Savor the Danger (24 page)

It seemed so surreal. Prior to being kidnapped, her life had been so secure, so happy and so…surface-level. Sure, she'd loved—her brother, Dare, the parents she still missed.

And she'd enjoyed—her studies, her work, her friends.

But everything she felt now was enhanced by the knowledge of how easily it could be taken away. Fear honed her senses. Simple joys, like planning the decorating of Jackson's house, meant so much more to her.

Loving him meant everything.

She wanted to tell him how she felt, but he had so much going on right now, how could she add to his burden?
What if he didn't feel the same? Jackson thought himself invincible, but she knew the truth.

In a heartbeat, everything could change. She didn't want to waste a single second of her time with him.

But neither did she want to be a distraction.

Grim came back to her, gave one long rusty meow, butted her hand with his head and started purring. In her maudlin frame of mind, such a simple gesture of trust left her ready to weep. “You like being pampered, huh?” She drew him into her lap and began brushing again.

Already, giant fur balls rolled over the lawn like tumbleweeds. Many of the tangles had had to be cut out, so he had a few patchy places, but otherwise, he looked beautiful.

Cross, but oh so precious.

She cuddled him up to her face and hugged him.

A shadow fell over her.

Thinking Chris had returned with a bag for the cleanup, she tipped her head back, but instead it was Jackson. He stared down at her, expression enigmatic except for his eyes. Burning bright with sensual need, they left her scorched.

Caught up in her own disturbing analogy, Alani whispered, “Hi.”

“Hey.” He knelt down beside her. “What'd the vet say?”

“So far, so good. Tomorrow, Chris will take him to her office to get the results of some blood tests, and if everything is as good as she suspects, he'll get a few shots. But he's parasite free, ears clean, eyes clear. All he needs is lots of love.”

“Looks like you're giving him that.”

The cat abandoned her to high-step, back arched, tail
lifted, over to Jackson. He wove in and around Jackson's legs, purring loudly in that raspy voice of his.

Grinning, Jackson scooped him up. “My man, you're looking real slick.” He ran a hand along the cat's back, found a knot of fur and reached for the scissors.

So gentle, he cut out the tangle without a single complaint from Grim.

The setting sun shone on Jackson's face, in his bright green eyes, gilding his blond hair and emphasizing the clarity of his astounding good looks. Jackson was a man who could make women melt by appearance alone. Coupled with his protective streak and generous nature, he devastated her senses.

Cupping the side of his face, Alani drew him toward her for a kiss. She thought of everything he'd done to her, how he made her body burn, and she badly wanted to reciprocate.

“Mmm.” Noses touching, he asked, “What was that for?”

“I want you.” She sighed. “I've wanted you since that aborted seduction in the car.” The words left her mouth, and she laughed. “That's a lie. I wanted you long before that. In fact, it's getting harder and harder to remember when I didn't want you.”

Arrested, he gazed into her eyes a moment, then looked around, probably trying to figure out how they could work it.

She smiled. “Sorry. Chris will be back in a minute. He's going to help me clean up the fur mess.”

“Here.” Jackson set the cat in her lap and started gathering up the fur.

Knowing he shared the physical need with her left Alani's mood lightened. “In a rush?”

“After what you said? That kiss?” He chased down a rolling ball of fluffy fur. “Damn right.”

Seconds later, Chris showed up. Jackson took the bag from him and shoved everything inside.

Watching him, Chris said, “Let me guess—you're in a hurry?”

“Something like that.”

“Jackson.” With him being so blatant about things, Alani couldn't keep the heat out of her cheeks. “I was going to help Chris get the cat settled—”

“He can do it.” Expression imploring, Jackson appealed to Chris. “You can do it, right?”

Rolling his eyes, Chris said, “Yeah, sure. Who am I to stand in the way of true love?”

Both Jackson and Alani froze. Jackson cracked first. “You're the man, Chris. Thanks.”

