Forever Together (16 page)

“You just saved Kaylee’s life,” Dan said
quietly. “I’d say you’ve paid back tenfold what you owed Lily.”

“There’s always more I can do.” Kate took a
deep breath and reached for her water. Her hand shook so much that
she couldn’t get the glass to her mouth.

“Let me help.”

Dan moved around the table, knelt on the
floor, and lifted the glass to her mouth. Kate sipped the water,
careful not to take too big a gulp in case she coughed everything
up. Dan knelt beside her, watching her lick her lips dry, staring
at her mouth like there was nothing in the world he’d rather do.
And that’s when everything went crazy.

Dan put the glass slowly back on the table.
“Better?”

Kate couldn’t have answered him if she’d
wanted to. He hadn’t moved from beside her, hadn’t stopped looking
at her like she’d surprised him in all the right ways.

“Dan, I…” She didn’t get much further. He
lowered his mouth to hers, teasing and nipping her lips until she
wanted to devour him whole.

He moved closer and she turned toward him.
Somehow he ended up kneeling between her legs, pulling her into his
body, and holding on tight.

Kate’s hands held his head, gripped his
shoulders. Their first kiss had left her breathless and needy. This
kiss filled the gaps, shattered everything that had kept her away
from other men. Her body opened, folded around him, and reached out
for more.

She pulled at his shirt, hooked her hands
around his waist and felt his hot skin beneath her fingertips.

Dan sucked in a breath, groaned as her hands
skimmed his ribs, then flinched when they made it to his chest. The
shudder that ripped through his body made her feel reckless and
wild. It was everything all at once and Kate still wanted more.

Dan pulled back, held her captive with his
eyes while his fingers undid the buttons on her shirt. She wished
she’d worn a T-shirt, wished Dan would hurry up so she could haul
him in close and let her lips roam over his body.

He smiled, a
slow,
sweet smile that sent her heart rate soaring. “I
want you to burn for me as much as I burn for you.”

Kate leaned forward and ran her tongue along
his jaw. “Already there.”

She might as well have opened the door on a
tornado. The buttons on her shirt flew open and Dan latched onto
her breast, sucking her nipple until she thought she’d explode.

Everything felt
hot,
and tight, and…he moved to her other breast and she
thought she’d died and gone to heaven.

And still it wasn’t enough. She pulled back,
grabbed his hand and moved toward the stairs.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Kate led him into her bedroom. She’d never
been
more sure
of anything in her
life. Dan knew her, knew what made her who she was, and he hadn’t
walked away. He’d listened to what she’d said and made her feel as
though she was making a difference.

She threw her shirt off and undid her bra.
The pink scrap of lace floated to the ground. She smiled at Dan,
beckoned him closer.

He stumbled and the heat in his eyes flared.
Within seconds his shirt had joined her bra, tossed carelessly to
the ground by a man with a lot
on
his mind.

She undid her jeans and wiggled them down her
hips. His indrawn breath made her freeze.

“Damn it, Kate. You never told me the
bruising was so bad.”

Kate looked down at her hips and frowned. A
giant bruise the size of a dinner plate covered most of her hip.
“At least the edges are turning yellow. It beats the black and blue
look.”

“Are you sure I won’t hurt you?”

Kate smiled. “As long as we take it slow and
easy I don’t see a problem.” She ran her hand along the top of her
panties and Dan swore.

“I’m not going to last if you keep wiggling
your hips like that.”

She crawled
onto
her bed and patted the sheets. “That’s the general
idea. Do you want to join me?”

Dan landed beside her, half-undressed and
panting as if he’d run a marathon.

She reached for the button on his trousers,
teasing the hard erection she could feel waiting to break free.

He groaned and rolled onto his side.
“Feet…”

Kate closed her eyes and tried to work out
what he was talking about. If he wanted a pair of shoes to play
with she had a killer
four-inch
pair of red stilettos that might do the trick. And there was the
black pair with diamante buckles.

She heard the heavy thud of his boots hit the
ground and smiled. She liked a man who thought ahead.

