Intimate Desires (The Love and Danger Series) (5 page)

He shifted again, wondering what would happen.  He wanted her naked.  He wanted to taste every delectable inch of her but he also couldn’t stop what he was doing now, wanting to see her fall apart.  Again and again, he shifted, mimicking the movement he really wanted to do but holding himself in check, finding this more of a turn on than he’d ever thought possible. 

Hannah couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but react.  That hard place on him fit her softness so perfectly.  “Again,” she whispered, her hands moving agains
t him even while her body shifted, making the connection absolutely perfect.  He did it again and again and a moment later, she splintered apart, her body arching against his as she saw stars.  Screaming out, she wasn’t even aware of her nails digging into his shoulders or her left hand gripping his wrist, almost holding it against her nipple as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. 

And when it was all over, she collapsed against the cushions, her eyes closed and her body more relaxed than she’d ever thought possible.  Sighing, she thought she might just be floating on clouds. 

The ringing startled her, causing her body to flinch. 

Opening her eyes, she looked straight into the victorious and heated crystal blue ones of Sam.  Gasping, she tried to shift, to get out of this intimate position but he wouldn’t let her.  His body pressed down against
hers, keeping her exactly where he wanted her while his hand reached out and grabbed his cell phone.  “Jeffers,” he snapped out.  Then she saw him close his eyes when he realized who was calling. 

“Yeah
.  I’m still here,” he said but he sat up, lifting Hannah along with him easily so she was now straddling his hips on top.  She tried to move away but he simply wrapped his arms around her hips, pulling her closer, right back so that her softness was once again cradling his hardness.  A hardness that hadn’t diminished.  Hannah suddenly realized that her desire hadn’t diminished after that incredible climax either.  Finding herself right back against him, all she wanted to do was rip his clothes off and start all over again. 

“Fine.
  I’ll be there soon.”  He listened for a moment, then sighed again. “Soon,” he said again.  Without waiting for a reply, he snapped his phone shut. 

“I have to go.”  He lifted her in his arms and set her carefully onto the floor.  “I don’t know when I’ll be back.  I’m really sorry about this, Hannah.”

Hannah pushed her hair out of her eyes, not sure when he’d taken it out of the band holding it back.  “Um…that’s fine.  No worries.  I’ll be okay.”  Then she realized what was happening and she looked up at him.  “Will you be okay?” she asked, stopping him by putting her hands on his chest and he froze.

Sam looked down at her hand on his chest, liking the sweet touch way too much.  “I’ll be fine. 
Just a call.”  He picked up the boxes of Chinese food and tossed them into the trash, then grabbed the plates and rinsed them off in the sink. 

She stood in the middle of her small den
area, dread washing over her as her mind suddenly realized what the call was about.  “Did someone else die?” she whispered, grabbing his hands to stop him before he could wash the dishes for her. 

He bent to kiss her gently,
then stepped around her to pull his jacket on.  He shook his head as he pushed his pistol back into the holster and adjusted his shirt.  He’d removed his pistol earlier to make her feel more comfortable, but the heavy black weapon sent fear hurtling throughout her body.  “I don’t know any details right now,” he told her gently.  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Okay?”

She nodded her head, feeling both
relief at her reprieve and worry for the man walking out the door.  “Be careful, okay?”

Sam was about to rush out the door but he stopped when he heard the worry and looked down at her.  “I’ll be very careful.  Promise,” he said and pulled her into his arms to kiss her. 
Never before had he reacted to a woman’s worried plea about his safety but he’d known from the first moment he’d laid eyes on Hannah that she was somehow different.  If anyone asked how she was different, he couldn’t explain it.  There was just something about her that struck him deeply. Made him want to act all caveman with her. 

He left a moment later and Hannah took a long, deep breath.  Looking around, she wasn’t sure what to think or feel.  She felt like she’d almost been electrocuted with all of the tingling feelings zinging through her.  But she also felt sad now that his stimulating company wasn’t here with her
anymore.  Wrapping her arms around her waist, she calmed down her racing heart. 

