Dangerous Kiss Read online

  Embarrassed heat burned from her toes to her ears as she looked at Glenda Layton. Of all the people to walk in on her and Jake, only the killer would have been worse.

  “Mmm-hmm. Don’t you try to give me the business. I know all about what’s going on. Is this fella here to help protect your body or just molest it?”

  “Mother!”

  Jake’s hand rubbed the small of her back. The caress comforted her, lessening the mortification swamping her.

  “Now, if I was your age and hadn’t met your dear father yet, I might agree to that second part myself.” Glenda gave Jake the once over. “He is cute, isn’t he?”

  “This…” She waved her hands in the air. “This is just a fluke. It won’t be happening again.”

  Jake stopped his hand’s calming circle, and slid it south. He squeezed her butt. Desire swept through her like a brushfire. She planted one of her heels onto Jake’s toes and ignored his strangled grunt.

  Glenda had a small canary-yellow duffel bag on the floor next to her Keds. Claire lowered herself into her chair, her head aching.

  “Mom, why do you have your overnight bag?” Unease crept up her spine. Please say it’s presents from Texas.

  “I’m coming to stay with you, of course. I’ll be right next to you every moment of the day and night until Hank catches that murderer. Don’t you worry. Nobody messes with the Laytons. We conquer, we don’t cower.”

  Claire loved her mother, but there was no way she could move in. The last time her mother spent the weekend, she came home to find her kitchen rearranged, her voicemails deleted and her calendar filled with blind dates. That could not happen again.

  “No need for you to do that, Mrs. Layton. I’m watching out for Claire until all of this blows over.”

  Claire flashed Jake a grateful smile. He winked in return.

  “You that man from the security company who has Hank fit to be tied?” Glenda squared her jaw.

  “Yes, ma’am, I guess so.” He walked around the desk and offered his hand.

  She shook it and held on. “Are you married?”

  “No, ma’am.” Jake shook his head.

  “Girlfriend?”

  “Not a one.”

  Glenda leaned forward. “Gay?”

  As usual, her mom had her contemplating moving to Siberia. She couldn’t be more humiliated if she had to run naked down Main Street during the annual Oh, Pioneer Parade.

  “Nope.” He grinned down at Glenda. It looked as if he had this conversation with every mother he met.

  “Do you want to be married?”

  She grimaced at the hopeful look on her mom’s face.

  “Not really.”

  “Why not?” Glenda dropped his hand and crossed her arms in front of her.

  Jake shrugged. “Well, ma’am, I’m just not the marrying kind.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Excited speculation lit up Glenda’s face. She dug into her makeup counter giveaway purse and brought out a polka-dotted notepad and pen set. She scribbled something and handed it to Jake.

  “You call me if you need my help. I belong to the NRA.” She turned her attention to Claire. “He goes, I stay. Got it?”

  She mentally conceded the battle. With her mother, it always ended the same. “Yes, Mom.”

  “Good. Toodles.”

  She watched in silence as her mother stalked from the room. Groaning, she cradled her head in her hands.

  “Wow.” Jake’s voice was tinged with awe.

  “Yeah. My mother is…something else.”

  Claire glanced at Jake. He looked dazed, the normal reaction after meeting her mother, which was why she’d had only first dates in high school.

  “Thanks for helping me. Telling her you were staying with me was brilliant. I appreciate it.”

  He leveled the full force of his slate-blue eyes at her. “I am staying with you.”

  “Oh no.” Claire slapped her palms down on her desk. “That was just to get Mom out of here. There’s no way you’re staying with me.”

  She couldn’t play house with him. Going to sleep listening to him breathe. Having coffee together in the morning. Brushing their teeth together in the bathroom. No way could she keep her heart in check in that situation.

  In two long steps, he was beside her. He tugged at her elbow and spun her around to face him. “I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me.”

  He promised protection, but that wasn’t what she wanted most from him. Maybe having her life turned upside down by a crazy man had bent her thinking. Perhaps she would have reacted this strongly to Jake under any circumstances. No matter the reason, she wanted this man, and wanted him badly.

