“Are you ready for what’s going to come? When we go after him, this guy won’t go down easy.”
A brittle laugh broke from her lips. “Trust me, things haven’t been easy so far.”
The streetlight spilled into the car, and she saw his gaze drop to her mouth. “No.” His hand came up and cupped her chin.
“Kent…” He shouldn’t do this. She shouldn’t. Bad idea. She’d already told him this. But her heart drummed too fast, and her gut clenched.
“I like the way you say my name.” Those sexy dimples flashed. “You’re the only woman who’s ever called me Kent, and when you say it, your voice goes soft and husky.”
His head came closer.
She sucked in a breath, tasted him and smoke, and put both her hands against his chest. Lora tried real hard not to notice how good he felt beneath her hands. How hard.
She failed.
“Lora…”
Damn. She liked the way he said her name, too. “I don’t want to get involved,” she told him, and her voice wasn’t so soft anymore.
Not that getting involved would probably be a real problem with a guy like Kenton.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
His eyes locked with hers. His fingers still held her chin, not too hard, stroking lightly. “I want you, Lora Spade.”
Didn’t get more blunt than that. Her breath caught. For once, Lora wasn’t sure what to say.
“But I can keep my hands off…” He freed her chin and gripped the seat behind her. Lora’s palms pressed against his chest, feeling the heat of his skin through the clothing. “If you want to keep things professional, fine. I can play that way.”
She bet he could play any way. Her heart kicked faster.
“But I know something about you, sweetheart.”
Her stomach tightened because the man had one deep, rumbling voice. Growling in the dark.
“I know you feel this, too.” He leaned in even closer, stopping when his lips were just an inch, maybe two, from hers. “Attraction, lust, need—call it whatever the hell you want, but for us, it’s there.”
She swallowed. “Y-yes.” She wouldn’t lie. Why bother? Lora felt the fire between them. A fire that could burn too fast, too hot.
“Don’t you want to see?” he whispered, and she felt his breath on her. “Before you turn away, don’t you want to know what it would be like?”
Why did people always want to touch the flames?
Why did she?
Six months.
And every night had hurt.
Sometimes, you just didn’t want to be alone.
But, sometimes, you wanted a lot more than just another body with you. So much more.
“One kiss.”
So tempting. Too tempting. She’d been weak before and wound up with guilt and ash come morning. Her fingers curled against him. “Kent…”
“Or you can tell me to f**k off. Hell, you can tell me to f**k off after the kiss if you want, but, sweetheart, I’ve been dying to know…”
Mistake. She knew it, but—
She wanted him. Wanted him more than she’d wanted anyone in so long. Was it wrong?
“I’ve been dying to know,” he said again, “how you taste.”
Oh, hell. Her right hand grabbed the back of his head, and she yanked him down toward her.
Their mouths met. Open. Ready. Lips kissed. Tongues licked. And—damn.
Yes, she wanted.
The control she’d held so tightly began to crack. She jerked in her seat, struggling to press against him. He took her mouth. Tasted her. Tormented her. And she met him. No, she fought him, fought him for more.
His hands locked around her, and her br**sts shoved against his chest. Her ni**les were tight, aching, and her sex began to cream.
From a kiss.
Zero to sixty… faster, faster…
The man had one wicked tongue.
When he lifted his head, she wasn’t surprised to hear the ragged sound of her own moan.
“Thought it’d be like that,” he said.
Unfortunately, so had she and that didn’t help her.
“But where we go next, if we go anywhere, that’s going to be your call, sweetheart.” His fingers curled around hers and pulled her hands from behind his head where she’d been clinging oh-so-tightly.
Because he was right about her. She did like to run red-hot. Passion. Lust. Lora was well-acquainted with the fiery need.
As acquainted as she was with the loneliness.
“Where do we go?” he asked softly.
I don’t know.
“We work the case.” He took a deep breath and yeah, his voice broke a bit around the edges as he said, “I keep my hands off you.”
But those strong hands felt good on her flesh. And for just a few minutes there, with him, she’d forgotten…
Fire. Screams. Death.
And remembered pleasure.
She’d always loved her pleasure.
“Or we take option two.”
Lora waited.
“We work the case each day, and we see just how hot we can make the nights.”
When she licked her lips, she tasted him. Spicy. Wild.
“I’ll make you scream,” he promised. “I’ll make damn sure you’re satisfied, every time.”
“Don’t doubt it.” She hesitated. “But I—”
His eyes hardened. “Is there someone else?”
Did a dead man count? Guilt stirred now, squeezing her heart, but Lora shook her head. “No.”
