On Fire (11 page)

Darcy slid behind the wheel of her car and tucked her legs in as Jared closed the door behind her. He rounded the trunk and reached through the open top to set his camera on the backseat, then climbed in beside her.

“Wanna stop by your sister’s place?” he asked, looking out the windshield. “She’s in Seattle, right?”

She took a deep breath, then let it out. “Okay.”

Backing out of the parking garage spot, she hit the road. Her grip was too tight on the steering wheel, but she couldn’t ease up. There was a block of ice in her gut and her throat was tight. It didn’t matter how many times she saw Dani’s headstone, it still had the power to break something inside her.

When they drove through the open wrought iron gates of the cemetery, Jared reached over and set his hand on her thigh. The knot inside her loosened. She set her hand over his and squeezed. “You’re not surprised.”

“I was when I found out.” He glanced at her, pushing up his shades so she could see his eyes. “Now I’m just glad you’re letting me in.”

“That’s why we’re here.”

His fingers linked with hers. “Is it so bad? Letting someone in?”

“No. I’m…grateful. It’s just…I can’t come here with my parents. They need me to be okay. And I try to be. For them.”

“But you’re not.”

“Dani was half of me.”

She followed the road for a couple miles, then pulled over to the side and parked. They got out and she led him across the lawn to the Michaels family plot. Jared didn’t say anything as she stood over Dani’s grave and felt her eyes burn. He just came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, setting his chin on her shoulder. They were there a long time, long enough for her to find her voice and tell him about the early-morning call that had irrevocably changed her life.

“There was talk of a boyfriend,” he said softly. “You didn’t know who he was?”

“Oh, I know him,” she said grimly. “I just don’t know his name. When Dani made it clear his identity was a secret, I knew he was someone familiar to me and she didn’t want me razzing her about him. That’s a big reason why I moved back to Lion’s Bay after she died. I wanted to figure out who he was and what he might know. I thought he’d come forward by now…that just looking at me every day would shake him up.”

“Do you know how fucking dangerous that is?” His voice was rough with fury. He turned her around to face his glare. “After what was done to her?”

She’d identified her sister’s body, although everyone in town had known who Dani was and one look at Darcy’s identical face proved it. The coroner had draped Dani’s body in a sheet from the neck down, but Darcy was aware of what the Prophet was known for…the sick mutilations he did to his victims’ bodies. “I can’t let Dani go while her killer’s still out there, Jared. And honestly, with her gone, I’m half dead anyway.”

“Bullshit. I’ve been inside you. When I’m touching you…fucking
you…you’re so alive you burn me up with it. I see you trying to get out of this shell you’re just surviving in, living a life that doesn’t suit you one damn bit.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I’m going to get him, Darcy. He’s going to pay for putting that look in your eyes. I promise you that. Let me do my job. Let me keep you safe.”

Her breathing picked up. “You think he’s in Lion’s Bay, too?”

“I think it’s likely, yes. The candy shop—your sister have any connection with that?”

Darcy frowned. “She was a customer. Dani had a sweet tooth. She stopped by there almost every day to buy a dollar or two of candy to carry around in her lab coat. And we celebrated our twelfth birthdays there. Why?”

“Every place our torch has hit has been tied to your sister in some way. You being in Lion’s Bay
is
shaking this guy up, sweetheart. He’s systematically wiping your sister off the map. First by taking her out, then by taking out places associated with her.”

She caught him by the wrists. “If he wants Dani gone, why not take out the woman who looks like her?”

Jared’s gaze darkened. “If I’m right, he’s saving that pleasure for last.”

“
I KNOW HOW
it sounds,” Jared muttered into his cell phone as they entered Darcy’s house.

She watched him cross through her kitchen into her living room, then begin to pace. Something inside her shifted as she watched him move, his stride powerful and predatory yet utterly silent. Armed and dangerous. A trained hunter. And he was now on the hunt for the man who’d killed Dani. The morass of emotions churning in her tummy had no outlet and she had no way of dealing with them. She’d never felt like this before.

Because he was also hunting
her
. Deliberately. Systematically. And he wasn’t going to stop until he’d captured her. She wasn’t going to let him stop.

