Breaking Bad (12 page)

Jack raised his chin, his eyes blazing, and thrust high into her. “You’re killing me, sweetheart, killing me.”

She caught his thrust, her liquid muscles fisting him, drawing him deeper. There was nothing more sublime than the thick hard feel of Jack Thornton inside her. “At least,” she gasped, “you’ll die with a smile on your face.”

When he made the move to bring his hands down, she fought back. “Don’t move, Jack.” She pushed his hands back into to the pillows. “This is for me.”

His dark eyes narrowed, but his cock flexed deep inside of her.

“Next time,” he said roughly, “I won’t be so easy.”

Laughing softly, she said, “I hope not.”

Only then, when she had his full compliance, unhurriedly, did she begin the intimate dance that connected them at the most primal level.

He didn’t rush her, he didn’t push; he let her set the pace, never taking his eyes off hers.

She’d released his hands and sat upright on him, her hands reaching back to his thighs, digging her nails into him. He hissed, his hips jerking hard, but he kept his arms over his head, his white knuckled hands grasping the black iron slat of her headboard.

Her eyelids dropped low over her eyes as she bowed, slowly grinding against his cock and pelvis. Hovering just on the edge of her orgasm, Stevie bit her bottom lip as her vaginal muscles grasped him.

“Jack,” she breathed. “That feels so good. I don’t want you to stop.”

“Let me touch you,” he rasped.

“No, I want—” She cried out when he thrust high into her. “Yes, that—I want that.”

He thrust high into her again, and again. When he pushed her over the edge, she screamed his name and unraveled around him. Her body shook and jerked as she ground her pubis against the thick root of his cock, drawing out her orgasm in long glorious waves of rapture. Just as she began to come down, he reached up and grabbed her. Pulling her against his chest, he rolled over with her and sank deeply into her.

Digging his fingers deep into her hair, he said hoarsely, “You make me lose all control.” Then he withdrew and thrust so deeply she screamed. His hips tensed before he rammed again. “Christ,” he swore, pistoning into her, then coming in a mad, wild rush.

The last thing Stevie thought before she fell asleep with Jack still inside of her was how much she would enjoy waking up next to him in the morning.

Stevie woke to the soft chatter of the resident sparrows and the delicious dream she’d had of her and Jack. Slowly she opened her swollen eyes and blinked. They hurt, like she’d been crying. She never cried. In her dream though, she had…

Languorously, her gaze swept her room. The last thing she remembered was her bath. Heat rose in her cheeks as her hand slid down her naked body to her thighs and felt the stickiness there. She stiffened and every muscle in her body screamed in protest. A dull throb hammered at her temples. Holy hell, it wasn’t a dream; she had broken down like a schoolgirl and had proceeded to practically demand sex from Jack! Her eyes widened when they landed on him sprawled out on her dad’s recliner.

Embarrassment swept through her. She’d been so needy. So weak. How had she allowed that to happen?

With dizzying clarity, the night came flooding back. Jack coming to her house and—their workout. Warmth flushed low in her belly. That had been amazing. Pizza, the fundraiser, and her attack. She scowled. Spoltori. Her bath. Squeezing her eyes shut, she remembered her nightmare and Jack being there. Her eyes and chest ached from her tears. She had been a blabbering emotional mess. Those damn pills!

Her misery lessened when she remembered how patient and comforting Jack had been with her. A side of him she hadn’t known existed. A side she liked. It was good, she told herself, that she could break down like that and not scare him away.

Closing her eyes, she shook her head, uncomfortable with this new development. She didn’t know how to deal with this type of exposure. Act like it never happened? See how Jack would be this morning? Maybe he was going to be just as weird about it as she was. One could hope. She should have insisted on the Tylenol.

Sitting up, she groaned in pain, instantly regretting the action.

“Stevie?” Jack sprang up from his reclined position, looking wildly around the room before his eyes settled on her. He raked his fingers through his hair when he realized she was unharmed. “Jesus, I thought you were—never mind.” He stood, stretching that long predatory body of his. He was wearing sweats and a white muscle tee. His muscles beneath that hot skull tattoo bunched and unbunched in fluid ease. Her heart pitter-pattered in her chest. Even sleepy he was the hottest man on the planet.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached out to touch her, but pulled back. Her heart cracked. That simple action said he regretted what happened. Otherwise he would have stayed in bed with her and not just have pulled away from her. What did he think of her now?