The smile fell off her face when she saw what
else had hit the ground. Dan stood beside the bed, buck naked and
grinning like a cat who was about to swallow a tasty mouse.
Whole.

“Are you ready for play time?”

Kate had been waiting her whole life for play
time and she wasn’t about to waste another second. “I’m all
yours.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

And before she knew it, Dan was showing her
how rewarding play time could be.

***

Kate rolled over and buried her nose in Dan’s
chest. She rubbed her mouth against his skin and smiled.

“What time is it?” he grumbled.

“Time you were up.”

“You’re a hard
task
master. Isn’t three times in one night enough?” Dan
laughed when her fingers found a ticklish spot on his body. In two
seconds flat he’d hooked his legs around hers and rolled her onto
her back. “But I’m always open to suggestion.”

Kate kissed him quickly on his lips. “It’s
seven o’clock. What time do you start work?”

“Shit.” Dan leaped out of bed and grabbed his
trousers. “I should be in town by now.” He tore out of the room and
disappeared down the hall.

“What the hell are you doing coming out of
Kate’s bedroom? Naked.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open. Her dad’s voice
exploded through the house.

“Tom? What’s wrong?” Anna’s voice sounded
further away.

Kate heard the wooden stairs creak. She had
about ten seconds to get something on before World War Three hit
rural Montana.

She rushed toward her closet, yanked her
bathrobe off its hook and fumbled with the tie. This was so not the
morning after the best night of her life that she’d imagined.

“I can explain…” Dan’s voice sounded
reasonable, calm, and slightly pissed off.

“I don’t want your explanation,” her dad
yelled. “Get some clothes on before I do something you’ll
regret.”

“Tom? What’s going on?” Anna walked past
Kate’s bedroom. “What are you yelling at Dan for? And why do you
have nothing on but a towel? I thought you’d be at work by
now?”

“He’s taken advantage of my daughter, that’s
why I’m yelling. Your God damn brother slept with Kate and I’m
going to skin him alive.”

Kate stuck her head out of her bedroom door.
Her dad had pinned Dan up against the wall. It would have been
funny if it
wasn’t
her virtue her
dad was fighting over.

Anna looked between both men and frowned. “Is
that right, Dan? Did you sleep with Kate?”

“It’s not his fault.” All eyes swiveled
toward Kate. “He didn’t take advantage of me. I pulled him into
bed.”

“You what?” Her dad’s face turned purple.
“What the hell were you thinking? What did your mother teach you
back in San Diego? You don’t go around sleeping with men you’ve
only just met.”

Kate stared stubbornly at her father. “I’ve
known Dan for more than two weeks. I’m twenty-eight years old. I’m
not a kid anymore.”

“The way you’re acting, you could have fooled
me.” Her dad’s mouth settled into a grim line.

“You can’t talk to Kate like that. We didn’t
do anything wrong.” Dan’s voice had gone from slightly peeved to
full throttle annoyed.

Her dad glared at Dan. “I don’t care whether
you think you did anything wrong or not. What are your intentions
toward my daughter?”

“Dad.” Kate was mortified. “I can’t believe
you just asked that question. It’s not the eighteenth century. We
had sex. I don’t want to marry Dan.”

Anna stepped between Kate and her dad. “I
think it’s about time we took Pearl and Bonny for a ride. You can
talk to Kate later.”

“If there
was
more talking done here last night I wouldn’t be
standing in the hallway with two half naked people.” He stomped
toward the stairs and disappeared.

Anna gave her brother a mean scowl. “I’ll
talk to you later.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Dan
replied.

“You’re my little brother and Kate’s my
stepdaughter. I’d say that’s a pretty good place to start.” She
glared once more for good measure then followed her husband down
the stairs.

Kate sighed and leaned against the wall.
“Tell me this has all been a nightmare and I’m going to wake up
soon.”

“Not going to happen.” Dan wiped his hand
across his face and stared at the stairs. “So last night was about
sex? Nothing more?”

Kate frowned. “I don’t know what…oh. You mean
what I said to dad? About marrying you?”

