Two days later, as he pulled into Tess’s driveway, Jack shook his head, chiding himself. He didn’t know why the hell he was doing this. He’d talked to Tess earlier in the day and she was fine—except Fire Chief Lincoln had told her she couldn’t come back to the Academy until next week. Her tone had been so depressed, Jack felt sorry for her. So he’d grabbed a bottle of his favorite merlot on the way to his hotel, and once there, he showered, shaved, put on jeans, a zip-up sweater, a quilted vest and headed out.
He sat in his vehicle, staring at the house. Once again, a feeling of connection, of perhaps speculation that something was happening—or might happen—infused him.
Finally, he exited the car. The brutal February wind hit him in the face as he made his way over the sidewalk, which was slick from the snow that had started to fall again. Once on the stoop, he rang the bell. She’d said she was getting around, so she could make it to the door. Then it opened and she stood before him, dressed in a pink sweat suit, her hair sticking up every which way and a scowl on her face. “Jack? What are you doing here?”
He held up the bottle. “I brought wine. You can have some because you’re off the strong pain meds. I thought we might order dinner.” He peeked inside. “Unless you have company?”
“Look at me,” she said, her tone cross. “Do I look like I have company?”
He bit back a grin. “You’re not at your best.”
“Don’t laugh at me. I haven’t had a shower in two days. My hair’s stringy and I probably smell. You don’t want to come in here.”
“I do.”
She leaned on the edge of the door. “It’s unethical to be fraternizing with a recruit.”
“Let me in and I’ll tell you why that’s not a problem.”
Her eyes narrowed, she moved back. “That’s intriguing.”
Once inside, he asked if they could sit. When they were on the couch, he faced her directly. “Tess, I’m not a recruit.”
Those pretty brown eyes widened. Tonight, they were liquid looking in the lamplight. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m already a firefighter and a psychologist. I’m here to go through the recruit class’s practical end so I can get a better idea of what my guys and gals go through on a call.” He sighed. “I didn’t take the first half of the course elsewhere. I wanted to be part of just the practical activities.”
Now she stiffened. “What? Why wasn’t I told this?”
“I asked it to be kept quiet so I could experience the reality of how the recruits feel about officers, what fears they have. I also was worried if I disclosed my identity, I’d be treated differently.”
Her face flushed, and he could tell she was calming herself.
“I’m sorry if that upsets you.”
“In some ways, it does.” She leaned back into the pillows, seeming thoughtful. “But I understand your thinking. How long are you staying in Rockland?”
“I can only take two weeks from my position. Then I go home.”
Her brown gaze narrowed on him. “I knew something was up with you.” She glanced to the ceiling. “At least I’m not fraternizing with a recruit.”
Leaning over, he tipped up her chin; she didn’t seem to mind that he touched her. “What do you need tonight, Tess?”
Her eyes closed briefly and she sighed. “Damn it, I’m afraid to shower alone. My best friend is in Europe, and two of my female colleagues are at some kind of special training this week. I don’t have any family here.” Her voice hoarsened on the last statement. “There was no one else in town to call.”
“Well,” he said, his eyes dancing, “I’m here.”
She blushed. “Oh, yeah, sure. I’m gonna let a stranger help me in the shower.”
“Tess, we’re adults. And we can do this modestly, if that’s what bothers you. You got underwear on?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll help you remove the pants to your sweat suit and then the cast.”
“I was thinking of cutting the material up the side.”
“No need. I’ll set up and get you into the shower—in your underwear—then I’m sure you can manage by yourself. I’ll come back to help you over the tub and be right outside the door in case you need me.”
“You won’t peek?”
“Scout’s honor. Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing…”
“Oh, flirting will make me a lot more comfortable.” Her tone was an attempt at sarcasm, but it didn’t quite hit the mark.
“Seriously, let me do this for you.”
“I am desperate. Okay. There’s a shower chair in the basement that I bought when I first got injured. I’ll go into the bathroom and you can get it.”
While she went down a long corridor, he sought out the chair in a very tidy cellar and headed back to the first floor. He found the master suite, then the attached bathroom, where she was sitting on the toilet seat. Still in her sweat suit. “Why the hell I put on these sweat pants is beyond me. I can’t even roll them up to take off the removable cast because the legs are too tight. I forced them on, I guess.”
“Let me. I’ve had experience with these casts.”