“I've pretty much already got everything ready, anyway. The vet suggested keeping him separated from the others, but the girls are dying to say hi, so maybe I can take him down to my place now.”

Alani looked to the front door and saw Tai and Sargie looking out, big brown eyes hopeful, their noses pressed to the screen.

She laughed. “They are such big, sweet muffins.”

“Liger is more undecided.” Chris smiled back at the dogs. “But then that fat cat doesn't stir himself for too many people, so why would he bother with another animal?”

“If Priss hears you call him fat, she'll skin you.”

Chris laughed. “Actually, Trace is more defensive of him now than she is.”

“Yeah, that's great. Good for Liger.” Impatient, Jackson scooped up the cat, stroked him a few times, whispered in his ear, then handed him over to Chris. “Thanks.”

Pretending great distress, Chris put a hand to his head. “First you want me, now you're giving me the brush-off.”

Jackson gave him a light shove. “I said I needed someone like you.” He reached for Alani. “Besides, Dare would never give you up.”

“Course he wouldn't. I'm too valuable.”

Alani hesitated. “You'll let me know if Grim has any problems?”

“I will, but don't worry. He'll be fine.” He gave Jackson a level man-to-man stare. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do.” And with that, he walked off.

Jackson stood there a second. “What wouldn't he do?”

Tugging him toward the house, Alani said, “Knowing Chris, it's all fair game. And right now, that works just fine for me.”

“Much more talk like that,” Jackson murmured behind her, “and I won't last.”

“We have the rest of the night.” The dogs had left the front door to follow Chris, so as she led Jackson through the house, they ran into no one. She propelled him into the room they'd use. “I'm interested to learn more about this quickie you mentioned, but—”

His mouth landed on hers. She found herself backed up to the closed door, his hips pressed to hers, his hands on her breasts.

Oh, my. He really was impatient.

Alani ran her hands over his wide, hard back, down his spine and onto his sexy muscled backside.

He jumped as if pinched. Rearing back to see her, gaze hot, he whispered, “You little tease.”

Did her touch really cause so much reaction? Infused with confidence, Alani smiled. “I'd like a turn.”

Still with his hands on her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples, he asked, “At what?”

“Being the…aggressor.”

As they stared at each other, she felt the rise of his erection and his body heat.

When he said nothing, she gently pushed away from the door. “Let's switch positions.”

“Yeah, okay.” But for once he seemed clumsy. Eyes narrowed with sensual intent, he watched her. “Woman, what are you planning to do?”

“Nothing you haven't done to me.”

He sucked in a ragged breath. “Yeah.”

“Nothing I haven't already done—except that you don't remember.” She gazed up at him. “And you didn't let me finish.”

Another breath. “Okay. Sure. If that's what you want.”

“I want you, Jackson.” She opened his belt buckle.

In a rush, he shifted, reaching back for his holster as she slid the belt free.

Alani held out a hand, and he surprised her by placing the holstered gun in her palm. It was heavy but warm from his body. She set it, with the belt, on a chair beside the bed.

Avoiding Jackson's gaze, knowing he had the power to throw off her plans with but a look, she concentrated on his jeans. The snap opened easily.

“Careful now,” he told her.

And he held his breath as she eased the zipper down over a solid erection. Slipping her hand inside the open jeans, she stroked him. The feel of him through the cotton boxers excited her.

She wanted more.

She dropped down to her knees.

Jackson rasped, “God, woman.” His big hand settled in her hair. “Gotta say, you look good down there.”

“That's what you said the first time.” She smiled. “Let's get off your boots so I can get you naked.”

He didn't reply, and when she looked up, his long fingers worked through her hair. His chest labored, and color rose on his high cheekbones.

“You gonna blow me, darlin'?”

That was the plan, but she hadn't expected him to outright ask. “Let's play it by ear.”

He massaged her scalp. “Let's play it by tongue.”

