Seeing Red Read online

  The way she looked at him, as if she expected him to push her away, pulled at him hard. She was struggling to find the path that was right for her, and he had no right, nor a desire, to stand in her way and direct her. She had a smudge of trail dirt on her jaw, a slight sunburn on her nose, and a wary light in her eyes while she waited for him to respond.

  “I promised you one minute at a time,” he said, and traced a finger over her jaw. “I’m trying here, Red.”

  She let out a tenuous smile, and as they stared at each other, time seemed to stop. It wasn’t the first time that had happened, and a small part of him hesitated because he knew he was headed for a world of hurt.

  “So.” She glanced at all his paperwork scattered in front of them. “Getting anywhere?”

  “No.”

  “Well, in that case.” She scooted closer and kissed his chin. “Maybe we can get back to that one minute at a time thing.”

  Resisting was pointless when he wanted her bad enough to take what he could get. He shoved all the paperwork away and pulled her into his lap.

  Summer moved eagerly into Joe’s arms, thinking he was just what she needed. He ran a finger down her throat, over her collarbone as she settled in his lap, and at the feel of him hard and muscled beneath her, she all but purred. “Is that a gun in your pocket, Fire Marshal Walker, or are you just happy to see me?”

  “Guess,” he said, and grabbing the hands she’d tried to dip into his Levi’s, he pushed her to the floor, following her down, holding her wrists captive on either side of her head. “Now about that minute…”

  “Yes?” she asked breathlessly, looking up into his face.

  “I’m taking one right now. You’re going to let me.”

  Her pulse leapt and she wrapped her legs around his hips, arching up, rubbing the hottest, neediest part of her to what she figured was the hottest, neediest part of him, dragging a groan from his throat. He released her hands to shove up her tank and unzip her sports bra.

  She opened her mouth to tell him she hadn’t showered, but all that came out was a garbled whimper because he took a breast in his mouth, sucking her nipple in deep, running his tongue over the tip as it hardened for him.

  “Joe. I need to take a shower—Ohmigod,” she gasped when he clamped his teeth down lightly and tugged.

  “My minute isn’t over.” He surged up, slapped the lock on his office door, then tugged down her shorts and groaned. “You are wearing black panties.”

  “I told you—” She broke off when he put a big hand on the inside of her thigh and pushed her legs open.

  “A minute wasn’t enough. I’m taking another.” He hooked the crotch of her panties with his thumb and slid it aside. “You’re so wet. I have to—” He sank a finger in deep, and with a cry she couldn’t contain, she arched up for more. But even with the locked door, they couldn’t. Shouldn’t…“Joe.” She had to lick her dry lips, her body quivering with his every touch. “We can’t—”

  He circled her nipple with his tongue again, and sank a second finger inside her. “Can’t what?” he murmured in a low, thick voice as he brushed his thumb over her center.

  “Can’t…uh…” She couldn’t remember.

  Another glide of his thumb with the barest of pressures now, and she fisted her hands in his shirt with a helpless moan. “Joe.”

  “Look at you,” he murmured as he drove her right to the edge and held her there with the steady pressure and rhythm she needed. Her head fell back while she panted for air. She was close, so terrifyingly close—

  “Come for me,” he whispered, his mouth brushing her jaw, beneath her ear. “I want you to.”

  She could no more have stopped a train on its tracks as she burst, exploding in a kaleidoscope of lights and sensations, eventually coming back to herself as Joe slowly stroked her down to earth. He brushed his lips over her damp temple. “Good?”

  “Great. More,” she demanded.

  “Greedy woman.”

  “I have a condom in my purse.”

  “Resourceful too.” He blew out a relieved breath. “I like that.” He reached up for her purse just as his radio chirped on his desk. “Damn it.”

  “Don’t listen.” She arched her hips. “Inside me. Now.”

  He opened her purse but his radio chirped again, and he sagged against her, pressing his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I have to get that.” His body was hard, quivering with it, but on his face was a resigned tension. And she didn’t believe that tension was all for himself, but for her, too, and right then and there, something deep within her shifted. Softened. “Hey.” She cupped his face, and smiled past the hunger flooding her. “It’s okay, I can wait.”

  At that, something seemed to shift within him too, certainly a release of the tension that had gripped him at the sound of his radio, but something more. Something warm and deep, and maybe not all physical. He nuzzled close, gave her a quick, hard kiss on the lips and then pulled back with serious reluctance before answering the radio.

  It was dispatch. There’d been a police call at Creative Interiors I, an intruder, though there was no one at the premises now. Given the arson issues, they’d contacted Joe as a courtesy.

  With her stomach clenching, Summer adjusted her clothing and sat up. “I’m coming with you.”

  “Red—”

  “Look, this is a nightmare, I know. But it’s my nightmare.” They left his office with Ashes coming along, and walked in silence to their cars. Summer followed Joe to Creative Interiors, trying not to think too hard. She’d always been able to clear her mind, through good music or breathing techniques, or her soothing crystals and teas, but it wasn’t as easy with so many thoughts swirling in her head she felt as if they were coming out her ears.

  In front of Creative Interiors, there was a police car. Joe talked to the cop for a moment, then came over to her. “The alarm went off. A witness said she saw a twenty-something-year-old guy in black from head to toe let himself in with keys, and then back out a moment later.”

  She blinked. “Braden?”

  “They’re looking for him now. They’ve called your mom and Tina.”

  This made even less sense now than it had yesterday. She went into the store to see if she could tell what might possibly be missing. Joe came in behind her. She flipped off the alarm and headed toward the back. The counter looked cleared off as usual. The cash register would be empty so she didn’t bother to check there.

  In the back she turned on the lights, surveyed the crowded storage area and sighed. Everything had been chaotic and unorganized since the warehouse fire, and after the other store’s fire, things had only gotten worse. There were stacks of inventory haphazardly placed on shelves, on the floor, in and around the table and chairs used for employee breaks. On a shelving unit sat three of Bill’s lighthouses, held up on either side with two of her father’s travel books.

  She ran a finger over a spine. “I was with him when he did his research for this one. We took a canoe down the Amazon. I’ll never forget it.”

  “You shouldn’t.” He turned her to face him. “Maybe there’s more you should never forget.”

  “I’m beginning to get that,” she said softly, knowing how right he was. “It’s just that I wanted to live in the here and now, you know?” She let out a sad smile. “Just wanted to hang out, see everyone, be happy, and then go on my merry way.”

  “Without looking back?”

  “That was my plan. But…” She set her hand on his chest, slowly fisting it over his heart, staring at her fingers as she gripped him tight, binding him to her. “I don’t seem to be able to manage it the way I thought I could.”

  He covered her hand with his. “Because it’s all entwined. The past. The now. The future.”

  “I just want the now,” she whispered.

  He slowly shook his head. “That’s not the way this works, Red. At least not for me.”

  Her heart sped up as she struggled to make sure he understood. �