  “Am I?” Her gaze aimed for the erection visible through his jeans.

  “Yes. I’m here for a job. That’s all.” A vein throbbed at his temple. “I don’t want to want you, but I can’t seem to help it.”

  What did she gain from denying herself the pleasure of him in bed as long as he didn’t stay the night? Nothing. Her decision made, Claire embraced the sexual fever burning through her body, grabbed his waistband and pulled him close. “Is wanting me so bad?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” She rubbed the bulge in his jeans and squeezed him lightly.

  He grabbed her wrist, stopping her caress. “When this is over, I’m gone. My life is in Denver. Yours is here.”

  “True. But this is just lust, nothing more. Maybe once is all we need.” She popped open the buttons on his jeans.

  He sucked in a breath. “One time, no strings?”

  Claire slid his zipper down. “Not unless you’re interested in being tied up.”

  Chapter Nine

  Claire freed Jake’s straining cock from the confines of his cotton boxers. Her mouth watered at the sight of him, hard and thick. Heat swamped her body and the tingling sensation in her clit grew more ferocious. Her heart raced as she surrendered to the heady lust and banished any rational thought from her mind.

  She wrapped her long fingers around him, but couldn’t circle his girth completely. With deliberate care, she slowly slid her grasp up his silken flesh, and squeezed him when she reached the tight black curls at the base.

  “Oh my God, Claire.” His words ended in a low groan.

  The sound sent a shiver of pleasure dancing up her spine. She sank to her knees and his warm dick pulsed in her small hands. Only inches from the bulbous tip, she opened her mouth. He drew in a sharp breath.

  Claire hesitated, overcome by the depth of her desire. Pre-cum glistened on the smooth head, begging to be licked off. She licked her lips in anticipation, imagined sucking his dick into her mouth. She would stroke its tender underside with her tongue while cupping his tight balls. But she couldn’t, not yet anyway. Tempering the urge to swallow him took all of her willpower, but she need to go slow and make the moment last.

  She blew softly on his erection.

  Jake shivered and arched his back. “God, Claire.”

  She ran her thumb across the clear droplets pooling on the head. Looking up at him, she brought her thumb to her mouth and licked the delicious taste of him off her skin. Like a cat with cream, she used the tip of her tongue to devour every drop of the salty liquid. She stared up at him, capturing his gaze as she relished his taste. His blue eyes smoldered and he entwined his fingers into her loosely bound hair.

  “Damn.” Jake tilted his head back and urged her mouth forward.

  Her pussy began to throb to an ancient beat as her nipples tightened. Her raging libido heated her skin, making her breasts heavy and demanding she take him now. But she ignored the call. She planned to pack a lot into this single encounter.

  Mesmerized by the beauty of him, she rubbed his delicate hardness up and down in tantalizingly slow strokes. Jake groaned and rocked his hips back and forth. The contrast of her cherry-red nails against his flushed dick made her so wet she soaked her thong.

  “You have to stop or I’m going to come all over your hand.�
� Sweet torment had tightened his square jaw. He let her go and curled his hands into tight fists at his side. His balls were pulled up tight.

  They might only have this time together, but Claire planned to enjoy it to the fullest. She stopped the motion, but didn’t remove her hand. “Not yet, you’re not. We’re going to make this one time only count.”

  After one last leisurely upward stroke and another body-shaking moan from Jake, she released his hard-on and reached up to his shirt. She tugged the crisp cotton from his waistband. The devil in her loved tormenting him with a slow strip down. She flashed him a saucy grin and sucked on her bottom lip as she rose to her feet.

  Starting at the bottom, she unbuttoned his white dress shirt. Each inch of sinewy muscle sent her heart racing. Reveling in the beauty of his tan chest, she bent and placed light kisses on his freshly bared flesh. Tracing her tongue along the shadows of his abs, she savored the clean, soapy flavor. His slid his hands through her hair urged her to speed up, seconded by his heated moans, but Claire took her own sweet time. She’d never imagined unbuttoning a shirt could be so rewarding.