So suggestive. And since when could a hand on her head make her insane with need?

Since Jackson, obviously.

She turned her attention back to his boots, unlacing them and, when he lifted a foot, removing them. She peeled off his socks.

Even his big feet were sexy, she thought, especially with the way he braced them apart in anticipation of what would come.

Alani looked up the length of his tall body and came back to her feet.

“You're killing me here.”

“A big, strong guy like you can take it.” Catching the hem of his shirt, she drew it up his torso. His skin was hot, and other than a sprinkling of body hair, smooth and sleek over iron muscles and long bones. Leaning forward, Alani kissed his chest, lightly bit a pectoral muscle, teased her tongue over a flat nipple.

His head went back. “If I come in my pants, it'll be your fault.”

She stalled. “Is that a possibility?”

Eyes closed, face flushed, he grinned. “Nah. Least, I hope not.”

“Good.” She got the shirt up more, and then let him strip it off over his head. Spreading both hands on his chest, she said, “Because I want to taste you this time.”

While he sucked in air, she went back to her knees and tugged down the jeans. When the denim bunched at the bottom of his thighs, she leaned forward and kissed him through his boxers. “You smell really good, Jackson.” Hands on his hips, she opened her mouth over him, teased along his length with her teeth. She nuzzled lower, where his scent was stronger, and her stomach did a somersault.

“Know what, babe?” He shifted uneasily. “That'd feel even better if we both got naked.”

Knowing he'd rob her of her chance if she disrobed, Alani shook her head. “Just you.” She tugged the jeans down the rest of the way, and as he stepped free, she pushed them aside. “Now the boxers.”

“Hell, yeah.” Without a modest bone in his body, Jackson stripped them off. He stroked her head. “You wanna come up here and kiss me?”

“No, I think I'll do my kissing from down here.” He pulsed with life when she wrapped her fist around him. “Jackson?”

Tense from his toes to his eyebrows, he said, “Hmm?”

“Tell me if I do anything wrong.” And with that, she leaned forward to lick away a salty drop of fluid from the head.

“Yeah, su—” Cut short on a gasp, his reply ended with a groan.

Liking that reaction, Alani licked him again, all around and down the shaft to the base.

Breathing hard, he cupped her head in both hands
and urged her closer. “Open up, Alani. Let me feel your mouth.”

Even now, when she hoped to wrest away the control, he managed to easily seduce her using no more than his honest need.

“Like this?” She parted her lips around him, drew him in.

“Ah…fuck. Yeah.”

Kneading her hair, he held her still while easing farther into her mouth. It excited her unbearably, to hear his breathless groans, feel the growing tension in his muscles, breathe in his heat and the scent that was purely Jackson.

He put one hand over hers where she held him and, in a gravelly rasp, instructed, “Squeeze me. Like this.” He showed her how to move her hand in counterpoint to her mouth. His thumb slid over her face. “Suck on me. Let me feel your cheeks hollow out—”

And when she did, he praised her with, “Good. Too good.” He groaned. “Damn, I can't wait.”

She slid him free, licked again, drew him back in.

His knees locked. “That's enough, Alani. Enough.”

He tried to tug her away, but she didn't want to stop. This time, she wanted everything from him.

“Alani…baby, it's now or never.” Another groan, raw, broken, and:
“Too late.”
Cupping his hands around her neck, he drew her close and growled out a strong release that shook his big body.

Alani stayed with him as he continued to groan and tremble, and then he eased her away with a broken, breathless laugh.

“Yeah,” he murmured, “that helped.”

On her knees looking up at him, Alani asked, “Helped with what?”

“All that ails me.” He put his head back against the door, drew in several laboring breaths and blew them out slowly. “Now.”

Her whole body throbbed with a sweet, expanding ache. “Now what?”

“Now you.” He caught her under the arms and scooped her up. “I hope the sandwiches filled you up, because I have a feeling we'll be missing dinner.”

