Jermy, Marie - Together Forever [The Andersons 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

Uneasy with the way Rafferty’s black eyes bored into him, Ross turned and opened the wardrobe doors. His mouth fell open. Jessica, he knew, loved shoes. And yeah, okay, he was in no position to criticize—he had a thing for jeans—but come on! The floor-to-ceiling unit at the far end must have held at least one hundred pairs.

“Make that one hundred one,” he dryly muttered when he remembered the pair he’d bought, just that very night.

Since there was no way of retrieving the BlackBerry, not without Rafferty’s noticing, and not trusting him, either, he made a play of selecting a mauve, figure-hugging dress and matching shoes.

“Nice,” Rafferty said with appreciation. “I’ll look forward to seeing Miss Ferris tomorrow.”

Ross threw him a humorless smile as he walked past, crossing the room to a chest of drawers and, without thinking, removed a seductive, black silk teddy.

“Definitely looking forward to seeing her.”

Immediately, Ross stuffed the teddy back in the drawer and chose a plain, white cotton bra and panties instead. He paid a quick visit to the bathroom for some toiletries, again under Rafferty’s watchful gaze. Then, placing everything into a small backpack, he went to the window and ducked out, calling over his shoulder, “Tomorrow, Rafferty.”

As he jogged home, Ross acknowledged he was rattled. Rattled enough to stop at a bar near his apartment and down more than a couple shots of Jack Daniel’s.

Once the amber liquid had soothed his spooked state concerning Rafferty, he sat in a darkened corner booth, pondering the events of the day. A totally shit day, in more ways than one. He was still having trouble getting his head around the fact Jessica had ended their relationship to protect him. He didn’t need protecting. He could look after himself.

Jessica, on the other hand, was different. Yes, she was tough, could give as good as she got, and was his equal in every way. Stubborn, too. Nevertheless, she was a woman, and he held a certain principle when it came to protecting the fairer of the sexes. Or anybody for that matter. It was one of the reasons, apart from following in his parents’ footsteps, that he’d become a cop. To secure justice for victims and jail for criminals.

Jessica needed him. Needed his help. And as her friend, because that’s all they could ever be—well, that’s what he firmly kept telling himself—he pledged he would do everything possible to keep her in good health.

So what the hell was he doing in a bar drinking?

* * * *

Jessica woke when her nose twitched at the dreamy cinnamon and apple smells wafting through the wide-open bedroom door.

With a loud yawn and an equally loud, rumbling stomach, she bounded from the bed and promptly fell flat on her face. She cursed and glared at the reason for her fall. It was Ross’s backpack lying on an unrolled foam camper’s mattress.

Her scowl turned into a smile. At some point during the night, after she had finally drifted off, Ross must have crept into the bedroom and slept beside her, albeit on the floor. She would have preferred him on the bed, in her arms, but hey, it was a start.

A small, box-like lump in the side pocket of the backpack caught Jessica’s attention. Curious, she opened the flap and pulled the object free. It was a dark-blue, velvet-covered box. She flipped the lid, gasping at the diamond and sapphire ring nestled inside. Oh, boy! An engagement ring.

And a perfect fit,
she thought as she slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. Uh-oh. Maybe too perfect a fit. She tugged on the band, stopping the flow of blood in the process. Not exactly a good start in gaining Ross’s trust, especially if he were to walk into the room to find she’d been going through his possessions.

She tugged harder, but the ring remained firmly fixed. Oh, boy, Ross was going to kill her for sure. With a silent prayer, she put her finger in her mouth, licked the ring with all the saliva she could muster, then took it out and tugged as hard as she could without pulling her finger from its socket. Thankfully, somebody upstairs answered her prayer and the ring popped off. She gave a huge sigh of relief.

Hearing movement in the kitchen, Jessica placed the ring back in its box and returned it to the pocket. Then, quickly dressing in the clothes Ross had bought for her, she went through to the kitchen, where Ross stood at the stove, pouring batter into a frying pan.

“Sleep well, Jessica?” he asked without turning.

“Not really,” she replied, going all gooey at the use of her full Christian name. Didn’t he know how sensual it sounded coming from his equally sensual mouth? “I ache all over. But the worst ache is the one inside me. And you’re the only cure.”

“Tough. You’ve had your chance with me. There’s aspirin in the cupboard over there.” His back still to her, he jerked his thumb in the direction of said cupboard.

She ignored his advice and took a stool at the small breakfast bar, watching his shoulder muscles flexing under the sleeveless, black T-shirt he wore as he flipped and caught pancakes. Yummy. His ass in the gray sweats looked yummy, too. “You were a fielder on the baseball team at high school.”

“Wasn’t into baseball.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. Talk about stiff. Well, she knew how to loosen him up. “Ross, will you turn around and look at me?” He did as requested. Slowly. With the way his eyes bugged and his loud intake of air, she knew he’d loosened up. And all because, even if she did say so herself, she looked like a million dollars. “I know I said it last night, but once again, thank you for these lovely clothes. They fit perfectly. Including the bra,” she added, wickedly lifting the top to show him exactly how perfect a fit the bra was.

“Take your clothes off!”

“You’ve got it,” she purred.

“Ah, no, I mean, um…I mean, change into the ones I collected from your apartment last night.” He gestured to a backpack by the refrigerator, which she recognized as hers.

