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  “Unfortunately, he’s always been calm and cool.” On one hand, Jessie felt she should stick with her hometown boy. Then she remembered he hadn’t called. “But there is this one thing. He was really embarrassed about it.”

  “Tell me,” Nicole urged.

  “This is hardly anything, but when he was sixteen he failed his driver’s test. He messed up parallel parking.”

  Nicole laughed and clapped her hands. “I can use that.”

  COLE HADN’T BEEN ABLE TO concentrate at all on Monday. Erotic dreams could do that to a man. Tuesday started out only marginally better. At least Nicole had brought some good ideas to the production meeting, but at the expense of his sanity, because Jessie Huell had been featured prominently in the discussion. It was as if everything around him had conspired to dig that woman out of his subconscious, where she belonged.

  The meeting was over and they’d reverted to chitchat. He stood to leave, but Eve placed a hand on his arm.

  “Cole, we’ve been getting some interesting e-mails about the way the chairs and couches are placed on the set. Apparently it’s distracting, and viewers would prefer it if they were, oh, what’s that word I’m looking for? You know, where the everything is set up the same distance apart in two lines….”

  “Parallel?” he offered.

  “That’s it. Thanks.” A wicked glint entered her eyes. “I’m surprised you knew that word.”

  Eve passed by him to leave the conference room. Since when did she have time to worry about the set? Women were flat-out weird.

  After lunch, and more thoughts of Jessie, dammit, Nicole popped her head into his office. “I was hoping you could do me a favor. Devon took his car into the shop, so he dropped me off and borrowed mine. That printer downtown completed one of our promo jobs. Could you take me over there?”

  “Sure,” he said, glancing down at his appointment book. “You want to go now?”

  Nicole bit her lip as if she was worried. “You know what, you’d have to parallel park outside the front. Never mind. I’ll ask someone else.” She turned to go.

  Cole surged to his feet. Impossible. “Wait.”

  Her lips were twisting, as if she was trying not to smile. What was going on here? Then he remembered. Nicole had spent time interviewing Jessie. She’d sold him out.

  “Jessie told you,” he stated incredulously.

  “Just how many times did you fail your test?” Nicole held up first two, then three fingers.

  “Once.” He had a hard time not saying that through clenched teeth.

  “If it makes you feel any better, that was the worst thing she could come up with.”

  He doubted that.

  Nicole’s smile faded. “Shame you caught on so quickly, because Penny had some great stuff lined up.”

  “I was beginning to think I was in an episode of The Office.”

  Nicole turned to leave.

  “Oh, and remind everyone I’ll be doing the driving to the station’s mandatory fun day,” he told her. He heard her laughter all the way down the hall.

  Cole was in the mood for a little payback. He looked at the clock. Jessie would probably still be asleep. Perfect. He dialed the number.

  8

  COLE CRAWFORD SAT silently beside her in the car.

  Did he plan to talk?

  Jessie flicked her gaze toward him for about the thousandth time, just to make sure he wasn’t asleep. As was often the case when she was on a job, it was after midnight. Still nothing. But his eyes were open. He merely sat there. Stoically.

  She didn’t really know what to do. He’d called. Woken her up, in fact.

  Cole had caught on to her slipping some inside information to the ladies he worked with. His tone was stern, but she could tell he wasn’t actually angry about it. In fact, hearing his voice had reminded her how much she wanted to see him again. To see if what they’d experienced together in the parking lot was a one-time thing, brought on by memories and long suppressed emotions, or true desire.

  She’d invited him along on her stakeout tonight, and he’d accepted. And now this. Silence.

  The Speculation Game tempted, but lately all she wanted to speculate about was Cole. And that could be very dangerous. She had firsthand knowledge of his skills below the belt, and it wouldn’t take much to drift into the land of Fabricatia.

  “You know, we can talk. We’re not at the point where we have to be quiet,” Jessie told him as she headed the car to one of Atlanta’s suburban greenbelts.

