From the Heart

wondering how you lost control enough to take me to bed, she concluded with instinctive accuracy. Already wondering how to prevent this from happening again. But I’m not going to lose you. The vow formed firmly as she ran a hand over his chest. You’re not getting away, Slade; struggle all you want. Lightly, she ran a trail of kisses over his shoulder to his throat.
    “Jess.” Slade put up a hand to stop her. He’d never be able to think clearly with her touching him. If he was going to find his way out of the quicksand he was rapidly sinking in, he had to think.
    Jessica merely kissed the fingers that got in her way, then trailed her lips to his cheek. “Hold me,” she murmured. “I want your arms around me.”
    With an effort, Slade resisted the husky demand and the soft lips that insisted on clouding his brain. “Jessica, this isn’t smart. We’ve got—”
    “I don’t want to be smart, Slade,” she interrupted. She shifted so that her head was just above his, her lips just above his. “Don’t talk, not tonight.” When her fingers ran down his side, she had the satisfaction of feeling his quick, involuntary tremor. “I want you.” Her tongue traced his lips. She felt the sudden thunder of his heart against her breast. “You want me. That’s all there is tonight.”
    In the darkness he could see the pale clouds of hair, the moonlit skin shadowed by the slash of cheekbone. He saw the amber fire of her eyes before her mouth took his and captured him.

6
    S lade woke beside her. She was deep in an exhausted sleep, her breathing slow and regular. There were shadows under the sweep of lashes, dark smudges against pale skin. His arm was around her slim waist; in sleep he’d betrayed himself by wanting her close. They shared the same pillow. He spent several minutes cursing himself before he rolled out of bed. Jessica didn’t even stir. He grabbed up his jeans and went to his own room and straight to the shower.
    Deliberately, Slade turned the cold on full. Hadn’t he saturated himself enough with her last night? he asked himself furiously as the icy spray hit his body like sharp pinpricks. Did he have to wake up wanting her? Need for her, this kind of consuming need, was going to interfere with his job. Slade had to remind himself again and again that Jessica was a job, only a job.
    And in the brief phone conversation the night before, he had been told enough to make him realize that her position had become only more delicate. Someone wanted something in her house—someone she trusted. Knowing who it was wouldn’t be enough. Slade had to find out what it was. Or rather the Feds had to find out what, he corrected grimly. He had to stick to her like glue until it was all over.
    Why the hell don’t they let me get her out of here? he thought on a fresh burst of fury. The order over the phone had been firm and unarguable. Jessica stayed. The investigationcouldn’t be jeopardized by letting her walk. She stayed, Slade repeated silently. And he wasn’t to let her out of his sight for the next forty-eight hours. That didn’t include sleeping with her, he reminded himself as he let the cold water sluice over his head. It didn’t include getting so caught up in her that he forgot what he was doing there in the first place. And how the hell was he supposed to live in the same house with her now and not touch her?
    He grabbed the soap and lathered himself roughly. Maybe it would wash away the woodsy scent that seemed to have crept into his own skin.
     
    Waking, Jessica reached for him. He was gone, and so, instantly, was her peace. The few hours of sleep had left her tightly strung instead of relaxed. If he had been there, if she could have turned to him on wakening, she wouldn’t have felt the sick sense of loss.
    David and Michael. No, she couldn’t even allow herself to think it. Covering her face with her hands, Jessica struggled to block it out. But then she could see the icy look in Slade’s eyes when he had aimed the gun on her. It’s madness, it’s a mistake. A quarter of a million in diamonds. Interpol. David and Michael.
    Unable to bear it, she sprang out of bed. She needed to clear her brain, to think. The house felt like an airless prison. She threw on her clothes and headed for the beach.
    When he came by her room to check on her ten minutes later, Slade found the bed empty. The quick panic was as uncharacteristic as it was unprofessional. Hurriedly, he checked the bath and her