Yours for the Night Page 36

  She had almost completely forgotten about the holiday. It had never meant much to her, as she’d never had anyone to celebrate it with. With Gwen, she had celebrated her first holidays, and had bought—and received—her first real Christmas gifts. She looked forward to it, but this year she almost had completely forgotten.

  And Jack—should she be thinking of something for him, too? What was to become of them once this was finished? He had told her the night before that he wanted her in his bed, in his life, for more than one night. She wasn’t completely sure what that meant.

  Jack drove into a parking space quite a distance away from the coffee shop so that they could split up and go ahead separately. They had about a half hour, and he hated to admit that he was edgy enough to turn the car around and head back to the house. He looked over at Raine. She seemed cool enough, gazing out the window at Christmas decorations, lost in her own thoughts. He hoped that he was included in them.

  “Okay—you have the tape recorder in your purse? It will only pick up forty-five minutes, so hopefully it won’t take more than that—hit it before anyone comes in.” He turned in the seat, grabbed her hand and pulled her over to him. “I’ll be nearby, and I won’t take my eyes off you.”

  He pressed his lips to her cheek, letting them drift to her mouth, where he kissed her with such tenderness it eased the anxiety that had taken hold of her. She sighed against his mouth, kissing him back, then set her forehead against his.

  “It’s going to be just fine. I’ll be fine.”

  He nodded. “Okay, let’s go get this over with.”

  She moved away from him, then checked the recorder in her purse. Stepping out of the car, she started down the walk by herself, confident that Jack was not too far behind her. She saw the coffee shop and felt her stomach tie into a knot, but she kept walking, across the street, in the door, to a table in the back that, thankfully, was free. She sat, shrugging off her coat, and looked around. The door chimed again, and she looked up, saw Jack come in, and he looked away, heading for the counter directly across from her but facing her direction. His back was to the door.

  Raine took a deep breath. It was shortly before one, so she turned on her recorder, and left her bag lying half-open on the table.

  A waitress came over to her table, took her order for a coffee, black, and Raine sat back and waited, pretending to be involved in reading the local newspaper. Minutes ticked by slowly, and she looked up at Jack; his gaze burnt into hers for a moment, and then he lowered his eyes.

  He isn’t coming. Raine felt a sense of despair drift over her—she had so hoped this plan would work. But fifteen minutes passed and all she had on her tape recorder was the sound of her drinking coffee and rustling a newspaper she’d already looked over three times. Her head popped up when the door chimed, and her eyes went wide.

  Jack saw, and pivoted swiftly to see what had caused her alarm, and groaned inwardly—great—just freakin’ great. He saw Raine’s friend Gwen, on the arm of his employee Neal, hustling in the door, laughing and talking, their heads close together, until Gwen saw Jack and squealed in delight.

  “Jack! Neal—it’s Jack!”

  Raine got up from the table and headed to the counter, and when Gwen saw her, another shout went up. Raine tried to smile, but was frustrated beyond reason when Gwen’s arms came around her in a big hug.

  Even so, how could she be mad when Gwen was telling her how worried she had been and how much she missed her? Dammit! They were busted. Even if the stalker did come in now, there was nothing they could do. Worse, he might think she was trying to set him up by having her friends there. Terrific. She caught Jack’s eye, and knew he shared her thoughts. “Hi, Gwen. Neal.”

  Gwen slid right over the tension in the air, not even appearing to notice it. “Raine—I hate being at work without you—it’s so boring there. Except for Neal, of course. But I miss coming by your office for girl talk. I called you at home and no one was there. What’s up? You had me worried sick! Ask Neal, it’s all I could talk about yesterday.”

  Neal smiled in agreement, then sent a knowing look at Jack. “She did. She is very worried about you, Ms. Covington. Jack, you are working from home?”

  Jack nodded, but Gwen jumped in before he could say anything else. “Raine, where have you been? You called me the other day when you left the office, but I haven’t heard from you since then. I was worried—I called your house and there was no answer, and your car was gone.”

