He opened his mouth. The cake was rich but not too rich. “Very good,” he praised, happy to see her cheeks flush with pleasure. “But it’s not better than sex.”
Her blue eyes sparkled with silent laughter. “Prove it.”
three
The tension that gripped Jack at her bold statement was so tangible Rachel felt it. She waited with bated breath, her heart skipping at the scorching look he raked her with. That sharply focused intensity had been too much for her when she’d been younger.
Dear God . . . he was gorgeous. Impossibly sexy. Standing there in only button-fly jeans with the top button undone. He was leaner than she remembered, his features more angular. She bet he wasn’t taking care of himself. He was likely working too hard and not eating often enough. There wasn’t an ounce of extraneous flesh on him. Every muscle was clearly, deliciously defined. His arms, his pectorals, his abdomen.
He could drive a woman crazy, especially with that air of danger clinging to him. It was evident, just by looking at him, that there were very few things he wouldn’t do if necessary. There were scars all over him—a puckered bullet hole by his shoulder, slashing scars across his abdomen, an old burn mark on his forearm, just to name a few.
As long as Rachel had known him, he’d always lived life on a razor’s edge, first as a U.S. Army Ranger and now as a deputy marshal. Any woman who loved him would have to accept the hazards inherent in the work he did. His job would always be his mistress. It would pull him from his wife’s bed at all hours of the night, luring him into deadly situations while the scent of his desire still clung to her skin.
Rachel hadn’t believed she could ever take on a man like him, but she’d underestimated her capacity to grow and change. Since she and Jack had first met, she’d had a wonderful eight-year marriage. She had persevered through an ectopic pregnancy, the death of her mother and beloved husband, the launching of her own small business, and the terrifying process of learning how to be a single mother.
She was no longer the woman who’d been married to Steve Tse. She was now the woman who’d survived him, and they were two very different people.
The woman she was today was more than capable of tackling a challenge like Jack Killigrew. And by God, she intended to.
He finally spoke. “What did you just say?”
Rachel wondered if he knew the impact his low, whisky-rough voice had on women. “It’s been a long time for me, Jack.”
“Hell.” He retreated. Shoving his hands through his short dark hair, he turned his back to her. “You shouldn’t have drunk that beer.”
Lord have mercy. The way he moved and spoke was intensely sensual. Just the flexing of his muscles was totally erotic.
She became even more determined to have all that virility focused on her. “I don’t need false courage to hit on you.”
He glared at her over his shoulder. “This isn’t you.”
“It’s me now. You’ve stayed away for two years. A lot has changed.”
Pivoting, he faced her again. “I figured you and the Tses would close ranks while you dealt with Steve’s death. I stayed out of the way.”
Rachel set the plate and fork down on the glass-topped end table. “I’m glad to hear that’s why you’ve been so distant. I thought maybe it was me.”
His jaw clenched and she knew she’d struck a cord. The confirmation hurt more than she’d thought it would.
“I would have asked you to be here,” she said, “if I could have used you. I feel comfortable doing that. Even before—when Steve was still here—I knew I could count on you.”
He snorted. “You never quite got used to me.”
“You’re larger than life, Jack. I’ve never met anyone like you before or since.” Her arms crossed. The raw magnetism and intense carnality that once overwhelmed her now set her libido on a steady simmer. She hadn’t realized until she started dating again that she was comparing her dates to Jack and finding they left her cold. “You are rarely entirely comfortable with me, either,” she shot back.
“So why do this? Why ask me this?”
Rachel was confused. He was looking at her like he wanted to nail her to the nearest wall, but he sounded like that was the last thing he was interested in. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? Do you hear the sound of your voice, all gravelly and sexy as hell? Are you completely oblivious to the bad-boy vibe you give off? Because I’m not blind or deaf.”
Jack’s dark and steady gaze was knife-sharp. His brows were drawn together in a fearsome glower, but she wasn’t intimidated. She was quickly picking up on the fact that he became the most fierce when his equanimity was threatened. Which meant, for better or worse, she got to him.
