Carly Phillips - Body Heat

But he shuddered to think of her reaction. And he hated causing her pain or a return to the old fears she thought she’d put behind her. He knew Brianne was strong. She’d pull herself together enough to get through this. On a personal level, however, being honest with Brianne would mean not just the end of his summer fling, but losing her trust and faith in him, probably for good.

JAKE STEPPED INSIDE the too-quiet penthouse. With the silence surrounding him, he missed his apartment, a place where he could slam his front door shut in pure anger. Goddamn pansy elevator and its easy glide did nothing to alleviate his frustration. Norton slid on his run to greet Jake as he entered the apartment.

Jake scratched the back of his ear, the same way he’d seen Brianne pet the dog. Norton wasn’t satisfied and lowered himself to the floor, seeking a longer stretch of attention. No matter how much love and affection Brianne gave him at night, they were both still gone during most of the day. The pooch was obviously starving for affection if he sought it from Jake. He leaned down on his knees, gave the dog the petting he desired and got slobbered on for his trouble.

Before he could unwind and lose the tension of the day, Jake took Norton for a quick walk. Thank goodness, the dog cooperated, and he was back home before he knew it-home to mull over his unsuccessful trip to the gourmet shop where he’d failed to score. Of course, the order that signaled a request for drugs could change weekly or even daily. Jake had known that going in, but he’d still hoped this case would have an easy wrap-up. For Brianne’s sake. He dreaded reigniting her anxieties, and now he had no choice.

The only thing he had going for him-they had going for them-was this secure building. As angry as Brianne might be, she’d be foolish to leave here and the safety it offered. At least Jake would still have the summer to get back into her good graces, while keeping her safe at the same time.

He walked down the short hall to her room, but the door was open. A quick knock and look inside told him she wasn’t there. He headed across the marble floor and toward the gym, but that room was empty, too. He cursed.

“Today’s the day for strikeouts,” he muttered.

After he couldn’t score the pills, he’d called Duke and discovered the Forensics results were in. Duke had met him on the street away from the precinct, where Jake found out that Marina and her boyfriend had ODed on Ecstasy, Ramirez’s stock-in-trade. As far as Jake was concerned, the information was one more nail in the scum’s coffin. All they had to do now was link the pills to The Eclectic Eatery and link Ramirez to the restaurant.

Jake’s gut told him it shouldn’t be difficult. He glanced at his watch and the late hour shocked him. How the hell had the night gotten away from him? He’d been so busy trying to figure out a way to link the pills to Ramirez, he hadn’t even noticed the time.

But he noticed now. Where the hell was Brianne? According to her weekly schedule, she was over an hour late. Although he reminded himself she’d been late before, that she could have gotten hung up with a patient or stopped by The Sidewalk Café on the way home, this time felt different in his gut. And Jake never ignored his gut.

He reassured himself that she had David watching her back and the PI would have called if there’d been a problem. If he could call. The hell with denim and velvet, Jake thought, and flung himself onto the sofa, grabbed for the magazine and forced himself to flip through the pages. But he couldn’t force himself to focus, not even on the intensely sexual pictures. Anyplace in a photograph that was intended to be dark and sultry, instead reminded him of Ramirez and the possibility that he was lurking in shadows waiting to ambush Brianne.

More than once Jake reached for the phone, but telling himself he was overreacting, he sat on his hands. David would call, his mind insisted in direct opposition to his gut. Finally, when another half-hour passed, Jake no longer believed his own reassurances. He and David had agreed that if Brianne was running very late, David would get in touch. As far as Jake was concerned, going on two hours was very late.

With his heart pounding, he grabbed the phone and punched in David’s cell phone number, only to hear a series of rings and a voice-mail greeting.

“Damn.” Jake didn’t kid himself. Ramirez had killed one cop already. He wouldn’t worry much about taking out a civilian. The only option left was David’s beeper, and Jake shuffled through his wallet for the piece of paper with the number. But a sound stopped his frenzied actions, and he glanced up in time to see the doors slide open and Brianne step inside. In her ugly green scrubs and ragged ponytail, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and relief poured through him-sweet and pure and as fast as the blood pumping through his veins.

Common sense told him to keep his hands off her and maintain a level head. Reason dictated he sit her down and explain the situation he’d gotten her into. But his heartbeat drowned out all rational thought. She was here, she was safe and while she was with him, she was his. And right now those were the only things that mattered.

He rose and stepped into her line of vision.

“Hi, Jake.” She eyed him warily, making him wonder if he looked as insane with worry as he felt.

He moved closer, his heart thudding, his need so great he couldn’t control it. Jake ought to know better. Hell, he did know better. But not a damn thing could have stopped him as he reached out and pulled her into his arms.

“YOU’RE LATE.” Jake spoke through clenched teeth while he held Brianne in a hug so tight she wondered if he ever planned to let go.

“I take it you missed me?” She forced into her tone a lightness she didn’t feel.

His big hands cupped her face and tilted her head back. “You don’t know the half of it.”

The intensity in his voice and the harshness of his features startled her and shook the rash decision she’d made earlier to call off the affair. After seeing him outside a victim’s hospital room with another detective by his side, she’d realized firsthand the danger he put himself into on a daily basis. She’d come far in the years since her parents’ death and she could cope with Jake’s job-if she decided she could handle returning to that kind of uncertain existence. She wasn’t sure she’d choose to live that way again.

