Sweet Vengeance (21 page)

She
cradled his head between her hands, amazed he could cause such powerful
sensations to rip through her. 

But
that was only the beginning.  She felt his hand sliding softly past her waist,
over her hip and between her thighs.  She sucked in a breath.  He slipped
beneath the thin bit of lace she still wore, cupping her, using his finger to
graze her most sensitive spot.

She
gasped.

"Do
you like that?" he whispered in her ear. 

She
could barely get enough air to answer.  "Yes."

"How
about this?"  He dipped a finger inside her, and she thought she might
explode. 

She
arched into him.  "Yes." 

Pleasure
washed through her from his expert touch, building inside.  She ached with the
need for release.  Time was not her friend. 

She
tugged his head toward her face, her breath catching when he caught her lips in
a powerful kiss.  "Roll over," she murmured pushing his shoulders
back.  He complied, pulling her with him. 

"I
want you, Jase," she whispered as she sat up, the palms of her hands
resting on his stomach. 

"I
want you, too."

"Now."

"Allie." 
He said her name as though it was a prayer.

Slowly,
she rose up and found the hard length of him waiting between her thighs.  She
held her breath as her hand circled him, feeling the power pulsing within her
grasp. 

He
sucked in a breath, but didn't move.

Still
holding his gaze, she positioned him at her entrance, anticipating the
sweetness of holding him inside her.  This was right.  So right.

She
slid over him, surrounding him in her heat.  He jerked beneath her as she
gripped his shoulders, afraid she'd melt from the overwhelming feeling of
having him inside.  A shiver rippled through her. 

"Good
God," he whispered, his eyelids fluttering shut.

She
moved above him, reveling in pleasure as he filled her, enjoying the
bittersweet sensation as she released him.  Over and over, she let the
exquisite feeling take control of her body as Jase tightened his hold on her
hips.  "Oh, Jase."  A low trembling built deep within her, gaining
strength with each thrust.  She clenched her muscles as the orgasm rolled
through her, making her shake and lose her rhythm.

Jase
rolled them again, putting her on the bottom.  He kissed her.  Hard. 
"You're mine," he whispered, his lips still touching hers. 
"Mine."  

Her
heart sang at his words. 
His
.  That's all she wanted.  She clung to him
as he slipped back inside her, filling her with love. 

He
possessed her.  Inside and out.  Over and over.  He made love to her with a
desperate passion.  His muscles bunched as he held himself above her.  She ran
her hands up his biceps and over his shoulders needing to feel him, touch him,
taste him.

She
came again before he did, but he wasn't far behind.  When they both lay spent
on the bed, he pulled her into his arms.  She relaxed, contented.  "I'm
glad you didn't push me away."

"I've
wanted you every second of every day since I laid eyes on you.  It's taken
every ounce of self-control I have to keep my hands off you." 

"Really?" 
She smiled in the darkness.

"Really. 
And you certainly haven't made things easy, showing up in my bed every night,
especially in that sexy nightgown."

"Carole
gave it to me."

"Figures." 
He kissed her until she was breathless.  "I want you more than the air I breathe,
Allie."

"More
than revenge?"  The question was out of her mouth before she realized it,
and she couldn't have regretted it more.  Seconds of silence ticked by, seeming
like an eternity.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to say that."  She
didn't want to ruin their beautiful night together.

He
placed a soft kiss on her lips.  "We have no past, remember?  It's just us
tonight." 

It
wasn't the answer she wanted, but at least he wasn't angry with her.  She
pushed aside her disappointment.  She had him in her arms right now, and she
could do nothing more than live for the moment.

She
snuggled deeper into his embrace.  Heaven help her.  She knew without a doubt
she'd never experience this feeling with anyone else again.

*       
*        *

Jase
reached for her again during the night.  Now that the gates had been opened, he
knew there was no way he could ever resist Allie Jordan again.  Sweet, sensual,
and oh, God, more than he could have ever asked for.

He
might be damned for making love to a woman who carried another's child, but he
wasn't the first man in history to do so, and a compassionate God wouldn't
condemn him for accepting a slice of heaven while he served out his hellish
life on earth.

When
the last of his passion was spent, he tucked her against him, pulling the
covers around them, and cherished the last few hours he'd ever have with
Allie.  He had told her she'd leave in a couple of days, but it was obvious the
more time they spent together, the harder it would be for them to part.  And
parting was something they had to do.

He
could see her leaning toward love.  It was only a matter of time before she
fell.  He couldn't allow that.  She was completely oblivious to his faults. 
She saw him as a protector, a hero, which he wanted to be.  But the fact was,
he was a dangerous man.  Dangerous to himself and to those around him.  The
sooner she left, the better.

For
him, it was too late.  Too late to have a good life.  And far too late to stop
himself from falling in love with her.

*       
*        *

The
sun had barely given morning its first blush when Jase slipped out of bed. 
Although Allie was a deep sleeper, he moved cautiously across the room,
gathering his clothes for the day.  When that was done, he tiptoed back to
Allie's side of the bed.

He
paused, gazing down at the beautiful woman who had made his dreams come true
the night before.  He never would have asked her for such a thing, but he'd
been helpless to resist when she'd offered. 

It
killed him to not crawl back beside her and pull her into his arms.  She'd
talked of him staying in Oregon and leaving Chicago behind.  But he couldn't do
that.  Not yet.  Maybe not ever.  The Trasatti family
had
to pay.  The
cops hadn't been able to get a conviction.  He wondered if they'd really
tried—maybe Detective Cates, but the rest seemed like a bunch of goons. 

And
what about what the Trasatti family had done to Allie's life?  She'd never be
the same.  No, if Jase didn't make the mobsters pay, no one would.  They'd get
away with more than murder.