“Yeah, when?”
“My twins broke quite a few bones.”
Her eyes widened like moons. “You have kids. Um, a wife?”
“Twins, one of each. I’m a widower. Elizabeth died in childbirth.”
“Oh, John, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me, too. It was twenty years ago, but it still stings sometimes.”
“I imagine.” She squeezed his arm gently. He liked the feel of it. And the gesture was spontaneous, revealing who she was inside.
He knelt before her.
“Scootch up and pull down your pants to your knees.”
She did and he eased the sweats off, nearly tearing the material, it was so tight. Then he removed the cast. Her ankle was swollen but not as bad as when she hurt it. His hands went for the zipper of her top.
Tess shook her head. “I think I can manage this.”
“Sure.” He stood, set the seat in the tub and turned the shower on to just below hot. When he faced her, he saw she wore a serviceable sports bra and plain white panties. She had beautiful shoulders, toned biceps and a flat tummy. All a golden brown.
“You’re staring.”
“I’m not,” he lied and moved closer.
She slid her arm around him so he could help her get her legs over the tub. When she settled, he said, “There you go.” His voice was husky from the feel of her silky skin. “I’ll be right in the bedroom. Don’t get out by yourself. I put a towel within arms’ reach.”
Jack left the bathroom, closed the door and leaned heavily against it. Holy hell! He had been staring. He’d wanted to touch more, much more, of the skin she’d bared. And he felt like a peeping Tom.
On the other hand, she didn’t seem affected at all.
o0o
Tess let the water sluice over her like a gentle waterfall. She’d removed her underwear because John had indeed left a thick towel next to the tub for her to wrap herself in after this. The hot water felt wonderful; soaping up her body and hair was a tiny miracle and she took joy in the sensations. When she was clean, she just sat there a minute. And was hit hard in the face by what had happened to her in the past few days.
No, don’t dwell on it, she told herself. You’re going back to the line. This isn’t final, no matter what the doctors said.
To defer the notion that she was at fault, she thought about John. Who wasn’t a recruit. Instead of anger, she’d felt a sweep of relief when he told her he wasn’t her student. And now, she thought about him helping her undress, the way his calloused hands felt on her skin. The images made her heart beat faster.
“Hey, you okay in there?” His voice came from the other side of the door.
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s been twenty minutes.”
“Oh, sorry. You can come in soon.”
Retrieving the towel, she managed to wrap it around her naked body. Then she called out, “Come on in.”
He did, carrying a pair of gray yoga pants and a long-sleeved top and undies. She stared at the bright yellow lingerie. “You went through my drawers?”
“Guilty as charged. I picked the most comfortable-looking ones.”
She felt herself blush.
A sexy brow arched. “Not all of them were made for comfort, I don’t think.”
“I have a fetish. Underwear.”
“It could be worse.” Leaning into the tub, he turned off the faucet. “What do you need now?”
“Help me to the seat again and put the cast on. The yoga pants are wider legged, so I can manage after that.”
“Oh, hell.”
Tess felt her face redden and not out of pique. “Cut it out. You’re making me nervous again.”
Once he’d gotten her seated, he asked, “Lotion?”
She scowled.
“My daughter, Sara. I buy her different kinds to put in her Christmas stocking, her Easter basket. One of the times she had a removable cast, she liked the feel of the lotion on her first.”
Why not? She wouldn’t have bothered because it would be too hard to reach by herself. Nah, it wouldn’t. But she let him do it anyway. “Yeah, there’s some in the vanity.”
He retrieved a big pink bottle from a drawer and knelt again. She was mesmerized by how he opened the lid, sniffed it. “Mmm.” Taking a dollop, he rubbed it between his hands, then on her leg. Her entire calf. A jolt of desire shocked her system. When was the last time she’d felt something that intense? She didn’t date much. Sure, she’d had some recreational sex, but she couldn’t remember the last time she was with a man.
“Tess?”
Oh, God, she’d closed her eyes. Had she moaned?
“Are you feeling weak again?” He sounded only concerned.
“Some.”
He didn’t respond, just clipped the cast back on and stood. “I’ll be out here. I ordered dinner from a menu on your fridge. I picked the things that were marked.”
“Thank you,” was all she could manage.
He left and Tess took deep breaths to calm herself. Geez, she’d responded to him like a Victorian bride. This kind of thing never happened to her.
