Reality returned in increments. The stars faintly visible through the swirl of snow along the skylight. Jacob sweeping her hair away from her face. His leg nestled between her thighs, a heavy, delicious burden.
Dee loosened her fingernail-deep grip on his hip, and his mouth tipped in a hint of a smile. His eyes cleared, and he let her in for a rare look that said far more than words. Her friend had returned. Only a hint of male pride gleamed in his eyes, mingling with happiness for her.
When her heart had slowed to something resembling a slow jog, she squeezed his hand. He dropped a kiss to her forehead and rolled away. Dee almost shouted her frustration until she saw him delve into his bedside table and pull out a small, square cellophane packet.
A totally irrational wad of jealousy punched her. She chewed the insides of her mouth to keep from asking him whom he’d bought them for.
Jacob glanced at her. “After that night in the back of my truck.”
“What?”
“I bought a box the next day. I told myself we shouldn’t end up here. Having these around still seemed smart.”
“Very smart.”
He sheathed himself and tucked her beneath him again. With the quilt under her, Jacob over her and the stars glimmering through the skylight above, Dee couldn’t help but remember that kiss. How much he’d needed her then. How much they needed each other now.
Eyes locked on each other, he entered her slowly, as her body stretched to accommodate him. He stilled, bearing the bulk of his weight on his forearms. She gazed up at him, almost seeing him anew during that instant of being joined for the first time.
Then he moved, and she lost the ability to think about beginnings—inevitable endings. So long. It had been so long, if ever, since she’d felt such an incredible heightened sense of awareness. Rather than forgetfulness, she’d found an awakening that surpassed anything she could have wished for.
They found the rhythm unique to their union, neared the edge and fought it off, prolonging the sensations like a gift that would be snatched away once they accepted it.
Finally his heaving chest, their sweat-slicked bodies, signaled an end, and she almost mourned the pleasure she knew was an instant away. Again, his hand found her, circled, a single nudge sending her spiraling until she felt as if she’d flown through the skylight, free-falling into the night.
With a hoarse shout, he joined her. She reached to hold his hand as her body accepted him.
She feared her heart wasn’t far behind.
With Dee’s sleeping body curled against him, Jacob could almost allow himself to forget they had to put their feet on the floor and resume life in a few hours.
Gently he loosened her grip on his hand. When she didn’t stir, he draped the quilt over her arm and up to her creamy, bare shoulders. He skimmed his thumb along her collarbone, to the hollow of her throat.
Already he stirred again at even the thought of crawling beneath that quilt and losing himself inside her. If he thought once more would satisfy his need for her, he would. But he knew it wouldn’t be enough.
Jacob snatched his hand away and shoved to his feet.
It was only supposed to be about sex, a release, a momentary escape for both of them. Of course, it could have been all about sex for her. How clearly he could see her beautiful face flooding with surprise just before shifting to lazy-lidded pleasure.
He bit off a curse. The last thing he wanted from her was gratitude for introducing her to good sex. Great sex.
His need for more told him he’d already gotten too close. She’d become too important. He should back up, gain distance and perspective for her sake as well as his.
Jacob whipped a pair of sweatpants off the back of a chair and slid into them. Each step from the loft should have offered him the distance he needed. Instead her every breath whispered through the room, tempting him. Even the skylight seemed to silhouette her in some center-stage way.
Where did they go from here tomorrow?
Thinking of Chase in lock-up for the night, Jacob scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. His hormones had been so tied in knots over Dee, he’d let his guard down and messed up with Chase. His hormones could cost him focus in finding her child.
Still, he couldn’t turn his back on her now. Jacob dropped into the recliner and tapped the telephone beside him.
He wasn’t sure he could be the kind of man she wanted long-term, but he could sure as hell help her with her here and now. No more waiting to get back on the job. With sunrise nearing, it was time to tap into the extra help his military network could provide.
Chapter 13
S itting on the edge of the bed, Dee faced the morning with a mix of anticipation and dread. She clutched the telephone after speaking with her parents in Colorado about taking a photo to their local police station. She wanted to believe she would be holding her child just as tightly by the end of the day.
Through the skylight the clouds hovered above, heavy and gray as the first morning light fought the overcast conditions as fiercely as she struggled to keep her mood positive, to hold on to the comfort she’d found in Jacob’s embrace through the night.