ChasingShadows (17 page)

The cadence of her voice dove deep into his heart,
resonating down to his soul, driving him beyond the door of control. Alex
lifted her head and whispered, “You’re mine.” Groaning his pleasure into her
mouth, he ground himself deep inside her.

When the thunderous wave rolled through him, she cried out,
bucking against his hips as she climaxed at the same time. He convulsed one
last time, a low roar in his throat.

He had come home and captured the other half of his soul.

Still cloaked inside Juliana, Alex gripped her in an
unyielding embrace as if afraid she’d disappear. They rolled onto their sides
without losing hold.

He was shattered, never dreaming it could be like that with
anyone.

A frown flashed across Juliana’s face and an arrow nicked
his heart.

“Are you sorry?” She’d branded his soul with her passion.
Already he ached with renewed need.

She caressed his face. He stroked her back, enjoying the
feel of her moist, fevered skin. “I had no idea—” Her face mirrored the
incredulity his own must have betrayed. “Aren’t you glad we waited?”

“If I’d known making love with you would be this
spectacular, I wouldn’t have waited until prom night.”

“Alex.” She expelled a tiny breath through her swollen lips,
and he wished he could kiss her doubts away.

“I know.” He sighed. “No promises. No regrets.”

Slow and seductive, Alex showed her again and again how
perfect it was between them.

Chapter Ten

Monday, August 14

Juliana was dreaming of Alex’s arms wrapped around her. Happiness
meandered through her. She felt safe, secure and loved like never before. No
demons ravaged her mind with Alex holding them at bay. No killers and
kidnappers infringed upon her sanity. Simply unsullied, idyllic heaven.

“Jewel.” A whisper intruded into her mind.

The voice grew insistent. “Jewel.”

“Hmmm,” she murmured, not ready to surrender the marvelous
dream.

A warm nibble on her ear tickled her senses awake.

Juliana’s eyelids fluttered open, and she faced Alex, a
secretive smile on his face.

“Alex!” Startled, she realized the dream was real. The light
down of his chest hair tickled her breasts, generating a delicious pulsing
sensation in her womb. She settled back to enjoy his bare flesh against hers.

Juliana wanted to savor the moment for as long as possible.
It would be the last time she would feel such bliss. Fear of losing herself in
him gnawed at her.

“No bad dreams?”

“Ummm, no.” She reveled in the nightmare-free night.

“Good.” He kissed her neck. “I need to go home and shower.”

“A cold shower, I suspect.”

“Don’t even ask.” Teeth nipped at her ear.

“Alex?” She cupped his face, making him look at her. “Did
you ever try to find me after I left?” It was something she had wondered about
for a long time. But knowing her father, he’d probably done his damnedest to
bury all traces of her whereabouts.

“Hell yes.” Alex eased up on his elbow and rested his head
on his palm. “I spent months searching for you. I even broke into your father’s
house, looking for clues.” His other hand smoothed the bare skin of her arm. “I
harassed him so much, he had me arrested.”

“No!” Dismay swabbed at her insides.

He rolled away from her and leaned back against the pillows.
“He never pressed charges. Basically, he blackmailed me. Told me to give it up
or he’d have me arrested for breaking and entering, grand theft, felony
assault.”

“And you listened to him?” Her father never intimidated Alex.
She rose to sit on her heels, covering her ravished naked body with the sheet.

“You know me better than that.” He snorted. “I wised up and
steered clear of him. Eventually your trail disappeared.”

“What made you decide to become a cop?” Another question
burning a hole in her curiosity.

“Oddly enough, it was the experience with your father.” Alex
grimaced ruefully. “I guess I should have thanked him.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” She could barely thank the man for
bringing her into the world.

“Yeah, well, if I hadn’t been arrested, the police and their
power wouldn’t have fascinated me.” A wicked grin split his face. “And I
thought it looked cool to carry a gun.”

Juliana eyed the offensive weapon on her night table. Discomfort
spread a taint over her skin. She pushed back the intruding memories. “Cool is
a new pair of designer jeans.”

“Not to an eighteen-year-old boy.” He laughed and, in
trademark style, raked a hand through his bed-tousled hair. “My baseball coach
at State was an ex-cop, my mentor. He coached me on the good, the bad and the
ugly about being a cop. But I was hooked. I was completing my criminal justice
degree when SJPD recruited me.”

“You love being a cop, don’t you?” She caressed his scar as
he nodded. The scar’s uneven, pale edge frightened her. The idea of anyone
marring his otherwise perfect face turned her fingernails into daggers.

Alex caught her hand and twisted the filigree ring on her
finger. “What happened to the emerald?”

