Kevin was trying so hard to be gallant. Not that Noelle was making it easy for him. “I don’t want to go to bed,” she protested as he steered her into her room. Frilly lavender bedding dominated the antique mahogany four-poster. The canopy was similarly decked out. “I’m not sleepy,” she protested when he relieved her of her thick terry-cloth bathrobe and slippers and urged her beneath the covers.
“Shh.” Kevin pressed a finger to her lips. “You’ll wake the baby.”
Noelle sighed and settled against the pillows. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes fever-bright. Her temp had risen to 101.9 in the last half hour. He didn’t want it to go any higher, and figured the best way to prevent it was by getting her to sleep as soon as possible.
Humor laced her voice. “You’re awfully bossy.”
Kevin reminded himself he was a McCabe, and McCabes were chivalrous to the core. “I’m the medic in charge.”
She took a moment to scowl at him. “You just don’t want me talking anymore.”
Heaven help him, he wanted to make love to her here and now. He grinned. “You’re right, I don’t.”
She studied him, a new softness in her gaze. “How come?”
Tenderness swept through him. Kevin brought the covers up across her chest and tucked them in around her. Finished, he rested a palm on either side of her. Ignoring the persistent need to kiss her, he leaned in to confide gently, “Because you, like me, are one of those people who become hyper—rather than lethargic—when they have a fever.”
He had seen it a lot on emergency calls. A patient who should have been passed out with a high fever was instead running around at high speed, doing something ridiculous, insisting he or she was fine. Often to the chagrin of the loved one who had dialed 9-1-1.
Mischief played at the corners of her lips. “So I’m a little hyper. So what?”
“So that acetaminophen you just took is going to have a better chance of working if you’re quiet,” Kevin declared sternly.
Noelle scoffed. “You don’t know that.”
“Well, I’m going to pretend I do. Seriously.” He paused, suddenly as reluctant to say good-night as she was. “Do you have everything you need?”
Except you. In bed. With me, her expression said. “I guess,” she murmured finally.
Wishing he could climb under the covers with her, Kevin kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be across the hall if you need anything.”
“Okay.” Noelle caught his hand, held it tightly. “Thanks for everything, Detective.”
“You’re welcome.” He touched the side of her face, not sure when he had ever felt such overwhelming devotion. Rio was right. He did have it bad. He leaned forward and kissed her temple. “Get some sleep.”
NOELLE OPENED HER EYES to sunlight sifting through the curtains.
Kevin was stretched out beside her, cuddling Mikey against his chest. Another blink of her eyes had her noting that Kevin was on top of the bedcovers. She was beneath them. Fuzzy memories of him helping her through the night filtered back.
She eased from the bed. Although she still felt a little dizzy and weak, she was definitely more clearheaded. Heading for the bathroom, Noelle splashed cold water on her face and brushed her teeth. She tugged a brush through her hair before padding back into the bedroom.
Kevin’s eyes were open, watching her as she pulled on her thick terry robe and slippers. Mikey stirred sleepily on his chest, near waking, too.
Surprised by the emotions shifting through her, Noelle curled up on the bed beside them. If she had been attracted to Kevin before, it was nothing to how she felt now, after a night of his almost unbearable kindness. This, she mused, was what a close intimate relationship should be like in times of crisis. Not what she’d had before—in her family, in her marriage—with each person tending to his or her own needs first and foremost before helping the other. Kevin had put her and Mikey ahead of everything else. It felt good to be the recipient of such loving care.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice a sexy rumble.
Noelle favored him with a smile, the gratitude she felt nothing compared to the desire simmering deep inside her. “Like the morning after a wild party. Only there was no party.”
He chuckled and stretched as well as he could without disturbing her son. “How much of last night do you remember?”
Noelle paused to reflect. “You kept waking me up to take my temperature.”
Kevin nodded. “Every four hours—for both of you.”
Remembering the tenderness of his touch, she bit her lip. “You made me drink something and gave me acetaminophen.”
“And did the same for Mikey.”
