Body Heat (Simply 4)

“Ten o’clock tomorrow, Lowell.” Thompson left, taking the rest of the cops with him.

The kitchen was a shambles, taped off for further investigation. Nothing needed Jake’s attention now, except Brianne. Nothing and no one else was more important.

But when the elevator doors slid shut and they were alone, words failed him. What did he say to the woman he loved? He’d left her alone and defenseless, at the mercy of a cop killer. He wouldn’t blame her if she still wanted to join her brother in California and put Jake and their entire summer interlude behind her. But he planned to do his damnedest to talk her out of it.

BRIANNE FELT JAKE come up behind her. He was warm and masculine and overpowering in his intensity. But he didn’t frighten her. Not even after the episode with Ramirez.

She picked up the forty-pound lug of a dog and placed him on the floo

r before turning to Jake.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was gruff with emotion.

“I forgive you.” She stood with her hands behind her, her eyes meeting his serious, penitent ones. “I even understand why you felt you had to do it.” She shook her head and laughed wryly. “Like you said, it’s not like I gave you a choice.”

He inclined his head, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “That’s pretty generous considering you never bargained for this when you accepted Rina’s job offer and place to live.”

“Life’s full of surprises. I learned that young.”

“And you wanted nothing more than to banish those surprises in favor of a little stability.” He brushed a lock of hair out of her face, his callused fingers lightly abrading her skin.

A tingle of sexual awareness started immediately. She wasn’t shocked. There were few things in life she could count on, but Jake and their overwhelming chemistry were two of them.

“I think I had a naive view of the world.” It was something Brianne had discovered since moving into the penthouse and becoming a part of Jake’s life.

“I take it I’ve broadened your horizons?” A crooked smile touched his lips—lips she longed to kiss and possess, but not just yet. There was too much unspoken between them.

“You broadened them all right, in ways I never imagined.”

And probably hadn’t wanted to, Jake thought. Fear gripped his heart as he composed his next thought. He didn’t want to put ideas in her head but he needed to lay things on the line, and soon. He couldn’t take the uncertainty, not where Brianne was concerned. “I’m surprised your bags aren’t packed and ready to go.”

She swallowed hard. “Is that what you want? For me to leave?” Her green eyes were huge, and she seemed to back away, closer to the window—farther from him, when he wanted nothing more than to be as close as was humanly possible.

“Hell, no.”

He’d never wanted any woman as badly as he wanted Brianne, never wanted any future as badly as he wanted one with her. And he’d never had so much to lose before. His heart beat out a rapid rhythm.

“That’s not really telling me much, Jake. You don’t want me to go now or you don’t want me to go—”

“Ever.”

She bit her lower lip, watching him warily. She’d heard the word, but she obviously didn’t believe him. “You said you weren’t looking for a long-term relationship.”

He grinned, feeling on stronger ground. “You said it first. I thought it prudent to agree. I probably meant it—at the time. But then, you said you wanted to move to California.”

She nodded. “I said it and I meant it—at the time.” Her smile grew wider, matching his. “Marc is old enough to go without me. He never wanted his big sister going along, anyway.”

As long as he’d pushed this far, Jake figured he might as well go all the way. “You don’t want a life with someone who takes risks.”

She glanced down. “I don’t. I don’t want a relationship with someone who’ll put himself in danger for the fun of it, who puts risk above his feelings for me.”

Jake held his breath. For all the light teasing, he knew this subject was deadly serious. His future with Brianne hinged on her answer, for as much as he loved her, being a detective of some sort was in his blood.

He might forgo law enforcement in favor of becoming a private investigator—something he’d considered after hiring David. His career wouldn’t change, no matter who he answered to. Brianne had to accept that. She had to accept and be able to live with him or—

“I watched you with Ramirez today.” Her soft voice cut off his thoughts. “You never acted foolishly or without thought. You never tempted Ramirez to take a shot at you instead of me, not even when you walked in and found him tearing at my…blouse.” She choked over the word and the memory.

He grabbed her forearms and his thumbs stroked her soft flesh, wanting to replace the bad memories with more pleasant ones. “But I wanted to. I wanted to shoot first and question him later. I wanted to throttle him with my bare hands, choke the life out of him and then shoot him again for good measure.”