  Raine felt color edge up in her cheeks, and she stumbled a minute, but Jack interrupted this time.

  “She’s staying with me, Gwen, at my place up near Gloucester.”

  Gwen’s eyes widened; she stared at Jack, then at Raine, when a huge smile overcame her face and she nodded at both of them in a very knowing way. “Oh, that’s terrific! I knew you two had something going on. I knew it!”

  Raine tried to interject, wanting badly to change the subject, but Gwen pressed on.

  “We’re on lunch—do you guys want to get something to eat with us?”

  Raine shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think so, but—”

  “But why don’t you both join us for dinner tonight. You can come out to the house.” Jack’s invitation was smooth and quick, and he ignored Raine staring at him, her eyes slits.

  “I know Raine has missed you, too, Gwen, and it’s been kind of a crazy few days, so we can catch up. Neal, we can talk shop.” He grabbed a napkin from the counter, took a pencil the waitress had left there, and scratched out directions. “Here—how about seven?”

  Gwen hugged him and accepted for them both. Saying some quick see ya laters, Raine and Jack headed back to the car. The plan had failed, they hadn’t accomplished anything. He had dearly hoped that by this time today they would have something solid, something to help wrap this mess up. He bent his head to Raine’s ear, his voice low and sympathetic.

  “I know. It’s too late for us to do anything now. We’ll have to send another message maybe, since this got blown out of the water. Could be that he never even got the email—or chose to ignore it.”

  Nodding, she got into the car, feeling bad-tempered and frustrated.

  “He won’t come back. He could have been there and seen the whole thing. If he knew we were trying to set him up this time, he’ll be especially cautious, and probably livid—God knows what he’ll try to do this time. Maybe burn my house down.”

  Jack glared at her. “Don’t even joke, Raine. We just have to play the hand we’ve got. Anyway, we can keep working on it—I know this came from inside. I want you to tell me about anyone you have had a hard time with, anyone who was passed up for a promotion that you got, someone you refused a date with—anything. We’ll start there, and I am going to get into the files and find whatever leads I can, and we’ll still keep trying to flush him out.”

  She felt a little less disgruntled at the idea. At least they could keep working at it.

  “But how are you going to get into people’s files?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  His eyes had taken on the glimmer of the hunt, and Raine felt heat curl through her body, responding unexpectedly to the bad-boy appeal he emitted. She was coursing with emotion from the afternoon, switching back and forth between anxiety, despair, and excitement so quickly she was on overload. She felt as if she had just downed about ten coffees. Though she’d barely finished one.

  Raine reached over and laid her hand on Jack’s thigh, felt him tense. He looked over at her, his eyes hot, and she squeezed, sliding her hand up a little higher, and felt powerful when she heard him catch his breath. He sent her a sidelong glance.

  “If a little illegal hacking gets you all worked up, I’ll willingly turn to a life of crime, Rainey.”

  She laughed, and leaned over, stretching the seat belt as far as she could, and traced the tip of her tongue along his ear, then dipped it inside and felt him shudder. Fortunately, they were close to the house, and he managed to concentrate on the road as h
er hands explored other, more interesting places and her mouth worked magic on his skin.

  By the time they parked in the driveway, he seriously considered tumbling her into the backseat again and just taking her there, fast and hard. Turning off the ignition, he hauled her across the middle and into his arms, covering her mouth with his in an insistent kiss, but his hands were frustrated by the thick material of her jacket, and he growled.

  But his jacket was unzipped, and the next thing he knew, she shifted over and was unbuttoning his jeans; he grabbed her hand, protesting. Then he looked into her eyes, saw the fire there and let his hand fall away from hers.

  She reached down, fitting her hand around him beneath the material of his jeans. Her lips and tongue were all over his face, in his mouth, down the side of his neck, while her soft, delicate fingers massaged and caressed him. He gave himself over to her, dropping his head back as she stroked him and feeling the quick throb of pleasure take him over right there in the driver’s seat, in his own driveway.

