Frankie's Back in Town, page 19
She must have nodded off because she jolted awake to find Jack kneeling beside her.
“Go lay down,” he whispered, so close she could make out individual features instead of his face as a whole. The chiseled jaw and square chin. That strong mouth. Those dark eyes that melted every rational objection to keeping her distance.
For one wild, crazy moment, she wondered what would happen if she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his.
“You’re falling asleep,” he pointed out.
“I’m tired.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
“I’ll take a break.”
Even as exhausted as she was, Francesca knew sleeping simply wasn’t possible. Not when she knew Jack would be pacing in the adjoining room, working his case down to its conclusion. No, she’d lie down only to find herself staring at the ceiling, obsessing over what it would be like to kiss him. She already knew what it would feel like to lie in his arms, pressed against his hard body. What it felt like to be warmed by his body heat, enveloped in his arms. Their closeness and her drowsiness such a potent combination.
“I’ll shower,” she said, trying not to drown in his dark gaze. “That’ll wake me up.”
“You should rest. You’re supposed to be convalescing this weekend.”
She shook her head, and he acquiesced with a wry expression, stood and extended his hand.
Slipping her fingers in his, she rose in a sleepy glide, so close she could inhale his familiar masculine scent. Their proximity dragged an earthy response from her and, again, she felt a wild urge to press forward and kiss him, such a strong impulse she actually felt a tremor low in her belly.
She really did need a shower. A cold one.
“I won’t be long.” Making her way into the bedroom, she hoped the distance would clear her head of all these crazy reactions to this completely irresistible man.
Jack Sloan, maniacal investigator, was chipping away at her good sense, at her determination to resist. She’d seen him soft-edged from sleep. She’d seen him professional and by the book. Now she’d seen his sense of fair play in action, making him intense and determined as he’d run a full-scale investigation from a place as unlikely as her hotel suite.
She’d seen him compassionate and attentive on a snowy mountain. She’d seen him bend the rules, worried about Susanna, a woman he cared about. He worked as hard to prove her innocence as he’d worked to prove Francesca’s.
Jack Sloan—more charming gentleman than charming rogue.
Tonight only proved it.
There was no denying the way she felt right now, so she fled into the bathroom. The steamy water washed away some of the drowsiness and calmed a lot of her conflict. Her feelings for Jack weren’t a deadline she had to meet or a report she had to tackle. She didn’t have to figure out everything tonight. The only thing she had to do right now was stop fighting the way she felt and accept that she felt this way. That was the first step.
Francesca couldn’t control everything. Sometimes it was best to let life unfold the way it was meant to and stop bucking the inevitable and accept.
She’d learned that firsthand.
Which meant she would answer her questions about Jack when she was ready and not a moment sooner. She must content herself with that. Let it be enough.
Another question was miraculously answered when she stepped from the bathroom dressed in a robe. She’d never seen a more attractive sight than Jack lying stretched out on her bed, eyes closed, so perfect he literally took her breath away.
She paused in the doorway, willing to stand there forever in her bare feet with her wet hair wrapped in a towel. She didn’t want to disturb him, or this moment. The moment she came face-to-face with proof that after so many empty years, she could still feel like a woman.
And she felt. Profound appreciation for this wildly handsome man. For the fire sparking her insides to awareness.
She felt completely, undeniably alive.
Jack had awakened this inside her, made her dare to hope that maybe, just maybe, there might be something more for her than being a mom, a granddaughter, a hardworking director.
She wasn’t sure how long she stood there. She was too blown away by the anticipation stealing her breath as surely as the sight of the gorgeous man stretched out on the bed.
Then he cracked open an eyelid.
Suddenly, he rolled onto his side, appreciation softening his expression as he took in the sight of her.
“We got it,” he said softly, and Francesca was still in such a daze that it took a minute for his words to register.
“You did?”
He smiled. “Not everything we need, but a good, solid connection to start building a case. Susanna’s off the hook.”
Francesca sighed. “I knew it.”
“You were right.”
“You believed me even though I didn’t have anything more than a gut feeling to go on.”
“I had my own gut feeling, and it told me that your gut feeling was right.”
She chuckled, and Jack patted the bed beside him. “Come, sit. I didn’t mean to steal your bed. There was no place else to stretch out, and I suddenly felt how tired I am.”
She shouldn’t get close to this man, not with his voice all low and tempting and all these realizations bouncing around in her head. She should wait and take one step at a time, first accepting she had feelings and identifying what they were then working through the problems one by one, each in its own time.
“I don’t want casual, Francesca. I understand why you might think that, but I don’t want casual with you.”
She was rooted to the spot unable to reply, barely able to breathe. She held his gaze, saw the earnestness there, and realized she wasn’t the only one with all sorts of crazy reactions happening right now.
“I don’t know what I want with you,” he said, the throaty intensity in his voice making her ache, “but I want a chance to find out.”
Five seconds or five years might have passed as she drowned in that determined gaze. She needed to respond, but for the life of her, couldn’t force out a word, had no clue what to say even if she could.
