Hours later, Kate stretched lazily on the bed. She had spent the afternoon meditating, attempting to have visions from the potential suspects for her murder. Billy Rizzo and CJ Bradford were at the forefront of her mind as she revisited her list of those who wished her ill. They were both in jail for their involvement in the recent cases she had worked and had probably developed a deep-seated hatred for her, since she was responsible for putting them there. As disturbing as the criminals’ memories were — CJ especially had not let go of his obsession over Melanie — she couldn’t find any evidence that they were plotting her untimely demise.
As a last-ditch effort, she even peeked into the memories of Gage and Declan. Declan’s memory involved a day fishing with his father before his dad passed away. Declan was the ultimate contradiction. After pigeonholing him as a conceited jerk, he always had the ability to surprise her in some small way. It was the reason their friendship thrived.
Like clockwork, she could count on Julie’s boyfriend, Gage, to berate Kate whenever they were forced to be in each other’s company. This didn’t make him a murderous psychopath, but Kate wanted to explore every angle. Instead of sharpening knives while staring at Kate’s picture, Gage’s vision featured him shopping for engagement rings for Julie. Kate had to talk herself out of calling her best friend and warning her of Gage’s intentions. Julie would never forgive her if she ruined the surprise of a proposal. At least with some advance notice, Kate could prepare to fake her excitement when Julie announced their engagement.
Kate felt Jared’s eyes on her a beat before she noticed him lounging in her doorway. She shifted up into a sitting position and tried to read his expression. When she met his eyes, he snapped out of his silent reverie and perched on the edge of the bed.
“How’s the ankle?”
“Feeling much better. I won’t be doing a marathon anytime soon, but I should be able to walk on it without any problem.” To demonstrate, she wiggled her foot for him.
He made a noncommittal sound before turning his head to face the wall. She scooted to get closer to him and pressed a hand against his back. “Is everything all right? How’s your aunt?”
“She’s feeling great. William wanted to take her out, an impromptu celebration that she didn’t die today. They headed out to dinner at their favorite restaurant and then they’re going to pick up her car.”
From her position on the bed, Kate could see how Jared’s jaw was set in a tense line. Kate ran her fingers gently down his back and he cast a sideways glance at her. Jared’s gray eyes displayed his vulnerability, a side of him that Kate never saw.
“Jared, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“She could’ve died today, Kate. She’s the only family I’ve got. If I lost her in a car accident, the same way my parents died …”
Kate hadn’t made the connection, but now she realized how much his aunt’s near-death experience must have affected Jared. Losing all three of his parental figures from car accidents would’ve been too much for him to bear.
“But she didn’t die.” Kate snuggled into his side. He lifted his arm up and she slid closer to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and felt an overwhelming sense of security. If she could stay within his arms forever, she knew she’d always be safe from danger.
“No, she didn’t die. Because of you,” he said. His fingers brushed under her chin and he lifted her face to meet his. “What you did today is just more proof of how amazing you are.”
Her instinct was to blow off his comment with a snarky reply. She couldn’t this time. His intense stare held her in place. Her pulse began to pound in her ears as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. His thick lashes lowered and his gray eyes darkened as she let out a breathless gasp from the sudden movement.
He was beautiful in a way that was hazardous to her emotional wellbeing. She could lose herself completely with him and forget the world existed. It was terrifying to give someone such complete control over her happiness.
Yet she wanted to take the leap of faith with him. He could make her believe in things that her jaded brain would’ve never considered before. Things like epic love stories, and men that didn’t leave.
Kate lifted her hand to rest on his cheek and parted her lips. His mouth moved onto hers and she opened herself up to his kiss. Once their lips met, it was an intense rush of emotion. She almost wanted to cry out as she felt the electricity in the air between them. His kisses were passionate and desperate; they were unlike the gentle and slow-building kisses he had given her while they were dating.
His hands moved through her hair and down her back until they rested on the swell of her backside. As she pulled back from him to catch her breath, he mumbled, “God, I missed you.” She teased him by nipping at his bottom lip and then running a path of kisses down his neck to the opening of his cream-colored sweater. He groaned and eased them onto the bed together.
Impatiently, she pulled at the hem of his sweater. In a swift movement, he lifted it over his head and tossed it to the floor. She brushed her fingers over the ridges of his muscled chest and abs. Jared wasn’t brawny, but his daily workout routine kept him lean and toned. Her desire built as her fingers grazed the area of his skin where his hips narrowed. The edge of his boxer shorts peeked out of his jeans and Kate swallowed visibly at the sight. Every inch of his body was begging to be revered by her and she was more than up to the task.
Jared returned his mouth to hers and began to use his hands to rediscover the soft curves of her body. His hand slipped under her shirt and she felt his fingers undo her bra clasp. As his hands massaged her bare skin for the first time in ages, Kate felt her self-control slipping. She felt overheated and didn’t find any respite once Jared slipped the shirt over her head.
Jared propped himself on his elbows and looked down at her. His gaze was appreciative, and instead of shying away from him, she swept her hair behind her to prevent it from blocking his view. “You’re so beautiful,” he said, and he kissed the exposed skin just above the waistline of her pants.
“I don’t know how you’re able to form coherent sentences right now,” she whispered. He moved toward her face, and his laughter near her earlobe sent shivers down her spine. She caressed his cheek before pulling him in for another kiss.
