An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
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Moonfire ISBN 9781419919015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Moonfire Copyright © 2008 Lynne Connolly Edited by Briana St. James. Photography and cover art by Les Byerley. Electronic book Publication November 2008 With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
PURE WILDFIRE: MOONFIRE Lynne Connolly
Dedication To my Muse, Jack.
Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Abbey Road Studios: EMI Limited Corporation Ann Summers: Ann Summers Ltd Cadillac: General Motors Corporation Ford Cars: General Motors Corporation Glock: Glock, Inc Lamborghini: Automobili Lamborghini Holdings Lexus: Toyota Motor Corporation Mercedes-Benz: Daimler-Benz Aktilengesellschaft Corporation Pringle knitwear: Pringle of Scotland Ltd Corp.
Moonfire
Chapter One Jake Keys woke up to find a woman’s hand on his cock. A not unexpected occurrence. He sighed and rolled onto his back to receive a kiss from the third occupant of his bed. Her soft lips opened, then she plundered, insinuating her tongue into his mouth to fill it with minty flavor and sensuous invitation. These girls were good. They must have been waiting for him to wake up and the one kissing him had even found time to clean her teeth. So why did the thought of waking up to sex with two gorgeous and willing women send no thrills through him, no eager response? True, his dick was behaving as it should. It always rose to a challenge, never let him down except when he was too drunk to move. Even then, sometimes a skilled manipulator could get something going. But today he didn’t feel the eagerness he should at the prospect. When had that left him? He adored sex, the best pastime in the world, apart from playing with the band. He kept his eyes closed, content to be used, at least for now. The thought of rolling over, pulling the sheets up and going back to sleep appealed to him more than this, but he’d invited the women, so he had to be hospitable. Maybe he’d find some excuse to get rid of them later today and grab some time to himself. Thinking back, he couldn’t quite understand why he’d invited them on his vacation. He’d planned a few quiet weeks in Malibu in a rented villa, a chance to recharge before going into the studio to work on the final cut of the next Pure Wildfire album, Moonfire. Then the Westfall twins announced they would be in the US for a few weeks, and before he knew what he was doing, he’d invited them. He couldn’t blame anyone except himself. Paige and Ashley could be insistent, as evinced by that small hand on his cock, which wouldn’t stop until he either came or fucked her, from her point of view, preferably the latter. Their sister Corinne warned him when he’d started his off-again on-again relationship with Paige last year that they could be clingy, but he couldn’t remember when invitation had turned into encroachment. Well, he had to be friendly, at least for today, until he could work out some kind of excuse. Get rid of them without upsetting them. They didn’t deserve that. “Come on, lover.” The soft female English-accented voice had once turned him on instantly but now he had to work at it. Perhaps he was just tired. Yeah, that had to be it. After a tour that had lasted the best part of a year, wildly successful but exhausting, he needed a bit of time on his own just to sleep and rest. So Jake finally opened his eyes. “Hi.” He drew Paige close for a kiss. Well, that answered whose mouth had just replaced the hand on his cock. Ashley. “Oh baby,” he 5
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managed, pulling away from Paige just enough to speak. Paige’s sweet face smiled down at him. She pushed her ample tits against his chest and he obediently fondled them, though he wasn’t sure how much she actually enjoyed it now. Last year Paige had gone in for augmentation, and as a result, now it was a lot easier to tell the twins apart. The one with size-F breasts was Paige. Ashley still had her original C cups and he had to admit he preferred those. Pumped-up breasts didn’t do it for him. They didn’t sit right on the chest, they didn’t look real. His brother Chris was less discriminating. If Chris were here, Jake could leave the twins with him. Or Paige, anyway. Perhaps that was the answer. Call Chris, who was vacationing in Miami last he’d heard, and lend him the villa. Then he could hire somewhere else and be on his own for a while. Paige’s long, artificially extended hair brushed his chest. That felt nice and Ashley’s skilled mouth brought him to full tumescence. Or almost full. The extra inch all shapeshifters had was reserved for extra-special occasions. His normal seven-plus inches were enough for most women. More than enough for some. He felt his desire rise and, almost subjectively, noted the stages of it. Ashley’s tongue circled his dick, then she went back to some serious sucking. Oh yes, she knew how to give head. Nobody better. Heat rippled up his spine, his balls tightened. “Oh baby, yeah!” The phone rang. Fuck it, let it ring. Or rather, give him ten minutes and he’d fuck them. Both of them. There was something to be said for mindless sex, after all. Maybe his ennui was just a part of waking up after a couple of bottles of red wine and a session with two hot women. Nothing else. Paige surprised him by moving away and picking up the phone before he realized why she’d done it. He stopped yelling. She loved to shock, a trait she couldn’t control at times. It came from a childhood spent firmly under the thumb of their managing Svengali-like father, a story Jake knew more about than they realized, thanks to their sister Corinne, who was now married to Pure Wildfire’s lead guitarist, Aidan Hawthorne. Paige giggled into the phone before she flushed and abruptly handed the phone over. “Some guy,” she told him and huffed. “A guy with no fucking sense of humor.” Her precise English accent made him smile, especially here in his home country. As did her carefully inserted curse word. The twins swore like sailors when they remembered, but it didn’t come naturally to them. He had to remember to moderate his language sometimes, like in TV interviews. “Hi, yes,” he said, suddenly invigorated from his morning orgasm. He’d have to reciprocate pretty soon. That wouldn’t be too much of a trial. The girls were pretty and definitely game. “Mr. Jake Keys?” Weird. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had used his last name, much less the “mister”. “Yeah?”
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“My name is Chauncey Morris and I’m sheriff of Springwater, Texas. Your wife was Ms. Cheryl Palmer?” “Yeah, Cheryl’s my wife.” Wait—did he just say “was”? Why not “is”? The heavy silence that fell at his end told him the girls were listening. Intently. But they knew he was married—he was almost sure he’d told them. “Is there anything wrong?” “Mr. Keys, have you seen your wife recently?” The monotone was beginning to annoy him. Jake raked a hand through his shaggy hair, pushing it back off his face. Paige slid her arm around his waist, drawing him closer and rubbing her ample breasts against his upper arm. Her peaked nipples felt good against his skin, he noted absently. “The last time I saw Cheryl was six months ago, though I talked to her yesterday on the phone. We chat online sometimes too, but no, I haven’t seen her face-to-face for a while.” He bit off his words, made too voluble by the man’s use of the past tense. After all, he only had Morris’ word for it that he was a sheriff. Rock stars drew a lot of weird people and the media would use anything to get a story. “Why, what’s wrong?” “Mr. Keys, your wife is dead.” Jake shrugged Paige off him and sat bolt upright. “Say that again.” Something about his tone froze the girls and the atmosphere grew tense, chilling the air on this hot July morning. “She’s been killed, Mr. Keys. Murdered.” “When? How?” Now the dispassionate voice seemed appropriate. “She was stabbed in her own home in a violent attack. We have arrested her partner, Ms. Teresa Gilpatrick. She swears she didn’t do it, but the evidence currently points her way.” Jake racked his brain before he remembered. Teresa, Teri, yes. He’d met her once, briefly, at his wedding. Cheryl thought a lot of her. “Teri, her business partner?” “Mr. Keys, you know that your wife had—female friends?” Stupid idiot. “Of course I did,” he snapped. That was why they’d married. Cheryl needed a husband before she could inherit her grandmother’s legacy. Interfering bitch, her grandmother, but she held the purse-strings in her family. Not that he was about to tell this sonofabitch sheriff. He racked his brain and finally remembered the name. Cheryl had mentioned him a couple of times as an interfering bigot and one of the reasons the town was still in the Stone Age. He’d even met him once. Fucking great. “Mr. Morris, you know my situation, so you won’t mind if I ask you a few things to make sure I’m talking to the right man?” The voice hardened. “In what way?” “Listen. I’m in the music biz. That means I get the lowest of the pile trying any trick they can to get me to say something they can put in their filthy rags.”
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“Oh, the press,” Morris said, sounding relieved now. “I understand. We met once, Mr. Keys, didn’t we?” “Yeah. Call me Jake. So where did we meet and when?” A rustling of papers came from the other end of the line. “It must have been on the twenty-fifth of April 2003, when you and Mrs. Keys married. You married on the sixth of June at St. Andrew’s chapel. But I could have got that from the papers, right?” “Yeah.” That strained note came back. “And you went back to New York afterward, on the same day.” “Yeah.” Cheryl didn’t like to let the grass grow under her feet. She’d insisted on tying the knot fast, and Jake had flown in from New York and back that night. Since Cheryl was hardly likely to put out, there wasn’t much point in him staying. He’d met Teri Gilpatrick that day too, but only briefly. He remembered dark hair and a pleasant smile, but not much else. “Okay, I believe you, for now, but I’m not sharing anything else over the phone. Tell me about Cheryl. What’s happening now?” “She left considerable property to you in her will. With her thanks, she said.” Fuck. “So I’m—” “Her heir. You have a vested interest in this case, monetarily as well as— emotionally. Cheryl Palmer named you as her next of kin.” Shit. He’d have to go to Springwater, the last place on earth he wanted to visit again and the reason he hadn’t overnighted before. The whole business sounded like a fucking mess. Cheryl’s family was all dead—there was no one else to mourn her or take care of her estate. He owed her that. Tidy it all up for her. Unless—he recalled that last call from Cheryl yesterday. “What about her partner? I mean her sexual partner, not her business one.” “My deputy is convinced it’s the same person, Teresa Gilpatrick. I am not.” That seemed unlikely to Jake too. Cheryl had sounded excited, happy, as if this person was new to her. Teri had been a part of her life for years, since before she and Jake had married. Teri and Cheryl built up their business together, but if they’d ever had a relationship, Jake didn’t think they had anything outside business these days. He and Cheryl rarely talked about their lives outside their friendship but she never talked about Teri in that special way when he’d referred to her. Friend and business partner, sure, but not lover. It had always been like that—Jake and Cheryl had a relationship Jake had found nowhere else, not even with his brother Chris and the other three members of Pure Wildfire. He’d miss her. “I’m not sure Ms. Gilpatrick is our killer,” the sheriff continued, “and I’d like to question you about the phone call you say Ms. Palmer made to you yesterday.”
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“Why don’t you think Teri did it?” “Because Teri Gilpatrick isn’t gay. I know because I was—at college with her, but she asked me not to tell anyone specifically. I know her.” A grunt, but Jake didn’t know the man well enough to know what that meant. “She wanted to be judged for herself, she said, and she felt loyal to Cheryl so she never confirmed or denied the rumors around town.” Jake liked the sound of that. But Teri’s loyalty had gotten her into serious trouble now. “Okay, I’ll catch the next plane.” Paige gave a soft groan of disappointment and Jake reached out to pat her shoulder. He made contact with her tit and patted that instead. A pause as if he was deciding what to say. “There might be another motive. In her will, Ms. Palmer left half the business to Ms. Gilpatrick.” “I thought you said I was her heir?” Not that he cared. Teri Gilpatrick could have it all if she hadn’t killed Cheryl. If she had, he’d see her rot in hell. But what would he do with an events planning business? It wasn’t as if it worked well with his other business—playing bass for the hottest rock band on the planet, if their publicity was to be believed, and since Ryan’s wife Gina was responsible for a lot of it, then it had a nugget of truth. “Except for that part. Mr. Keys, it would be more convenient if you could attend my office.” “Okay, I’ll get there as soon as I can. Probably tomorrow. I’ll fly in to Houston and hire a car from there.” “Do you know the way or would you like me to email you a map?” “Oh I’ll find it.” Morris wouldn’t know that a hundred years ago, Springwater, Texas, was Jake Keys’ home town.
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Chapter Two “The first arraignment’s set for Tuesday.” “You mean I have to stay here until Tuesday? Jesus, Chauncey, can’t you do anything?” Teri tried hard to control her fury and stay in control of her wayward emotions, but since her return from the business meeting in Houston, she’d run the gamut from grief to fury and back again. Sleeping on a cold, hard bed in a prison cell hadn’t helped her mood one bit. “You know I didn’t kill her!” “Well, you see, darlin’, I don’t.” Chauncey rubbed the back of his neck wearily. “Or well, I know you and it’s unlikely, but unlikely don’t cut it. Not when my deputy arrested you for murder. Ain’t much I can do about that.” She lifted her chin, challenging him. “Would you have arrested me?” “Well, it don’t look good, Teri. Gotta say that. You seem to have been the last person to see Cheryl alive. Everything points to you right now. I have to say I would have waited a day or two before arresting you, but it’s done now.” Chauncey’s craggy face creased in concern. “I gotta do my job.” “But I’ve got business to see to! Even more now that Cheryl’s gone.” She swallowed back her tears. She’d cried for Cheryl, now it was time to attend to business before there was no business to take care of. “Have you any idea who it could be? Who killed Cheryl Palmer if you didn’t do it?” She eyed Chauncey, frowning. “Only suspicions, Chauncey. I don’t want to get anyone else into trouble.” “Even if it means getting yourself off the hook?” “I told you, I don’t have any proof. You’re better out there, seeing if you can get me out. Go.” “I hate to see you like this, Teri.” Chauncey got to his feet. “Come stay with me if we can get you clear of this.” Her lip curled up in a sneer. “So you can keep an eye on me?” “So I can take care of you. That’s all I ever asked for, Teri. Think about it.” She watched him leave the room, wishing she could go with him. The bastards here wouldn’t even give her a piece of paper and a pencil so she could at least do some work. She glared at her counsel, the man appointed by the court. Lawrence Diller was a hard-working lawyer with a prosperous business, and he’d accepted the job. “Can you get me out?”
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Diller glared back. “I’m working on it.” For a man who was supposed to be on her side, he didn’t seem very sympathetic. She supposed he didn’t have to be, but she had no faith in him. A churchgoer, a solidly respectable man, she knew Diller had a strong leaning to the conservatism that had led to people condemning Cheryl for her sexual preferences. Although she’d never heard him use the words “dyke” and “fag”, she could easily imagine them coming from his lips. She stood up to leave, giving up any hope of help from Diller, but the guard waved her back down. “There’s someone else waiting to see you.” “Who?” Teri shrugged. “What if I don’t want to see them? What if it’s the press?” “They won’t get in here,” the guard told her. “We know all them. Just be grateful the sheriff’s on your side.” Chauncey Morris had more chance than Teri did of getting her out, not only because he was the sheriff but because he knew the town. A native of Springwater, returned after a stint in law enforcement in the big city, which in his case was Houston, he’d been a shoo-in when he stood for sheriff last year. So in deference to his new position, Teri hadn’t mentioned their affair, which had happened in Houston, but was one that Chauncey wanted to take up again. She hadn’t been tempted, despite the sheriff’s craggy good looks, but she might have to consider it now. He had her over a barrel, or rather, that was where he’d like her. Shit. She lifted her head when the visitors entered the bare, dirty room they’d put her in and her eyes widened in shock. “Dear God.” “Nope, just plain ol’ Jake.” Jake Keys sat down opposite her and his companion sat next to him in the hard chairs that were all the room offered. From the foot-shuffling behind her, Teri knew her guard had recognized him too. Lawrence Diller pushed back his chair, the legs scraping on the bare concrete. There was nothing plain about Jake Keys. Close up, the man was dazzling. Goldblond hair surrounded his head, the shaggy cut only emphasizing the too-good-to-betrue color. Considering his profession, he probably dyed it. On stage, in the public eye all the time, Jake Keys needed all that, especially next to the charismatic Ryan, pyrotechnical guitarist Splinter, not to mention Splinter’s sexy wife and the band’s second guitarist, Corinne, and Jake’s own brother, Chris, the band’s powerful and admittedly gorgeous drummer. Teri had been blown away when Cheryl told her about her marriage, star-struck all through the ceremony and bitterly disappointed when she learned that Cheryl and Jake hardly ever saw each other. The two Pure Wildfire albums, plus the live recording, were rarely far away from her CD player. Not that this was the ideal time to ask for an autograph. Jake watched her steadily, his incredible gold-flecked brown eyes fixed on her face. “So,” he said. “Did you do it?” “No!” Her response came instinctively. “I was miles away at the time.” 11
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The business-suited man next to Jake uncapped a pen and drew a legal pad from his briefcase. “I’m acting for you in court. Tell me what happened.” “I have an attorney. The court appointed Mr. Diller for me.” She indicated Diller. The man waved him away with a disdainful gesture. “My name is Grayson and I’ve been hired by Mr. Keys. I’m a partner in Grayson, Grayson and Clark, working out of Houston.” She’d heard of them. A big law concern out of Houston. The company probably handled Pure Wildfire when they were in Texas. She’d do better with someone like that rather than a local man but they were well out of her budget. “Mr. Keys merely wishes to know who killed his wife and why. He has a financial interest in Mrs. Keys’ estate. As long as we can be sure that you didn’t kill Mrs. Keys, I’m willing to act on your behalf.” It seemed strange to hear Cheryl referred to as “Mrs. Keys”. She never used his name. Teri met Jake’s eyes again “Do I have to talk to you?” “No, not if you don’t want to.” His gaze intensified. If he brought that kind of concentration to his music, it was no wonder Pure Wildfire was burning up the concert halls and arenas. She felt a tingle and to her sheer astonishment, knew her panties had dampened. But shit, here of all places to be turned on. “I wanted to meet you, Teri, and see for myself.” He kept her gaze trapped with his. Warmth filled her, as if she wasn’t the only person in her head. But that was nuts. Or might be. She narrowed her eyes and realized things were starting to make sense. She’d felt that warmth before and knew what it meant. Why Jake and Teri married and the secret they shared. If she was right, if the warmth wasn’t just a product of her imagination. “Okay, you can act for me, Mr. Grayson.” She ignored Diller’s indignant gasp. She’d never liked the creep anyway, and she’d planned to contact somebody else. She just didn’t know who. She hadn’t exactly expected to be arrested for murder. “You don’t mind talking to the woman suspected of murdering your wife? Only I didn’t,” she added hastily before the guard, standing silently behind her, could make anything of it. “I don’t think you did.” That startled her even more. “How can you tell?” “Call it instinct for now. If you want to, tell us what happened that day so Mr. Grayson can put enquiries in motion. I want this cleared up.” “I’m doing that for you,” Diller reminded them, but nobody answered him. Not anymore he wasn’t. “Did you bring the press with you?” One day of being the center of press attention was enough for her and her gorge rose at the thought of facing the baying hordes Jake would undoubtedly draw.
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“Yep. They come anyway, these days. We’ll play it cool, I ain’t telling them anything.” His insouciance was something she wanted for herself. She wondered if it came with practice or if it was natural to him. “Thank you.” “So spill. If you want to.” He scraped back his chair and put his hands on the table, ready to push himself to his feet and leave if she said no. Large, capable hands. Teri wondered what they’d feel like on her body before she forcibly tore the thought away. She’d never had trouble keeping her mind on the important topics before and couldn’t imagine why she suddenly found herself unable to do it now. “I didn’t do it. I told Mr. Diller and Chau—Sheriff Morris, so I may as well tell you too.” She took a deep breath and stared at the scarred tabletop. A dull gray metal, marked by innumerable scratches and dents, she found it easier than looking into Jake Keys’ perceptive eyes. “I had an appointment in Houston with a client yesterday. It’s about a two-hour drive away from here. So I had a working breakfast with Cheryl at her house, where we went over the details. I was pitching a wedding between a banker and a Texas rancher. Big deal with lots of celebs on the guest list. Cheryl couldn’t come to the pitch, she said she wasn’t feeling well. She sure didn’t look well, a bit sick and pale. So I assured her I could manage on my own and told her to get back to bed. “After our brunch at around ten, I left Cheryl’s and drove to Houston. The pitch went really well. We met in the restaurant at the Houston Four Seasons Hotel, so there are plenty of witnesses.” “There’ll be CCTV records too. I hope your lawyer is getting hold of them,” Grayson said, making a note. He glanced at Diller. “Your ex-lawyer, that is. What times would that cover?” “We were at the hotel between twelve and three-thirty, discussing details and making plans,” she said. “I gave the police their names so they could check that part, but there won’t be any problems, unless the clients, the waiters and the other guests in the dining room all lie. After our meeting, I got in my car and came straight home.” “How long did the journey take?” “Around two hours. The police were waiting for me when I got home.” Grayson grunted. “Good. That documents your arrival. Anything you did that can be verified?” “Yes.” She’d told the police all this earlier. “I stopped for gas about an hour into the journey, and I paid with a credit card. I bought coffee at the shop too, so I should be on the CCTV as well as the credit card records.” Again the intrusion into her mind. With a shock that felt like an icy finger down her spine, she knew exactly who had made her feel that before. Cheryl. A lot of things fell into place then. He was in her mind, examining her. She had nothing to hide, so she did what Cheryl had taught her and dropped her mental barriers. She let him in.
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After a moment of stillness, he spoke into her mind. You know. Yes, I do. You’re what Cheryl called a Talent. She shouldn’t have told you. No. She said that. Let me read you. Then I’ll leave. Let me be absolutely sure you didn’t kill her. She only wished the mental scan was allowable in court. He scanned, almost impartially, verifying her story. She couldn’t lie, not here, although Cheryl told her some skilled Talents could. His mind, touching hers in the kind of intimacy Talents only allowed with their closest contacts or in situations like this, when complete veracity was needed, warmed her. Intimate indeed, like a caress to her bare skin. This hardly seems fair. You’re in me and I can’t touch you? The flicker of a smile crossed his lips. Perhaps another time. Now put those barriers back up and leave them there. He withdrew, leaving her bewildered and strangely bereft, and turned to speak to his lawyer. “Can you get her out of here? I’m convinced she didn’t do it.” He flicked her a glance, as if testing his reaction to her. “Cheryl called me just after ten. Luckily, she called on my cell phone, so the call is logged. Grayson contacted the phone company for an official record. She was perfectly happy then. We chatted for around twenty minutes to half hour, then she hung up. But that still means Teri could have had time to kill Cheryl and leave for Houston, if she stepped on the gas.” The lawyer frowned. “We need more evidence. The body was discovered while Ms. Gilpatrick was at the gas station on her journey home, more or less, but Mrs. Keys could have been killed much earlier in the day. Sometime between her call to you, Mr. Keys, and the time her neighbor found her at three. We’ll have a better idea of the time of death from the CSI boys in a day or two, but I don’t hold out much hope there.” He turned over his paper. “The breakfast dishes were found in the dishwasher, unwashed but rinsed. Mrs. Keys didn’t have her computer on and no calls were logged on her home phone.” “What about her cell phone?” Teri asked suddenly. “She used that most.” “The police haven’t discovered it yet.” “They need to find it,” Jake said. “They will. The living room, where they found her, was in complete disarray. Furniture overturned, the TV smashed, lamps overturned. Presumably they will find the cell phone somewhere in the mess.” He lifted his gaze from his sheaf of papers and looked straight at Jake. “If you really want Ms. Gilpatrick out of here quickly, I can probably fix it. The crime shows every sign of being what they call in Texas without malice, that is, committed in the heat of the moment.” “A crime of passion?” Jake said. Teri shuddered. She must be losing it, but the word “passion” from Jake Keys’ lips sounded completely different than from any other person. She wanted to hear that again in far better circumstances.
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“Exactly,” said Grayson, not at all affected by Jake Keys’ sensual lips. “If it’s classed as murder with malice, that is, premeditated and planned in cold blood, there would be no chance of bail because that carries the death penalty. It’s obvious to me that this was a crime without malice because of the state of the house and the way Mrs. Keys fought back, but the police need to confirm it. Since Ms. Gilpatrick has a clean record up to now and is a businesswoman in the community, then she might get bail once we’ve passed that hurdle.” Jake flashed a grin. “Go for it. Fast.” Teri looked from one man to the other, bewildered by the sudden turn in events. “But what will my lawyer say?” “Grayson is your lawyer now,” Jake told her, then relented. “If you agree. Better than a court-appointed hack any day.” He glared at Diller, who glared back. “Okay.” She was too tired to argue anymore. Too tired, too distressed and too angry. Whoever killed Cheryl would pay. She’d see to it personally. But it wasn’t her.
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Chapter Three “Hey, Aidan, can you sanction Teri Gilpatrick?” “What?” Aidan Hawthorne’s voice might have found its way from London to Texas all on its own. Jake’s cell phone barely contained it. “I thought she killed Cheryl? What are you on, man?” “Nothing. She didn’t do it. She let me read her and she’s not skilled enough to lie.” “You can’t exactly get that evidence into court.” Jake didn’t need Aidan’s dry reminder. “I know that. There has to be something else. Shit, I want to find out who killed Cheryl, not who didn’t. I want the police efforts to concentrate on that. So I’m working on getting Teri out of jail for now.” Not to mention his strange, unaccountable urge to get her somewhere he could take care of her. Yes, she was sexy as hell, but he’d never been the macho type before. Fuck ‘em and leave ‘em, don’t get involved, that was his way. At least it had been before he’d seen that lovely face marred by shadows from cell bars and a strong urge to ensure that never happened again. “So I take it you’re not going to make it to the studio?” The band was due in the studio to put the final touches to the third album. “Not yet. Sorry, I know we work better together, but I really need to be here.” He knew as well as Aidan how much studio time cost and the band preferred to record most of their tracks together. “No worries. You can lay your stuff down when you come over. It’s time we moved into the twenty-first century anyway.” “You don’t mean that.” A pause. “No, I don’t. But I did mean that you’re not to worry about it and we’ll work around it.” “Tell the guys, will you? And Aidan—Cheryl must have told Teri, because she knows about Talents. I need approval from a Guardian.” The advantage in using vague terms like Talent and Guardian meant they could talk about it openly on an unsecured line, if they took care. Aidan chuckled. “And your friendly neighborhood Guardian just happens to be on the end of your phone, right? Okay. Considering the trouble she’s in, that’s small fry.” “But it wouldn’t be if she didn’t know a Guardian.” Telling a non-Talent was punishable by death for the person who told and the person who knew, unless a Sorcerer could cut out the memory. What was Cheryl thinking? Perhaps the rumors were true and Teri and Cheryl were lovers after all. He hadn’t been looking for that when he read her and he’d been very careful to avoid intruding anywhere he didn’t 16
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need to be. But he had to admit that in some ways, he didn’t want to know. Since he’d seen her in that jail, he’d thought of little else than getting her out, and into his bed. Preferably free and clear. “I’ll sanction her. But only to your cognizance. You’re responsible for her, Jake.” “I can live with that.” More than live with it. Teri’s piquant, elfin features haunted him and her dark, chin-length hair, cut into a kind of feathered bob, played peekaboo with him as it drifted across her eyes and back when she flicked it away. The last thing he should be thinking was how much he wanted to fuck her, but he couldn’t seem to help it. He’d even dreamed about her last night and Jake rarely remembered his dreams. He treasured this one. “So you’re staying to protect Teri?” “No.” Not entirely. “To find out who killed Cheryl. Aidan—you know what she was. It could affect us all. There are people who want Talents dead.” Aidan tsked. “Yeah, while you’re there, you might as well do a bit of digging. Just don’t get into trouble, you hear me?” “Sure. I won’t hang around, I’ll be in London as soon as I can get away.” “Hey, and Jake?” “Yeah?” “I’m sorry about Cheryl.” “Thanks.” Jake hung up and slid his phone closed before shoving it into the front pocket of his jeans. He was sorry too. He’d married Cheryl for convenience, his and hers. Her grandmother, the matriarch, wanted proof of Cheryl’s heterosexuality and left her money to Cheryl as long as she married. It didn’t matter who. Cheryl needed the money for the business, so when she’d met Jake at a concert one time, she’d come on to him, but not sexually. Jake was tired of constant hints and nags by girlfriends that he should marry, more specifically, marry them. So he married Cheryl instead, after a watertight prenup that said they kept the property they owned before the marriage and nobody had any claims on each other’s stuff. They’d lived blissfully apart ever since. He still didn’t understand why she’d left him all her property except for the business. That meant Cheryl’s legacy to Teri gave her a motive for murder. But even before he’d read her, Jake doubted Teri had done it. Who would do something so stupid as to have breakfast, leave ample evidence of her presence, commit murder and then blithely leave for a business meeting? If she’d done it, she would have covered her tracks, perhaps tried to make a fake alibi. Covered herself. “Mr. Keys?” “Jake,” he said automatically. He turned around to face Grayson. With the money he was fronting the lawyer, the man could at least remember what Jake preferred people to call him.
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The sun blazed down on them, raising a sweat almost as soon as they’d stepped out into the fresh air, but for all that, Grayson still wore a suit and tie. Blue today, with a white shirt surprisingly unmarked by sweat. Despite spraying himself twice with deodorant before he left the air-conditioned motel that was his temporary and most unsatisfactory home, Jake felt his armpits dampen. He partially shifted to his firebird form and felt instantly better. Nobody would know he’d changed, the changes were internal, but the firebird could withstand great temperatures, so the partial shift brought him some ease. But walking with claws inside his sneakers instead of feet proved tricky, so he shifted back. “We should be going inside now.” Jake pulled out his cell again and switched it off to comply with court requirements before they stepped inside the welcome coolness of the air-conditioned courthouse. An imposing building fronted by a classical style portico, the Springwater courthouse was nevertheless equipped with the comforts of the modern age. Leather couches stood just inside the entrance, but Grayson led Jake past these. Several photographers stood inside, but Jake, used to press attention, ignored them and hardly registered the flashes when he walked past. He had no idea what questions they shouted. He didn’t listen. They went straight into court number one, where the case was just beginning. A first arraignment wasn’t usually something the press took a great deal of interest in, but a brutal murder of a local businesswoman who’d attracted her fair share of scandal and was married to a rock musician was bound to get their saliva glands working overtime. Lawrence Diller nodded coldly to him. Jake instinctively disliked him. From the moment he’d met Diller, he felt a shifty, secretive aura he wasn’t comfortable with. Nothing like the openness he’d encountered in Teri. Teri stood in the dock, dressed in a simple white blouse and black skirt. She clutched the bar that topped the rails before her, her white knuckles betraying her expression of bland indifference. She shouldn’t have to go through this. Jake’s sudden protective urge shocked him with its intensity. He liked women, loved a few, but never felt the need to shelter them. Especially at second—no, third—meeting. He hardly remembered her at his wedding, but he’d been too eager to get the job done and get out of Springwater to notice anybody. The officials read the arraignment and he watched Teri flinch. His teeth gritted. He listened to Grayson explain that he represented her, feeling the ripple of interest like a gentle wave flicker around the packed courtroom. He crossed his legs, propping his ankle over one knee in approved casual mode, attracting attention away from her toward him. He was used to it. She wasn’t. The police and the police experts presented credible, if gruesome, evidence that Cheryl’s murder was a crime of passion. Thank God Grayson wasn’t one of those dramatic attorneys who frequented the TV channels. Calmly, he answered the judge
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and asserted that this was a crime without malice and therefore the suspect was eligible for bail. They all politely waited for the judge to make his assessment The judge hemmed and hawed, but Grayson answered her questions and rebutted the prosecuting counsel with politeness and careful explanations. He explained them into a corner. Jake doubted Diller would have been able to do that. Teri fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot, but not using the hard chair set out for her use. Considering the chairs he’d been forced to use when he’d visited her in prison, Jake wasn’t surprised. Sore feet or numb backside. A difficult choice. Eventually, he couldn’t stand it anymore and gently entered the forefront of her mind. We’re getting you out of here. She blinked and looked away, her gaze flicking restlessly around the courtroom. Anywhere but at him. I’m not used to this. Telepathy or being in jail? Any of it. He broke off conversation but stayed in her mind. She was finding her ordeal agonizing, but looking at her cool, collected features, few people would know that. Her gaze caught his, her eyes a deep sapphire blue, the blue of the ocean. Apt, because right now Jake thought he could happily drown in them. He projected warm, reassuring thoughts and waited for her response. Her small, hesitant probe delighted him and sent a thrill of instant arousal through him. Damn, but this had to be perverted, getting turned on in the middle of a murder trial. Jake had done some twisted things in the name of sex, but this was new, even for him. The judge’s voice cut through to his consciousness. “Very well. Ms. Gilpatrick must surrender her passport and, Sheriff Morris, make sure she appears in court for her next appearance.” She sounded almost genial until she said, “Bail is set at half a million dollars.” Her glare turned glacial. The stir in the court turned to a definite murmur of voices but before anyone could say anything else, Jake put his leg down and got to his feet, unwinding his long body slowly from the uncomfortable chair. “I’ll stand bail, ma’am.” The judge’s gaze fixed fully on him. “You’re—” “Jake Keys, ma’am. Cheryl Palmer’s husband.” The murmurs grew louder. “You’re hardly of good character, Mr. Keys.” “I have the money and I can prove I earned it fair and square. I don’t have a criminal record. That’s all you need, isn’t it?” The judge’s hard, gray eyes turned speculative behind her gold-rimmed glasses. “You sound like a local, Mr. Keys.” “I was born not far from here.” He kept the location deliberately vague. Just as well, because he was born a short step from this very courthouse, if he wasn’t mistaken. Many things had changed, but Main Street still existed and he could navigate his way 19
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around from that. In his day, Main Street was about all there was of Springwater. That and a group of shacks belonging to the itinerants that thronged this part of the world when he was a boy. “I’ve no criminal record and I have the money. I’ll stand bail.” The judge sighed heavily. “It’s unorthodox, but I can’t right now think of a reason why not. Very well. Complete the forms with the clerk and Ms. Gilpatrick can go. First arraignment next Tuesday, the fifteenth of July.” He tuned the rest out. There wouldn’t be a trial, he’d see to that. Somehow, though right now he hadn’t the vaguest idea how he was going to do it, he was getting Teri free of this. He’d come here with the express desire to find out who’d killed Cheryl, but now he’d added another ambition to his list. Get Teri clear and take care of her. If she told him to piss off at the end of all this, he supposed he’d have to be happy with seeing justice done, although he’d do his best to try for fringe benefits, if they were available. “Grayson?” “I’ll handle the details. I just need your signature on a few documents.” “Sure.” No longer interested in the court’s response, or the public’s for that matter, he stepped into the narrow aisle to collect Teri. She waited, pale-faced but seemingly tranquil, if he ignored the turmoil in her mind to study her face. “I-I’m good for the money,” she stammered. He waved the concern away. “That won’t matter. We’ll get this case dismissed. I just want to find who really murdered Cheryl, and the fewer distractions the police have, the quicker they’ll find out.” A man muscled past him to open the gate and let Teri out. From the blue shirt and the badges he wore, Jake recognized him as Sheriff Morris. After Teri had stepped down, the sheriff gave Jake one long, hard stare. Jake stared back. “Why’re you doin’ this?” he demanded. “I don’t think Teri did it and I want the real murderer caught.” Sheriff Morris nodded. “I don’t think she did it either. But I know her better than you. If this is some kind of stupid-ass way to get her under your control, I’ll have your hide, boy.” Jake hid a grin at the “boy”. He probably had a hundred years more on his tally than the sheriff and even now he didn’t look particularly young. Around thirty-three, the age it said on his current birth certificate. As far as he could see, they were on the same side and around the same age. He kept scrupulously out of the sheriff’s mind. Entering the mind of a non-Talent never sat comfortably with Jake and he didn’t do it unless he really had to. Except he detected a prickle of interest between the sheriff and Teri, one he couldn’t ignore. Sexual interest. He couldn’t tell which side it was on or if they were already involved. That might mean he was out of the picture. Telling himself that he did it because Teri was innocent didn’t quite work anymore. Now that he was near her again, he had to admit the brutal truth. He wanted this woman. In the worst way. He ached to touch her, and more. 20
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Teri watched Jake Keys and Chauncey Morris stand off like two turkey-cocks in a fight. They held their chins up and their hands loosely by their sides. Talked about her as if she wasn’t there. “Hey guys.” She gave Chauncey a winning smile and worked hard to keep the tremor out of her voice. “Chauncey, I want to go home and have a long, hot bath. I won’t go anywhere without telling you first, if that’s what you want.” “That’s what I want. Teri, why don’t you come and stay at my place? Just until we clear you.” He switched his attention to her. His gaze was anxious, despite the relief she saw on his face. “No, Chauncey, no thanks.” She really didn’t want to start that up again. Chauncey wasn’t for her, but once she let him back in, she was afraid he’d be there for good. He had a way of working himself into her life until she couldn’t say no. Except she had once, but he never stopped trying to get her back. “Then can I come home with you?” Startled, she jerked her attention to where Jake Keys stood, a little farther away. The raucous cries and conversation in the court dimmed to a dull murmur when she stared at him, shocked. “What did you say?” He shrugged. “If you have a spare room, that is. I’m staying at the motel and I’d take bets on it having the loudest air-conditioning unit in the whole of Texas.” He paused. “Maybe in the whole of the United States. I really need a good night’s sleep and I ain’t getting it there.” “Couldn’t you stay in Houston? There are a lot of fine hotels there and it’s only a couple of hours away.” “Not unless you come with me.” He lifted his hand, then dropped it back down to his side, his gaze softening. “I don’t want you to be alone for a while. Call it instinct.” Chauncey jutted out his chin belligerently. “She wouldn’t be alone if she came to stay with me.” She had her excuse ready. “No, Chauncey. I can’t put you in that position. You’re the sheriff and people won’t like it if you have me in your home while I’m under suspicion.” That wasn’t the only reason for her refusal. She didn’t want to owe Chauncey anything, because she knew he’d take advantage of it, perhaps use it to get her back. Rather than that, she’d accept Jake’s suggestion. His body language was far less possessive. He wasn’t crowding her like Chauncey was, and he didn’t watch her with that greedy, possessive expression she distrusted. And she hadn’t a history with him. Jake stood back, thumbs tucked into his leather belt, while Chauncey stood too close to her, one hand touching the small of her back. She gave Jake a guileless smile. “Okay, Jake, I guess you earned your status as lodger. Just that, mind you.”
