Beth Andrews - Not Without Her Family

“It’s comforting to you.”

He stuffed his hands in his front pockets. “I lived in New York. Nine years of crowds, pollution and, of course, the neverending crime.” He shook his head. “I’ll take small town any day.”

She leaned back against her car. “You’re forgetting all the good things about it. Dance clubs, museums, live theater. The bustle of the crowds.”

He snorted. “Homeless people. Worrying some lunatic is going to push you out in front of an oncoming train.”

“This town doesn’t even have a Chinese restaurant, which means no kung pao chicken or pot stickers. That’s just wrong. Not to mention un-American.”

He coughed to cover his laugh. Jack loved living here, but he knew not everyone did. A lot of people were biding their time until they could move on to better things.

Except he’d experienced the supposedly bigger and better and had found it to be neither. Besides, this was the best place to raise his daughter. She needed the security. They both did. And coming back here was what had gotten him through that first year without Nicole.

“It’s like you already said,” Kelsey continued, “you can’t do or say anything without the entire town knowing about it. Plus, they know exactly who and what you are. Even if you wanted to change, they won’t let you. What if you wanted to do something out of character? Cut loose?”

What he wanted was to nibble on her lower lip, to run his tongue over it before sucking it gently into his mouth.

And she knew it. He could see it in her eyes. The awareness.

He had to put her in her car and get the hell out of there. Before he did something totally stupid. “I don’t want to cut loose.” Maybe if he kept saying it, he’d start to believe it. “It’s getting late, you’d better go.”

Disappointment flickered in her eyes, but she straightened. “Right. Well, thanks for walking me to my car.”

He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t let her go. Not yet.

“Wait,” he said and she looked at him expectantly. “I’m not sure I trust you,” he told her.

Instead of being offended, she nodded. “Ditto.”

So why were they leaning in toward each other? Why couldn’t he stop himself from reaching for her, from placing his hands on her lower back and pulling her to him?

Her eyes widened, her pupils grew big, and though he gave her plenty of time to draw away from him, she didn’t. Their bodies met. Her hip pressed against his thigh. Heat spiraled through his body. Jack couldn’t seem to keep his hands still. He stroked her long back, moving under the edge of her shirt to caress the skin at the gentle curve of her waist.

Her skin was warm. And soft. He slowly dragged his hands up her arms and over her shoulders. She tipped her head back as he trailed his fingertips over the rise of her collarbone. Cupping her throat, he ran the rough pad of his thumb over her lower lip.

She trembled. He watched, transfixed by the movement of his thumb over that plump lip. The very tip of her tongue flicked against his skin. Dark, powerful lust punched him in the gut.

Fighting for control, he slid his hand around the back of her neck and tightened his free arm around her waist, pressing her intimately against him.

“You’re still leaving tomorrow, right?” he asked, his voice rough.

She stroked her cool fingers across the back of his neck. “First thing in the morning.”

Good. If she wasn’t going to stick around, he could appease his curiosity. He could satisfy his craving for her.

Then he’d be able to banish her from his thoughts.

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do at this moment than kiss you,” he admitted.

“You don’t trust me,” she reminded him, her hands moving up his chest and linking behind his neck.

True, but that didn’t seem to matter. Not when his hands were on her and she was looking up at him, her eyes a dark, mossy green, her body pressed against his.

Promising himself just one quick taste of her, he fisted his hand in her short hair. Some part of his brain recognized how the fragrant strands slipped through his fingers like silk, but then he lowered his mouth to hers and stopped thinking altogether.

HEART POUNDING IN ANTICIPATION, Kelsey kept her eyes open and on Jack’s as he closed the distance separating them. He brushed his lips against her mouth. Once. Twice. Three times. Her eye fluttered shut when he settled his mouth on hers.

She sighed softly. Yes. This is what she’d wanted.

Contrary to the hunger that practically emanated from of him, he didn’t devour her, didn’t overwhelm her. Despite his hand on her head and his arm around her waist, he kept the kiss gentle. Soft. Controlled.

He raised his head, breaking contact. “That was a mistake.”

Kelsey lifted her heavy lids and blinked away the thick haze of desire. That was it?

Jack stared down at her, his expression hot with want, his mouth tight with tension. He began to pull back, removing his hand from under her shirt.

Oh, no. No way. She tightened her grip on him. He wasn’t going to back away now. She wouldn’t allow him to pretend that meager excuse for a kiss had been enough for him.

Damn it, she wanted satisfaction.

“Yeah, that probably was a mistake,” she agreed. And she pulled his mouth back to hers.

His deep groan reverberated against her lips. He slanted his warm mouth over hers as he took command of the kiss, deepening it until her limbs grew heavy and her head light. She was drowning in sensations, the rasp of his tongue against hers, the scrape of his whiskers on her face, the strength of his hands as they cupped her rear and held her tight to him.

She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms. Her need to get closer was so intense, she wanted to climb on top of him. Wanted to wrap herself around him, to absorb him through her skin.

The sound of music and voices floated over to them and Jack sprung away from her. Kelsey collapsed back against her car as a middle-aged couple left the bar. She watched them get into their car and pull out of the parking lot.

She glanced up to find Jack staring at her. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d wanted to. And she didn’t want to. She wanted to reach for him, or better yet, for him to reach for her. The last thing she wanted was for this moment to end.

Still trying to catch her breath, she ran her tongue over her lips. He squeezed his eyes shut. She didn’t miss the way his chest rose and fell rapidly or how his hands were clenched into fists.

She waited until his eyes were open before speaking. “Too bad I’m leaving tomorrow. Imagine how much fun we could have if I stayed.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” he muttered and took another step back. “Goodbye, Kelsey.”

Frustrated, and—if she was being honest with herself—relieved, she straightened. She’d managed to crack Jack’s rigid control—and had the added bonus of the best kiss of her life—but he obviously didn’t want to pursue this.

Which was for the best, really. Even if she couldn’t help but wonder how good they’d be together.

Well, at least she hadn’t begged him to take her home. Which meant she still had her pride. And while pride wouldn’t keep her warm tonight, wouldn’t keep the loneliness at bay, it would help make her exit a bit more dignified.

“Goodbye, Jack.”

She got into her car, turned on the ignition and did the smartest thing she’d ever done in her life. She drove away.

HE RUBBED THE BACK OF HIS NECK and glanced at his watch. 4:00 a.m. Jack’s grim reflection stared back at him from the large picture window in Mark and Shannon Crandall’s living room. He knew death was inevitable, just as he knew murder was inescapable. But the past few years in Serenity Springs had somehow lulled him into a false sense of security. Tonight he’d been shoved back into reality.