She busied herself by putting things away but he’d already done most of it.  Five minutes after he left, she was standing in the middle of her apartment feeling bereft of sunshine and worried about his safety, which was absolutely silly, she told herself.  She’d just met the man earlier today.  There was no way he could have become important to her in less than eighteen hours. 

“He’s not mine to worry about,” she told herself as she walked into her bedroom and got ready for bed.  “He’s just a guy.  And not even a guy who is going to be in my life beyond tomorrow since I won’t ever see him again.”  She thought of George and the mystery behind his death.  Feeling sad, she knew that it had been a crazy day. 

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she curled up in bed, wondering what tomorrow would bring. 

The Saturday morning rush had died down and Hannah was contemplating hiding in her office and going through paperwork.  Debbie was here so it wouldn’t be a problem to disappear for a while.  She glanced down at her cell phone again and sure enough, there was another text from Sam.  He didn’t sound happy either since this was the third text and the second phone call she’d avoided. 

Hannah couldn’t help it.  Every time she thought about the previous night, the way she’d fallen apart in his arms so easily, she was embarrassed and uneasy.  She didn’t like the way she’d reacted.  While with her ex, she’d convinced herself that she was just one of those women who didn’t really “get” sex.  It was fine and once in a while, she could almost get into it.  But it hadn’t ever been something she looked forward to. 
More of a chore to keep her husband happy. 

She’d always thought she’d loved Henry.  And maybe she had at the beginning.  But as the tedium of daily living grew, she’d pulled away from him emotionally.  And that emotional distance had created a sexual distance that she hadn’t even tried to close.  It simply hadn’t been good enough
in the beginning of their relationship to warrant any effort towards the end. 

So what had happened with Sam last night?  How could he light her whole body on fire
with a simple touch when her ex-husband, who she’d known for a long time before ever becoming intimate, hadn’t stirred even a fraction of the excitement that Sam could? 

“Cover the counter?” she asked Debbie who was handing a customer their coffee. 

“Sure,” Debbie replied, looking at Hannah carefully. “Are you okay?”

Hannah wasn’t sure how to answer that question.  “I think so,” she finally replied. 
 

Taking her clipbo
ard, Hannah moved into the storage room, deciding to finish up the dreaded monthly inventory.  Of all the parts of her job, this was the one she hated the most because it was so tedious.  She preferred being with the customers or figuring out a new coffee recipe.  But paperwork was one of those necessary evils that she had to get through. 

She was about halfway through the inventory check when the door opened.  When she looked up, Sam was standing in the doorway, not looking very happy. 

“You’ve been ignoring my calls and my texts,” he said as he stepped into the storage area and closed the door behind him.

Hannah gasped, but her eyes devoured him, absently noting that he was still alive with no bullet holes.  “I…um…wasn’t sure what to say.”

He moved closer to her, one hand bracing against the wall next to her head while the other leaned on a stack of boxes.  “Why are you avoiding me?” he demanded, leaning closer. 

She clutched her clipboard against her chest like a shield, not sure what to tell him.  He was so close, so strong and masculine and all she wanted to do was throw
herself into his arms and feel that incredible strength against her once more.  But she held back, memories of Henry’s ridicule of her lack of sexual prowess swarming her, almost choking her. 

She stared into his blue eyes, her stomach tightening with fear that he might want things she couldn’t do, didn’t know how to do or couldn’t feel. 
“I can’t do this,” she finally admitted.  “It just isn’t going to work.”  She also didn’t want to be attached to anyone.  She’d been on her own for the past two years.  She was good at it.  She liked being alone so much more than the insecurities of living with someone, trying to meet that person’s expectations or becoming a live-in maid. 

He glared at her.  “Seemed to work pretty well last night,” he countered.

She blushed and she knew he could see the pink in her cheeks even with the dim light of the store room.  “Yes, well, that was an…aberration,” she finally said. 

He was silent for a long moment while he waited for her to continue.  When she just shrugged her shoulders, he sighed and brought her close, ignoring her resistance.  “I liked the aberration,” he told her a moment before his mouth covered hers.