His kisses were urgent and demanded a response. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him close enough until he was completely flush with her own body. His weight didn’t crush her. Instead, she reveled in the intimacy of their skin touching without clothing obstructing the feel of him. His fingers hooked around the sides of her pants and removed them from her. Trembling, she clumsily attempted to undo the button of his jeans. He steadied her hands with his own and helped her with the buckle. Her thumbs grazed the fabric of his blue boxer shorts as she helped him climb out of the pants. Once his pants were off, he crawled into the bed to rest beside her.
As they lay before each other in only their underwear, her quivering refused to cease. The desire was still clear on his face, but Kate noticed alarm sneak into his expression. “Kate, are you okay? Are we moving too fast?”
Why was he talking? His questions were giving her time to get into her own head and over think the situation. She had been fine with just getting caught up in the moment and allowing sensation to guide her. She brushed her lips against his. “I’m fine.”
He smiled. “We’re in no rush. We can take our time.”
“I think we’ve wasted enough time. Don’t you?” she asked seductively. She shimmied out from under his arm and climbed on top of him. She straddled his waist and leaned down to kiss him.
“If you keep doing things like that, you’re going to make it very hard for me to take my time,” he breathed.
The tips of her hair swept over his chest as she grazed her hands over his shoulders and down the length of his arms. It was exhilarating to have unlimited access to Jared’s body. She could spend eternity memorizing each section of his powerful physique. As she inched her hips forward to press her hands against his biceps, he let out a groan. When she gently shifted back and forth on top of him, he bit down on his lower lip and she could feel his restraint slipping. When he looked to be teetering on the edge of losing it, he reached for her and encased her in his arms, rolling her back onto the bed.
“You’re being a very bad girl, Kate Edwards.”
She fluttered her lashes as she looked up at him. “Me? Never.”
His gaze was full of affection as he stared into her hazel eyes. “You know you drive me crazy, right? But I can’t imagine never meeting you. I just want you to know how grateful I am for what you did today.” Before she could reply, he was kissing her again.
Shut up! She wanted to scream at him. It was too late. He was already in her head and making the doubts creep back in. Her body protested, but she put her hand against his chest to halt his kiss.
“What do you mean you’re so grateful? Is that what this is? Gratitude sex?” she asked incredulously.
Jared smiled. “I never heard of gratitude sex before.” He moved her hand away and tried to kiss her again.
She squirmed out from under him and crawled to the edge of the bed. Once she felt there was enough distance between them, she whirled to face him. “Jared, I’m serious. What are you doing here with me?”
“I thought by the way I was touching and kissing you that I was making it pretty obvious what I was trying to do with you. Should I try again to make myself clear?”
His voice was hypnotizing and it had the effect of momentarily breaking her concentration. He looked absolutely irresistible as he lay clad only in his boxers, watching her. She could easily imagine crawling back over to him and finishing what they had started. She stared at him, her hormones begging her to turn off her meddling brain and take this sexy man to bed already.
The problem was that she loved him. As tempting as relieving her lustful urges might have been at the moment, her heart couldn’t withstand the fallout from discovering that it was only a meaningless hookup for him.
He gave her a thoughtful look and rubbed his fingers over his chin. His black hair was mussed and she reached out to fix it. He caught her hand in his and kissed her palm. “What’s going on in Kate Edwards’ head right now?” he mused.
She gave him a shaky smile. “I like this, but…”
“Does there have to be a but in there?” he asked.
“I’m just confused about what this means for … us.” She cringed as soon as the words escaped her lips. When did she become that girl? Instead of taking advantage of the half-naked man lying in her bed, she wanted to talk about their relationship.
His brow furrowed and she could tell he was confused by the shift in mood. “I’m not sure, Kate. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
She felt chilled by his words. She picked her shirt up off the floor and put it back on. “What kind of answer is that? Are you saying you’re not sure if you want us to get back together?”
He fell back onto his back and blew out a long puff of air. “I don’t know what I want.”
Her cheeks flushed with anger. She yanked on her pants and picked up his clothes, launching them at his chest. “That is so not the thing to say when you’re looking to get laid. Get out.”
Cradling the clothes in his arms, he headed to the opposite side of the bed. “Kate, I’m not saying I don’t want to get back together. We just have a lot of things to still work out,” he said, pulling on his own clothing.
“So what?” she demanded. “You were just going to sleep with me and not date me? In what universe, do you think I would be remotely okay with that scenario?”
“Kate,” he said softly. “The reasons we aren’t together have nothing to do with my feelings towards you. I care about you and it’s pretty obvious how I feel about you physically, considering I can barely keep my hands off you.”
“And where’s your but in there?”
“We have the same issues that we had last month when we broke up.”
“What issues, Jared? A kiss that meant absolutely nothing? Or your jealousy over my friendship with Declan? Or the fact that you think I’m too young for you?” She was breathing heavily as she stared him down.
“Yeah, maybe I do have those problems. It would be irresponsible of me to just jump right back into something with you.”
Her throat constricted and she knew he had to leave soon. Her dignity prevented her from crying in front of him. “I told you to get out,” she said in a harsh whisper.
“Kate …” he started.
Stepping forward, Jared reached out to her. Annoyed, she swatted his hand away. “I mean it, Jared. Leave me the hell alone.”
With a heavy sigh, he headed for the door. Then he turned back to face her. “This isn’t what I wanted for us.” She shut the door behind him, and then she finally let herself cry.