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“Yes, ma’am.” Damn if he didn’t sound like a schoolboy when he said “ma’am” in that meek tone of voice. But the glowing heat in his eyes was anything but juvenile. Maybe she was stepping out of the fire only to walk straight into the furnace. She turned to walk out of the court, but Jake put his hand on her arm, detaining her for a moment. “Your address is on file, so it’s easily discovered. I won’t lie to you. The media can be bastards, and they will be now that I’m involved. My staying with you might give the nastier ones a bit more fuel for their fairy tales. Are you ready for that?” “Sure.” She knew how bad the press could get. Jake and Cheryl had kept their marriage private and low-key. They’d told the press that Cheryl was working hard to get her business under way and Jake was working to make Pure Wildfire a success. Up ‘til now, that excuse had worked, but it wouldn’t work anymore. Jake was about to move in with the woman accused of his wife’s murder. They could be accused of collaboration. Let them think what they wanted, Teri knew the truth, and since she’d never met Jake before except at his wedding, there were no archive pictures or nasty insinuations to fuel the smoke-without-fire. Teri left the courtroom flanked by the town sheriff and Jake Keys. That wouldn’t do her any harm. Jake pulled her back when she would have walked through the hungry sharks outside on her own and lifted his chin, assuming the arrogant, sullen look she recognized from the album covers. She had to admit he did it really well. The sheriff straightened his shoulders and placed his hand on the small of her back, ready to propel her through the pack. But Jake had other ideas. He leered at them and flashes popped. “Did you help Ms. Gilpatrick kill your wife?” was the first assault. “I don’t think she killed Cheryl.” He ignored the other questions in favor of his own statement. A couple of people shoved microphones under his nose. “Most of you know that my wife and I lived apart. It was an amicable separation, we just decided to go our own ways, but we remained best friends. I was saddened to hear of her death. I don’t think Ms. Gilpatrick had anything to do with Cheryl’s murder and I intend to help her to fight any charges she faces.” “Why don’t you think that? Because she’s pretty and young?” “No, because she’s honest and law-abiding.” Teri suppressed a snort of derision, although she had to admit that, on the whole, Jake was right. “Teri had nothing to gain from Cheryl’s death and everything to lose. Their business was doing real well.” “Who gets the business now that Cheryl’s dead?” Jake glared at the woman asking the question. “Does it matter?” “I’d say so. What better motive to kill somebody?”
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“How about love?” someone else put in, a man she vaguely knew as a local reporter. He must be liking it fine, having all the big media presences that had arrived with Jake. He might even get a scoop. Not from her he wouldn’t. Teri opened her mouth to deliver an indignant reply, but Jake got there first. “As far as I know, Teri and Cheryl were business partners. Nothing else.” “Everyone around here knew Cheryl Palmer was gay,” the local reporter dropped in not so casually. Shit. That stopped the clamor cold and Teri’s heart sank into her toes. Cheryl never went as far as to deny her sexuality, but she did prefer to keep it discreet. Small town mentality, she used to tell Teri, who scoffed until she actually moved to Springwater and saw it for herself. Subtle for the most part, but always there. “Were you her lover, Ms. Gilpatrick?” Now the “Ms.” seemed like an accusation rather than a polite prefix. Some of Cheryl’s spirit infused Teri’s soul, and before either Jake or Chauncey could say anything, she waded in, fury adding fire to her words. “What does that matter? If I was Cheryl’s lover, if I loved her, do you really think I’d want to kill her? Cheryl was a great friend and a beautiful woman who preferred to keep some of her private life just that— private. I intend to respect her memory, even if you don’t.” Chauncey’s heavy sigh told her what he thought of her response, but Jake remained silent. When she dared to glance at him, she saw the last thing she expected to in his glowing eyes. Admiration. She took a deep breath but had to force herself to look away. Chauncey’s pressure on her back increased and he hustled her toward the waiting police car. But once again, Jake stopped them. “No. It doesn’t look good. I’ll take her.” The sheriff grunted. “I guess. But these guys will chase you.” “Don’t I know it. I can handle them.” Jake led her toward a car that could only belong to him. A Cadillac XLR sat in the car lot, its stark, metallic blue paintwork gleaming in the bright sunlight. It looked like a Persian cat among the mongrels parked close by. He opened the passenger door with a flourish and helped her inside, his hands gentle as he pulled down the seat belt for her. She took it with a word of thanks and busied herself fastening it. For some reason, her face was hot and it wasn’t because of the steam of a mid-August Texas sun. The steam came from somewhere else. That look in Jake’s eyes, the warmth in her mind. Sure he was famous, devastatingly good-looking, rich, all that, but when she looked at him none of that mattered. Jake Keys turned her on like no man had before. Not with desire, but with raw hunger. He wanted to eat her up, and fuck, did she ever want him to eat her. Jake got in the driver’s seat and gunned the engine, backing out of his spot and swinging around to face the road in one smooth move, missing the Mercedes Grayson was just climbing into by a whisker. He drove out of the car lot, forcing the
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photographers gathered by the exit to scatter. Maybe they hoped for another picture, perhaps of Teri in tears or Jake snatching a quick kiss. As if. Jake swung into the traffic, not bothering to check if Chauncey was behind them. “You know the way?” she asked, surprised. “Yeah. You live on Cattle Street, don’t you?” “Yeah. You know Springwater well?” Jake grunted in reply. “How did you get to know the town so well if you and Cheryl never lived together?” He shot her a hooded glance. “I used to live here a long time ago.” He turned his attention back to the road. “You know what I am. Did Cheryl tell you everything?” “What do you mean?” He sighed. “Well, Aidan gave me permission to tell you anything I saw fit. I guess you can know the rest. But wait until we’re indoors.” He paused while he negotiated a hard corner. In style. “Do you need any supplies? You’ve been in jail for a couple of days and I like cream in my coffee.” Startled into the realities of day-to-day living, she mumbled, “I guess,” and watched him swing into the small parking space by the general store. These days, progress had arrived in Springwater in the presence of an out of town shopping mall, although to her mind calling it a mall was stretching the definition a bit too much. One supermarket, two dress shops and a takeaway pizza parlor did not a mall make, not in this city girl’s mind. But the supermarket was useful, although she tried to use the town’s general store whenever she could. Supporting local businesspeople came as second nature to her. His shopping didn’t take long. He reappeared with two grocery sacks and stowed them in the trunk before retaking his place behind the wheel. He smiled at her. “I’d hoped you might have fallen asleep. You look tired.” “No. I’m still too wound up.” Her mind hummed under her lassitude, a really strange feeling. She was exhausted, she knew that, but her mind wouldn’t let her rest. The same questions circled around in her head. Who killed Cheryl? Who would want to? Why did she feel so excited around Jake? That one at least she knew and it had nothing to do with wanting to fuck the bassist for Pure Wildfire. Only with wanting Jake Keys. Who was she fooling? It had nothing to do with the instrument he played or even the band he belonged to. She’d always wanted him, but at a distance, and he’d fueled many of her fantasies. Her vibrator, tucked into a drawer in her nightstand, might as well be called “Jake”. In the flesh, she found him purely devastating. Sitting next to her, he chuckled as he started the engine. She glared at him suspiciously. “Why are you laughing?” “I’m telepathic, darling. You know that. I told you earlier.”
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“But I didn’t say you could—” She flushed, the blood heating her cheeks. If he hadn’t just pulled out into traffic, she would have opened the car door and left. “No, you didn’t, and it was wrong of me. I wanted to know if you were as tired as you looked, that’s all, and perhaps help you to get some rest. Now I’m thinking of other ways of helping you sleep.” She drew away from him as much as she could. “There are fantasies and there is reality.” Frantically, she pushed her wayward thoughts away, as Cheryl had taught her. The thought of Cheryl finally quashed any thoughts she had of Jake. “You are definitely in the fantasy department and I want it to stay that way.” He said nothing, not out loud, but she heard his voice in her head, distinctly. We’ll see about that. Not for the first time she wondered what she’d done, offering him the hospitality of her home. “Do we have to stop at the motel?” “No, I have my stuff in the trunk.” He shot her an amused smile. “I’m done with that place. It was you or Houston. I hardly got any sleep last night. But I’m not sure if it was worrying about you in jail or the air conditioning that kept me awake. Or wondering why the sight of you in that orange prison jumpsuit did more for my cock than any other woman has for a long time.” His matter-of-fact tone fooled her for a moment, but she laughed in derision. “I haven’t had any plastic surgery and I don’t spend half my life in a beauty parlor or a gym, so I don’t know how either. I get my hair done once a month, slap on some makeup at the start of the day and shower regularly.” “Then you make a great job of it.” “Why thank you, sir,” she said in a creditable Scarlett O’Hara imitation. He chuckled, that sound that reverberated inside her in a disturbing way. “Why were you wearing that prison jumpsuit anyway? I thought you didn’t wear those things until you were convicted.” “They took my clothes for forensic examination. Chauncey brought me the outfit I wore today. I-I left some things at his house. To be honest, I didn’t want any of the clothes I usually wear associated with that experience. I’ll get rid of these when I get home. I never want to wear them again. So the jumpsuit suited my purposes.” She tried so hard to keep her mind and her voice steady, but she knew she’d revealed something. She just hoped it wasn’t too much. His mouth thinned. “I see.” He swung into Cattle Street. “Which number?” “Twenty-seven,” she said. “There.” He drew up in the space she usually used, but her silver Golf was in the police lab so it was conveniently empty. Her lips drew tight. “I hope they bring my car back soon.” “I tell you what, I’ll leave the keys to this car in your kitchen. That should make it easier for you if you need to go out.”
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Perversely, a flash of hatred shot through her for that, his consideration. She shouldn’t need to be dependent on anybody, even for borrowing a car. She wanted something to hate, something really bad about him that would give her a real reason to keep him at a distance. If she fell into bed with him, he’d forget her as fast as—the last woman he took to bed. For her own pride, she should resist a little, make him work for her. When he opened the trunk, she grabbed one of the grocery bags before he could tell her to go inside. He quirked a grin at her. He knew, but all he said was, “Lead the way.” He swung a sports bag onto his shoulder, grabbed the other grocery bag and picked up a guitar case. Even with all that, he managed to close the trunk by a nudge with his chin. Teri was halfway to the door by then, but she paused to look around. The sight of the cool rock star overwhelmed by baggage almost made her giggle. Almost. Instead, she opened the door and headed for the kitchen area. She heard a thump behind her as he swung his bag to the floor and a gentler bump and twang. The guitar. “Do you always carry a guitar with you?” “Always.” He crossed the living area and put the grocery bag he carried down beside hers. “I don’t feel complete without it.” “What made you choose the bass?” She swung open the refrigerator door and recoiled. “Argh!” Old milk and something else she didn’t want to get too close to lurked in its depths. Disgusting. “It chose me.” He put his hands on her shoulders and urged her away. “Get me a trash bag. I’ll deal with this. You get some coffee going. About the only thing worse than the air conditioning in that motel was their coffee. They must put a vat of the stuff on every Christmas and just reheat what they need. Or at least that’s what it tasted like.” This time she didn’t repress her chuckle. She grabbed a trash bag from a roll in the drawer and handed it to him. “That’s better,” he said without looking around. “What’s better? Laughing? When my friend and partner is lying in the morgue beaten and stabbed to death and everyone in town thinks I did it?” He reached inside the refrigerator and pulled out a pot of natural yogurt, not even pausing to read the sell-by date before he pitched it in the trash bag. “What difference is not laughing going to make? As long as you don’t do it just after you say ‘Not guilty’ on Tuesday, I can’t see that it helps you any to stay morose.” Busily thrusting items into the bag, he pulled out something from the refrigerator that had once been a sandwich. “This couldn’t have been very inspiring even when it was fresh.” He dropped it in the bag. “I bought it the day before the pitch in Houston. I was going to have it when I got back late the next day, but the police were waiting outside for me.” The last day before her world fell apart. “You need some home cooking, girl. Just as well I’m here.” He dropped a jar of mayonnaise into the bag. 26
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“Hey! That wasn’t out of date!” “Just disgusting. If you want mayonnaise, I’ll make you some.” Having finished denuding her refrigerator, he tied a knot in the trash bag and dumped it by the back door. He washed his hands at the sink before he picked up one of the grocery bags from the counter. “Listen, Teri. On the road, we have to eat a lot of trash. So I make sure I get the good stuff when I can. Give me a kitchen and some ingredients and I can usually make something better’n you’d get in a café.” Methodically, he stocked the shelves with the groceries he’d bought. Not just milk and cream, but cheese, pureed tomatoes and something that was green and fresh. “Basil,” he said absently. “I’ll make some spaghetti sauce in a while. After my coffee.” He turned to stare pointedly at her, slamming the door closed with his foot. “And I’ll wipe out the refrigerator too, before I put the rest of the stuff in.” “Ah. Yes, coffee coming right up.” He busied himself for the next ten minutes, settling in. It was almost as if he was domesticated, which was the last thing she expected from a hard-living rocker. By the time they sat down for coffee, he’d taken his sports bag up to the spare room and unpacked it. His cell phone sat on the kitchen counter, the charger plugged in to one of her long line of sockets. That counter was where she spent most of her time, working on her laptop, one eye on the screen and another on the lifestyle programs on the TV. She had to keep up with trends if the business was going to be cutting-edge. They shared the long sofa in the living area. Jake leaned back with a sigh. “God, this is better! It’s quieter, cooler and I feel much calmer here. I owe you.” “No, you don’t. I owe you half a million dollars.” She wouldn’t forget that. “Hey, I won’t have to pay it. They just needed somebody who was good for it. Don’t worry. I’m not defined by my money.” He gave a short laugh. “I haven’t got as much as some people imagine, but I do okay. Sometimes I know it’s all a crock of shit. What do I do? I play music, I do something I love and I get paid for it. If this world had any sense at all, they’d pay the teachers and nurses that kind of money, not people like me.” Of all the things she’d expected Jake to say, that wasn’t one of them. She stared at him, shocked by his perspicacity. Weren’t rock stars supposed to be self-centered? “You can’t mean it!” “Why not? I’m not going to give the money back, but it’s a crazy world and I’d be mad not to notice it.” He grinned at her and she fought the impulse to lean toward him. “So the half million is just giving a bit back. Besides, you’re not going to run out on me, are you?” She shook her head and lifted the cup to her lips. Feeling self-conscious, she glanced sideways to see him watching her avidly. “What? Have I got a smut on my nose?”
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“No. I just find you attractive, is all. The minute I linked with you mentally, I felt it, but before that I saw you. You’re very pretty.” Her laugh was derisory this time. “You saw me in prison, unwashed, in an orange jumpsuit. How can that be pretty?” He stared at her, studying her face, but she didn’t feel his presence in her mind. She swallowed, her self-consciousness making the hot blood rush to her face. He was making a habit of doing that to her. But she refused to look away. Jake reached out and touched her chin, stroked his fingers along her jawline. Then he got up and leaned over her to brush his mouth against hers. “Go shower and get comfortable. I’ll cook. Half an hour?” Teri gasped. The whole of her body came alive at that tender touch and she fought to keep her responses the right side of coolness. Women probably threw themselves at him all the time, she reminded herself. She wanted to be different. At least she wanted to be memorable. His tenderness and consideration moved her. She’d been ready to push him away, not willing to become another statistic, another notch on his bedpost. Sexuality oozed from him, probably without his awareness, and from what she’d read about the band, they were the target for every self-respecting groupie in the music business. Sure she wanted him, but that was a fantasy. And the way she was feeling now, food and a lone bed sounded just fine to her. Exhaustion filled her, and she got up and went upstairs to her room with only a light smile for Jake. She stripped out of the clothes and dropped them in the trash. She’d never wear them again.
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Chapter Four After a hot shower, Teri dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans and a t-shirt and ventured back down to investigate the scents wafting up the stairs. She couldn’t remember when she’d last smelled anything that enticing coming from her kitchen. Jake looked up and smiled when she leaned over the counter. His being there seemed so natural. She must be dreaming as well as tired. “Here.” He pushed a plate across to her with a knife, fork and spoon. The most heavenly fragrance drifted up from it. “Eat.” “Wow.” Who knew spaghetti sauce could look so enticing? She had no more words. Her appetite rose and she tucked in, moaning with pleasure when the sauce hit her tongue. He put another plateful on the other side of the counter and joined her. After the first few mouthfuls, she felt better. When she stole a glance up at him, he gave her an encouraging smile. “Relax. We’ll sort it out.” She sighed and swirled the spaghetti around her plate. “I keep thinking about it.” “Eat. You owe it to Cheryl to keep your strength up.” He was right and this food was so tasty it was hard to resist. So she didn’t. “Did you love Cheryl?” she asked after her next mouthful. Somehow it helped to talk about her and now that she’d met this man for herself, she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything. He grunted. “No, I didn’t love her. I liked her though. A lot. Women usually want something from me. Sex or money or kudos. All Cheryl wanted was a piece of paper. And she was completely straightforward about it. She didn’t demand, she didn’t try to seduce or cajole or anything like that. She just asked. It was such a relief. Then after we married, we started to chat on the phone, send letters, email, that kind of thing. It was great to have someone to talk to who wasn’t an active part of my life, and she said the same. I really liked her.” He ate another mouthful. “How about you?” “Me?” She twirled her fork in the spaghetti. “I’ve known Cheryl for years. I was one of her first sexual experiments and she was mine.” She ignored the choking noise from the other side of the table apart from giving him a mischievous smile. “That’s how we discovered she was gay and I wasn’t. Cheryl was gorgeous. If I’d been gay, I surely would have wanted her.” She gave him a bland smile. She might choose to live in a small town, but she’d been born and brought up in the city. Houston, to be precise. He seemed to have recovered, but his face was slightly redder than usual. “So why didn’t you tell the judge you weren’t gay? Chauncey Morris said you’d asked him not to tell anyone.”
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She bit her lip, and guilt swept over her. “Maybe I should have done. I’m sorry. Was it that obvious, their prejudice?” “Just a bit,” he answered dryly. “Well, that was why. They made me so mad! Chauncey wasn’t on duty that day and the deputy couldn’t contact him. At least that’s what he said. But I don’t think he tried. Chauncey hasn’t been sheriff here for long. He moved here from Houston six months ago, to take it easy, he said.” “But you’ve known him longer than that.” “Yes. A lot longer. We were together once. He knew I wasn’t involved with Cheryl, but I asked him not to tell. I was so sick of their attitude.” She paused, twirling the fork on her nearly empty plate. “When he arrested me, Deputy Harris called me a dyke and a queer. Said it was a pleasure to put paid to our perverted games.” His fork dropped on to his plate with a clatter. “Do you think Harris had anything to do with the murder? Bigots come in all shapes and sizes and being a cop doesn’t stop him.” His voice, sharper and more penetrating, made her wince, but it was only the shock after his deliberately soothing approach. She felt a flash of anger in her mind and it wasn’t hers. “He was on duty at court all that day. Chauncey told me. Then after her neighbor discovered Cheryl, he went straight there. He said it was me because she was naked and—” She swallowed. He reached his hand across the counter and laid it gently on hers. “Don’t. Don’t go there. Not yet.” She swallowed and looked up to meet his gaze with her own. How could someone with a reputation like his understand her when so many people she knew much better didn’t? “Deputy Harris made me mad so I decided to let them come to their own conclusions. I didn’t imagine he could have any proof, but I never thought of that gap in time. By the time Chauncey found out, the damage was done and they decided to hold me. Then I realized the real murderer might be getting away. I just assumed I had an alibi because I went straight to Houston and met my clients. It was stupid. I told him to find out for himself where I’d been. I didn’t have anything to tell him and he treated me like I was subhuman.” A wry smile twisted his full mouth. “You mean like Talents have always been treated?” “Talents?” “People like me. People like Cheryl.” “Oh. Your telepathic ability?” “Yeah.” He caught his breath on a word, as if he’d stopped himself saying something else. “That’s why we keep ourselves hidden. Some people think it’s time we came out, but most don’t. One day we might.” He shrugged. “I’m happy as I am. At least for now.”
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“That’s how gay people thought once, why some still stay in the closet,” she pointed out. “It’s for some of the same reasons. Prejudice and bigotry. But there’s more. We could be used. We have powers we don’t want any government claiming for its own. So we keep quiet and just live amongst mortals.” “Mortals?” But he drowned out her question when he picked up their empty plates and took them to the sink. He came back with coffee but carried it through to the living area and put the steaming cups on the low table in front of her couch. She had to follow him and take a seat next to him, although now that her anxiety was subsiding, her awareness of him was growing. His powerful masculine presence infused her with invigorating desire, but she had to hide it, suppress the tingling awareness of his powerful body every time he came close to her. She wasn’t ready, wasn’t even sure she wanted him. And he showed no real desire for her, only the signs that she guessed were almost unconscious in him. He probably projected the image of hot, fit male without even being aware of it. Even sitting at the end of her sofa, she felt his heat, his very presence. He leaned into the corner and crossed an ankle over his knee. “So tell me. What made you move here, with all the prejudice you’ve faced? And why don’t you just come out and tell them all you’re not gay?” “Why should I?” she demanded. “What right has anyone to assume they know about me? I moved to Springwater because I tired of the city, and in any case, it’s cheaper to live here. When we started the business, we put all the money we had into it, and when Cheryl inherited her parents’ home, it seemed practical for her to move in. Then I came here and liked it. We can work from anywhere. I moved out of Cheryl’s house and rented this place. I bought it a year later, when the business started to take off, and when Chauncey moved here, I asked him not to tell anyone about our affair. Prejudice makes me so mad, and in any case, not everybody is like that. We can’t run away from attitudes like that, we have to face them, not give in!” His eyes glowed. “A spitfire,” he murmured. “That explains a lot. So you prefer to fight than to make things easy for yourself. You let them think you and Cheryl were involved.” “I let them think what they wanted to think.” It still maddened her, the glances, the sneers, the way some townspeople closed their doors to them. Cruelty, whatever form it took, infuriated her. Cheryl had been more laid back but since this was the town her parents had lived in for the last thirty years of their lives, she was more circumspect, doing her best to live her own life while respecting the way the town remembered her parents. But she never hid what she was and had suffered as a result. “Why should we have to explain anything to them?” “Because it improved business?” He quirked a brow. They were darker than his golden hair, a mid-brown. What color were his pubes? Teri blinked and forced her
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mind back to the conversation, instead of letting herself linger on thoughts of his strong body, and what it would feel like pressed atop her much smaller one. If she didn’t stop thinking about him like that, he’d pick up on it. Desire, lust seemed to be involuntary where he was concerned, but she wouldn’t be just another fuck for him. Even worse, a pity fuck. “It made no difference to the business. Most of it was in the city, in any case. Weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, shop openings, but to employ us they had to be big affairs. Not many people around here were interested in professionally arranged functions.” One or two customers had balked when they discovered Cheryl’s sexual preferences, but they weren’t the kind of people Cheryl and Teri wanted to do business with in any case. Palmer and Gilpatrick was a unisex, color-blind company and anyone who didn’t like that could go elsewhere. Even in the early days, when they were looking for anything they could get, they’d never compromised on that. He nodded and trailed his hand along the back of the sofa. She watched it, fascinated by his slow, hypnotic movements. His tanned fingers, stark against the black leather, traced a seam, repeatedly stroking it. Shuddering, she forced herself to look away. Right into his eyes. This wasn’t a look of friendship, caring or even liking. This was raw, open desire. He moved closer, the leather creaking gently at his approach, and his arm, lying across the back of the sofa, closed around her shoulders. With his free hand, he tipped up her chin. “Shall I show you how glad I am that you’re not gay?” he said, his voice husky with desire. She couldn’t move. This had to be wrong, but all her resolve disappeared under his heated stare. He moved closer, his breath hot on her lips until he kissed her. A gentle meeting of lips, hers parting a little, demonstrating her willingness despite all her resolve. If he wanted her, she couldn’t resist him. Not today, not now. And half the town was imagining something like this anyway. The half that didn’t think she was gay. Jake moved closer and his other arm snaked around her waist, drawing her close to him. This close, his warmth seeped through his t-shirt to embrace her, making her feel foolishly safe and protected. She fought hard against her feelings as his mouth pressed hers open and he took possession, driving his tongue into her mouth with a grunt of satisfaction. He took his time exploring her, keeping his hands completely still on her as if concentrating on one thing at a time. Teri responded, curving her arms around his taut body. She wanted skin, wanted to know if he felt as good under the t-shirt, so she was the first to tug a garment free and slip her hand underneath it. He felt delicious, hot and hard, his muscles moving under her palm as he shifted to accommodate her. She wasn’t the last. Jake at last moved his hand around her to trace her waist with one finger, making her skin shudder under his touch. His tongue swept her mouth and
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she opened to him, met his tongue with hers, in a connection more intimate than she’d ever experienced before. Just from kissing. He left her with a reluctance she felt down to her bones and only then did she recognize his presence in her mind. Just there, linking them together mentally. He didn’t intrude further or try to take more than she wanted to give him. She knew from Cheryl’s coaching that Talents entered each other’s outer minds as easily as other people shook hands and it was as natural to them. She’d often wondered what it felt like to exist in someone else’s consciousness. Now she knew. He opened to her as easily as she entered his mind. It was why she felt so close to this man, why their embrace meant so much more than any other. His tongue possessed her mouth, took her with an easy assurance that invited her to submit to him. His hand slid up to her breasts, but he didn’t attempt to open the front clasp of her bra. Instead, he cupped a breast in his hand, tested its weight and rubbed his thumb across her fabric-covered nipple. A soft groan came from his throat and ended in her mouth. So sexy, his voice whispered in her head and Teri was toast. Now she understood why women flocked to the band, now she knew why they sold their souls for a night with one of the members of Pure Wildfire. If they were all like this, she’d do it too. She was doing it. The shock made her pull away, just a little, but his hands stilled on her body and he ended the kiss. Keeping his arms around her, he rested his forehead on hers. “You’re right,” he said. “Too much, too soon.” “Do you need a woman in your bed every night?” He chuckled. “No. I’d like you, but I won’t even ask you. Not tonight. You need to sleep and you wouldn’t get much sleep with me in your bed. No, don’t go,” he protested as she began to draw back. “Please. Let me hold you, just for a little while.” She sank into his arms and he leaned back, one arm around her shoulders and the other resting on her waist. Unthreatening, except she felt threatened by her own self, all her good resolutions slipping away. He kissed her again but drew back after a light caress. “Sure I sleep with a lot of women, or I have done, but you feel special. Don’t ask me to explain. It might be that we can bring a bit of comfort to each other or that this is the start of something bigger than that, but we could at the very least help each other.” His fingers played idly on her shoulder. He felt right, she couldn’t deny that, but everything she knew about Jake Keys, she knew from two sources—the media, who couldn’t be trusted an inch, and Cheryl, who only knew him as a friend. Cheryl liked him and maintained a long friendship with him. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was a shy virgin. She’d passed that hurdle a long time ago. In his arms, Teri felt better, safer, and although she knew that was complete nonsense, she allowed herself the illusion for now. 33
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“Your life doesn’t allow for anything permanent. I’ll take what we have as we have it. I’ve always done that.” It was true. She might end up with a good friend at a distance, something like Cheryl’s relationship with him. “I don’t know about that. Aidan and Corinne have been married for a couple of years now and Ryan married Gina last year.” “They both have something to do with the band.” He rested his cheek on her hair. “Corinne is part of the band, but she didn’t get there because she was with Aidan. And Gina has other interests. She works with our manager, Randy Norwood, more than she does with the band and she doesn’t just work with Pure Wildfire. She’s a partner in her father’s company, Russo’s in New York. Ryan and Gina spend some time apart, but nobody doubts their marriage works. I never thought to see Ryan happy again,” he mused, “not after Maria died.” Everyone knew the story of Maria Leone, the tragic addict and Ryan’s first love, who’d died from an overdose. “Wasn’t Maria some kind of relative to Gina? I remember reading that once.” Liar, she told herself. She’d hunted up every reference she could find after Jake’s wedding to Cheryl. “Maria and Gina were stepsisters. Ryan blamed himself for Maria’s death until he and Gina discovered the truth.” He paused. “Someone gave them tainted drugs. They were addicts at the time, but that wasn’t what killed Maria.” “How terrible!” “We were all hooked at one point. Thought we were stronger than the drugs, that kind of shit. Nobody is, if you happen to pick the right drug.” The word “Cephalox” floated through Teri’s mind and she knew it had come from him. She hadn’t heard of the stuff, but all kinds of designer shit flooded the market these days. “That drug is tailored for Talents,” Jake told her. “But it wasn’t that. Someone had dosed their drugs.” He paused and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Anyone tell you how good you taste?” “No.” She lifted her chin for a proper kiss and he indulged her, opening his mouth over hers and taking her deeply, slowly stroking into her, sweeping his tongue around her, into her, but he drew back to end with a soft closed-mouth kiss. “You know much more about me than I do about you. So tell me. Where did you meet Cheryl?” She thought back and remembered Cheryl’s face as she tackled her team leader over yet another point of contention. “At a course for middle managers, ‘Organize your Conference’ it was called. We were both working for big conglomerates, both unhappy because we couldn’t do things our way.” She smiled. “She hit on me in the bar the first night. That was when we had our little experiment, and although that didn’t work, we ended that conference good friends.” He chuckled, sending warm vibrations through her body. “She knew what she wanted and she went for it. Cheryl proposed to me, not the other way around, and by the time she’d done, I knew she was the wife for me. No complications and a great reason why I couldn’t marry anyone else.” 34
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“You’re not the marrying kind then. That’s okay. I’d much rather you were honest with me.” She wasn’t surprised. If they did end up in bed together, she never expected it to last. She told herself she didn’t want it to, but he felt so right, so perfect, she was already regretting the end of the affair before it had begun. For Cheryl there would never be another affair. “We liked each other. Cheryl thought I was funny and I adored her energy. And we worked well together too. The plans for the business were all laid down that weekend, and about six months later, we left our corporations and started out on our own.” She swallowed her tears. They wouldn’t do any good now. She’d shed them when they discovered Cheryl’s murderer. Not before. Teri needed all her resolve to make sure of that. “What do you know about her death?” He sounded hushed himself and pulled her closer for a hug as if he too needed the closeness. “I shouldn’t know anything, but Chauncey told me some stuff. I was frantic when they brought me in, desperate to know what was going on. They told me Cheryl was dead, but they didn’t tell me she’d been murdered until they had me in the interview room. I didn’t care what they did to me then, but I was frustrated. What were they doing wasting time on me when they could have been looking for Cheryl’s killer, I asked them. Then they charged me and I lost it for a while. Chauncey arrived then, calmed me down and stayed while they questioned me.” She took a few breaths. He needed to know this if he was to help her discover the murderer. “She was repeatedly stabbed and nothing was taken. I went through the inventory they took.” “Is that why they didn’t search this place?” “Yes, I think so. The police found computer equipment, electronics and jewelry all in place. It was obvious it wasn’t a burglary gone wrong. The murderer didn’t even stop for long enough to make it look like one.” “So not a professional hit.” She drew back to stare up into his face. “What on earth are you talking about? Who’d want to do that?” He grimaced. “Cheryl was a Talent. There are people who know about us and want us dead. Organizations, terrorists, whatever you want to call them. They attacked us last year when we were filming in the desert and that wasn’t the first time they’d come after us. It’s an organization called the PHR. Bigots by any other name. The only good Talent is a dead Talent, they think. And they’ve targeted us, Pure Wildfire. It’s a chance we took when we started the band.” He paused and she felt his anger seething up in their joint bond. “But Cheryl didn’t mix with other Talents much. I told her about the attacks on us last year, but when it went quiet, we thought we’d got them all.” He sighed. “Maybe we didn’t.” “I don’t think it could be that.” She frowned, trying to remember everything Chauncey had told her about Cheryl’s murder. “The attack was frenzied and the police think it was unpremeditated.”
