Then he was kissing her and she couldn’t think of anything at all. Hot, demanding kisses that scattered her thoughts and tore down her resistance. Jake was the only man who’d ever been able to make her forget about right and wrong.
She didn’t make a conscious decision to kiss him back, but the next thing she knew she was clinging to him. Her mouth was on his, demanding more, and he was sliding his tongue into her as if she were an elixir and he an addict for it. She could feel the hard ridge of his erection against her pelvis.
He lifted her sweater. She raised her arms and he eased it over her head so that she was wearing noth ing but her bra and jeans. A shudder went through her when he pulled back and looked at her. A shudder that had nothing to do with the chill inside the cabin and everything to do with the heat zinging between them.
“You’re so beautiful.”
He caressed her with his eyes, and Leigh felt as if he’d run his fingertips over her with a feather touch.
Never taking his eyes from hers, he unclasped her bra. She shivered when he removed the scrap of lace from her shoulders.
“I missed you,” he said. “For six years I’ve never stopped thinking of you, never stopped worrying about you, or hating myself for the way things went down.”
Taking her face between his hands, he forced her gaze to his. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I did what I did. I’m sorry Rasmussen hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Unexpected tears stung her eyes. “I believe you,” she whispered.
“I will never let him hurt you again. I’ll never put you in harm’s way. You have my word on that.”
He kissed her then. A long, lingering kiss that shot sparks throughout her body. He trailed kisses down her throat. Bending slightly, he kissed the valley between her breasts.
Leigh moaned when he took her nipple into his mouth. Her body arched, offering him more. Jake took it, laving his tongue over her swollen nipple. The arousal pulsing between her legs turned fierce.
The ringing of a cell phone came to her as if from a long distance. Jake pulled away, strode quickly to his phone and snatched it up. “Vanderpol.”
As he listened, his mouth formed a thin line. Then the blood drained from his face, and Leigh suddenly knew who was on the other end of the line. But how had he gotten Jake’s number?
“THERE WAS A DREADFUL incident at the Thunder Cove Marina this afternoon,” Rasmussen said. “An explosion and fire, I’m told. A nice sailboat, the Stormy C., I believe, went up in flames. Very unfortunate.”
Jake knew the sailboat could be replaced. But that didn’t keep the burst of rage from spreading through him like fire. “I’m sure you had nothing to do with it.”
“Had we been a few hours earlier, you and Kelsey might have been inside. Or is she going by Leigh these days?”
“It doesn’t matter, because as long as I’m alive you’ll never see her again.”
“Rest assured, Mr. Vanderpol. I’ll see her again. I’ll do a lot more than just see her. I’ll have her. I’ll taste her. I’ll see you again, too.”
A nasty curse flew from Jake’s mouth. He hit End, then stood there, his pulse hammering.
“Jake? What is it?”
Leigh’s voice came to him as if from a great distance.
Forcing his dark emotions back, he locked his gaze to hers. Even furious and afraid, he was taken aback by her beauty. By the effect she had on him.
“Rasmussen,” he spat.
She closed the distance between them. He could feel her eyes on him, but he didn’t reveal what he was thinking, what he was feeling. She set her hand on his arm.
“My God,” she said. “You’re shaking. What did he say to you?”
Jake didn’t like being afraid. He didn’t like knowing an evil man like Rasmussen was out there with his sights set on a woman he cared for. He liked even less the anxious feeling that the other man might succeed.
“The bastard torched the boat,” he ground out.
“Oh, Jake. Oh no. I’m sorry.”
“It’s only a boat, Leigh. It can be replaced. I’m insured.”
“But that kind of destruction is so senseless. And I know how much you loved that boat.”
All Jake could think was that his feelings for her were a hell of a lot more powerful. “I don’t know how he found out about it. Nobody knew about the boat. Not even the people at MIDNIGHT.” But he knew the folks at MIDNIGHT had ways of finding out just about anything. Once again he got the uneasy feeling that someone at MIDNIGHT had given him up. But who?
“Jake, this drives home the point that we need to trap him. Sooner or later Rasmussen is going to catch up with us. I’d rather that happen on our terms instead of his.”