Body Heat (Simply 4)

“That’s part of it.”

“What’s the rest? The catch?”

Jake reached out for the end of her ponytail, twirling the ends of her hair around his fingers. “I also want you.” His voice deepened to a husky murmur.

Brianne had no doubt he wasn’t referring to plain old physical therapy. She kept her eyes trained on his face and attempted to ignore the delicious tugging at her scalp that had an erotic effect on the rest of her body. As did his words. She already knew her response to him, knew each time they came together, no matter how platonic or professional the intent, the chemistry exploded into something much more. She remained quiet, unwilling to tip her hand, to reveal her thoughts or feelings until he’d laid out his meaning before her.

“I’d like to come to an understanding.” One side of his mouth lifted in a sexy yet endearingly hesitant grin.

One she knew didn’t bode well for her unsteady emotions and racing heart.

“I am willing to cooperate with you. Completely. Enough for you to feel like you aren’t lying to Rina when she checks in—and I can guarantee you she will.”

Brianne grinned. “She already has. Earlier tonight.”

He clenched his jaw.

“But, don’t worry, I didn’t let on there were any problems. I wanted to talk to you first.”

Relief washed over his expression. “I appreciate that.”

She tipped her head to one side. “But you’d obviously like something in return?”

“It’s not a quid pro quo, Brianne. You can say no, and I’ll still give you my full cooperation. It’s to both of our benefits for my rehabilitation to go off without a hitch. I just think we have something more to offer each other.”

Aware of how he affected her, Brianne believed he was right. “What exactly are you referring to?” Her pulse tripped as she awaited his answer, though a part of her already knew.

“I want to explore this attraction between us. You can’t deny it exists.” With his hands wrapped in her hair, he brought his fingers to her cheek and stroked slowly, methodically, over her skin. “I know I feel it every time we’re together. Don’t you?”

He leaned closer. Their breaths mingled, and a hint of peppermint reached her nose, a scent she’d never found arousing until now. Her heart hammered out a rapid beat. “You know I do. I’m just not certain it would be a good idea.” No matter how much his suggestion appealed to her.

“Why not?”

“We’re living together, working together…it can get messy.” Painful, she thought.

“Or it can be amazing. Think about it, Brianne. An entire summer that belongs to us alone.” His eyes blazed with determined blue fire and his finger slid over her face in a lingering caress. “We’ve already proven we can’t be together without fireworks exploding. All the more reason to indulge.”

She swallowed hard, his suggestion so very tempting, but if she agreed she knew it would cost her. She was drawn to this man deeply and if she got involved with him sexually, she feared she’d risk losing her heart. A heart she couldn’t give to a man who thrived on risk a

nd danger, whom she could lose to a bullet.

But she wasn’t ready to divulge all the heartache and pain her past had caused. To share her fears and insecurities would be taking that step toward connecting with him on more than a physical level, something she couldn’t afford. “I’m not in the market for a serious relationship. Once the summer’s over and my brother leaves for Stanford, I’m going to move to California with him,” she told Jake, settling on the easiest truth, one she figured a man would accept and understand.

At her words, something unreadable flickered in his eyes—whether it was disappointment or surprise, she couldn’t tell, and he spoke before she could deliberate further.

“I’m not looking for a serious relationship, either. Seems to me every argument you’ve got strengthens my argument.” Obviously Jake wasn’t put off and he couldn’t be deterred. His deep eyes bore into hers.

“We want the same things—each other and something short term. And we need each other. I need your professional expertise.” He paused. “And I need you and this time we could have together. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit you need it, too.”

Brianne’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t speak even if she wanted to. He was so dead-on accurate, she couldn’t argue. Her newfound freedom courtesy of Rina would begin in the fall. But that freedom was scary because she’d been cocooned by her job and responsibilities for so long, she barely knew how to start a life of her own. A personal life.

So just as he needed her professional expertise, she needed his, in areas both sensual and sexual. He was offering her the opportunity to explore her femininity and everything she’d suppressed all these years.

“You want an affair?” she managed to ask, exposing her deepest desire and deepest fear.

“Ideally, yes.”

Her stomach twisted with a burning need to agree. After all, she was leaving in September, and they’d be together for the summer. Nothing was stopping her from grabbing this short span of time. Except that everything inside her shouted this man was potentially dangerous to both her peace of mind and her heart.