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“I hope so. If I led the PHR to her, I’ll never forgive myself for not protecting her better. There’s still a chance they did it. They might have made it look that way.” She gave a snort of derision. “You think Cheryl would have accepted protection? Sometimes a reporter would arrive hoping for an interview, especially after Pure Wildfire really took off a couple of years ago. She gave them nothing, ever. She could look after herself.” “I know. It doesn’t sound like the PHR. They usually make the death deliberate, like an assassination, to send a message to all Talents. Otherwise, apart from killing another deviant, as they charmingly call us, their efforts would be wasted.” “I can’t believe people would think like that. Just because you’re telepathic.” He cleared his throat. “What exactly did Cheryl tell you about Talents?” She smiled, remembering the day she realized something was going on. The memories of Cheryl in happier times were helping her cope with the horror of her death. “She didn’t. We were delivering a pitch for a big society wedding and she remembered something about the clients she’d forgotten to tell me. I nearly passed out when she contacted me telepathically.” He didn’t laugh as she expected him to. “Yeah. Do you know what else she could do?” She glanced up at him. “Like what?” He met her gaze gravely. “She was very Talented. She was from a race called Sorcerers, high in psi gifts. Telepathy is relatively common, and in any case, everyone has it, every human being. Babies learn to block in the first week of life as their body is developing and their Talents usually remain latent. It’s too painful to do anything else.” “Then why can’t I do it?” He kissed her again, gently, lingering on her lips. “You can. You proved it, didn’t you?” When he pressed her against the cushions, she leaned back and looked up at him. Eyes softly focused on her face, he caressed her, moving his hands up to the sides of her breasts, pushing them together and only then glancing down. “You feel so good, Teri. I want to spend a long time with you. All night and then some.” She knew it didn’t mean anything, she knew all she could expect was mutual comfort and pleasure, so why did her heart miss a beat, why did she feel so excited when he touched her? Because she was stupidly romantic, that was why.
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Chapter Five Jake rolled over in bed and landed in a confused heap on the floor. “Shit.” He wasn’t used to small single beds. His limbs were too long, his sleeping habits too restless to confine himself to its limits. That was the third time he’d fallen. And the last. Daylight filtered through the blinds. He lay still on the blue-carpeted floor and let himself wake up properly before he moved. Teri had apologized for the room the night before, with its cheap carpet and small bed, but he’d brushed it aside. He needed to get out of her presence before all his good intentions flew out the window and he joined her in her bed. Which was probably larger than this one. But her exhaustion beat at him. Tired in mind and body, she would have welcomed him, but she was in no state for the sexual marathon he had in mind. He wanted her more than he could remember ever wanting another woman. Why she should affect him this way didn’t bother him at all. She just did. Waiting to make sure he hadn’t woken her by his precipitate tumble, he allowed himself the indulgence of imagination. He knew her breasts were full. And they were real too. No silicone there. Her waist dipped beautifully and flared into mouthwateringly full hips. He wanted nothing more than to slide his hands down those gorgeous curves and then taste her. Everywhere. But after a necking session on the sofa, he’d pulled away and made her go up to bed on her own. His morning hard-on turned into something more meaningful when a drop of moisture seeped out of the tip. Jake absently stroked his erection, curling his fingers around the flared head. What the fuck was he doing? Like he wanted her to find semen on her carpet or her sheets? That would confirm all her suspicions about rock musicians. He’d read her enough to discover her wariness in his presence. She thought he’d move on in a few days. But Teri was relieved that he didn’t believe that she killed Cheryl. That was something at least. He’d enjoy her body if she let him that close, but he couldn’t count on anything. Nor should he. He got to his feet and headed for the shower. This was the only bathroom in this tiny house, linking the two bedrooms. This house was smaller than some hotel suites he’d stayed in, but he liked it. It enchanted him, like living in a fairy-tale cottage. Plenty big enough for one person, if that person didn’t have too many belongings, easy to care for, and although the rooms were few, they were roomy enough. The plain, sparse furniture suited the place. He’d lived in worse. Much worse.
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When Springwater had been one street and a huddle of shacks, he’d lived in the open until he and Chris finished their one-room log cabin. For a short period, Main Street had once been Keys Street, after Jake had taken Kid Garnett out with one shot. But Chris moved on and Jake became sheriff and settler, trying to eke a living out of this new land along with everyone else. And he’d done it, until they’d asked him—told him—to leave. Not that anyone but historians remembered it now, and if anybody asked, he could shrug it off and tell them that Jake Keys was a distant relative. The place had sure come on since those days. Not that it was any more than a tiny dot on the map even today. Springwater hadn’t made history, just people. The shower hit his body with a cold chill he really needed. Except it didn’t alter his erection. Sighing, Jake fisted it, wishing it wasn’t his hand bringing him relief, but determined to let Teri sleep. The water heated and so did Jake. Her body would be pale, barely tanned like her arms and smooth as silk under his hands. He’d try to keep his fingertips gentle, although they were hardened from years of playing the guitar, but still sensitive enough to feel the incredible warmth of her body. He’d push them inside her, tender at first, testing her sensitive skin to make sure she was ready for him, then he’d taste her. All over. Kiss her, suck her nipples into hard beads of want and then suck her some more. She’d moan for him, maybe use his name. Oh yeah. Her body, soft skin and resilient muscle, would feel wonderful under his as he lifted over her and positioned his hard, aching cock at the entrance to her pussy, but he’d tease her a bit first. His mouth watered from the effort. He’d push his cock head over her clit, feeling the little nub stimulate the sensitive skin, pushing it into the small eye at the top of his cock, a foretaste of what was to come. Then he’d slide down, drowning in her wetness, and thrust inside her. He’d feel her body arch up to him, press against him, and he’d hold her down, ram right into her. His name, she’d whisper his name and he’d fuck her until she screamed it. Just his name, just him. He jerked uncontrollably as he came, his seed instantly washed away by the hot stream of the shower. Jake lifted his hand to support himself against the tiled wall, letting the water pour over him. He’d needed that. Otherwise he might have jumped on Teri as soon as she woke up and that wouldn’t do at all. He wanted to show her a bit of finesse, not leap on her like a randy schoolboy. With an effort, he remembered the twins, Ashley and Paige. Good bodies, shorter than Teri but just as curvy, undemanding outside bed but fucking insatiable in it. Just the kind of woman he liked. Or should like. But he didn’t, not anymore. Since yesterday there was only one woman he wanted and nobody else would do, not until he’d had her. Maybe not even then. Time would tell. Meantime he had a murderer to find and breakfast to cook. Not necessarily in that order.
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Teri woke up to the tantalizing scent of frying bacon. For a moment her senses spun—who was in her house, who was cooking?—before she got with the program. She hadn’t been thinking straight, otherwise she would never have allowed Jake to railroad her into letting him stay here. It was just easier than arguing. Going into his arms was something else, although she was fully aware it was entirely due to him that she didn’t wake up with him this morning. What disturbed her was she wouldn’t have objected. Except he’d been right—she was too exhausted to have really enjoyed it. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn’t. Perhaps he was just being kind, comforting her in the only way he knew how. He could read her mind, but for all his explanations, she couldn’t read him. It didn’t seem fair. But it helped to explain why Pure Wildfire was one of the biggest bands on the planet. No. That wasn’t fair either. Pure Wildfire was on top because it was a great band, pure and simple. The two studio albums and the live album rocked. Hard. A lot of that was due to Jake Keys’ solid, inventive bass lines. And he was in her house. Cooking bacon. She flung back the sheet and got out of bed. Pausing to clean her teeth, brush her hair and check she’d actually got all the mascara off last night when she’d sleepily stepped under the shower, she found a thin robe to belt over her faded, but comfortable, oversized t-shirt and found her slippers. Not seduction material. It felt like a kind of defiance. Jake Keys didn’t lack women and he was probably used to seeing them at their sexiest best, but not Teri Gilpatrick. If he wanted her, he’d have to take her as she was. That would solve her problem, if he recoiled in horror from the sight of her first thing in the morning. Except it wasn’t quite first thing. When she glanced at the clock on her bedside table, Teri was astonished to realize it was ten a.m. and she’d slept for ten hours. No wonder she felt refreshed, although “better” might be overdoing the enthusiasm somewhat. When she opened her bedroom door, her mouth watered from the strong smell of bacon wafting up the stairs. She didn’t wait for any more, but almost ran down. Jake stood in the kitchen area, whistling. As she watched, he put the coffeepot on the stove. She walked forward, simulating all the insouciance she was far from feeling. Instead of recoiling in horror at her appearance, he smiled, warmth lighting his eyes. “Come and sit down. It’ll be ready in a minute. Just doing the eggs. How do you like them?” “Sunny side up,” she said automatically, taking her place on the stool on the living room side of the counter. “I could get used to this.” He glanced at her, quirking a brow. “You might.” Wow, he looked gorgeous in the morning, all leonine glower, with his mane—hair—in his eyes. His jeans were even tighter than the ones he’d worn when he visited her in jail and gave her something else to think about that night. This all felt so right, so real. 39
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No. That couldn’t mean what she thought. She didn’t even want to go there. Without turning around, he said, “It could mean more. I don’t put any limits on relationships, especially before they’ve even begun.” He turned, a plate in each hand. “Now eat and stop second-guessing. Let’s talk about you.” He placed a plate of bacon, eggs and mushrooms before her, all cooked to perfection. She stared at the food, her mouth watering. “How do you get bacon crispy without burning it?” “Practice.” He picked up his fork. “I enjoy cooking, it’s a kind of hobby. Wait until you taste my pasta alla Genovese.” He looked up at her, gold-flecked eyes glinting brightly through a thick fringe of brown lashes. “And yes, I probably will be here long enough to do it for you.” “I never even thought that.” “You didn’t need to.” He forked up a bite of egg. “To be truthful, I don’t know what to think.” At least she could think this morning. “About what?” “About you.” She moaned softly. This food really was delicious. He cooked much better than she did. “Why you want me.” She took a chance. “If you just need a convenient woman. You must know some gorgeous females.” He didn’t take offense. “You mean you don’t know what I want in a woman?” He put down his fork and went to get the coffee. He came back with two of her big coffee cups, filled with the fragrant brew. “Here’s your answer.” He placed one cup in front of her and picked up his fork again. “I don’t like the artificial babe. I particularly hate fake boobs. They don’t look or feel like the real thing. But I like a woman who takes care of herself.” He ate a mouthful of mushrooms before he said anything else. “Shit. Now you’ve got me talking like some narcissistic idiot. I was just trying to explain what turns me on.” His plate nearly empty, he put his fork down. “You turn me on, Teri.” She gave him a derisory laugh as a reward. “Not looking like this.” “Oh yeah.” His voice deepened and she looked up at him, startled. “Fresh out of bed, smelling good, shiny hair I want to muss, lips just asking me to kiss them and no nasty-tasting lipstick. Oh yeah.” She looked away, back to her plate. Obviously a plain terrycloth robe and slippers didn’t put him off one bit. “And like I said, I’m convenient. You talked your way in here and this isn’t exactly a big house.” “I did, didn’t I?” He didn’t look remorseful but flashed her another grin. “Not for that though. Well, not entirely for that.” He picked up his coffee and watched her until she put her fork down. “What?” His expression had turned grave. “I’m worried. Listen, Teri. You know about the PHR—the organization that attacks Talents and tries to kill them. If you knew about 40
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Cheryl and they’re involved in this, you might be a target. They’re bigots, they hate anyone associated with us. I don’t want you to face them alone.” “Do you really think it’s possible?” “I do.” No trace of the humorous expression she associated with him remained, none of the lazy good humor she liked. Only sincere concern. A chill caught at her heart. He reached across the counter and took her hand in his. “Hey, it’s only a possibility. The chances are they’ll find Cheryl was killed by a jealous lover or something like that.” “Cheryl did have a new lover. Did she tell you?” He nodded. “More to the point, did you tell the police?” “Of course. But I don’t know her name, other than just Liz.” She frowned. “This is a small town. Cheryl was discreet, even though she was out of the closet.” The doorbell rang and she pulled her hand back, except he wouldn’t let her. He lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles, never letting his gaze fall from her eyes. “Later,” he murmured before he drew away. “I’ll get the door. You go upstairs and dress.” “Oh!” Only then did she realize what this might look like to someone. Like she’d spent the night with him. Not that she cared for herself, but it might put him in an awkward situation with the law. It had to be someone like that at the door. Who else would call on her this morning? And for the first time she smiled. He’d made her smile. A rock star sleeping with a woman who wore a shabby terrycloth robe and furry slippers wouldn’t be good for his image. “You think I care about that?” His gentle laughter followed her. She ran upstairs, tearing off her robe as she went. Scrambling into jeans and a tshirt, she became aware of raised voices. Jake and a man she didn’t recognize. That was because she’d never heard Lawrence Diller raising his voice before. Cheryl’s lawyer, the man who had drawn up the business agreements, always struck her as a self-controlled and polite kind of person. Not the kind of man to walk through a door shouting. But he was shouting now. She stood at the top of the stairs and took a breath before she went down them. Fury coursed through her. Why should she allow this in her own home? Mr. Diller stopped mid-tirade, glared at first her, then Jake. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. “I live here.” She went down the last few steps and faced him. “I meant him. Do you know how this looks?” “What are you talking about?” Diller raked a hand through his dark hair, or what was left of it. His hair was carefully styled to minimize the receding hairline at the front, but he negated that when he pushed it back off his forehead. Dracula couldn’t have done a widow’s peak better.
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“I can see the headlines now. You’re playing into the opposition’s hands. The people who want to convict Ms. Gilpatrick and discredit Mr. Keys.” Jake gave a harsh laugh. “Discredit? You think I haven’t had worse thrown at me? And how could it affect Teri?” He knew, she knew he did, so she guessed he wanted to hear it from Diller. Diller growled. “How does this scenario grab you? You’re secret lovers and you conspired to murder Ms. Palmer. Or Keys is lying to save you, Ms. Gilpatrick. It looks bad, both of you holing up here. Real bad.” He turned to Jake as if Teri had ceased to exist for him. “Get out now. Pack up and go before the press gets here.” “Too late.” Jake nodded to the window and at the same time a flash went off. “Fuck!” Diller strode to the windows and jerked the drapes across it. Teri started. To her knowledge she’d never heard the proper Lawrence Diller curse before. “Stable door, horses?” she suggested. Diller’s tirade had given her a chance to regain her temper and keep a tight hold on it. If she lost it, she might show something, give something away, and she prided herself on her self-control. “Besides, if you went to the motel, you’d understand why Jake is here. The air-conditioning unit is louder than a rock concert. Can’t people share a house without neighbors assuming they’re sleeping together?” “Not in this town.” Diller turned away. “Mr. Keys, I have to say this looks bad. In the event of her death, you are the two beneficiaries.” “But we never met except at the wedding before yesterday,” Teri protested. He spun back to confront her, teeth bared. “That proves nothing. You could have met in secret or communicated online. Who knows? But maybe you wanted the business and Mr. Keys wanted rid of his wife. She wasn’t interested in him sexually and he is well known for his sexual adventures.” Teri knew that and wondered anew about Jake’s reasons for wanting her. “Wounded pride? It’s enough of a motive to drag him in to the case.” He turned back to them, dark eyes burning. “I was Ms. Palmer’s family lawyer for most of her life. I was there when her parents were killed in an air crash, I was there when her grandparents passed on more peacefully a few years ago. I have a duty of care for her, even if I have no official interest in the case. And I swear to you that if these rumors are true, I’ll see you both fry.” “Not these days,” Jake pointed out. “No more frying in Texas.” “And in any case, this was a crime of passion. That’s not a capital offense,” Teri added. Chauncey had made that much clear for her. She wouldn’t have made bail if the murder had been classed a “crime with malice”. Murder one, in other words. “If conspiracy can be proved,” Diller said, “then it’s not a crime of passion. It’s a murder with malice and you’ll die for it. Believe me, if there’s anything to be proved, I’ll find it, because I’m not acting for you in this case and I have a duty to Ms. Palmer. That’s a promise.” He strode to the door and wrenched it open, slamming it behind him.
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No longer caring about anything but comfort, Teri walked into Jake’s arms. They closed around her, holding her tightly for a brief moment before he released her and walked away. She folded her arms over her chest, forcing herself to breathe. “You have to go.” “Like fuck I do.” He wrenched the drapes across the side windows, which looked out over her small but well-kept yard, then went into the kitchen and did the same there. He came back to her, snapping the lights on against the sudden gloom. “I’m going nowhere without you.” Not giving her a chance to object, he pulled her back against his body and held her tight. “Leaving now would prove nothing. If Diller wants to try to make a case, let him. We both know he won’t find anything.” He put his fingers under her chin, pushing it up and forcing her to look at him. “My alibi is watertight. I can prove I was too far away at the time of the murder to have done anything. Yours will come, I know it will. You didn’t do this. Even if I couldn’t scan your mind, I’d be sure.” He bent his head and kissed her. Gently, as he had last night, then with a flick of his tongue, he coaxed her lips apart and slid his tongue into her mouth. He explored her, tasting her deeply, touching his tongue to hers and encouraging her to return his caresses. Her anger at Diller’s accusations dissolved in rising passion and a flash of guilt. How could she do this, how could she think like this with her best friend hardly cold in her grave? Even as she thought it, she felt his mind enter hers, gently soothing away her fears and her guilt. He slowly lifted his mouth away from hers as if he could hardly bear to separate them. “There’s nothing we can do for now. If anyone can find your alibi, it’s Grayson. So we’ll let him get on with his job and call him later. For now, I can feel your sorrow and your pain. Let me help you with that. Come to bed with me, Teri.” “Now?” “Now.” She opened her eyes, gazing into the depths of his. “Why?” She saw the heat that burned there, but she wanted to be absolutely sure what he wanted. And what he didn’t want. “Friendship, comfort, maybe something more, who knows? But we need to find out. After Tuesday, after the arraignment, everything changes. So let’s not think about that. Right here, right now is what matters. Let me help you, Teri. And I want you to help me too.” His trust in her, his belief, strengthened her resolve to clear her name fast so the cops could get on with finding the true culprit. He was right, after that was done they could get on with their lives, which would inevitably part them. This might be all she could expect from Jake. And she couldn’t deny she wanted him. The man oozed sex from every pore, that ripped, powerful body drawing her every time she looked at him, the knowledge of the man underneath drawing her even more. Jake wasn’t at all what 43
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she expected. Sexy, yes. But not thoughtful, intelligent or considerate. He was all of those things too. “Yes.” That was all he needed. Jake took her hand and urged her to climb the stairs ahead of him. His soft groan told her he wanted this as much as she did and his murmured, “Run, baby, or I might take you here,” drove needles of want through her. She ran, leading the way into her bedroom, crossing the room to snap the blind down. As she did, he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. She turned into him, lifting her head for his kiss. He didn’t disappoint. He took her mouth with a ferocity that demonstrated his desire better than any words, plunging his tongue inside to plunder. She met him with her own, driving him hard. His hands swept up her back, shoving her t-shirt out of the way so he could find her bra and unclasp it. Jake wasn’t taking any prisoners today. Neither was she. Skin on skin, that was what she wanted and she wanted it now. When he broke their kiss, he dragged her t-shirt over her head. Teri tugged at his black top until he bent so she could get rid of it. She would have torn it off if she’d had the strength. He busied himself pulling her bra straps down and off. He hauled her back and her breasts crushed against his hard chest. They both gasped at the sensation of heated flesh and his mouth came down on hers once more. One hand left her back and she felt the zipper on her jeans go down. He shoved at one side, then the other, forcing the fabric past her hips. Her panties came down with them and she didn’t try to stop them, only standing on one leg, then the other to shake them away from her feet. Suddenly, his mouth left hers and he stepped back. His gaze roamed from the top of her head to her feet and back again, taking in her body in one comprehensive sweep. “God, you’re gorgeous!” She caught her breath on the burning desire evident in his eyes, searing her body with desire. His muscles tensed as he tore off his own jeans and underwear, his biceps flexing deliciously. “So are you,” she murmured and blinked when he stood upright once more. He reached for her, giving her only a glimpse of his erection, the broad head flaring red, straining with need. His burning heat plastered all along her front and his arms went around her tightly, but before his lips met hers again, he murmured against her mouth, “We need protection.” “Nightstand drawer,” she murmured back and looped her arm around his neck to urge his lips back down to hers. The man kissed like an angel. Or more to the point, a devil. Now that he was naked, she felt his sheer animal strength and finally knew what Jake Keys felt like. My God, I’m going to bed with Jake Keys!
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Her mind fought to accept the fact and deal with it. It wasn’t his fault that their music had provided the soundtrack to her life in the past few years, or that she’d allowed the blond bassist to invade her fantasies. His kiss deepened before he drew away, his breath coming sharper now, and he scattered kisses over her face before bending to her throat. She stretched up for him before he growled and lifted her, hands under her buttocks, to carry her the few steps between them and the bed. She fell back and he tumbled on top of her, rolling to one side as he came down. He brought his hands up to cover her breasts. She gasped at the sensation, then he brought the fingers of one hand up and tweaked her nipple. Bolts of electricity shot through her at his touch and she gave a small “Ah!” of shock. Unrelenting, he followed his touch with his lips, uncovering her other breast to lick her nipple before sucking it right into his mouth. “Oh God!” She slumped back against the comforter and let him take her, his mouth working hard on her breast, his fingers pulling and tweaking at the other. Could she come from his mouth on her breast? Surely not. But the electricity remained, sending sparks shooting through her body, from her breasts to her pussy, until she felt her juices flow for him, dampening her thighs. His leg pushed between hers, rubbing the tender flesh, lifting to reach her pussy. He lifted his head and stared into her face. His eyes were as wild as any jungle creature’s, his mouth slightly open as he panted. A still moment in the tumult that had assaulted them as soon as they hit the bedroom. Before. He grinned at her, a bright shaft of joy, and lifted up on to his hands and knees, his cock thrust toward her. She reached for it as he lunged over her in the direction of the nightstand and grasped it as she heard his groan. “Do you want this over before it’s started, woman?” he demanded, but she knew from his smile that he was enjoying what she was doing to him. She tightened her grip and slid up, working him, delighted to discover the play in her first uncut cock. Now his groan was more heartfelt. “Stop. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but I want to get inside you, Teri. Please.” She released him reluctantly but reached her hand down to caress his balls, swinging heavily underneath, before she stroked his thighs. “Then be quick.” From the wetness seeping between her thighs, she knew she didn’t need his stimulation, but he thrust one hand between her legs, bringing the other to his mouth to rip open the foil packet with his teeth. He rolled the condom on his cock single-handed, but he had his hand in her slit now, rubbing in her juices before he pushed a finger deep inside her. “Oh baby, you’re so hot. I can’t wait,” he said and swung his body over hers, forcing her thighs apart. His cock touched her opening, as if in greeting but then he pushed and slid inside. She cried out as the broad head breached her, the slight resistance giving way and then he pushed some more, filling her completely. He didn’t stop until his balls met her ass. Elbows on either side of her shoulders, he bent his head and kissed her, openmouthed. She met his kiss hungrily, meeting his tongue with hers, stroking it to feel all
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of him in all of her. And on her. His chest touched her breasts and caressed it softly. Jake had curling chest hair in a deeper shade than that on his head, a furred wall of muscle to stroke and twist against her nipples. Teri leaned her back and shoulders into the comforter, to give her enough purchase to push up her hips and grind her lower body against his. She wanted close and then she wanted closer. He gave a harsh cry and jerked up, to thrust deep inside her again and he found his rhythm, pulling out almost all the way before driving inside in hard, insistence. When she responded, gasping “Oh yes!” he growled with satisfaction. “Oh yes, baby. This is right for you, isn’t it?” “Yes. Oh yes!” She couldn’t articulate any more, couldn’t remember any more words, but went with his deep, sure thrusts that hit her sweet spot every time. Every time he thrust, he took her higher and she gritted her teeth, praying he wouldn’t stop. He bent to take her mouth and she felt his tongue thrust inside, in sync with his thrusts. Then he broke the rhythm, holding still for a half-second and that stuttering change finished her. She broke wide open, all her emotions flooding out to meet him, hardly aware of crying his name. “Jake! Jake! Jake!” escalating to a thin scream. “God! Teri!” He came in hot, sharp heat, as deep inside her as he could go, his breath heating the side of her face and neck. Then he slumped on her in surrender. “Teri?” The first thing she was aware of was his hand on her cheek, turning her to face him. He lay on his side, one leg across hers. She smiled into his eyes. “Wow.” “Yeah.” His smile warmed her, where he’d burned her with passion before. “So where did you learn to fuck like that?” She waved her hand in a vague gesture. “Oh, around.” She wasn’t about to tell him she’d never experienced anything like that before. Ever. He’d fucked enough women, had plenty to compare her to, so why should she give his ego any more stroking? Not that it was his ego she wanted to stroke. “Back in a second.” He rolled off the bed, heading for the bathroom, giving her a blessed minute to regain her senses. Wow was about right. She wasn’t sure she could move, but she managed to check the clock. Fifteen minutes. The act that shattered her life had taken a mere fifteen minutes. She’d be lying if she said her world hadn’t just shifted. Jake’s possession had been total. Straight missionary, because they hadn’t time for anything else but deep and hard and to the point. Teri couldn’t believe that anyone else would ever move her that much again, and before now, she’d been perfectly happy with her sex life. Deliberately 46
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avoiding comparing Jake to any of her other lovers, she dwelled on the moment, closed her eyes and dreamed. The toilet flushed, but that didn’t disturb her drift. Neither did the sound of running water in the sink. Only when the mattress sank under his weight did she open her eyes. Into his, warmly smiling down at her. He kissed her, his mouth caressing hers gently before he withdrew. “That was something.” “It was.” For all she knew, he was being polite. She didn’t care. He’d given her the best sex of her life and she’d remember it forever. She tucked the knowledge deep inside her, the way Cheryl had taught her, away from him or anyone else. “You’re good, Keys. I bet you’ve been practicing.” He chuckled. “Not like that. I mean it. That was good. I forgot my own name when I came.” He growled. “I think we’ve just decided what we’re doing for the rest of the day.” He pulled her closer and she lifted her head to rest on his shoulder. She didn’t know what to say. She felt raw and open, but satiated and content, comfortable with him. “Are all rock stars like this?” “How should I know? We’re not a race of aliens, you know. Publicity hounds apart, most of us are musicians. We get together, we talk music. Not always sex, that’s part of the hype. And sometimes fun. The best groupies understand that. They know sex is a way of winding down and maybe a way for us to create.” She looked up at him. “Does that make me a groupie?” He took her mouth, lingering to kiss her tenderly. “No. You’re something else, Teri. Not what I expected.” “So what did you expect?” “How about you?” She considered, taking her time and stroking his chest, enjoying the sensation of the soft fur and hard muscle underneath. “I wanted some kind of contact, but I wasn’t desperate for it.” She looked up, meeting his eyes. “You know I love Pure Wildfire’s music?” He grinned. “I did notice our CDs on your stereo, yes, and I wanted you, so I would have gotten around to mentioning it if that got me in your bed faster.” She should resent his honesty but she couldn’t. She loved it. “What I wanted was a friend and a bit of comfort, peace from the worry. And the thrill of sleeping with a rock star. Okay, I’m shallow. Sue me.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Never.” He paused, as if he wanted to say something else, and when he spoke, she knew he’d avoided saying something. “Teri, I want to tell you stuff but it’s too soon and you have too much on your mind. So sleep. Just let yourself go and let me hold you. We’ll get past this mess, get you out of custody and then we’ll talk. Deal?”
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She yawned, wondering if he’d given her the urge to sleep or if fatigue swept down on her when he set her tension free. Not caring. “Deal.” She closed her eyes and was almost immediately asleep. Jake watched over her. He smoothed a lock of hair back off her face when it threatened to drift over her nose and wake her. He still wasn’t sure what had just happened. He’d never, ever been so carried away he hadn’t made sure of the woman’s enjoyment before his own. He’d never absorbed someone like this before. Felt her become part of him. Some of him was scared. The other part welcomed it as if it had been waiting for Teri all his life. One thing was sure. He had to be careful and take it easy or he’d scare her off. Already he knew she saw him as a respite, a port in the storm, but she wasn’t ready to accept him. It might take years, maybe weeks or days, maybe never. But he’d try for it. He had no choice because he wanted her too much to give up. He tried to understand why Teri Gilpatrick should affect him like this. He’d always liked women, taken them, enjoyed them, but they’d never gotten as deep as this, never penetrated to his very soul. On the surface, Teri was no different to many women he’d known. She was independent, trying to make a life for herself, sexy and bright. So why was she so different to him? He drifted his hand along her arm to feel the texture of her skin. Soft, smooth, with warmth that vibrated under his fingers. Perhaps that was it. She was in harmony with him; her vibrations matched his. No. Too hippie for his liking. But he couldn’t think of another explanation. Cheryl had died and he’d felt guilty because he hadn’t been there, so he had to rescue Teri. That was the way he originally felt. Before she rocked his world by looking in his eyes and smiling. Simple as that. With one smile, she’d entered deeper than any other woman had done before. He had no idea why, but he wondered if Aidan and Ryan would understand. He suspected they might. He lay back, touching her, but not disturbing her and let his mind go. Sometimes when he let his instincts take control, he learned more than he did by remaining in control. He’d always been a creature of instinct. Maybe it would work for him now. Teri was a sensitive, maybe an empath, but he didn’t think she was any more than that. Not a Talent. So why was he getting a strong feeling that a Talent was involved in all this? A powerful Talent, because his—or her—influence was all over this town. He’d always felt something here, but Springwater lay directly on a ley line, so he’d put his feelings down to that. But ever since he’d driven into town on this visit, he’d felt a strong psi presence. It permeated the courtroom. He could even feel it here, in Teri’s house. It wasn’t him and 48
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it wasn’t Teri. Lawrence Diller? That was hard to believe, considering the man’s upright stance and indignation, but that could have been a cover. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He glanced at Teri, now sleeping peacefully and decided not to tell her, at least for now. She wouldn’t be able to do anything to help him find out and it would only be one more thing on top of what was turning out to be the worst week of her life. Maybe he’d make next week her best. He wanted to try.