“You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” His voice rumbled. “Damn, Lora, I swear, your mouth was made for sin.”
He still held her hands. She wanted his mouth back on hers. And because she wanted him right now, that wanting scared her as much as it aroused her, so she said, “I can’t.” Not then. Too fast. She needed to think. To make absolutely sure this—he—was what she wanted.
I won’t make another mistake.
A muscle flexed in his jaw. He eased away from her, sliding back into his seat. “Clear.” Clipped. “We’ll work the case. I won’t—”
“Give me some time,” the words tumbled out. She hadn’t meant to say them, but the need twisting in her gut had other plans. “Because you know I want you.” Just not yet. Not then. The lust was too raw. Her hands shook, and the past kept teasing her. “Give me some time,” she said again.
They wouldn’t have long. Kenton would only be in town long enough to catch the arsonist. Then the case would end.
He’d leave.
And she’d move on. Like she always did.
Take the pleasure. There’s no pain with him. No risk to your heart.
He wouldn’t be there long enough to hurt her. But maybe, just maybe, he could make her nights better, for a while.
Take the pleasure. Yeah, that sly voice was sure whispering to her.
Pleasure, but no pain.
Her interior light flashed on when Kenton shoved open her door. “See you soon, sweetheart.”
And her special agent was gone. Walking into the dawn.
Her fingers curled around the steering wheel. That last sweetheart, it hadn’t been the sarcastic drawl he’d used before. It had been slower. Deeper.
A lover’s caress.
Pleasure.
She knew he could give it to her.
Now, the question was… could she take it?
The light from the rising sun shot across the sky just as Kenton climbed out of his rented SUV and hurried toward the hotel at the edge of the highway.
Ah, hotels. Sometimes, it seemed as if he spent all his nights in run-down hotels.
And usually alone.
Damn but the woman tasted good. Not sweet. Not her. Hell, no. Rich. Tangy.
He wanted more.
But he’d get a cold shower. Shit.
Room 106 waited just a few feet away. And so did that very, very icy—
The door to room 107 opened, and Kenton tensed, his hand automatically going for the weapon at his hip.
“Late night, Special Agent?”
“Hyde?”
His boss flashed his shark’s smile. “Got your message.” He stepped forward, the shadows sliding off his dark skin. “Figured I’d come and take a look at Charlottesville myself.”
Kenton shook his head. “We’ve got a problem here, sir.” He unlocked his door, driving the keycard in with a quick punch of his fingers. “My gut tells me the crimes are linked—”
“And what does Lora Spade tell you?”
Kenton crossed the threshold but glanced back at Hyde. “The same thing I’m betting she said when she talked to you.”
Hyde’s expression never altered. He walked inside the hotel room, slowly. The door closed behind with a click.
Kenton’s fingers curled around his gun, and he brought out the weapon.
“Ah, so you already know about that bit of business, hmm?” The one chair in the room creaked as Hyde made himself comfortable.
Kenton placed his gun on the bedside table before he faced Hyde again. His brows rose as he said, “I don’t think Lora was too impressed with me at first.”
“That’s because she had to pull your ass out of a burning building.” The shark’s smile was gone, and the words fell heavy in the room.
Well, hell. The woman really had called his boss and ratted him out. Huh.
“I heard a man calling for help; I went in.” Because dammit, it was his job to save lives. “Jerome was in that building, sir.”
“I know—I already read your report.”
Figured. Hyde was always fast—one of the reasons the guy was the boss.
“Interesting, don’t you think, that the man who called to make a deal with some arson tips wound up in a fire like that?” Kenton asked.
Hyde eased back against the chair cushions and steepled his fingers under his chin. “I’d call that very interesting.”
“There was another fire tonight.” Glancing down, he saw the line of ash on his white shirt. Another one. Dry cleaning would be a bitch. “The vic was handcuffed to a radiator. He didn’t make it out.”
“Back-to-back fires?” Hyde’s brows shot up. “If we’re talking the same perp, that’s some serious escalation.”
“I know.” Kenton rolled his shoulders. Christ, he hurt. Tension knotted between his shoulder blades and right then he sure could have used a massage.
Preferably one from Lora. The woman had great hands. Long fingers. Delicate bones.
After stretching his arms over his head, Kenton said, “I’m gonna need Monica on this.” Because when it came to killers, Special Agent Monica Davenport was the best.
“Done.”
“I could sure use Sam, too.” He watched Hyde carefully now. “It seems like the fires stopped for almost six months… then started again with a freaking vengeance.” And a break period like that just wasn’t normal. “I’m thinking our guy just went somewhere else for his fun and games. Sam could do a check for me, cross-reference fires in a three-county radius and see if—”
“Not Sam.”