Jase
took a quick shower and left the house.  The air was fresh and cool on his
face, and much sweeter than the smog-filled skies he'd find back in the
bustling city of Chicago.  He walked quickly to the guest house where Robert
had resided since Jase had been a small boy.  The quaint log cabin sat nestled
in a canopy of maples and pines a short distance away from the main house, and
it afforded his driver-slash-handyman a small amount of privacy.

Jase
knocked on the door.  It was several minutes before anyone answered, and it
took the sight of Robert standing bare-chested in a pair of flannel pants
before Jase realized it was too early in the morning to be paying a visit.

"What's
wrong?"  The older black man blinked several times, his eyes still tinged
with sleep.

Jase
let out a breath, feeling stupid.  "Oh, I'm sorry, man."  He gave him
a sheepish grin.  "I didn't think you'd still be asleep."

Robert
widened his eyes.  "It's not even six, yet."

"Uh,
yeah."  Jase took a step back from the door.  "I mean, I didn't realize
it was so early still.  I can come back later."

Robert
opened the door wider.  "You might as well come in now.  I wasn't
sleeping, anyway."  He turned and walked toward the interior of the house,
leaving Jase to follow. 

Jase
stepped inside the quiet living room, shutting the door behind him.  Memories
bombarded him from every direction.  He couldn't count the times he and his
sister had played there as children.  Monopoly and chocolate chip cookies on
the nicked wooden table in front of the couch.  Hide-and-seek and homemade
lemonade on Saturday afternoons. 

He
couldn't stand to think of it now.  He closed off the painful memories and
wandered into the kitchen.

Jase
stopped, almost as surprised to see Carole as she was to see him. 

"Stars,
almighty," she gasped as she closed the top of her robe with one hand. 
She turned to glare at Robert.  "Why didn't you tell me Jase was coming
in?"

Robert's
deep voice rumbled through the quiet kitchen.  "I was just about to."

"Morning,
Carole."  Jase enjoyed the deep pink that settled on her cheeks. 
"What are you doing up and about so early in the morning?"

She
narrowed her eyes.  "You know damn well what I'm doing, so quit pretending
you don't."

Though
he was plagued by thoughts of Allie, Jase managed a smile.  "I'll quit
pretending as soon as you and Robert quit pretending you haven't been in love
for years."

"I'm
not the one pretending," Robert said as he pulled a bottle of orange juice
from the fridge.  "She's the one who thinks we need to keep it a
secret."

Carole
scoffed as she reached for two glasses from the cupboard.  "I don't think
it needs to be a secret.  We just shouldn't do things in front of the..."

"Children?" 
Robert finished, with raised brows.  He filled the two glasses sitting on the
bar and held the bottle up, offering some to Jase.

Jase
shook his head.  "I'm a grown man, Carole.  In case you haven't
noticed."

"I've
noticed.  It's just..."  She glanced at Robert.  "Weird.  We had to
hide it for so long, it's become a habit."

Robert
rolled his eyes and took a drink of o.j.  "I don't think Jase came over
here at six in the morning to talk about our love life."  He lifted his
chin.  "What's up?"

Jase
hesitated.  He was about to meet his first wave of resistance.  "I'm going
to be gone for a couple of days.  I have some stuff to take care of."  It
really wasn't anything pressing.  But a quick trip to Chicago was a good excuse
to check on his operations and keep away from Allie at the same time. 
"When I get back, Allie will be leaving."

"Why?" 
Carole was the first to express her disappointment.  "The next school
semester doesn't start for a while.  Why not let her stay longer?  And you,
too?  You need a break."

Jase
held up a hand.  He knew Carole's motives would be to keep him and Allie
together long enough they might stay together, and that was the exact reason
Allie had to go.  "It's not open for discussion."

Carole
snorted.  "Your father always had the good sense to listen to my
reasoning."

That
didn't help matters.  "My father's not here."

"Carole..." 
Robert put a hand on her forearm.  "It's not our place."  He shook
his head.

Carole
shifted her aggravation to Robert.  "We are the only parents he
has."  She jabbed a finger in Jase's direction without taking her eyes off
Robert.  "We let him go back to Chicago all those years ago.  You said it
would help him accept what's happened.  Does he look like he's accepted
it?"  She didn't wait for an answer.  "No.  He's got armed men at our
gate—that's not normal.  And I know he's all tangled up in some crazy mob
affair, looking for revenge."

How
the hell did she know about his plans for the Trasatti family?  Had Allie said
something?  Jase would have asked, but Carole hadn't finished her tirade. 
"Then he brings home sweet Allie, and he has a second chance for a family,
for a normal, peaceful life, and you're ready to help Jase ship her out the
door."

Robert
compressed his lips into a thin line, waiting several seconds after Carol
finished before replying.  "I understand, but this is his life."  He
flicked a glance at Jase.  "He's a grown man.  Not much we can do."

Carole
rolled her eyes and let out an angry sigh.  "Fine."  She stood up and
headed toward the living room.  "You men do whatever the hell you want. 
You're all idiots anyway."  She slammed the front door as she left.

"Mm-hmm." 
Robert took a sip of juice.  "She's probably right."

Jase
took Carole's seat at the bar, grateful to have survived the first wave of
attack.  "No, not this time.  Allie will have a much better life away from
me."

Robert
shifted a slow glance in his direction.  "It doesn't have to be that
way."

Some
days, Jase wished he didn't live the life of a vigilante.  Other days, he
couldn't wait to obliterate the hell out of the Trasatti family.  "Notify
the guys watching the gate that someone will be dropping off a vehicle sometime
later today or tomorrow.  I'll get the keys from you when I return.  Allie will
be leaving shortly after that."