Home Is Where the Heat Is (5 page)

So jump on it… her.
He’d kept his hands full of King Pao chicken when he could’ve easily discarded the food and explored those possibilities she’d mentioned, but he sat there with a stupid grin on his face, unable—or maybe unwilling—to endure another failure.

His date tomorrow night was a sure thing, casual, no obligation beyond the present. Getting involved with this illegal paralegal required committing to her professional safety—
choosing
to be with her, despite the risks. He sucked at making choices, but this one stared him in the face, daring him to do
something
.

Claire beat him to it. “Tell me about your history of disregarding the law.” She picked up her plate and shoveled up some rice.

The burden of indecision fell from his shoulders… for now. He set the chicken down and grabbed the beer. “It’s a long, sordid history. Sure you wanna hear it?”

“Most definitely.” Her eyes sparkled.

He took a drink, deciding where to start. “I was a reckless kid, always in trouble for something: speeding, fake IDs, underage drinking, shit like that.”

She shook her head. “I never did any of that stuff.”

“Really?”
Shit, maybe she is a good girl.

“Well, speeding when I’m not paying attention. But I never had a fake ID, never got caught drinking.”

She’d steered the conversation away from his past, but he let her go with it. “Never got caught?”

“Nope. And I’ll deny everything.”

JT laughed, and the good girl idea crumbled like a poorly laid foundation. “Tell me something no one else knows about.”

She put her plate on the coffee table and finished her beer. Then she leaned back and laced her fingers over her stomach. “My first time was at a football game in high school.”

And there she goes bringing up sex again.
He rested beside her, imitating her pose. “Locker room after the game?”

A guilty smile crept across her face. “No, during the game.”

“That’s risky.”
I could like this girl—a lot.

“The school kept an ambulance on standby for every home game. I’d developed a crush on the paramedic. One night I got brave and ‘just happened’ to walk by and talk to him. He sent his partner out for… something… I don’t remember, and then he and I climbed in the back of the ambulance.”

“The partner caught you?” And joined them for a wild threesome?
Dude, you watch too much porn.

“Nope. We finished before he got back.”

“That’s… not impressive at all.” JT shook his head.

“Yeah, quick but fun. Five minutes later they treated a player for heat exhaustion, but no one ever knew I’d lost my virginity in there.”

“Yeah, and you claimed to be a good girl.”

Claire slapped his arm and sat up. “Shhh. People still don’t know.” She cracked open a fortune cookie, and pulled out the slip of paper. Her eyes lit up and her cheeks turned pink. “You know how you’re supposed to read these, right?”

He picked up the other cookie. “Add ‘between the sheets.’”

“Or ‘in bed.’ Same thing.” She glanced at the paper and read out loud. “‘Many adventures await you’—in bed.”

“Well, I could’ve told you that.”

She leaned back against the armrest. “What does yours say?”

He crushed the cookie, brushed crumbs off the paper, and read it to himself.
‘Do not fear success. True love awaits you.
’He crumped it up and shoved it in his pocket.
Fear success? What the hell did that mean?
“‘A wise man knows when to keep silent,’” he said instead.

“Ohhhkay. ‘In bed’ doesn’t even help that.”

He shrugged.
True love awaits in bed? Yeah, like it’s gonna fall in my lap.

She flipped over her fortune. “Did you look at your lottery numbers?”

“No, I don’t play the lottery.”

“What? A self-professed gambler doesn’t take a chance on millions?”

“I prefer better odds. Trying to win the lottery is like throwing cash out the window.” Or finding true love. It just didn’t happen—not to him.

She rested her elbow on the back of the couch, opening her body and gifting him with a lovely suggestion of what she kept hidden under that damn sweater. “Tell me about your first time.”

He sat back and stretched his arms out, stroking her shoulder while he recalled that awkward night. “She was my prom date. I’ll never understand why my high school held prom in a hotel ballroom. Maybe they thought the place wouldn’t rent rooms to minors, but I had a fake ID, and I uh, ‘borrowed’ my dad’s credit card so….”

She laughed. “You bad boy.”

“Yeah,” he grinned as the memory stiffened his cock. “We had fun. Well, I did. She wanted more.”

