Home Is Where the Heat Is (8 page)

The building had to be more than a century old, renovated over the years, but still retaining its Old West charm. Black and white photographs of the town in its early days hung on the hallway walls. The room itself held a four-post bed and a wash-basin sink. Fortunately the heater had been upgraded from the original.

She shrugged out of his jacket and laid it on a chair, then tossed her blazer on top while he drew the heavy brocade curtains closed and turned the lamp down low.

Claire sat on the edge of the bed and kicked her shoes off. “Much better.” She flexed her toes as JT sat beside her and ran his hand down her rigid arm.

“Nervous?” He brushed her hair back over her shoulder.

“Yeah.” How had she ended up sitting on a motel room bed in a secluded mountain town with a man she’d met two days ago? Her shoulders sagged as she reviewed the events in her mind, following the trail backward from the chase up here, to their secret meetings in the garage, to the judge’s warning during jury selection. A banging noise from outside sounded too much like a gavel strike, pronouncing her sentence. “Everything about this is wrong.”

JT bowed his head like a guilty co-conspirator. “If we’d met under different circumstances, would you—?”

“I’d strip you naked before you finished that sentence.” No arguing that side of the case. She slipped her hand along his rough jaw and kissed him as he laughed on her lips.

“Good. That’s what I want to hear.” He toyed with the buttons on her blouse.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. Claire stiffened as they approached, then let out her breath as the unknown passerby walked away. “This is so nerve-wracking.”

“It is.” He slipped a finger inside her blouse and stroked her skin. “But you can grab that fear and hang on for the ride of your life.”

Her abs fluttered as he undid a button. The urge to fling her blouse across the room sent her on a wild spin. “Are you that ride?”

A dangerous grin lit his eyes. “Yes, I am.”

“Good.” She slipped her hands behind his neck and lay back on the bed, pulling him down on top of her. “Because if I’m going to fuck up my life, I want to fuck it right.”

JT crawled over her, planting breathless kisses on her heated skin as he liberated the remaining buttons. “Excited already?”

“Uh-huh.” She parted her legs as much as her skirt would allow and his erection throbbed against her thigh. “I see you are, too.”

He grunted. “I’ve been carrying that around since you walked into the courtroom yesterday.” He nuzzled silky fabric off her shoulder.

Claire caught her breath. “I’ll take it as a compliment.” Her heart raced as the weight of his muscular body trapped her against the creaking bed. Sparks danced along her skin as he nipped a fiery path from her shoulder to her ear.

“Please do.” He rose up on his hands to give her a wink.

The move gave her the leverage she needed to flip him on his back. Her skirt blocked her effort to straddle him, so she hitched it up to her waist and dropped onto his hard-on. “I intend to.”

“Mmm… fuck me with a….” His words trailed off as she ground down on the rigid bulge pinned between her thighs.

Her sleeves slipped to her wrists, exposing her pink satin bra.
Not enough.
She tossed her blouse to the floor and shrugged her shoulder straps down, her breasts straining against their confinement while JT watched. A wild tingle shot from her nipples down to her aching pussy. She rubbed it against him, moaning as the desire to display her naked body overwhelmed her.

He sat up and reached behind her back while their tongues tangled. The bra clasp popped open, and she let it drop between them. Her bare nipples brushed his shirt, sending tiny shock waves rolling through her limbs. She shoved him down and sat up, arching her back to make sure he got a good look.

A low whistle escaped his lips. “Even prettier than I imagined.” He reached up and cupped both breasts in his hands, caressing her delicate nipples with his calloused thumbs.

She squirmed on top of him, twisting sideways and down while he fondled her. His belt buckle stabbed her leg and shredded her blissful haze. “Ow,” she gasped.

He rolled them over, pinning her half-naked body under him. “Sorry.” He kissed the word on her breast.

“You should be.” She grabbed his shirt and tugged it free from his waist. “You have way too many clothes on.”
So do I.
She’d always rushed to get naked, but their unlawful tryst made the need to strip away barriers even more urgent.

Apparently JT didn’t share that pressing desire. “What are you going to do about it, sweet rebel?” He kissed her exposed skin, taking a leisurely pace, but making no effort to remove his clothes—or hers.