On the ragged edge of need, Alani said truthfully, “That works just fine for me.”

H
OURS LATER, JUDGING
by the limp way she rested beside him and the deepness of her breathing, Jackson assumed she slept. His whole body still buzzed with sensation. He knew sex. He knew pleasure.

God Almighty, what he got from Alani was something else.

He wanted to sleep, too, but he couldn't quiet the upheaval of his thoughts as they bounced from Arizona and Alani, now and the future, danger and…love.

For most of his life, he'd made a point of not wanting anything that he didn't know he could get.

But now, he wanted a lot.

And there wasn't a single certainty to be found.

When Alani's gentle fingers moved over his chest, Jackson realized that she'd only been catching her wind. He took her hand as it started to wander down his body. “Not to cut into your bragging rights, babe, but I'm spent. Even for me, that was…” Profound? No, he couldn't say that to her. “Draining.”

“Mmm.” She curled into him. “For me, too.”

How could he make her understand that the last few hours with her only made him want more? Like everything.

He kissed her forehead. “Sleep.”

“I don't know if I can. Not yet.” She half crawled up over his chest. “What are we going to do?”

They hadn't turned on any lights, and as the sun had set, darkness filled every corner. With the drapes closed, not even moonlight filtered in.

But he knew how she looked. He knew her small, plump breasts were against his chest, her pink nipples now soft, her pale hair tumbled into sexy disarray and her mouth swollen from too many kisses.

The beauty of her, of having her with him like this, left his heart full.

The uncertainty of the future cramped his brain.

“Do?” he asked while trailing a hand down her spine. “About what?”

Two beats of silence warned him before she said, “Arizona.” And in a rush: “We have to figure out how to help her.”

His blood ran cold. “There is no
we.
” He turned, putting her under him. “You've got nothing to do with it.”

Voice soft, a little wounded, she said, “No?”

“No.” But realizing how that might sound, he clarified, “I'd like you to meet her. I hope that you'll like her. But she's into something.”

“How do you know?”

Because she was always into something. He shook his head. “If Arizona needs help, I'll help her. But you'll keep your little nose out of it.”

“So I have no part?”

“Not in this.” Not in anything dangerous.

“Then what?” Defiance filled her tone. “Sex?”

“Definitely.” He was sexually satisfied to the point of exhaustion, so they both knew the way he parted her thighs and settled between them was no more than taking a dominant position.

Not that it did him much good.

“You hardly need my input for that.”

“I need your participation.” He bent and kissed her before she could shun him. “And I want you to help me decorate, to pitch in with Grim.”

“Such important jobs.”

He racked his brain. “I like your company. I like talking with you.”

“Well I want more.” Alani shoved against his chest. “I want to
help.
”

Jackson caught and controlled her hands. Thrusting his face down close to hers, he said, “You can help by not getting in my way.”

That cut her. Though she remained pinned beneath him, he felt her disengage in every other way. “I see.”

He struggled for a breath and put his forehead to hers. “Nah, baby, you don't.”

“Get off.”

“Already did. How many times?” Teasing wouldn't win her over, but it'd give him a second to think. “Did you keep count this round?”

“Yes, but it doesn't matter. So you're a sexual dynamo or something? So what?” She bucked up against him and almost got away. He quickly resettled her. “I don't care!”

“Yeah, I think you do.” She'd even bragged about it. When he'd started this erotic campaign to numb her with so much physical gratification that she wouldn't be able to hold back, he'd expected some excesses, but he'd surprised even himself. “Otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it to the wives.”

Breathing hard, she went still. “I didn't know it was unusual.”

Imagining how Priss and Molly must've taken her claims, he had to laugh. He didn't doubt that Dare and Trace were carnal men, but yeah…he was sort of going
for the gold lately. “God, woman, you screw with my composure.”

“Oh, poor you.” She shoved at him again. “Now get
off
of me.”