Okay, Teresa, she told herself. You’re being foolish. Nothing was said, or done, really. He doesn’t know you wanted to jump his bones. Calm down.
Her other half responded, But you could jump his bones.
I could, she thought mischievously. He wasn’t a recruit. And she was attracted to him—a lot. His wide shoulders and long lean torso all appealed to her. Some casual sex with a stranger sounded pretty damn good right now. And he’d be leaving town at the end of his two weeks, so choosing him for a partner wouldn’t have any long-term complications.
Once she had the idea, it wouldn’t go away. So she just sat there and pondered what to do.
o0o
His back to the bathroom, Jack stood staring out at yet another February snowstorm in upstate New York. The bedroom window was crystalized with ice, making squiggly patterns on the panes. Every now and then, a tree limb knocked against it. But the weather didn’t concern him. All he could think about was how Tess looked in plain white underwear, how she’d trembled and drew in a breath when he massaged her leg, how her eyes had glittered with interest. He’d never been into sex with someone he didn’t have a standing relationship with, someone he hadn’t gotten to know, but right now, he was up for it, literally.
Weren’t you embarrassed? she’d asked when she’d fallen on top of him in the gym.
Nope, not then. And not now. He just didn’t know what to do about his attraction to her. And something else—he was having trouble reconciling the woman in the tub with the tough recruit trainer. Tess Righetti was a paradox. And Jack liked paradoxes.
He heard the door to the bathroom open. “John?” Her voice was stronger this time, but husky.
Pivoting, he faced her. And his jaw dropped. Nothing unusual about her damp hair prettily messed, her cheeks red from the shower, her full mouth. No, what stumped him speechless was the towel she wore. Only the towel.
He warned himself, Don’t be presumptuous.
“Do you want something more?” he asked in what came out as a croak. And thought, Please say yes, you want me.
Her hand was at the knot. “Now, there’s a question.” Her tone was flirty.
A grin spread across his face. “What exactly do you need, Tess?”
She started toward him. “First, call me Teresa.”
“A beautiful name. Your given one?”
She nodded. “Tonight, I want to be a mystery, like you are.”
It was his turn to nod.
“Do you want mystery, John?”
“Right at this moment, I want a hell of a lot more than that.”
This time, her laugh was sultry.
Another step. And another, until she was so close he could see the drops of water still on her shoulders. He had a slicing urge to lick them off. His gaze lowered to the towel. “You gonna drop that thing, darlin’?
Another step, until she stood so close to him that he could see her pupils were dilated. She said, “You want me to?”
“No.”
A frown.
“Let me do it.” His hand went to her chest, wrapped around the knot. But he didn’t undo it. “Tell me, Teresa, is this a good idea?”
“Who the hell knows? We’re both adults. Unattached.” A frown. “You are unattached, right?”
“There’s no woman in my life.”
“No man in mine now, either. So what would be the harm of two strangers in the night, like the song says, having a little fun?”
Jack swallowed hard. The feeling that this was going to be more than a little fun caused him to think twice. For about ten seconds.
Then he unloosened the knot.
o0o
She lay on the bed, like some naked harem girl sprawled out before him, while he looked his fill and slowly disrobed. Desire, thick and steamy, hummed in her blood—and it felt so good, especially after her depression the past few days. He slipped the sweater over his head to reveal a black shirt.
“Hmm,” she said as he grasped its hem. “Double hmm,” she added when he shrugged it off. His chest was sprinkled with dark hair, perfectly placed across his pecs and abdomen, as if by some deity who’d taken his time to do it right. She tracked his hands to his belt, which he unbuckled.
“Shit,” he said unexpectedly. “I don’t have condoms.”
“I got some out of the bathroom and put them on the dresser next to the door.”
Making quick work of retrieving the box, he dumped the protection on the bed and resumed his disrobing; it amused her. The actions looked practiced, but she bet they weren’t. He wasn’t a player. She knew that instinctively. When he was fully naked, he cocked his head. “And no, I’m not embarrassed this time, either. You’re an alluring woman, Teresa, when you want to be. And I’m very much looking forward to this.” He rolled on a rubber as she watched.
“So am I, John.”
His knee pressed into the bed and, bracing his arms on either side of the pillow, he covered her body with his.
“Ahhh,” he said hoarsely.
“Mmm,” she moaned.