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Chapter Six When Teri woke up, Jake lay next to her, convincing her she hadn’t been dreaming. His chest rose and fell in sleep and finally she had a chance to study him. Despite her air-conditioning unit, it was still hot in the bedroom and he’d thrown off the sheet that had covered them. He lay there, nude and gorgeous. Jake Keys, bass player with the hottest rock band on the planet. And one of the sexiest men she’d ever seen. She took her time and examined him. His chest was furred with soft brown curls, not too much, but she liked that he didn’t shave and buff, as so many other people in the public eye did. His nipples prodded through the hair, small brown peaks she wanted to taste and touch. One arm lay outstretched as if he reached for her and the burning rose tattoo, symbol of Pure Wildfire, blazed over his biceps, decorating the beautifully articulated muscle beneath. That tattoo was something else she wanted to taste. Something caught her eye. The rose wasn’t his only piece of body art after all. At the top of his thigh lay a mark, the like of which she’d never seen before. It was a small bird done in flaming colors of orange red and gold with its wings outstretched, so beautifully depicted that it looked as if it might take off in flight any minute. But what was so different about it was it glowed. She hadn’t known such inks were available, but then she didn’t have one tattoo on her body, although she’d been tempted to get one a couple of times, mostly when she was drunk. She sat up to study it closer. Its wings seemed to move, but that was probably because she was staring at it so much. She lifted her hand, then dropped it away, unwilling to wake him up. “You can touch it if you like.” She started, shocked into jolting back, and stared up at his face. He was watching her, a smile curling his lips, his gaze lazily roving over her body. “Go on, touch it.” Instead of touching it with her fingers, she leaned down to kiss it. It felt hot under her lips. As she watched, the glowing image faded, slowly being absorbed into his body. She lifted her head and met his eyes. “What happened? Was it me?” “No, not exactly.” He paused. “It’s a special mark. Not a tattoo precisely. Just a sign of what I am. A sigil, we call them.” “A Sorcerer like Cheryl?” He bit his lip. “No, not that. Something else.” He opened his mouth, but as he spoke, the doorbell rang. “I’m a—”
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Teri climbed off the bed and reached for her robe. The doorbell rang again. Two staccato rings. Then one longer one. She picked up her jeans instead. “Hey, you can’t go to the door. There are reporters out there!” “That was Chauncey’s ring.” She didn’t explain further, but found a t-shirt that wasn’t quite as crumpled as the one now lying on the bedroom floor. Jake swung his feet off the bed. “Then you can’t answer it alone, just in case.” “In case of what?” She left the room, tugging the shirt over her head, and once it was free, ran downstairs. After checking through the spy hole, she undid the chain and opened the door. “Hi.” Chauncey, not in his sheriff’s uniform, stepped through the door. He shoved it closed behind him, cutting off the yells of the half-dozen media people gathered outside. “Are you okay? You don’t look good.” She ran a hand through her disordered hair. “Yeah. I was just—asleep.” Chauncey looked up as Jake, dressed, but barefoot, came down the stairs and his face hardened, his smile disappearing completely. He looked from Jake to Teri and back again. “You didn’t waste much time.” Teri didn’t know what to say, but Jake did. “Screw you, Morris.” He touched her waist and even that small contact made her shudder. Barely touching her, he led her to the sofa and urged her to sit. “Don’t make a bad time even worse for her.” He sat next to her, but didn’t touch her, letting her claim her own space. Chauncey walked over, his whole attention on her and sat in the chair opposite. “So how are you?” “Coping.” She didn’t look at Jake, but she felt his attention on her. Care and concern warmed her through their mental link. “Have you found anything to corroborate my alibi?” Chauncey ran his fingers through his short dark hair. “No. I came to see Mr. Keys’ cell phone.” “What?” Jake dug in his pocket. “Shit, it’s upstairs. I’ll go fetch it for you. This is to verify my call?” “Yes. I might have to take it away.” Jake tsked. “I guess you’ll have to. But you’ll get some crazy calls on it.” He stood and ambled up the stairs. Teri tensed as Chauncey leaned forward to take her hand. “How could you have done that, Teri?” “What?” “Slept with him. I never took you for a groupie.”
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She forced herself not to snap at him. For now, she needed Chauncey on her side. “Neither does he. But we’re not together anymore, you and me. We haven’t been together for over five years. What I do is nothing to do with you.” He squeezed her hand. “Yes it is. Whatever you think, Teri, I care about you. I’m going to testify for you whether you like it or not. Tell everyone what was between us once.” “No.” She hated having her private life brought into the open. It was nobody’s business, for one thing, and anyone living in a small town had their lives put under public scrutiny. “I don’t want it.” “You’ll need all the help you can get.” She tugged, but he wouldn’t let go. “You’re in serious trouble here, Teri. No alibi for the crucial two hours and the town thinks you’re gay. That panders to their prejudices and gives another motive for you to murder her, if the prosecution can show some kind of lover’s tiff. You need character witnesses and you need to show you and Cheryl weren’t lovers.” “It wouldn’t prove anything if you told them about us. They’d just call me promiscuous or deceitful or something else. That would give the prosecution a chance to rake everything over and ask me questions about my private life.” She went cold at the thought of it. To sit in court and keep her temper, stop herself telling the questioners to fuck off when they asked her how many lovers she’d had and how long her affairs lasted. She wasn’t sure she could do it. “Let her go.” Jake’s voice, low, but effortlessly pitched across the room. Chauncey didn’t, but slowly turned his head to confront Jake. “I will if she asks me to.” Calm down, baby. I could feel your tension all the way upstairs. What’s wrong? I’m okay. She answered him in the same way before she could think about it. How the fuck had she done that? “Let me go, Chauncey.” Reluctantly, he released her hand, but he took his time, his fingers drifting over hers as she leaned back. “Plenty of people have lovers of both sexes. The courts will turn the trial into a circus if you open that can of worms,” she pointed out. Jake took his place at the other end of the sofa, holding his cell. “While I was upstairs, I called my lawyer. He’s still in town, in that shitty motel. He told me to hold on to the phone until you produced a warrant.” “If that’s the way you want to play it.” Chauncey shrugged. “I just want this over with.” Teri pounced. “So you don’t think I did it either?” “Not in a million years.” Teri sighed in relief. She could start getting back to her life, although it would never be the same again. She’d fretted about the business she and Cheryl had worked so hard
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to get off the ground. “If the court lets me go, what are the chances of me getting into the office on Wednesday?” Chauncey frowned. “If they let you go, I’d say pretty good.” “The office is a part of Cheryl’s house,” she explained to Jake. “A converted garage.” “The living room is the crime scene,” Chauncey said. “And the access to and from it, where the murderer might have left traces. The office has a different entrance. So I’ll work on it for you.” “Thanks. If they decide not to acquit me or whatever they do right away, I can still go in, right?” “Or get someone to do it for you. If you’re still out on bail.” She shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t think anyone else knows what’s going on in the business. We keep pretty good records, but it would take time to get someone else up to speed.” She sighed. “I guess I’m going to have to think about that.” “You’re carrying on?” Chauncey sounded shocked but she couldn’t read Jake’s expression. They’d have to suck on it if they didn’t like it. “Yes, what did you think I’d do?” she said indignantly. “We have clients, events to work toward. Cheryl and I worked our butts off to get this business going, and I wouldn’t be doing her justice if I didn’t carry on.” Both men nodded, but she thought Chauncey’s agreement came reluctantly. Tough. “And we have affairs lined up. Can you imagine if a couple had planned a party for months and then it didn’t happen? I don’t want to let these people down. There’s one next week, a thirtieth wedding anniversary party, and another next month. I’ll have to employ someone,” she continued sadly. “We did everything ourselves before.” Before Cheryl was brutally murdered in her own home. She moved away when Chauncey would have taken her hand again, appreciating the thought, but wanting nobody’s comfort right now. She had to think clearly. “I wouldn’t have thought you wanted to go on now,” Chauncey said quietly. “Darlin’, tell them to get somebody else.” She ignored the “darlin’”, feeling sure Chauncey just wanted to mark his territory in front of Jake. “I don’t intend to do that. They employed Palmer and Gilpatrick and that’s what they’re going to get.” “Good for you.” Jake spoke with sincerity. “You have no idea how many people have let the band down over the years. Even the catering staff is on contract these days, just in case they renege.” “I wouldn’t have thought anyone wanted to upset Pure Wildfire,” she said, but didn’t miss Chauncey’s contemptuous sneer. “We weren’t always this big,” Jake reminded her, “and now that we are, there are people who only want to rip us off. An honest businessman is valuable and very rare these days. Almost an oxymoron.”
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“Big word for a pop star.” Jake stared at Chauncey impassively. “Sure is.” Chauncey gritted his teeth with an audible click when his taunt failed to rile Jake. “You come from around here, don’t you?” “I was born in Texas, if that’s what you mean. But it’s a big place.” He flashed a grin, quoting a popular t-shirt slogan. “Bigger than France.” “You don’t know Springwater? Main Street was called Keys Street for a short time back in the nineteenth century.” Jake’s eyes narrowed. “I had no idea.” Chauncey shrugged. “Makes no difference. But you know our ways ‘round here. People here don’t cotton to new ideas. Churchgoing for the most part too.” “You mean if they know Teri isn’t gay, they’ll think better of her?” “Something like that. More to the point, this was a crime of passion, a crime without malice, or that’s what the police and the crime scene folks have concluded. Unless it’s proved otherwise, that’s what the judge is going with. So take Teri out of the picture.” “There are other crimes of passion that don’t involve sex,” Jake pointed out. “Jealousy, money troubles, a stupid argument…” He lifted his hands in a gesture that said “who knows?” “True, but that’s one less motive. The business was doing well, we can show that, and if Teri wasn’t her lover, that helps too.” “I won’t pander to their prejudices,” Teri said. “I hate doing it. I’m not stupid, I know I might have to, but I hate it and I’d rather not do it if I can avoid it.” She felt a wave of sympathy that she knew came from Jake, although he didn’t move a muscle and he withdrew immediately. Why should he feel particularly sympathetic to her saying that? She had no idea. Yes, she did. He described the PHR as bigots. The people who hated Cheryl for being gay were bigots too. “I want that phone, Keys.” Chauncey met Jake’s steady gaze, but Jake wasn’t giving an inch. “If you wait a few minutes, you can have it. I don’t want to do anything that holds up Teri’s release, so I’ve decided to forgo the warrant, but I want it properly recorded.” “What are you talking about?” As the words left Chauncey’s mouth, the doorbell rang again. Jake got to his feet and answered it. The tiny hallway meant he was back with the caller almost as soon as he left. He’d called Grayson, who entered the room. Today the lawyer was dressed in a pair of slacks and a Pringle sweater. Teri wondered where he’d put his golf clubs. But golf or not, she was glad to see him. Jake trusted him, so she’d take the leap and trust him too.
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Grayson carried a laptop case, which he unzipped. He took the laptop out, opened it and booted it up. Jake gave him his phone. “Grayson’s Merc broke down, so he stayed in town last night. Just as well, as it turns out, because I wouldn’t have given up the phone without this. Grayson is going to copy the records on the SIM card and then he’ll witness that I handed the phone over.” “That gives us all a proper record,” Grayson said. He nodded at Chauncey and Teri, his gaze lingering on her as if he were concerned for her. “We want to do this without any doubts, don’t we?” “Sure,” Chauncey agreed, frowning. He watched as Jake gave Grayson the USB cord and attached his phone to the other end. Grayson nodded his thanks, pressed a few buttons and waited for the backup to finish. “When I get to the office, I’ll make a printed record and I’ll also do a backup for you.” Jake grunted. “I’ll have to get a new number.” “We’ll let you have the phone back as soon as we’ve verified the call,” Chauncey told him. “We’ll keep the number and the records confidential. It still doesn’t verify the alibi completely and we’ve found nothing else. I wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t tell you they might still detain Teri.” “I have people working on it,” Grayson said. “I’m hopeful we’ll be able to do better than a phone call.” He paused, staring at the screen. “Well, hell-o!” “What?” Jake sounded more alert. He walked around to stare at the screen. “What?” “Ms. Palmer called you at 10:30?” “Yes. I remember the time because—” Jake broke off and cleared his throat. “Yes.” “And you were in—” “A villa in Malibu. Taking a vacation before going into the studio in London.” “Then Cheryl called you at twelve, Houston time. Ten, Malibu time. You spoke for twenty-five minutes.” Jake blinked and stared at the screen before lifting his head to meet Teri’s eyes. “Sheeyit.” A smile spread over his face. “That’s it, darlin’, that’s your alibi. You met your clients at twelve in Houston. Cheryl called me at twelve, Houston time. It registered on my phone as ten a.m., because I was on Malibu time. We talked for nearly half an hour. If she’d called me at ten, theoretically you could have hidden somewhere, killed her after the conversation and driven like the devil to get to Houston for twelve or just after. But no way can you drive from Springwater to Houston in half an hour.” He whipped around to confront Chauncey. “You got their corroboration?” Chauncey was smiling too. “Yes, and the hotel’s sending its CCTV records. Several members of the hotel staff remember the meeting. Teri met her clients just after twelve.” “Then Teri’s in the clear.”
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“Guess she is.” Chauncey’s voice was soft and almost reverential. He frowned. “So how come you didn’t notice the time difference when you flew over here?” Jake shrugged. “I did. I just didn’t notice what time Cheryl called me. I was—” he shot a guilty look at Teri—”busy. I talked to her, went back to sleep.” Chauncey winced. “I should have noticed “You would have,” Teri assured him. Whatever else he was, Chauncey was a good, reliable kind of cop. “Yes, I would. But I’ve been chasing my own tail here, looking for other corroborative evidence as well as getting statements from the witnesses we do have. I planned to sit down tonight ahead of the hearing on Tuesday and assess it all.” Chauncey smiled then, directly at Teri, but she saw his exhaustion and believed him. He’d done his best to find something to get her released. At least he hadn’t been forced to arrest her, but with the evidence that they had on Friday, he might have had to do it. “Can she leave the country if she’s released?” Jake asked abruptly. “Under certain conditions.” Chauncey raked his hair back. “Why, were you thinking of going somewhere?” “No,” Teri replied before Jake could answer him. “I have a business to run.” “Looks as if you’re about to get your wish,” Chauncey said, flashing Jake an evil look. “I can’t see why you’d want to leave anyway.” “Because it’s going to get nasty for her. Even if she’s released.” Jake sounded colder than she was used to. “I’d like her to take a vacation, at the very least.” To Teri that sounded wonderful, but she couldn’t do it with the commitments she had lined up. And by the time she was free, Jake would probably have moved on. “It’s possible it could get nasty,” Chauncey admitted. “Though I’ll offer all the police protection I can, if that happens. Teri could move in with me for a while. I was going to offer anyway.” Before Teri had a chance to reply, he addressed Jake. “So I guess you’ll be moving out soon?” “That depends.” Jake glanced at Teri. Grayson disconnected the phone and handed it to Chauncey. “Take care of it. Jake will want it back and I’ll give you an attested copy of the backup. And the phone company can provide corroboration too.” “I’ve asked them for the records,” Chauncey said, “but they’ll take longer to get to us. If they don’t release Teri on Tuesday, matters could get complicated. So I’m making a copy of the backup for the court too and I’ll get witnesses.” He walked to the door but paused to look back at Teri. “I want a private word with you. I’ll drop this off at the station and then I’ll come back. Be here.” “It’s not as if I have anywhere else to go,” she said, but he’d gone. The click of the front door echoed into the sudden silence. A sense of elation filled Teri when she realized what that meant, but immediately afterward she recalled the reason for her alibi and her heart plummeted again. She
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wouldn’t rest until they’d found Cheryl’s killer. At least they wouldn’t be chasing a lead that didn’t exist. Once they released her, they could get on with the real job. Finding out who killed her best friend and business partner. Next to that, nothing else mattered.
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Chapter Seven Grayson left after promising Teri he’d be at the court in the morning. “Very particular, that sheriff,” he said. “Thorough. He didn’t really need to take the phone, but if it helps clear things up faster, it’s probably for the best. Don’t talk to anyone, especially the press,” he warned her on his way out. As if she needed warning. And she was alone with Jake once more. He stood completely still, staring at her for one second, two. “Baby, don’t look like that. Don’t look so lost.” He crossed the room in a couple of strides and took her in his arms. “I was just thinking about Cheryl. She’s the one who’s lost.” She buried her face in his chest, savoring his scent and his warmth, which surrounded her like a safety blanket. “I want to take you back to bed, but your boyfriend said he was coming back.” He kissed the top of her head. “Chauncey isn’t my boyfriend.” “That’s not what he thinks.” She lifted her head and met his gaze. “Did you read his mind?” He met her stare frankly. “Everyone has an outer layer, where their immediate thoughts and moods live. That’s what an empath connects with and most Talents consider it as public as body language. But underneath, most mortals have a thicker, stronger barrier. We don’t usually intrude there unless invited or with good reason and the person can usually tell. It’s a piercing pain, like a needle to the brain, if they resist.” He sighed. “I looked, yes. As far as I could. I didn’t read anything unusual.” He paused and stroked her hair. “Teri, there’s something else going on here. Ever since I’ve arrived in this town, I’ve felt a Talent at work.” She frowned. “But Cheryl was a Talent so of course there was one at work here.” She snuggled closer and his arms tightened around her before he relaxed again. “Not Cheryl. I know her mental signature, the way she feels—felt. It wasn’t her. I sensed hostility, though whether to you or me, I don’t know. That’s why I told you about the PHR. They could be at work. I didn’t know if I should tell you, but if I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t be on your guard. I’m going to teach you to hide your thoughts and build barriers. I don’t like this. Not at all.” “That’s why you wanted to come here, isn’t it? If Mr. Grayson is staying at the motel, the air conditioning can’t be all that bad. Jake, I can look after myself.” He kissed her but drew back after a gentle salute. “Normally I’d say yes, but not against the PHR. You’re tainted in their eyes by your association with Cheryl and now
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with me, if they know about me. And if they have a Talent working for them, they know.” “How?” “I have a little cipher at the front of my mind, like that sigil on my leg. It’s a polite greeting for Talents, and I saw no reason to conceal it when I came to town. It tells Talents what I am. Shit.” He grimaced. “So I’m tainted?” “That’s not what I’d call you.” He kissed her again and she stretched up eagerly to meet his lips. Heat flared between them and his eyes sparkled when he drew back. “So I read Morris. Since the Talent’s presence is all over the courthouse, I thought it might be him, but he seems to be normal.” He sounded disappointed. “But I felt his possessiveness toward you when I was reading him. He thinks you’re still his.” “I’m nobody’s.” “I know. Not until you choose to give yourself. And whoever is lucky enough to give himself in return.” “That is so sweet.” He gave her a wicked smile. “I know.” And he kissed her, harder and longer this time. She kissed him back, relaxing against him, letting him take her into the world they had begun to create together. Jake was pure sex when he was like this and Teri loved it. He made her forget everything but him, everything but what he was doing to her. Except this time, after a good night’s sleep and the relief of the alibi, she could concentrate on Jake. He ran his hand up her body, under her t-shirt, caressing her gently, softly as if cherishing her. Not a good thing to think, when he’d be gone too soon. This wasn’t going at all as she’d imagined. Some good sex from a notorious sex god, that was all she’d expected. Not caring, not cherishing. The damn man picked up her thoughts again. “And why not caring and cherishing?” He gave her a soft, sweet kiss. “Fucking for the sake of it is good fun, but I take things as they happen. And you’re not the kind to fuck and go, however much you might want to be.” He smoothed her hair with his free hand, his other stroking her back. “Teri, let me tell you something. I have never fallen out with any of my lovers, past or present, because I’ve always played it straight. I never promise more than I want to give, never given more than I want to.” “It’s a good rule to live by.” He smiled down at her. “So it is. But I don’t have to. Because of what I am and what I do, there are women for the taking. On any terms. I could promise them the universe or nothing at all and they’d still be happy.” He gave a short laugh. “Doesn’t that make me sound conceited?” “No. I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Hot blood rushed to her cheeks. “What’s made you blush?”
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“You wouldn’t be interested.” He buried his face against her neck and breathed hotly, making her giggle. “Oh yes I would, and before you tucked that particular fantasy away, I caught the tail end of it. Tell me everything.” Her laughter turned to desire, a ripple snaking up her spine. “Fantasies. We all have them, don’t we?” But before, they’d been secrets between her and her vibrator, and it wasn’t telling. “Just fantasies. We don’t always want them to come true, do we? I used to fantasize about me and the college football team, and truthfully, I don’t think I’d like that one bit. To be used as a thing.” “A bit of BDSM?” He lifted her chin with one finger. “I’ve played at it.” “I’m not sure I’d like it.” “Maybe we’ll try one day.” She pulled out of his arms and stared up at him. “One day? Now I know you’re not being honest. We have nothing after this.” He stared at her, his gold-flecked eyes lambent with an emotion she couldn’t read. “I think we’re building something here, Teri. I don’t know what it is, but if you think I’m walking away and not contacting you ever again, you’d better think again, girl.” She laughed and stretched up to kiss him lightly on the lips. “Well, that was honest, anyway.” And she’d like to keep him as a friend. “Does this mean I get an Access All Areas pass?” “You bet,” he assured her. “Anytime, darlin’. Especially,” he added, the light in his eyes deepening, “if you share some of those fantasies with me.” It would only be fair, but she’d have to work up to it. Some were toe-curlingly embarrassing, but she had to admit, having her very own rock star had certain— possibilities. She jerked out of his arms when the doorbell rang, startled by the sudden shrill squeal. Two short and one long. “Another minute and you wouldn’t have answered,” came the dark voice behind her, promising more than it said. She opened the door, aware that her smile was a little brighter than it should have been. Chauncey slipped in and shut it quickly, to the accompaniment of camera flashes. “It’s surprising celebrities aren’t blinded,” she muttered. “You get used to it,” Jake said, coming across the room to her. He didn’t touch her, but stood close. Chauncey glared over her head at him. “I need a private word with Teri. If you don’t mind.” Jake shrugged and moved away, heading for the stairs. Call me if you need me. Just open your mind and I’ll be there. Thanks. I’ll be okay.
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This mind connection thing got easier. Or maybe her mind was becoming more attuned to Jake’s. Chauncey gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. “I came back because I’m worried about you.” “Why?” The question burst out of her. He had no right to be worried about her, but she knew Chauncey. Loyalty was his middle name. Once you were his friend—or exlover—you were there for good. Chauncey jerked his head, indicating the upper floor where Jake still lurked. “You’re not telling me you didn’t sleep with him.” “I’m not telling you anything, Chauncey. What I do or don’t do isn’t your concern. I’ve told you that before and that makes twice today.” He grimaced. “I can forgive you that. Jesus, Teri, I can forgive you anything. I even kept quiet about us because you asked me to. Well, don’t ask me to do that anymore. When all this is over, I’m coming for you. You’d better be ready, sweetheart, because I ain’t stoppin’ this time. I never stopped wanting you.” Of all things, Teri hated possessiveness. She’d never given him any right to act like he owned her or had any rights over her. “Why did you move to Springwater, Chauncey?” His grip relaxed, though he still touched her. She wanted him to let go, but shrugging him off wouldn’t work. He’d only reach for another part of her. He smiled. “Because I tired of the big city. I was reaching burnout, so I decided to back off for a few years. I didn’t want to start again in another state, so I looked around. And you were here. I can’t deny that was a draw.” He moved closer and his voice lowered to a murmur. “Can you blame me?” When he brushed her hair off her shoulders, the gesture reminded her so much of Jake that it was almost painful. Teri blocked off her thoughts. Was Jake there, eavesdropping? No, he’d promised not to unless she called for him and she wasn’t about to do that. If he betrayed her now by listening in, she wouldn’t let him in again. People had to stand by their words and keep their promises as far as she was concerned. Chauncey kissed her and she returned it willingly, but that was all it was—a kiss. No tingle warmed her body when Chauncey touched her; she felt no anticipation in his touch. She wouldn’t open her lips for him, so he withdrew and lifted one hand to trace the line of her mouth with his thumb. “I won’t give up, Teri. I worry about you all the time. When this is sorted out, we can come out as a couple.” He gave her a mischievous smile. “Kinda coming out of the closet in reverse. You’re going to show Springwater you’re heterosexual.” She couldn’t blame him for sounding pleased but that wasn’t what she felt. Trapped described her feelings better. If she allowed this, she knew just what would happen. She’d date Chauncey for a while, maybe move into his house because his was larger than hers, they’d drift into marriage, have a couple of kids.
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No. She didn’t want that. To some people that would be heaven, but she’d leave that future for them. She didn’t want it. Even though she still wasn’t sure what she wanted, it wasn’t that. For an instant, she allowed herself the vision of role-switching, Jake with Chauncey. If Jake was the sheriff and Chauncey was the rock star, would she want the small-town life then? To her growing horror, she discovered that, yes, she would. She could talk to Jake and he listened to her, really listened. He woke her up, all her senses, set her on fire and talked to her like a sensible human being. All that drew her, not just his career and his lifestyle. That didn’t seem as important now that she’d met the real man. Slept with him. Woken up with him. So she smiled and responded to Chauncey, giving him another kiss to send him on his way. Chauncey went but made her promise to be careful and told her, before he opened her door to leave, “Have your fling, Teri. I don’t blame you and I won’t bring it up ever again when he’s gone. And he will go, you know that. Soon.” Yes, she knew that. After Chauncey left, she leaned against the door, trying to come to terms with her wayward emotions. Then she felt Jake touch her mind, as if he was knocking on some kind of psychic door. Teri? Then nothing but the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. He swept her up, literally off her feet, and carried her up the stairs to the bedroom to lay her on the bed. She thought he’d immediately begin to undress her, but he didn’t. Instead, he leaned over her, his hair tickling her cheek and touched his lips to her forehead. “Baby, you need to rest. You’ve got an important date in the morning.” She smiled up at him. “But it’s barely six.” “I know. I’m going to fix us something to eat, then we’re going to rest. Together. Unless you have any objections?” The man who called her “baby” actually treated her more like an adult than the one who called her “sweetheart”. How ironic was that? An hour later, Teri had a homemade pizza with salad and half a bottle of wine inside her. All good. Who would have thought Jake could cook so well? She’d never had a homemade pizza before, didn’t think anyone outside the Italian community made them, but she was wrong. Jake added his own touches to the mix, a sprinkling of thyme to go with the traditional oregano, pulping his own tomato puree from a can of plum tomatoes and a few fresh ones he’d bought from the general store. The man could cook, he could shop and he could play the guitar. The perfect package. After the last drop of wine was consumed, he took her hand and led her upstairs to the bedroom, where he kissed her forehead and told her to lie down. “You,” she told him, “would make the perfect wife.” His laugh had no sharp edges, full and round with enjoyment. “You say the sweetest things. Well, here’s where the wife act stops. Teri, we are going to celebrate.” 62
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“I’m not free yet.” “You will be. There is no way that judge can keep you. Your alibi can only get stronger. Grayson is looking for corroborative evidence, you know, CCTV evidence, stuff like that. The police have cameras on the highway, gas stations have them and someone else might have seen you.” She frowned, wondering how much all this was going to cost. “Jake—” He stopped her mouth with a kiss. “Hey. I have more money than I need. And I want to find Cheryl’s killer as much as you do. Getting you free is only part of what I’m paying Grayson to do. He’s my eyes and ears here while I’m away.” That reminded her that he had to leave soon, but she didn’t want to talk about that. Not tonight. “Jake, we only have tonight and maybe tomorrow.” “No, we don’t.” He tightened his hold around her waist, as if afraid she’d get away from him. “I told you. I don’t let go that easy. I have to go soon because we’re due in the studio, but Aidan said they’d cover for me and I can lay down anything they need later. Don’t you know how few bands record albums at the same time, together?” “Yes, but I also read that Pure Wildfire is one of the few bands that still does. ‘Electricity’, your brother Chris called it in the article I read.” Jake snorted. “What does he know? We have a portfolio of stuff to try out as well as putting the finishing touches to Moonfire. Some of it is acoustic, some of it won’t work, but we need to work on it. That all takes time, but we don’t need a studio for that. I’ll be there for the final cut.” She shook her head. “Jake, you can’t do that to them. Besides,” she said, forcing a smile, “I love your music and I’m expecting a good album from you. You don’t want to let your fans down, do you?” “We won’t,” he promised her and bent to whisper against her lips. “I’m only interested in one fan at the moment. And music is the last thing on my mind.” Then he took her in a ravishing kiss and this time she opened her mouth. His tongue delved inside to be welcomed. She sucked on it and touched it with hers, stroking it. His moan was all the music she needed now. She melted into him, tasted him and slid her tongue against his, trying to show him what she wanted without words. He bore her back, trying to push her against the mattress, but she resisted. When he lifted his head and looked down at her, a puzzled frown between his brows, she smiled up at him. “I want to ravish you tonight. My very own seduction scenario.” “Oh yeah.” His slow, hot grin echoed hers and she felt him inside her, his presence warming her. “Tie me up, tie me down, do what you want. Tonight I’m all yours.” Under his shirt, his body warmed and she pivoted so that when she pushed, he fell back across the mattress, his long legs dangling over the side. Teri took her time, savoring the sight of this gorgeous man spread over her bed waiting for her pleasure,
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the hot, simmering desire in his eyes enhanced by the magnificent bulge in his jeans, a bulge she knew was just for her. Here and now, at any rate. “Stay there,” she told him and reached for the hem of her t-shirt. “If you move, I’ll stop.” She stripped the shirt off over her head, shaking her hair out of the way as the tight neckline pulled away, and dropped the garment on the floor. She wore a lacy white bra, the shadow of her nipples darkening the lace. Her nipples rubbed against the fabric when she moved and she wriggled to enhance the sensation. Jake watched, no longer smiling, his eyes hungry, his mind open to her. Both equally erotic. She unzipped her pants, taking her time sliding them past her hips, adding an extra wriggle when she shimmied out of them. Her panties matched the bra and she turned around to show him. “You are purely beautiful,” he whispered, his voice low and heated. “You should wear nothing but thongs.” She swayed her hips, imagining seductive saxophone music, adding a whispery soundtrack to her dance, then turned back to him and teased him, slipping her thumbs inside the string waistband and easing her panties down just a little bit, so the top of the curls covering her mound peeked over the edge. “Oh baby,” was all he could manage, his voice a near-breathless husk. Teri lifted her hands to the back fastening of her bra, pushing her breasts at him. He licked his lips. “Come here.” “Not yet. Tell me what you want to do to me.” “Oh yeah. I want to—oh Christ—I want to kiss those nipples, bite them and taste them, suck them right into my mouth.” His words sent her juices seeping into her panties. She rewarded him by slipping her bra straps down her arms. When she pushed her breasts together, he moaned, and when she slid the bra off and away, she revealed herself slowly. Her peaked nipples rasped against her arms, sending sparks shooting through her body down to her slit. Her panties weren’t much cover, but she didn’t rip them off. She loved this, being in control, threatening him with stopping, but he was good. He didn’t move, except to lift his head so he could give her the up-and-down visual sweep she loved. It felt as if he was actually touching her, brushing her with his heat. Then she relented and slid her panties down her legs, bending to push her ass out and hide her pussy from him until she stood and widened her stance. “Have mercy.” He voice hoarsened into a low purr of need. “Teri, can I taste you?” “Which part?” “All of you. But I want to drink from you. Your mouth and your pussy.” “Which first?” “You choose.”
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She chose. A drop of moisture seeped down her inner thigh, and while normally she might be embarrassed, she watched him as he tracked the drop with his eyes, hungrily returning to where her clit peeked through the dark brown curls of her mound. Slowly, she took the step to the bed and lowered herself to sit on his thighs, her legs on either side of his. The rough denim of his jeans abraded them deliciously. Being naked while he was still clothed gave her a power she hadn’t imagined before. A good stripper must feel like this, in control of her body and the reactions she could draw from her clients. Sexual power, heady and addictive. She leaned back and let him have a good look at what she was about to give him, but when he moved his hands, she sat up again, out of his reach. “Not until I’ve had my kiss.” She stood once more, then crawled on to the bed, keeping her legs on either side of his body, working her way up to his mouth. “Beautiful,” he whispered, hot breath searing her stomach. “That’s it, Teri. Surround me, cover me with you. All of you. Show me what you want me to do. I’ll do it. Anything.” She lifted up again so her thighs straddled his face. “Kiss me,” she demanded. He didn’t need any more urging. He surged up to her and hungrily sucked her clit into his mouth like a man dying of thirst. Teri fell forward, unable to stop herself reacting to the hard, deep kiss Jake gave her, catching her weight on her hands above where he lay with his mouth working on her. After a series of deep sucks, he released her only to kiss down to her opening, deep, sucking kisses, drinking her for real, and he lapped. Tingles cascaded through her body, growing to ripples, then waves of sensation. He kissed back up to her clit and teased it with his tongue. Watch me, baby. Watch me fuck you with my tongue. She let her head drop and she did what he wanted. She watched. The sinful voice inside her head only echoed what she really wanted to do. His tongue, as pink and flushed as she felt, lapped at her, stimulating the nerve endings in her clit and he brought his hand up to stroke. He caressed her ass, holding her steady with his other hand until she was in danger of letting her full weight fall on his face. Sit up. She looked down to find his gaze devouring hers. “Sit on me. On my chest. Watch what I’m doing to you.” His breath gusted over her sensitive flesh. She did as he demanded and sat back on her haunches, resting her buttocks on his chest. He put his hands on her waist to hold her steady and looked down at her. His mouth positively watered. “Oh yeah.” He leaned forward, lifting her up so he could suck her again. This time she saw more. The bedside lamps illuminated them, spotlights showing his tongue working her clit until she whimpered and he slid down for a deeper taste.