Slow down. No one’s going to find us here.
She caught her breath as his lips captured a nipple. Her hand drifted across his chest while he flicked the hard pebble with his tongue. Shivers danced down her spine, setting her fingers in motion as she encountered a fastened button. But her mission stalled as he released that breast and claimed the other. “Mmm….”

He laughed on her skin, then pulled her nipple into his mouth with his teeth.

She hissed and arched, clutching his shirt and giving up her undressing campaign. “Oh, I think I’ll let you strip me first.”

“Hmm….” His lips vibrated her wet bud. “You like showing off, don’t you?”

Is it that obvious?
Will had picked up on it right away. Michael had never had a clue, but now JT stumbled upon her kink and was preparing to exploit it.

“You wanted to be on top so I could see you.” He leaned back and gazed at her bare breasts.

She arched under him, presenting the most flattering view. When appreciation lit his face, she framed her breasts with her hands and waited for his praise. “What do you think?”

He could’ve answered that question in a variety of ways.

“Gorgeous.”

Claire smiled. He’d chosen the perfect reply. Then he lay down and weaved his fingers with hers to cup her breast, stroking the straining nipple. His breath tickled her ear. “Are you wet?”

Her heart stopped. Only one other man had made her panties damp without direct contact. Were JT’s flickering licks and sweeping caresses enough to stimulate the flow? A heated drip tickled her thighs.
Oh hell yes….
Or maybe his potent gaze and probing question had done it. Either way, he expected an answer. She turned her head and touched her lips to his. “I could tell you, but….”

He laughed and slipped his hand under her skirt, dragging one long finger down the soaked satin between her legs. “Baby, you can strip for me anytime you want.”

His mouth caught hers before she could argue, before she could list all the reasons why they couldn’t just rip each other’s clothes off. Just talking to him violated the law, but what they were doing breached ethics, morals, and a whole list of behavioral rules. Fortunately, his tongue plunged between her lips and swept away all the consequences of their intimate position.

He hooked his finger under the satin panel and pulled it aside to stroke the hot, wet flesh underneath.

Claire arched into his hand as molten heat ignited her body. “Holy shit!”

JT laughed. “You’re welcome.”

She melted onto the mattress as he kissed his way down her body, abandoning her breasts while his hands pursued other pleasures. Her skirt obstructed his path. “‘Damn it. Take it off, take it off!” She rose off the bed and he slipped his fingers behind her back to yank the zipper down. Then they wiggled her remaining clothes over her hips, leaving her naked and displayed, quivering while he stared at her.

He sat back on his knees and fumbled with his belt while she lay on the bed. She swung one leg over his head, bent the other knee and drew it to her hip, parting her thighs as the chilly air whispered over her exposed flesh.

“Finish what you started.” She smiled when he let go of the buckle and ran his hand down his straining zipper. Half the fun of exposing her naked body to a man was watching the effect she had on him. Of course, the other half was feeling it. She threaded her fingers through his hair and guided his mouth to her stomach. He moaned, breathing hot on her abs while his hand reclaimed her flesh.

Her nipples ached, and she rolled one between her fingers. A rebellious fantasy flitted across her mind. JT’s hands were fully occupied with her lower body. What would it feel like to have another set—not hers, another man’s—attend to the erogenous zones above her waist?
Give that some thought.

She sought a face to fill that role. Not Will. Never Alex. Michael failed to stimulate her.
Hmm… yummy IT guy?
Kurt’s smile teased her thoughts while she imagined his long fingers stroking her nipples as deftly as he stroked a keyboard.

“Fucking hell!” Claire squealed as JT planted a kiss inside her thigh. What would he think if he knew she imagined help?

I think it makes you normal.

He might like it.

But before she could include JT in her fantasy, a siren whooped and red and blue lights flashed through the gap in the curtains. She rolled off the bed away from the window and hit the floor with a resounding thud. Her elbow tingled, shooting pain all the way up her arm.

JT jumped up and threw Claire’s blouse on top of her, then darted to the window and peeked out. “There’s a cop outside, parked right in front of our room.”

