Kate Hoffmann - Declan

This woman had struck at the university, at the radio station and at Rachel’s home. There had to be a way to connect all these dots, Dec mused. Somehow, he sensed that if he’d been working on the case full time and not spending his time protecting Rachel, he’d have been able to work this out. But his mind had been completely distracted by her.

The best thing to do would be to put a different detail on her, give her another bodyguard so he could go back to doing what he did best-investigating. But the thought of putting Rachel into someone else’s care, even one of his own guys’, wasn’t really an option.

For now, he’d have to do both jobs, starting with a thorough interview with Rachel. He was beginning to think her stalker knew her well, that there was a reason beyond just some crazy obsession that she was doing this. Rachel couldn’t know that many women personally, and of those she knew, how many of them could she have angered enough for someone to want to take revenge.

The minute he got her home, they’d begin. And he wouldn’t stop questioning her until he was sure he knew everything about her.

RACHEL ROLLED OVER IN BED, then pushed up on her elbow and shoved her hair out of her face. A persistent ringing had drawn her out of a deep sleep. As she looked around, she realized the sound was coming from Dec’s jeans, which were draped over the end of the bed.

Dec was lying beside her, his naked body sprawled across the mattress. She loved the way he slept, completely vulnerable, his body open to her touch. He was always so watchful when he was awake, but asleep, he let down his guard and she could get a sense of the man he’d be once he didn’t have to protect her anymore.

They’d been sleeping together like this for three nights now, discarding the last pretenses of propriety. They’d both accepted the fact they were sharing a very intense sexual relationship and in order to continue that, it was best if they shared a bed every night.

Sleeping in his arms, his long, lean body curled against hers, gave her a wonderful sense of security. And she liked having him there to touch and to kiss when her dreams woke her up. The nightmares had eased, but Rachel still had strange dreams, fitful images of danger that often made her wake up trembling.

But he was with her now and all she needed was to snuggle against his body to know that she was safe. She did that, throwing her arm around his waist and kissing his bicep.

Dec shifted, then opened his eyes and looked at her. A tiny smile curled the corners of his mouth and he groaned softly. “Morning.”

“Your cell phone was ringing,” she murmured.

He flopped back into the pillow and groaned again. “What time is it?”

“Close to nine,” she said.

“Why did we sleep so late?”

“Because we didn’t get to sleep until three in the morning,” Rachel said.

He grinned and gave her a satisfied chuckle. “Yeah, you’re right. I remember now. You were trying to convince me that your tongue was better for seduction than my hands. How did that work out? Who ended up being right?”

Rachel leaned forward and drew his nipple into her mouth, teasing at it with her tongue. “Me. You just have to admit that I know more about sex than you do.”

“Book knowledge,” he said. “I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy.”

“Just how many women have you slept with?” she asked.

“You really want to know?” he asked.

Rachel nodded. “I don’t think you’d be able to surprise me. And I probably could give it a good guess.”

“I’ll tell you,” he said. “Just one.”

“One?”

He nodded. “You. You’re the only one. The rest, they don’t count because it was never the way it is with you. That was just…gratification. This is incredible, crazy, intense sex. There’s a big difference.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “So how many men have you slept with?”

“One,” she said with a playful smile.

“We’re damn near virgins then, aren’t we,” Dec said.

His phone rang again and Dec cursed softly. “I should get it,” he said.

“I’ll get it for you,” Rachel said. “I’m going to go make some coffee.” She crawled over top of him then found her robe and wrapped it around her naked body. On the way to the door, she grabbed his phone out of his jeans and tossed it over to him. “One of these days, you should probably go in to your office,” she said. “I don’t want your employees to think I’ve turned you into my own personal sex slave.”

“Now there’s a fantasy we have to explore,” Dec teased.

Rachel stopped in the bathroom to brush her teeth, then looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t help but smile. This had become her life, here in this house, with Dec. She didn’t even miss her own place and had only made quick visits home to pick up some clothes and the mail.

She reached out and set her toothbrush on the edge of the sink next to Dec’s. Her make-up bag had a place on a shelf above the toilet, and her shampoo and conditioner sat on the bench in the shower stall beside Dec’s.

This was what it was like to have a real relationship, one that was going somewhere. But even the growing familiarity between them hadn’t entirely dispelled her doubts. What would happen once her stalker was caught? They obviously wouldn’t spend their days together. Dec had a job and so did she. And they wouldn’t need to live together. He’d probably want his privacy back. Would they go back to a more traditional relationship-dinners together during the week, a couple overnight stays and weekends spent together? She wouldn’t be disappointed by that. But she’d grown fond of this closeness they’d developed and the intimacies that had followed.

She walked through the kitchen and opened the cupboard where Dec kept the coffee. She poured a good measure into the filter, then grabbed the pot to fill it with cold water. It was such a mundane task, Rachel thought, but satisfying. Once the coffee was done, she and Dec would relax in bed and read the morning paper. Yesterday they’d made love before getting in the shower together. Today, she wasn’t sure what would happen and she liked that.

When she returned to the bedroom with the coffee and the paper, Dec was sitting up, his legs hanging over the side of the bed, a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“That was my office. One of the investigators I put on your case turned up something.”