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Then he opened his mouth wide and sucked in her clit while he drove his tongue into her pussy, giving her the deepest French kiss she had ever had in her life. The sucking, slurping sounds he made drove her higher than she’d ever been. She screamed and convulsed, pushing down into his mouth. He didn’t pull away, he sucked harder, lapped and then did what he’d promised. He drank from her. His throat worked to drink her juices down. She couldn’t see it, but she felt his Adam’s apple bob against her perineum when he swallowed. Relentlessly he took her higher, until she didn’t think she could stand any more. When she came back down, she realized she was crying his name, sobbing, “Jake, Jake, Jake,” as if it was the only reality she had. He eased her away so he could slide up and pull her down onto his body. He rolled so she lay on the bed. “That what you wanted?” He got to his feet and she saw how wet his t-shirt was now. Wet with her. He stripped it off over his head and tossed it to the floor. “I may never wash that again,” he said and laughed when he saw her expression. “Baby, that was wonderful.” She swallowed. “Aren’t I supposed to say that?” “I ain’t stopping you.” He reached for his zipper and a few seconds later was as naked as she. “Now what? You’re in charge. For now. How do you want me?” “On your back.” He rolled on to his back and reached for her, but Teri took her time. She gazed at him, drinking in his appearance, knowing she’d remember for all time what Jake Keys looked like in her bed. Gorgeous. Untamed. All man. The patch of hair between his nipples narrowed into a line, crossing his bellybutton on its way to his groin, where it flared out again into a mass of curls, framing his sex. And oh, was he beautiful there! His cock reared up toward her, almost angry in its redness. As she looked at it, a drop of moisture seeped from the tip and she knew what she wanted. She swooped down and licked it off. His groan told her what he thought. She licked again and gripped the base. She could hardly get her fingers around him and he felt iron hard under the covering of soft, tender skin. Instead of sucking, she licked him from tip to base and back again, savoring the salty, musky taste of a male in heat. Jake’s hands, lying by his side, clenched into fists. The bedcover tensed when he grasped handfuls of it. His body tightened and he pushed his cock up into her mouth, but she only took him in once. She opened her mouth and took in as much of him as she could in one, deep suck, then left and crept up his body to him. He lifted one hand and opened it. Inside there was a crumpled foil packet. “Where did that come from?” she demanded, temporarily roused from her sensuous reverie. Thank God one of them remembered, because if he hadn’t done that, she would have taken him bareback. The thought shocked her to her core. Never, ever
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had she forgotten protection before, however far gone she was. Jake watched her, his eyes speculative, but the mood passed and the warmth returned. “Do you want to do it, or should I?” “You do it,” she told him. “You’re quicker.” He rumbled in a half chuckle, half growl as he obeyed her and covered himself. “All ready for you now. However you want me.” He paused before he added with in a deeper tone, “Mistress.” That sounded good. She sank down onto him, savoring every inch and taking it slow. He filled her perfectly and she didn’t stop until she taken every wonderful bit of him. After his kisses, she needed no lubrication, even though Jake probably owned the biggest cock she’d ever taken inside her. When she bent down to him, she felt the hot spot on his outer thigh. “That tattoo.” “It’s back. For you.” He’d slid inside her as if he belonged there. Tonight, he did. Jake took her hands and placed them on his shoulders, never taking his hot gaze away from hers. His eyes burned into her. “Push up. You do it. Whatever you want, Teri.” Her name had never sounded so seductive before. She pushed up to a sitting position, gazing down at him, using his shoulders to gain traction before she moved. Her thighs gripped either side of his abdomen and she lifted, only to sink back down, relishing the sensation of his hardness in her wet, soft body. She rode him. Hard. He lay back, holding his body rigid for her, responding to every push of hers with a thrust as she rode them both to glory. Waves of sensation rose until the very center of her body heated and rose to meet him. She relentlessly urged him further, willing him not to come until she exploded. I won’t come. Baby, when we’re this close, I have to be in you. Come into me, feel what I’m feeling. Just a little. She didn’t think she could, but as she thought it, she slipped inside his mind and joined him in pure ecstasy. Just when she came, just when he came, she didn’t know. Their mutual orgasm rocketed through them, from him to her and back again, gaining in intensity instead of fading away as it should have done, until she simply passed out.
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Chapter Eight Jake looked down at Teri’s face, relaxed in slumber. His lady. No way in hell was he letting her go now. No fucking way. They called it the “little death”, that moment when an orgasm came so strong that it led to a dead faint. He had to admit he helped a little now as he entered her head and soothed her into a deeper sleep. There was something he wanted to do tonight. He might have to leave Springwater soon and he wanted to get this done before he went. Not that he wouldn’t be back. Better still, he’d take her with him, if she agreed to come. Never had Jake felt possessive toward any woman before. He’d shared them with the band or with his brother without a qualm if they were willing. Easygoing, that was what people said. He’d never been in love before either, but he was sure that was what this would lead to. If he let it. He’d felt the sensation before, the way he could become one with someone else, and he’d walked away, not wanting the experience, but there was no way he’d walk away now. She’d have to make it crystal clear she didn’t want him before he’d do that. And then he wouldn’t give up. Pressing a gentle kiss to her shoulder, he swung out of bed and tucked the sheet around her before he headed for the bathroom. After making sure the door was firmly closed, he opened the bathroom window. He got rid of the used condom, peeling it off with a grimace of distaste and dropping it in the toilet. He hated the things. He was fertile for today, then he could tell Teri they didn’t need to use them for another month. Shape-shifters were fertile for three days every month, when the moon compelled them to shape-shift every day, and this was the third day. His shape-shifting the previous day had been perfunctory, but this time he intended to use it. He flushed the toilet and rinsed his hands, then began the change. After so many years, he hardly had to think about shape-shifting, just visualize the bird in his mind and it happened. Feathers sprang out of his legs, arms and belly and he felt the familiar twist as his head elongated and his beak grew. Long and wicked, he could see it now, extending before his eyes. He glanced into the mirror. Firebirds were Russian mythical birds but he’d only paid one brief visit to Russia in his life, to a concert Pure Wildfire did in Moscow a couple of years ago. One day he’d go back and try to find out more about the beautiful and legendary birds. Being one didn’t make him an expert, any more than every human being knew everything about his anatomy.
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His body settled into its new form and he shrank, making himself as small as a firefly. That way any media types lurking outside wouldn’t spot him. Jake launched into the air, savoring the cool current under his wings and soared out of the now huge window. Glancing down, he saw a dark van lurking under a tree a little farther up the street. He didn’t envy the people sleeping in it. Even at night Springwater was hot, the only coolness from air conditioning and movement. The media people would be arriving in more numbers soon and gathering outside the courthouse to see entrances and exits. He never forgot that without the media, his career wouldn’t be nearly as strong but sometimes their predatory nature made him want to grow to full firebird size, around fifteen feet from tip to tail, and scare them senseless with his wickedly pointed beak and sharp talons. One day. Once clear of the house, he switched to full size and fuzzed, so people seeing him would see what they expected to see, not what was actually there. He wasn’t sure how it worked, it just did and he was grateful for it. Someone had tried to explain it to him once, but he’d switched off part-way, not really interested. Cheryl’s house lay across town, but that wasn’t saying much. He was making his descent within the next ten minutes, drifting down and changing size back down to small. The house was sealed up tight, but he had Cheryl’s security numbers, so all he had to do was find his way inside. He struck lucky at the back door, which was secured by a large mortise lock and a correspondingly large keyhole. Jake floated inside and didn’t increase his size until he found the panel that controlled the alarm system. A standard system with motion sensors, with small nonfunctioning cameras outside. Cheryl told him once the advantage of living in a small town was the relaxed security. Now he believed her when he changed back to human and punched in the four-digit PIN. The red light above the door switched off and no alarm came on to inform anyone that the security had suddenly died. Pathetic. Anyone breaking in could disable that thing in a few minutes, even if they weren’t shape-shifters. Jake had never been inside this house before. It reeked of Cheryl, her perfume, her style, tending to the flamboyant, but the tang of blood assaulted his senses. Cheryl’s blood. He growled low in his throat. The killer better hope the cops caught him before he did. He stood completely still and sent his senses out, seeking. He sensed the disturbance in the atmosphere and Cheryl’s presence. When he’d put them aside, there was something else. Whoever had killed Cheryl left the same psi signature as he’d sensed in the courthouse. Until he found someone with the same signature, he’d have no idea who it was. Another Talent. Not Cheryl, not himself, not even Teri’s faint presence, but a powerful, sophisticated Talent. Even if he identified the Talent, that didn’t mean he’d 69
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found the murderer or that he could provide proof that would satisfy a court of law. But if he found out who it was and the police didn’t make their case, he fucking well would do more than make a case. Quickly, he did what he came here to do. Searched for some clue to the killer he could show the police. That meant going into the living room, where the murder had taken place and where Cheryl kept her safe. From the police reports, it was obvious they didn’t know about the safe, unless they were keeping it as privileged information. And if they were doing that, it meant they knew something. Already positive Teri wasn’t responsible, now that her alibi was established, it was time for Jake to do his own investigation. Talents had their own organizations for situations like this, the murder of one of their own kind, and if the police investigation failed, they would send Talents in to investigate, masquerading as the FBI or a local law enforcement agency or even a private investigation bureau. But in reality, a team of Talents, who could discover and accept the evidence the courts couldn’t. Justice would be done. He wanted to do his best to discover who’d murdered his wife, who had dared to kill the lively, laughing woman he’d liked so much. True, they’d argued incessantly, but both enjoyed the exchanges and the convolutions the media had gone through to try to explain Jake Keys’ unconventional marriage. Not that anyone had taken much notice until the second album, Icefire, went ballistic a year ago. The first one was good, got them the title of a band to watch, but now that they were established, the media attention was that much harder, that much more intense. He braced himself and entered the living room, careful not to touch anything. Still in the moonlight, the room stretched before him. It was a large living area, easily the size of Teri’s whole ground floor, with comfortable furniture scattered in informal arrangements in the deep jewel-tones of reds and golds. If it weren’t for the rusty stains on the light-colored carpet and the dusting of powder on the surfaces of the glass coffee tables and metal sculptures, it would have looked almost normal. Then his eyes grew used to the dim light seeping in the large picture window at one end of the room and he saw the devastation. Three glass-topped coffee tables were shattered, shards of glass glittering in the thick carpet. A painting leaned crookedly against the fireplace, dislodged from its position by the violent struggle. Large metal ornaments, modern sculptures that Cheryl loved to collect, lay on the floor, looking as if they’d been used as weapons or for defense. One he remembered in particular that he’d discovered on the Portobello Road in London and sent to her, the postage costing almost as much as the sculpture. But she’d loved it. Now it lay on its side, its twisted metal even more twisted by its impact against the stone fireplace. Chips of stone lay on the carpet to join the glass. Cheryl claimed she had no memory for numbers and lodged a list of PIN numbers with him so she had someone to ask if she forgot. Unlike Cheryl, Jake had no difficulty memorizing them all. One series of six he suspected was the combination to her safe.
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And he knew where it was situated. Unfortunately, the carpet between his bare feet and the small table he had to move was liberally scattered with broken glass and pieces of debris left from Cheryl’s fight. But he was glad she’d fought. Hopefully her attacker had some marks to show for the struggle, so it was even more important he was caught quickly before the cuts and bruises had time to heal. “Go, Cheryl,” he muttered, but although some Talents claimed the ability to contact ghosts, he was stone-deaf as far as they were concerned. Her spirit could be standing in front of him now yelling at full volume and he wouldn’t hear or see it. Glancing around, he spied a pair of flat sandals lying on their sides in the hall. Cheryl had big feet for a woman, not as big as his, but those things were open-toed. They’d have to do. He retreated to don the sandals and grab a towel from a rack in the kitchen. No sense leaving prints to confuse the police. They knew he hadn’t been in the house, so finding his prints there would give them orgasms. A celebrity murderer would keep this town in the news for the next twenty years. Careful where he put his feet so as not to leave a trail, Jake walked across the carpet. The little cabinet was at the opposite end of the room to the center of the storm, the floor relatively undisturbed there. When he lifted the cabinet, he was surprised to find how light it was, but then he grinned. Cheryl wouldn’t want to leave a track that indicated the piece was moved frequently, a track that she’d have created by dragging the cabinet aside each time. Behind it was a false radiator cover of fretted metal, matching the real ones in the room. He lifted it off and sighed in relief when he saw the small door behind it. The small keypad took the numbers on his second attempt. He must have made some kind of mistake the first time, which gave him a moment’s unease. But the door swung open for him and the small metal-lined space wasn’t empty. Using the towel, he pulled out the contents and turned them over, replacing them in the same order. Bonds, a few bundles of cash, around five thousand dollars, he thought, probably emergency money. And two items that were far more interesting. An address book and a diary. The business address book was probably in the office, so this would be her personal one. And the diary. He opened the book and thumbed through the pages. A quarter-hour later, he knew the name of Cheryl’s new lover. Though he was no closer to identifying her. Teri awoke when she reached for Jake and found only cold sheet. She sat up, blinking away the sleep. It was still dark outside and her bedside lamp glowed, its dimmer turned down to nightlight levels. He hadn’t just left, because the only warm patch in the bed was hers.
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Something had woken her, not just the cold bed. A movement in the room next to her. The bathroom. Was he in trouble? She climbed out of bed, keeping her movements quiet. It might not be Jake. She couldn’t forget the media was camped out in the street and someone had murdered her friend. The lurking suspicion that it wasn’t a crime of passion, that someone had deliberately set out to kill Cheryl for some other reason yet to be discovered, reentered her consciousness. She picked up her robe and slung it across her shoulders, careful not to knock anything as she shoved her arms through the sleeves. She tied the belt securely around her waist and looked around for a possible weapon. Jake’s belt was a heavy leather one with a large buckle. She could do some damage with that if she swung it hard enough. It was all she had, so she picked it up and wrapped the end around her hand, getting a good grip. Only then did she open the bathroom door. And dropped the belt. Her eyes widened in horror, but although her mouth opened, nothing came out. A huge bird stood in her bathroom, a bird with a long, wickedly hooked beak and amber eyes that glared at her maliciously. Its feathers were in shades of red, from gold to amber, shading into angry scarlet, paler on the breast. Its claws sprouted long, strong talons. That was what woke her up, the talons scraping on the tiled floor. She recognized the sound when it turned to stare at her. Her moment of paralysis passed and she grabbed for the door handle, ready to slam it closed, but the bird stepped forward and put its talons in the opening, spreading its claws to stop her pulling the door to. She gasped, pulling air into her straining lungs, and turned to run. She had only just reached the bedroom door when an arm wrapped around her waist. A human arm. Jake’s arm. He pulled her against his naked body. His naked, cold body. “I’m sorry, Teri, I didn’t want you to find out like this.” Finally recovering her vocal chords, she drew in a deep breath to scream, but he clamped one hand over her mouth. “No, don’t. They’ll come running, then what will you say? Do you think for one minute they’ll believe this? Teri, I won’t hurt you, I promise, any more than I have before. Please listen to me.” Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest, but she managed to calm down a little, enough to start to think again. His hold on her eased, and he took his hand away from her mouth. “Has it gone?” “What?” “That creature. That huge bird.” “No.” She turned around in the circle of his arms, finding Jake blessedly normal, but the steely look in his eyes wasn’t what she was used to. “Then where is it?”
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“Here.” He lifted one arm. As she watched, her eyes widening in horror, crimson feathers popped out from the skin. He wouldn’t let her pull away when she fought him, holding her closer instead. “I won’t hurt you, Teri. Never in a million years. Let me explain, let me tell you what I am. Please.” It was that “please” and the pleading expression in his eyes that persuaded her. He wouldn’t hurt her, she was sure of that, but fear of the unknown nearly paralyzed her. Despite the heat of the night and her crappy AC unit, Teri felt the goose bumps rise on her skin. He led her to the bed and sat her down on it, curving his arm around her shoulders. She almost expected to find feathers there and stiffened in an effort not to move away. “There are different kinds of people,” he began in a gentle, unthreatening voice. Teri forced herself to listen to him. “Cheryl was a Sorcerer. That means she came from a race of people who have extraordinary psychic powers. Cheryl was an empath. She felt emotions strongly and she had a powerful telepathic gift. You knew about that.” Teri nodded. “Look at me, Teri.” Afraid of what she might see, she lifted her head and turned to obey him. He was still Jake. Brown eyes lit with flecks of gold, a shock of blond hair and those sensual, mobile lips. “You can’t be afraid of me. You know that, don’t you?” She found her voice. “So is it some kind of illusion? Something you do with your mind?” He shook his head. “No. I’m a different kind of Talent than Cheryl. She was a Sorcerer. I’m a shape-shifter.” This sounded unbelievable, but she’d seen the evidence for herself. She had no choice but to believe him. “You can take different forms?” “Only one other form. I’m a firebird shape-shifter. I was born that way and there’s nothing I can do to change that. Every month I have to shape-shift for a short period during the three days when the moon is at its fullest. Apart from that, the changes are voluntary. My choice. Tonight I needed to go and check something, so I shape-shifted. I never meant for you to find out, but I don’t want you to be scared or think of me as some kind of freak. It’s what I am, that’s all. I can’t change it any more than I can change the color of my skin or my height.” “Are-are there many like you?” “Not as many as there are of you.” When she moved her head, he lifted his hand and put two cool fingers on her cheek, making her stay. “We can’t reproduce as you do. Shape-shifter women have two children, then they become naturally infertile.” She gave a weak smile. “Some women would pay for that to happen!” He smiled back, gently and reassuringly. “We live a little longer than the people we call mortals—that’s you. Though that’s wrong, really, since we’re all mortal, but we got
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into the habit a long time ago. Homo sapiens is a better name. As far as we can figure, we evolved the same time as you did, only a bit different.” “So you really are a bird?” “A firebird. This is my primary form, though, the human. It’s every shape-shifter’s primary form, we think, although you can’t be sure of anything in this world.” “Ain’t that the truth?” She closed her eyes and opened them again. He was still there. “Jake—” “That’s okay. I know. I’ll sleep in the other room for the rest of tonight. But I’m coming with you to the court on Tuesday and I’ll see you acquitted. Tomorrow I’ll tell the sheriff what I discovered.” He watched her, his eyes suspiciously bright. She lifted her hands and touched her temples, which had begun to pound. “No more, not tonight, Jake.” She wanted to ask him to stay but was too afraid she’d wake up and find a bird in her bed. Not that she was scared of them normally, but that huge hunk of feathers was enough to scare a Rottweiler. “You’re not shitting me, are you?” “How could I do that? You saw for yourself. Baby, I don’t want you to be scared. Promise me you won’t go anywhere on your own. Not without me, at least until the court finishes with you and I’ve had a word with Chauncey Morris. You can both hear what I have to say at the same time. It’ll keep until then.” “Sure.” Though she didn’t know if she’d do it. She might call Chauncey. No, she couldn’t, not yet. But when and if the court let her go, she’d call him, or something. “Do you think I’m in danger?” He frowned. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to take any chances. If I’m right, then it was a crime of passion and her lover did it. I just had to find out for myself first.” “What did you do?” “I broke into Cheryl’s house. I knew what I was looking for because she told me. Didn’t she tell you about her safe?” Teri caught her breath on a gasp. “Fuck. Yes, but years ago. I forgot all about it. Everybody has a safe place, somewhere they keep things like passports and certificates. I have one, but mine’s a safety deposit box in my bank. I never thought—how stupid was that?” “Teri, you’ve been under a lot of strain. Nobody expects you to think of everything. And why should you? It was a hunch, that’s all, but I couldn’t rest until I’d seen to it. Cheryl sent me a list of numbers, because she said she forgot them all the time and she didn’t want anyone in Springwater to have the list, even you, in case she was burglarized.” She gave a watery smile at the memory, soon gone. “Yes, I remember that. Two lists, one for you, one for the bank. PIN numbers, passport number, serial numbers of important items, that kind of thing. How could I have forgotten the safe?” “You didn’t have any reason to remember it. If anyone had asked you where Cheryl kept her passport, you would have remembered soon enough.”
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When she turned to him, a question on her lips, he forestalled her by answering it. “Cheryl had a new lover, Teri. One she shouldn’t have had, a local woman. Cheryl called her new lover Liz. I knew that much, but I was hoping to find more. Like if Liz was her real name, and if there was any more of it.” “And you think this Liz killed her, that this is the Talent you’re looking for?” The numbness was washing away from her. Discussing anything with Jake seemed to have that effect on her. Their talks made her think again, drove panic and fear away. Stupid this time, because Jake had caused the fear, but she couldn’t help it. “It’s a strong possibility Liz killed Cheryl. There are names and addresses in that diary. They might be in code, they might be old, but it’s the best lead we have. I left it there for the police to find. I’m going to call Morris in the morning and tell him I’ve forgotten something important about Cheryl. That should bring him running.” He hugged her closer and she flinched. He lifted his arm from around her shoulders. “Could you sleep now?” She looked up at him. This man, the man she found so sexy, was something it would take time to come to terms with. And by the time she did, he’d be long gone. “I can try.” He didn’t even attempt to climb in with her, only pulled her to her feet and drew back the sheet. When he touched the tie at her waist, she flinched, only a little but he noticed. He grimaced but he didn’t try to touch her again. She lay down and he covered her, but she only closed her eyes when he’d left the room.
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Chapter Nine A tight formality enclosed them both the next day. Jake was up first and cooked breakfast after making his phone call to Chauncey. Teri wasn’t sure he’d been to bed, but she didn’t ask. Surprisingly, she’d found herself able to sleep despite the terrible, beautiful sight that assaulted her every time she closed her eyes. Somehow, the vision helped her to accept what he’d told her. “I’m sorry, Teri. About everything. Cheryl, me, everything.” She didn’t want him to be sorry about them. It was the only good thing that had come out of this miserable business. The night had convinced her that he wouldn’t hurt her, but as for the rest—she needed time to assimilate it all. “That’s okay.” It sounded lame, even to her, but it was the best she could do right now. “Morris was out. His deputy said he’d pass the message on when the sheriff got back to the office, but I wasn’t to worry about anything. The man’s a fucking idiot.” “Yeah. Chauncey says that too.” Teri carried the plates to the sink and rinsed them, taking her time, hoping he’d just go upstairs or something. He didn’t. He helped her clear up and then she turned to him, her decision made. “Change for me. Shape-shift or whatever you call it.” Whatever he was expecting her to say, his astonished expression told him he hadn’t expected that. “Are you sure? Why would you want me to?” “So I can be sure it was real. So I can see it for myself. It’s the unknown that scares me most, not knowing for sure. So show me, Jake.” He stared at her and she braced herself, expecting him to enter her mind. But he didn’t. “Okay.” He held out his hand but dropped it when she didn’t take it and turned to lead the way upstairs. In the small guest room, he stripped prosaically, without either making a show or causing embarrassment. “It’s the first thing you get used to,” he said, his voice a low monotone. “Undressing in front of other people.” But he wouldn’t be half-hard in front of them. Teri tried to avoid looking but the memory of where he’d been, what they’d done, brought the heat to her face. She didn’t hide it. What would be the point? He stood before her, arms slightly out from his sides and shape-shifted. Feathers popped out, as if growing anew, and his whole body shape changed. His chest grew forward, his abdomen forced back and all the time feathers grew, obscuring the more horrific changes. “Does it hurt?”
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No. His voice in her mind sounded like it always did. Slightly amused, deep and resonant. I can’t talk in this form. That’s why we have telepathy. So we can communicate. Have you done this all your life? She couldn’t imagine a child’s terror when this change came upon them, but if they’d done it since they were babies, they wouldn’t know any other way. No. We don’t mature until puberty. In childhood, we have a few gifts, like mild telepathy, enough to communicate, and sometimes some other powers, but we don’t take this form until puberty. It gives our families time to teach us what to do and what we are. Families? You mean my brother Chris? Yes. We’re purebreds, so we’re both firebirds. Purebreds? He shifted a little and his feathers rustled. We intermarry. Shape-shifters marry mortals or vampires or Sorcerers and have kids. Vampires? Somehow he’d forgotten to mention that little fact to her. Vampires existed. Suddenly the bird in front of her didn’t seem quite so scary anymore. Sure. What, you thought we were it? There are variations on the human animal, just as there are variations on cats, dogs or anything else. Don’t worry. Vampires aren’t all like Dracula. What are they like? Me, you, Chauncey. Another rustle showed another movement. Perhaps he was trying to shrug. No different. They can go out in daylight, they just don’t have their vampire powers when the sun is up. She blinked. Never mind. I don’t want to know anymore. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. Cheryl told me she was a Sorcerer. I thought she meant a witch or something until she contacted me telepathically and showed me how to do it. I thought you were a bit better than a beginner. I should have known better. Baby, I’m sorry, so sorry I scared you so much. I should have told you but I didn’t know how. He took a step toward her. This time she held her ground. He was no bigger than the man and he wouldn’t hurt her. She knew it. Do you want to touch me? To her surprise, she found she did. Yes. He took another step and stood directly in front of her, completely still. This close she could smell him. That scent, that atmosphere she associated with Jake was still there. Bird or man, this was Jake. The man she— The man she—what? No longer sure of her feelings for him, she looked up into his eyes. A different shape, the pupil elongated instead of round, the gold flecks spreading to fill the eye, but he was still Jake. Keep telling yourself that.
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Cautiously, she lifted her hand and touched him. Warm feathers, silky under her fingers. She dared to burrow a little deeper and touched warm, firm flesh. “Oh!” When she jerked back, somehow she caught a feather and it came with her. She felt Jake wince as it came out of the skin just above his heart and under her horrified gaze a drop of blood welled up. “Oh God! Jake, I’m sorry!” That’s okay. I’ll shift back now. He moved back and changed back to the Jake she knew. Turning away from her, he grabbed his jeans from the bed and climbed into them, but she got a glimpse of his naked body before he did. Jake was hard, his cock straining from his body. It was her turn to wince when she saw how roughly he treated his penis, stuffing it into his jeans and holding it next to his body while he used his other hand to zip up. When he looked up at her, his cheeks were flushed. “Sorry.” “That’s okay.” The sight of his hard cock made her mouth water and she wondered what the fuck was wrong with her that she could still want him. But she did. Maybe, in time, she might grow used to this shock. But he’d be miles away by then, and would have forgotten all about her. Teri glanced down at the feather in her hand, almost expecting it to fade away when his feathers disappeared. It challenged her with its gleaming red-gold beauty. “Well, now I have proof it’s real.” She held out her hand to him. “This is yours.” “No. Keep it.” He stepped forward and folded her fingers over the feather. “But don’t give it to anyone else. If you don’t want it anymore, send it back to me. Promise?” Presumably the feather held proof that firebirds existed. Perhaps it was a special design or it held firebird DNA or something. “Sure. I promise.” “Or you can burn it, if you can’t get hold of me.” He swallowed. “Are firebird feathers so special?” He didn’t look at her face, but at the feather, its end protruding from her closed hand. “This one is. Take care of it, Teri.” “Of course I will.” Something to remember him by. As if she’d ever forget.
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Chapter Ten At eleven a.m. Chauncey’s knock sounded loud and clear on the front door, and after a quick check through the peephole, Teri let him into the house. Flashes from behind him told Jake the press was still strongly in force outside. Teri growled as she closed the door and turned to face the sheriff. “Haven’t they got anything better to do?” “Not when they can chase a celebrity and follow a violent murder at the same time,” Jake said. He unfolded himself from the sofa and crossed the room, not missing the relatively chaste kiss Morris bestowed on Teri. Shit. He stepped forward and shook Morris’ hand, hiding his chagrin carefully, aware that Teri’s psi talents were growing now that he’d linked with her so closely. “You said you had some news for me,” Morris said. “I’m real busy right now, what with the murder of one of the citizens and keeping the peace with the press who’ve disrupted ‘most everything since they arrived, so this had better be good.” “Oh it is.” Jake kept his attention. “How’s the alibi going?” Morris shot a glance at Teri and grinned. “Pretty good. We’re getting the phone company’s records and I don’t think we’ll be keeping you long tomorrow.” Teri gave a heartfelt sigh. “That is such good news. I didn’t want you wasting your time chasing after me when you should be concentrating on finding the real killer.” “Yeah, about that.” Morris pushed his hat back and scratched his forehead. “No leads. Not yet.” Jake cleared his throat. “I might be able to help you with that.” Morris shot him a narrow-eyed look. “Tell me about it.” His voice chilled, as if he was about to listen to Jake’s confession. Jake sent out his senses, checking briefly, on alert now for a Talent as he hadn’t been before. No, Chauncey Morris was mortal, all right. No trace of the powerful presence he’d felt at the courthouse and Cheryl’s house. He saw a professional at work, a lawman who took his job seriously. A tinge of emotion colored his thoughts—warmth for Teri. Jake couldn’t blame Morris for that, but he admired the sheriff’s determination to do his job at whatever cost. If Teri had committed the murder, she would have been arraigned for it, with no favoritism. Although Springwater was hardly a frontier town these days, it still needed men like this. “Something I forgot, but when I recalled it, I thought I ought to tell you right away. Did you find Cheryl’s safe?” “In the office?” Morris’s lip curled in disgust. “Of course. Nothing there but business papers and some cash. Teri told us about it and gave us the combination. And before you ask, yes, we’ve looked in the office diary too. Was that it?”
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He turned as if to walk back to the front door. “No. I meant her private safe and her personal diary.” Morris paused mid-step and pivoted back to face Jake. “Now that’s more interesting.” He waited, like a good lawman should. Of all the lawmen Jake had ever met, the most effective had been the ones who knew the value, and the terrors, of silence. Jake gave him what he wanted. “Cheryl and I exchanged CDs. Copies of important documents, PIN numbers, that kind of thing. You know, in case the house burned down and we lost all our records.” Morris stared at him, skepticism etched on every line of his face. “A lot of people do it. Anyway, I never thought there’d be anything on it, but yesterday I stuck it in Teri’s laptop and scanned it again. There were two safe combinations on it. Not one, but two.” “Shit!” Chauncey moved to the table, where Teri’s laptop still sat. “Is it still in there?” “Yeah. I burned a copy and left it in there for you.” Morris hit the “start” button and tapped his foot the whole thirty seconds it took the machine to boot. Then he tapped some more while it read the contents of the CD drive and put it up on the screen. He leaned closer to read the list. “I recognize some of the numbers. And hey, yes, there are two entries marked ‘safe’.” He stood up and pressed the drawer release. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” Jake shrugged. “I didn’t remember it until Grayson used the drive to burn a copy of my phone records. And I wanted to check it before I called you.” He grunted. “Didn’t want to waste your time.” Morris sneered at him. “I suppose you know where the safe was?” “Sure. In the corner of her main living area, behind a false radiator panel. I just assumed you’d found it and there was nothing in it. But when I looked the CD over, I thought I’d better tell you, just in case you—missed it.” He lifted his chin in a definite challenge and Morris answered it, sticking one thumb under his belt and widening his stance. Jake knew that gesture, so familiar to him from the old days. Body language lasted a long time, it seemed, inherited down the generations. So had the Kid faced him a hundred years ago and more, but the Kid kept his gun in a holster strapped by his side and Morris had his in a shoulder holster. Jake had killed the Kid. He had no intention of killing Chauncey Morris. Who was, he supposed, on his side. The displays of testosterone didn’t go unnoticed. Teri walked between them, ostensibly to hand Morris a jewel case for the CD, but in actuality breaking eye contact between the males. A challenge remained, however, a challenge given and received. Jake wouldn’t forget that. Neither, he assumed, would Morris. Morris left the house after ordering Teri to stay put until he contacted her. Teri tilted her chin at Jake after she saw the sheriff out, her challenge an echo of Jake’s.