  The light turned yellow, and Jessie slowed to a stop. She placed the car in Park, then shifted in her seat to face him. The streetlights cast a shaft of light across his face. She met his eyes.

  And swallowed.

  A look of such hunger, such passion burned in his gaze.

  Oh.

  Jessie swiftly turned, fumbling to get the car back into Drive. Beads of sweat broke out across her forehead, ran down her back. Her nipples hardened, and she nibbled on her lip. That was why he was so quiet. Cole wanted her. Bad. Stoically bad.

  Despite her pounding heart, and her blood turning warm and sluggish in her veins, she felt light. Gratified. Jessie also felt excited and powerful, knowing Cole wanted her to the level his eyes promised. Frankly, he didn’t have to talk ever again. Just look at her with that dark carnal need and she’d be good forever.

  A thrill of anticipation soared through her, from her head to her toes. She’d be enjoying Cole tonight. Although that preview after the sports bar had been great, she was ready for the feature film. With popcorn. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait for this job to be over.

  She pulled into a parking space of an all-night grocery store, and reached for her camera bag. “This is it.”

  “I thought you said they were meeting in the park?” he asked, his voice husky with arousal.

  “They are, but the park closes after dark. They see my car there, they’ll know they won’t be alone. We hike it. C’mon, it’s not far.”

  Cole opened his door and stepped out. He walked around to her side. Jessie spotted the bulge in his jeans, and her thoughts zipped to the other night in the parking lot. She’d felt his erection against her. A wave of desire flooded her now. She wanted to feel that way again.

  He took the not-so-heavy camera bag from her shoulder and looped it over his own. His fingertips grazing the bare skin of her arm.

  She could carry her own bag. Cole knew it. Cole knew she knew it. He just chose to carry it for her. That thrill slid through her once more.

  The autumn air felt cool against her skin. The smell of pine and oak lingered in the slight breeze. Above them, the stars were washed out by the city lights. They headed for the park, their footsteps almost silent along the pavement.

  The bright lights of the grocery store faded, leaving the night broken up by streetlamps. With its large trees, the park would be even darker. Lots of places to hide. Jessie and Cole passed through the flowered entrance and into the deserted playground area.

  “It will take a good fifteen minutes before we really get our night eyes.” Okay, why was she telling him this? Cole was a survivalist. That was something Nicole had mentioned in passing. The man could probably navigate the outdoors quicker and easier than a coffee addict could find a Starbucks.

  Jessie stopped and turned toward him. Why not put those skills of his to good use? “In a minute we can scope for a place to hide. Think trees. Somewhere we don’t have to crouch. Big enough for both of us. I don’t expect the couple to get here for at least an hour.”

  He nodded. Looking around.

  Jessie loved the evening air. As a cop, she’d always enjoyed the night beat. The city was different after sunset. The energy changed. Most people didn’t know the nocturnal Atlanta.

  She walked toward the push-type merry-go-round and sat down on it, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Crickets and their songs were usually her only company, but tonight she had Cole. She felt warmed by the knowledge, and willed the hour to fly by so she could be even mo
re alone with him.

  The round metal platform of the toy rotated as Cole sat down beside her. So close she felt the heat of his body, yet so far she couldn’t pass off an accidental touch. He stretched out his long legs. A leaf crunched under his shoe and he brought the merry-go-round to a stop. The energy shifted. A charged flow zipped between them. Nothing but a safety bar and the Atlanta evening air separated them. She faced him, wanting to read the expression in his eyes, knowing it was too dark.

  “I don’t need my eyes to see you in the dark.” His hand came up to cup her cheek.

  She swallowed. Although Jessie said she didn’t make the first move, she’d given him that wide-open invitation. Although she’d relived that kiss in the bar, that mind-blowing orgasm he’d given her in the parking lot, she would wait. Even though he’d become something like an addiction, and she was dying for another taste, Jessie would not move.

  If he wanted her he’d have to come and get her.

  “You make the sexiest sounds when you come. They turn me on. I want to hear them again.”

  She wanted to make them again.