Speaking of whom… Noelle reached over and felt her drowsy son’s forehead. It felt normal to the touch. Or maybe her hand was extra warm; she couldn’t tell. Fortunately, Kevin already had the baby thermometer in his hand. Knowing it would be easier to do this before Mikey woke up all the way, Noelle shifted him gently and eased his arm from his pajama top. Kevin slid the thermometer underneath. Their eyes met as they waited for the results.
More memories drifted back, sexy, unbidden. Noelle moaned softly. “Tell me I didn’t…”
He quirked a brow. “Come onto me?”
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “Okay, that was blunt.”
“Yeah, you did,” he told her, obviously pleased. “But I was a complete gentleman.”
“Thank heaven.” Noelle waved off the erotic thoughts.
“In deed, anyway,” Kevin continued rakishly. “My thoughts were a little more fanciful.”
She tried to make light of that as their eyes met. “Mmm-hmming me in your mind?” She mimicked his teasing tone.
Kevin sobered. “More like my heart.”
Okay, that was romantic. More so because he looked every bit as surprised by the words he had just murmured as she was. Noelle reached out to check Kevin’s forehead. “Funny,” she said, “I could have sworn you were delirious.”
“No. That was you,” he stated, over the beep of the digital thermometer. “And speaking of body heat, your palm feels awfully warm.”
Noelle waited for him to withdraw the thermometer from beneath Mikey’s arm, then readjusted her son’s pajama top. “What’s his temp?”
“Ninety-nine point two.”
She sighed in relief. That probably meant he was on the mend.
“Now let’s take yours.” Kevin popped a thermometer under her tongue, shifted her stirring son to her arms and then headed off. He returned with a box of baby wipes and a clean diaper for Mikey. “You going to let me change you, big guy?” he asked, noting the toddler’s eyes were open now and he was looking around.
Mikey broke out in a big grin. “Sleep!” He grabbed Kevin’s shirt and Noelle’s pajama top. “We sleep!”
“Yes. We all slept together last night.” Kevin started changing Mikey’s diaper like a pro. “’Cause you wanted to be held and Mommy wanted you in her sight at all times.”
How easy it would be to depend on this, on him. Which was why, Noelle thought pensively, she should put on the brakes. She went to get toddler-size corduroy pants, a sweater and socks. “Shouldn’t you be at work?” She helped Mikey into his day clothes.
Kevin slipped the soggy diaper into a plastic disposal bag. “I let the department know last night I was taking a personal day to take care of a sick friend.” He walked into the bathroom to wash his hands.
Noelle passed her son a miniature fire truck. “So it’s going to be all over town you were out here with me all night?”
Kevin smiled, watching Mikey run the vehicle over the rumpled covers. “People understand the situation. And for anyone who doesn’t, who cares?” He sat on the side of the bed. Taking her hand, he pulled her down beside him. “Why? Does that bother you?”
Noting Mikey was a little too close to the edge, Noelle caught him and returned him to the middle. “I don’t like being the center of negative attention.”
Kevin smiled. “It’s true, when you’re trying something new, the fewer people who know about it, the better.”
She had to wait for her heartbeat to return to normal. “Are we trying something new here?”
He gave her a look more potent than any kiss. “What do you think?”
KEVIN’S PAGER WENT OFF just as he and Noelle were talking about what to have for dinner that evening. It had been a really nice day. He had enjoyed hanging out with her and Mikey, caring for them while they took it easy, as per his brother Riley’s orders. It figured the day would end with an interruption he couldn’t ignore.
“Important?” Noelle asked.
“Probably,” Kevin replied, reaching for the phone. Otherwise, the sheriff’s department would not have summoned him.
Rio Vasquez quickly brought Kevin up to speed. “A young kid’s here, asking to see you. Sixteen or so. Long hair. Really nice clothes, part of which might be some sort of private school uniform. Looks like a runaway. He said he’s the son of an old friend of yours. But I’m not buying it. In fact, I think he might be in some kind of trouble. Said his name is Harry Smith.”
“Not too original.”
“At least it wasn’t Jones,” Rio quipped, referring to the two most commonly used aliases. “Can you get in here?”
