скачать книгу бесплатно
Right now, though, on this stormy afternoon, few people could be seen. Even better, she was safe and sound in a car with the impressive Detective Reese Bareden.
Lightning seared the sky ahead of them, ramping up the downpour from a shower to a thunderstorm.
Feeling content, a little lazy and all too comfortable despite the weather and her drenched appearance, she sighed. “I love storms.” She’d always found them sexy. Peaceful. A sign of fresh renewal.
Strung too tight, Reese muttered, “Me, too.”
He slowed as a woman, holding a little boy’s hand, dashed across the street. She almost lost her umbrella beneath a gust of wind. The kid laughed as he deliberately stomped in deep puddles. The poor woman was not amused.
Alice watched them hurry into a restaurant. She realized she was smiling.
“You like children?”
She redirected her smile at Reese. He, too, had gotten soaked to the skin. His dark polo shirt stuck to his broad, solid shoulders and chest. He’d pushed back his wet hair, leaving it in sexy disarray. His lashes clumped together over his bright green eyes.
“I love them.” What would Reese’s children look like? They’d be tall and no doubt blond. Surely confident and happy, like their dad.
“You don’t have any?”
She shook off fanciful daydreams. “No, of course not.” What did he think? That she’d abandoned a child somewhere? That she would live apart from her child? “I’ve never been married, or even in a serious relationship. I mean, not that serious.” Not since the kidnapping had she even looked at a man with interest. “One day I’d like to have kids of my own, though.”
“Boys or girls?”
“It wouldn’t matter to me.” The skies darkened with the storm so that it felt like early evening. Headlights danced over the rain-washed road and reflected off the wet surfaces of signs, buildings and other cars. “I thought men didn’t like to talk about stuff like that.”
“Stuff like what?”
He’d turned that back around on her, so she sought the right words. “You know what I mean. Things so personal. So...intimate.”
“Intimate?” Reese kept his gaze on the road.
If he wanted to discuss it, fine. “Talking about children usually suggests a committed, caring relationship.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I like talking with you about anything.”
Could that possibly be true? She couldn’t miss the stiff set of his shoulders, how his hands gripped the wheel. Something wasn’t right, but unlike with most people, she often had difficulty reading his moods and thoughts. “You’re upset?”
“What? No.” He shifted, trying to relax.
Alice studied him. “Would you fib to me, Reese?”
The seconds ticked by. It almost felt like he held his breath—and then he admitted, “If necessary, yeah, I would.”
His honesty pleased her. She smiled at him to let him know.
Confused, he worked his jaw. “You want me to lie to you?”
“I don’t think you would, not about anything important.” She tipped her head. “You say you’re not upset?”
“I’m not.”
How wonderful would it be to totally trust another man? Did she dare? “Then what’s wrong?”
His laugh was short and rough. “Nothing.”
Something. Maybe she needed more information to figure him out. “Reese?”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve kissed me a few times now.”
“Yeah.” His voice went deep and dark. “And you liked it.”
Such confidence, and such knowledge of women. Could a man be any sexier? “I did,” she admitted. “I hope you’ll want to kiss me again.”
“Count on it.” He glanced her way. “But next time, it’ll be more.”
He said that with so much heat, it stole her breath. “The thing is...I’m not sure I’m ready for more than that. Not yet, anyway.”
He shook his head. “No, I meant... The way I kissed you was hardly a kiss at all.” Again he glanced at her, then down over her body before giving his attention back to the slick road. “I want to really taste you, Alice. I want to feel your tongue...” He inhaled, shifted. “I want more of a kiss.”
“Oh.” The damp dress suddenly felt restrictive, especially over her breasts. She had the awful suspicion that Reese could see the outline of her stiffened nipples. “Yes, I’d like that.” A lot.
“Good to know.”
Thinking about it now, she wondered why steam didn’t rise in the car. She plucked at the material of her dress, trying to rearrange it a little, but it was a futile effort, so she gave up. “I need you to understand, though. If you want to sleep with me—”
“No way can you have a doubt about that.”
Her heart swelled. No, she didn’t really have any doubts. “Thank you.” Her eyes rounded after she uttered those absurd words. Had she really thanked him for wanting her? Oh, God, yes, she had.
Reese grinned. “You’re welcome.”
She had to clear her throat twice before speaking again. “The thing is, I’ll need some time. I’ve already made it clear that I’m interested—”
“You are? Great. I thought so, but I appreciate the confirmation all the same.”
Worse and worse. Get to the point, Alice. “I didn’t want to confuse things, or lead you on.”
“Okay.”
His easy compliance only rattled her more. “I’d understand if you’d rather not wait for me. For me...to be ready, I mean.” With every word, she sounded more ridiculous. “I don’t know how long it’ll take me, if it’ll be tomorrow, or next week, or maybe even a month from now—”
All humor fled his expression. “Alice.”
“—and I know you have other options. Pam and Nikki made that clear enough. You’re obviously a very...sexual man.”