  “We shouldn’t do this.”

  “Probably not.”

  “Do you mind?”

  “Hell no.”

  Then his lips were on hers, his hands on her shoulders. He urged her lips open, and she squirmed as his smooth tongue filled her mouth. This was no gentle, exploring kiss. This was all heat. Cole’s tongue twined with hers. He tightened his grasp, pulling her shoulders and pulling her close. She moaned. Yes. His hands, his mouth, his whole body were making good on the promise that had been in his eyes earlier.

  Cole pressed against her, and she rolled back against the cool metal of the merry-go-round. Ducking under the safety bar, he followed her down, his body settling beside hers. Cole’s mouth lowered, gliding down the slope of her neck. His tongue caressing her sensitive skin.

  “You thought about me this weekend.” His voice was tight with strain.

  She nodded, not wanting to waste her energy on something stupid like talking.

  “Good.” His whisper was low and rough and did all kinds of tantalizing things to her senses.

  He tugged her black T-shirt free from her pants, then slipped his hand inside. Jessie sucked in a breath as Cole’s questing fingers slid along her stomach. Moving higher. Skimming her ribs. She groaned and dragged his mouth back to her when he cupped her breast.

  Her breasts were heavy, aching to feel his touch. He slipped below the wire of her bra. “Tell me this is black,” he said, his breath warm against her cheek. Her body tingled in response.

  “It is.”

  “I’ll have to look for myself, to see if you’re telling me the truth.”

  “I’m counting on that.”

  With a low, utterly male groan, he pushed the cup over her breast. Smoothed her shirt out of his way. Her nipple tightened from the chill of the air. Then Cole lowered his head and licked a lazy path around the tip. Her body jolted, lifting toward him. Their movements caused the merry-go-round to make a slow spin on its axis.

  Then he stopped.

  She opened her eyes and saw his crooked smile. Her eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, and were ready to do nothing but soak him in…imprint the set of his strong jaw, the rugged softness of his lips into her memory.

  “Tell me, Jessie, where do people usually…meet?”

  It took her a moment to clear her head. Her skin practically sizzled from the rush his question gave her. “The swings.”

  “Really?”

  Jessie heard the doubt in his voice and grinned. She knew why he asked. “Don’t worry. After the first time I saw what people attempted on that swing set, I checked it out on the Internet. Those seats are reinforced with steel. Can take up to three thousand pounds.”

  He raised from her, braced himself from off the merry-go-round and gazed down at her. “What about impact?”

  She laughed, loving where his thoughts headed. Naughty boys grew up to be naughty men. “I think it can handle us and whatever…force we might give it.”

  “Come,” he said, the word a carnal invitation.

  Jessie felt naughty. Uninhibited. Playing where they weren’t supposed to. She almost had the urge to yell, “Race you!”

  Instead she collected her camera bag and placed her hand in Cole’s. His warm fingers engulfed hers, tugged her upward. She stood beside him, her lips at his chin. Inside, she quaked with sexual need. He was about to draw her to the swing set, lay her across the seat and make love to her.

  Would that be considered making love? Those words evoked a bed, silken sheets. Maybe a candle.

  What she was about to do with Cole was not that polite. It would be erotic, adventurous sex.

  He grasped her chin, tugged her lips toward his and kissed her. The air rushed from her body as he pulled her against him. Jessie loved the hardness of his chest. His thighs. She lifted her leg and hooked it around his waist, feeling the stiffness of his erection. She couldn’t wait to feel it, feel him, inside her.

  He scooped her up into his arms and stalked toward the swings. He set her down in a seat. She wound her arms around the chains and moved her thighs apart to accommodate him. Cole stepped between her legs and pressed into her. The bulge of his penis rubbed against her clit. She gasped at the delicious friction.

  He took a slow step back, then forward, mimicking the movements of a swing. Duplicating the thrusts of sex.

  She wanted more. She hated her clothes, her bra and her panties. She wanted to be naked. In his arms. Jessie slid her legs around his hips, making it more difficult for him to move.