“You’re physically attracted to me,” she said, daring him to deny it. “So what’s the problem?”
He mimicked her pose, crossing his arms and displaying powerful biceps. “I’m flattered, but we’ve got too much baggage—and a future with Riley between us—to make casual sex work.”
Why would anything casual delve into baggage?
She looked away, hiding the spark of hope she felt. Jack knew damn well there was nothing casual about the sexual tension between them, and that scared him. Of course, he wouldn’t be the first drop-dead gorgeous guy to have commitment issues. In all the years she’d known him, he had never once had a steady relationship. If an event required a date, he’d bring one, but Rachel never saw him with the same woman more than once.
Needing to think, she picked up the plate and moved back to the kitchen. She took a bite of the cake and contemplated her next move. This was her first-ever seduction; she had no Plan B to fall back on. Giving up wasn’t an option.
“Rachel?” Jack’s voice was soft in the semi-darkness.
She ate a little more. “Hmm?”
“You got awfully quiet.”
“I’m thinking.”
He exhaled harshly, his head falling back until he was staring at the white-washed wooden beam ceiling. “I’m sure if you gave dating a shot, you’d find someone you liked.”
“I like you.” She spoke around another bite. She had long admired his fierce loyalty, but over the last two years since Steve passed on, she’d come to know Jack even better via his role as Riley’s godfather. Through the e-mails and phone calls he shared with her son, she discovered Jack possessed a deep capacity to love and nurture, a marked patience while teaching, and the ability to be open-minded and nonjudgmental. And she damn well couldn’t discount how just the sound of his voice turned her on. “But I have been dating.”
His head snapped upright. “Who? Do I know him?”
“Do you care?”
“Of course I care. I want to make sure you and Riley are all right.”
Rachel met his gaze directly. “I would never put Riley in jeopardy over a guy.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
She eyed him surreptitiously, noting his edginess while she felt amazingly calm. He made her feel safe enough to be bold. He didn’t yet know what that meant to her, but she intended to show him.
Jack moved toward the open sliding glass door. “What you and Steve had was special.”
“Once in a lifetime,” she agreed. She’d been the right girl to Steve’s right guy at the right time. And she felt that way about Jack. She was so sure they were what each other needed; it didn’t seem possible that she could be wrong. If he just gave her a shot, maybe he’d see she was the missing ingredient in his life. And if she ended up being the one in their relationship who loved the other one more, that was okay with her.
“You just have to give it some more time. And be a little open-minded.”
“Oh my God.” She set her fork down. “Are you giving me dating advice? No offense, but what the hell do you know about having a serious relationship?”
Jack leaned his back into the doorjamb and shoved his hands in his pockets, giving her a breathtaking silhouette of long legs and firm pectorals. “Nothing at all. I just know Steve is going to be a hard act to follow. You might have to make some compromises, but you can be happy again. You can find a good guy for you.”
“You mean I might have to settle.” She straightened and pushed the plate away, ignoring the urge to clean up after herself. Damned if she’d fall into mommy role right now. She was dressed to kill and primed. And she was playing to win, even if that meant playing a little dirty. “I’ve never settled on the wrong guy in my life, and I’m not going to start now.”
“Then what the hell are you doing here?” he said coldly.
“Going down in flames, apparently.” She reached for both spaghetti straps of her dress. If he needed to believe she could handle a no-strings-attached one-night stand, she could give him that impression. Then she’d work her way into him from the outside. She just had to start somewhere, and standing on opposing sides of the room wasn’t cutting it. “But hey, if that’s the way this is going to end, I might as well make sure I gave it my best shot.”
Flicking the thin straps off her shoulders, Rachel held her breath. Her dress slithered down her body and puddled on the floor.
four
Jack stared, stunned and aching, as Rachel went from dressed to mouthwateringly nak*d in a split second. He swore. His knees weakened. He was grateful to be leaning against the house. There wasn’t a scrap of material on her. No bra, which he’d known, and no panties to cover her waxed p**sy, which he was grateful he hadn’t known about or she’d have been bent over the couch already.
