Montana Fire (16 page)

M
ax couldn’t believe how perfectly Jamie fit against his body. She was so sweet and
warm. If anything happened to her, he’d be devastated. He thanked his good luck she
was willing to listen to his warning. She sounded sincere when she said she’d be careful.
Her trust in him meant a lot to him.

Jamie placed her palms on his chest and looked up at him with expectation. God, what
she did to him. He prayed he wasn’t rushing her, but he needed her badly. Max dipped
his head, and when she didn’t pull away, he kissed her—slowly at first, then with
more intensity. The moment she leaned into him, desire swamped him.

He wanted her so fucking much. Max teased open her lips, and when she dipped her tongue
into his mouth, his cock hardened. He loved her strength, her convictions, and her
passion.

Jamie moaned then wrapped her arms around his neck. That did it. If he didn’t stop
now, there was no telling what might happen. Max broke off the kiss.

She looked up at him with slightly swollen lips. “Do you want to come in?”

Her plea undid him. “Yes.”

More than she could know, actually, but he wasn’t ready to tell her. He didn’t want
to assume her request was an invitation for sex. If it wasn’t, he hoped to hell, he
could keep his distance. Damn, it was going to be so fucking hard not to touch her.
To kiss her. To make love with her.

Jamie picked up her box off the car hood and led him up the steps to her front porch.
She fumbled with her key, but managed to open the door a few seconds later. She didn’t
look at him as she led him inside, and he hoped she wasn’t having second thoughts
about the kiss.

She faced him. “Can I get you some coffee?”

“Sure.” It wasn’t coffee that he wanted. It was Jamie.

Max followed her into the kitchen. She peeled off her coat, and he removed his, too.
He liked watching Jamie pour water into the coffee maker, then measure out the grounds.
He thought by putting some distance between them that his need would diminish. Fact
was, the opposite had happened. The domestic scene had broken his resolve, and he
wanted her more than he had a second ago.

Before she was able to turn on the machine, Max stepped behind her and twisted her
around.

“Max?”

She wet her lips, and all thought fled. He walked her backward toward the entrance.
“Ever since the wedding, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.” He inhaled
her delicious scent, a scent that reminded him of fresh linen.

She drew in her bottom lip, and glanced up at him with hope. “I’ve been thinking a
lot about you, too.”

He inwardly groaned. He wanted her to understand exactly what she’d be getting if
she agreed to be with him. “I’m forty-three, and have had a lot of bad shit happen
in my life, but one thing I know, is that when I’m with you, I feel whole. Good. Happy.”

Jamie ran her palms down his chest. “You make me feel safe. And happy, too.”

That was as close to an admission that she liked him as he’d probably get. “I won’t
lie. I want you, Jamie.”

“I want you, too.”

If this were any other woman, he might have stripped her right there, but this was
delicate Jamie. She’d only dated one other man in the last few years. Max held out
his arms. “You want to do the honors?”

Her eyes widened. “You mean take off your clothes?”

He chuckled. “That’s as good a starting point as any.”

She grinned. “But in the kitchen?”

He lowered his arms. “Not romantic enough, right?” What had he been thinking? Jamie
was classy.

“How about the bedroom?” she asked.

Her chest expanded as if she was holding her breath. “Works for me.”

She smiled, clasped his hand, and led him through the dining room and down the hallway.
He wanted to assure her that if she changed her mind, he’d stop, but why put that
terrible idea in her head?

Her bedroom was at the end of the hallway. She flicked on the light, and a pretty
little lamp lit up the small room.

She turned to him. “Sorry. I didn’t get the chance to make the bed this morning.”

He never made his. “It’s perfect.”

“It’s pink.”

He had yet to even glance at the bed, as Max hadn’t taken his gaze off her. “Honey,
it could be purple polka dots and I wouldn’t care. This is all about you and me, not
whether you’d make a good maid.” Once more he raised his arms. “I promised you could
take off my clothes. I don’t let just anyone do this, as it’s not my normal style.
So if you want, have at me.”

She moved closer and pressed her lips together in concentration as her tiny fingers
pushed the top button through the hole. Already, he could tell this was a mistake.
He’d never last. Her knuckle brushed his chest, and a trail of fire shot downward.
She undid the next two, and his desire strengthened too fast. “Need help?”

“Hold your horses. I’m getting there.” Her brows pinched.

Max looked over her head to help calm his growing urgency. She tugged on his shirt
and lifted it out of his jeans, then finished opening it. The second she was done,
he slipped the material over his shoulders and let it drop to the hardwood floor.

She bent down and retrieved it. “Don’t want to get it dirty.”

He so didn’t care what happened to his shirt. She could have stomped on it. Jamie
folded his shirt and placed it on her dresser. All the while, his imagination ran
wild about what he planned to do with her luscious body.

“You’re killing me, girl.” He lifted her up, and she squealed in delight.

Max gently placed her on the heap of sheets. The woman couldn’t have weighed more
than a hundred pounds. He then toed off his shoes, shucked his jeans, and tossed off
his socks. He’d leave the briefs to her.

“Holy shit.” Her mouth opened wide.

He froze. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re…perfect.”

Relief washed through him. He thought she’d tell him that she wasn’t ready. He wasn’t
sure what he would have done. Max crawled on the bed next to her. “I’m glad you find
me appealing.”

“More than appealing.”

Max chuckled at the surprise in her voice. He dragged her on top of him, loving the
feel of her body on his, and kissed her hard. Jamie clasped his face and returned
the kiss with as much passion. Holy crap, but he hadn’t been this turned on in forever.
They kissed, nibbled, and then kissed again. Sometimes, it was slow and sensual, and
other times hard and fast.

