Baker’s Law (18 page)

“I know.” Jax bit back a smile. And he didn’t mind. If only Marissa hadn’t pushed
him back to arm’s length. Physically and mentally. When she’d told him to back off
the day before, he’d been willing to honor those wishes. But in the kitchen, when
she’d kissed him, his hope returned and he’d found a new determination.

The phone on his hip vibrated. “Excuse me. Work,” he told Wes, then moved out of the
banquet hall to hear.

“Hey Chief, it’s Alex.” His overnight officer called to get his okay on overtime later
in the week.

“You could have waited until the morning when I came in to ask.” Jax’s thoughts shifted
back to Marissa and the potential prowler at her house the night before. Jax asked,
“Did we get any disturbance calls last night?”

“No, sir. It was pretty quiet. Only had one call.” Papers shuffled in the background.
“I just dropped off my report on your desk. It’s what made me think to call and ask
about the overtime—didn’t want it to get lost in all the mess, er, I mean…”

Jax chuckled. “I gotcha. Too many piles going there.”

Alex cleared his throat. “Yeah, and well, you asked for a heads-up if we got anything
in the business district.” More papers shuffled. “Someone painted graffiti all over
the old medical building on the corner or Walsh and Stephens. I added some pictures
in there.”

Jax would look over the report first thing in the morning. Graffiti wasn’t something
they normally dealt with. Oak Hollow had always been insulated, but he’d noticed that
as the businesses in the downtown area grew so did the crime.

“Thanks.” He hung up with Alex and his mind shifted back to Marissa. Like it had far
too many times.

He clipped his phone back into his belt and leaned against the wall. He was torn between
backing off, like she’d asked, and pursuing her like his sister had suggested. Something
told him to go after her. He wasn’t sure if it was his gut, though, or just his hormones.
Did it matter which? Would Marissa be receptive either way?

The kiss in the kitchen told him she wasn’t completely done with him. Or immune to
him.

Whatever he decided, he definitely wasn’t in the mood to be at a party. He found Callie
and begged off. She said her goodbyes a little too readily, followed by a waggle of
her eyebrows and a quick wink.

She thought he was going over to Marissa’s.

He climbed behind the wheel of his truck. Instead of heading straight home, and despite
what his sister thought, he wasn’t going to just show up on Marissa’s doorstep. He
cruised through downtown Oak Hollow. It was well past ten and most businesses were
closed up tight for the evening. He drove by the bakery half-expecting to see the
lights on. It would give him an excuse to question Hill about Marissa’s hand. He’d
like nothing more than to haul the boy down to the station, question him and get him
out of her life.

He pulled up short.

He was acting like a jealous man. Jealous of a damned teenager. It was stupid. Marissa
didn’t look at the teen with anything other than motherly feelings. But…Hill got her
attention and time. She was so determined to keep him away from Hill that she refused
to let him in, let him get closer to her.

He shook his head. He was worse off than he thought.

What he needed to do was focus on work and give her that damned space.

Work he could do. He continued through downtown. Not a soul was in sight. He didn’t
see anything at all out of the ordinary anywhere. When he got to the end of Main Street
he debated where to go. He could easily go home. He was definitely behind on his sleep.
Otto was probably up. He could head over to his friend’s place, unwind with a beer
and some comfortable small talk.

He could head out of town and find a bar somewhere. But sexual release would only
go so far with a one-night stand. He knew Marissa Llewellyn was the only one who would
be able to soothe the ache deep inside him. He’d never had the ache before her and
every time he ran into her it only intensified. He couldn’t exactly put his finger
on why. She challenged him. Aggravated him. Teased him when she didn’t mean to. Made
him want to be the man she saw, the man who was dedicated to his job and the people
of Oak Hollow.

Jax ran his hand over his face as he grew semi-hard just thinking about the damn woman
again. Even the thought that she’d worked herself up scared the night before couldn’t
lessen his ardor. If anything the need to protect her and comfort her made it stronger,
more persistent. “What the hell… Space is overrated.” Jax drove out to the end of
the town where Marissa lived. Until he got to her house, he could pretend he was just
doing his job, patrolling the streets for the good of the town. Once there, he would
press her to find out what happened to her hand. It was under his purview to check
on the safety of Oak Hollow’s citizens.