“In about thirty to forty minutes. Can you stall him that long?”
“No problem. I’ll distract him with the Christmas cookies in the coffee room.”
“So what’s going on?” Noelle asked curiously when Kevin hung up the phone.
“There’s a kid answering Scooter Roth’s description over at the sheriff’s department who says he won’t talk to anyone but me.”
“Then you should go.”
“I’m planning to, but only if you and Mikey agree to come into town with me. I can drop you at my house before heading over to the station.”
Noelle wrinkled her nose, perplexed. “And this is necessary because…?”
“You’re both still running low-grade fevers.”
“Ninety-nine point five,” Noelle retorted cheerfully. “That’s barely above normal.”
Kevin didn’t care if he sounded like a worried old woman—he wasn’t taking any chances. “It’s still only late afternoon. Your temperatures could both spike again, and I don’t like the idea of you and Mikey being so far from me if that happens.” He didn’t want them away from him, period, if they were sick. “Besides, you haven’t had dinner yet. Seriously, I’ll feel better if you’re nearby. You and Mikey can spend the night there in my fully equipped guest suite. You’d even have your own bathroom.”
“I’m going.” Noelle quickly gathered up the things needed for an overnight stay, setting them in the front hall. “But only because I want you to talk to Scooter Roth before he loses his nerve, and I have the feeling this is the only way to accomplish that.”
Unfortunately, Kevin thought so, too. But as soon as his session with the kid was over he was heading back to Noelle and Mikey.
THE TEENAGER STOOD when Kevin entered the coffee room. The cookie plate in front of him was empty. He didn’t appear to have had a shower since Kevin had last seen him, and his clothes looked as if they had been slept in. He swallowed nervously. “I don’t know if you remember me….”
“Scooter Roth, right?”
“Yeah.” Scooter paused, looking sheepish. “About the name I gave Deputy Vasquez…I wasn’t sure I should even be here, and I didn’t know where else to find you.”
Kevin sized the youth up, realized he was still about to bolt. “You did good, kid. I’m glad you came.” He looked over to see the Mac Callahan’s Pizza delivery guy standing in the doorway, a stack of pizzas in hand. Kevin motioned the man over and pulled out a couple of bills. He paid him, set three of the boxes on a desk. “Three for them, one for us.” Kevin winked. With his hand on Scooter’s shoulder, he led the way back to an interrogation room and set the box on the table.
“Want a soda to go with that?” Kevin opened the box and shoved it toward Scooter.
He nodded. “Lemon lime. Please.”
Kevin returned with two cold drinks and sat across from him. While Scooter downed three-quarters of the pepperoni pie, Kevin ate a slice and chatted about the upcoming basketball season and football bowl games. For someone alleged to be in debt to a cyber bookie, Scooter was amazingly uninformed about the prospects of the various teams. “Your parents know you left Houston to drive to Laramie?” Kevin asked eventually.
Scooter tensed. “How’d you know I drove?”
“Generally speaking, not too many cars with Houston private school stickers get parked across the street.”
“Oh.”
Kevin shrugged. “I’m just wondering why they wouldn’t know. They’re going all-out to help you with this jam you’re in, and everything.”
“Yeah, well…” Scooter played with a piece of crust.
“Could it be,” Kevin said, following a hunch, “your folks really don’t want to see you get out of this mess—at least to the point you escape the blame?”
Scooter swallowed hard. His face turned pale and he dropped the last of his pizza. “Why does it matter to you whether I take the rap or not?” he asked.
Kevin shrugged and sat back in his chair. “Because I think you’re a good kid who’s been in a bad situation. And I think you’re scared.”
The stubborn expression was back on Scooter’s face. “My folks say I don’t need to be.”
Kevin tilted his head, considering. “That lawyer you have has been known to work a few miracles in cases where reasonable doubt exists, not where kids are caught committing a crime red-handed. The D.A. has videotape surveillance footage, fingerprints, your log-in on the computer, eyewitnesses, an e-mail trail. You’re not getting off.” He paused deliberately, letting his words sink in. “And I suspect you know that, which is why you’re so scared. And that’s smart. If I were you I’d hate to be taking the rap for something I didn’t engineer. And I’d hate to be slapped with a heavy sentence, my future ruined by a felony conviction, while the real culprit goes free to engineer even more identity fraud.”