But when it came to patterns, Samantha Kennedy was a genius. Give her a computer, hook her up to the SSD’s files, and the woman could have a dozen linked cases in an hour.
“How is she?” Kenton asked bluntly, because he knew the other agent had been through hell. On their last big case, Sam had been captured by the perp. By the time they’d found her, the guy had already gotten off on torturing her and making Sam wish for death.
Beg for it.
It wasn’t easy to come back from something like that. He knew.
Some crimes—they killed the victim right away. A quick, clean kill.
Others—they left the shell of the vic alive, but on the inside, the person slowly died. One piece of the vic’s soul at a time.
“Sam took some extra time off,” Hyde told him, voice smooth. “She’s getting some rest. Taking it easy.”
Getting help. Christ, yes, she needed to talk to someone.
He’d seen her eyes in that hospital room. He knew when he was staring into hell.
“I’m trying someone new for the tech work right now. A guy who finished from MIT with Sam and did well at Quantico.” Hyde inclined his head. “I’ll get him to run your search.”
“I’m investigating the scene today.” Kenton took a quick breath. Time to lay it all out there. “I’ve asked Lora to be my local contact for the cases.”
No flicker of surprise. But then, when had Hyde ever been surprised? “From what I hear, Lora’s one of the best firefighters Frank has on his team.” He gave a slow nod. “You can use her eyes on the scene.”
Yes, he could.
“Just be careful, Lake. Until we know exactly what we’re dealing with here, we need to keep our investigation very, very secure.”
In other words, don’t trust the locals with all the case details. That was a lesson he’d learned the hard way before. “Yes, sir.”
CHAPTER Four
Who the hell are you, and what are you doing at my scene?” The snarl came at him the minute Kenton and Hyde crossed under the yellow line of police tape at the torched house on Byron Street.
A tall guy, with blond hair and narrowed brown eyes, glared at them, crossing his arms over his chest.
“We’re the FBI,” Hyde told him, in that deep, booming voice of his. The voice that made the words sound like I’m God—who the f**k are you? “And, son, this is our scene.”
The muddy eyes became slits then. “I don’t think so.”
“Serial Services Division.” Kenton pulled out his ID. Just to be official. Sometimes, you had to follow the rules. “We believe this case is linked with a series of arson-related murders in the area, and we’re taking over the investigation.”
A brittle laugh broke from her lips. “Trust me, things haven’t been easy so far.”
The streetlight spilled into the car, and she saw his gaze drop to her mouth. “No.” His hand came up and cupped her chin.
“Kent…” He shouldn’t do this. She shouldn’t. Bad idea. She’d already told him this. But her heart drummed too fast, and her gut clenched.
“I like the way you say my name.” Those sexy dimples flashed. “You’re the only woman who’s ever called me Kent, and when you say it, your voice goes soft and husky.”
His head came closer.
She sucked in a breath, tasted him and smoke, and put both her hands against his chest. Lora tried real hard not to notice how good he felt beneath her hands. How hard.
She failed.
“Lora…”
Damn. She liked the way he said her name, too. “I don’t want to get involved,” she told him, and her voice wasn’t so soft anymore.
Not that getting involved would probably be a real problem with a guy like Kenton.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
His eyes locked with hers. His fingers still held her chin, not too hard, stroking lightly. “I want you, Lora Spade.”
Didn’t get more blunt than that. Her breath caught. For once, Lora wasn’t sure what to say.
“But I can keep my hands off…” He freed her chin and gripped the seat behind her. Lora’s palms pressed against his chest, feeling the heat of his skin through the clothing. “If you want to keep things professional, fine. I can play that way.”
She bet he could play any way. Her heart kicked faster.
“But I know something about you, sweetheart.”
Her stomach tightened because the man had one deep, rumbling voice. Growling in the dark.
“I know you feel this, too.” He leaned in even closer, stopping when his lips were just an inch, maybe two, from hers. “Attraction, lust, need—call it whatever the hell you want, but for us, it’s there.”
She swallowed. “Y-yes.” She wouldn’t lie. Why bother? Lora felt the fire between them. A fire that could burn too fast, too hot.
“Don’t you want to see?” he whispered, and she felt his breath on her. “Before you turn away, don’t you want to know what it would be like?”
Why did people always want to touch the flames?
Why did she?
Six months.
And every night had hurt.
Sometimes, you just didn’t want to be alone.
But, sometimes, you wanted a lot more than just another body with you. So much more.
“One kiss.”