“I would, too.” She slid close but changed the subject before he could pursue the idea. “Did you get caught?”

“Not that night, but when we fooled around in the back of a movie theater….” He laughed. “That’s a story for another date.”
Another?

She sat back and slapped his thigh. “Oh come on! I want to hear it. Wait… we’re going to do this again?”

“I’d like to.”
So there.
He’d done it. He made a choice. Probably the wrong one, as usual, but he’d live with the consequences. Again.

She caressed his stinging leg. “I had something more imminent and short-term in mind.”

He threaded his fingers in her hair. “You think a quickie would get me to leave you alone? Unlikely.”
Whoa, imminent?

“I don’t do quick.” A daring squeeze and a dash of heated breath underlined her words. “Would you like another beer?”

“Trying to get me drunk?”

“Do I need to?”

“Hell, no.”
Why am I stalling?
“Two beers would hardly give me a buzz, let alone get me drunk enough to misbehave.” He winked. “I’d do that sober.”

“So, yes or no?”

Go all in, idiot.
“Yes… to whatever you want.”

“Mmm… much better.” She stood up and stumbled over something in the dark. “Ow!” Her arms flailed and she tumbled backwards—straight into his lap.

JT cradled her, holding her close while he struggled to make sense of this accident of fate.
Well, fuck me with a fortune cookie.
“You okay?”

“Stepped on my shoe.” She winced and lifted her bare foot.

He never could resist painted toenails—bright red, just like her fingers. He laced his fingers between those sexy toes and stroked, then folded her foot in both his hands and slid his fingers up and down, rubbing and squeezing while she moaned.

Claire gasped and squirmed on his crotch. “Ooo….”

“Sorry. Calloused hands.”

“Noooo. I love the friction.” She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’d love to know how those hands feel on my… more delicate parts.”

He slipped one hand under her jeans to stroke the back of her calf. “I’d be happy to give you a thorough demonstration.”

She shivered and sighed, drawing closer to him as he leaned down and brushed her lips with a whisper touch.

And then a phone rang.

JT bolted upright. “What the hell?

Claire started and nearly fell off his lap. “It’s coming from here.” She reached behind her and grabbed his jacket.

He fumbled for the pocket and fished his phone out. The lighted screen blinded him. “Hello?”

An urgent voice responded. “This is Carl from Monarch Security. The fire alarm has been activated at 997 Commerce Drive. We’ve contacted the fire department.”

Shit! Not again.
“I’m on my way.” He hung up without further information and stuffed his phone in his pocket.

Claire slid off him and straightened her pant leg. “What happened?”

“Fire at a job site.” He stood and threw his jacket on. Jesus Christ, the third one in six weeks.
What the hell is going on?
The first fire was accidental, and he’d terminated both the foreman, and Martin Perkins, the electrician responsible for it. The second fire was still under investigation. “Ouch. Goddamn it!” The coffee table jumped aside as he bashed his shin on it.

“Oh my God.” She turned on a lamp and followed him to the door. “Is there anything I can do?”

He spun and faced her. “No, I….” He ran his hand through his hair and cursed the bad luck taking him away from her. “I’ll take care of this.”

“Call me if you need anything.” She reached out and touched his chest, fingering the chain under his shirt.

He shook his head. “There’d be a record of the call.”

She curled her fingers around his jacket and pulled him close. “Then come back.”

His heart pounded and his cock stiffened as her body brushed against him. The woman knew how to tempt a man. “I’ll do my best.” He cupped her cheek. “I’ll see you in court tomorrow.”

Her eyes grew wide and she pushed back, slipping out of the light and returning to shadows. “You can’t!”

Let her go. You’ve got a sure thing tomorrow. You can’t have this woman anyway.

“But I will.” Pure luck had brought them together. Who was he to argue with that? “No one can stop me from looking at you.”

Darkness surrounded them as he slipped his hands into her hair and tilted her head back. A soft gasp escaped her as his mouth seized hers. He captured her tongue while holding her body prisoner, and she surrendered, clinging to him as his lips claimed her. Their heartbeats matched, and her heat seared him to the core.

They separated with a lingering smack, his fingers still tangled in her hair. Her eyes begged him for something he wanted to give, but uncertainty chased it away.