  Once she’d dispatched the buttons, she slid her hands across his hard chest and pushed the shirt open. Claire’s knees melted at the sight of his powerfully built chest. Her mouth went dry and she nearly lost her nerve. But her pussy clenched, and a tension started to build deep within her. Her fingers trailed across his hard abs, the tips tickled by his coarse hair. His muscles tightened under her touch. Traveling lower, she drew her fingers across a small scar.

  “Appendix.” His low growl sent her pulse rocketing.

  She traced it with the tip of her nail.

  He flinched. “That tickles.”

  A smile played on her lips as both hands, fingers spread wide, slid up his chest, parting the dusting of hair covering his torso.

  “You…are…gorgeous.” She meant it. Apollo would be jealous of Jake’s form. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

  Leaning forward, she lapped at his right nipple. It puckered and she closed her lips around the tight nub. She flicked it with her tongue. His resulting moan echoed her building excitement. Her clit twitched in anticipation of his touch.

  He drew her upward, away from her prize, until she stood up straight. Misery and ecstasy warred on his face. On hers too, she imagined.

  “Please.” He ground out that one word.

  She reached for the straps of her sundress and stepped out of his grasp. “Please what?”

  Expressions flashed across his face as she slid first one strap, then the other off her shoulders. Lust, excitement, anticipation, hunger, they were all there. Usually she didn’t vamp it up quite this much, but the idea of only getting one chance with Jake made her want to wring every bit of fun and passion out of the experience.

  Her dress caught on her extended nipples. The soft cotton caress stoked her heat. A light tug freed the red dress. It skimmed over her hips on its way to the floor, where it lay in a pile around her feet. The heels on her brown leather sandals pushed her bottom out just so, an effect she took full advantage of as she teased and turned in a circle.

  Jake reached out for her, but she evaded him. She raised her arms, pulled out the pins holding her hair in a bun and shook it out. The smooth tresses caressed her shoulders and upper back.

  “Claire, please.” His words sounded pained, but he looked as if he’d just opened up the world’s best present.

  He stood in front of her, shirt open and cock out but still dressed. Just when she thought she couldn’t get any hotter, he took hold of his dick and watched her as he stroked.

  Claire blew him a kiss and hooked her fingers into the band of her lacy, green thong.

  “Enough.” Jake grabbed her hips.

  Propping her butt against the warm wood, Jake dragged her thong down and followed it to the floor. On his knees, he spread her legs, palms flat against her inner thighs. Anticipation strung her muscles tight. Her fingers tightened on the desk’s edge as he leaned his face forward into her damp pussy.

  But no tongue made contact, no fingers penetrated.

  Surprised and frustrated, she looked down. Jake’s slate-blue eyes met her gaze.

  “Any plans to move to Denver?”

  He picks this moment to get chatty? She wanted to scream. Her pussy ached for his touch to relieve the escalating tension inside her.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Damn.” He kissed her inner thigh.

  His lips sizzled against her sensitive skin. Her whole body trembled.

  He laid his head above her knee, wet a finger in his mouth then slid it home inside Claire. Her back arched at his welcome invasion. Pleasure rippled upward. He added a second and twisted them around, flicked against her G-spot. Claire’s body went taut. She threw back her head, ground her core against the flat of his palm.

  “I can’t relocate here.” His head inched closer to the exact spot where she wanted it, so close his words brushed against her tender flesh.

  Awash in sensation, it took all of her mental powers to utter a single word. “No.”

  “Damn.” He muttered the curse into her wet center, glided his tongue along her inner lips and circled her clit. A current of sexual electricity shot through her, making the rest of the world disappear.

  “Yes.” Claire didn’t recognize the sound of her own hoarse voice strangled with desire.

  His fingers slid in and out, stretched her open while his tongue continued its dance. Millimeter by millimeter his flat tongue slid up her wet lips. He stopped at her clit, sucked the nub into his warm mouth. His fingers thrust rhythmically against the bundle of nerves inside her vagina. She gasped as fire shot through her.