“But I’m a juvenile,” Scooter reminded him hopefully.
Kevin crushed his dreams of little penalty. “The D.A. has already petitioned the court to have you tried as an adult.”
The teenager furrowed his brow. “My attorney still thinks he can get me off on a plea bargain, with community service.”
“You know what I think?” Kevin asked.
Looking nervous, Scooter shook his head.
Kevin frowned. “I think—given the millions of dollars of fraudulent purchases involved—that you might find yourself wearing an orange jumpsuit sooner than anyone thinks. And I think your parents know that. And yet they still feel it’s an acceptable risk to take with your future.” Kevin continued his fishing expedition carefully. “And that makes me wonder if just maybe they’re protecting someone else. Someone they love—or fear—more than you.”
Scooter’s jaw set. “My parents aren’t afraid of anyone or anything.”
Kevin lifted a brow, pretending he already knew all. “Even you?”
“Hey, I never implicated them!” Scooter said, in a total panic.
Suddenly, the pieces fit. “I think,” Kevin murmured slowly, “you just did.”
“YOU MUST BE Noelle Kringle,” the gorgeous brunette said from the other side of Kevin’s front door. Clad in a red chenille sweater and black pants, she carried a plastic container of soup and a basket of cranberry-orange muffins.
Noelle smiled. “And you’re…?”
“His baby sister, Laurel Dunnigan. I heard you were sick and thought I’d drop off some food for him to take to you. I didn’t think you and your son would be here, but I’m glad you are.”
Noelle cast a glance at Mikey, sleeping in a darkened corner of the living room. She motioned Laurel into the kitchen. “Do you live in town?”
“Dallas. My husband, Cade, and I are in town to see family and give a Dunnigan Dog Food service award to the sheriff’s department police dogs and their handlers.”
“When is that going to happen?”
“At the community center, during the Blue Santa festivities.”
Noelle removed the lid. The aroma of chicken tortilla soup wafted up, enticing her taste buds. “This soup smells delicious.”
“Grandmother Lilah McCabe’s recipe. Guaranteed to cure what ails you.”
“Would you like some?”
Laurel chuckled. “I think I did enough tasting while I was cooking it, but I’d be happy to heat you some in the microwave and keep you company while you eat it.”
Noting that Laurel seemed to know her way around her brother’s kitchen better than she did, Noelle nodded. “Thanks. I met all four of your and Kevin’s brothers—they helped rebuild the steps at Blackberry Hill.” It was nice to meet his only sister as well, she decided, perching on a stool at the breakfast bar. “You McCabes seem like a close-knit clan.”
“Yes, we are.” Laurel ladled a serving of soup into a bowl. “And we’re all glad Kevin is dating seriously again, too.”
This was news. Noelle said casually, “That hasn’t been the case?”
Laurel’s expression turned rueful as she slid the soup into the microwave. “Not since he and Portia broke up and he had to leave the HPD and sort through all that mess,” she said.
Just then the back door opened and closed, and Kevin walked in from the mudroom. He was carrying yet another sack of sad-looking donated baby dolls. Noelle could tell by the bits and pieces sticking out the top. “We don’t need to bore Noelle with that.” He gave his sister a quelling look.
Laurel sent him a glance that said she disagreed. Then she stood and smiled. “I better go.” She briefly hugged her big brother. “See you tomorrow night?”
When Kevin nodded, she turned to Noelle. “I hope you feel better soon.”
“Thanks.” Noelle smiled. After the door shut behind Laurel, Noelle turned back to Kevin. His cheeks and nose were ruddy from the cold. His jaw bore the beginnings of an evening beard. He looked handsome and sexy, and she was ridiculously glad to see him. Even though he appeared highly annoyed at the moment. “Your sister seems nice.”
The creases on either side of Kevin’s mouth deepened. “She was over here, scoping out the situation for the rest of the family.” The microwave dinged. He lifted out the bowl of soup and brought it to Noelle.