“You went to my apartment?” she asked, slightly taken aback. “Did you get the BlackBerry?”

“No. Rafferty decided to put in an appearance. Scared the crap out of me.”

She raised an eyebrow. She’d never known Ross to be afraid of anything. He had more balls than what were racked at the start of a pool game. “What? How?”

“Oh, um, never mind. I lied to him about why I was there. There’s something about him that I don’t trust. So since I don’t want to arouse his suspicions, and because he’s expecting to see you in different clothes, I want you to change.”

“What about Harknett’s BlackBerry? Shall we get it first or afterward?”

“No. There’s no
we
. I’ll see you safely to the station, then I’ll go and get it while you’re with Rafferty, giving your statement. I’ve already written mine. Last night when I got back from yours.”

“What if he asks where you are?”

Ross was silent while he dished the pancakes onto two plates, then after handing her one, he parked himself on the stool beside her. “Tell him anything. Lie. You’re good at that.” He ignored her dirty look. “While you’re at it, see if you can get him to tell you his life story. He’s not from New York, the accent’s not right. Chicago, perhaps.”

“And how does one propose I do that?”

“Bat your eyelashes and come on to him. You’re good at that, too.” He cursed softly as he rubbed a hand over his shaven face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep.”

“Worried about little ol’ me?” she inquired, her tone breathy, her eyes half-closed. His eyes narrowed into slits. Uh-oh.
Not a smart move,
she scolded herself.

“It may have escaped you attention, but somebody wants you dead. So, yes, dammit, I am worried. Worried that you’ll do something stupid. Like bury your head in the sand and hope it’ll go away. Well, I’ve got news for you, Jessica. It’s not gonna go away. Not ever! Not until I catch the bastard and send him on a one-way trip to the cemetery!”

That said, Ross hurled his plate at the wall and stalked from the kitchen.

She should have been indignant, angry, and yet, she wasn’t. Ross had a point. Somebody wanted her dead. As for burying her head in the sand—not that she thought Ross was aware of her financial situation—but she’d already begun to tackle her debts. While Ross had been in Silver Creek, she’d contacted the bank and various other companies she owed money to and arranged to pay back what she could afford each month. She’d also found a buyer for her Mini—her baby, the one thing she’d vowed never to part with—but accepting her financial situation necessitated its sale.

The sweet smell of cinnamon and apple too tempting to resist any longer, Jessica greedily ate the pancakes, deciding they were the best she’d ever tasted. Too bad Ross had thrown his at the wall. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she hopped off the stool and went over to the backpack. She grimaced as she removed the clothes from within. Her least favorite dress and shoes.

She again grimaced, this time at the white bra and panties. Actually, they weren’t white at all but a dingy gray from the amount of times she had washed them. She should have thrown them away ages ago, but with so many things going on in her life she’d forgotten. Talk about boring, conservative, and
so
not sexy. What had Ross been thinking? Suddenly, it occurred to her exactly what he’d been thinking. Well, she had news for him, too. A sly look crossed her face as she quickly changed, the figure-hugging material of the dress in no way mistaking she was naked underneath. “Oh, Ross?” she called out.

“In the bedroom.”

“You decent? I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.” She smiled at his loud snort as she entered. Smart, yet casual in blue jeans and a white Oxford shirt, Ross stood before the full-length mirror on the open wardrobe door performing the manly task of knotting a tie, the color of which matched his eyes to perfection. Yummy, yummy.

Catching and holding his gaze in the mirror, she couldn’t fail to notice the naked hunger burning within his eyes before they dulled over and he closed the wardrobe door and walked from the room. With a sigh, she picked up the gray sweats lying on the floor at the foot of the bed. A letter fell out of one of the pockets. A letter she recognized.

Immediately, her fuse-box temper ignited. She’d wanted to tell Ross face-to-face about her debts, not have him going behind her back, as he seemingly had done.

Taking the letter with her, Jessica strode into the kitchen where Ross was cleaning the pancake mess from the floor. She grabbed his collar, yanked him to his feet, and slapped the letter across his face. “You want to tell me about this?”

“I could ask you the same question,” he replied, his tone maddeningly calm.

“Those letters and files in my spare bedroom are personal and private. I can’t believe you went through them. You had no right!”

“The words pot and kettle spring to mind here. Did you like the ring? I saw you when I came in to see if you were awake.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “Oh.”

“Yes. Oh. And for your information, I didn’t go through your personal and private files. That letter was in your bedroom, on the dressing table—”

“Liar!” she interrupted, pot and kettle definitely in attendance. She went to slap the letter across his face again, but he caught and held her wrist.

“Like I said, that letter was on your dressing table,” he stated firmly and calmly. “It was there with some other bills, a couple of junk mail letters, and that photograph you told me about. Why didn’t you tell me it was taken here?”

“I didn’t think it was important…” She trailed off when a vivid memory popped forward, a memory of leaving yesterday’s mail on the dressing table. Oops. Her temper cooled quicker than the planet had during the Ice Age.

“You didn’t think it was important?” he repeated, incredulous. “Dammit, Jessica! How can I protect you when you refuse to be straight with me? Don’t you realize the danger you’re in? Or is your head buried so deep—”

“Of course I friggin’ well realize!” She wrenched free and went and stood at the window, watching the comings and goings in the street outside. With a muttered curse, Ross was beside her in an instant, pulling her away.