“What?” she asked.

“One of your clients was arrested last year for stalking. Her name is Janice Krandall. What can you tell me about her?”

“Nothing,” Rachel said, handing him his coffee.

“What?”

“Nothing. I have a strict confidentiality agreement with my clients. How did you get her name?”

“I went through the files you keep in your briefcase.”

Rachel gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing. “What?”

“I knew you wouldn’t tell me who they were-that you couldn’t tell me-so I took it upon my-”

“Don’t you dare say it,” Rachel warned, grasping her coffee mug in white-knuckled hands. “You know that was completely out of bounds.”

He shrugged. “It may be your job to protect their privacy, but it’s my job to protect you. And I’m going to do anything I have to do. Now, tell me about this woman.”

“No!” Rachel said, unable to control her anger any longer. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve put my professional reputation at stake here. If my clients aren’t completely assured of their privacy and my confidentiality, then they won’t come to me for help.”

Dec stood up and crossed the room, then grabbed her arms. “Listen closely. I don’t care. If this woman is out to get you, to hell with her confidentiality.”

“If you don’t care about this,” Rachel said, “then you can’t possibly care about me. I’m a licensed counselor who is expected to follow a code of ethics. This is my career.” With that, she turned and walked out of the bedroom. But once she did, she realized that she didn’t have any place to go.

Cursing, she went downstairs to the small laundry room off the back hallway. There, she found a skirt and a top she’d tossed in the dryer yesterday. She stripped out of her robe and tugged the clothes on, then slipped into a pair of flip-flops.

She was out the door before she even had a chance to think about what she was doing. But once she reached the street, Rachel realized that she really wasn’t in any danger. They’d been careful to keep her location at Dec’s house a secret.

Just to be sure, she headed in the opposite direction from her own house, toward a park a block and a half away. But she’d barely reached the corner, when Dec ran up behind her. He wore a pair of baggy cargo shorts and was barefoot.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Taking a walk,” she muttered. “Go home. I don’t want you with me.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand, but she yanked her arm away. “If you’re out here, then I’m with you,” he said.

“You had no right,” Rachel replied, turning on him. “That crossed the line.”

“It’s hard to tell where the fuckin’ line is,” he shouted. “Where’s the line going to be if you get hurt? Or if someone comes out of the dark and shoots you? Am I supposed to go back then and look for it? As far as I’m concerned, there’s no line when it comes to your life.”

Rachel spun around and continued walking, but he came up behind her and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up off her feet. The strength of him took her breath away and she fought against his grip.

“Let go of me!” she shouted.

“Not unless you promise to come back to the house,” Dec said.

“No, I want to take a walk.”

“Then you’re not going anywhere.”

Rachel kicked at his legs and suddenly, she hit him in exactly the right spot. He cried out in pain as his knee buckled beneath him and they both tumbled on to the soft grass of a neighbor’s front lawn. She landed on top of him and Dec rolled her over, pinning her arms above her head.

“We’re going home,” he said.

“Let go of me.”

He did as she asked, standing up beside her and rubbing his knee. “We can discuss this at home,” he murmured, holding out his hand to her.

Rachel sighed, then sat up, bracing her arms behind her. “All right,” she said. He grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet. Then he reached around and brushed the grass off the back of her skirt.

They walked in silence to the house. He held her hand, his fingers tangled in hers and when they reached the back door, he opened it and followed her inside. The moment the door closed behind him, he grabbed her, taking her face in his hands and kissing her. “Don’t you ever get angry at me for caring about you,” he murmured. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

Rachel looked up into his eyes and she saw the frustration and anger there. She couldn’t blame him entirely. He probably wasn’t aware of the ethical rules she was bound to follow. And after a week on the case with no decent leads, he was probably desperate enough to risk her wrath. “You’ll forget her name and what you know about her, is that clear?”

He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her to him. “All right. Just don’t ever run off like that again. You scared the shit out of me. I’m not sure what I’d do if something happened to you.”

His hands skimmed over her body as if he needed to reassure himself that she was here and safe. Rachel felt her anger toward him slowly dissolve and before long, she returned his touch, smoothing her palms over his naked chest.

He moaned softly as she first sucked, then bit his nipple. “That’s right,” he murmured. “I’ll take my punishment.”

She reached down and grabbed his crotch and squeezed it, just hard enough to cause a little pain and he sucked in a sharp breath. “I deserved that, too. Would you like to spank me?”

Rachel stepped back and looked directly into his eyes, the blue depths twinkling with humor. “This is serious.”

He reached up and smoothed his hand over her cheek. “Yes, it is,” he said.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him, tentatively at first and then with enough desire to prove to him that he was forgiven. But Dec wasn’t one to leave it at that. He took control of the kiss with his tongue, sweeping Rachel into an embrace that was more than just conciliatory.

When he tugged at the hem of her shirt, Rachel lifted her arms over her head. He wasn’t the only one who needed reassurance. They’d never argued like that before and she had been frightened at how angry she’d become. Dec had taken advantage and crossed the line, something that she never would have been able to forgive in another man. But forgiveness seemed to be the only thing possible now.