Locking his gaze with hers, he asked, “How shall we do this?”
Her smile came easily. “Surprise me.”
o0o
Jack lost himself in the sensations of this woman’s body, one he did not know but had all night to discover. He started at her jaw and kissed his way down to her waist. Then over to her navel and back up the other side. He cherished the goose bumps when they rose on her skin. Stopping at her breasts, he took both in his hands and kneaded them.
“You’re so gentle, yet so strong. I noticed it when you touched me before.”
“Well, right about now, I’m exercising Herculean control over myself.” Leaning in, he whispered, “It’s been a while.”
“For me, too.”
He smiled against her skin. “Then, let’s make it good, Teresa.”
“I agree, John whoever you are.”
His mouth found hers and he brushed his lips back and forth, back and forth, until he probed them with his tongue. She opened willingly, and he explored her. She tasted so sweet. So sensual. So womanly. His mind began to cloud as the kiss got very wild, very fast.
o0o
“There?” he asked, his body outlined by the small lamp in the corner.
“Oh, God, yes. Right there.”
He pushed harder. Stopped. Pushed some more.
“John, please.”
“No, no, not yet. It feels too good.”
“What are you doing with your hand?”
“Can’t you feel it?”
“Hell, I can now. I’m going to…”
But she lost control of her speech. Lost control of everything.
o0o
He woke to the heavy feel of someone behind him, her arm sliding to his chest. She tangled their legs, her cast scratched him, then she kissed his shoulder. Jack hadn’t slept with anyone in a long time and had forgotten the tender excitement of being awakened for sex. His hand went to hers. He picked one up and brushed her knuckles with his lips.
“So sweet, Teresa. So very sweet.”
“Teresa is sweet. Certainly not Tess.”
“Good thing I’m with the right woman.”
She stilled for a moment and he wondered, too, at the intent of his words.
Then she began again, her hand roaming over his chest, tickling his belly, and inching down to his groin.
“Arrgh…” His moan was long, lusty and…frustrated. “You’re missing your mark, woman.”
“No, I’m not. I’m doing just what I want to do.”
She teased him until he grabbed her wrist. “Do something now, or I’m flipping over and….”
Her hand closed around his erection. When she began to massage him, pleasure flooded his whole body.
o0o
“Here, take these.”
She lay with the sheet halfway up her body, her breasts showing, feeling totally unselfconscious. “I don’t need pain medicine. You’re my elixir.”
“You cried out when I bumped your ankle—the last time, when you were on top.”
Sitting up, she took the medicine and water and downed them. He set the glass on the table, then climbed in next to her. “Turn over on your side. I want to hold you while we sleep some more.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“I’ll fix you breakfast in the morning.”
She smiled. “I’m addicted to coffee.”
“Whatever you want.”
Tess steeped herself in his body as it aligned with hers. He buried his face in her neck, and soon her breathing evened out.
o0o
Jack heard the buzz, and it awoke him immediately. Old instincts from raising kids died hard. Drawing away from Teresa, he slid out of bed and picked up his pants. When he retrieved the phone, he exited the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
He heard, “Dad, it’s Seth.”
“Seth. Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, or I wouldn’t have called you in the middle of the night. It’s Sara. She, um, Dad, she got arrested.”
“What?” The kid was a straight-A student and good girl. But she had a side to her that worried him.
“You’re gonna find out anyway.” The twins rarely tattled on each other, so this must be serious. “She got caught smoking pot. Listen, I know you’re close by in Rockland. State College is only an hour from there. Can you come down here?” Jack recognized the edges of panic in Seth’s voice. Despite their different sexes, his twin children were so close it was almost spooky.
“I’ll be right there, but first tell me if she’s hurt. Or you are.”
“No, nobody’s hurt. We’re at the police station.”
When Jack disconnected, he inhaled and let it out slowly. The breathing made his nerves settle. He had to concentrate on getting to the small town where the kids both went to college. Hell, they’d just gone back from winter break. Quietly, he snuck into the room and saw Tess hadn’t moved. She was sleeping soundly. No way would he wake her up.
He dressed in the bathroom, took a minute to throw water on his face, and another to scribble on a pad by her bed: I’ve been called away on an emergency. I had a wonderful time.
How inadequate those words were. But he didn’t have the clarity of mind to create any flowery prose. His baby girl was in trouble and he had to get to her.