One step. That’s all he was asking for.
A chance.
“I think you should give it to me,” he said.
And when her reply finally came, it was one she could never have expected.
“Oh, you do, do you?” The words were suddenly there, bubbling out on laughter that expelled all the pent-up emotion, prompted by that easy camaraderie they shared, such a gift.
“Yes. I do.” He frowned, all seriousness. “I understand you’re a mother and will respect that completely.”
Her laughter faded but the smile remained. “Just a chance, Jack? Really?”
“Really. Now come sit and I’ll tell you what broke the case. Give me that chance, Francesca.” Then he was Jack again, that smile splitting his handsome face as he patted the bed beside him. “I’ll behave.”
A chance. That was only one step.
Climbing onto the bed, she leaned back against the headboard.
Jack stretched out again. “We can let Susanna know she’s off the hook first thing in the morning. Northstar, too. I hope that’ll solve some problems for both of you.”
“It should,” she said, relieved. “We’re scheduled to meet with the board at eight. I can’t think of a better time to share the good news. So who is responsible? Can you tell me?”
“No, but I’ll tell you anyway.” Jack propped a pillow behind his head, settling in comfortably.
Francesca gazed down at him, tried to breathe evenly when her pulse was rushing and her heart was beating too quickly.
“A financial analyst. The one responsible for Greywacke Lodge.”
“Daniel Magee?”
Jack nodded. “He’s the man you dealt with for your grandmother?”
“He was really helpful, too. I’m glad we haven’t run into trouble with Nonna’s credit. I’ll pull her reports as soon as I get home to be sure.”
“Good idea. And don’t forget we’ll still be running things on our end to build the case. From what I can assess so far, Magee has been at this a lot longer than Greywacke Lodge has been around. He’s been picking and choosing victims from properties around the country, spreading the wealth to avoid raising flags. He’d probably still be at it if not for the Mystery of the Reappearing Wallet.”
“The Case of the Reappearing Wallet.”
He chuckled.
Unwinding the towel, she fingered her damp hair and tried not to think about how she looked with no makeup and her hair solidifying into a mass of frizz. With any luck, she’d frighten him enough to keep his distance. She didn’t need any temptation right now. “Well, the captain will definitely be glad to hear that he blew open the case for you.”
“Give him something to talk about at lunch.”
“You know it.”
“Don’t worry about your grandmother. The bureau will step in now. They’re picking up Magee for questioning as we speak. But we’ll keep digging until we dredge up everything.”
“So what was your solid connection?”
“Identifying Magee’s girlfriend on a security feed from a bank in Arizona. Didn’t even have to wait for the FBI. Randy recognized her from a picture on Facebook.”
“Wow. Who knew social networking could be so productive? I’ll be sure not to tell my daughter.” She chuckled softly. “I’m really impressed, Jack. The Bluestone police work fast.”
She could tell by his smile that her praise pleased him, so she was surprised when he said, “I was thinking the opposite.”
“Why?”
“Because this investigation has been getting in the way of something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.”
She couldn’t have resisted asking the question in that moment if her life had depended on it. Not with Jack gazing at her, looking for all the world as if he’d been waiting forever to see her. Not when she already suspected she knew the answer. “What’s that?”
“Kiss you.”
He hesitated for the briefest of moments, giving her a chance to get away, though his intention was all over his face.
A chance.
Francesca didn’t want to get away, had no more excuses to resist. So when he lifted his hand to her neck, guiding her toward him as he rose to meet her, she exhaled a tiny sigh and leaned into his touch.
Then his mouth was on hers, warm, demanding. Intimate. A kiss that shattered any illusion of distance between them, proved their mouths were meant to touch this way. A kiss that tasted, discovered, enticed.
Need awoke low in her belly, and she suddenly couldn’t remember why she’d been resisting the way she felt for this man. There was just no denying the chemistry, and for the tiniest moment, Francesca let herself go, giving in to sensation, to the taste of him, the demand of his kiss.
His mouth was hot and hard against hers, as if she was the spark to his kindling. Jack trailed warm fingers down her throat, a caress that coaxed her even closer. She wanted to press against him, knew how he would feel against her. It had been so long since she’d felt alive. Too long. Thoughts scattered in the wake of sensation, all thoughts but one.
How she responded to him.
Jack wanted her. There was no mistaking his desire, his struggle between gentleman and rogue, between control and abandon. Francesca had forgotten how it felt to be desired as a woman, wasn’t sure if she’d ever known this intensity, for every inch of her yearned in this moment, wanted.
He exhaled, a half breath, half groan, a sound all need and frustration. Sliding his hand down into the curve of her waist, he urged her forward, a position that would bring them closer.
She shifted enough to sink into his arms, unable to deny his urging and her own need in that moment, a need that smoldered through her like a fever. His breath broke against hers as he exhaled a low moan, the sound of pleasure as he anchored her close.