Guilt and grief flooded her. Alex had given the ring to her
a month after they’d started dating. She examined the gold ring—a poor
substitute. “The Institute confiscated my belongings and sent everything to my
father. I never saw my ring again.”

Anger creased Alex’s brow. “He probably threw it away.”

She shrugged slightly. “It wasn’t among his belongings.”

He settled her palm over his heart, his hand holding hers
hostage, and leaned forward.

They shared a sensuous kiss, and her insides purred like a
kitten. When they drew apart, she sensed a part of herself still clung to him. Reluctantly,
she eased away and watched him climb out of bed.

“I need to go, before I start something I can’t finish.”
Arousal laced his voice.

Leisurely, her gaze traveled his magnificent form. She
wondered how she would ever forsake him.

“What’s on your agenda today?” he asked.

Reality returned with a vengeance. Wrinkling her nose, she
replied, “Nicholas Hastings, Ned Kraven, other clients.”

“Should I be jealous?” he said mockingly.

“Insanely.”

His laugh was infectious. It pleased her to find him in a
good mood, at least for a few moments. She was glad she could at least give him
that.

Alex gathered up his clothes scattered helter-skelter around
the room. While he dressed, she climbed out of bed, heedless of her nakedness. Sore
and sticky, the smell of Alex lingered on her skin, a heady mixture of designer
cologne, sex and raw male.

She belted her satin robe and turned to face him. His eyes
arrested hers, dark and fiery. Two steps and his hands cupped her face, lips
pressed to hers in a hard, possessive kiss.

“Got…to…go,” he said between kisses. He laid a final peck on
the tip of her nose.

“No time for coffee?” She arched her eyebrows.

He smiled wide and drawled, “Not if you’re the cream.”

She laughed. “Goodbye, Lieutenant.”

He snatched his gun and spun on his heel. Caution erased the
naked desire on his face. “I have leads to follow up on.” He hesitated as if
undecided. “Are you available later if I need you?”

“Without a doubt.” Gathering her hair behind her head, she held
it off her neck, then let it fall down her back. “I already planned to clear my
schedule for the week.”

Alex strapped on the shoulder holster, giving her an
appraising look. “You’d do that?” Gratitude turned his tone tender.

“I have a light load while I build my practice. Not all my
New York clients wanted a California-based financial planner.”

Alex winked and walked away, leaving Juliana adrift in a sea
of swirling emotions.

Making love with Alex had been intense, incredible. Long
years of anticipation and frustration convened in a night so powerful, she’d
never forget it.

Wondrous, indefinable sensations had rocked her body and
soul. She still tingled and pulsed from Alex’s touch, from the whispered words
of desire that had carried them toward one summit after another throughout the
early morning hours.

A delicate shiver inundated her, renewing an exquisite throbbing
for his touch.

She’d savor the night forever and cherish it alongside her
other memories of Alex.

* * * * *

Juliana arrived at work, hoping Marie had finished preparing
the files she’d e-mailed her last night. Fumbling with the doorknob, she closed
the door behind her and smiled at her assistant. “Hello, Marie. Did you have a
good weekend?”

Marie had brought in fresh-cut roses from her garden and was
arranging them around the reception room. “Hey. Same old, same old.” Marie
returned to her desk and held out a stack of folders for Juliana to take. “Looks
like you were busy this weekend.”

Juliana juggled the files in one arm while glancing at her
watch. “I need you to clear my schedule after this morning for the week.” She
peered over Marie’s head at the calendar on the monitor. “Reschedule any new
clients or refer them to Phil Siebert upstairs if they can’t wait.”

Marie’s brows lifted as the smile faded from her face. “What’s
going on?”

“I need a few days for a personal matter. Can you hold the
fort?”

“Sure.” Crestfallen when Juliana didn’t elaborate, the
expression on Marie’s face shifted back to business. “Don’t forget, I’m taking
the light rail during the week and leaving my car here. So my schedule will
shift.”

“Glad you reminded me.” Juliana crossed the reception area.

“The janitors left the door unlocked again.”

Juliana halted in her doorway. “Again?” The third time in
the two weeks she’d been a tenant. Marie had complained to the management
office, and they’d assured her it wouldn’t happen again.

“I already called and ragged on them.” Marie consulted her
PDA.

“Maybe it’s time I raised bloody hell,” Juliana muttered,
straightening the teetering files in her arms. “Hold my calls. I need fifteen
minutes of prep time.” She smiled gratefully at her assistant. “Thanks.”