As much as he wanted to spend hours making love to her lips, there was so much more
he wanted to explore.

“I’m feeling a bit underdressed here.” He nodded to her fully clothed body. He kept
his tone joking so as not to pressure her. She was fragile in many ways.

“Then maybe you should take off my clothes.”

Whoa
. He loved this bold side of her. “I’ll be glad to.”

He lifted her off him, and slid his hands under her knit top, loving her smooth silky
skin. He slipped the knit fabric over her head, and her blonde hair flew everywhere.
She patted it down, as if what she looked like mattered to him.

Max caught sight of her pretty white bra and sighed. It was simple, but perfect. “Nice.”

She clasped her hands over her chest. “I’m kind of small.”

“Nonsense. You’re
perfect
. In fact, everything about you is perfect.” He liked using the same word she had.

He lowered Jamie’s hands before he slipped the straps down her shoulders. With a quick
release of the back clasp, he lifted off her bra and gazed upon her nakedness. Amazing.
He leaned over slowly, giving her time to stop him. When she didn’t, he dragged his
tongue across the tip of her pert nipple. She moaned, and a second later, the tiny
bud hardened. On the next pass, he sucked on the taut peak.

She gasped and grabbed his shoulder. “Yes. That feels so good.”

He never dreamed she’d be so sensitive. Just as he lowered his hand to cup her pussy,
his cell rang. The ring tone belonged to Trent.
Fuck
. He didn’t want to answer it, so he let it ring.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” The worry in her voice made him think twice.

“God help me if there’s another fire.” He sat up, pulled the phone from his pants
pocket, and pressed the on button. “This better be fucking important.”

“Sorry, man. Something bad has happened. It’s really bad.”

Max had never heard Trent come close to losing control. His friend never let emotion
color anything he did. “Tell me.”

He glanced at Jamie. Her hands were fisted. Shit.

“A group of five men stormed the free clinic where Jamie works. The security guard
is dead along with one other.”

All he could think of was that maybe the men believed Jamie was inside. His heart
squeezed at yet another close call. He wouldn’t say anything in front of her. “What
can I do?”

“I need your help.”

Trent wouldn’t have asked him if he didn’t require Max’s expertise. “Are you there
now?” Max didn’t want Jamie to suspect anything, so he didn’t ask for any details.

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Max disconnected the call and tossed his cell back on the floor. “I am so sorry. I’ve
got to go.”

She picked up her shirt and pulled it over her head. “Is it another fire?”

“No. There’s been a murder.” He didn’t want to lie to her.

She clasped his hand. “Who?”

“Trent didn’t say.” That was the truth. “Jesus, Jamie. Trust me when I say I don’t
want to go.”

“I understand.”

Max hugged her close, kissed her, and then stood. As quickly as he could, he dressed.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Maybe we could go to a movie or something.”

The joy that had been on her face a moment ago, disappeared. “Sure. I’d like that.”

Jamie walked him to the door. If the murder hadn’t happened at Jamie’s place of work,
Max would have told Trent to handle the situation alone.

“I’ll be in touch.” Before he changed his mind about leaving, Max hustled out of her
house.

As he neared the clinic, about ten police cars were blocking the way. A few residents
were standing on the street watching, their necks craned. Dear God, what had happened
inside? He hoped Trent planned to question these people. Someone might know something.

Max did a quick scan for a short, blond man in a baseball cap, but no one fit the
bill.

Given a terrorist cell might be in Rock Hard, and Vic Hart “worked” nearby, this terrorist
cell might be closer than he thought. Could agent Hart have pulled out a phone to
call his contact and been spotted?

Damn. That was pure speculation, which was something Max never liked to fall prey
to. He hoped that when he saw what happened inside, he might have a better idea what
they were dealing with.

He parked and slipped out of his car. As he made his way toward the carnage, his heart
grew heavy for Jamie. Whatever happened here tonight, she’d have to face it. Poor
girl just might crack.

Max had to protect her. At all cost.

He held up his badge and made his way inside the clinic. He detected no odor of smoke,
so this wasn’t fire related. No door or window had been broken either, implying the
shooters had arrived before the clinic closed, or had gotten hold of the key. The
waiting area looked untouched, giving credence to their initial suspicion that theft
of drugs might be involved. He wished he knew what they were after.

Nick Rogers, a detective who’d been on the force with Max, was standing at the hallway
door. “Hey, Max.” He let out a long exhale as if the scene in the back would give
nightmares to anyone.

“Trent called me. He inside?”

“Yes, but it ain’t pretty.”

Murder never was. “Thanks for the warning.” The farther Max went down the hallway,
the louder the chatter became. The exam room doors were open and everything inside
had been trashed. His gut soured. What had they been looking for in those rooms? Drugs
weren’t usually kept in the exam rooms, but maybe the free clinic was set up differently
from the walk-in clinics.

At the end of the hallway, he found Trent, the coroner, and two detectives.

“Trent?” Max’s voice caught.

His friend turned around, his face ashen. “The security guard didn’t stand a chance.”

The method of death would be important. “How?”

“A bullet to the head. Close range.”

“Fuck.” Jamie said the guard escorted the workers to and from their cars. “Where was
he?”

“In the side alley, smoking a cigarette. Whoever did this must have snuck up on him.”

Totally senseless. “They could have just as easily hit him in the head and knocked
him out. Why did they have to kill him?”

“Stop him from sounding the alarm I suspect. I doubt he had a key to the place.”

Max didn’t want to ask who the second victim was, but for Jamie’s sake, he needed
to find out. He nodded to the woman sprawled on the floor in what once was a white
lab coat. Her chest was covered in a dark red stain. “And her?”

Chapter Thirteen