He felt familiar, but this time there was no icy snow, no threat of hypothermia. There was only heat. Nothing but the two of them in a quiet hotel room, far away from families and responsibilities and real life and sanity.
There was no longer an investigation, no question of ethics, no more excuses to fight an attraction that had been building since the moment she’d stepped off an elevator to glimpse a grown-up Jack Sloan.
There was nothing but desire.
And a chance.
Her hands fluttered around his shoulders for the barest instant, still hesitating before committing to the course, still pausing before she chose to go over the edge with this man, down a steep slope where she couldn’t see bottom.
She’d gotten so out of balance that it was affecting every part of her life. But life was meant to be lived, a tiny voice inside reminded her. Wasn’t that what she taught her daughter?
And hadn’t that been the problem with her marriage all along?
So much wasted time.
Too much.
Francesca touched Jack then. A tentative touch at first, her fingers following the hollow of his neck, the warm contours of his skin. She felt the steady thrum of his pulse at the base of his throat, the hard curve of his shoulders beneath silky fabric, then the familiar shape of those strong, strong arms.
Arms so at ease with embracing, protecting, arousing…When had her robe slipped open? Francesca gasped aloud as her few working brain cells registered that only his shirt was keeping skin from touching skin.
Jack chuckled against her lips, a warm burst that felt somehow like a caress.
“This is even better than I imagined.” His voice was throaty and low, a sound that filtered through the late-night quiet with the effect of a caress.
“Mmm-hmm” was all she could manage, and even that sounded breathless.
“I’ve imagined kissing you a lot.” His gaze smoldered with the truth of his words, with pleasure. “Should never kiss the suspects. Law Enforcement 101. Now I see why.”
“Why?”
“Too hard to keep a clear head. I’d have scratched you off the suspect list without investigating.”
“Because you knew I wasn’t guilty.”
“I don’t think it would have mattered.”
She laughed then. She felt so comfortable with him. Once upon a time, she’d thought herself immune to Jack’s charm, but that was before this moment when she lay in his arms on a comfy bed in a quiet bedroom.
No investigation. No ethical issues.
No distractions.
He was dressed, but she was not. Not appropriately, anyway. The tie around her waist had loosed, leaving her robe perilously askew and too much of her exposed with her skin all freshly showered and lotioned.
“I promised I’d behave.” Running a fingertip along her temple, he tucked wet hair behind her ear. “I should go.”
She knew what he was doing—giving her a chance to retreat, to think beyond the passion of the moment, to reevaluate.
A charming gentleman, she decided.
The rational part of Francesca’s mind, the responsible part, the sane part, knew what she should do.
Tell him, “Sweet dreams,” and send him on his way.
But the wild side, the wanting side, the side that was so incredibly tired of resisting argued that no charming rogue would ever come all this way, risk his career and reputation for her help to solve his case.
He didn’t rush her, and the simple fact that he recognized a decision needed to be made reassured her. He didn’t simply follow his impulse and plunge into a situation, which is what had always gotten her into trouble in the past. She’d had to learn to pause, take a deep breath and recognize the choices and consequences before rushing headlong into the moment.
A charming gentleman, definitely. Had there ever been a question?
So now it was up to her to decide whether he would get up from this bed or kiss her again.
She wanted to be kissed again.
So much.
A chance.
That’s what she wanted, too.
“Do you have a place to stay?” she asked.
He smiled, a little sheepishly, and the expression enthralled her completely. “I meant to book a room. Really.”
Tilting her head, she glanced at the display on the digital clock. “Nearly three in the morning. It would be a shame to pay for a whole night when it’s almost check-out time.”
He dragged his thumb along her lower lip, a glancing stroke that only emphasized their closeness. “It’s so late they might not even have any rooms left.”
“That’s true.” She pressed her lips to his thumb in a kiss of sorts, unable to resist the lure of the moment or the desire in his gaze.
“I want to make love to you, Francesca.”
He held her gaze levelly, those dark eyes so honest in their need.
There were so many rational reasons to hand him a pillow and blanket and send him on his way.
But there was one reason that wasn’t rational at all, but it was the most important argument of all.
She didn’t want to waste more time.
Tonight was hers alone. They were in Chicago with no worries about the example she set for her daughter. No worries about who might notice they were spending the night together. She didn’t have to let worries about tomorrow spoil the special moments she could live tonight.
She’d wasted so much time already.
Lifting her hand to his face, Francesca mimicked his touch, caressed his lower lip, amazed by how much one simple touch made her yearn.
“Yes.” She breathed the word, another caress, excitement overtaking her when he smiled that classic Jack smile.
For her.
Then there was only this moment, no thoughts of the past, no concerns about the future. Not when Jack’s expression mirrored her excitement.
“Francesca.” Her name tumbled from his lips in a throaty growl, a sound that left no room for doubt about how pleased he was with her response.
Hooking his leg beneath hers, he flipped over her in a startling and athletic move. He supported his weight on his hands and gazed down into her face.
