She glanced down at her pleasured body. Her lips curled into a grin. “I might get cold come September.”
He ran his hands up her smooth legs as he continued to kneel on the floor. Despite her short stature, they seemed to go on forever. The perfect size to wrap around his waist. His palms rested on her knees. He ran his thumb across a tiny patch of hair on her kneecap she must have missed when shaving. The short hairs pricked him. Damn. Even that turned him on.
He had to tell her about Burlington’s attempt to blackmail him. He’d left that part out earlier, figuring what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. But the lingering suspicion evident on her face had told him she’d known he’d been holding back.
When it came out in the open that he’d almost used her to find the phone and flash drive, she’d be pissed. After he told her he had planned to leave her to face off against the killer by herself, she’d be irate. And rightly so. But if he didn’t tell her and she found out another way, she’d never forgive him. Jake couldn’t live with that.
“Hey.” Her fingers pushed his chin upward, her expression quizzical. “I didn’t mean to scare you off with the September comment. I know this isn’t long term. It’s just a little fun. No harm. No foul.”
Her body language belied her words. Shoulders hunched, she looked as if she awaited an emotional k
ick to the stomach. Her downcast eyes were half hidden behind a curtain of auburn hair. Her lip trembled for a moment before she tugged on it with her teeth.
Whoever that idiot Brett guy was, he’d pulled a number on Claire. Jake could tell she expected him to get up and go. Fuck that. This may not be forever, but while he had her, she was all his. And his Claire had too much spark to look so forlorn.
Rising up from the floor, he cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to read the truth in his eyes. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
He meant for the kiss to be soft and reassuring. But as soon as his lips brushed hers, he realized that wasn’t going to happen. Instinct hardwired by centuries of evolution overwhelmed him. It demanded he claim this woman, make her his. Their tongues tangled as he melded her soft curves to his hard frame.
Claire pushed at his chest, forcing them apart. “Sit back in that chair. I want to be on top.”
It killed him to deny her, but they couldn’t do this until she knew the truth. “We have to talk.”
Her palm settled on his stomach. “Why?”
“I have to tell you something.”
She wouldn’t look up at him. “It can wait.”
“No, it can’t.” Mimicking her move from earlier, he drew her chin upward. “Burlington wants me to use you to find the phone and flash drive.”
She jerked away from his touch. His body cooled in an instant. Hands on her hips, she stood with her feet shoulder-width apart. Her come-hither glance had been replaced with a drop-dead glare. Temper rolled off her naked body. Her face gave away everything, including a hint of hurt hiding behind the grim line of her mouth.
“And just how are you supposed to do that?” She practically spat the words at him.
Forget the fairy queen. His Claire was the world’s shortest Amazon warrior. She amazed him. Scared him a little, too.
“Claire…” The answer stuck in his throat.
“What did he say?”
His body tensed. “Fuck you or frisk you.” Just saying the words made his skin crawl. Seeing the resulting pain etched on her face was more than he could take. “Claire—”
“So that’s what this was?” She flung her arms outward over her clothes piled up on the floor.
A puck to the head wouldn’t have hurt as much as her accusation. “No!” She had to believe him. “I couldn’t do it.”
She stalked over to him. “What’s wrong? Did it offend your delicate sensibilities to fuck on orders?”
“Claire, I knew I couldn’t do it before I even got back to your house with the pizza yesterday.” His gut churned at the thought of never touching her again.
“Why should I believe you?” Her stance remained aggressive, but her posture relaxed a few millimeters.
Jake slumped down into the chair that a few minutes earlier could’ve been the site of lovemaking bliss. Not now. He rubbed his hands across his face. If he couldn’t make her understand, she’d be out of his life faster than a Bobby Hull slapshot. He’d rather be hit in the face by that shot than lose her now.
How the fuck had that happened?
“My father has stage four lung cancer. He’s fighting it tooth and nail, but the fact is, he’s dying.” He drew in a shaky breath. “Burlington swore he’d make the old man’s last few months a living hell if I didn’t cooperate. But I won’t sacrifice you for him. That’s not the kind of man he raised me to be.”