  Raine felt wild and female and daring. It was one of the best feelings she had ever had, seducing him right there on the spot, knowing that he would let her have him, however she wanted, when she wanted. She fondled him, whispered to him gently, covered his mouth with hers, the kiss tender but rife with female satisfaction. She slid her hand up and grabbed a tissue from the dash while he blew out a breath and buttoned up his pants. He looked at her, she at him, and they both smiled. The windows were fogged, and his eyes were deep and soft.

  “I’m loving this car thing. You can count on getting yours later.”

  She wiggled her eyebrows at him and popped the door open. “I hope so.”

  * * *

  LATER, THE FOUR OF THEM sat over plates of spaghetti and meatballs that Jack and Raine had made together. It was both entirely natural and totally weird to be entertaining friends as if this were her home; they had cooked together, showered together, and now sat with good friends eating and chatting as though this was an old habit. While the sauce was simmering, Jack had made good on his earlier promise to “give her hers”—right on the kitchen floor. Raine smiled to herself, having acquired a new appreciation for hard surfaces.

  She watched Gwen leaning into Neal, who had been quiet most of the evening. He did, however, seem to complement her friend’s effervescent personality. Gwen was really, really happy. She was going on now about something that had happened at her Reiki session, and both men listened with rapt attention, though Raine felt Jack’s foot on hers, his toes scratching at her ankle, and she smiled at him openly now.

  “And you guys can stop playing footsie under the table for a minute and listen to my new idea.”

  Surprised, Raine looked at Gwen, and her friend laughed. “Well, I’d like to say I knew that psychically, but you can always tell when people are fooling around under the table, can’t you, Neal?” Suddenly Neal jumped a little in his seat, and his face went quite red. Gwen laughed, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

  “So anyway, I was thinking when I finish my Reiki lessons maybe I can volunteer at the local animal shelters and do some healing for the animals there—if they are more peaceful and happy maybe people will adopt them faster. Or I can at least help them feel happier and like someone cares about them.”

  Raine frowned when she thought she saw Neal almost roll his eyes, but then saw him squeeze Gwen’s hand. Jack, stacking more pasta onto his plate, appeared completely serious and interested, and Raine could have kissed him for that alone.

  “So what is this you do, exactly, Gwen?” Jack asked.

  Gwen smiled, and leaned toward him.

  “Reiki is an ancient form of healing. It works with the natural energy forces that flows through our bodies and spirits, and helps us to manage them. Reiki can help us to figure out where energy is being channeled incorrectly, or where problems are, and can bring a more peaceful, balanced kind of energy to a person through specialized touch. I think it can work for animals, too. Poor babies, after being given up, or even abused, they need lots of good touching.”

  Jack nodded, and Raine just looked on.

  “My mother used to massage our dog. The dog had arthritis, but also Mom thought if you touched in a very particular way, it helped the dog relax and feel happier. It always seemed to work.”

  Raine smiled. “Like sex.”

  The entire table was dead quiet for a moment, and she felt the heat move up into her cheeks as she realized she had spoken out loud. Then everyone roared with laughter, which would have been mortifying, but Jack pulled her over and kissed her, looking delighted, so she smiled, too, and shook her head. Gwen, still bubbling over, nodded.

  “It’s true—there are lots of ways it can work. Usually touching, the right kind of touching, is key. When people go without being touched, or are touched in bad ways, it can really mess your energy up—and making love is a great way to touch.” She sent a particularly glowing look Neal’s way, then turned her gaze back to Raine and Jack.

  “There are lots of studies connecting touching and sex with emotional and physical health. Reiki just adds a spiritual dimension.”

  After dinner, Gwen and Raine sat chatting on the sofa, while Neal and Jack got involved in some technical issue in Jack’s office.

  “So you and Neal look like you are doing well.”

  “Oh, yeah—we haven’t, you know, said anything too much yet, he’s very quiet, and I think he would be very careful about telling someone he loved them, but…”

  “You love him?” Raine whispered, holding her hand to her heart as she gazed at her friend.

  Gwen’s doubts were evident in her eyes.