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“Men!” she said with a moue of disgust and proceeded to sit at the laptop and type, ignoring Jake completely. Way to put a man down. Jake decided to go upstairs and get in some guitar practice. He needed the solace of music to soothe his jangled nerves. He wasn’t retreating at all. Not one bit. Teri gazed upstairs. How could she let him go? But she had to. He wasn’t her life, he didn’t fit. Even his revelation hadn’t cooled her desire for him, once the initial shock wore off. And since she had every intention of continuing to live in Springwater and running her business from here, she had to keep Chauncey reasonably sweet. Jake wasn’t making that easy. For the next hour, she worked at her laptop, but she couldn’t do much. All the things she needed were at the office, not here. And the office was a designated crime scene. She snorted in disgust. The office was completely separate from the house. It wouldn’t have taken much for them to confirm that nobody had been there and let her in. They knew the Evans’ anniversary party was next week. She’d have to work like a dog to make sure it was ready in time. Now that Jake had gone upstairs, she didn’t need to pretend to work, so she sat back, her head between her hands. Why had she ever let herself sleep with Jake? Her life would never be the same again. Maybe in a few years she could put Jake Keys in the category of happy memories, of might have been. But now it hurt too much. She had to let him go. It wasn’t fair to either of them. She couldn’t share her man with anyone else, whoever he was, and she couldn’t commit to Jake in the way she would have to in order to give their relationship half a chance. At any other time she’d have moved closer to listen to Jake playing the guitar, but right now she couldn’t. She needed some space and she knew he did too. They both had to put this whole thing into perspective—what they had, what they didn’t have and how to go on after this hothouse few days had gone. Besides, she wasn’t sure she could accept a firebird into her life. That, more than anything else, fueled her doubts. She had no idea what a relationship with a firebird would entail, but she suspected that would only make things more difficult for them. When Chauncey’s knock came on the door, she started before she heard the guitar abruptly cease above her head and footsteps drumming down the stairs. The door opened, a murmur of voices and then Chauncey came back in, with Jake close behind him. This time his excitement was almost palpable. “We think we know who killed Cheryl now.” He stood by the door and Jake smiled at her before he turned to face the sheriff. Teri didn’t need to try very hard to look delighted, but she added a little surprise for good measure. “What are you talking about?” 81
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“It must be this woman in her diary, the new woman in Cheryl’s life. Liz, she calls her.” “Liz?” “Yeah. Cheryl’s private safe was just where Keys said it was.” He shot Jake a suspicious glance. “Although I still want to know why he didn’t tell us about it before. She kept her private diary in there and some letters, as well as the things you’d expect, like some financial records and her passport. When we read the last few entries, we saw why she kept her diary in a safe. It’s an account of Cheryl’s love life. Names, dates, everything. It looks like Cheryl was a busy woman.” Teri had thought her distress was well-hidden, but Jake came to stand by her side, though he didn’t touch her. His presence was enough. “Cheryl was a very private person. She wouldn’t like to know that her love life was in the open for anyone to read.” “No, I’m sorry about that, but this is evidence. Prime evidence. Her latest lover was someone called Liz. A new lover and someone who had never fallen in love with another woman before.” “Do you know who this Liz is?” “Not yet, but we will. Cheryl identifies her by describing what she looks like naked. Including scars and moles.” “Distinguishing features,” Jake said grimly. “Exactly,” Chauncey kept his gaze on Teri. “So you’re thinking this Liz killed her.” Chauncey glanced at Jake and grunted. “Yeah. It’s looking like that. Cheryl names her in her diary and has her cell number listed there. It’s explicit, there’s no mistake. And she kept some love notes. I don’t know if they’re from Liz or another lover, but I’ve got a handwriting expert I can call. I have a feeling I know who it is, but I don’t want to say anything yet, because if I say the name and it’s wrong, it’ll blow this town apart.” Teri couldn’t imagine who the person could be. Liz, a local woman—the name didn’t ring any bells. Then it did. “Oh God,” she breathed. “Elizabeth Diller.” She turned to Jake. “Lawrence Diller’s wife.” “Oh shit!” Chauncey was definitely not happy that she’d guessed. One look at his face told her she was right. “Tell anybody and we’ll lose her. I’ve sent my deputy to find a judge and we’re in the process of acquiring a warrant. I want to do this by the book, no mistake, because I want this woman. We called around her house after we realized who this Liz could be, but there was no answer. I can’t stay long, but I thought you ought to know and I wanted to warn you, in case you guessed who Liz was. I don’t want you telling a soul.” He glared sternly at them both, every inch the lawman. “At the moment, it’s you, me and one deputy who know. Nobody else. If word gets out before she gets home, it
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could get real messy. She’s a pillar of the community, member of Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Council—hell, she organizes the Apple Festival every year too and that brings the tourists in—and she’s a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They were planning to do a detailed history of Main Street back when it was called Keys Street.” He sucked in a breath. “Elizabeth Diller. My God, who would have thought it?” Jake frowned. “Sounds as if Mrs. Diller had a lot to lose by getting found out.” “I thought about that,” Chauncey said. “Maybe Cheryl was blackmailing Liz. That’s a great motive for murder.” “Cheryl wouldn’t do that!” Teri exclaimed. “Never in a million years!” “Then maybe Liz tried to break it off and they got into a fight. Cheryl might have threatened to expose her. She had a temper and she might have said it without meaning it, then Liz killed her in panic.” Chauncey shot him a look of pure hate. “The thought occurred to me too. If Elizabeth Diller was the lover, she had a lot to lose.” Jake held up a placating hand. “No, before you ask, Cheryl didn’t say anything to me except that she had a new lover, exactly what I told you at the time. She tended to keep her sex life to herself. It was unusual for her to tell me anything about it, but she seemed so happy when she called me that last time. Fuck, I’ll miss her.” He frowned. “What are you telling her husband? He’s involved in the case, isn’t he?” Chauncey pushed back his hat and scratched his head. “I can’t trust him not to call his wife and get her to run. We can still arrest her, of course, if she runs to another state or even have her extradited from most countries if we need to, but it makes things run a bit slower, so it’s better to keep it quiet until she gets home from wherever she is. We’ll be waiting.” “So you must be searching for Diller,” Jake commented. Jake fixed him with a dark stare. “I can’t comment about that. I shouldn’t be talking about it with civilians at all.” “Except this civilian gave you the information you needed.” Chauncey stared at Jake. “Yeah. Convenient, wasn’t it?” Jake shrugged. “I’m just sorry I didn’t remember earlier.” He stiffened and Teri felt a flash of anger shoot through him. “Look, I don’t want Teri caught up in this any more than you do. I came here fast to see what I could do to help, not to get in the way. I want my wife’s murderer found. You know I didn’t do it, so just do your job so we can get Teri home free.” He turned away abruptly and headed for the kitchen. Teri already knew Jake went to one of two places when he was angry or upset—the kitchen or to his guitar. “Hey,” Chauncey called. “You want to come down to the station now and formalize your statement?” Jake appeared in the kitchen doorway. “What statement?”
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“About the CD, your conversations with Cheryl on the day of her death, get all the stuff down on paper. We’re going to need it sooner or later and I want to make sure that when we arrest Mrs. Diller, if it is her, we get everything down cold. Her husband might be a country lawyer, but he’s practiced in Texas all his life and what he doesn’t know about the law here ain’t worth knowing. As soon as he knows his wife is a suspect, he’ll go to work. So if you come down now, it’ll take care of the formalities.” He sighed. “Look, this is straight up, Jake. We know you have a solid alibi. We’ve heard from the women you were in bed with too. Kinda puts you out of the picture for the murder, don’t it?” Chauncey glanced at Teri, who kept her face still. “Women?” She refused to look at Jake, but she felt his voice in her head. Sorry. I hadn’t met you then. Why should I care? she answered savagely. I’m just another one. No— But she was learning how to control her thoughts. She cut him off, blocked him completely and stalked across the room to sit in front of her laptop. “It would be a good idea for you to go.” She surprised herself by her calm tones. “We don’t want any delay, do we?” She gave Chauncey a sweet smile. “I’ll be okay.” Jake crossed the room and stood in front of her. To ignore him would make her chagrin far too obvious, so she wiped her face of all emotion and looked up at him. His face was like thunder. She could have sworn his eyes sparked fire. “You won’t answer the door or the phone while I’m gone, will you? When I get back, I’ll call out and I’ll use Morris’ knock. Do not let anyone else in. Anyone. Clear?” She scowled at him. “What kind of stupid do you think I am?” His voice softened. “No kind of stupid. None at all. I’m just worried about you, is all.” What could she say except, “Okay, I promise”? Otherwise he might not have gone and she longed to be on her own. She needed to think. Teri listened to the car driving away and breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t deny that her nervousness was increasing with each moment that passed. Tomorrow she should be free, but it was a big should. At least Chauncey seemed sure about Cheryl’s murderer. It sounded good to her. Liz had a lot to lose if her affair with Cheryl came out and she knew her late partner. Passionate and impulsive, if Cheryl fell in love, she’d want to tell the world. Teri would put her last dollar on that scenario if Liz did kill her. She could almost see Cheryl’s face, lively in its enthusiasm, passionately arguing that if they were in love, they shouldn’t be ashamed of proclaiming it.
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That was what made Cheryl so good at event planning—her imagination, the way she could release it. But sometimes she found it hard to realize that her scenarios and real life didn’t always work together. Teri shared her ideas but had her feet planted firmly on the ground. So Cheryl and Teri had complemented each other—Cheryl providing the vision and Teri refining it and bringing it to fruition. She’d never find another partner like Cheryl Palmer. Alone for the first time since she’d heard of Cheryl’s death, Teri finally mourned her friend and said goodbye. Going upstairs to wash her face, she thought she heard a noise at the front door and paused to listen, but the knock wasn’t Jake’s, so she didn’t answer it. She went to her bathroom instead. On her way downstairs, she took a peek out the window, cracking the drapes for a quick look. Only one strange vehicle remained—a black truck halfway up the street and no reporter in sight. She guessed that Jake had taken most of them with him when they saw him leave her house. Maybe the others were taking the chance to take a break. Nothing much would happen here if the sheriff had taken Jake away, they’d think. Hopefully, they’d be right. Now she heard something else, a gentle click, then a rustling. It sounded like someone trying to get in the back door. After a rattle, the sound ceased, but Teri knew better than to go downstairs immediately. It was likely that the noises came from a reporter, choosing a quiet moment to snoop around, but she couldn’t be sure. Taking her time so as not to make a sound, she went back to the bathroom. There she flushed the toilet and, using the noise as cover, left the room immediately, darting into her bedroom to collect her gun from the nightstand drawer. She’d had a license for years, but only learned to shoot and bought the weapon after her grandfather insisted. She hated guns, though she never told that to many people. Not in Texas. They would have thought her mad or just misguided. She stood at the top of the stairs with her weapon for at least five minutes. The seconds dragged by, but she made herself wait before she ventured downstairs. Then she went cautiously. Her stairs led up from her entrance hall, a very small space. The living room and dining room connected by one large hatchway, so from the entrance of her living room, she could see through to her backyard when the blinds were open. She glanced at the clock in the hall, which hung above the mirror she used to check her appearance before she left the house. She could see some of the living room in the mirror, but she couldn’t see anyone there. But much of the space was invisible to her. Jake had been gone for an hour. He wouldn’t be long. It would probably be wiser to go back upstairs until he got back. Tedious, but Teri knew that was the best solution in this situation. If someone was in her house, it would be a member of the press, but she had no intention of giving anyone a candid interview or photograph. Without Jake’s telepathy, she had no way of
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sensing anyone’s presence. She tucked the gun into her jeans pocket, turned around and gripped the stair rail to creep back to her bedroom and listen some more. That was when someone rushed around the corner and grabbed her around the waist, another hand grabbing her wrist and twisting it. Shit. He must have caught sight of her in the mirror. She yelped in pain but when she opened her mouth to scream, her assailant slammed her against the wall, knocking all the breath out of her.
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Chapter Eleven “You’re positive you have everything you need?” Jake’s sarcasm helped him a little. He longed to be back with Teri, his skin itched with it. Morris had definitely taken much longer than he needed to take his statement, asking the same questions over and over. Since Jake was absolutely definitely not a suspect, he could only assume it was the sheriff’s way of pissing him off. Which he had done supremely well. Morris’ face remained bland and uninterested, but when Jake entered his mind, he sensed dark triumph at the forefront. Bastard got his jollies knowing Jake wasn’t spending time with Teri. In all fairness, he couldn’t blame him, but it rankled all the same. Jake needed to make love with her some more. Needed to. And he needed to ask her to wait for him or come with him or—fuck, something! He just knew he didn’t want to let her go, even if he had to leave her for a while to go to London. If he did, this guy would be in like Flint. Morris took his time looking over the statement before he snapped off the recorder and handed the papers to one of his deputies, who sat by his side. “That should do. Now we have a lawyer involved on a personal level we need to take care with our presentation in court. But that should be enough. We have everything down on paper.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head, yawning hugely. “And I can get some sleep.” He opened one eye and peered at Jake. “Eventually.” Jake suppressed his growl. If he could help it, Morris would never get the opportunity to find out how long he could go without sleep. He didn’t despair of persuading Teri to come to England for a holiday. Maybe after she’d seen to her event next week. He could wait that long. So could the band. He wouldn’t leave her until he’d tracked down the Talent who haunted this whole case. “Okay.” Morris got to his feet. “I can take you back to the house, but I want to stop by the Diller house first, see if Elizabeth is home yet.” “And what if she is? What’re you going to do with me when you arrest her?” “You can walk.” Morris smirked. “Or you can call a taxicab from here.” Jake thought about the reception he got from most taxi drivers. Outright derision or long stories about their efforts to get into the music business and if he was really unlucky, a homemade CD to take with him. He always asked them to send their tracks to his manager, Randy Norwood. “I’ll take my chances walking. Besides, you might need help with the arrest.” “You think?”
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Jake was fairly sure this was another delaying tactic. While the statement was undoubtedly required, the sheriff had taken far too long over it, deliberating over every stupid point. The stop might be a good idea, but he could easily do it on the way back. After all, he had a man watching the house. Jake sighed. He’d go along with the sheriff’s little game. After all, as Morris himself pointed out, he could always get out and walk. But Teri needed to keep Morris on her side, so he’d suffer, for her sake. Not that it made him feel any better. He’d met that kind of attitude before, many times. He was rich, he was famous, so it was okay to dick him around. He usually ignored it or marked the perpetrator down as somebody to ignore, but this time he’d have to put up with it. In a weird way, he didn’t put Morris in the same category as some of the other pricks, because Chauncey Morris had something to try for. Something worth winning. Teri Gilpatrick. A bare twenty minutes later, they were out of the police house and on their way to the Diller residence. Jake stretched his arm along the open window, Starsky and Hutch style. Well, they were in a police car. He might as well make like a cliché. They drew up outside a large, prosperous-looking house, long and with plenty of glass. Jake didn’t just suspect, he knew that somewhere in that complex was a large pool that had to be maintained by someone who came in just for that purpose once a week and maybe there was a gardener too. Hell, if he lived here, he’d have a house like that. Not a shoebox like Teri’s. The sheriff got out of the car and shoved his arms through the sleeves of his light jacket, covering the weapon holster he wore under his armpit. Although Jake appreciated the convenience of the shoulder holster, he still thought the belt he used to wear around his hips was so much cooler. And the Colts he wore then were more impressive than the Glock this sheriff used. Although Morris glared at Jake, he got out of the car too. Damn if he was going to stay in that tin box on a day that radiated heat like this one. Besides, his internal warning system was on mild alert. It could just be Morris’s antagonism that triggered it, but he wanted to be sure. As he neared the house, loping up the path with his usual lazy stride, the sense of tension increased. Something was seriously wrong here. This house didn’t feel like a relatively prosperous small-town residence. It felt like inner city, where drugs and murder were commonplace. Jake partially shape-shifted. To the onlooker, he wouldn’t appear any different, but inside his senses were sharper, his reflexes faster. Only his eyes changed, as he knew from previous shifts, the slitted pupils of the bird reflecting his change. He slipped his sunglasses over them and now he would look no different. The shift only confirmed what he sensed in his fully human form. Trouble lay behind those windows. He smelled blood; every part of his predator’s body sensed it.
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Morris waited by the front door, having rung the doorbell, his foot tapping in irritation. “I would have thought there’d be somebody in. The help, maybe. I just want to make sure everything’s okay.” “I think we ought to go inside.” The deputy shot him a glare. “We can’t without a warrant.” “What if there’s a door open?” Morris spared him a glance. “We can enter, in order to ensure everything is okay. Leaving a door open in an unoccupied house is an invitation to thieves.” “Thought so. Anyway, you can blame me for it.” Jake set off down the side of the house, deliberately outpacing the cops. In control of his superior strength, he pushed at the back door and smashed the lock straight through. If he did it, he guessed he could be charged with entering unlawfully and the cops could follow him to apprehend him. That would make their entry legal. Not that there’d be any need. The smell of blood grew stronger. Unmistakable, that smell of metallic death, but Jake sensed no lurking danger, nobody waiting in the silent house to attack them. He shape-shifted back to human form and removed the sunglasses, no longer required in this shaded, air-conditioned space. The house was on two levels. This door led directly into a large, well-appointed kitchen. Everything here was clean and bright, nothing out of place. And the blood wasn’t here. Jake followed his nose and the increasing sense of violence he was still sensing. The kitchen led to a square-shaped hallway, with stairs rising up to the first floor. Jake ignored them and walked through the doorway that, as it happened, led into the lounge. This room stretched the length of the house, a showpiece room. Elegant furniture adorned the polished wood floor, and between the pieces hung original paintings. Long, low sofas invited a person to take their ease. Except the one at the end, where the leather surface was covered with blood. Blood that covered the body lying on the sofa. Eternal rest. The stink of death made Jake gag. He hardly noticed the two police officers rush past him to stare at the tableau spread before them. This end of the room was in disarray. Not the complete destruction that marked Cheryl’s living area, but the sofa was pushed back, the rug that must have lain at its feet shoved aside in heedless disorder, and the coffee table lay on its side, its large fruit bowl shattered, the fruit scattered over the floor, still lying where it had rolled or fallen. Jake stood completely still, touching nothing, appalled by the sight before him. A woman dressed in a neat suit sprawled in ungainly disarray over the sofa. And a neat bullet hole in the center of her forehead.
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Morris turned to his deputy. “Call it in. This is no suicide, it’s another murder. There’s no weapon in evidence, so somebody shot her and took the weapon with them.” He glanced up at Jake, the jealous love-rival completely gone, replaced by the professional. “Are you going to faint or throw up?” “No.” Morris pushed his hat back and scratched his forehead. “This isn’t suicide and she’s freshly dead. From the look of her, she’d been out somewhere, maybe a formal function. We can find out fast enough. That’ll fix the time of death for us.” “You think the same person did this as killed Cheryl?” “Springwater’s a small town. We don’t get many murders in these parts. Sure as shit this is the same person.” He went still. Completely still, his fingers touching his forehead, the frown fixed between his eyes. “Oh fuck. Diller.” Jake spun around, wasting no time. If it was Diller, where was he now? He didn’t know, but he had to be sure. “You better come with me, because I’m taking your car.” “What?” Morris stared at Jake and he saw the same conclusions he was reaching hitting him, too. “Teri!” He yelled to his deputy, “Stay here and don’t touch anything. Get backup here and get someone to Ms. Gilpatrick’s house. Ms. Gilpatrick has priority because she’s still alive. Please God!”
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Chapter Twelve Teri’s first response was sheer anger. How dare this sleaze break into her house? The arm around her waist told her this was a man, as did the hard chest against her back. She tried an elbow jab, aiming for his stomach, but he was ready for her and he moved his body out of the way but kept hold of her and hauled her into the living room. Teri lifted her eyes to the mirror and recognized the man holding her. Lawrence Diller. Despite his smart slacks and gray sports jacket, his hair was tousled as if he hadn’t had time to comb it. Diller was one of the most obsessively tidy men in Springwater, so he had to be agitated to allow that. Teri’s immediate response was to try to contact Jake. If their telepathic link was so close, could she contact him? The answer was no. She felt nothing, no awareness in her mind. Shit. She was on her own. If she screamed, now she had her breath back, one of the press pack outside might hear her. Then she’d give them an exclusive. That was probably her best option. Diller gave her a shove, and as she turned to face him, maybe get in a kick or some kind of a jab, he drew a matte black pistol from his pocket. Then, for the first time, he spoke. “You bitch! Bringing your kind of morality to town. That’s what started it.” His voice sounded as flat as always, his efforts to suppress his natural Texas twang as rigorous as ever. Teri took a deep breath. He’d pushed her against the table that held her laptop, but there was no hope there, except to use the laptop as a weapon, which she would, given half a chance. But only in the movies did the heroine move fast enough to hurl a weapon and knock a firearm out of their attacker’s hands. Then they’d follow up with a few roundhouse kicks and disarm the poor sap before beating him into oblivion. Teri was an ordinary woman with an ordinary life. She’d taken basic self-defense, was fit, but none of that counted for anything against a man with a gun. She couldn’t kick accurately enough to be sure of knocking the weapon out of his hand and he was much bigger than she was, so would probably be able to overpower her without it. All she had were her wits and the gun in her pocket. A paltry .22, but at this range she could do some damage.
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Would she antagonize him by denying his statement? What did he want anyway? He was staring at her as if expecting her to say something, so she did, trying to keep it neutral. “My morality is pretty normal.” “But your dyke friend’s isn’t. Wasn’t,” he corrected himself with a curl of his lip. “She behaved herself until she came back from the city with you. The bitch decided to corrupt everybody in town. Starting with my wife. Well, that won’t happen again.” “Mr. Diller, I knew nothing about that. I swear.” “What kind of a fool do you take me for?” Beads of spittle scattered when he spoke and a disdainful sneer spread over his features. “You and your dyke lover came here with one thing in mind. You were going to use us and take us, corrupt us. Deviants! To think we let you into the chamber of commerce! That’s where they started it, you know. Your lover and my wife.” His face twisted into a parody of grief and tears stood in his eyes. “Well, she won’t be doing anything like that again.” “Mr. Diller—Lawrence—I’m so sorry. I knew nothing about this, I swear. I would do anything to bring Cheryl back.” “To bring them both back.” Tears rolled down his face unchecked now. “Both?” “Somebody told me what Cheryl Palmer really was. An abomination, a deviant. She couldn’t live here, corrupting our citizens, could she? But after I took care of that, it wasn’t over, because someone told me about her affair with my wife. How could Elizabeth do it to me? I worked so hard to get things for her, make her the most popular woman in town. And then she threw it all in my face!” The tears would help her. They’d blur his vision. If she was going to get out of this alive, it was down to her. “I’m sorry, Mr. Diller. I had no idea who Teri’s new lover was until a short while ago.” “Neither did I. Not until—” She stumbled against the table and then shoved it harder, dislodging the laptop, which tumbled to the floor with a huge crash. Diller looked away from her, just for the instant it took her to pull her weapon out of her pocket, aim and fire. Only there were two explosions and a searing pain along her shoulder. Taking a step back, Teri stumbled over the laptop and went down hard. Jake was only just ahead of the sheriff out the door of the Diller residence, but because Morris knew this version of Springwater better than he did, he let him drive. It took them ten minutes to reach Teri’s front door, time it took them to realize they’d come to the same conclusion, that Diller had found out about the affair and killed Liz. Probably Cheryl too. Because Teri was Cheryl’s partner and widely assumed by the Springwater community to be gay, she was involved too. And for the first time since Cheryl’s murder, she was alone. 92
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All through the endless ten minutes that it took to drive to her house, Jake tried to contact Teri telepathically, but he got nothing. No response, not even a block. She was unconscious—or dead. Jake ground his teeth when he saw that the members of the media, previously in constant attention, had drifted away from Teri’s house, the black van that no doubt held the remnants of the ravening horde quiet in the heavy sunshine. Most had followed him out of the house to the police station, probably drooling at the thought of a rock star murder trial to rival OJ’s. The one time the media could have been useful, they were nowhere in sight. Chauncey Morris’ speedy eruption into the quiet street certainly alerted someone, because when Jake glanced in the rearview mirror he saw the doors to the van flung open. Ignoring the useless bastards, he leapt out of the car before it came to a complete halt and ran for the house, partially shape-shifting once more to take advantage of his better pace and strength. Diller had a gun aimed at Teri. The presence he’d searched for surged into his mind with all the force of proximity and he knew he’d found the rogue Talent. All her attention was fixed on the lawyer, and as he watched, she stumbled against the counter. Diller fired before Jake managed to burst through the back door, but so did Teri. He hadn’t even known she had a gun, but he was grateful for it now. As if in slow motion, he saw her spin backward on to the floor. Dimly, he heard glass shatter and another shot, but he was concentrating on Teri. She was the only important thing now. She lay on the floor, her feet twisted under her, blood staining her shoulder, pouring over her clean white t-shirt in an obscene flood. Jake knelt down by her side and reached deep into her mind. Relief flooded through him when he found she was alive. At his touch, her eyelids flickered and she opened them to focus on to his face. Her gentle warmth took his breath away. “Just lie still, baby. Let me take care of you now. I was so worried, oh God when I saw you—” He ripped her t-shirt away, wadding it into a pad while he examined the wound in her shoulder. Her face swam before his eyes when he realized it was just a flesh wound. Diller had aimed for the heart, but Teri dropped as she fired and the bullet had grazed her shoulder. He pressed the improvised pad against the wound. She flinched but lay still for him. “It’s not serious, Teri. You’re going to be okay.” From behind him, he heard the sound of a police radio and guessed Morris was calling for help. She licked her lips. “How—how did you know?” “We found Elizabeth Diller dead. She didn’t kill herself. And Diller wasn’t there.” “He ain’t here now.” Morris’ laconic tones came from behind him. “Good shot, Teri.”
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A solitary tear crept out of the corner of her eye. “It was only a .22. I didn’t mean to kill him.” “Sometimes you get lucky.” That from Morris again, then a pause. “But it looks like it wasn’t your shot that killed him. It was mine. When Jake barreled through the front door, I took the back.” Jake growled. “I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead.” He took her hand, stroking her skin in a soothing gesture. “I’ll take you upstairs. I guess the sheriff will want to get busy down here.” “It won’t take long,” the sheriff said. “I’ll send the medics up to you when they get here. You sure she’s not badly hurt?” “A flesh wound. Otherwise do you think I’d still be here?” His voice softened when he turned his attention back to her. “Tell us what happened, baby.” She gazed at his face and told him. He kept her gaze, not allowing her to look away to the gruesome sight on the floor and her kitchen tiles, stained with Diller’s blood. “He-he broke in, forced the lock or something. You did say the lock on the back door was feeble. You remember?” He nodded and forced a smile. “I did. But I thought I’d be with you until you arranged to have it fixed.” “Diller said we’d corrupted his wife between us, Cheryl and me. He thought I was gay, called me a dyke and a deviant.” Jake’s eyes narrowed when he remembered that word in another context. That confirmed it for him. Diller was a Talent, probably PHR. He murdered Cheryl because she was a Talent, but hadn’t bargained for her falling for his wife. Elizabeth—Liz—would be “tainted” by the PHR’s definition, so she had to die too. And Teri. His blood ran cold when he remembered that. She spoke again. “I said I wasn’t gay or any of the other things, but he was demented. Something pushed him over the edge. I don’t know what.” Jake had a feeling he knew something of what pushed Diller to take this course, what turned a respectable country lawyer into a demented murderer. For sure the PHR’s evil hand was involved in this. “He found out that his wife was Cheryl’s lover.” Jake heard the sheriff take a few steps around the body. “I can see where you shot him, Teri. He has a wound in his shoulder that looks much more like something a .22 would make. It stopped him long enough for me to finish it for you.” She breathed out and Jake felt her relief. She hadn’t killed another person. He wished he could say the same thing. “I dislodged my laptop off the counter to create a distraction. I thought about throwing it at him, but I pretended to stumble instead and it fell. That caught him off guard long enough for me to get my weapon and shoot him, but he must have fired at the same time.” A slow tear fell down the side of her face. Jake wanted to kiss it away, wrap her up and take her somewhere quiet, where this kind of ugliness didn’t exist. “I must have hit my head on the way down. It hurts.” 94
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“Let me see.” Jake felt gently around her skull but pulled back when she cried out in pain. “Yes. I want a doctor to see you. A blow hard enough to knock you out might cause a concussion.” He was no doctor, but he could blend his mind with hers and search for the kind of damage a concussion would cause. He found nothing. Only shock and distress that he longed to assuage. “I thought I was dead.” She started crying in earnest then, and unable to resist any longer, Jake pulled her into his arms. He lifted his head and met Chauncey Morris’ hard stare. “I’m taking her upstairs. She doesn’t need to see this.” “I agree.” Chauncey pulled his radio out and began to talk into it again as Jake lifted Teri and headed for the stairs.
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Chapter Thirteen Teri was just putting the finishing touches to her makeup when the doorbell rang. She studied herself closely and was satisfied. The bump on her head was covered by her hair, drawn back into a neat ponytail instead of her usual French twist. She couldn’t have stuck pins anywhere near that lump. Her shoulder was stiff, and although the bandages didn’t show, she felt them, a wad of extra material under her blouse. Although Chauncey and Jake had insisted she stay in bed and rest, she refused to miss her arraignment today and refused to appear as the poor victim either. She wanted to look as good as she could, and hold her head high. The arraignment was a formality now. Her living room and kitchen were almost back to normal. Diller’s body had been photographed, recorded and then moved and the rug he’d lain on taken away too. Jake had spent an hour scrubbing the kitchen floor, getting out all traces of the bloodstains, and then he’d covered the spot with a chair. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t stay here after that. She’d live in the motel, noisy air conditioning notwithstanding, until she’d sold the house. Once Jake left, she’d leave too. Her hands barely shook at all when she applied her lipstick. Jake’s footsteps sounded outside her room, then on the stairs. “I’ll see who it is.” “Don’t forget to use the spy hole first!” she called but it was too late. The sound of the door opening was followed by a yell. Not one of alarm, but recognition and pleasure. Then the door closed, but the voices continued downstairs. Female as well as male. Taking one last look into the mirror, Teri knew she couldn’t do any more to make herself respectable. She wore a smart navy tailored business suit, the skirt not too tight to her body, the jacket a boxy conservative cut. Her shoes were pumps with a two-inch heel, her jewelry discreet, her hair tamed. Her makeup was carefully applied and sparse. Underneath her high-necked blouse, she wore a slim gold chain to which she’d attached the feather Jake had given her. It seemed to retain some of his heat, warming her skin. She knew now there could be no future for them. Different lifestyle, different species. No hope. The feather would be her permanent souvenir of the brief affair, the chance she’d had to find out that one of her favorite musicians really was a good person—or rather, good shape-shifter. Unable to put off leaving the house any longer, she stepped out into the small hallway and down the stairs. At the sound of her heels on the uncarpeted wooden staircase, Jake came out of the living room and started up them, his face warming when
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he saw her. He would have helped her down, but she frowned at him and he stepped back, waiting for her. He was quite a surprise himself. He wore black slacks and a matching jacket— designer, if the slim, immaculate cut was anything to go by. His hair was as tamed as it would ever get, brushed in a shining golden sheen back from his face, and although he didn’t wear a tie, his deep red shirt was spotless and crisp-looking. He held out his hand and this time she took it, slipping her hand into his and finding him, as always, warm and welcoming. Closing his fingers around hers, he drew her into the living room. Three people stood there. One she recognized immediately. Chris Keys, Jake’s brother and drummer with Pure Wildfire. She lingered for a moment on him. Broader shoulders than Jake’s, with the same brown eyes, but holding a different expression. A little taller than Jake maybe, but she’d guess there was no more than an inch or two in it and Jake was just over six feet tall. His smile was warier than Jake’s, but that might be because of the current situation. His mouth was fine, but it wasn’t Jake’s, it wasn’t the one she wanted. Because despite all his confessions, she still wanted him. Then she felt his mind touch hers, his warmth overwhelming her for a moment before she felt Jake enter and gently urge his brother out. Apart from Cheryl, this is new to her. Go easy on her, Chris. Sure. “Are you okay to do this, Teri?” She liked the sound of her name on Chris’ lips. Different than Jake’s, friendly instead of tender, concerned instead of worried. “Yes, thanks. They make us tough in Texas.” Chris gave a short laugh. “They sure do.” She moved a little closer to Jake. Then one of the two other newcomers cleared her throat and she forced her attention on to them. She didn’t need Jake’s murmured introduction to tell her these were the Westfall twins, until recently singers of light classical, currently specializing in medieval and Celtic music. Both blonde, but with different hairstyles, one long and straight, one shorter and wavy with pink streaks, and dressed differently too, one in denim and the one with the bigger breasts in a short leather miniskirt and tight black top. They were about to record their first album with a new band called the Celtic Chicks. She had no idea what they were doing here. Unless— “Jake, love, have you got us a new bed partner?” The English accent usually charmed Teri, but this grated against her consciousness. The big-titted one gave her a contemptuous once-over. “She doesn’t seem the type. The sooner we get Jake back to the big city, the sooner we can remind him what good sex feels like.” Teri shrugged, resisting the attempt to compete. She could have told them that she was a city girl, brought up and living in Houston until a few years ago. She could have told them that she knew all she wanted to about sex, probably more than they did, but
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she stopped herself. There was no point. “After today, you can have him back,” was all she said. The one in jeans flashed a grin. “You have to excuse my sister, Teri. She gets bored easily. I’m Ashley Westfall and my sister is Paige. She’s the one with the boob job.” Well, that answered one of her questions. She smiled back. Paige stared at her. “I can’t think that you’re happy with this one, Jake. What on earth do you do with her after you’ve had her missionary a couple of times?” Jake squeezed her hand, but Teri shook him off. She didn’t need him or anyone else to answer those kinds of questions for her. “I do as I please and normally I don’t have to please anyone but myself. The press, I’m learning, is a major pain in the ass. I’ll be glad when the circus moves on. That includes you.” She checked her watch, adding an edge to her voice to hide its tremor. “We’re due in court in an hour. We’d better think about moving.” Jake murmured something but Chris drowned him out, bursting into laughter. “Oh kids, don’t rile this one! I think she just gave you an answer!” He hauled Ashley into an embrace, kissing her with a loud smack of his lips. “I like her!” “You hardly know me.” Teri didn’t dare open the curtains, but she wanted to know who was outside, what consistency the pack had reached. “We came in a Range Rover with smoked glass windows. Nobody guessed it was us until we got out,” Chris said, answering her unspoken question. Although Cheryl had done that too, Teri thought she’d never get used to it. Not that she’d have to. They’d all be gone soon enough. She reminded herself of that simple fact constantly, afraid she’d forget and think of Jake as something permanent in her life. She couldn’t do that, otherwise she’d never get over it when he left. She wondered if she’d get over it if he did. Even now his presence by her side burned her, making her want to shove everybody out the back door so they could get naked. He might leave soon after the court case, maybe with Chris and the two women. In which case they’d made love for the last time. A pang went through her and this time it wasn’t because of the ordeal ahead. “I guess most of the press is waiting outside the courthouse,” Jake said, running his fingers through his carefully ordered hair, and raising the waves to their usual rumpled state. “But we’d better go. Teri’s going to get off this charge. We firmed up her alibi last night. When Cheryl called me that morning, Teri was half an hour away from her public appearance in the Four Seasons in Houston. No way could she get from there to here in that time.” He shook his head at his brother, no doubt at an unuttered question. She could imagine what that would be. Is she Talented? She could do it if she was. No, she’s not. But she has Aidan’s permission to know about us.