When he pulled up in front of her house the porch light was lit, as if welcoming him.
He was ready to put chief behind him and approach as just Jax, but he’d just cut his
lights when a dark flash darted between her house and the one next to it, where shadows
hung behind the bushes. A human-sized dark flash.

Jax eased out of his SUV and quietly ran in the same direction, but he found nothing
more than the overgrown bushes that covered the fence waving in the breeze. The fence
spanned from one house to the next, with no gate. If someone had been back there,
they’d had to climb over, then into one of the yards if they had any hope to escape.
Jax climbed up the fence on Marissa’s side, slid a flashlight from his pocket and
checked for anyone moving about. He didn’t see anyone, but they’d had enough of a
head start they could have already scurried over the other side and were already a
block away. Just to be sure, he checked the neighbor’s yard, too. He clicked off his
flashlight and slid it back into his belt then climbed down.

Just as his foot lit on the ground a bright light came on behind him.

“Don’t you freaking move,” an angry female voice demanded from behind him.

He stayed still and fought back a smile. “Marissa, it’s Jax.”

“Jax?” The light shifted as she walked closer, and then she shined it up at him. “What
the hell?” She pulled on his sleeve to turn him toward her. “What are you doing?”

He shielded his eyes with his hand. “I came over here to check on you and I thought
I saw someone jump over your fence.”

“Here?” Her voice shook even with the one little word. Her hand fell to her side,
taking the light with her.

Jax blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. “It could have
been nothing, maybe a big cat.” It wasn’t a cat, but there was no reason to scare
her. “I didn’t get a good look.”

His eyes finally adjusted to the night. Marissa stood in front of him, barefoot in
a long shirt. The flashlight was shining on their feet and her head was cocked to
the side.

Her breathing was heavy; her breasts lifted and fell as she stared at him. “Why are
you here, Chief?”

“I told you, I wanted to check on you. How’s your hand?”

Marissa looked down at the hand sporting a bandage. “It’s fine.” She sighed and turned
on her heel. “Come on in. I made some coffee. It’s decaf.”

Jax followed her back to the house. Inside, every light was on.

“Have a seat.” She waved to the sofa. “I’ll be right back.” She set the flashlight
down on a coffee table as she went into the kitchen.

When she disappeared, Jax hurried over to a window that overlooked the backyard. He
didn’t see any signs of anyone back there. He rubbed his chin. If he went out there
he could look to see if there were footprints, but truth be told it wouldn’t tell
him anything other than the fact that someone had been there. Not who. Or why. Hell,
even
when
could be up for debate.

He shook his head and scooted back over to the spot on the sofa Marissa had motioned
him to. He’d just sat down when she emerged from the kitchen carrying two cups of
coffee. She handed him a cup.

“I wasn’t sure how you take it.” She pulled several sugar packets and two creamers
from a pocket just above her breast.

It took a moment for him to pry his gaze away from what might lay beneath. Then he
had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Black is fine. Thanks.” When he shifted
his gaze up, he almost jolted at the dark circles under Marissa’s eyes. He shouldn’t
have underestimated his sister’s concern.

Marissa moved to the opposite end of the sofa and curled her legs underneath her.
She cradled the cup of coffee in her hands. “Go ahead.”

Jax took a tentative sip of the drink. “What?”

“Go ahead and ask how I hurt my hand. You drove all the way out here instead of staying
at your sister’s party. You must be concerned.”

“How’d you hurt your hand?” She’d had more trouble since Hill had come into her life.
His chest tightened. If that boy laid one finger one her…

“Slammed it in the Tahoe’s door. At the club.”

Jax’s eyebrows shot upward.

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Timmy the valet. Though I wish you wouldn’t.
He’s worried enough about losing his job. Even though it was my fault.” She eyed him.
“I’m guessing by your silence you expected Hill to have done something?”

“I—I didn’t.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You did. I’m surprised you didn’t haul him downtown to question
him.”

Jax shifted uncomfortably. She was so close to the truth.

“Why make up the intruder when I found you outside?”

