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A laugh rumbled in his chest and was choked off when I tightened around him. “God, I love it when you do that.”
I placed my hands on his chest and did it again. “I know. I try to stay in shape. Exercise is important.”
“Mmm, I definitely know which of your muscles is my favorite.” Perspiration dotted his brow, and I could tell he was close but trying to hold off. There was nothing I liked more than watching him lose control. It so rarely happened. And I loved knowing I was the one who could make him. He flexed inside me and I lost concentration for a moment. But this time wasn’t about me. It was about Jack and the power we wielded over each other.
“Speaking of muscles,” I said. And then I began to ride, fast and furious as his fingers bit into my hips. My eyes never left his and I watched as the dark brown bled to black the closer he came to fulfillment. And then I was just as lost as he was as we went over the edge together.
I collapsed onto his chestand snuggled against him as his arms came around me. My eyes drifted shut and contentment washed through me. I felt the weight of the covers as he pulled them over us and he rolled so we lay on our sides, our bodies still joined. His breath fluttered across my ear.
“Just think of all the years we wasted not doing this.”
I grunted and wasn’t sure I was capable of speech. My leg was thrown over his hip and I was still having aftershocks of what had to be one of the most incredible orgasms I’d ever experienced.
“Maybe so,” I finally managed. “But I can’t say I’m disappointed you had all that practice in the meantime.” His laughter rumbled beneath my ear and I smiled.
“Sleep, love. I’ll hold on to you.”
That was all it took for me to drift off.
***
I hadn’t been asleep long when my phone rang. My head jerked up and hit Jack’s chin, and he swore as we tried to untangle ourselves from the covers. I rubbed the top of my head and looked at the clock as I crawled across to the nightstand.
“Shit, it’s barely five.” A call coming in at that time could only mean one thing—someone had died.
“Dr. Graves,” I answered.
“This is dispatch.” I recognizedBarbara Blanton’s nasal voice without her having to tell me who she was. Barbara had been the dispatch operator for King George County since before I was born. “We’ve got a body over in Caledon State Park near Jones Pond. Police are already on the scene. You’re up to bat, Doc Graves.” She hung up the phone and I was already scrambling out of bed.
I had to figure there weren’t a lot of dispatch operators like Barbara—at least I hoped not. I knew as soon as she hung up she’d dial her sister to let her know what had happened. It was impossible to keep secrets in a community of this size. By dinner, everyone would know just as much as the police did.
“She said the police were already on site,” I told Jack as I ran into the bathroom and turned on the shower. “Why didn’t you get a call?”
“Colburn is on call tonight.” Jack followed me into the bathroom and got towels out of the cabinet. I never remembered to get a towel until I was out of the showerand dripping all over the floor. “Besides, I already put in for that vacation time I was telling you about.”
I stopped with one foot in the big, walk-in shower andnarrowed my eyes at Jack. “Pretty damned cocky of you to assume I’d say yes.” His gaze was steady, but I could see the humor lurking in his eyes and around the corners of his mouth.
“I wasSWAT for a lot of years, sweetheart. Cocky is my middle name.” He got into the shower behind me and closed the glass door, adjusting the showerhead for his height while I stood there with my mouth open.
Jack wasalready dressed by the time I came out of the bathroom. I had a towel wrapped around me and my hair dripped onto my shoulders.
“I’ll make coffee,” he said, looking up, his eyes going heavy lidded with arousal as he took in the sight of me. “Maybe we should just stop by the courthouse this afternoon and get the marriage license. Unless you want a big wedding.”
My back stiffened and that sense of panic started to creep up my skin, rendering me cold. And angry. “Don’t push it, Jack.I said I’d marry you, but I’m not going to be rushed into anything. Weddings take time to plan.”
“And long engagements would give you plenty of time to think of all the reasons you’retoo afraid to make a commitment and to live again.”
I jerked back as if I’d been slapped and I felt the blood drain from my face.
“I’ll meet you downstairs.”
He left the room and I tried to focus on the present—on the body that waited for me—but there were too many other thoughts jumbled in my mind. My dad, the boxes he wanted so badly,the dead body I’d found in the Poconos, marrying Jack, and wondering what would happen if we got married and then he decided he couldn’t handle all the baggage I brought with me. There was fear inside me. I knew Jack was right. But that didn’t make the words hurt any less.
I dug in the drawer for clean underwear and a bra and then found a pair of jeansfolded in a box of my clothes. The weather was still cool in the mornings, so I shoved my head and arms into a white T-shirt and pulled a gray long-sleeved Henley on top of it. I put white athletic socks on my feet and stepped into my worn hiking boots.
I didn’t waste a lot of time looking in the mirror. My black hair was short—chin length—and it would be dry by the time I reached the scene. I hardly ever bothered with makeup, mostly because I didn’t think of it. My face was angular—my cheekbones sharp and my chin slightly pointed. My eyes were big and gray and long lashed—a feature I now knew came from someone other than the people I’d called my parents—and the emotions swirling in them couldn’t be hidden. I was scared. And it showed.
I grabbed a windbreaker from the closet just in caseI got cold and jogged down the stairs. The smell of coffee hit me full force and Jack had a to-go cup ready to put in my hand. His weapon and badge weren’t attached to his belt like normal, and the sight of him without them confused me for a moment before I remembered he was on vacation. But it was obvious he still planned to go with me to the crime scene.