So tempting. Too tempting. She’d been weak before and wound up with guilt and ash come morning. Her fingers curled against him. “Kent…”
“Or you can tell me to f**k off. Hell, you can tell me to f**k off after the kiss if you want, but, sweetheart, I’ve been dying to know…”
Mistake. She knew it, but—
She wanted him. Wanted him more than she’d wanted anyone in so long. Was it wrong?
“I’ve been dying to know,” he said again, “how you taste.”
Oh, hell. Her right hand grabbed the back of his head, and she yanked him down toward her.
Their mouths met. Open. Ready. Lips kissed. Tongues licked. And—damn.
Yes, she wanted.
The control she’d held so tightly began to crack. She jerked in her seat, struggling to press against him. He took her mouth. Tasted her. Tormented her. And she met him. No, she fought him, fought him for more.
His hands locked around her, and her br**sts shoved against his chest. Her ni**les were tight, aching, and her sex began to cream.
From a kiss.
Zero to sixty… faster, faster…
The man had one wicked tongue.
When he lifted his head, she wasn’t surprised to hear the ragged sound of her own moan.
“Thought it’d be like that,” he said.
Unfortunately, so had she and that didn’t help her.
“But where we go next, if we go anywhere, that’s going to be your call, sweetheart.” His fingers curled around hers and pulled her hands from behind his head where she’d been clinging oh-so-tightly.
Because he was right about her. She did like to run red-hot. Passion. Lust. Lora was well-acquainted with the fiery need.
As acquainted as she was with the loneliness.
“Where do we go?” he asked softly.
I don’t know.
“We work the case.” He took a deep breath and yeah, his voice broke a bit around the edges as he said, “I keep my hands off you.”
But those strong hands felt good on her flesh. And for just a few minutes there, with him, she’d forgotten…
Fire. Screams. Death.
And remembered pleasure.
She’d always loved her pleasure.
“Or we take option two.”
Lora waited.
“We work the case each day, and we see just how hot we can make the nights.”
When she licked her lips, she tasted him. Spicy. Wild.
“I’ll make you scream,” he promised. “I’ll make damn sure you’re satisfied, every time.”
“Don’t doubt it.” She hesitated. “But I—”
His eyes hardened. “Is there someone else?”
Did a dead man count? Guilt stirred now, squeezing her heart, but Lora shook her head. “No.”
“You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” His voice rumbled. “Damn, Lora, I swear, your mouth was made for sin.”
He still held her hands. She wanted his mouth back on hers. And because she wanted him right now, that wanting scared her as much as it aroused her, so she said, “I can’t.” Not then. Too fast. She needed to think. To make absolutely sure this—he—was what she wanted.
I won’t make another mistake.
A muscle flexed in his jaw. He eased away from her, sliding back into his seat. “Clear.” Clipped. “We’ll work the case. I won’t—”
“Give me some time,” the words tumbled out. She hadn’t meant to say them, but the need twisting in her gut had other plans. “Because you know I want you.” Just not yet. Not then. The lust was too raw. Her hands shook, and the past kept teasing her. “Give me some time,” she said again.
They wouldn’t have long. Kenton would only be in town long enough to catch the arsonist. Then the case would end.
He’d leave.
And she’d move on. Like she always did.
Take the pleasure. There’s no pain with him. No risk to your heart.
He wouldn’t be there long enough to hurt her. But maybe, just maybe, he could make her nights better, for a while.
Take the pleasure. Yeah, that sly voice was sure whispering to her.
Pleasure, but no pain.
Her interior light flashed on when Kenton shoved open her door. “See you soon, sweetheart.”
And her special agent was gone. Walking into the dawn.
Her fingers curled around the steering wheel. That last sweetheart, it hadn’t been the sarcastic drawl he’d used before. It had been slower. Deeper.
A lover’s caress.
Pleasure.
She knew he could give it to her.
Now, the question was… could she take it?
The light from the rising sun shot across the sky just as Kenton climbed out of his rented SUV and hurried toward the hotel at the edge of the highway.
Ah, hotels. Sometimes, it seemed as if he spent all his nights in run-down hotels.
And usually alone.
Damn but the woman tasted good. Not sweet. Not her. Hell, no. Rich. Tangy.
He wanted more.
But he’d get a cold shower. Shit.
Room 106 waited just a few feet away. And so did that very, very icy—
The door to room 107 opened, and Kenton tensed, his hand automatically going for the weapon at his hip.
“Late night, Special Agent?”
“Hyde?”
His boss flashed his shark’s smile. “Got your message.” He stepped forward, the shadows sliding off his dark skin. “Figured I’d come and take a look at Charlottesville myself.”
