“Are you two close?”
“More or less. I don’t think she understands why I chose the Bureau as my career, but she’s proud of me, in her own way. She even sent me flowers after I got my first suspect to conf—” Her head jerked to the side. “Did you hear that?”
Cole went quiet, listening to the sound of the storm wreaking havoc outside. “All I hear is wind and rain.”
Jamie bounded to her feet and headed for the window. “I swear I heard howling.”
“The wind,” he reiterated, fighting a smile.
“No, it’s…” She pressed her face to the glass and peered out. “When I was driving in I saw something run into the yard—I figured it was a squirrel, but—” She gasped. “Oh no!”
“What—”
But she was already flying out of the room.
Panic thrummed inside him, propelling him into action. He hurried after her, but she’d managed to open the front door and was running out into the elements. Had she gone absolutely insane? His pulse was thrown off course when he reached the doorway and watched as a gust of wind and rain nearly knocked Jamie off her feet. She stumbled, recovered, and kept going, the T-shirt he’d given her clinging to her wet body.
Bloody hell.
Ignoring the frantic thumping of his heart, he took off after her, yelling at her only to have his voice carried away by the wind. Jamie had made it to the trees at the edge of the driveway, where the tin roof that used to be on his shed now lay in a crumbled heap of metal. He pushed forward, fighting the gusts that kept slamming him backward. Lightning whipped over his head, causing the dark sky to illuminate for one brief second before it went pitch-black again.
“Get in the house, Jamie!” he shouted fruitlessly.
He reached her just as she lifted up the metal roof lying on the grass, then swooped something into her arms. Raindrops assaulted his face, making it impossible to see what she was holding. It looked furry and wet and was letting out terrified howls.
Curling his fingers over her bare wet arm, he shoved her to his side. “We need to get inside, damn it!”
Another bolt of lightning, and then he heard a sizzling noise and pushed Jamie forward just as a branch crashed down behind them. Christ, the weatherman hadn’t been kidding this time. The hurricane currently terrorizing the coast had found its way inland, manifesting as a tropical storm that seemed unbelievably out of place in the interior of the state.
They moved with the wind now, letting it propel them toward the house. By the time they staggered into the dry front hall, every inch of Cole’s body was dripping wet.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he roared, his tone rivaling the furious storm outside.
“I… You didn’t have to come after me,” she stammered, spitting strands of soaked hair from her mouth.
“What is wrong with you?” His voice caught in his throat, an uncharacteristic vise of helplessness constricting his chest. “You could have been killed!”
“I saw—”
“I don’t give a damn what you saw.” He grasped both of her shoulders with his hands, vaguely aware of the squirming bundle in her arms. “That was stupid, risking your life like that.”
As adrenaline and lingering panic pumped through his blood, he looked into her eyes and saw the fearful glimmer in them. Realizing he was holding onto her shoulders far too tight, he loosened his grip and let out a ragged breath. “Damn it, Jamie, you scared the crap out of me.”
“I didn’t mean—”
He didn’t let her finish. Instead, he crushed his mouth over hers and kissed her.
Chapter 5
Jamie gasped against Cole’s lips, stunned by this sudden turn of events. His lips were cold, but his tongue was warm as it prodded against the seam of her lips and demanded entry. Just as she’d been helpless to stop herself from rushing outside, she was helpless to stop this kiss. It was a desperate mashing of mouths, a complete domination as Cole’s tongue thrust deep and tangled with her own.
He cupped the back of her head with one wet hand, angling for better access, kissing her so hard, so mercilessly that she sagged against him, their soaked shirts sticking together.
Something was happening inside of her. She was no longer cold, but scorching hot, flames of desire licking at her wet clothing, sizzling her skin and settling in her core. Her nipples hardened, so painfully stiff that she rubbed them against his chest to ease the dull ache.
His tongue swirled over hers and she moaned softly. Was this how kissing was supposed to make you feel? Out of control, paralyzed with pleasure? Never in her life had she experienced the burning bolts of arousal whipping through her body.
The unfamiliar sensations succeeded in bringing a jolt of panic. She pulled back at the same time Cole did, noticing that his dark gaze was focused on her hip. The hem of her shirt had ridden up, revealing the butt of the Glock tucked into her waistband.