“Like all men, sure. But that doesn’t mean—”
Unwilling to hear him make excuses for her, she rushed on. “I don’t mean to make things uncomfortable. I wish I was different, but I’m not.”
“Alice.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away.
Lacing her fingers together in her lap, she stared out the windshield and tried to get it all said. “Even though you seem to have some interest in me now—”
“A lot of interest, actually.”
“I’m not like most women.” And she was glad other women were different, because she wouldn’t wish her ordeals on anyone. “I can’t just—”
“Be quiet, Alice.”
The order got her back up, and pretty much guaranteed she couldn’t go quiet. “I don’t take orders from anyone!” Here she was, doing her best to be clear and up front with him, and he—
“Think of it as a request,” he snarled.
He dared to sound angry! That annoyed her enough that she forgot her disjointed explanations on her possible hang-ups. “Maybe I would if you couched it that way.”
“Please be still a moment, Alice. Let me think.”
She pressed her lips together, but it wasn’t easy to stay silent, especially when more than a full minute passed.
Finally he said, “If we’re laying it all out there, then fine, I want you. You know that. Every damned time I’m near you I get hard, so it’d be impossible for you to miss.”
She was just irked enough to say, “Braggart.” The accusation came out before she could censor herself.
“I wasn’t...” He scowled at her, but the scowl lifted into a crooked smile. “It is noticeable, and you know it.”
More subdued—and on the verge of grinning herself—Alice nodded. “Yes.” Most definitely, very noticeable.
“It’s insane.” This time when he reached for her hand, she accepted the gesture. His hand was big and warm, holding hers securely. “There’s something unique, something very special about you.”
She would have called it odd.
“But I’m not a kid who can’t control himself. And now, knowing you were kidnapped...” His hand tightened. “The last thing I ever want to do is pressure you, or make you uneasy.”
There went her grin. Ice expanded inside her, cramping her stomach. “Please don’t pity me, Reese.” She could take just about anything but that.
He made a rude sound. “Trust me, Alice, pity for a woman doesn’t get me jacked.” He released her to steer around a corner, onto a quieter, more suburban street. “I see you and I react. Can’t help it. I also can’t ignore what you told me.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“That you were kidnapped? The hell it doesn’t. I need to know what happened, if that’s the reason you’re reserved now. If it’s something else—”
“I wasn’t raped.” She startled him with that blurted statement.
He swallowed hard, nodded. “I’m glad.”
“But it was ugly, and awful and...” How much should she tell him? As a cop, he could find out some details on his own, so maybe she could just expand on that. She lifted a hand toward him and realized she was shaking. She tucked it back toward her lap. “It was a while before I managed to get away.”
“Days?” He worked his jaw. “Weeks?”
She shook her head, unable to admit the truth. “The important thing is that I did get freed, and now...I don’t know. If I’m hesitant, it’s because I haven’t felt like a woman for a very long time, and I haven’t been that aware of men except to avoid them.” She studied his strong profile and whispered, “Until you.”
“And my dog.”
Humor wormed its way in past her bleak memories. “Yes, and your dog.”
“Thank God for Cash.”
That sentiment nearly brought tears to her eyes. “I’m sure he feels the same way about you.” After all, Reese had rescued Cash from sure death. But she didn’t want him to rescue her from her self-imposed isolation and uncertainty.
She would rescue herself.
Putting her shoulders back, she faced him. “I might need a little time to adjust, but I want to give you whatever you want from me.”
He accepted that with a nod. “I want everything.”
Her mouth opened twice before she managed to squeak out, “Oh. Okay, then.”
“While we get things back in order, I’m going to stay with you.” He pulled up to a stop sign. “I want to have sex, Alice, that’s a given, but I also want you to want it.”
Never had she imagined this conversation. But then, never had she imagined wanting a man again. Not after everything else that had happened in her life. “Okay.”
“While you’re being so agreeable...” He pulled the car away again. “I don’t want anything to do with Pam or Nikki or, currently, any other woman. So, get that out of your head.” He gave her a hard glance. “And I don’t want you involved with any other guys either.”
That struck her as hilarious, and the laugh bubbled out before she could stop it. When he looked more murderous, she pursed her mouth to hold in the humor.
“Promise me.”
“You have my word.”
“Good.” The car slowed again. “We can work on everything else, take it one step at a time. Starting with that deeper kiss. Sound good?”
Better than good. Her breathing hitched. “I... Yes.”
He stopped the car, turned in the seat to face her. His gaze went all over her, narrowing on her breasts, her belly. Reaching out, he touched her cheek, smoothed back a hank of damp hair.
Breath bated, she waited for the promised kiss.
“Alice?”
“Hmm?”
“It sucks, believe me, but we’re here.”
“Here?” She looked up, and sure enough, he’d pulled into the drive of an impressive house, right up next to an expansive three-car garage. Only a few feet separated her from a nice overhang.
She’d forgotten where they were going!
