The Detective’s Undoing Read online

  “Stop?” he asked.

  “No. Don’t stop.”

  He shifted, his hands sliding up her ribs to capture her breasts, gliding over the bra, then opening the front clasp to expose her completely. Breathing hard, he drew back to look at her, his half-closed eyes glittering with passion. Her denim skirt had buttons down the front, and slowly, one by one, his sure fingers dispensed with them, until the material fell away. “Delia.” His voice sounded awed, rough. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Now you,” she murmured, pulling his shirt over his head, revealing tough sinew and rugged strength. She set her hands on his chest, sliding them back and forth over his hot skin, marveling at his body. Her insides were quivering. So were her knees, and she clutched at him until he scooped her up and lay her on the bed. His hands went to his pants as he stared down at her. When he shoved them down, she caught her breath, because he was the beautiful one, all molded and sculpted, and hard, very very hard.

  He took out a condom and put it on while she watched with utter fascination. Then he was crawling onto the bed and covering her body with his, and thinking became next to impossible.

  More so when he ran his hands over her, almost reverently, missing nothing, not her breasts, her stomach or the throbbing aching flesh between her legs. “This isn’t a dream, right?” he whispered, his voice harsh with need. “I’m not going to wake up and find you gone, am I?”

  Apparently he didn’t require an answer because in the next split second, his mouth took hers. Over and over again his tongue and lips teased and tempted, while those clever hands stroked and tormented. “So sweet,” he murmured, dipping to taste the hollow of her throat, the sensitive skin of her neck, the line of her collarbone. His touch had her writhing helplessly, seized with an unbearable tension. Swept along on the tide of pleasure, riding the wave of madness that had seized her body, she could do little more than strain toward him, letting out little panting whimpers.

  “That’s it,” he whispered against her skin. “Come for me.”

  She couldn’t have held back if she’d wanted, and arching against the bed, she exploded, shuddering endlessly, gasping for breath. When she could see and hear again, she lay there, staring up at the ceiling. “Holy cow.”

  His laugh was low and sexy. And strained, which made her lift her head and look at him. His eyes were fierce as he rose above her, braced himself and entered her.

  Or tried to. At her tightness, he frowned, then pulled back a little and thrust again gently. The sensation of him starting to fill her was the most incredible thing she’d ever felt, and though he was barely inside her, she felt her body start to quiver again. “More,” she cried, clutching at him, arching her hips to give him better access.

  “I’m trying, but…” Something continued to block him, and he started to withdraw. At the threatened loss of his delicious weight, which was snatching back the promise of another explosive orgasm, Delia snagged his hips in her hands and yanked him toward her, which caused him to sink fully within her.

  “There,” she breathed. “Oh…there…”

  Cade’s heart nearly burst.

  Her first. He was her first lover. He was all the way inside her now. Home. At the realization, his control broke instantly, and with a strangled groan, he gathered her hair in his fists, tipped her face up so he could meet her gaze and then thrust into her again, alive for the first time in eight years.

  One stroke and he nearly came. Two strokes and she did, again, which triggered his own, an endless ripple of searing hot pleasure. Finally, finally, it eased, and he sank to his side, bringing her with him.

  He had questions, a million of them, but primarily how could she have reached the age of twenty-six, looking as she did, and still be a virgin? But exhaustion claimed him, as it already had her, and holding her close in his arms, he let his eyes drift shut.

  In the moment before he fell asleep, it came to him.

  She’d never trusted a man before. Until him. His heart ached at that thought, but though he’d taken her virginity, he knew that the battle for her heart wasn’t over yet.

  Chapter 15

  The courthouse was a beautiful brick-and-glass building, surrounded by lush greenery. An oasis in the middle of a teeming bustling city, but Delia saw none of it.

  Her palms were damp, and her heart thudded dully in anticipation. Even with Cade’s hand locked securely in hers, she could hardly remember how to walk. “What if—”

  “You’ll get him,” Cade said, his voice still husky from sleep.

  Just listening to it made Delia want to blush. She’d never felt like this, all hot and itchy and unsettled, and even more unnerving was the knowledge that it wasn’t an entirely bad feeling.

  They’d turned to each other several more times in the night. Their lovemaking had been slow and tender, yet just as hot as the first time, and when they’d finally fallen into a deep slumber, they’d nearly missed the alarm.

  Despite their lack of time, Cade had tried to talk about what had happened between them, and ashamed as Delia was to admit it, she’d put him off.

  Yes, she’d been a virgin, and no, she had no regrets. How could she regret the most amazing night she’d ever spent?

  Yes, she’d shattered in his arms as if she’d known what she was doing, but the why of it was still a mystery.

  Which brought her to the last question she knew he wanted answered. Where were they going from here?

  She hadn’t a clue. What did she do with a man who didn’t know how to stay in one spot?

  No, that wasn’t fair, because the truth was, it was her holding them back. Not him.

  Shortly before they’d left the hotel, Cade tried again to get her to talk to him. He’d caught her in the bathroom and pressed his big body against hers. “Don’t,” he said, putting his hot wet open mouth to her neck.

  “Don’t what?” she said on a heartfelt moan.

  “Shut me out. You’re doing it, giving me the morning-after blow-off.”

  “I’m not…” But that was exactly what she was doing. “Cade, I don’t…” She didn’t what? Know how she felt? But that was a lie, she knew. She was just afraid of it. “We have to go,” she had finally said, and when he went very still, then slowly drew back to look at her with an intensity that made her squirm, she sighed. “We really do have to go.”

  Without a further word, he’d left the bathroom, and they hadn’t spoken as they’d raced out of the hotel to the courthouse.

  As a result, Delia felt uncharacteristically ruffled. Because she couldn’t breathe, she hesitated on the steps of the building and put a hand to her chest.

  “You’ll get him,” Cade said again.

  Even now he was offering his strength and comfort. She didn’t deserve him, but she squeezed his hand and thanked him with her eyes.

  The judge came in, sat down and didn’t waste any time. He’d read the reports and the recommendations, he said, and was unhappy because he hated to see Jacob uprooted yet again. The boy was too young to have had such upheaval in his life. The judge then wanted to hear from the parties involved, wanted to be convinced this was the right thing to do. Then, leaning forward, looking kind but terribly stern, he waited expectantly.

  Edna stood. “I love Jacob,” she told him in her clear refined voice. “I can and will care for him for as long as I’m able, but I believe that he belongs with his sister. With Delia.”

  “In Idaho?” The judge lifted a questioning brow. “A thousand miles from his home?”

  “Yes, Your Honor. I believe this is the right thing for Jacob, and that’s all that matters to me. Doing right for him.”

  Heart thundering, Delia rose, also. “Your Honor, Jacob has been moved many times in his short life. With all due respect, he’s never had a home, not a steady one. I intend to give him that.”

  The judge nodded thoughtfully. “You can provide for him there?”

  “Yes. I have two sisters, and we run a guest ranch—”

  “I�€