She swallowed hard. No strings, right?

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Sore.” Then she scowled. “Why are you here? What time is it? Do we know where Spoltori is?”

Jack shook his head and this time he didn’t fight his need to touch her. He brushed back the hair from her face. His warm gaze held hers looking for a cue from her about what happened. She refused to give him one. She’d had a vulnerable moment. It shouldn’t have happened. She’d make sure it didn’t happen again. “I’m here to make sure you’re okay, it’s eight fifteen, and Spoltori is still at large.”

Her scowl deepened. “I’m fine. You didn’t have to spend the night.”

“After what happened to you last night, Spoltori being unaccounted for, and your refusal to come home with me, you didn’t leave me much choice.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Hey, Thorn?” a familiar voice called from the hallway.

“Is that Flynn?” Stevie asked, shocked. What the hell?

“Yeah?” Jack called back.

“The guys want to head back soon, but there are two uniforms on their way in.”

“Thanks, man.”

Flynn popped his head into the room. Stevie gasped, pulling the sheet high over her nakedness. The special agent’s dark eyes danced mischievously. “Coffee’s fresh, oh, and Doc’s here.” He ducked back out, his laughter trailing behind him.

“What’s that about? Who’s Doc?” She asked, looking pointedly at Jack. Had Flynn heard her moaning—no, screaming—with pleasure last night? Mortified, she wanted to fade into the wall. She didn’t know how to address the elephant in the room. Not that Jack seemed concerned; he acted like nothing had happened. Maybe she would, too.

“With the driver on the loose and the high likelihood of it being Spoltori, a suspected serial killer, so close to you, we thought it would be prudent to have a few eyes and ears outside.”

Stevie’s jaw dropped. “You mean you wasted valuable man-hours watching my house instead of them being on the street where they could actually do something worthwhile?”

Jack scowled. “No one was pulled from duty, Stevie. They volunteered.”

Warmth infiltrated her chest. “What did you threaten them with if they didn’t?”

He looked insulted, then surprised. “Not a damn thing. They offered.”

Stevie swallowed and admitted, “No one has ever done anything like that for me before.”

Jack stood and held out his hand. “That’s because you’re too busy being a badass to let them.”

She slipped her hand into his. The contact was electric, the shock of it catching them both off guard. Jack’s green eyes blazed, but he didn’t say a word; instead, he wound her in the sheet. Probably for the best. If it dropped, she’d be in trouble. Again. This time she wouldn’t be able to blame it on the drugs.

“Put some clothes on, Doc’s going to check you out.”

“Doc?”

“Dr. Katrina Winslow.”

“One of your exes?”

“Does every woman in my life automatically get the ex-label?”

“No, just the gorgeous, sexy ones.”

Jack threw his back and laughed. “You might be on to something, Detective, considering you’re gorgeous
and
sexy.”

She scowled. “Yeah, except my label reads: Future Ex.”

Jack kissed her nose. “Don’t sell yourself so short, hot stuff.”

Fighting a smile, she pushed him away and said, “I don’t need an exam, I’m fine.”

“I know you’re fine,” he grinned raising his brows, “but
I
need to know you’re not hurt beyond some bumps and bruises.”

“Fine,” she exasperated, “let me throw on a tee shirt and sweats.”

Five minutes later a gorgeous, sexy woman entered her bedroom after knocking softly and getting permission to enter. Immediately Stevie geared up her defenses. Absolutely one of Jack’s exes.

Doc smiled warmly and if Stevie didn’t hate her so much she might like her, because her smile was warm and friendly, not a single shred of bitch attached to it.

Doc was Stevie’s height, with thick copper-colored hair, and big blue eyes. She was dressed casually in sweet strappy wedges, designer jeans that accentuated her svelte curvy body, and a deep blue lace tank top that made her big cat-shaped eyes look like burning sapphires.

She walked with the sexy confidence of woman well loved. Yeah, Stevie hated everything about her.

“I’m Katrina West, Detective, a friend of Jack’s. I hope you don’t mind that I’m here. He was rather persuasive. I could never deny Jack anything.”

Stevie had no doubt. Besides, Jack hadn’t denied that the sexy doctor was an ex. Yeah, he’d managed to slide right around that one.