“Oh my God!” She yanked her panties and skirt into place, then searched the bed for her bra. “We’re caught!”

“No. No, we’re not.” He stepped to the other side and stuck his head under the curtain. “There’s an ambulance pulling up.”

Claire hooked her bra and shrugged into her blouse, falling short of the record for speed dressing when she buttoned it up crooked and had to redo it. She stood up to join JT at the window, but the room spun, and she grabbed a bedpost as she fell to her knees. A tinny ringing filled her ears as spots flashed before her eyes.

His strong hand touched her shoulder and lifted her up, then he guided her to the chair, then ran to the bathroom for a glass of water.

“Thank you.” Her voice cracked, and she clutched the glass with trembling hands.

He squatted, bringing his eyes level with hers. “They’re not here for us. Even if the judge found out, she wouldn’t send the police after us. She’d wait till we showed up in court tomorrow.” He caressed her cheek, peeling damp hair from her neck.

“I know.” She gulped the water and coughed, reasoning with herself to fight back the wave of irrational panic before it turned into a full-on overreaction. “I always imagine the worst possible thing that could happen, even if it isn’t realistic. In my mind, we would’ve been arrested for contempt. I’d lose my job, the trial would be miscarried, you’d be fined or worse.”

“But we
weren’t
.” A short siren blared and the lights moved away. He looked out the window. “They’re leaving—without us. We’re safe.”

She shook her head. “I’ll never be safe with you.” She’d tried to overcome the fear, to join him on a thrill ride, but this attraction cost too much. “I can’t do this anymore.” She braced her hands on the armrests and slowly stood.

He crossed the room in two steps and slipped his arms around her waist. “The trial won’t last forever.”

But she’d regained her strength and stepped back, free from him. “Doesn’t matter. There’d be questions about how and when we met, maybe an investigation. It would never work.”

“I’ll make it work.” His jaw clenched.

She buttoned her blazer, closing the argument. “Goodbye JT.”

“Claire, don’t.” He grabbed her arm but she shook him off.

Her vision blurred as she reached for the door. The old hinges squeaked, announcing her departure. She left the door open behind her, an invitation for him to pursue, but she made it to her car alone.
It’s better this way.
The engine sputtered as if unwilling to leave, but she pushed the gas pedal and forced her determination on it. She turned the heat up full blast and watched the motel through the rearview mirror while the windshield defrosted.

No sign of him. A wave of sickening regret rose from her stomach. She’d lost another man to circumstances beyond her control. Blind luck, cruel fate.

She’d see him in court tomorrow. His legal duty would force him to show up. No doubt he’d watch her from the jury box, his penetrating blue gaze stripping her as naked as she’d been on that quilted bed. She couldn’t expose herself to that again. Maybe she could find an excuse to avoid the courtroom—call in sick, or find something she had to research right away. Keep busy with other tasks until the trial ended.

And then she’d never see him again.

I can live with that. Can he?

Somewhere in the darkest corner of her wounded heart, a flame of hope ignited—and refused to be extinguished.

Chapter 6

The motel’s ancient pipes groaned and rattled as the old showerhead spurted brown water. JT jumped back and let it run clear, hoping it would get warm at some point. Unfortunately, his luck didn’t go that far this morning. The cold jarred him awake, shocking him into taking stock of what he had to accomplish. Shower, check. Get dressed, check. Find his way home, in progress.

He got in his truck and switched on the GPS. He’d paid no attention to his surroundings on the way up here. How the hell had Claire found this place? He’d been to the mountains plenty of times, but this little town and its sheltered location remained a mystery.

The sun rose bright and clear as JT rested his arm on the steering wheel and glanced at his watch. If he didn’t run into rush-hour traffic, he’d have time to go home and change clothes before going to court.

His cell phone rang, and he fished through his jacket pocket to answer it. “Hello?”

Linda’s voice crackled with static. “Sorry to call you so early, but I wanted to catch you before you went to court.”

That doesn’t sound good.
“What’s up?”

“You got a registered letter from an attorney.”

“I don’t have time to stop by. Open it.” He heard paper rip.