Kenton shook his head. “We’ve got a problem here, sir.” He unlocked his door, driving the keycard in with a quick punch of his fingers. “My gut tells me the crimes are linked—”
“And what does Lora Spade tell you?”
Kenton crossed the threshold but glanced back at Hyde. “The same thing I’m betting she said when she talked to you.”
Hyde’s expression never altered. He walked inside the hotel room, slowly. The door closed behind with a click.
Kenton’s fingers curled around his gun, and he brought out the weapon.
“Ah, so you already know about that bit of business, hmm?” The one chair in the room creaked as Hyde made himself comfortable.
Kenton placed his gun on the bedside table before he faced Hyde again. His brows rose as he said, “I don’t think Lora was too impressed with me at first.”
“That’s because she had to pull your ass out of a burning building.” The shark’s smile was gone, and the words fell heavy in the room.
Well, hell. The woman really had called his boss and ratted him out. Huh.
“I heard a man calling for help; I went in.” Because dammit, it was his job to save lives. “Jerome was in that building, sir.”
“I know—I already read your report.”
Figured. Hyde was always fast—one of the reasons the guy was the boss.
“Interesting, don’t you think, that the man who called to make a deal with some arson tips wound up in a fire like that?” Kenton asked.
Hyde eased back against the chair cushions and steepled his fingers under his chin. “I’d call that very interesting.”
“There was another fire tonight.” Glancing down, he saw the line of ash on his white shirt. Another one. Dry cleaning would be a bitch. “The vic was handcuffed to a radiator. He didn’t make it out.”
“Back-to-back fires?” Hyde’s brows shot up. “If we’re talking the same perp, that’s some serious escalation.”
“I know.” Kenton rolled his shoulders. Christ, he hurt. Tension knotted between his shoulder blades and right then he sure could have used a massage.
Preferably one from Lora. The woman had great hands. Long fingers. Delicate bones.
After stretching his arms over his head, Kenton said, “I’m gonna need Monica on this.” Because when it came to killers, Special Agent Monica Davenport was the best.
“Done.”
“I could sure use Sam, too.” He watched Hyde carefully now. “It seems like the fires stopped for almost six months… then started again with a freaking vengeance.” And a break period like that just wasn’t normal. “I’m thinking our guy just went somewhere else for his fun and games. Sam could do a check for me, cross-reference fires in a three-county radius and see if—”
“Not Sam.”
But when it came to patterns, Samantha Kennedy was a genius. Give her a computer, hook her up to the SSD’s files, and the woman could have a dozen linked cases in an hour.
“How is she?” Kenton asked bluntly, because he knew the other agent had been through hell. On their last big case, Sam had been captured by the perp. By the time they’d found her, the guy had already gotten off on torturing her and making Sam wish for death.
Beg for it.
It wasn’t easy to come back from something like that. He knew.
Some crimes—they killed the victim right away. A quick, clean kill.
Others—they left the shell of the vic alive, but on the inside, the person slowly died. One piece of the vic’s soul at a time.
“Sam took some extra time off,” Hyde told him, voice smooth. “She’s getting some rest. Taking it easy.”
Getting help. Christ, yes, she needed to talk to someone.
He’d seen her eyes in that hospital room. He knew when he was staring into hell.
“I’m trying someone new for the tech work right now. A guy who finished from MIT with Sam and did well at Quantico.” Hyde inclined his head. “I’ll get him to run your search.”
“I’m investigating the scene today.” Kenton took a quick breath. Time to lay it all out there. “I’ve asked Lora to be my local contact for the cases.”
No flicker of surprise. But then, when had Hyde ever been surprised? “From what I hear, Lora’s one of the best firefighters Frank has on his team.” He gave a slow nod. “You can use her eyes on the scene.”
Yes, he could.
“Just be careful, Lake. Until we know exactly what we’re dealing with here, we need to keep our investigation very, very secure.”
In other words, don’t trust the locals with all the case details. That was a lesson he’d learned the hard way before. “Yes, sir.”
CHAPTER Four
Who the hell are you, and what are you doing at my scene?” The snarl came at him the minute Kenton and Hyde crossed under the yellow line of police tape at the torched house on Byron Street.
A tall guy, with blond hair and narrowed brown eyes, glared at them, crossing his arms over his chest.
“We’re the FBI,” Hyde told him, in that deep, booming voice of his. The voice that made the words sound like I’m God—who the f**k are you? “And, son, this is our scene.”
The muddy eyes became slits then. “I don’t think so.”
“Serial Services Division.” Kenton pulled out his ID. Just to be official. Sometimes, you had to follow the rules. “We believe this case is linked with a series of arson-related murders in the area, and we’re taking over the investigation.”