  Hot waves rippled up from her pussy. They started slow, but increased in intensity and speed. Every part of her strained toward orgasm. Close. She was so close. His thumb pressed just below her sensitive button as he licked. She clutched his head, pushed him deeper. Her body constricted and she came undone.

  “Jake!”

  It took a few moments before she could uncurl her toes. When she could, she arched her back in a lazy, catlike stretch.

  The sight of her stopped Jake cold. Propped up on her desk, her skin glowing in the soft midmorning light. Dust particles danced around her like fairies protecting their sated queen. And here he was on his knees in worship.

  Fairies? A queen? He was a hockey-and-beer guy, where the hell had fairy queens come from? Chagrined, he shook his head. “Damn, how did you do this to me?”

  “Do what?” Her husky voice purred, thick with satisfaction.

  “Make me want to keep you like this all the time.”

  She glanced down at her pleasured body. Her lips curled into a grin. “I might get cold come September.”

  He ran his hands up her smooth legs as he continued to kneel on the floor. Despite her short stature, they seemed to go on forever. The perfect size to wrap around his waist. His palms rested on her knees. He ran his thumb across a tiny patch of hair on her kneecap she must have missed when shaving. The short hairs pricked him. Damn. Even that turned him on.

  He had to tell her about Burlington’s attempt to blackmail him. He’d left that part out earlier, figuring what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. But the lingering suspicion evident on her face had told him she’d known he’d been holding back.

  When it came out in the open that he’d almost used her to find the phone and flash drive, she’d be pissed. After he told her he had planned to leave her to face off against the killer by herself, she’d be irate. And rightly so. But if he didn’t tell her and she found out another way, she’d never forgive him. Jake couldn’t live with that.

  “Hey.” Her fingers pushed his chin upward, her expression quizzical. “I didn’t mean to scare you off with the September comment. I know this isn’t long term. It’s just a little fun. No harm. No foul.”

  Her body language belied her words. Shoulders hunched, she looked as if she awaited an emotional k
ick to the stomach. Her downcast eyes were half hidden behind a curtain of auburn hair. Her lip trembled for a moment before she tugged on it with her teeth.

  Whoever that idiot Brett guy was, he’d pulled a number on Claire. Jake could tell she expected him to get up and go. Fuck that. This may not be forever, but while he had her, she was all his. And his Claire had too much spark to look so forlorn.

  Rising up from the floor, he cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to read the truth in his eyes. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  He meant for the kiss to be soft and reassuring. But as soon as his lips brushed hers, he realized that wasn’t going to happen. Instinct hardwired by centuries of evolution overwhelmed him. It demanded he claim this woman, make her his. Their tongues tangled as he melded her soft curves to his hard frame.

  Claire pushed at his chest, forcing them apart. “Sit back in that chair. I want to be on top.”

  It killed him to deny her, but they couldn’t do this until she knew the truth. “We have to talk.”

  Her palm settled on his stomach. “Why?”

  “I have to tell you something.”

  She wouldn’t look up at him. “It can wait.”

  “No, it can’t.” Mimicking her move from earlier, he drew her chin upward. “Burlington wants me to use you to find the phone and flash drive.”

  She jerked away from his touch. His body cooled in an instant. Hands on her hips, she stood with her feet shoulder-width apart. Her come-hither glance had been replaced with a drop-dead glare. Temper rolled off her naked body. Her face gave away everything, including a hint of hurt hiding behind the grim line of her mouth.

  “And just how are you supposed to do that?” She practically spat the words at him.

  Forget the fairy queen. His Claire was the world’s shortest Amazon warrior. She amazed him. Scared him a little, too.

  “Claire…” The answer stuck in his throat.

  “What did he say?”

  His body tensed. “Fuck you or frisk you.” Just saying the words made his skin crawl. Seeing the resulting pain etched on her face was more than he could take. “Claire—”