Carly Phillips - Body Heat

Brianne met Jake’s stunned gaze and realized he understood what she was up to. Please don’t let him get hurt, Brianne prayed silently because she’d never forgive herself if anything happened to the dog because of her.

“Enough talking!” Ramirez said, glancing back and forth between them. “It’s time to get this over with.”

And just as he spoke, Norton did what Rina had trained him to do. He lifted his leg and did his business on Louis Ramirez’s leg and shoes.

Ramirez glanced down, and fury filled his already hate-filled face. “Fucking dog.” He jumped back and kicked out his leg to get Norton away.

In the split second the gun wasn’t trained on Brianne, she leaned back, lifted her foot and kicked Ramirez in the groin. The force of the movement toppled her chair backward. When her head hit the floor, she thought she heard the sound of a gunshot rent the air. Jake’s gun? Ramirez’s?

She didn’t know, and from her awkward angle, she couldn’t see. She attempted to roll and lift herself up, but her arm was caught at an awkward angle; if she moved, she was afraid she’d break it. Her heart pounded in her chest, and Brianne shut her eyes tight, praying that the next voice she heard would be Jake’s and not Ramirez’s.

“Brianne?”

Jake. Emotion swept through her as quickly as the bullet had flown through the air. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t have a chance to answer. A herd of footsteps sounded from across the apartment, and, within seconds, the room filled with police.

“I WANT BOTH of you downtown first thing tomorrow morning, you understand?” Thompson ordered.

“Yes, sir.” Jake glanced over his lieutenant’s shoulder at Brianne.

She stood in front of the high windows in the living room overlooking the city. She’d picked up Norton and perched him on the wide windowsill and was running a hand over his head. Wasn’t that like Brianne? Reassuring the dog when no doubt she was in need of reassurance herself.

Jake hadn’t had a word alone with her since the cavalry had arrived. He wasn’t sure why Thompson was giving him the night’s reprieve before taking statements, but he had a hunch the older man’s soft spot was showing.

“Why are you being such a human being about this, Lieutenant?” This being both Jake’s need to be alone with Brianne and Thompson’s unspoken understanding that Jake had officially quit the force.

The Ramirez case was over. Unable to walk, Louis had been taken out of the penthouse on a stretcher, after being read his rights with no error. Accompanied by Duke and Vickers, he was on his way to the hospital, courtesy of Jake’s bullet. When Brianne and Norton had made their move, Jake had had milliseconds to push the memory of the man’s hands on Brianne out of his head, and take his one shot. Ramirez had dropped before he knew what hit him.

But a lot had happened since then, Jake thought. Recalling the tense minutes in the kitchen, every nerve in Jake’s body now screamed for release-the kind of release only Brianne could provide. But she hadn’t said two words to him since, and, though he’d like to blame her silence on the commotion following the police raid, he had a gut feeling she was still furious over the handcuffing incident.

“Shit, Lowell. You’re not listening to a damn thing I have to say,” the lieutenant muttered, his gaze settling behind him on Brianne.

“Maybe because she’s better looking than you are, sir.” Jake grinned despite the uncertainty surrounding his future with Brianne.

The lieutenant frowned, but Jake saw the humor there as well.

“Ten o’clock tomorrow, Lowell.” Thompson left, taking the rest of the cops with him.

The kitchen was a shambles, taped off for further investigation. Nothing needed Jake’s attention now, except Brianne. Nothing and no one else was more important.

But when the elevator doors slid shut and they were alone, words failed him. What did he say to the woman he loved? He’d left her alone and defenseless, at the mercy of a cop killer. He wouldn’t blame her if she still wanted to join her brother in California and put Jake and their entire summer interlude behind her. But he planned to do his damnedest to talk her out of it.

BRIANNE FELT JAKE come up behind her. He was warm and masculine and overpowering in his intensity. But he didn’t frighten her. Not even after the episode with Ramirez.

She picked up the forty-pound lug of a dog and placed him on the floor before turning to Jake.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was gruff with emotion.

“I forgive you.” She stood with her hands behind her, her eyes meeting his serious, penitent ones. “I even understand why you felt you had to do it.” She shook her head and laughed wryly. “Like you said, it’s not like I gave you a choice.”

He inclined his head, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “That’s pretty generous considering you never bargained for this when you accepted Rina’s job offer and place to live.”

“Life’s full of surprises. I learned that young.”

“And you wanted nothing more than to banish those surprises in favor of a little stability.” He brushed a lock of hair out of her face, his callused fingers lightly abrading her skin.

A tingle of sexual awareness started immediately. She wasn’t shocked. There were few things in life she could count on, but Jake and their overwhelming chemistry were two of them.

“I think I had a naive view of the world.” It was something Brianne had discovered since moving into the penthouse and becoming a part of Jake’s life.

“I take it I’ve broadened your horizons?” A crooked smile touched his lips-lips she longed to kiss and possess, but not just yet. There was too much unspoken between them.

“You broadened them all right, in ways I never imagined.”

And probably hadn’t wanted to, Jake thought. Fear gripped his heart as he composed his next thought. He didn’t want to put ideas in her head but he needed to lay things on the line, and soon. He couldn’t take the uncertainty, not where Brianne was concerned. “I’m surprised your bags aren’t packed and ready to go.”

She swallowed hard. “Is that what you want? For me to leave?” Her green eyes were huge, and she seemed to back away, closer to the window-farther from him, when he wanted nothing more than to be as close as was humanly possible.