She tested the waters further. “They’re all glad you’re dating seriously again.”
Kevin’s eyes lit up. “So am I.”
Noelle hadn’t expected such a frank admission. She knew she had questions to ask. “So,” she said supercasually, “who is Portia and why did you have to leave the HPD?”
He handed her a spoon and a packet of saltine crackers. “I didn’t have to leave the Houston Police Department,” he said. He carried over the sack of toys and set it down on the counter. “I chose to go.”
Aware that her heart had begun to race, as much from the subject matter as his physical nearness, Noelle watched him squirt dish soap in the sink and add hot water. She forced herself to ask the hard questions, even though the most vulnerable part of her would almost have preferred not to know. “Why?”
Kevin rolled up his sleeves and got out a scrubber sponge from beneath the sink. He paused to give her a gruff look. “Because my career derailed after it became clear that the woman I was engaged to was an accomplished con artist, wanted in five states on a variety of felony charges,” he said, immersing the first doll beneath the bubbles.
Ignoring Noelle’s dismayed reaction, he began to scrub away the grime with a vengeance. “As soon as I found out Portia was living under an alias, I turned her in, but the damage to my rep was done. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t been actively involved in any criminal activity while she was with me, and in fact, according to her, had been trying to ‘go straight.’” Kevin rinsed the doll clean. “I was the laughingstock of the department, and my credentials as detective were under fire, too.”
Telling herself that thanks to the “deal” she had made, Kevin and his coworkers need never know what kind of trouble she had once been in, Noelle got a dish towel out of the drawer. Leaving her half-finished soup on the counter, she accepted the dripping toy from Kevin and began to dry it. “What happened to Portia?” she asked quietly, way too aware of the heat emanating from his much larger frame.
Kevin plucked another doll from the bag. “She’s doing time in Nevada for mail fraud and embezzlement.”
Noelle’s heart fluttered in her chest. “Are you over her?” She could have kicked herself the moment her words were out. Unfortunately, it was too late to take them back. Or, she thought to herself, is that the reason you’ve been reluctant to “seriously date” since then—because you’re still in love with Portia?
Kevin turned, his demeanor grim. Gripping her shoulders, he looked down at Noelle and stated flatly, “I was over Portia the moment I found out who—and what—she was.”
Would he be over her, too, Noelle wondered uncertainly, if he ever found out the whole truth? More to the point, how could she keep the details of her past from him if they were to continue getting closer? It was hard enough as it was. Carefully measuring her words. Trying to reveal only the facts of her life as it was now, as opposed to what it had really been.
Mistaking the reason behind her unease, Kevin drew her closer yet. “I can see you don’t believe me,” he murmured. He tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. Then he rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. “So I guess I’ll have to show you.”
Giving her no chance to protest, he lowered his mouth to hers, used the gentle pressure of his lips to force hers apart. Unable to resist, Noelle wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her breasts against the hardness of his chest. Desire pooled in the pit of her stomach, and her knees grew weak.
Reluctantly, Kevin drew back and broke their prolonged kiss. “I don’t think… You still have fever….”
“This will make me feel better.” She kept her gaze locked with his even as her heart raced in her chest.
A worried light came into his eyes. “I don’t think—”
“I do.” Noelle went up on tiptoe. Stifling his protest, she kissed him back with all the wonder and affection she had in her heart. He felt so good against her, so warm and sexy and male. Need sprang up deep inside her as their tongues tangled, searching, tasting, giving, taking. Noelle heard herself whimper, and then instinct and desire took over. She let herself go. Let herself surrender to the inevitable. And why not? It was Christmastime, after all. This was the only gift she wanted, her gift to herself. And to him.
Kevin knew he shouldn’t be making love to her tonight, but he couldn’t turn away, not when she looked at him that way, so vulnerable, so full of yearning. Not when she seemed to need him to demonstrate his emotions. What they were feeling wasn’t at all convenient. But then, he thought, as he caught her beneath the knees, swung her up into his arms and headed for his bedroom, love—real love—never was.