Whatever it was she felt for him, it was important. With a little time, a little compromise, and with no effort at all, she could fall in love with him. And part of her really, really wanted to. Wanted to experience the magic she’d only ever felt faint echoes of. She could have it with him. He wanted it, too.

“What have you got on your plate now?” he asked his partner, running a hand through his hair. “Okay. Good. When you head back to the hotel, give me a buzz and I’ll meet you there. We’ll order pizza and tear into this.”

He was hanging up when she walked past him toward the bedroom, their eyes meeting in a long meaningful glance. She gave him a cheery smile because she didn’t want him to worry any more than he already was. He’d been even edgier than usual since they’d left the cemetery; he didn’t need any more on his plate.

She was crying silently before she reached the bedroom. She closed the door far enough that there was no gap, but didn’t push it all the way—she didn’t want him to mistake her desire for privacy as a desire to shut him out. Then she undressed and entered the bathroom through the door in the master bedroom. Forgoing the bath, despite how tempting it looked, she got in the shower and welcomed the brief shock of cold before the heat kicked in with a vengeance.

The tears flowed freely, mingling with the water. Darcy stood directly beneath the spray, letting it course down her face like a veil, hoping to prevent puffy eyes that would give her away. She hadn’t cried since the flight that brought her home to Dani’s dead body lying in the morgue. She knew she was due, but that didn’t make the dam burst any easier to bear.

She felt him come in behind her and was grateful he couldn’t
know that she was falling apart. Setting her hands on the tile in front of her, she bent her head as if she was directing the strength of the spray on her neck.

Jared’s arms embraced her and he curled around her curved back. He didn’t say anything when an unexpected sob shuddered through her.

She tried to shake him off, feeling stupid. “I need a minute.”

“Take all the time you need.”

When he didn’t let go, she found her mouth curving ruefully. She turned in his arms. “You’re a menace.”

He shrugged. “I was trained to press every advantage.”

Her mouth quirked, her grief lifting at the gleam in his eyes. His beautiful face was stern and his sinner’s mouth unyielding. Such a hard man in so many ways, yet he could be tender. She’d like to see him with the sister he spoke of with gruff fondness and the parents he clearly admired and loved deeply.

His hands cupped her face, his thumbs brushing at her cheeks. “I can’t imagine your pain.”

“Good. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

I’m still crying,
she realized when the rough pads of his fingers stroked over her face again. “You know,” she said hoarsely, “I was trying to spare you a weepy woman.”

“Don’t. My job’s going to put enough between us as it is. We need to be brutal with the rest in order to make it.”

“For a guy who doesn’t do relationships, you seem to have a good handle on how they work.”

“I have a good handle on what I need.” His fierce blue gaze riveted her. “I expect that you’ll tell me what you need.”

Her hands slid down his damp back, caressing the hard slabs of muscle bracketing his spine. Steam billowed around them, but the warmth she felt came from inside her. “I don’t know what I need. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about it.”

“So while I’m out tonight, think about it. Just make sure I’m in there somewhere.”

“I’ll be wishing you were in
me
.” She reached between them and fisted his erection. “You’re a deadly weapon all by yourself. Did you know that, Deputy?”

He snorted, his grip tightening on her hips.

“I bet there isn’t a woman alive who’s said no to you in your life. I’m just one of the many to fall under your irascible charm.”

“Look who’s talking. You’re a man-eater.”

With a two-handed grip, Darcy stroked him from root to tip. Her gaze lowered to the thick column of flesh in her hands, her heartbeat quickening at the impressive length and thick network of veins that coursed along it. It was a brutal-looking instrument of pleasure, as primal as Jared’s sexuality. That dichotomy—his powerfully elegant build and fallen-angel face paired with a curt temperament and raunchy sensuality—fascinated her.

“What a lovely idea,” she murmured.

Backing up a step, she sat on the tiled bench seat. It put her eye level with the object of her desire, which caused a hot flutter in her belly. She licked her lips, surprised at how turned on she was.

“What are you doing?” he asked gruffly. “You’re not sucking my dick.”

Her brows rose. “The hell I’m not.”