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Maybe she’d meet more, now that she had this permission. But how would they know she could know? I’ve put a symbol into your mind. It’s Aidan’s cipher. Any Talent seeing it will know they can talk to you. Teri wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Did she want to know how many shapeshifters and Sorcerers there were in the world? As for vampires—fuck no! The only Talent she was at all interested in was Jake. The new world fascinated her, but she didn’t need it, would be happy to leave it alone. Except for Jake. “What are you doing here anyway?” Her question was probably too abrupt, but she had to know. Did Chris want to check her out? “Just some support. The twins decided to come along for the ride.” Sneaking a glance at Paige and Ashley and the way they rarely strayed far from Chris, Teri guessed they wanted to keep close. Maybe they had plans for him. And Jake, she realized with a shock, forcing herself to acknowledge that he wasn’t hers and he never would be. She’d pushed him away last night, not allowed him to sleep with her. He could have women for the asking, so it wasn’t likely he’d want her back or put himself out to get her. Now that they’d found Cheryl’s murderer, he’d be out of her life. She touched on the thought, testing it in her mind, but as soon as she let herself dwell on the prospect, she choked up. So she pushed it away. She’d cry later, just as she had for Cheryl, waiting until she could give herself the time and space to mourn. It wasn’t until now that she felt herself capable of thinking about anything other than the shocking events of the previous day. Only the careful preparations for an appearance in court had brought the topic of Jake’s identity back to her mind. And she couldn’t ask him now, with his brother and the twins present. Maybe she should ask for a photo with both brothers, here in her living room. Was that too crass? Definitely, she decided. Jake didn’t pick up on that thought, she was relieved to discover, or he ignored it. There’d be photographs aplenty later on, in any case. Just not in her house or her lounge. Then Jake freaked the crap out of her by walking over to her and slinging his arm around her waist. He must have said something telepathically to his brother because Chris followed suit, hugging her briefly before letting her go. Wow. That was something. The two Keys brothers holding her between them. Her mind raced into forbidden territory, until Jake’s voice sounded in her head. Sorry, Teri, we share women, but I ain’t sharing you with anybody. No way, no how. For a moment, the thought crossed her mind. Both brothers naked, and she stood between them. Jake in front, Chris behind. Oh yeah. Something to pursue later, a secret between her and her vibrator. Come to think of it, she needed to buy another one, if her fantasies were to include Chris. Her flush mantled her cheeks just as Ashley lifted her phone and took a photo. Paige took another one with hers before giving Teri an indulgent smile. “I’ll email it to you. Jake has your email, right?” 99
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Numbly, she nodded. Is he—? Like me? Yes, I told you it runs in families. Don’t ask what you don’t want to know. Aloud, he said, “You three go get in the car. We’ll come in a couple of minutes. I need to talk to Teri.” He glared at Chris. “Alone.” To her shock, Chris tilted her chin up and planted a hard kiss on her lips. “I’d like to bet this won’t be the last time I see you, Teri.” His eyes looked deeply into hers for a few seconds. “Hold tight.” He swung away and grabbed the girls, towing them out the room. “Don’t be long, Jake. I don’t want the press to get wind we’re here and make this street impassable.” “Like they would.” The door slammed and Jake gave her a wry smile. “Chris tends to overestimate our celebrity. If Britney breezed into town, they media would climb over us to get to her.” “I think you underestimate it.” She tried to remain calm, but her heart thumped double-time under her sensible blouse. “All I wanted to say is that I care about you, Teri.” The shock reverberated inside her. “You’re not telling me you love me.” She wouldn’t believe him if he did. They hardly knew each other. He seemed to understand, although she was getting better at hiding the thoughts from him that she didn’t want him to read. “I don’t discount it. But I know I care. I won’t abandon you.” “It wouldn’t be abandoning me. You have a life to live, and so do I.” He gazed down at her, unsmiling, the expression in his eyes so sincere it made her heart miss a beat. “We can work something out. I know we can.” With difficulty, she kept control of her good sense. “Of course we can.” Yeah, right. Enough for now. If he said any more, she might cry and that would ruin her carefully applied makeup. “When will you leave?” Best she knew now, before she got any hopeful thoughts going. “Soon.” Teri worked hard to keep her expression bland and her mind clear. But she couldn’t hold on to it much longer so she changed the subject. “You said you sensed another Talent in the town.” He said he wouldn’t leave her until he was sure she was safe and with a rogue Talent on the loose, that wasn’t likely. Was that regret she saw crossing his features? “I think we got the Talent now. I was going to stay until we caught him, but I’m sure it was Diller. I got a surge of the Talent I’ve been trying to trace when we got to him yesterday and when he was dead, it went away fast and hard. So you’re safe now. When the court lets you go, you should be okay.” She smiled up at him, heartsick for what she knew he was going to tell her. She wasn’t wrong.
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“I do have to get to London. Chris came to support us today but he also came to see if I was going back with him when this is over. We sped one track up a bit and fiddled with another and now they need some new stuff.” He frowned. “I told them they would. The original ones didn’t work. He’s booked tickets on a plane to Houston. It leaves tomorrow afternoon, but he didn’t know about yesterday when he booked them.” He paused until she lifted her gaze to his. They caught, as if they had all the time in the world. “I want you to come with me.” “No.” That was ridiculous. “Think about it. I don’t want to leave you alone here. I asked Chris to call the airline and get you a ticket too.” “Return?” “No. We can sort that out later. Come on. A vacation in London? Can’t you swing that? She thought hard. She didn’t want him close, wanted time to assimilate what he was, what kind of world Cheryl had inhabited, but she wasn’t stupid. She had no reason to doubt him and every reason to believe him. And she’d always wanted to go to London. Just as a tourist, to see the places she’d only ever seen in films and documentaries. A vacation sounded good. “Teri, I live in a house near Regent’s Park. It’s a big house, too big for me, with more than one guest room.” He grinned. “Six, actually. It’s nuts having a house that big, but I love it. Because my house is the biggest, I often put friends up. You’d be no different if you didn’t want to be with me. Your own room. And you could come to the studio, if I can swing it with the others. We don’t let just anyone into our sessions, you know.” She knew. Pure Wildfire was notorious for banning all staff from meetings and studio sessions, except the ones they actually needed. No groupies, no media were ever allowed into a working session. Temptation reared. God knew she’d need a break after this was over. Reality intruded. “I can’t, Jake. I have a function next week, a thirtieth wedding anniversary, and another big event next month.” “Can’t you cancel?” “No, of course not.” He bit his lip. “Fuck, I don’t want to leave you alone.” He lifted his hands to her shoulders. “This isn’t bullshit, baby, it’s possible Diller was PHR. At the moment, it’s looking as if he was a rogue Sorcerer, someone with Talent who didn’t want anything to do with the Talented community, but if he was PHR, there’ll be others. They organize themselves into small cells, with two ‘daisies’, the people who know about another cell. Linked like a daisy chain, you see. We took one cell out last year, but there was no way of knowing if we got them all. Which means someone out there knows about us and you could be a target.” 101
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He straightened up and let his hands fall to his side. She felt the loss keenly, yearning for his warmth again, but tucked her thought away as soon as she felt it rise. “I’ll be okay, Jake. You said you only sensed one and I think you were right. Diller has lived in Texas all his life. There’s no way he could be a member of a secret organization without some red flags going up.” Taking her by surprise for the second time in ten minutes, he swooped down, clamping her body to his and kissed her. He forced her mouth open with his tongue, dragged her against his erection, as hard as ever. Heat rose between them, as it always did. She still wanted him. The revelation of his true identity scared her, sure, but it was rapidly turning into a good scare, the kind that thrilled her rather than chilled her. Something that could turn her on instead of pushing her away. He was beautiful in both his forms, and like he said, it wasn’t something he could do anything about. What could she do but respond? His hands worked magic, caressing her back, holding her tightly as if he didn’t want to let her go. His tongue explored her, touching and coaxing her to respond. Jake drew away slowly, his mouth slightly open, his lips glistening from their kiss. “We have to go,” he said. “And I’ve made up my mind. I’m not leaving you until I know you’re safe. Either you go with me or I stay here. Which is it to be?” “I have to stay, Jake.” “Okay.” And just like that, the decision was made. Except she wouldn’t let him. “I can stay with Chauncey. You shouldn’t stay, Jake. Studio time’s expensive.” He smiled and touched her mouth, tracing her lower lip with his finger. “They can use it without me. Ryan will be royally pissed, but he’ll have to suck it up.” “Why will Ryan be pissed?” “He’s in New York with Gina, his wife, but he’s flying over to London for the sessions while she stays to work on an assignment. Fuck him. He and Gina won’t be apart for long. He’ll survive.” His expression turned solemn. “You might not. Don’t worry, he’ll understand when I explain.” She wondered if he would. Ryan Hawthorne’s astonishing about-face to marry the stepsister of the woman he’d once loved had knocked the entertainment press hard and, like it or not, was responsible for a lot of the publicity Pure Wildfire had received since the announcement. “No, Jake. You go. I’ll join you if you still want me, later.” In a month or so. Sometime, never. In her heart, Teri knew if she let Jake leave alone, they’d never meet again. Or if they did, she’d be another of Jake’s ex-lovers, all the heat gone from their relationship. If she wanted to take the risk of going to a strange country with a man she’d only just met, she had to do it now.
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She couldn’t quite do that. Couldn’t make herself break with everything she’d known to fly off on something that might or might not work. If she did that, she’d have to start again, in a new city, a new country, because she wasn’t living off anyone, however sexy, rich or successful he was. He saw her refusal in her face, but he said nothing. His mouth thinned, and he straightened and took her hand. “Come on. We can’t be late.” Two hours later, Teri was in dazed possession of her freedom. Something she’d thought so precious actually meant no more than a piece of paper. She had her passport back, with the caveat that she was to tell the court if she planned to leave the country. She didn’t plan it, for all Jake’s persuasive language. She had a life to live and a career to follow. This was Tuesday, which meant she’d lost two days this week already, with one event coming too close for comfort. The decision made, she tried to tell herself it was for the best, that she felt better now, but a bleak feeling gnawed away at her heart. Followed by a positive entourage, flanked by Jake and Chauncey, Teri faced the press, local and national. The national press she found easier. They wanted to know about her and Jake. All she had to do was deny everything. But the local press had known Cheryl and wanted to know more. So she made her first statement. “Cheryl Palmer was my best friend and a great business partner. I’ll miss her a lot. I’m glad the police found out who did this terrible thing to her so I can mourn her properly.” “How well did you know Lawrence Diller?” She wouldn’t give them anything to talk about. “Hardly at all.” She knew him, but that was all. “Did you know his wife was having an affair with your partner?” The questioner made the word “partner” sound far too intimate. Teri didn’t need Jake’s telepathic warning to beware of that question. “I believe the case is still ongoing, so I have no comment to make about that. Thank you.” Predictably, the press passed on her association with Jake Keys. Blinding lights flashed in her face, making it impossible to see who was shouting the questions in the scrum. But Jake and Chris were with her, veterans of this kind of treatment. It made her wonder how they stayed sane. “So how close are you to Jake Keys? He’s been at your house this week, hasn’t he?” She ignored the more suggestive questions and answered that one. “Jake was Cheryl’s husband and friend and he misses her as much as I do. He has been staying at my house, but only as a friend.” Which was true as far as it went. Friends fucked sometimes, after all. And Jake probably saw it like that anyway.
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She wasn’t fast enough putting that thought away. A spike of anger showed her what Jake thought of that. Not you, baby. You’re more than that to me. The rumors of her sexual orientation were coursing through the Texas media and fascinated them more than many of the readers wanted to admit, but nobody came right out and said, “Are you a lesbian? Did you fuck Cheryl Palmer? And are you fucking her husband now?” Oh no, that would be far too easy. Instead they asked her how long she’d known Cheryl, what her relationship with her was like, how they ran their business and why they ran it from a small town like Springwater instead of a city like Houston or Dallas. To all she replied with bland, noncommittal answers and was particularly careful to avoid references to future plans. After all, she didn’t know for sure, so why should they? Except she was careful to pimp her company. No publicity was the worst, at least this would get the name out there. Behind his dark wraparound sunglasses, nobody could read Jake’s face. He kept his statement brief. “Cheryl and I had a good relationship that worked for us. I had enormous respect for her as a friend and a businesswoman and I was very saddened to hear of her death. I think we should concentrate on wrapping the whole ugly business up, but since I know you want all the dirt you can rake, here’s the skinny.” He paused and looked around, letting the media get their pictures. He didn’t touch Teri, but she felt his warm, protective presence all around her. Jake said his final words to the media. “Teri Gilpatrick and I are good friends. I was grateful to have a place to stay after one night at the local motel, which really should get its air-conditioning unit seen to. There’s nothing more I can do to help here. I’m going to England soon to put the finishing touches to Pure Wildfire’s third studio album, which should be out later in the year. Thank you.” They left the stage for the others, and as Jake hustled Teri to the car, she heard Chauncey telling the press what had happened, the version for public consumption. “Elizabeth Diller’s husband was crazy jealous when he discovered the affair between his wife and Cheryl Palmer. We think he killed Cheryl Palmer, then confronted his wife yesterday. He killed her too, then headed for Teri Gilpatrick’s house, out of his mind by then. I apprehended him in the act of threatening Ms. Gilpatrick with a firearm. I had no choice but to take him down.” Ashley and Paige posed for pictures, but they also didn’t talk and Chris was positively taciturn, but since this was his public image, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. Once inside the Range Rover, Jake took Teri’s hand. “I really want to kiss you senseless, but with these vultures hanging around, this is all I can do without compromising you.” “Compromising—that’s an old-fashioned word,” she said, smiling. Although this business was far from being over, Teri felt lightheaded. Being suspected of her friend’s murder had hurt her more than she cared to admit aloud. Now Jake was leaving. “And you’ll be in London tomorrow.”
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“Probably.” He paused. “Look, Teri, I still want you to come with me. I just have a feeling about this whole nasty business. Maybe we’ve let the PHR get too close to us, but I can’t help thinking they may want to get to me through you. They’ve tried that before, getting to us through our vulnerabilities. Chicken-hearted bastards.” He spat the last words out, but Teri was more interested in the previous statement. “I’m a vulnerability for you?” “Oh yes. At the very least, you’re a friend.” She lifted her gaze to his face but didn’t dare ask the next question. He might give her the answer she wouldn’t know how to counter. Because she didn’t love him. She was almost sure of it. Almost. “Yes, we’re friends, aren’t we? Is that why you’ve been careful in public?” “Not touching you, not kissing you? Oh yes. I don’t want anyone to realize how much more we’ve been to each other. That might make you a target. Because I want to kiss you, in public and out of it. Never doubt that, Teri.” His burning gaze left her in no doubt of the sincerity of what he said. She wanted it too, at least a part of her did. “We have different lives, Jake, but I’ll always value your friendship.” He grimaced. “Thanks for that.” The door opened to admit a grinning Chris and a flushed and elated set of twins. Chris leaned over and gave Teri a bear hug, from which she emerged as flushed as the twins. “Way to go, Teri!” They took their places and Chris exited the car to walk around and take the driver’s seat. He took off with a jerk, then sped up quickly to get out of the immediate area. “I’ll take you back, Teri, but there’s a mob outside your house too. Are you sure you don’t want to come away? You could get lost in London until the fuss dies down.” “No thanks. I want to get back to work as soon as I can. I won’t let my customers down. And Jake is leaving with you tomorrow, so the media will probably follow you out of town.” The mental jolt she felt was Jake’s response. “Who says I’m leaving with Chris?” “I do.” Carefully, she removed her hand from his grasp. “We need to get back to normal as soon as we can. You’re due in the studio.” “And you have a ticket on the plane leaving George Bush at two-thirty,” Chris reminded him. Jake swallowed and his mouth took a downward tilt, but he didn’t remove his sunglasses. “I guess you’re right,” he said quietly. “Oh yeah,” Chris added. “And I’m not spending another night in that fucking motel, so if it’s okay with you, I’m heading out to Houston when I’ve dropped you off. Sure you won’t come, Teri?”
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“Sure.” Teri began the process of withdrawing her senses and her emotions. She’d have to work hard to be as buttoned up as she was when Jake arrived, but she’d manage it. She’d have to. Jake insisted on staying, but promised to see his brother the next day at the airport. But he didn’t like it. He knew Teri was determined to stay and knew she was right from a purely practical point of view. She had a business to run, a life to be getting on with. His instincts were probably that. He’d felt the Talent leave at the moment Chauncey Morris shot Diller, and he hadn’t felt the presence of anyone else in Springwater. Not this time. But he wanted Teri, ached for her. One more night. He’d have that, at least. Another night of holding her close, watching over her, knowing, deep down, that this woman was special. That kiss before they left for court let him back in to her mind and the tension that had racked him since the night she’d shut him out eased a little. They could get past this. He hadn’t put her off forever when he’d told her what he was and showed her his other form. Although he wanted to take her to bed as soon as they got back, he had the media to negotiate and that took far too long. Chris didn’t stay when he saw the mob in the street, but sped off after dropping Jake and Teri at the curb and wishing them well. “Because,” he added before Jake closed the car door, “you’re gonna need it.” More questions, more posing before they could get inside, and by then Chauncey Morris had arrived. Jake suppressed his groan of disappointment, especially when he saw how glad Teri was to see the sheriff and tried to still the bite of jealousy that attacked him when Teri embraced the man. Chauncey Morris would still be here when Jake had gone and Jake had no doubt the sheriff would make the most of his opportunity. The way Morris’ hand lingered on the small of her back when he guided her inside the house had Jake grinding his teeth. With the front door firmly closed and the window drapes pulled shut, Jake turned from flipping on the light and saw Chauncey kiss Teri on the lips, a gentle, friendly kiss, but he knew that game. Once he’d accustomed her to those, he’d be kissing her harder and deeper. It drove Jake wild to know he’d have to drive away tomorrow morning and leave her to her country sheriff, something he was sure would happen. He longed to take her away with him, to get to know her properly, to give them a chance, because deep inside, he knew this one was worth it. She touched something deep inside him he hadn’t even been aware of before—and he’d lived a bit longer than the average person. “Great result,” he said. He removed his sunglasses, blinking at the sudden increase in light. “So what happens now?” Chauncey reached into his pocket and took out Jake’s cell phone. “You can have this back now. We have a backup recorded and we had a call from your manager’s lawyer, asking if he could do anything to help. Did you know about that?”
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Jake shook his head but chuckled. “Randy’s on the ball. Chris probably told him. You’ve been requested to keep the phone records private and destroy them after the arraignment, right?” “Yeah.” Chauncey scratched his head. “What did he think we’d do with them?” “It has some numbers certain people would pay a good amount for.” Chauncey shrugged. “The records are locked away in my office safe. When the case is formally closed, we’ll seal the relevant part away with the case records and destroy the rest.” “Thanks. Who knew playing music could be such a security problem?” Chauncey grunted and Jake felt his derision. He shrugged and moved away, pocketing the phone. After he told the band he’d given his cell for police records, they’d probably change their numbers anyway. They had more to worry about than the police. The PHR had agents in high places, and after the band’s recent scares, they weren’t taking any more risks. That feeling still nagged at him. What had he missed, why wasn’t his mind at rest now they’d found Cheryl’s killer? “Coffee, Chauncey?” “No thanks. I’d better be going.” Jake gritted his teeth when Chauncey leaned forward and stole another kiss from Teri who stood, pale but still feisty, in the middle of her small living room. “And you can go to your office tomorrow. I’ve established no one used that entrance or went that way. It’s not as tidy as you left it. We searched it and fingerprinted key areas but you can have it back now.” Teri’s face lit up. “Oh thank you!” “There’ll be a cop on duty outside Cheryl’s house and probably a bit of activity through the day. Call us if you need anything.” Chauncey exchanged a look with Jake, and even across the room, he realized Chauncey was telling him as much as he was telling Teri. Maybe he was afraid Jake would hang around if he thought Teri wasn’t safe, but she would have what amounted to police protection until the case was wrapped up. There was no reason for him to stay. As clear as if he’d spoken, Chauncey Morris told Jake he had the one last night, then he wanted him out. Just like the new sheriff a hundred years ago, the one who took his job. “Jake Keys, I ‘preciate your help killin’ the Kid, but I don’t think Springwater is a healthy place for you anymore.” Even the Old West had its bigots and they’d found Jake and Chris out. Their names were expunged from the town records, everything they’d done to help make Springwater a community, not just another hick town that died from lack of attention. In return, Jake had to promise to leave, never to return. Chris had already left. That had hurt at the time, still hurt today when he thought about it. He’d helped to build this town and now nothing remained of his presence here.
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Now that sheriff’s successor was, in effect, giving him the same message. And he’d do exactly the same thing. He’d get out of town. Tomorrow.
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Chapter Fourteen When the door finally closed behind Chauncey Morris, Jake snatched Teri in his arms and sealed their mouths in a passionate kiss. She would miss his kisses. She’d miss his enthusiasm, his support, his wry sense of humor—but that was for her to know and nobody else. His tongue swept into her mouth in a way she welcomed and his mental presence warmed her, surrounded her with desire, heating her blood. He wanted her and he wasn’t afraid of telling her so. Jake was anything but an emotional coward. She’d had enough of those and now that she knew what being with a fully aware man was like, one who threw himself into every experience with the enthusiasm and commitment of a child, but with the experience and knowledge of a man, she never wanted to go back to half-measures again. He lifted his head. “Is it too early to go to bed? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat first?” The least she could do was to show him the same trust and enthusiasm in return, not hold back on her feelings. “No. No, I don’t. And it’s four p.m. Way past my bedtime.” He laughed and swept her off her feet, taking the stairs two at a time. She hadn’t drawn back the drapes that morning, knowing the media would camp outside for most of the day, whatever the result of the arraignment. At the reminder, her mood turned down and their celebration lost some of its luster. Jake, being Jake, noticed at once. He laid her gently down on the bed and sat up, leaning over her. “What is it, Teri? Is it me? Do you want me to go? I’m sorry, I never thought—” The image of the firebird flashed into her mind. As he moved to stand, she grabbed his shirt. “No, it’s not that. At least not entirely. I still have to come to terms with that but I don’t want you to go. No, it’s Cheryl, that’s all. I’m finding it hard to accept that I won’t see her anymore.” “Baby, she’s gone.” “Do you—being what you are—do you know if she’s happy?” He sighed. “You mean because I’m a shape-shifter I get to talk to ghosts and spirits? No. I have no more idea than you do. But I hope so and I pray for it. Cheryl was good people.” “She was, wasn’t she? A bit outrageous for a town like Springwater, but she wanted to stay here in the house where she was born. A sentimentalist at heart.”
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Jake smiled down at her. “Yes. She wanted to come back and show her home town that she’d made a success of her life. And she had. I don’t know if you realize, but she wasn’t planning to stay a whole lot longer.” Teri nodded, rubbing the silk of his wine-red shirt between her fingers. “I know. She was planning to go back to Houston soon. Small-town life wasn’t all she expected it to be, all she remembered from when she was a kid. Things change.” He nodded. “Always. It’s the one constant in life. I’m glad you knew.” As if casually, he asked, “Do you plan to stay here?” “For the time being. I have too much to arrange for the business. Now Cheryl’s gone, I’ll have to have help or look for a new partner. I can manage on my own for a while, but not for much longer.” She gave him a wry smile. “Cheryl left me her share of the business and we were doing very well. We haven’t got one month without one, maybe two, events and in busy months like December and March, we have even more.” “March?” “Easter weddings,” she explained. “June isn’t as popular here as it is farther north. Too hot to wear full wedding regalia.” He nodded. “I remember.” Her eyes narrowed. “What do you remember?” His accent increased to a broad Texan drawl. “Well, I kin remember fine, when I put my mind to it. We didn’t have many June weddin’s either, where I come from.” “You never said,” she said. “Whereabouts in Texas do you come from?” He smiled, but he didn’t answer her, his eyes fathomless. She couldn’t read him, at least that part, but when she ventured into his mind to try to find out what he was thinking, she met fire. Pure, blazing fire. His mouth descended on hers, but she felt desperation in his embrace and doubt. Would she push him away, would she ask him to leave? She pushed him away just far enough to give him a little shake of her head. “I don’t want you to go, Jake. Whatever else you are, you’re always Jake Keys and I want you. So much.” Lifting her hand, she slid it across the broad expanse of his chest until she met a button. She undid it and moved on to the next one. Suddenly, getting him naked was the most important thing she had to do and Jake seemed to have the same notion, because he undid the first of the six buttons holding her blouse together at the front. Together, they undid buttons, pausing to linger on bare skin, watching each other. “You have beautiful eyes.” “So do you. Eyes the color of a Texan sky. I’ll never see it again without thinking of you.”
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“Do you always get this poetic?” He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ve written my share of songs, though they don’t pour out of me like they do out of Ryan. He wrote a song for Gina within a month of meeting her. I think I’ll have to write another one.” “Don’t call it ‘Teri’.” “Hey, it’s my song. I’ll call it what I like.” But his roguish smile told her he was joking. He wouldn’t write a song that would remind people of his affair with a smallbusinesswoman from a small town. One that might embarrass her. If it could be called an affair. Three nights wasn’t that big a deal for someone like Jake Keys. “If it was anybody else, I’d say not, but it’s you. And it means a lot.” He lifted her up so he could pull the blouse off her unresisting body. “I’d stay if you let me. And when we’re done in the studio, I want to come back.” She caught her breath. She couldn’t believe it. She wanted to believe in it, that this fragile can’t-get-enough-of-you feeling could turn into a significant relationship, but the practical part of her looked on it with cynicism. This man was a rock star, had women surrounding him, wanting him to take them to bed. How could he possibly resist that? But he’d asked. It would help when the inevitable loneliness arrived and she missed him. “You shouldn’t let your colleagues down. You’re like me, Jake. Your word is your bond.” He cupped her shoulder in one big hand. “I wish you could drop everything and come with me, but I know you can’t. You’d be letting people down.” She smiled. “I’m glad you understand.” “As you said, we’re alike in that.” He looked down at her, taking in her feminine softness, and drew her against him, deliberately rubbing her skin against his. “I’m glad we’re not alike in every way.” Her laughter rang through the quiet room, startling her with its sound. She stilled and met his gaze. Jake didn’t try to enter her mind any deeper, although he was already there, lingering in what he called the outer layer, the place where she’d felt him all day, lending his strength and support. Only now she felt strength and desire. For her. This was where they could say it, the words that meant so much. But they wouldn’t, either of them. Too early and they were under too much stress. The words would be cheapened if they drifted apart and they were too precious for that. So they just gazed, until his hand resumed its stroking on her back and he eased her away. The feather stuck to his skin and he peeled it off, returning it to her. “Did you wear this in court?” “For luck,” she said, smiling. “Thank you for giving it to me, for trusting me with it.”
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“Teri—” He broke off and took a breath. “You’re welcome,” he said with his charming smile. But she knew he’d been about to say something else, though she hadn’t a clue what it would be. Instead, he kissed her again, holding her close while he found the back fastening to her bra and slipped one finger under it to undo it. His hands never stopped stroking and exploring, smoothing over her skin as if she were some kind of cat. She felt like purring. He laid her gently down on the bed and slid the bra down her arms and off. Then he looked at her. “You’re so beautiful. Don’t ever let yourself forget that. It’s not just your big blue eyes, that silky hair, these gorgeous breasts…” he cupped them and lifted them, bending to pay them tribute. “It’s in the way you move and your confidence. Now let me show you just how lovely you are. Bit,” he kissed one nipple, a light feather touch, “by bit.” His kisses drifted over her breasts, traversing from one to the other while his hands were busy unzipping her skirt at the side and pulling it off her. He drew it down and lifted his head, his hair drifting over her skin. “Teri,” he murmured, his breath shivering her into renewed sensitivity. “Teri.” “Jake!” She cried when he licked a sensuous path from one nipple to the other and then took one in his mouth for a long, luxurious suck. He sat up and quickly rid her of the rest of her clothes, then dealt with his in the same efficient manner, only pausing to grab a condom from his pocket. Her eyes widened in surprise. “You took protection to the court?” His grin was wholly mischievous this time, like a boy caught in wickedness. “There is no way I want to pass up the chance to have you. If you’d wanted to celebrate in the middle of that courtroom in front of the judge and the lawyers, I would have been ready for you.” “And willing?” “Oh yes, baby. More than willing.” He paused, just before he ripped the packet open. “There is something else I want to tell you.” “Yes?” She lifted her hand to his chest, enjoying the feel of strong, hard muscle. “I’m a firebird. Our kind is only fertile for the three days every month when the moon is at its fullest and that time passed yesterday. Even then we find having children difficult. We’re not a prolific species. And I don’t get mortal diseases. Because I have two forms, I can shake off the illnesses specific to one form when I shift into the other.” He waited, but he didn’t have to wait long. “You mean we can have sex without protection?” “If you want.” He could have added the words in his mind, If you trust me, but that would have put her into a position where she’d be forced to make that decision. Because if he was lying, she could end up pregnant or diseased. “Teri, I want to feel you inside with nothing between us. I want, just this night, to love you without a barrier.
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But if you say no, don’t imagine that will spoil anything for me. I’ll take you however you want me and never complain.” She smiled up at him. “Thank you.” How could she deny him this? Why she should trust someone she hardly knew, someone who had a reputation for wild living like Jake Keys did, passed her understanding. But instinctively she knew that if she didn’t trust Jake, she didn’t trust herself. “Yes, Jake. Throw the condom away. I believe you.” “Oh baby!” He threw the packet aside, not looking for where it landed, and kissed her before drawing back to press small kisses to her throat and the hollow at the base that drove her crazy. “I won’t let you regret it. I want you so bad, I can taste it.” His mouth slid down to her navel. “Which is what I intend to do,” he added in a voice roughened by passion. She felt his anticipation before he shoved her legs apart and licked his way down her stomach to the curls at the top of her mound. He paused to look at her. “You smell like summer,” he murmured before he took her in a ravishing lick. “You taste like it too.” He dove to take her clit into his mouth and sucked hard, bringing her to a swift, screaming orgasm, faster than she ever would have imagined before she met him. His “Mmm” told her how delectable he found her. He continued to feast until she’d gotten over the shock of coming so fast and so powerfully and began to rise again. She tugged at his hair until he lifted his head. “Here,” she said, resorting to monosyllables. “Fuck me, Jake. Now.” “What my lady wants, she must have.” He sat up and crossed his legs. His cock jutted into the air, stiffly at attention. “Come and get me, baby.” She growled as she sat up and came up on to her knees to straddle him. Her legs were pressed open so wide she felt the strain at the top, but she ignored it and climbed onto him, eager for his touch deep inside her body. When she knelt above him, she could have sworn the heat in his eyes mutated, just for a moment, into something infinitely more tender, but then it was gone and raw, aching desire was all she saw. It echoed the feelings coursing through her body as she straddled him and slid her pussy down onto his cock. Teri slid down slowly, savoring every inch, feeling the hard, unresisting length breach her body. She impaled herself fully before she stopped. She felt so full, so wonderfully complete. Jake put his hands on her waist, lightly steadying her but not holding her down or up. “Your play. Your game. Whatever you want.” “What if I want to climb off you and go away?” “Anything except that.” This time his hands firmed around her waist and he lifted her and pushed her back down.
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She didn’t need his help but in the next few minutes she nearly lost control until she felt another orgasm quiver through her body. Jake lifted her off him and away, guiding her back down to the bed, but when she would have sat, he turned her. “Hands and knees,” he growled and she felt him behind her, prodding at her entrance. “Oh yes.” She moaned her approval as he pushed inside, making her feel every inch of his hard flesh, wet with her juices, coming back for more. This time it took her longer to come. She savored every moment as his thrusts claimed her, plunging deeper with every stroke, until at the peak of sensation, he dragged her back onto him, opening her up completely for his possession. She peaked with him, long waves of pure sensation taking them both into another place where nothing existed except their bodies, lost in passion. This moment would last forever. Wherever they went in the future, whatever they did, they would always have this moment of complete joining to remind them of what they once shared.