Hannah had sworn she wasn’t going to let him turn her to mush again after last night.  But with his first touch, she couldn’t think any longer.  She should have pulled away, should have stepped around him and gone back out to the store.  But instead, she tilted her head upwards, wanting to kiss him if only this one, last time.  And with that one touch, she was on fire again, feeling that uncontrollable, almost insane need to touch him, to feel him. 

She’d just stepped closer, about to drop her clipboard when the door to the store room opened up. 

“Sam, we…” and the voice stopped.  “Sorry, man,” Walker said and started to back out of the room.

Sam pulled away and looked behind him.  “What’s going on?” he asked, holding Hannah against him, his fingers moving through her soft curls and enjoying the way she was trembling
in reaction to his kiss.  She could fight this all she wanted, but in the end, he’d get her.  The way their bodies lit up whenever they touched made the final outcome inevitable. 

“Joe called.”  Walker
didn’t go into any other details and he didn’t have to.  When the medical examiner called, it was important.  Otherwise, he just let the police read his results in his report. 

“Okay.  I’ll be out in a minute.”

Sam waited for the door to close before he pulled back slightly, looking down at Hannah again.  “I’ll come by tonight and we’ll discuss this further.  Okay?”

Hannah started shaking her head.  “There’s no need.”

Sam chuckled and pulled her hips closer.  “There’s every need,” he argued and held her against him.  “And I don’t think that need is going to die down anytime soon.”  He shifted slightly, adjusting his jeans, grimacing because the part that needed to “die down” wasn’t cooperating.

Despite her nervousness and insecurities regarding the topic,
Hannah almost laughed at the husky, grumbling tone.  “Sorry,” she whispered, but there was a smile in her voice.  She was secretly thrilled that she could do that to such a strong, powerful man.  Her ex had never been so overcome by anything she’d done to him that would warrant such a sexy tone of voice and urgency. 

He heard the smile and looked down at her.  “Oh, you
think it’s funny that I can’t walk out there just yet?” he asked her.  A moment later, she was pressed back up against the wall, his leg between hers and his hands whipped the clipboard away.

Hannah gasped, her eyes wide as she realized what he was about to do.  “Sam?” she started to say something, but he shifted his leg ever so slightly and she gasped, closing her eyes while the shock of lust sparked through her body.  “Um…” She shifted again,
wanting that feeling.  “You aren’t being fair!” she groaned when he angled himself, pressing against her perfectly so her body was now humming right along with his.  She leaned her head back against the boxes, feeling that almost painful need take over.  And all her previous experience with men, limited though it might be, couldn’t prepare her for the way Sam made her feel.  “Don’t you have to go?” she whispered through the lust that was almost choking her, unaware of the way she was clenching his outer shirt in her fists. 

“Probably,” Sam said and watched with fascination as she lit up in his arms.  Damn he was getting harder but he couldn’t seem to stop.  His hand moved under her sweater, feeling that incredible, soft skin of hers.  Moving higher, he shifted his leg while at the same time, his thumb found the treasure of her nipple and it was already hard and waiting for him. 

Once again, she whimpered with her need and he almost groaned right along with her.  What he wouldn’t do to have her naked in a bed right now. 

The banging on the door was the only thing that could have stopped him from making love to this incredible woman.  He pulled back, hearing her groan which reflected exactly what he was feeling.  “Tonight,” he told her, both a warning and a promise.  “Just hold onto those thoughts until tonight.”

With that, he released her, careful to hold onto her waist until she was steady once again.  He couldn’t resist another quick kiss but then he let her go and stepped back. 

Sam walked to the door and stopped, shifting his jeans to make his predicament less obvious and he heard her cute, feminine giggle behind him. 

“Think it’s funny?” he asked with a warning tone. 

Hannah covered her mouth to stop another laugh from escaping.  “It’s your own fault,” she told him.  “I was the innocent victim here.”