“I’m sure you haven’t.” Stevie said, scowling. The motion made her head throb the more.

Doc set her little black bag down on the nightstand and, with her hands on her hips; she smiled so broadly that Stevie was blinded by the brilliance of it. She hated her even more now.

“I’m not the enemy, Detective Cavanaugh,” Doc said, amusement lacing her words. Stevie didn’t see anything so funny about Jack calling an ex to check out his current fling. “I haven’t slept with Jack. I have no intention or desire to sleep with him.” She winked. “Not that he isn’t a fine specimen of a man, but I have my own hot cop that keeps me plenty busy.”

The tension that had been generating at warp speed halted, and after Stevie gave a long exhale, it began to recede. If truth be told she felt a little sheepish. It wasn’t like her to jump to conclusions, but it seemed when it came to Jack she wasn’t her normal logical self.

Doc opened her bag and pulled out a stethoscope. “Please sit down, and let me take a listen.”

Stevie moved from where she was standing by the chair to the edge of the bed and let Doc take a listen.

“Deep breaths, please.”

Stevie obliged.

When the good doctor was done, she hung the stethoscope around her neck. “Contrary to popular belief, you do have a heart, and it’s working just fine.”

“Hrrmph, so Jack told you about us?”

“A little.”

Oddly, Jack discussing their relationship with the good doc didn’t bother her. Dr. Winslow had that inviting warm aura about her that was hard to resist. Besides, if he did talk about her, it meant she was on his mind and that was a good thing.

Doc took out the ear and nose spotlight thing and checked her ears, nose, and throat.

“Ears, nose, and throat look good.”

Then she touched Stevie’s temples eliciting a small moan. “That hurts?”

“It’s tender and I have a migraine at the moment.”

“Did you hit your head when you were run off the road?”

“I don’t remember. I may have.”

She looked at Stevie’s eyes with a light. “Hmm, you’re a little dilated. What medication have you taken?”

“Two hydrocodones at about one this morning. I wanted Tylenol, but Special Agent Neanderthal insisted on the narcotics.”

Doc’s lips twisted in a smile. “Yes, Neanderthal seems to be a prerequisite with them.”

“Them?” There were more?

“Jack, my husband Simon, Flynn, and the others.”

“How did you meet Jack?”

“He was part of a sting operation my husband was heading up. I was the bait, and Jack made sure I didn’t get hurt. It was very exciting and romantic, but nothing I’d like to experience again.” She looked at Stevie and smiled that gentle smile. “My hat is off to you, Detective. I could never do what you do.”

Stevie was warming up to this chick. “I could never be a doctor. How long have you been one?”

“I spent most of my career in a research lab, but since I met Simon and went through some ugliness with my former employer, I decided it was time to get back into the clinical side of medicine. So, in that respect, just a few months.”

“Kind of like riding a bike?”

“Sort of.”

When she had completed her exam, Doc said, “You have a mild concussion, Detective. I suggest you take it easy for a few days. Take Tylenol for the pain, but if your migraine gets worse, you call me or get to an ER. Sometimes bumps can produce blood clots and they can be deadly.”

“Don’t tell, Jack, he’ll go all caveman on me again. I don’t have time for that.”

“I’m sure he suspects—”

“Just don’t give him any more ammo, okay? Besides, there is that doctor-patient confidentiality thing.”

“Detective—”

“Please, call me Stevie, and I promise to take the Tylenol as ordered.”

“And—”

“I promise to call you if my headache doesn’t go away or gets worse.”

Doc snapped her black bag shut. “I’m going to take you at your word, Stevie. This is nothing to trifle with. Listen to your body.”

“Yes, Doc.”

“Call me Katrina.”

“Will do, Katrina. Now let me get ready for work, I have a lot to do today.”

Katrina shook her head and saw herself out of the room.

Less than a half hour later, Stevie strode out to the main area of the house. Deep male voices emanated from the kitchen, punctuated by Katrina’s distinctly feminine tone.

As Stevie entered the kitchen she stopped in her tracks.
Whoa. When did Santa stop by?

Three of the hottest men in law enforcement sat at her breakfast bar, their testosterone levels so high she could smell it.

The newcomer, a tall, dark, and very handsome man, stood up from the bar stool he had been sitting on, his bright green eyes smiling.