He slapped her hands away when she tried to tug him closer. “Christ, Darcy. You were just bawling your eyes out. The only reason I’m naked is because I haven’t got a change of clothes and the only way to get to you was to get wet.”

Her mouth twitched with the urge to grin. He looked so affronted. As sexual as their relationship was, it wasn’t all he wanted from her. That was good to know. Wonderful actually. Because as much as she wanted his body, she wanted more from him, too.

She pointed at his cock. “He’s ready to play.”

“What’s new? I’ve had a perpetual hard-on since I met you. Since I first laid eyes on you.”

“I cause the problem; let me take care of it.”

“It’s not a problem and I don’t want you to take care of it,” he snapped. “I want to take care of you.”

“I’m okay.” Darcy held his gaze, let him see the clarity of her eyes. The ache in her chest would never totally go away, she knew, but it was easier to bear than it had been just that morning. That she could feel differently was a miracle to her after living with it unchanged for so long, that her chronic pain could be alleviated at all. God…it had been so nice to lean on someone in the cemetery and have her grief accepted without reservation. “You wanted to make me feel better and I do.”

“Fuck that.” He scowled. “I’m a selfish bastard. I wanted to make myself feel better. Seeing you hurting was killing me. Watching you suck me off would make me feel worse. Hell…I’m not a douche.”

“When did I give you the impression that I was the type who went down on a guy without really wanting to?”

His scowl grew fiercer.

“Right.” Her gaze lowered. Her mouth watered. “You have the most perfect cock, Jared. Did you know that? It’s a thing of beauty.”

“You’re scrambled.”

“Actually, I’m ridiculously pleased with myself. I managed to snag exclusive access rights to your delicious body, which I’d like to exert now.”

His hand moved to grip the object of her desire. His fingers curled around it and stroked from root to tip. “I have work to do.”

“So stop lagging and let me have it.”

Releasing himself, he stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands. He searched her features, his gaze softening. “Are you okay, Darcy?
Really
okay? Or are you feeling shaky?”

She caught him by the wrists. “I think you’re feeling shakier than I am. I’ve had three years to deal with this. You’re the one who’s been blindsided by a cold case.”

“And a hot woman.” His thumbs slid gently over her cheekbones. “You’re an occupational hazard.”

“Step a little closer and I’ll make it worth your while.”

One of his hands slid down, the pad of his thumb gliding across her parted lips. “You already have.”

He didn’t stop her when she reached for him again. He set one hand on the tile above her head and turned down the temperature of the water with the other. The spray beat down on his right side, running in rivulets down his muscular torso and washboard abs. She started there first, tracing the ridges with her tongue, her hands caressing his cock with soft, gentle pulls.

Jared’s palms pressed flat to the wall, his head hanging over her, his breath quickening. As his skin heated beneath her hands, his raw sexuality slipped its chain. She could almost see its smoky tendrils curl around her, intoxicating her. Primitive need burned in her blood, melting what few inhibitions she had. She was like a bitch in heat with him and she liked it, liked the wanton freedom his acceptance gave her.

Fisting him, she made him harder, made him shudder. She nuzzled his cock with one cheek and then the other, before moving lower to fondle his balls with her lips.

“Fuck,” he gasped, his cock jerking her grip.

Darcy took one full, heavy testicle into her mouth, sucking gently, rolling it around with her tongue. He was such a primal male. Big and hard and virile everywhere. There was a part of her that reveled in that, celebrating her claim on such a potently desirable masculine creature.

His thighs began to shake, his lungs heaving. “Payback’s a bitch,
Darcy. Stop torturing me and suck it, sweetheart. Suck my cock in that hot little mouth.”

She purred and pumped him with a two-fisted grip. She wanted to eat him up, every mouthwatering inch of him.

One of his hands cupped the back of her head, his fingers flexing spastically in the soaked strands of her hair. “Wrap your lips around me, Darcy baby.
Yes
…just like that.”

Her mouth flowed over the thick crest, her eyes closing at the feel and taste of him. Warm satin over stone. Her tongue rubbed the sensitive underside of his cock head, every sense focused on his responses. His low groans. The tension gripping him. The sound of his teeth grinding.