She wanted the crush of his body against hers, his hot liquid kiss, his mouth pressing down on hers, the way that simple touch seemed to ignite every atom of her flesh and blood. He broke away to remove his gun, and then they were together again, struggling to rid each other of their clothing until they could come together naked, flesh against flesh, all down the lengths of their bodies.
They fell onto her bed together. There were long frenzied minutes when they struggled to touch each other as if they might never get another chance. Then the frenzy passed and he raised himself over her. She marveled at the contours of his face, lost herself in the shadows in his eyes as he studied her. Then he moved against her, his kiss finding her throat, her collarbone, her breast and midriff and beyond.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, her body alive and electric as she fought to keep silent while he did intimate things to her that drove her to the brink. He knew when to tease and when to pause, how to elicit the kind of response she’d never known herself capable of. Finally he took her lips once more as he settled against her, then slid into her at last. She couldn’t get close enough to him, couldn’t breathe in his scent deeply enough....
They climaxed almost as one, and after the explosion of release swept through them and she settled into his embrace, she heard the settling of the house, a sound that had always soothed her. A dog barked somewhere down the street, and she felt the sweat-dampened sheet beneath them, heard the steady throb of the air-conditioner.
He held her tightly against him.
After a moment he asked, “Do you want to talk yet?”
“No,” she told him.
They fell asleep together, cradled in each other’s embrace.
That night she dreamed there was someone outside in the street. Someone big, with well-muscled arms, wearing a wet suit, and cloaked in darkness and shadows. He suddenly grew large beneath the streetlight and rose to the window, like a vampire floating on air. Then he was in the room and reaching out for her. His hands closed around her throat until she couldn’t breathe, and he shook her, shouting, “The treasure! Where is the treasure?”
She tried to fight. She thrashed and struggled and finally woke up.
And found that Petrie was meowing and protesting as she pushed him away from her.
She was alone in the room with the cat. Dallas was gone.
Another day had begun.
*
Kelsey already had the coffee going by the time Dallas came down. Logan was on his computer, going through his notes on the case, trying to see if they’d missed anything. Dallas had just poured himself his second cup of coffee when Hannah made her way to the kitchen and headed straight for the coffeepot. Her giant cat followed her in, and as soon as she’d greeted them all and poured her coffee, she fed the cat. She glanced Dallas’s way, gave him a weak smile and then turned away as if preoccupied.
“All right,” Logan said. “We’re rounding them up. We know that the Wolf has people covering Fort Lauderdale and Miami, but his reign in Key West is about to become history.” He looked at Dallas. “You were right. Liam just called me. Pistol threw a beer can at a cop car so he’d be arrested and brought in. He didn’t like being the last man standing, got a little worried for his health. He’s in holding now, waiting for whenever you want to go in. Now our number-one target is Machete, the man the Wolf has committing his murders for him.”
“Well, we have a description, verified by a number of witnesses, of a big, powerful man with blue eyes,” Dallas said. “So I’m going to assume that’s him.”
“Big man, that’s probably half the male population. Blue eyes, well...that could bring it down to a quarter,” Kelsey said, then shrugged apologetically. “Math was never my strong suit.”
Dallas smiled drily at that, watching Hannah. She looked tired, drawn. Despite that, he still thought she was stunning, somehow graceful even when she was pouring cat food. How had all that happened so quickly? He felt as if he knew her better than he’d known anyone before. Friends he’d known for years. Friends he laughed with, worked with, spent his down time with...a friend with benefits he’d genuinely cared about and yet...
Never been in love with.
He couldn’t be in love with Hannah.
Maybe not, but he could be falling in love.
He gave himself a mental shake.
“Hannah?”
She turned to look at him, a question in her eyes.
“How much do you really know about this place?”
“The Siren?” she asked, frowning. “Well, ask Kelsey. I do know there are no secret rooms or sliding panels. And no bodies in the basement, since there isn’t a basement. The attic is clean as a whistle. No mysterious nooks or crannies. No skeletons anywhere, I swear.”
“What about the yard?” he asked her.
“The yard? I can’t imagine there’s anything buried in the yard,” she said. “Kelsey, remember all the workmen when they put the pool in? Half the yard was dug up.”
“There was a lot of digging going on,” Kelsey agreed.
“A lot of digging—and half the yard dug up. Still, I’d like to get a look at the plans.”