pushed herself up on one elbow, eyebrows lifting in surprise. ‘How could you forget about Dickson? You went to check on him.’

‘I did. And then I forgot him.’

‘How is he?’

‘His pride’s hurt more than his head,’ he said with a scowl. ‘It was a fundamental mistake to leave you alone in the house. We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t get us all killed.’

‘Nate.’
She leaned over and kissed his nipple. ‘Did you really forget he was here?’

‘Yeah.’ His body tightened, and he brushed her hair back from her face so he could watch her kissing his chest. ‘Sex can drive everything from a man’s mind.’

‘Is that why you’re not supposed to get involved with anyone while you’re undercover?’

Josie felt his body tense, and when she turned to look at him, a frown marred his forehead.

‘Dickson told me about the woman in America. Is that her son, the one in your wallet?’

He nodded, his expression far from pleased. ‘Jonathan. Dickson shouldn’t have said anything. It’s none of his business.’

From his curt response it sounded like it was none of her business either. ‘I didn’t ask, he volunteered it.’

He looked away. ‘What else did he say?’

Now wasn’t the time to ask about the suspension. ‘Just — that you wanted to bring them out here.’

Nate closed his eyes for a second, a muscle shifting in his cheek.

Josie’s stomach lurched, and suddenly she felt stupid, naive and nosy. Oh God. She’d asked one question about his past, and now it was going to blow up in her face. She’d been so positive Nate would never have started something with her if he had another woman, regardless of distance.

But Dickson had put doubts in her mind, and now she wasn’t sure.

And what had Nate just said?

Sex drives everything else from a man’s mind
.

‘There was no question of her coming to Australia.’ Soulful eyes turned her way and he reached out and tugged one of her curls. ‘I didn’t ask. It was never an issue.’

Josie had to stop herself fist pumping the air in celebration, moving her head onto his shoulder instead. She couldn’t indulge in such juvenile behaviour with Nate, no matter how happy he made her. He was a thirty-two-year-old man with a terrifying job. And he’d cared for this broken family.

‘Did you love her very much?’

‘It was more a fondness.’ He blew out a breath as if the admission was an effort. ‘She’s a workaholic, divorced, driven. It was a convenience thing for both of us. I was in the house while we worked the case.’

Sensing he was about to share more, Josie stayed quiet.

‘I grew close to the kid.’ He rubbed a hand over his chest, a rough edge to his voice. ‘I became like a stepdad to him, taught him a lot of stuff.’

Josie’s throat closed over. The pain in Nate’s voice was tangible.

He’d loved this child.

She covered his hand with hers, satisfied when he entwined his fingers through hers and squeezed. ‘The relationship will have had a positive effect, Nate. He won’t forget you, I promise.’

Josie braced herself on one elbow and brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. ‘I’m not trying to make you feel better. I had heaps of nannies when I was little. Some were middle aged, some were young European girls out here on a working holiday. All of them enriched my life.’

He frowned. ‘You’re a bit of an old soul, princess, for someone so young.’

‘Well, my family’s not for the faint hearted. Is Jonathan’s father on the scene?’

‘Yeah. He’s a good guy, very involved.’ Nate shook his head in disgust. ‘That’s why Dickson’s talking out of his arse. Jonathan’s mum would never take him so far away from his biological father.’

‘I’m sorry I listened to him.’ She caressed his face, pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

‘I’ll forgive you,’ he said against her mouth, and she was glad to hear the smile back in his voice. ‘It’s your turn now. I want to hear all about this famous family of yours.’

Josie sighed and flopped back on the pillow. ‘There’s not much to tell really. My Dad’s great, when he’s around — and Mum?’

Josie’s heart sank. The difficult relationship she had with her mother was never easy to discuss. It was a mystery even to her, and when she’d asked her father, he hadn’t been able to explain either.

‘It hurts that we’re not close, especially when I don’t have any siblings.’

‘She was nice when I drove you home that night.’

Nate’s non-judgmental, diplomatic answer gave Josie the confidence to go on. ‘She is, she’s beautiful. Everyone loves her. She’s just always been distant with me.’

‘Oh, Josie.’ His arms tightened around her and he began to stroke her back.

‘I think she suffered postnatal depression, and we might have had trouble bonding. I didn’t cope well. I remember when I was about three, she used to get dressed up and go out with dad. I thought she was a goddess. I started suffering separation anxiety attacks around that time. They’re common in kids, but mine were severe. I was so terrified something bad would happen to her, and she wouldn’t come back. It affected my learning, delayed my speech, reading, everything. I didn’t catch up until Year 2.’