Claire tugged on his jacket as he turned and opened the door. “Be careful,” she whispered.

He nodded and stepped into the cold, dark night. Fear gripped him as he jumped in his truck and sped toward the job site, but he fought it back by contemplating incognito methods of violating the judge’s order, right under her gavel.

Chapter 4

He never made it back. Claire lay awake for hours, listening for his truck. A couple of times she got up and peeked between the still closed curtains, but her driveway remained empty. The heat kicked in as the temperature dropped, and she shivered naked between the icy sheets, imagining JT crawling into bed to warm her, those big calloused hands making sparks on her skin, his adventurous tongue exploring her mouth, that promising bulge between his legs pressed against hers.

Oh God, I need to come!
She slipped her hand between her thighs and slowly stroked, stimulating herself with ‘what if.’ What if his phone hadn’t rung? What if she’d been bolder? What if she’d kissed him the first time she got the chance? They might’ve been tangled in her bed right now, making sweat pools on the sheets. Instead she trembled alone, reliving that one kiss.

One! But wow, what a kiss—his lips, his hands, his entire body owned her, bringing her senses to tingling life with a sweep of his tongue and a thrust of his hips. Mmm… stroking, sucking, nipping. Oh, oh, oh… goddamn fucking empty bed!

Heat washed over her, and she kicked the blankets off, letting the chill soothe her sweaty skin.
Maybe I can sleep now.
But as she drifted off, images of that naughty grin and memories of those daring hands invaded her dreams.
Forget that kiss? Not gonna happen.

But she had to forget the kiss, forget his hands, forget him. She’d jeopardized Alex’s case and her career tonight, and for what? A couple of first-time stories and an amazing kiss. That wasn’t enough to risk doing it again. Her ethically-challenged and legally-questionable day had ended with the best orgasm she’d had since… Will. Now to face tomorrow with a clean slate and leave Jared Tucker Luck in the jury box where he belonged.

***

Kurt couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he knocked on Mr. Sheridan’s door.

Claire flung it open and nearly dragged him in. “The stupid printer won’t work again! I keep telling Alex we need a new one, but no, ‘call the helpdesk’ he says. Grrr.”

She’s so cute when she’s pissed.
Her usually smooth hair snarled as she dragged her fingers through it, and her eyes flashed like lasers.

Kurt nodded, fighting back the urge to sweep her into his arms and offer comfort. “I can fix it.” Of course, he hadn’t even looked at the problem yet, but he’d be damned if he’d let her down.

“Please hurry.” She spun the sparkling watch bracelet around her wrist. “Our lunch recess is over at one.”

He checked the printer first, adjusted the settings, and then corrected the network mapping from her desktop. The machine hummed and spat out her document.

“Yay!” She snatched the papers and flipped through them. “This page got cut off. Can you reprint it?”

“Yep.”

Alex stepped out of his office, straightening his tie. “Ready to go?”

Claire snapped, “Just one second.”

“Hey Kurt,” Alex gave him a nod. “What are you working on?”

“Remapping the printer drive.”

“Geek speak. No idea what you said.”

Kurt chuckled, but didn’t offer an explanation.

Claire drummed her shimmering blue fingernails on the printer cover and glared at her boss. “I told you this thing was a piece of crap. We need a new one.”

But if Mr. Sheridan replaced the printer, Claire wouldn’t need the helpdesk anymore. “It’s a networking issue, not a hardware problem. The power axis on the negative coupling has been polarized. I’ll have to reroute it.” Pretty sure he’d screwed up that line from
Empire
, but channeling Han Solo made him feel heroic.

Kurt shot a glance at the attorney, and gave a barely perceptible headshake. If the guy was as good at reading people as everyone said, he’d understand.

He caught on quick. “Reroute it.” He grinned at his grumbling assistant. “Good as new.”

“Bite me.” Claire stuffed the documents in her file. “Let’s go.”

“Well done.” Alex winked at Kurt.

“Thank you, Kurt.” Claire fluttered her fingers at him and scurried out the door.

No kiss today.
His phone rang, but he ignored it. The virus still eluded him, and the last thing he needed was another lecture from his boss. He changed a couple settings between the computer and the printer. It worked for now, but sooner or later, Claire would need him again.