From the Heart

air. Moonlight pooled over her as she shuddered.
    “Jess?”
    There was a scream rising in her throat. When her head jerked up, Slade saw the wild sheen of fear in her eyes before she focused on him. She could hold back the cry by digging her teeth into her lip, but the shudders went on. Slade went to her swiftly. Her skin was clammy as he took her shoulders; her face damp with a mixture of tears and perspiration. It ran through his mind that someone had slipped past him and gotten to her, then the idea was as quickly dismissed.
    “What is it?” he demanded. “What’s the matter?”
    “It’s nothing.” Desperately she fought to control the tremors. The nightmare had come back, horridly vivid, to attack all of her senses. Cold wind, the smell of salt spray, the roar of the surf—and someone’s heavy footsteps as they ran after her, the shifting shadows as clouds blocked out the sun, the iron taste of her own terror. And worse, much worse, she had been afraid to turn, afraid she would see the face of someone she loved on the man who pursued her.
    “I woke up,” she managed. “I guess I panicked when you weren’t here.” It was partially true and difficult enough to confess. She couldn’t bring herself to admit she could be terrorized by a dream.
    “I was just downstairs.” He brushed sweat-dampened hair from her cheeks. “I wanted to make sure everything was locked up.”
    “Professional habit?” She nearly managed a smile before she dropped her head to his shoulder.
    “Yeah.” Even as he gathered her close, she trembled. It wasn’t the moment, he decided, to lecture her on flimsy locks and thin chains. “I’ll go down and get you a brandy.”
    “No!” She bit her lip again as the refusal came out too forcefully. “No, please, I already feel like an idiot.”
    “You’re entitled to be jumpy, Jess.” Softly, he brushed a kiss over her hair.
    She wanted to cling, to beg him not to leave her alone for an instant. She wanted to pour out every fear and fantasy and dread. But she couldn’t, and the denial was as much for her own sake as his. “With a policeman in the house?” she countered. Tilting back her head, she looked up at him. A strong face, she mused. Strong arms and serious eyes. “Just come to bed; you must be tired.” Making the effort, she forced away the nerves and gave him a smile. “How does one man cope with two careers, Sergeant?”
    He shrugged as he kneaded her tense shoulders. “I manage. How can a woman look so beautiful at three o’clock in the morning?”
    “My mother claims it’s bone structure.” Her smile warmed a bit as she willed herself to relax under his hands. “I prefer to think it’s something less scientific . . . like being born during a lunar eclipse.”
    Nuzzling her neck, he chuckled. “Were you?”
    “Yes. My father said that’s why I had cat’s eyes—to help me see in the dark.”
    Slade kissed her lightly before he set her away from him and rose. “If you don’t get some sleep, they’re going to be bloodshot.”
    “What a gallant thing to say.” Jessica frowned at him as he undressed. “What about you?”
    “I can get by on three or four hours when I have to.”
    She gave a quick snort. “Your machismo’s surfacing, Slade.”
    When he turned his head, the moonlight streamed over his face, illuminating the lightning-fast grin. Jessica felt her heart flutter up to her throat. Shouldn’t she be used to him by now? she wondered. The mercurial moods, the streaks of boyish good humor in the sometimes overly serious man? His body was sleek and limber, streamlined like a Channel swimmer’s, muscled like a lightweight boxer’s. His face mirrored both of his professions—the intellect and the action.
    He’ll take care of you, her mind comforted. Just trust. But there were lines of fatigue and strain that the moonlight accented as well. And you take care of him, her thoughts added. Smiling, she held out her arms to him.
    “Come to bed,” she ordered.
    Lying down beside her, Slade drew her close. There was no driving physical need to possess her. Instead he felt a simple serenity, all the more precious for its rarity. For the next few hours they would be any man and woman sharing the intimacy of sleep. She curled warmly into him, as much to soothe as be soothed. There were no more words.
    Jessica lay still, schooling her breathing so that it was deep and even until she felt him drift off. With her eyes open and fear threatening