“I thought I saw someone.”

Marissa sat up straighter.

“Have you seen someone snooping around your house?” He shifted sideways to get a better
look at her.

She shook her head slowly. “No. I heard something last night. I can’t even say what
it was. But for whatever reason it got me spooked and I couldn’t sleep.”

“Why didn’t you call it in?”

“Call in what? That I heard a noise?” She twisted the cup in her hand to switch the
handle from one side to the other. She laid her injured hand along the back of sofa.
“Nothing happened. Nothing was disturbed as far as I could tell and I am still all
in one piece.”

Jax stretched his arm along the back of the sofa, too, until his fingertips grazed
the back of her hand. She didn’t pull away. “You could have called me.”

“Jax…”

“I know what you said at the club yesterday.” He held her gaze. “About wanting me
to stay away from you, but I’m afraid I just can’t do that.”

Her eyes widened.

Maybe it was seeing her so vulnerable, maybe it was spending another moment without
her, either way he wasn’t sure why, but he needed to tell her how he felt. Get it
out in the open. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the first night I came
to your shop.”

If at all possible, her eyes grew wider.

When he expected her to close up and pull away physically and mentally, she surprised
him and turned her hand over, pressed her palm to his. A wave of relief washed over
him. He hadn’t realized how much he’d tensed up waiting for her reaction.

A smirk kicked up the corner of her mouth. “I must be more tired than I thought. I
think I just heard you say you like me.” She looked down at her coffee cup, then set
it on the table in front of her. “Then again, I guess I could have just fallen asleep
altogether and I’m dreaming.” She scooted closer to him. “It’s not a horrible dream
to have.”

Jax’s heart hammered against his ribs. He set his coffee down. “I guarantee you, you’re
wide awake. And yes, I like you.” There. He said it. Plain. Blunt. And honest. His
palms were sweating worse than they had on his first date when he was fourteen.

She snuggled up next to him and set her head on his shoulder. “Since you were so forthcoming,
I will admit, I’ve had pretty much the same problem. I like you, too.”

His hand dangled just over her shoulder. He hadn’t moved to pull her in closer. Maybe
he
was having a spectacular dream. “Liking me is a ‘problem’?”

She chuckled. “Sorry, poor choice of words. Not so much a problem, but like I said
yesterday, a distraction. One that I mind less and less every time you, um, distract
me.” Her lips settled on his neck.

So not a dream, he wanted to tell her—
himself
—again, as his eyes rolled back and a little moan escaped before he could stop himself.
He dropped his arm around Marissa to pull her closer. Before he knew what was happening
she shifted until she was straddling him.

Eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose, their breath mingling, she simply sat there holding his
gaze. “How do you feel about distracting me? Now.”

In answer to the question, Jax leaned forward and captured Marissa’s lips as his hands
snaked up under her nightshirt to cup her bottom.

Marissa slid her hand around his neck and into his hair as she deepened the kiss.
Her tongue danced with his. She tasted of coffee and warmth. And desire.

Jax kneaded her butt as she gyrated against his erection. It’d been so long since
he’d been with a woman, longer since he’d been with one that mattered. And unbelievably,
even in such a short time, Marissa meant a hell of a lot to him. He slid his hands
up her soft back as he leaned forward and pulled her flush against him.

He couldn’t get enough of her. He reached for the hem of her shirt. As he lifted it
a chirping noise echoed from nearby. His mouth left hers. “Wha…”

“My cell,” she said then recaptured his mouth.

Jax leaned back. “Should you—”

“No, sorry.” She reached for the buttons of his shirt. “I’m a little distracted right
now.”

Marissa would have died if Jax had balked at that moment, let them get interrupted
by her cell. Instead he once again reached for the hem of her shirt. She had to release
the buttons on his shirt to discard her own.

She wasn’t the least bit self-conscious of baring herself to him. Something she’d
have to examine later. Marissa returned her fingers to his shirt and had it quickly
unbuttoned. She pulled it open and leaned forward to kiss his throat and across to
his shoulder. He was salty and musky—a scent she fantasized about late at night during
unguarded moments. His fingers dug into her hips once again as a small little groan
eked out.