“Hell, no.”

He’d never wanted any woman as badly as he wanted Brianne, never wanted any future as badly as he wanted one with her. And he’d never had so much to lose before. His heart beat out a rapid rhythm.

“That’s not really telling me much, Jake. You don’t want me to go now or you don’t want me to go-”

“Ever.”

She bit her lower lip, watching him warily. She’d heard the word, but she obviously didn’t believe him. “You said you weren’t looking for a long-term relationship.”

He grinned, feeling on stronger ground. “You said it first. I thought it prudent to agree. I probably meant it-at the time. But then, you said you wanted to move to California.”

She nodded. “I said it and I meant it-at the time.” Her smile grew wider, matching his. “Marc is old enough to go without me. He never wanted his big sister going along, anyway.”

As long as he’d pushed this far, Jake figured he might as well go all the way. “You don’t want a life with someone who takes risks.”

She glanced down. “I don’t. I don’t want a relationship with someone who’ll put himself in danger for the fun of it, who puts risk above his feelings for me.”

Jake held his breath. For all the light teasing, he knew this subject was deadly serious. His future with Brianne hinged on her answer, for as much as he loved her, being a detective of some sort was in his blood.

He might forgo law enforcement in favor of becoming a private investigator-something he’d considered after hiring David. His career wouldn’t change, no matter who he answered to. Brianne had to accept that. She had to accept and be able to live with him or-

“I watched you with Ramirez today.” Her soft voice cut off his thoughts. “You never acted foolishly or without thought. You never tempted Ramirez to take a shot at you instead of me, not even when you walked in and found him tearing at my…blouse.” She choked over the word and the memory.

He grabbed her forearms and his thumbs stroked her soft flesh, wanting to replace the bad memories with more pleasant ones. “But I wanted to. I wanted to shoot first and question him later. I wanted to throttle him with my bare hands, choke the life out of him and then shoot him again for good measure.”

A sheen of moisture filled her eyes. “But you didn’t and that proved something to me. Something I should have known about you all along.”

“What’s that?” He tipped his head down and their foreheads met and touched.

“You aren’t in it for kicks. Whatever you do, it’s justified and honorable. I can live with that.” She stared up at him. “If you want me to.”

If he wanted her to. Jake shook his head and looked at the woman who held his heart in her hands. The irony was, she didn’t even know it. “Sweetheart…”

Brianne held her breath. She’d laid her heart out to him again, only this time Jake didn’t have any place to run off to. No excuse not to answer. The grim look on his face didn’t bode well for her hopes and dreams, but she forced herself to meet this last challenge with her head held high.

She’d deal with the pain of losing Jake when she was alone. After all, she’d agreed to a short-term affair. It was unfair of her to change the rules now.

She’d reached the point of no return, though, Brianne thought. Or maybe that had come the night Rina made her generous, albeit manipulative, offer. The woman had altered the course of Brianne’s life. She now had both frightening and wonderful memories that she’d have to learn to live with. Even if memories were all she had.

“What is it, Jake?”

He ran a hand through his already messed hair. “I live in a one-bedroom apartment on the West Side.”

That wasn’t the response she’d expected, and she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

“Between us, we can probably afford two bedrooms, unless, of course, you want to move out of the city. Or if your heart is really set on California, once Rina’s back and I know she’s okay, we can consider that, too.”

Brianne laughed, her heart suddenly lighter than any time in recent memory. “The only thing I’m understanding in that sentence is the word we. And after all that’s happened, I’ll take it.”

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her neck, holding her tight. “I love you.” He nuzzled his face into the side of her neck, his breath warm on her skin.

Brianne’s heart was full. She had all the security and love she’d ever wanted in life. “What about that family you once wanted?” she asked a little breathlessly.

“Sweetheart, I want that more than anything. With you. And if we happened to miss that time in the whirlpool, I’m more than willing to start trying right now. I love you,” he said again, his lips hot and moist against her neck. “I should have told you before I walked out earlier.”

She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I love you, too. I always have and I always will.”

“I’m sorry I cuffed you.” His hand slipped beneath the new shirt she’d changed into after the police had freed her, and slid over her back in a hot caress.

“How sorry?” She tilted her head back and smiled coyly.

Jake didn’t miss the mischievous glint in her gorgeous eyes. “How sorry do you want me?”

She brought her hand out from behind her and dangled his handcuffs in front of him. “I want you contrite. I want you shackled.” Her eyes darkened to a stormy green. “But most of all, I want you mine.”

RINA STRETCHED her feet out in front of her in the first-class cabin. She toed off the new designer sandals she hadn’t needed to buy and lifted the glass of Perrier the flight attendant had given her prior to takeoff. As she took a sip of the bottled water, she wondered why regular tap water was something the wealthy disdained, along with honesty and frank talk. Thank God, she was going home.

Mixed emotions flooded her at the thought of returning to New York and the mausoleum of an apartment she’d left behind. Though she’d never admit it to her know-it-all older brother, he was right. The place was a palace and it had only been her home when Richard was there, filling it with warmth. Now the penthouse was as cold as her husband’s body.

Rina shivered but refused to shy away from the truth. After all, this trip had been as much about recovery as self-discovery. She pulled a sheet of paper from her purse. “Number one, list penthouse with Realtor,” she wrote. Satisfaction replaced the yawning emptiness. She’d taken the first step toward a new life.