  “I want you,” she said, her voice raspy but strong. She knew what she wanted. He was right in front of her.

  “I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.”

  His fingers settled at the button of her jeans and she shivered. The unmistakable sound of her zipper moving down joined the other sounds of the night. The high-pitched call of a bird. The squeak of the swing. The harshness of their breathing.

  A beam of light streaked through the trees. Headlights. They broke apart instantly, except for his hand. Cole reached for hers and never let go. He made for the bushes, crouching as he went. Jessie followed him. With a quick tug, he pulled her toward him and they concealed themselves behind the greenery. Their breath coming out in pants.

  “Yes,” she urged. “This is the exact place I’ve used for cover.”

  Cole dropped her hand, and a coldness seeped into her fingers, which had been warm from his touch. Jessie shook off the feeling and quickly fastened her jeans. Dammit.

  “So, you’ve been to this park before?” he asked, a teasing note lacing his words. “How come you had us come so early to scope out the place?”

  Caught. “Maybe what I wanted was to scope you out.” She might as well shoot for honesty.

  His palms found her hips, and Cole caressed the skin above her waistband.

  She pulled her combo camera binoculars out of the bag. The equipment had cost her, but it was worth not having the hassle of carrying two devices around her neck. She trained the lens on the ironwork entrance. “Now, stop, you’re distracting me,” she told him with a laugh. Inviting Cole to join her had been one of those spur of the moment decisions she was not known for. He was definitely proving to be hell on her detecting work.

  A large black bundle of energy rumbled across the park. The dog barked as he rolled in the grass, getting leaves stuck in his coat.

  “There boy, there.” A man’s voice, deep and low, soothed the animal.

  “It’s just a guy walking his dog,” Cole whispered beside her.

  Jessie shook her head. Something wasn’t right. She felt it in her gut. And she was a firm believer in her gut. “Who drives their dog to a closed park to walk it? Why not just walk in the neighborhood? No, he’s using the dog for cover.”

  Although the man and his dog weren’t the clients she was being paid to snap pictures of, she switched to camera mode and took
a few shots anyway.

  Dog and man walked on, looking innocent. At least the dog did. Something about the man still seemed suspicious to her.

  “Should we stay here?”

  “Even with the added company, I don’t want to risk missing the couple we came for. According to the husband, they only meet once a week.” On her book-club night. Although, the man didn’t appear too shaken up about his wife’s possible infidelity. He seemed more interested in Jessie’s cameras and shot techniques.

  Nighttime photos were tricky. They often came out unfocused, blurry, or even worse, lacking the kind of convincing detail needed in her profession. She’d armed herself with the best equipment, but on a near moonless night like tonight, she needed a long exposure time to soak up as much ambient light as possible. That meant a steady hand and patience.

  During Jessie’s initial meeting with the husband, he’d asked about the quality of her prints. As if maybe he’d tried to capture a few night photos himself and failed.

  Jessie let out a sigh. She’d missed all the clues and they were practically shouting at her, “Hello, this isn’t what it seems.”

  “What is it?” Cole asked.

  “I just realized these people are probably a couple of Talbarts.” Jessie could kick herself for not being on her game. She’d blame it on the fact that she’d been awed by all the TV stuff. Or Cole’s kiss. Or the way his fingers drove her to an I-can’t-wait-to-see-what-else-he-has-in-store-for-me orgasm.

  Oh, yeah, she’d be happy to lay blame for her lackluster efforts with this client, elsewhere—that is, if she wasn’t in the business of assigning blame squarely where it belonged.

  Jessie wasn’t an excuse maker. That was one of the tenets she began with when she’d started her P.I. firm. Her advice would be short and sweet, since no one really wanted to hear a pearl of wisdom after being given the confirmation that the man they loved was, indeed, cheating.

  Be they reserved, crying or ass-kicking mad, Jessie still told women the one thing she wished she’d been told. Don’t make excuses. Her fiancé had cheated on her because he was a selfish bastard. Not because of anything she did or did not do.