  “I’m not sure. God knows, when we have sex, it’s like heaven, and he is so sweet—he is so, I dunno—attentive, I guess. Not in front of people, then he is shy, but when we are alone, he’s completely different, and well, I know I like him—a lot. But sometimes I think I don’t know him, like there are layers there, things I don’t know. I have tried to see in the cards, but they don’t seem right.”

  “Gwen, do you really think you should be looking at your tarot cards for relationship advice?”

  “Well, it’s not like hard-and-fast advice. The cards are good reflective tools. They help me see things I may not otherwise, just by making me think about it.”

  “And so what are you thinking?”

  “That I want to wait and see, but that this could definitely be going somewhere.”

  Raine smiled. “Then I hope it goes well.”

  Gwen grinned back. “Yeah, and who would’ve thought you’d be living here with Jack?”

  Raine winced. “We’re not living together—we weren’t even dating—but all these things happened at once and coming here seemed to be the best thing. But yeah, it’s good. Really good.”

  Gwen bounced up and down on the sofa cushion, and Raine continued. “But we are not living together. This is a temporary arrangement just until this stalker mess is figured out.”

  Gwen sobered. “Yeah—what’s the word on that? I didn’t want to bring it up at dinner. Buzz kill.”

  “Not much. We thought we had a plan to move things along, but it didn’t pan out.” She didn’t go into detail, not wanting Gwen to feel responsible for messing up their trap. “But Jack has a plan, he is tracking down a lead, and so maybe we can find something there.”

  “It completely sucks that the police can’t help. What the heck are they there for?”

  “There is an internet crime expert Jack has been talking with in Boston, but no word yet.” Raine sighed.

  “The guy was at your house, for Pete’s sake.”

  Raine nodded, feeling as if that took place a million years ago, when it had only been less than a week. “Yeah, but he didn’t leave any traces behind. Hopefully something will shake loose soon.”

  She thought of the list of names that Jack had started working on earlier. As soon as Neal and Gwen left, he would be back at the computer, she knew, trying to pry out whatever in
formation he could on magazine employees, which she found kind of exciting, in an illicit way.

  On that thought, the guys came back in the room, and Raine smiled when Jack squeezed down on the couch beside her and planted a kiss on her lips. Raine caught Gwen’s knowing look and blushed, but Gwen’s eyes just danced as she leaned back against Neal, who was sitting on the opposite arm. It was late, and the fire was burning low. Neal stood up, yawning.

  “This was great—thanks for inviting us—but I think we should leave.”

  Jack stood as well. “You’re welcome to stay if you want—we have an extra room.”

  Neal shook his head. “No, thanks. I have to get in early. Ready, Gwen?”

  She nodded, and crossed over to hug Raine, and then Jack. “I missed you—I hope this mess is straightened out soon.”

  Jack nodded, placing his hand possessively back on Raine’s shoulder. “We do, too. He’ll make a mistake at some point. And we’ll be ready.”

  Gwen nodded, and Neal made the move to end the evening, shaking Jack’s hand, then Raine’s, and guided Gwen out the door. As they stepped out into the night, Jack shook his head.

  “I still have a hard time seeing those two together. She is like a ball of fire, and it’s like pulling teeth to get Neal to say anything unless it is about computers.”

  Raine shrugged. “Well, she says he is different in private. She’s nuts about him—I hope he knows—it’s kinda hard to tell.”

  Jack smiled, linking his arms loosely around her waist. “Do you think people notice that I am crazy about you?”

  She smiled, and felt herself melt a little. “You are a lot more obvious about it than Neal.”

  “Is that bad? Does it bother you?”

  Raine considered, then shook her head. “No. I like it.”

  He smiled, grateful for her answer, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good. Because I want to yell it from the rooftops.”

  Raine hugged him back, and buried her face in his neck. She knew she was feeling something for him—definitely more than friendship—certainly more than simple lust. But she didn’t completely understand it yet, and didn’t trust how things would be when life went back to normal. She had led a pretty normal, even boring life. Would that be as interesting to Jack as playing hero to her damsel in distress?