Beverly Barton - Grace Under Fire

"You're not leaving to go back to your room, are you?"he asked as he stood by the bed.

"Not unless you want me to." Her heartbeat hummed inside her head.

Jed lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her temple and said, "What I want is you to stay right here, as close to me as you can get."

"That's what I want, too."

She cuddled against him, feeling more alive in her sated, drowsy state than she'd ever felt in her entire life. And in that moment she knew-she couldn't deny it any longer, at least not to herself. She was in love with Jed Tyree. Head over heels, madly, passionately in love.

Jim Kelly sat alone in his room in the Fortier house gazing out the window at the dawn sky. He couldn't sleep, couldn't even rest. He'd wanted to do more to help Charmaine Fortier after the sheriff had informed them of her brother's death. But he couldn't go to her, couldn't stay with her without arousing suspicion.

He had been part of the Louisiana Mafia for nearly two years, his credentials forged, his identity falsified. He'd been able to stay in contact with the Bureau without any problems, up until six months ago when he'd been assigned to Booth Fortier's inner circle of bodyguards. A real stroke of luck, but with definite drawbacks. With his movements restricted, his every waking hour spent with others, he had little or no opportunity to even make a phone call or mail a letter. He was determined to do nothing to jeopardize his position, because when the time came, his firsthand knowledge of Fortier and the syndicate he ruled would prove invaluable. He'd managed to make a few phone calls when he was away from the house, but he'd been tied to his bodyguard duties twenty-four-seven for months now. All he could do was wait for the Bureau to come to him. And he knew they would. Moran would send in an agent-whether Federal or independent-to make contact. They'd have to let him know when they were ready to strike, ready to bring Fortier and his crime empire down.

But lately things here had gotten really complicated. Ever since he'd moved into Fortier's private residence, he had suspected that Booth abused his wife. Now he knew it for sure. The most recent beating had left Charmaine horribly battered. Jim wondered how her brother had been able to stand by all these years and watch Booth use her like a punching bag. Then again maybe he did understand, After all, what had he done to help her? But he couldn't help her-not yet. He didn't dare do anything to jeopardize his undercover work. More than his life or Charmaine's depended on the success of his mission, He couldn't take the chance Jaron Vaden had taken-taken and lost. But when the operation came to a close, when Fortier was arrested, Jim intended to make sure Charmaine was protected.

Jed kissed Grace's shoulder, then ran his tongue up her neck to her ear. She roused from sleep and moaned softly. His open palm skimmed over her belly, past her navel and covered her mound. She turned and draped her arm across his chest, pressing her body to his side.

"What time is it?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"Almost daylight." He lifted himself over her just enough to kiss her lips.

Her eyelids flew open instantly. He was nose-to-nose with her, smiling seductively.

"Did you wake me for a reason?" she asked, humor in her voice.

He bent his head over and caught one peaked nipple in his mouth. He nipped, then sucked, and followed up by laving it with his tongue. While her hips arched, he moved to the other breast, then lifted his head and said, "Why waste time sleeping when we can be making love?"

She flung her arm around his neck and brought his mouth back down to hers. "My sentiments exactly." She kissed him.

They were as wild for each other this time as the first time. No slow loving. No lingering foreplay. But Grace didn't care. They tossed and tumbled on the bed, touching and tasting, hungry for sex. Jed donned another condom and took the dominant position. He grasped her hips, lifting her to meet his first deep, powerful thrust. He filled her completely-her body, her mind, her heart,

Jed showered and dressed. All the while, Grace slept. As he eased his Beretta into its holster, he turned toward the bed and looked at her. He was about as hung up on her as a guy could be. And as much as he'd like to tell himself that it was just the great sex, he knew better. Yeah, the sex was incredible, but that was only part of it. He cared about Grace in a way he'd never cared about another woman. He wanted to please her, make her happy. And he wanted her to be proud of him, needed her to think well of him,

You damn idiot, he told himself. You've gone and screwed up big time. You've let yourself get emotionally involved with a woman who is bound to hate you once she discovers you're Booth Fortier's nephew. Why the hell didn't you just tell her the truth? If you had, you could have saved yourself and her a whole lot of heartache.

Although he'd told Grace he'd come from a family of criminals and she hadn't judged him or condemned him, he couldn't count on her understanding when she learned that he was the nephew of the man responsible for her father's and husband's deaths. Would she ever be able to look at him again and not think about the fact that he was the nephew of the man who had taken away those she had loved the most dearly, including her precious unborn child?

His instinct was to kiss her goodbye before he left, but he squelched that desire. He removed his jacket from the hanger, put it on and quietly left the room. When he got downstairs, he found Dom and Kate had already arrived and were sharing coffee in the kitchen.

"Is Miss Grace not up?" Laverna asked, her wise old eyes studying Jed speculatively.

"She's sleeping in this morning. Don't disturb her." Jed turned to Kate. "Call her office and tell Elsa that Grace is taking the morning off."

Kate nodded.

"Do they know you're coming?" Dom asked quietly as he walked up beside Jed.

Jed shook his head. "That would eliminate the element of surprise. I plan to just show up."

"And you think they'll invite you in?"

"I know they will," Jed replied. "Booth will be curious as hell about why I'm paying him a visit." Jed caught both Laverna and Nolan looking at him curiously. "Yes, Miss Grace knows my plans. She knows I'm going to see Booth Fortier this morning. "

Laverna looked away hurriedly. Nolan cleared his throat, then said, "I'm sure you're doing what you think is best for Miss Grace."

Laverna handed Jed a cup of coffee-just the way he liked it. Black. "Thanks," Jed said.

Dom placed his hand on Jed's shoulder. "Why don't I walk you out? It'll give us a chance to go over a few things."

Jed nodded, took several quick sips of the hot coffee, then set the cup on the table. "I'm trusting you and Kate to take care of Grace."

Dom followed Jed out into the hall. "Moran called me. He said he'd tried to reach you, but your cell phone was off."

Jed cursed under his breath. "I didn't recharge the battery last night. I forgot." He tapped the phone he'd left on inside his coat pocket.

Dom gave Jed a speculative glance, but made no comment, although Jed figured Dom suspected why he'd forgotten to recharge his phone battery. After all, Dom had been the one who'd gotten the condoms for him.

"I got distracted," Jed admitted.

"It happens." Dom whipped his phone from his pocket and handed it to Jed. "Swap phones with me. You need to call Moran on your way to Beaulac."

The men exchanged phones, then once they were outside near the rental car Kate had driven over for Jed this morning, Dom recited Moran's number.

"Good luck," Dom said.

"Keep watch over Grace."