Instead Jackson released her hands and slowly, gently, cradled her close. He rolled to put her atop him. “You really want to help, baby?”

As if sensing a trap, she went motionless. He felt her breath, her uncertainty. He felt her body on his, the beating of her heart, the shifting of her thighs. “Yes.”

Sliding his hands down to her adorably rounded ass, he snugged her in close. “Then don't push me away.” Her skin was so soft, so silky and warm. He closed his eyes against all the ways she affected him. “I can't sleep. I should be dead to the world, but my brain won't stop buzzing.”

Her fingertips moved over his shoulder, then up to the side of his throat. “Jackson…”

“Talk to me.”

Voice soft with understanding, she asked, “About what?”

Everything. Hell, he'd brought her to climax over and over again, and while he loved the way she groaned and the sexy sounds she made while tightening all around him, she hadn't made a single avowal of her feelings. “How about…?”
Whether or not you want me for more than sex?
That sounded lame even to him.

“What?” Overflowing with empathy, she stroked his jaw. “You can talk to me, Jackson, you know that.”

“Okay.” It seemed like a good idea to start over. “I was wondering, if this all ended tomorrow—” She stiffened.
“Us?”

“No!” Jesus, why would she think such a thing? “I'm
talking about the danger. Once we get it resolved…then what?”

The silence grew deafening until his heartbeat sounded in his ears and his chest hurt.

“I guess…” Leaving that thought unfinished, she scooted to the side of him and sat up. He heard her sigh, felt her vulnerability. “I guess I wouldn't need your protection anymore, would I?”

She'd always have it, whether she wanted it or not. Sitting up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her with his determination. “Would you stay anyway?”

“You mean here?” She twisted to see him. “At Dare's?”

“No.” Damn, but this was tough. He wasn't used to analyzing his words, to thinking about the ramifications to things he might say. Determined to get it all out, he drew her back down to the bed and loomed over her. “With me.”

Shocked confusion had her breathing faster. “At your house?”

“Yeah.”

“You'd want that?”

Right now, at this particular moment, he wanted that more than anything. Curling up to sleep with Alani each night, waking with her snuggled warm at his side each morning and making love to her at every opportunity…what wasn't to like?

Making himself perfectly clear, Jackson said, “Move in with me.”

“Oh.” Near to hyperventilating, she said again, with more meaning, “Oh.”

Oh, what? Was her reaction shock or lack of enthusiasm? He didn't know, and at the moment, he didn't
care. “Move in with me,” he said again, with more insistence.

“Why?”

The question threw him. He gripped her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “What do you mean, why?”

Pragmatic, she said, “You asked me to live with you. I want to know
why.
”

He hadn't expected an inquisition, but maybe he should have. Nothing with Alani would ever be simple.

The right words to convince her burned his throat, but they'd sound like melodramatic crap, and he wasn't ready to go there yet.

He bent and kissed her hard. “I want time with you. Time without all the interference, without threats and the constant moving from one place to another. I want to be alone with you, without tripping over your damned brother or Dare.”

She shrugged. “Where I go, they usually show up.”

Yeah, he knew that, but at his place they'd have a lot more privacy. “If you're there with me, you can help me finish my house. You have great taste.”

“No more naked lady statues and wall art?”

He felt her weakening and grinned. “Not unless it's a picture of you.”

“Not in this lifetime!”

“Spoilsport.” He kissed her. “We could swim, go boating. Decorate, cook. And we can get Grim acclimated to his new place.”

“You're saying we could have…fun?”

“Yeah.”
Fun
pretty much described how he felt about his time with Alani.

After she thought about it, she lifted up to kiss him sweetly on his bottom lip. “And if we're under the same roof, we could have sex whenever we wanted.”

He locked his jaw and said, “Sunup to sundown.” Not that he could be lukewarm about unhindered sex with Alani. But it meant more than that to him, so he needed it to mean more to her, too.