Nate didn’t say anything, just continued to stroke her back.

Not wanting to get all gloomy, Josie tried for something lighter. ‘That’s why I talk so much now.’

He rolled onto his side with a grin, long, hard length digging into her hip. ‘So what’s your excuse for swearing?’

She reached under the covers and stroked his velvety hardness, desire building at the look of pleasure that came over his “nine out of ten” face.

‘Just another way of expressing myself, Senior Detective. I was so frustrated when I was little, once I learned, I never stopped.’

‘I can fix frustrated.’ He flipped her on her back, causing a heady excitement to rip through her body. ‘And I love the way you express yourself, especially when you’re all hot and wet — and underneath me.’

Mid afternoon — Northern Hemisphere

Simon Poole hockey stopped midway down the Jordanelle run in Deer Valley, edged his skis into the snow and stared at the Wasatch Mountain range, Utah. It was a blue bird day in the “skier only” resort, and behind the polarised lenses of his goggles, he could see his wife about half way to the bottom.

He stretched out the band of his slightly fogged Oakleys and lifted them onto his helmet. To his left, the chair lift carried skiers back up the mountain, and to his right, a smattering of private cedar mansions overlooked the perfectly groomed terrain. In the distance, part of Lake Jordanelle glimmered in the sunshine, a blue splash in a landscape of silver snow.

Catching his glove between his teeth, he freed his hand and dug in his pocket for his mobile phone.

One missed call.

One message.

Allegra Greenwood.

Simon’s heart beat faltered, and he shivered, despite sweating inside his ski jacket. The outcome of this call could determine whether he stayed in the States or returned to Australia.

Edging his skis deeper into the snow, he listened as the computerised voice gave him the date and time. He waved his ski pole at his wife, who was now waiting for him at the bottom of the run. Most of her life had been spent this way, waiting for him, at home, at sporting events and school concerts, and now at the bottom of a ski run while he retrieved a message on his phone.

A pall of regret came over him at she waved her ski pole in reply. It wouldn’t be fair on her if he had to cut short their time in America.

And then Allegra began to speak.

10:00 a.m. Wednesday

Josie woke, warm, contented and naked in Nate’s huge bed. She stretched out under the covers, luxuriating in the feeling of satisfaction deep within her belly. Dreamily, she trailed her hands up and over her breasts. They ached a little when she cupped them, sensitised and tender from Nate’s focused attention.

With a little smile, she burrowed deeper into the bedclothes, surrounding herself with his scent. Life had a way of throwing everything at you at once, the good, the bad and the ugly included. Last Sunday night, she’d witnessed Mulvaney’s death, and then amidst the danger and chaos of the last two days, she and Nate had been drawn to each other. And this morning, they’d made love, like they were the only two people on earth.

She turned over, then stilled as male voices filtered down the hallway, one of them unfamiliar. She sat up and threw off the bedclothes. Nate wouldn’t be joining her anytime soon, and she wanted to find out the identity of the third man.

Half an hour later, showered and changed, she hesitated at the entrance to the living room. Nate looked up and caught sight of her.

‘Josie, come and meet Dario Byrne.’

He came over and took her hand, led her to where a tall, slim, grey haired man was talking to Dickson. Dressed in a polo shirt, casual trousers and loafers, the man looked to be on his way to the local golf links.

‘Josie, this is our ex Superintendant of Police.’ Nate explained. ‘He takes care of things here while I’m away. Dario, Josie Valenti.’

Ah, the retired member of the force Nate had told her about, though he hadn’t mentioned the ex Superintendant bit.

Assessing brown eyes swept over her as he grasped her hand, mouth curving in a half smile that didn’t soften the deep grooves in his face. ‘Pleased to meet you, Josie.’

‘Likewise.’

She looked at Nate and wondered what was going on. Despite the horror of the initiation, and their lovemaking in the early hours, he looked fresh faced and invigorated.

‘We’re putting things in place for later today,’ he explained. ‘We can’t stay here, not with Barry Simpson’s family aware of the situation. It’s best we move to a hotel in the city, especially with me delivering the cash tomorrow.’

Nate rubbed a hand up and down her arm, eyes searching her face. ‘If we get a visual of the person collecting the money, we could bring the operation to a head. I could use your help, Josie, provided you’re okay with it. Dickson can stake out the gym, you the drycleaners. Dario’s bought clothes to disguise you.’