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“I’m going to go take a long, hot shower,” he said, pushing the denim down his muscular legs and stepping out of them.
Jo’s mind went on sensory overload, and her breath whooshed out of her lungs. After their tryst in the truck he hadn’t put on any briefs beneath his pants. Now he stood before her, magnificently naked except for a lazy, all-male smile gracing his lips. He was completely at ease with his nudity, as well he should be, considering what a gorgeous, made-for-sex-and-sin body he possessed.
She lifted her gaze back to safer territory—his face. Though he hadn’t outright asked her to join him in the shower, the invitation in his bright green eyes was unmistakable. He wanted her to come with him, but he was leaving the final decision up to her, seemingly not wanting to push for more than she was willing or ready to give.
She appreciated his insight, his sensitivity, because she had no idea where her boundaries with this man lay anymore. And that realization frightened her. Her mind was filled with confusion, her heart playing tug-of-war with emotions she’d never intended to allow into her affair with Dean. What had begun as satiating mutual desires had somehow, someway, grown into a bittersweet longing that threatened all those barriers she’d erected after Brian’s death.
Knowing just how close she was to ditching the business call to her brother in lieu of pleasure with Dean, she picked up her cell phone and held it in her palm like a lifeline. “Seems I have a signal again, and I, um, need to call Cole and let him know what’s going on.”
He nodded, accepting her excuse gracefully and seemingly sensing her need for privacy during her conversation with her
brother. “If you need me for anything, you know where to find me.” He winked at her.
She bit her bottom lip as she watched him walk to the bathroom with his shaving bag in hand. She admired his backside, from his wide shoulders and smooth back, all the way down to a world-class ass that was toned and defined and breathtakingly sexy. He disappeared into the adjoining room, and seconds later the shower turned on.
Banishing the provocative images forming in her mind and knowing where they could lead if she allowed her fantasies to take flight, she checked her voice mail messages. All three were, indeed, from Cole, and she winced at his brusque tone. He sounded none too pleased that he wasn’t able to contact her and told her to get in touch with him as soon as possible. Using her speed dial, she touched Cole’s number, and he picked up on the first ring.
“It’s about goddamn time!” he bellowed in an irritable greeting, loud enough that she had to hold the phone away from her ear. “Do you realize that you should have been home by now, and that I’ve been worried thinking the worst—”
“The Suburban broke down outside of Medford and I’ve been in a remote area without any kind of cell signal,” she interrupted his tirade, knowing from experience just how long-winded her brother could be with his lectures. “I finally got the truck towed to a service station, but the blown radiator hose can’t be fixed until the morning.”
He grew quiet as he digested what she told him, which only heightened Jo’s anxiety of the conversation to come. “Is Colter still with you?”
“Yeah, I’ve got him.” She tugged the elastic band from her hair and massaged her fingers along her tight scalp.
“Is he giving you a hard time?”
Well, now, that all depended on how she interpreted the word “hard,” she thought with a bit of private humor she knew her brother wouldn’t appreciate. “No, he’s fine, Cole, and not any trouble at all. And I’m fine, too.”
“I’ll head out to Medford,” he said, obviously choosing not to believe her and exerting too much of that overprotectiveness she resented when it came to her doing a job. “I can be there in a few hours—”
Her lips pursed in irritation. “Cole, I can handle things just fine. This isn’t my first recovery case, so stop treating me like I don’t know what I’m doing.” Annoyance vibrated through her and spilled into her voice. Knowing she had to tell him the truth about Dean sooner or later, she opted to get the discussion over with now. “Besides, Dean Colter is an innocent man.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he barked into the phone.
Cringing, she sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sharp ache starting to throb in her temples. “You need to call Vince and tell him that he’s after the wrong guy. The felon he’s looking for isn’t Dean Colter, and the real culprit is out running free.”
“Goddamn it, Jo, are you nuts?” His clipped tone clearly implied that she was off her rocker. “Do you or do you not have Dean Colter in custody?” he asked succinctly.
“Yes, I do,” she replied calmly. “But this is a case of mistaken identity.”
“Is that what he’s convinced you to believe?” Cole snorted derisively. “That’s the oldest trick in the book, and if you so much as fall for that line this will be the last recovery case I ever send you on.”
She bristled defensively, hating her brother’s inability to trust in her. “I believe him, Cole,” she said, willing to put her own reputation and sanity on the line for a man who should have been long gone after cuffing her to his bed last night, but had remained behind to convince her of his innocence. “And before you blow a gasket, at least listen to me. Dean Colter, the real Dean Colter and the man I have in custody, had his briefcase and wallet stolen on a recent trip to San Francisco. His social security card, credit cards, his driver’s license—the same driver’s license Vince has on file for him—all of them were taken. The guy that was arrested might look like Dean with dark hair and green eyes and similar features, but he assumed his identity.”
“You don’t know that for certain,” he shot back. “And it’s not up to you to determine his innocence. Get his ass back here ASAP so we can get him fingerprinted and verified.”
“I intend to do just that.”
“Good. Keep him cuffed at all times…” Cole’s voice trailed off for a few moments. “Jesus, you do have him restrained, don’t you?”
Her pause in answering was enough for Cole to come to his own conclusions. She couldn’t and wouldn’t lie to her brother, but neither was she about to explain how Dean had managed to get his handcuffs off…how he had transferred them to her wrists and secured her to his bed…how her dreamlike state would have made her vulnerable to a man less honorable than Dean had been. But that incident had ultimately led to proof of his innocence, not that she’d ever expect Cole to understand her reasons for believing and trusting in Dean. And her brother certainly wouldn’t condone just how far she’d allowed things to go with a man whose name was linked with grand theft auto.
Cole’s colorful curse broke through her thoughts and jolted her back to the present. “You’re not thinking straight, Jo, and you’re going to do something stupid if you haven’t already. Or worse, go and get yourself hurt or killed just like Brian.”
Her whole body jerked at his verbal slap. The sting of his words rippled through her and made her stomach cramp. Cole doubted her ability to make level-headed decisions, to decipher right from wrong, and while a part of her couldn’t blame him for letting her past actions speak for themselves, she had to wonder if she’d ever get past the stigma that had haunted her for the past two years. Weakness. Incompetence. A sense of failure. Would everyone forever question her credibility and mental stability when it came to risky situations? The guilt of the past was hers to bear, but what did she have to do to absolve herself of all the doubts that colored everyone’s opinion of her?
She inhaled a steadying breath. “Your confidence in me is overwhelming.”