“I gather this means you’ve seen the wisdom of my ways?” Noelle teased as he set her gently down beside the bed.
“You gather right.” Kevin grinned. “As long as you don’t get a chill.” He eased her out of the trendy black warm-ups she’d been wearing, then urged her beneath the covers while he stripped down to his skin.
Knowing he wanted Noelle as he had never wanted any woman before, he joined her beneath the blankets.
She rolled onto her side. “Somehow I feel at a disadvantage,” she murmured when he took her in his arms.
“I don’t know.” He drew back to survey her sweat socks, pink racer-back undershirt and black bikini panties, glad she hadn’t insisted he turn off the lights. “I think you look kind of cute. But if you absolutely insist on being as naked as me…”
She kissed him again. “I really do.”
“Then we’ll see what we can do to accommodate you,” he promised hoarsely, his palms slipping up and down her spine, across her shoulders, down her arms. Blood rushed to his groin as he reveled in the silkiness of her skin. He kissed her the way he had wanted to the moment he had walked in the door that evening. Her mouth pliant beneath his, she wreathed her arms around his neck and arched against him. Loving the way she responded to him, the way she trembled when they were about to make love, Kevin put everything he had into the kiss. He was determined this time would be every bit as satisfying as their first lovemaking. Even more so. And that meant not letting her impatience, or the soft, helpless sounds she was making in the back of her throat, deter him.
“You’ll be naked,” he told her, raining kisses down her neck, across her collarbone and the uppermost swells of her breasts, “in good time.”
She hitched in a breath as he slipped his hands beneath her camisole, cupped her breasts in his palms. Need sprang up inside him. He pushed the cloth higher, baring her breasts. Lifting the softness to his mouth, he stroked the nipples with the pads of his thumbs, then laved them with his tongue. “Next thing I know,” she complained breathlessly, quivering with sensation, “you’ll be telling me good things come to those who wait.”
“Because they do.” He divested her of her top, then slid lower, hooking his fingers in the elastic waistband of her panties and dragging them down over her abdomen, to the top of her thighs.
“Kevin.” She caught his head in her hands, tangling her fingers in his hair.
He planted a kiss in the triangle of coppery curls. “Just lie back and take it easy.” Knowing exactly what she needed, he took her panties off the rest of the way.
“I don’t think I can take it easy when…you’re…” She moaned as he cupped her bottom in his hands and ran his lips down the inside of her thighs.
Kevin throbbed with wanting her, with the need to let go, too, even as she surrendered to him completely. She was so beautiful. So soft and feminine. Reveling in her responsiveness, he moved the pad of his thumb back and forth over the slick, sensitive spot. She closed her eyes, let her head fall back, her breathing soft and ragged. And still it wasn’t enough. Needing to taste as well as touch, he loved her thoroughly with his mouth.
“I love it when you tremble for me,” he said, enjoying how sexy and ravished she looked. How ready for him. “And open up for me like this.” To their mutual enjoyment, he found her more wet and welcoming than before. Her thighs fell farther open; her toes curled. She rocked against him, close…so close…. “And come apart in my arms like this,” he continued. “And let me know you’re mine….”
Gasping, she clung to him. “I want you inside me, when I…”
Eager to please her, Kevin shifted upward. She closed her hands around his velvety hardness and guided him closer. He lifted her and touched her with the tip of his manhood in the most intimate way. Sensation built upon sensation and excitement roared through him.
“Yes,” Noelle whispered, her response honest and uncompromising and unashamed. “Yes…”
Driven by the same frantic need, Kevin kissed her again, hotter, harder, deeper. He was determined to make this last, to make it real, to make it so amazing she would never want to be with anyone but him ever again. Fire pooled in his groin and then they were one. When she would have hurried the pace, he held back, making her understand what it was to feel such intense, burning need.
She wanted him, too. He could see it in her eyes as she closed her body around his, taking him into her, giving him everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever needed. Lips locked together in a fierce primal kiss, they moved together until what few boundaries still existed between them dissolved, until he was as deep inside her as he could go. Until they were lost in a completeness unlike anything Kevin had ever known.