Dan crossed his arms in front of his chest,
which wouldn’t have mattered if his towel hadn’t slipped half an
inch lower. With his biceps bulging and lots of skin on display,
Kate was having a hard time concentrating on anything except how
good he looked.

She frowned at the icy look on his face. He
wasn’t happy with her quick assessment of their night together.

“Did you expect something more?” she asked
carefully.

“Why would I do that?” he said in a voice as
flat as the pasture surrounding the house. “If I had certain
expectations about spending the night with you, I might get
disappointed. At least now I know you were using me.”

Kate gasped. “That’s unfair. I only said that
to stop dad from carrying on like a deranged father. Did you ever
stop to think that maybe I might have had expectations as
well?”

“Like what?” he growled.

“Like you’d at least speak to me without
yelling. And maybe, if I was lucky, give me the first shower.”

“Take the damn shower. You can have this as
well.” He ripped the towel off his hips and threw it at her. “And
while you’re at
it, you
can forget
about me spending another night here. I’d sooner sleep at the
station.”

He stormed toward her bedroom and reappeared
with all of his clothes under his arm. “I’ll get dressed
downstairs.”

“You’d better watch out for dad,” Kate yelled
at his naked back. “He might have a shotgun with him.”

“At least it would be better than a shotgun
wedding,” he growled from the bottom of the stairs.

And that, thought
Kate,
would be the event of the year. The Deputy Chief of
Police marrying a woman with a criminal history who also happened
to be his brother-in-law’s daughter.

It would keep the local gossip mill running
for years.

***

Kate stared at the Bozeman Law and Justice
Center. She held the handle
on
her
basket so tight, it was a wonder her hands didn’t fall off from
lack of circulation. She had an apology to deliver and she wasn’t
looking forward to what might come next.

She walked past wooden containers full of
pansies and
petunias,
and dodged a
group of teenagers running down the steps. She looked over her
shoulder and watched them pile into a couple of trucks parked
against the curb. Remembering what it felt like to be their age
wasn’t helping her nerves. It made them worse.

She pushed the front door open and walked
toward a police officer sitting behind a desk. “Could I see Daniel
Carter, please?”

The officer looked up from the paperwork in
front of him and sniffed. “There wouldn’t be chocolate muffins in
that basket of yours, would there?”

“Double chocolate with lemon frosting.”

The officer stood up and held out his hand.
“I met you the other day. I’m Colin O’Grady, the best Patrol
Sergeant in the squad.”

Kate smiled and shook his hand. “Kate
Jennings. You like Anna’s home baking.”

“That’s me, all right. Dan’s in a meeting. I
could take you through to my desk to wait for him. I make good
coffee and I’m due for a break about now.”

Kate gazed around the room. There were a few
chairs behind her, lined up waiting to process the next problem
that walked through the doors. Someone had put a green potted plant
in one corner, hoping to brighten the gray, no-nonsense room. If
she stayed here, she’d leave before Dan finished his meeting. “How
long will he be?”

Colin shrugged his wide shoulders. “Could be
ten or fifteen minutes, maybe longer. Do you want me to make an
appointment for you? That way he won’t go somewhere else while
we’re sharing a muffin.”

The smile on Colin’s face made Kate feel
better. At least if she
was
eating
cake and drinking
coffee
she
wouldn’t be thinking about Dan. “That would be great. Thank
you.”

Colin sat down and typed a message on the
computer keyboard. “All done.” He checked his watch, then sent
another message to someone else. “I’ll have to wait for my
replacement, then we can leave. There are some magazines on the
coffee table if you want to read something. It won’t take more than
a minute or two to get someone out here.”

Kate walked across the room and peered at
magazines. She had a choice of the
Montana Sporting Journal
or
Flathead Living
. Riveting reading for a woman who didn’t
want to be anywhere near a police
department
. She put her basket on the table and sat down.
Flathead Living
won the
two-second
contest going on inside her head. She opened
the magazine to the first page and hoped Colin’s replacement
arrived soon.