Sucking in air like he’d just run for miles, he devoured every inch of her pale body with a ravenous gaze. The proud angle of her chin and shoulders, her small but lushly curved br**sts, her flat stomach, and her mile-long legs. She turned in a circle with her arms outstretched, showing off her elegantly curved spine and perky little ass.
“Last call,” she said, facing him again. “If this doesn’t catch your interest, I’ll head out. You can keep the cake.”
Christ, she was sassy and bold. Jack had no idea who the woman standing in front of him was. It damn sure wasn’t the Rachel he remembered, a woman who’d coped with her vindictive aunt by staying away from home as much as possible. Staying away from home led to her being assaulted when she was sixteen. Steve didn’t elaborate and Jack hadn’t pried. That one word was more than enough.
The walls started closing in. Sweat misted his skin and the knot in his gut tightened painfully. He could’ve said no to the old Rachel. With this one, he was a goner.
Her seduction was the worst sort of perdition. He was terrified he was going to f**k this all up and push Rachel and Riley away, the only people he really considered his family. The people he called on holidays and sent gifts to. The people he thought of when the chips were down and he needed a reason to get his ass out alive, if worse for wear. If he lost them, he’d have nothing. He’d forever be worried that they might be in trouble or need something, and his assistance wouldn’t be welcomed.
“You’re killing me here, Rachel,” he said gruffly.
“Well, it’s only fair.” Her arms lowered to her sides. “I’m dying for you.”
He straightened. He was going to ask her why she was here and if she said Steve’s name, he was walking out to the beach and not stopping until the sun came up. If she didn’t mention Steve, well . . . he couldn’t turn her away. He would take her to bed and try to find some closure. He’d say as much as it was possible to say, do all that it was possible to do, and somehow find a way to act in the morning like nothing had changed between them. He prayed that would ease the way for them to move forward without any awkwardness. If there was the added bonus of her feeling like she’d closed the door on her past with Steve and could move forward unencumbered, he could live with that, as long as he didn’t have to know about it.
“Why me?” he bit out.
Her arms fell to her sides. She met his gaze head-on and said, “Because I want to be with someone I feel connected to. Someone who isn’t going to fumble around and leave me hanging at the end. A man who knows his way around a woman’s body and doesn’t need me to tell him what I want.”
That was it, then. He was a dead man walking.
Jack strode forward in a controlled rush, his focus narrowed on Rachel and his goal of getting inside her as swiftly as possible. He was highly conscious of how short a time he had with her. A lifetime wouldn’t be long enough and he’d been given only a handful of hours.
As he zeroed in, he could see her tremble, but her gaze didn’t waver. When he caught her waist in his hands and lifted her, she gasped but didn’t recoil. Instead, her slender arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in his throat. He was damp with perspiration, but she didn’t seem to care. She nuzzled against him, her tongue darting out and licking. Impossibly, his c*ck swelled further. He was so hard it hurt, his dick throbbing in his jeans, demanding relief from his torment.
He headed toward the hallway leading to the bedroom, holding her partly away from him so they actually stood a chance of making it that far.
Rachel had other ideas. Using her arms for leverage, she pulled up enough to sling her legs around his waist. The brush of her satin-soft p**sy against his abdomen caused him to stumble. He aimed for the wall to the right of the hallway entrance, one hand reaching out to cushion her back from the impact.
“Oh God,” she breathed in his ear. “You make me so hot.”
“Rachel.” He pressed his temple to hers and closed his eyes, fighting for control. His chest was heaving with gasping breaths, keeping him ever aware of her br**sts flattened against him.
Her fingers pushed into his hair, tugging forcefully until his head lifted. She crushed her soft mouth against his, holding him at the angle she wanted. When his lips parted for a sharp inhalation, she took advantage. Her tongue darted inside, licking and stroking in a hot wet kiss.