His eyes moved up and down her slender figure, then caught her eyes.  “You’re no victim,” he grumbled.  “I felt what you were doing to me and I’m not letting you ignore that either.”  He paused and took another deep breath.  “Tonight,” he warned as he opened the door and walked out. 

She heard his deep voice through the wall, probably talking to his partner, but she wasn’t sure what he said.  Hannah decided she was probably glad she hadn’t heard as she bent down to pick up her clip board. 

She tried to concentrate on inventory, but after another thirty minutes of staring at boxes she resigned herself to finishing up another time.  A time when she hadn’t just lost her mind to a man with magic fingers.

The rest of the day, she felt like she was walking in a daze.  And she vacillated between terror at the idea of seeing Sam again tonight and her body trembling with anticipation.  She argued with herself over and over again, trying to figure out if she should just give in to the desires he could ignite inside of her or if she should push him away, her mind shying away from another experience like what she’d endured with her ex-husband. 

“I’m taking out the trash,” she grumbled towards the end of the evening.  She grabbed the trash cans and hauled the plastic bags to the back, tying them securely before stuffing them into the roller that would carry them out to the dumpster.  She’d just opened the door and noticed the cooler air when something to the left caught her eye.  She looked, then looked away, her mind recoiling from the possibility of what her eyes were telling her.

But in the end, the horror of what she’d seen pulled her eyes back for confirmation. 

Sitting just to the right of the dumpster, almost exactly where she’d seen George just two days ago, sat another man with ragged clothes, worn out shoes and…she looked carefully…yep, a needle sticking out of his arm. 

With a gasp of alarm, she ran right back into the coffee shop.  Thankfully, it was a quiet period for business so there were only two customers that were sitting at the front of the store.  Her fingers shook as she grabbed her phone, almost unable to dial nine, one,
one.

“What’s going on?” Debbie asked, immediately understanding that Hannah was terrified.  “Are you okay?” she aske
d, putting a calming hand on Hannah’s shoulder. 

Hannah shook her head, but wasn’t able to get out the words.  The phone was ringing and the 911 operator picked up after the first ring.  “Nine one
one, what is your emergency?” she asked with a calm, efficient, no-nonsense voice. 

“Body!”
Hannah whispered, unable to be more articulate.  “Body in the back,” she got out.  “Again!” she almost screamed.  “Call Detective Jeffers.  Tell him another body!” she finally got out.

The operator soothed Hannah’s nerves and she was finally able to get out the whole issue, even her shop’s address.  “Please tell Detective Jeffers to come,” she repeated at the end.

“Just stay on the line, ma’am.  I have officers on the way.  Do you know the victim?” she asked.

Hannah took several deep breaths, trying to answer the woman’s question.  The image of the body
made her want to throw up, but she didn’t want to stop trying to help either.  “Umm…I couldn’t see the face.  I’m pretty sure it was a man,” she heard the sirens in the distance and some of her panic receded, “but he was wearing a hoody and the hood was covering his face.”

“H
ow do you know he was dead?” the efficient voice asked.

Hannah stumbled on that one.  “I don’t really know,” she said, her voice weak. 
“Oh, no.  Could he be alive and I just left him for dead?  I can go check.”

“No ma’am.  The officers are two blocks away.  Let them check the victim.  We’ll handle it from our end.”

Hannah heard the police cars, then saw them a moment later as they sped past, going around the corner and heading to the back of the shops.  The customer’s looked up from their newspaper and book, both of them wondering what was going on.  Hannah cringed at what her regulars would think about yet another murder behind their favorite coffee shop.  This was going to hurt business pretty badly. 

Then she thought about the man behind her shop and realized that he was having a much worse day than
her coffee shop could ever have and her mind dismissed the problem of dwindling business. 

There were more sirens coming down the street, just like they’d done two days ago but this time, she didn’t have to wonder about the reasons.  “They’re here now.  I’ll go out and talk to them.”

She hung up the phone and turned to see Debbie and her other two helpers staring at her in horror.  “Another body?” Boyd whispered.  He was a student over at the Chicago University, studying history. 

“Afraid so,” she said and squared her shoulders, preparing herself to face the body again.