Her solo practice as a financial planner didn’t exactly abet
crime solving. But with a promising assistant such as Marie, she’d be able to
manage her time successfully.

She strode into her office, shut the door with a solid thump
and twisted the lock. Settling at her desk, she rummaged inside her purse for
the evidence bag containing the Scottish keychain. Alex would freak once he
realized she still had it. She had deliberately forgotten to return the
evidence to him. Nor had he remembered to ask for it.

She stuck a tentative thumb and index finger inside the
little bag. Fear wove a rope through her, but determination hastily knotted it
off. Easing the gold piece out of the bag, an immediate sense of disgust hit
her. His mind quickly reached out for hers. The weak strand was like a
lightning storm on the verge of blinking out. But the tempest strengthened.

Her grip faltered and the medallion dropped on her palm,
burning her skin. It was easy to ignore the fiery sensation when her head began
to pound. She closed her eyes, and the room misted, everything fading to black.

* * * * *

“Soon, my beautiful specter.” He leaned back on the black
sofa, wearing only sweat-darkened shorts. His muscles pulsated from his
exhausting workout.

The leather sofa was a balm to his sweat-soaked body. He
flexed his biceps and rubbed his rock-hard abs. Jasmine loved his well-muscled
body as much as he loved her touching it.

A few more days and his plan would reach fruition. Excitement
surged through him and awakened an arousal so hard he didn’t think he could
wait for Jasmine’s return. His mind reeled in a dizzy array of anger. Jasmine
had almost blown it. The police were on alert. And like a dimwit, she didn’t
know how it had happened.

The need to punish her radiated through his arousal. Maybe
he’d kill her after he finished with her. His humorless laughed sounded raspy.

Fingering the silky-smooth material on his lap, he lifted
it to his nose. He inhaled the clean, fruity fragrance of Jasmine’s perfume. Anger
fueled his desire, but he ignored his bucking erection.

The closed blinds and drapes darkened the room. No
lights, no prying eyes. He spread the satin teddy reverently over his crotch. He
fumbled on the sofa until his fingers bit into the cold, hard gun. Lifting the weapon,
he caressed the barrel.

The grin never left his face. He didn’t object to using
the gun to achieve his goals. After all, he’d learned from the master. He
stroked the barrel along his chiseled cheekbone. Shifting the gun lower, he
stroked his engorged erection.

Edginess flitted across his mind. Every muscle froze.

Jewel-green eyes joined him in the room.

Anger thickened inside him. He drew the gun into position
and flicked on the end table lamp. His gaze scanned the room before resting on
the antique wall mirror across from him.

Instead of his gray-eyed gaze, the mirror reflected familiar
green eyes.

As sudden as their arrival, the eyes disappeared. But not
before he saw terror grip the green sea of light flooding his mind.

* * * * *

James greeted Alex in his office, excitement burning across
James’ face.

“Tell me you’ve found Jasmine?” Alex asked as he shoved past
James.

“I received a call from Sharon Douglas’ mother, Elena
Havenhurst.” James yanked a chair around and dropped into it. “Sharon and Matthew
flew to Romania to adopt a six-year-old orphan. They bought three round-trip
tickets, one outbound seat empty. Round-trip tickets were cheaper than
one-way.”

Alex heaved a breath of unadulterated relief. “Explains why
Juliana insisted they weren’t involved.”

“Tell it to the press.” Frustration stained James’ gaunt
face. He didn’t look like he’d slept any more than Alex had the last few days.

“Nobody better tell that to the press.” Alex worked his way
to his chair behind the desk and slunk down in it. “Has a new press release
been issued about the Douglases?”

“Yeah. They’ll dog us for more, though.”

Alex drummed his fingers on his desk pad. “When there’s a
story to give, they’ll get one. Until then, they can take their cameras and
shove—”

“Hey man.” James held up his hands, palms out. “I’m with you
on this. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Sorry.” Alex rubbed his itching scar.

An expectant stillness invaded the air. James looked
pointedly at Alex. “Shelby’s on the prowl. Don’t let your guard down.”

“I never do,” Alex replied. Anger simmered below the surface
while he waited for James to unload his mind. “Cough it up.”

James took his time stretching out his long legs, crossing
his ankles. Settled, he raised his head. “Shelby wears a size ten and a half
shoe. We’ve bagged a pair of athletic shoes from his locker—an exact match to
the print outside Lisette’s window. His weight also matches forensics’
evidence.”

* * * * *

Terror impaled Juliana. Her body slammed against the chair
as if a gale force wind had blown her back. The impact shook her into full
consciousness, and she clutched her aching head, rocking back and forth. A wave
of nausea arrived to settle the score.