But faced with reality-cradled in Jake’s strong arms, inhaling his masculine scent-her conviction wavered. Even as her more rational self fought against this, her emotional, heartfelt needs asserted themselves. She’d known he was a detective prior to going into this affair and yet she’d still agreed. Nothing had changed since then. He was still the man she desired as no other. Why not indulge during the short-term basis they’d agreed upon?

Because her feelings were stronger than the deal they’d made and her heart was at risk, that was why. But nothing seemed to matter when his lips covered hers and he demanded and received entry into her mouth. He devoured her with the same ravaging need that consumed her, his tongue tangling with hers and taking possession. But he gave of himself as well, and Brianne wanted more.

She thrust her hands into his hair, reveling in the way the thick, silky strands slid between her fingers, and she let herself slacken against him, feel his hard body mold to hers. The sensual awareness he effortlessly created rose to life, and a warmth started deep in her belly and pressed downward, creating a heavy, pulsing beat between her legs.

Having already made love with Jake, the desire was deeper and more meaningful than in the past. Her heart beat rapidly, but this time it swelled with emotion, too. Emotion she didn’t want to deal with. Not now.

Now she just wanted Jake. To hell with the reality that could tear them apart. This was her summer fantasy and she planned to enjoy it while she could. Perhaps it was the knowledge that they could never be, or perhaps it was the danger she’d acknowledged he faced daily, but the rush of want was greater than ever before. She needed him inside her too badly to wait.

Words weren’t necessary, not when his eyes spoke of his need and he seemed as eager as she was to get rid of his clothes. With shaking hands and Jake’s help, she pulled at his shirt, slowing only to take care with his injured shoulder as she slid his arm out of his sleeve. But once she’d lifted the shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor, all bets were off. She slid her hands through the light sprinkling of hair on his chest, feeling the flex and pull of muscle beneath her fingertips.

Her palms brushed his hard nipples, and he let out a strangled groan, one that turned her insides to mush and caused a rush of liquid to pool and settle between her legs. As if he knew, he began to tug at her clothes, and soon her hospital uniform lay in a pile at their feet.

His steely gaze raked over her nearly naked body, taking in the sheer, skin-colored bra and panties. Then his hands went to the snap on his jeans. She noted with pleasure that he’d paused to grab a condom from his jeans pocket.

“Honest to God, I haven’t carried these things around with me since I was a teenager, but when it comes to you, damn if I’m going to be unprepared.”

“I like the way you think.”

She liked it even more when she realized his hands shook as well. Within moments she found herself facing his nude body. She swallowed hard and glanced down, noting he’d shed his boxers along with his pants. He was erect, aroused and magnificently male. And he was hers-at least for the summer.

That was the thought that did her in. He extended his hands just as she came into his arms.

“I wish I could lift you up and feel you inside me.” He whispered the hot and needy words in her ear.

“Me, too.” She glanced behind him, hoping a chair had manufactured itself, but all she saw was Rina’s all-white furniture and crystal accessories.

She swallowed a cry of pure frustration as she felt Jake’s arm around her waist, urging her to follow him. She did, and soon he was seated on the ledge by the oversize window overlooking the East River, Brianne standing between his strong legs.

The sun was just beginning its lazy descent, and the sky had taken on a pinkish-blue hue. And because the building was the highest around, they had no neighboring buildings blocking their view or intruding on the serenity of their surroundings. Nothing to make her self-conscious or uncomfortable, she thought, and was amazed that, despite how sheltered she’d lived the past few years, being with Jake this way felt natural and right.

As long as she didn’t allow ugly reality to intrude, Brianne thought. And she wouldn’t, not as long as she had this moment.

He tilted his head back against the clear glass, his fathomless eyes staring into hers. “I want to make love to you with the city behind us,” he said in a husky voice.

His tone beckoned not only to the most primal physical part of her, but to her emotions. She trusted this man more than any other, and she needed him as she needed no other.

“I want us where no one can touch us.” His heartfelt words secured her feelings and erased any hesitation she might have had. Without instruction, without being asked, Brianne eased herself up so her knees were on either side of Jake’s thighs and her femininity was poised over his waiting erection.

She held her balance with only her knees on the ledge and Jake’s hands, warm and secure, on her waist. “I feel like I could fall,” she said with a shaky laugh.

“Then, by all means, let’s anchor you.” A naughty smile lifted the corner of his mouth, and Brianne knew exactly what he meant.

Heart pounding in anticipation, she eased herself up and, with a little help from his nimble fingers, she slid down, his enlarged member penetrating her and filling her.

Completion. There was no other word for what she felt, and the truth frightened her. Though she hoped to hide her frantic, overwhelmed emotions, one look into his eyes told her he felt it, too. And Brianne was far from ready to deal with his feelings. She could barely cope with her own.

So she did the only thing she could. She began a steady rocking of her pelvis, shifting her hips and rubbing her feminine mound against his body with a precision that took her to soaring, peaking heights. That was the point-to avoid thinking, to only feel. And she did-his body inside of hers, taking her to a place she’d only imagined.