“I never thought of myself as the type of woman to shack up.” She gave a delicate shiver. “It sounds rather
salacious,
doesn't it?”

The phrase insulted the hell out of Jackson. Did she see this only as an opportunity for more experimenting? “I wouldn't call it that.”

“Then what?”

Was she egging him on? He couldn't tell. “I want us to live together. You don't have to call it anything else.”

“I like the idea.”

“But?”

She touched his jaw. “With my job, my brother, our separate responsibilities, how would that work, exactly?”

Jackson concentrated on the simplest problems. “I'm not that far from your office, right? When I'm not off on a case, we could bounce back and forth, maybe stay at your place two days a week so you could catch up.”

“I suppose I could work off the computer the rest of the week, ordering and organizing.”

“There, you see? Problem solved.” Hoping to seal the deal, he kissed her again. “And your brother might as well get used to it, right?” He stared hard through the darkness, wishing he could see her face. “What do you say?”

“Well…”

As time stretched out without her replying, he felt scraped raw from the inside out. He'd never before asked a woman to live with him. He'd rarely ever asked a woman to stay over at all.

Finally he couldn't take it; his temper snapped. He
stretched up on stiffened arms and glared down at her. “Jesus, woman, are you doing math? It was a simple enough—”

“Yes.”

His heart dropped and then exploded in frantic pounding. “Yes?”

She slid her arms around his neck, and he heard the smile in her voice. “Yes, I'll move in with you.”

Relief obliterated his exhaustion. Alani kissed his shoulder, shifted her legs under his, and crazy as it seemed, he felt himself getting hard again.

He caught her mouth with his own and went about devouring her. Tomorrow, he'd tell her about the plan to head back to his apartment. And before they left Dare's, he'd explain that Arizona would always be a part of his life. He'd tackle the danger and her brother. Tomorrow.

One way or another, he'd work it all out so that Alani would remain his.

 

A
RIZONA DECIDED TO CALL
Jackson at four in the morning.

Like most normal people, he was probably expecting the call to come at a more reasonable hour. And now that he had a new squeeze, she'd just bet he was all cozy under the sheets with her right now. Normally, she'd give him a little more time.

But it wasn't to be.

After catching a few hours of shut-eye, she'd gone out on the hunt again. Tooling around the truck stops, she'd asked too many questions and deliberately stirred up suspicions.

Finally she'd gotten a bite.

No idea if one of the cars trailing her was owned by
the same yahoos in the silver BMW. But maybe. Until she got them, every last one of them, she wouldn't feel complete. She'd remain only a piece of a person. A brain, a heart—but no soul. No real substance.

That thought made her laugh. Having no substance meant she couldn't be hurt. When was the last time she'd felt like a normal person?

A lifetime ago.

No wonder she couldn't remember much about it. Even with Jackson trying so hard to help her fit in, the truth won out: she'd been forever changed by her experiences. The past had helped to shape her into a force of vengeance.

Jackson had killed the ones who hurt her, robbing her of the revenge she'd desperately wanted.

But if it hadn't been for him, she would have died.

So she paid it forward by helping others who would be abused by traffickers. Somehow, somewhere, it had to make a difference.

To someone.

Pulling up to the front of another bar, in plain view of passersby, she put the car in Park. Windows up and doors locked, she sat back and stewed on the plan. Jackson would want to help her, but in this, he couldn't.

Not this time.

She needed a safe place to set up. Having no personal residence of her own, she'd have to make do with someone else's digs.

Girlfriend's? That might work.

But she was more familiar with Jackson's apartment. If she got him out of there, then she'd have a clear field.

Guilt nudged at her resolve, but she shoved it aside with ruthless determination.

She dialed Jackson.

It didn't surprise her that his cell rang only once. Jackson might sleep, but even then, he remained on alert. He was the most amazing man she'd ever met.

“Hey, sweetcheeks. It's me.”