Calling his name, she stepped to the bottom of the curved oak staircase and put her hand on it. Despite her fear, curiosity took over. How many times had a young Mitch slid down that tempting banister, face wide with that heart-stopping grin?It terrified her to discover how much she’d softened toward him. “Mitch?” she called quickly, blocking her thoughts.He came out of a room on the second floor and stood at the top of the stairs looking down. “Jussie?”She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.He had a tiny white towel anchored at his waist. Water dripped freely off his body, from his tousled hair, running in rivulets over his chest. He’d stopped short at the sight of her. Heat flickered in his gaze as it roamed over the clothes she wore—the same he’d nearly torn off her earlier in the storage closet.He sent her that crooked smile. “You came to tuck me in. How sweet.”Unable to speak for fear her tongue would fall out, she shook her head. God, he was all lean muscle, long limbs
“No, I don’t want—”A click of the switch flooded the room with light.“—the light.” Jussie blinked warily and stared at him.Mitch discovered she wore one of his T-shirts and little else. It thrilled him.He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. “I can’t deny that I was able to come back because of what happened to the agent. He died, and after the case came to a close, I was free. But I’m here now, where I’ve wanted to be for so long. Are you going to tell me it doesn’t matter? That you don’t feel anything for me at all?”She opened her mouth to speak, but he said quietly, “Careful, Jussie. You’re a rotten liar. Besides, I know exactly how you responded to me today in that closet. And it wasn’t with indifference.”She flushed and tried to pull her hand back, but he lingered over it while his gaze held hers. “Was it?”“It’s not as simple as sex.”“No. Making love isn’t simple.”“It wasn’t love—”Her denial was the last straw. “Think again,” he snapped back, dropping her h
“You mean you haven’t—”“There’s been no one else. Ever” he repeated softly.Her eyes warmed, lost a little of her confusion. “I’m glad,” she whispered, then laughed nervously. “Not about . . . your, uh, problem.” Her gaze rested on the vee of his jeans, then widened slightly at the unmistakable bulge she saw there. “But that there’s been no one else.”They stared at each other.“I think . . . I’ll get dressed now,” she said.He pushed her gently toward the door. “In the bedroom.”At her bafflement, he slid his hands into his pockets. “I need to shower now.”“You already did.”His smile was wry, crooked, and more than a tad self-mocking. “Yeah, but now I need a cold one.”The Christmas spirit had taken hold at the Daily News. Wreaths decorated every door and hallway. Goodies and chocolates were laid out in the snack rooms. Festive holiday music filled the air.Still, there was much to be done. To prove it, Justine threw herself wholeheartedly into work. She moved from one meeting to a
Justine swallowed and stared at her cone. This was definitely one of those times she considered herself “wigged out.”“In fact, there’ve been only three times I ever saw you eat ice cream.”Her gaze jerked to his as memories flooded. “Graduation day,” she remembered. “I got my diploma and got sick, I was so nervous.”“That’s what happens when you’re smart enough to be valedictorian.” It gave Mitch a rush of pride, even now, to remember. He’d been several years ahead of her, already in the navy, but he’d gotten leave.“I gave my speech, then threw up on your shoes.” She laughed. “I was mortified.”“For about three minutes,” he remembered dryly. “You recovered quickly, and insisted we share a gallon of ice cream. I got all of three bites.”She laughed harder, and it relieved him. Some of the tension had left her shoulders, so he went for the rest. “Do you remember the second time?”“Yes,” she said softly, turning her head away from him to study the oak tree in front of her car.Gently,
All he knew was that she hurt, and he’d do anything to fix it. Rising, he sat in the chair he’d just pulled her out of.Suddenly she jerked and gasped, and instinctively his arms tightened as his eyes scanned the room, his body tense with the need to protect. Then he realized that she’d been sleeping, but he knew by her absolute stillness that she was awake. Cradling her head against his shoulder, he stroked her hair. The love that welled within him felt like a two-fisted punch, but it didn’t surprise him. Everything about Jussie was bittersweet. He loved her, he’d always loved her, and he couldn’t see how this could be wrong.“Jussie,” he whispered. “You were dreaming.”“Did—did anyone see? Hear me?”How she’d hate that, having someone, even him, see her out of control. “No, we’re alone,” he assured her, and when she still didn’t relax, he sighed. Slipping out from beneath her, he left the room, crossed into his office where the blinds were, and closed them. Then he came back, shutti
Mitch kissed her again until her muscles gave a bit, but his own control had obviously slipped badly.He groaned, shaking with the effort to hold back. He slid his hands beneath her hips, along the back of her thighs, drawing her legs up. “That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Relax, baby. Yeah, like that.” He lifted her onto him until he could sink slowly into her, deeper and deeper, until he was halfway to a climax and hadn’t even moved within her.Then, he found a rhythm as natural as breathing. He watched her eyes glaze over, heard her let go with an erotic sigh of pleasure as he slid in and out of her body. Her hands rushed over him, soothing, urging, frantic, and he bent to taste her again.Their gazes met, and Mitch would have sworn he could see her soul, and his, mirrored there. Stripped completely bare.He understood her fear suddenly, but understood as well, that they were in this together, that wherever they ended up, they’d at least be with each other.Jussie cried out, an
It was then he happened to glance up.In the next office, where his wife was bent over what looked like stacks of work, Jack walked in.No harm in that, Mitch said to himself when his entire body went tense. No harm at all. After all, she and Jack worked together, and Jack probably came into her office on a daily basis.But then Jack smiled.And Jussie smiled back; a wide, open, carefree smile such as he hadn’t seen since . . . Dammit. Mitch had never seen one like that, not since he’d returned.Early this morning, she’d gone back to her house and covered that sweet, delectable body in a tailored shirt-dress the color of her eyes. Now she looked good enough to eat. But she seemed oblivious to that, and to the fact that when she leaned close to take the files Jack handed her, her bodice gaped slightly, revealing the pale, perfect slope of a breast.The pencil in Mitch’s hands snapped in two.In the next office, she laughed. Then she leaned a hip back against her desk and swung a long,
“I thought we could start at the beginning. Get to know each other again. We’d go real slow, have a good time. Enjoy ourselves.”“How?” she asked suspiciously.He laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to have fun. Never mind, I’ll have to show you.”She was intrigued, then nervous. “About what you said to me. You know. How you . . .”“You mean how much I love you?”She nodded, swallowing. “You’ll be wanting me to return that sentiment.”“Love is a gift, Jussie,” he said with such dignity, she felt like a monster. As if incredibly weary, he turned away, leaned over her desk, and dropped his head between his shoulders.She swallowed again, because her mouth had suddenly gone dry as cotton. She watched him stretch his shoulders as if they were kinked. “I know it’s a gift.”“Do you?” he wondered. “Because you make it sound like an obligation.”“Well, maybe I don’t feel obligated,” she whispered, butterflies attacking her stomach with what she did feel. “Maybe I feel it back. A litt