Tawny Weber - Sunsets & Seduction

“Yeah,” she said softly. “Thanks for distracting me.”

He smiled. “I think I should be thanking you. ”

Her kiss at the corner of his lips had the heat building again, and he knew he would do what he had to to keep Tessa safe. Whatever game she was playing, he was more than willing to join in. James Rose had put him in this situation, and Jonas didn’t care if the senator spontaneously combusted from finding out what he and Tessa were doing. It would be worth it.

Let her have her fill, and tell anyone she wanted. He’d deal with that later. Jonas wanted nothing more than to get her home, where he planned to drive them both to distraction for the rest of the night.

TESSA’S HANDS WERE shaking, along with her knees and probably everything in between as the others exited the subway car. Anxiety wasn’t the cause; she was still so aroused from sharing close quarters with Jonas, feeling his heat, his passion—his need —that she hadn’t been able to think of anything else but him.

The way he’d leaned into her, giving himself over to her when she’d touched him in the car had been sexier than anything she’d experienced, ever. He was surprising her time and time again. And confusing her.

He didn’t trust her, but he did want her. He was angry with her, but protective of her. Would the real Jonas Berringer please stand up?

She was so glad that she had him with her in the dark confines of the car—especially when things had gotten tense with the blackout. The way he had taken control of the situation and kept her, and everyone, safe, had triggered a well of emotion that touched her deeply. He was an extraordinary man, though she knew he didn’t think of himself that way.

She suspected a large part of his annoyance with her was because he liked her father. She could see it when he’d mentioned the senator, and how much her father had helped their personal security business. She also knew her father wasn’t pleased about how things had ended, but Tessa hadn’t been seducing Jonas to tick off her father.

She’d prefer that he knew nothing about her sex life, with Jonas or anyone else, frankly, but the senator made her life his business far too often. It rankled her to think that Jonas blamed her for her father’s negative reaction, but there was nothing she could do but just try to show him she wasn’t like that. That she genuinely cared for him and was attracted to him.

This was her second chance, and she wasn’t going to blow it. Her father was out of the country and couldn’t interfere.

Hopefully, she and Jonas could get to know each other well enough that her father wouldn’t be able to butt his nose in again. Still, she was taking a risk. Jonas was clearly willing to think the worst of her. She had no guarantee that he wasn’t just scratching an itch and would disappear in the morning.

Jonas obviously desired her, and he had said he would keep her safe—but did that include her heart? Though the sex was incredible, no matter what happened this night, she knew it wouldn’t be enough.

So many emotions were scrambling around inside, she hardly knew what to do with them, especially as reality returned. They stayed in the car with the man Jonas had in effect apprehended. She knew they couldn’t leave him, and that there was an ambulance on its way, but they had less time to make it to Kate now, she thought, looking at her watch.

Thunder still rolled overhead, sounding far away outside the train station. The guy in the seat had come to and was groggy and apologizing. Jonas assured him he was fine, and the EMTs would check him out to make sure.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“They diverted us. We’re at the Spring Garden station,” she said, tension winding in her chest.

The trip had taken her in the opposite direction of where she wanted to go.

“We’ll have to find aboveground transport. I heard them say they were shutting down the city train routes until the storm passed.” Again, she thought of Kate, alone.

“They don’t want to risk another stranding,” he said, nodding grimly. “That could have been really bad.”

“There’s a crowd of people looking for taxis and a line at the buses, so that could take forever,” she warned. “Maybe I should try the car rentals.”

Just then, a tall, black-haired woman and another man stepped onto the train, and Tessa saw EMTs filing in not far behind them.

Tessa could tell from her posture and stride that the woman was someone in a position of authority. The badge on her belt, revealed as she put a hand on her hip, cleared that up quickly. Philadelphia P.D.

Her green eyes lit with pleasure on Jonas, and then with curiosity on Tessa.

“Jonas! You’re the guy who prevented a riot on the train car? I should have known,” she said with a wide grin.

“That would be me.”

“Well, that just made my job a whole lot easier.”

Jonas smiled widely, and a twinge of jealousy grabbed at Tessa. He had never smiled like that for her, so openly. How well did these two know each other?

“Rachel,” he said warmly, and accepted the woman’s brief hug as EMTs boarded and took the man out with them.

Tessa stood, too, holding out her hand, meeting the woman’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Tessa Rose.”

The green eyes narrowed as the woman’s head tilted slightly to the side. “Detective Rachel Pankewski. I know you. You’re Senator Rose’s daughter?” she asked.

“Yes, but more importantly, Jonas’s … friend,” Tessa said pleasantly, holding the woman’s stare.

The detective smiled widely, looking at Jonas again, seeming even more amused.

“So what happened here?” she asked.

“He started to panic when the lights went out. He was big, and started hitting, pushing.”

“Yeah, we have someone with a bruised eye where he clipped them.”

“I got him in a choke hold and tried to talk him down, but he got really riled up,” Jonas said. “I know it was risky, but it was getting bad in there.”

Rachel nodded. “He’ll be okay. He’s still kind of groggy and doesn’t know what happened exactly. We’ll explain the situation to him, and as long as the EMTs clear him, there’s no problem that I can see. He was a public danger to himself and others. We owe you one. We’re all doing whatever we have to tonight. It’s nuts. I had an assault close by, so I responded. I’ll write it up and catch up with you over the next few days. Thanks for keeping this from turning into a real problem.” Rachel smiled. “What are you two doing caught in this in the first place?”

“Tessa has an elderly friend in Germantown who needs some help, she’s low on insulin. We were trying to get there, but with the stoppage on the tracks, they rerouted us here,” he explained. “We’re trying to figure out how to get the next leg.”

“You’ll be stuck here for a while, and the streets are a mess. I have to go, but first let me see what I can do.” The detective quickly reached into her jacket for her phone.

Tessa noticed two other things: her gun in its holster and her wedding rings on a chain around her neck.

“Old flame?” she asked Jonas, her voice not as casual as she’d hoped it would be.

“Old friend. We were street cops together, not partners, but had the same shift and we made detective together. She’s a good egg. And very, very married,” he added with another twitch of his lips.

Tessa’s cheeks burned. She knew she was making an idiot of herself over a man who didn’t even necessarily like her very much, except for the explosive sexual chemistry they shared. She thought again about how he had rarely shared the easy humor or banter with her that he had with his old friend, and she realized it was something she wanted with him.