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Chapter Fifteen “Let me convert you.” She smiled at him. He lay next to her, one lock of her hair twined between his fingers, propped up on one elbow looking down at her face. For a moment she didn’t get his meaning. She wanted to concentrate on memorizing his face, the way he was looking at her right now. It would keep her company in the lonely months ahead. “What do you mean, convert?” “I can make you like I am, Teri.” For a few seconds, she stared at him, stunned. His meaning was all too clear—he wanted to make her a firebird. “You can do that?” “Sure.” He touched the feather still suspended from its chain around her neck. “We use this.” She grabbed the feather and enclosed it in her hand. “Can it do it when I’m not suspecting it?” No wonder he asked her to keep it safe if it held that kind of power. “No, baby, it can’t. It takes both of us to do it. We put the feather next to your skin and put our hands over the top. It burns and you’ll be a little weak for a few days, but in the end it’ll make you stronger.” He gave her a wry grin. “It’ll stop me worrying so much about you.” “You worry about me?” “Of course.” He leant down to steal a kiss. His lips lingered on hers “Say yes.” He pushed back to his original position and watched her. She swallowed. “That’s a huge decision to take.” “It is. But you need the extra strength.” “What about the days when I’m weak?” He released her hair and touched her face, stroking his finger down her cheek. She leant into his touch, unable to keep away. “I won’t go tomorrow. If you decide to convert, I’ll stay with you until you’re strong enough to take care of yourself.” “You shouldn’t do that. You’ll be letting people down.” He nodded. “But I wouldn’t be letting you down. I’m worried about you, Teri. I just think—I don’t know, maybe I’m paranoid or something, but I keep thinking something’s not right, that you’re in danger.” “You’re paranoid. Diller murdered Cheryl and his wife and then came for me. He’s out of the picture now, dead. That’s it.”
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“I wish I could believe that.” He continued to stroke her, moving down to her neck, tracing the lines of her tendons. “I’d feel better leaving you if you let me do this.” He stilled his stroking. “Or you could come with me.” “No, Jake, I can’t.” She thought of the magnificent bird and wondered how anyone managed to maintain two forms. It was unthinkable. “And thanks for the offer, but I’ll manage. When you go, the media will follow. Without you, this is just a small-town murder with a bit of scandal. The local press will have a ball, but the national media will move on. I’ll be okay.” He closed his eyes for a second, his mouth tightening. “Just keep in touch.” He opened his eyes again and she caught a flash of anger—or was it frustration—in his mind. “I’ll get a new cell and send you the number. You keep it to yourself, but if you need to, use it. And I’m not giving up, baby. When the studio sessions are done, I’m coming back. You hear me?” Drawing her hand to his mouth, he kissed the palm, then every finger, one by one. She could almost swear he loved her. Teri was getting better at concealing her feelings from him. After a night’s loving, which she felt would probably sate his desire for her, they dressed and went their separate ways, Jake to the airport and Teri to work. She kept his departure low-key, let him say he’d come back, smiled and kissed him, wished him a good journey. Even then he lingered, and left it until the last minute before he got in his car and drove away. But he didn’t ask her to go with him again. Teri went inside and got ready for work, methodically checking that she had everything she needed packed in her briefcase. She’d use the PC at work until her new laptop arrived. If she took everything minute by minute, she could hold on, get on with her day. Not looking at the future or the past until she could cope with it. It was the only way she could manage this. If she let herself think too much, she’d die of misery. Already she missed him. Driving out of her street and toward Cheryl’s house could almost be normal, except for one thing. Cheryl wasn’t there. When she parked her car and headed for the office at the side of the house, Teri almost expected her friend to open the door for her. But instead of Cheryl, a uniformed officer sat in his car. He touched his forehead in salute to her as she glanced in his direction and she nodded back. Today, Chauncey would begin the procedure to close the case. A small-town scandal, complicated by the fact that one of the lovers was married to a celebrity. That was all. Teri’s relationship with the celebrity would be something to keep her warm at night for a while, then relegated to the status of happy memories. Chauncey would want her to think that way. If she saw Jake again, it would probably be from the audience when he performed. Maybe she’d take up his offer of a pass backstage, but she wouldn’t
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embarrass him. An old friend. Jake probably slept with a lot of his friends. She wouldn’t be alone. Meanwhile, she had a life to restart. The office steamed in the heat, and grimacing, Teri found the air-conditioning unit and switched it on. She stood over the old-fashioned grille as cool air blew out at her, opening her blouse at the top to let the gusts sweep over her body, giving her welcome chills. She didn’t move until the office was at least bearable. Why hadn’t anyone at least drawn down the blinds to stop the worst of the sun? Now that she could breathe again, she headed for her desk and switched on the computer. The office of Palmer and Gilpatrick had once upon a time been the second garage attached to Cheryl’s spacious property, which she’d inherited from her grandparents. That had given Cheryl and Teri the impetus to strike out on their own, and in the last five years, they’d slowly built the company up to be the premier events company in this part of Texas. While her computer booted up, Teri opened the diary and checked the appointments. She’d have to contact the Evanses soon about their function next week. All the supplies were safely delivered to the Evans house, and the day before the event, she’d go to the venue and make sure it was all properly installed and arranged. She’d have to find someone to help her, so one of her first jobs was to advertise for help. A clerk for the office, someone who’d come with her and help set up the venue. For the larger events, she had a company she could call on who provided the extra help and a list of catering companies, set up for several events. One of their skills was to source and employ the best available, providing the whole event, from décor to food to wine in one package. Glad she had a busy day ahead of her, she switched on the answering machine to play back her messages. A stunned half-hour later, she was faced with the ruins of Palmer and Gilpatrick. Everyone had cancelled. Even the Evanses had sent an apologetic phone call to say they wouldn’t require her presence, they’d take it from here and pay whatever she thought they owed them. Whatever they said, whatever excuse they gave, she knew why. Nobody wanted their happy event associated with a double murder. The media had killed her business, spreading the word about the murders, sensationalizing them even further. She’d checked the reports online, and from wild rumors to a bare description of fact, for a few days Springwater had made international headlines. Much worse than she’d thought. She’d imagined the whole affair to be a nine days’ wonder, a source of gossip for a month or two, but she’d reckoned without the rumor machine. Now she knew why bands like Pure Wildfire surrounded themselves with expensive PR companies and muscle. To keep the worst of it away. 117
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Teri couldn’t afford any of those things, and the media must have realized that. Most of the gossip concentrated on her and Cheryl, made them some kind of siren act or sex fiends, even suggested a cult on a couple of sites. She closed the browser and rested her elbows on the desk. Maybe she could get things going again. Go into another arena, fewer weddings and more parties. Maybe more conference work. She could change the name of the company too. She ought to, although her first instinct was to leave Cheryl’s name in. She would not give up. And she would not cry, although tears pricked the backs of her eyes. She had cash reserves; she could manage for a couple of months without events while she got the business back on its feet. And she would have to do it alone. Never had she missed Cheryl so much as she did now. Nobody to laugh and joke with, nobody to plan with, to discuss future events. She would not let this get her down. Whatever happened, she would go on and progress. She owed it to Cheryl. She owed it to herself. Another email popped up on her screen. She didn’t recognize the sender, but her antivirus would have warned her if it was infected, so she opened it. Numbly, she read the message. “I sent this from your laptop while you were asleep and I timed it to arrive today in your mailbox. Hope I got it right. Teri, the house is yours. If you try to give it back, I’ll refuse it. No strings, no conditions. It’s no good to me, it’s better with you. Love, Jake.” That was when she cried. A knock on the office door made Teri hastily mop up her tears and scrub the remaining makeup off her face before the door opened to admit Chauncey. Immediately, he crossed the room and came behind the desk to pull her into his arms. “You’re crying! What did that bastard do to you, Teri?” For a moment, she didn’t understand what he meant, and then her bemused mind realized he meant Jake. “Nothing. Except—he left me the house, Chauncey!” “Payment for services received?” Shocked, she looked up to see an expression of total disdain on his face. She tried to pull herself out of his arms, but he held her fast. “No! You bastard, Chauncey!” “I’m only saying what other people will say. Darlin’, you know me better than that. If it was anybody but a—depraved, bastard deviant, I wouldn’t even think it.” “He’s a musician.” “He’s a lot more than that and we both know it.” His grip on her released slightly, but she knew he’d bruised her upper arms by now. She’d forgive him. The last days must have been more than rough on him. She stared up into his hard, gray eyes. “What are you talking about?”
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He searched her face and she fought to keep it bland and guileless. “Never mind,” he said eventually. “So, have you closed the case?” “I’ve made a start.” His expression softened, the hard lines bracketing his mouth smoothing a little. “I’m sorry about all this, sweetheart. You should never have been arrested.” She shrugged. “That’s okay.” “The CSI folks have put together a scenario.” Shock stiffened her body. She would have to hear this before she put the murder away for good. “What do they say happened?” “Diller was a sexist. Hated gays. We found some pretty nasty stuff on his computer when we looked at it. He killed Cheryl when he had an argument with her about her lesbian affairs. You know Cheryl, she didn’t go out of her way to announce her sexual affinities, but she wouldn’t deny it if anyone accused her outright.” “Why should she?” Chauncey watched her, his gaze unreadable. “Yeah. So Diller killed her. He was the family lawyer, knew her grandmother and respected her. I guess when he found out Cheryl was gay, he took offense for her as well as for himself. Then, a couple of days ago, Diller found out who Cheryl had been fucking. We don’t know how yet. Perhaps his wife told him herself.” Teri thought that likely, if Liz had loved Cheryl with the same passion as Cheryl loved her. But she said nothing, just listened to Chauncey. “Diller went nuts, killed his wife, then headed for your house. He might have thought you were part of a love triangle or he might just have been completely off his head by then. You knew Cheryl was a lesbian, so maybe you were just involved that way. There’s no way of knowing now, but the psychs say when he murdered Cheryl, that was the trigger that pushed him into more murders.” “Oh my God!” She no longer tried to pull away. His grip was automatic now; she didn’t think he was aware of it. Chauncey was going through hell here and she couldn’t get through to him. She could supplement his story, but she wouldn’t. How Diller had joined the PHR and their bigots had got to him and told him that Cheryl was a Talent. That would be a better trigger, something that might have sent him off. Then his murder of his wife and Teri was more understandable, because in PHR terms they’d be “tainted” by association with Cheryl. Thank God they didn’t know about Jake. “Yeah. So he questioned his wife and she confessed to it. Maybe she yelled back, because he saw red and killed her. Stabbed her first, then went and got his Glock and shot her. Just like Cheryl. Then he set out for your house. No wonder we didn’t sort it out earlier, but the media circus your boyfriend brought with him kept us busy enough. Halved my manpower.”
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She ignored his last comment. Jake couldn’t help that. Chauncey would see that when he was less stressed. “This is awful. So Diller killed them both.” “Looks like it. When Keys arrived he bailed you out, insisted on staying with you so you weren’t alone until today.” He gazed down at her, his expression unreadable, his gray eyes cold. “I was planning to take you back to my house. I wouldn’t have let you go home alone. Diller knew the game was up. He probably wanted to kill you and then kill himself. We found a suicide note in the bedroom, just a short one saying he did Cheryl, then found out his wife was involved and did her too. And an attempt to write one for Elizabeth, as if he’d planned to make it look like Elizabeth killed Cheryl and then herself, but he must have realized that wouldn’t work. Elizabeth couldn’t have inflicted her injuries on herself. That stab wound came from high up to the left, not one she would have inflicted herself.” He drew her back to grip her tight and she was no longer sure who was offering comfort to whom. She let herself relax against his broad chest. Chauncey had been through hell the past few days. “What a terrible thing. I wonder who told Diller about the affair?” “I have no idea. I’m guessing he got into an argument with his wife and she let it slip.” He loosened his hold on her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hold you so tight.” She tried to pull away the rest of the way, but his hold hadn’t loosened that much. She wanted to be alone, to think about all this. Her world was in complete turmoil—she wasn’t sure of anything anymore. One weekend and everything she’d known tore apart. “It doesn’t much matter to me. I’ve lost a good friend. And I have to start all over again. I was thinking of moving back to Houston. Maybe Dallas.” “No!” Now his hold tightened again. “Teri, you’re under a death sentence in some quarters.” “What are you talking about?” She’d have two complete sets of fingerprinted bruises on her upper arms when he finally let her go. “I’ve done nothing wrong.” “Except sleep with that deviant.” The word jarred badly with Teri. “Jake’s anything but a deviant.” “Did you sleep with him, Teri?” Chauncey stared at her, concerned, but with something else in his expression. She couldn’t define the look on Chauncey’s face right now. It was one she hadn’t seen before, a mixture of despair and fury, or maybe she wasn’t interpreting it right because that didn’t seem to make sense. “What business is that of yours?” “Oh Teri! You did, didn’t you? I was sure you’d resist. He’s bad, sweetheart, through and through to his black heart.” He released her then and she sagged back against her desk chair with relief, trying not to rub her upper arms to restore some circulation there.
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He walked around the office, coming to rest between her and the outer door. The inner door, the one that led to the house, was locked and probably bolted on the other side. Teri felt uneasy. She’d never seen Chauncey like this before. This was a man she didn’t know, had never met before. She wanted him out. Of her office and her life. Now what was she supposed to say? Acknowledge that she slept with Jake and he showed none of the traits of the deviant, whatever that was? Or maybe agree with Chauncey, just to get rid of him? It stuck in her craw, but that was probably the best answer. Once she was rid of him, she’d decide what to do next. Or maybe she’d just go. Now, today. Lose herself until she could contact Jake and ask his advice. But for now she had to placate Chauncey who seemed far too agitated for her liking. “Jake hated the motel, you can’t blame him for that, and he couldn’t stay at Cheryl’s house, so he had nowhere else to go. Unless he went back to Houston and commuted.” He fixed her with a hard stare, but she didn’t give any ground. “So he just slept in your spare room?” He had. But it wasn’t “just”, and she didn’t have to mention the times he’d joined her in her bed. “Yes.” “You’re lying.” Without warning, he lifted his hand and struck her, backhanded her across her face. Without the support of her chair, Teri would have gone flying across the room. As it was, he dazed her, spun her around so her chair struck the desk, jarring her even more. “I saw you, Teri. You leaned toward him, you held his hand, you fucked him! You know what they call people who do that? Whores! I prayed you wouldn’t fall under Cheryl’s spell, but you did. I waited for you, waited for you to see sense and come back to me. Shit, I even followed you here from Houston!” She lifted her hand to her cheek and wiped away the smear of blood from the corner of her mouth, thinking rapidly. Her cell phone was in her purse on the other side of the desk and although her computer was up and on the Internet, she hadn’t put her messenger program up, or she could have tried that. Cheryl’s house was set back from the street in a quiet area and most of the residents would be at work at this time of day. If she screamed, the chances were that no one would hear her. Maybe the cop outside, but even he might have wandered around the property, or Chauncey might have sent him away. She only had one chance. She had to make the most of it. Teri could take care of herself, but Chauncey was six inches taller than she was, he had much more weight and he was a professional cop, probably knew more ways to hurt someone than she’d ever heard of. Now his eyes, previously wary and suspicious, sparked with unreasoning rage. “What’s wrong, Chauncey? What do you want?” What could she say to get rid of him? Her heart balked at the thought of having to fuck him, but it was better than dying. Although she didn’t know how she would ever live with herself. She’d say that 121
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sex was the last thing on his mind, but the bulge tenting the front of his pants told her otherwise. “You’re mine, Teri. When Cheryl said she wanted to take you back to Houston with her, I couldn’t allow that, could I? She told me the day before she died.” “What?” He was mad. Completely insane. But it might give her a chance to get away. “Listen, Teri. When I was in Houston, I joined an organization. There are some weird-ass things around in this world, things that don’t have any right to be here, and we do secret work concerning some of them. You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.” “Try me.” It would give her time to work something out. There had to be something, a way to get away from Chauncey! She’d never seen him like this, that mad look in his eye was completely new to her. “It’s an organization called the Perfect Human Race. PHR for short. They’re dedicated to rooting out and discovering these abominations.” The mad look faded a little and his eyes softened. “You couldn’t have known what kind of creature Cheryl Palmer was.” She swallowed. If she said she did, he would probably kill her. This was a Chauncey she didn’t know. “What did you do, Chauncey?” “I told her you were mine, but she wouldn’t listen. Teri, I knew about Elizabeth Diller and Cheryl. I saw them once and it was obvious what they were up to. So I used that as an excuse. For you, Teri. I did it for you.” “You killed Cheryl and Elizabeth?” She knew he’d killed Diller, she’d seen him do that. A sly smile crept over his face. “I didn’t have to kill Elizabeth. All I had to do was tell that prick of a husband what I knew.” He shrugged. “He would have found out sooner or later. But I didn’t think he’d come for you. Stupid fuck. I could have worked it for him. I told him to keep his cool and keep quiet.” “You said you’d deal with it?” “Yeah. I could have fixed it. But Diller thought you should die too, so I knew I had to get rid of him. I have to look after you now, sweetheart.” “No, no, Chauncey, I’ll be fine.” She tried to back off, sliding along the desk to the far end. Maybe she could get around it, lure him into following her and then get to the front door. Once out in the street, there’d be somebody about. There had to be. But Chauncey backed off to block her exit instead of following her. Still, the more space she put between them, the happier she felt. “You’re tainted by sleeping with Jake Keys. I have to fix that now. If they think you were forced, I can work it out.” Tears stood in his eyes, eyes she didn’t know anymore. “I’ve dealt with Keys. You don’t have to worry about him anymore, so whatever we say is our word. Now it’s just you and me.”
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“What have you done?” “It don’t matter. Just that he won’t get to Houston in one piece.” “Oh God!” Now she had two reasons for getting away. To save her own skin and to save Jake’s. She made a show of checking her watch. “I have to go soon, Chauncey. I have an appointment.” Chauncey tilted his head to one side and gave her a slow smile. “I don’t reckon you’ll make that appointment. Come here, Teri.”
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Chapter Sixteen Jake drove the XLR as if the devil himself were after him. He had the perverse feeling that if he could get to England faster, he could get the sessions done and get back to her before that bastard sheriff made his move. He knew driving faster wouldn’t help, but he needed it, that hit of the only kind of speed he allowed himself these days. Chauncey Morris would be inside Teri’s bed before Jake hit English shores. Morris was an old flame and he was on comfortable terms with her. What did Jake have to offer her? A complete change in her life, maybe dependency on him until she found her feet. Giving up a good business. She wouldn’t accept that. In Springwater she had a life, with him, all she had was his life. There had to be a way. He couldn’t think about giving her up. He’d fallen head over heels for Teri Gilpatrick and he wanted the chance to find out if they had more. If they could go all the way into love and commitment. On a long, straight stretch of road, he allowed himself to think about her hot, sweet body wrapped around his, his cock in the only place it wanted to call home, sunk deep inside her. She brought him excitement hotter than a third encore when the band was on song, a peace calmer than the exhaustion that always followed two hours after a gig. He would give everything up for her in a heartbeat and never look back. The notion shocked him. Music had always meant everything to Jake, nothing else came close. Until now. Had he moved too fast for her? Telling her about the feather was a risk, but he’d hoped she’d accept, although he wasn’t surprised when she turned him down. He should really have given her time to accept what he was before he told her any more or asked her to take anything else. She couldn’t use the feather without him, not until after he was dead. He hadn’t told her he could only do a conversion once in his life. When she’d removed it, the one that had the power to convert a mortal to one of his kind, he’d frozen in shock. It had to be given up with full knowledge and willingness on his part or it wouldn’t work. But when he’d felt the sting after she’d dragged it out and seen the drop of blood before his system had healed the scar, he knew this was right and Teri was the woman he’d choose. He could have asked her for the feather and kept it safe until she was ready, but he wanted to leave it with her. At least she had something of him. As well as the house. He’d decided to give her the house a couple of days ago. Cheryl left it to him in the will, but what good was it to him? He’d never set foot in that godforsaken town again, except to collect Teri. He should have learned the first time, but oh no, not good ol’ Jake Keys. He had to go back, just to see what the residents had made of the two-horse, onestreet town he used to know.
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Made it into a two-bit backwater town, that was what. A place teenagers couldn’t wait to get away from, where everybody knew everybody else’s business. Not a good place for a Talent, but that town had fooled him twice now. At least he’d got away clear, both times. Something still bothered him. On the surface, the murders made sense, especially when one knew the hidden agenda, the PHR involvement. Although Teri didn’t know it, he’d alerted the authorities, the ones Talents could contact when they met the organization that had sworn to kill all Talents. Anyone who was different wasn’t generally welcome in these kinds of places, a breeding ground for small-mindedness and bigotry. Jake knew that better than anybody. Jake was used to being thought of as different. He told himself it didn’t bother him and that was why he’d chosen to go into the band, coming out of the shadows to live his life to the full. The chances of discovery increased the more high profile he was, but he didn’t care anymore. He wouldn’t spend his whole life hiding away just because his way of life didn’t suit the notions of a small-minded group of individuals. He’d tried that and it made him feel like a fugitive when he’d done nothing wrong. The good citizens of Springwater had welcomed him once, more than a century ago when he and Chris breezed into town looking for a place to set up a General Store. Two big, strong men who managed to repel a few of the bastards trying to get them to move or use them for profit. Jake became sheriff and managed to instill some sense of good and bad, right and wrong into the populace and the town started to thrive. He’d even taken a wife. He hadn’t loved her, but he liked her well enough and she liked him. A widow who’d lost her husband on the way west and was trying to earn enough money for her trip back to Boston. Jake had found her in the saloon, being beaten around by a no-good cattle baron. In those days, the cattlemen had considered themselves gods. That was before the oil boom changed the way Texas looked and thought, when the real wealth was on the land and not in it. And his wife had betrayed him. The month after Main Street had been renamed Keys Street in his honor, he’d told her what he was and showed her his other form. Luanne was a sensible woman, but she’d gone apeshit when he showed her, ran out into the night and asked for shelter from Corey Meredith. Bitch. She told the whole town, and as a result, Meredith gave him the choice—leave or die. He had a gathering of townspeople behind him, the ones who had thanked him such a short time before, now gathered to eject him. The beginning of the terrorist group that became the PHR, in effect. What made it worse was that he knew Corey Meredith was a Talent—a Sorcerer, like Cheryl was, although there was no genetic link. And Jake had left Springwater for good. Or until he returned for that brief wedding to Cheryl. And then there was last week, of course. Just as he was maneuvering his way around a gas tanker, Jake knew what was bothering him. He only just missed the tanker, but dropped back when the driver leaned on his horn. Jake pulled up by the side of the road, his hand shaking with the realization and all that it meant. Fuck, shit and fuck again. 125
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After they’d found out, the good citizenry of Springwater made Jake leave. In return, they promised to tell nobody, but they expunged his name, struck it off the records, made it look as if Sheriff Meredith had been there all that time. And Keys Street was Main Street again, no record of the change, except maybe in some obscure archive somewhere. So how the fuck did Chauncey Morris know about Keys Street? He’d mentioned it in passing but Jake remembered now, as clearly as if the bastard was sitting next to him telling him. Jake leaned over the wheel, heedless of the relentless heat of the summer day, which beat down on him once he switched off his engine. He needed the quiet more than he needed the air conditioning. He needed to think. If Morris knew that Main Street was once Keys Street, he had to have done some serious digging. And why would he do that? Only if he wanted to find something on Jake, something he could use to get him out of town—again. He wanted him out of town because— That meant he knew. Either he was researching Jake because of his relationship to Cheryl, or—no, that wouldn’t do. Cheryl was only murdered last Thursday. Chauncey had been rushed off his feet since then, busy with arraignments and evidence and making sure the media didn’t create a disturbance. No time to visit the city archives and discover that Keys wasn’t a name unknown to Springwater. Besides, he wasn’t the type to spend hours in dusty archive departments or in surfing the web until he found what he needed. Someone else had told him. Someone who had the time to research and do the requisite digging. Someone who had reason to dig. The PHR. Shit, they were on to Pure Wildfire again. Last year, with the help of a specialist government department, they’d taken out a cell of the PHR who’d targeted the members of the band. That meant the “daisy”, the link to another cell, got away. And another unit wanted them dead. And Chauncey Morris was the Talent or he was a member of the PHR sent to take out the Talents in Springwater. Oh fuck. Teri! Jake reached for the ignition and gunned the engine, swinging the car into traffic and doing a U-turn before stopping on the other side of the road when another realization occurred to him. Why had Morris let him get away? Sure as shit he was the one they’d targeted, found Cheryl through him most likely. No way would Morris let him drive out of town with no comeback. This car or something else had to be bugged—or worse. He’d given Chauncey Morris his cell phone, which gave the sheriff plenty of time to plant a bug or anything else he wanted. Jake reached into his pocket and dragged out the cell. It heated in his hand as if the sun had got to its innards. He’d call Teri, warn her and then ditch the thing. If Morris realized Jake was on his way back to town, he’d head straight for Teri. If she locked herself in the office and stayed there, Jake could pick her 126
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up. Because now, for sure, she had to go with him. At least until he’d contacted the government agency and got help to flush out Morris and the rest of the cell. He flicked on the on switch and the phone went into overdrive, heating fast. If Jake had reacted a fraction slower, or been a mortal instead of a firebird, he would have been a goner. But as it was, he shape-shifted almost instinctively, changing to a pissed-off firebird, and hurled the phone as far as he could at the same time. His clothes tore off his body as he shifted and he managed to get the car door open and fall onto the road as he changed. And the explosion rocketed around him. He burst into his full size and fuzzed at the same time, to prevent anyone on the road seeing the giant bird flying up from the metallic blue Cadillac. The shock waves from the explosion fractured the air, tossing him beak over claws, but he went with it, knowing that fighting the turbulence could hurt him more. Eventually he found himself high in the sky, looking down on the ball of fire below him. Already vehicles were gathering at the scene. He hadn’t the faintest idea how he’d explain that away to anyone, but he knew now he needed help. The car stood by the side of the road, covered with debris, and he pondered for a bare instant before he soared back down to the vehicle. Back in his human form behind the wheel, Jake gunned the engine and sped away toward the town he’d sworn never to revisit. He followed the road back the way he’d come, squeezing every single ounce of speed out of the engine. Every second, every minute counted. When he judged he was within ten miles of Springwater, he tried his telepathy. Nothing. He kept the channel open and drove toward her home. When the first houses straggled into view, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not long now. But he still couldn’t contact her and that drove him crazy. He parked the car on the edge of town. Her house might be carefully watched. He’d go in as a firebird. Cracking the window down a bare half inch, Jake didn’t waste any more time. He shape-shifted, shrinking down to the size of a small bird. Hoping the residents of this neighborhood were honest and wouldn’t steal his car, he flew out through the top of the window and headed for Teri’s house. He headed for her house before he remembered she’d planned to go into the office. That had to be the first place to try. If he still had teeth, he would have gritted them, because Cheryl’s house was across town. Just that bit farther. He shifted to full size and wheeled around. At last he saw the roof of Cheryl’s spacious two-story house below him and he began his descent, shrinking his size as he fell from the sky. He folded his wings to his side and plummeted. The wind screamed past him, but he spread his wings at the last minute and landed on the roof relatively smoothly.
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The office was in a converted garage, in a separate wing from the rest of the house. He flew around the area and soon located it. With a sinking heart, he saw the security system and the locks were fastened down. He’d have to do the mortise lock trick or find an air brick. Something that would let him in. Thank goodness, a mortise lock, a similar model to the one that secured the back door of the main house. And the key wasn’t in it, so he could shrink even more and float through. He smelled the blood through the small aperture, and when he’d flown through, the scent overwhelmed him. He shifted back. At first he didn’t see her, but then he spotted her feet. She wore smart business shoes, courts with a kitten heel, but one was off her foot, lying on the floor a few feet away, and she wasn’t moving. He raced around the heavy piece of furniture and stood over her, taking in the sight. Her white blouse was bloodied and torn and one leg lay at an odd angle. Broken. She was unconscious, her head flopping to one side of her body. He knelt down by her side, grabbing her wrist to feel her pulse. It was there, thready and uncertain, but there. When he looked back at her face, her eyes were open. “Baby, what happened to you?” Relief flooded her eyes. “He said he’d killed you—bomb in car—how did you…?” She gasped for breath and he realized she must have broken. Jake gritted his teeth against the fury that surged through him at the thought that someone had hurt her. And he knew who it must be. “Let me get you out of here. This was Morris, wasn’t it?” “He—said the PHR had a contract out on me because I was your—” She gasped again and he linked with her. “Don’t talk anymore, Teri. You’re telepathic. Show me what happened.” Images poured into his head. Images of Chauncey Morris holding Teri to him with punishing force, telling her he, Jake, was an abomination, a “deviant”. Sure he was. Then he told her she was tainted too and had to be punished, so if he beat her and told his colleagues Jake had forced her, then they’d forgive him and he and Teri would be free to continue their lives. He saw the tears running down Chauncey’s face while he broke her ribs and her leg. The bastard would pay for that. For now it was more important to get her out of here. Chauncey was coming back. With medics and deputies and no doubt some PHR colleagues to witness what he’d done. If they found him with Teri, Jake had no doubt he’d get the blame for the damage, giving Morris a chance to kill him like he’d killed Diller. Quickly, before he had time to say anything incriminating. Jake didn’t underestimate dealing with somebody as mad as a stampeding bull, someone with reinforcements, who knew what he was and how
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to hurt his kind. He had to shape-shift again. In that form, they couldn’t hurt him. But they could hurt Teri. “Teri, we haven’t much time. Half an hour maybe. Sweetheart—” She flinched when he said that and he caught an echo of Chauncey’s voice in her head saying the same thing. “Baby, I can fight our way out when they get here, but we might not make it. I need to get you right out of here and he’s broken your leg, probably some of your ribs too. I want to convert you. Remember what I said? What I told you?” She nodded and held her hand up to him. A hand that had been bruised and cut when Chauncey had beaten her. Jake took it and folded it gently in his. “Yes,” she said. “Do it.” He didn’t need any more prompting. He felt her consent in her heart, in her mind and he wouldn’t give her any more time to think about it. Reaching for her throat, he hauled the slim gold chain from under her blouse and pulled the feather off it. Thank God Morris hadn’t found that! He opened her hand and put the feather in the palm. It gleamed like a golden promise. Extending a claw, he ripped part of her skirt away, enough to bare her thigh, then he put her hand over the feather on the bare patch of skin and pressed his hand on top. That, according to Aidan and Ryan, was all he had to do. The feather heated. He could almost feel the veins pressing through her hand to his. Jake held his mind firmly in hers. Her pain radiated through him. He bore it for her. When she tried to reach for him with her spare hand, he was there, taking it gently in his. “Not long now, baby. No going back from this, but you’ll be alive.” Her smile broke his heart. She shouldn’t be smiling. Not with Chauncey Morris and his friends descending on them, ready to kill them both if they could. And they could. He was nearly invulnerable in this form, but a man who would put explosive in his cell phone wouldn’t balk at blowing him to kingdom come. For now they had to wait. He tracked the movement outside with his psi senses, satisfied that passersby were few and unalarmed. The pain from their joined hands became agonizing, but he bore the pain for them both, only allowing a small leakage when he thought he might pass out. Teri glared at him, and despite their situation, he almost laughed. She was pissed that he tried to shield her. “When this is done, I’m shifting your form and getting you out of here. I can shrink you small and you’ll heal while I get you to safety. That’s why I’m doing it, Teri. We need to get out of here fast.” He frowned. “Though if you weren’t here like this, I’d be tempted to face them. I’m in my prime, powerful and I could take these bastards down. I could do it. But not with you.” He was talking himself through the pain, using the words to distract himself, but as he finished his sentence, he felt a definite lessening of the heat under their joined hands.
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He kept their hands in place, impatiently counting down the minutes and when he could think again, he reached for the phone. He didn’t like using a land line, but he had no choice. He didn’t know any number except the one in New York, so he called that. The voice at the end of the phone was composed and ordered, helping him to calm down and think. He went through the security checks, mainly passwords and a personal detail he’d given them for just this kind of occasion. Eventually he got through to the man he needed, and in a few moments, explained their situation. “Get to Houston,” his contact told him. “Do you know it at all?” “Some.” “Okay, head uptown to the Astor hotel. Ask for Mr. Blackburn at the desk. He’ll be waiting for you.” Jake hung up, relieved at the efficiency of the Department. He could handle the logistics, but he needed the speed only someone from the Department could provide. They’d need travel documents for Teri and an extra plane ticket. Fast. Somehow he couldn’t see them stopping at Teri’s place for her stuff. By the time he’d finished talking, their hands had cooled. He drew his hand away, expecting to see a mark, at the very least a burn, but there was nothing. Nothing on their hands, that was. But on her thigh, where his feather had been, a mark glowed. A small bird in flight. Just like his. It had taken. He took her hand from where it lay on her stomach and lifted it to his lips. “You’re a firebird now, baby.” She smiled weakly. “I don’t feel any different.” “I have to shape-shift you. We’ve got to get out of here fast.” She nodded and swallowed. “Do what you have to.” “I’ll shape-shift you without stripping you. That’ll only hurt more. Then I’ll shrink you and find a way of carrying you safely.” “Can you take my purse? I have my passport and my driver’s license. We might find them useful.” “Your passport?” Relief coursed through his veins. If she had that, they were halfway there. “I gave it to the court on Friday and they gave it back to me yesterday. I didn’t think to take it out. And the back door key is in the second drawer on the left-hand side in the desk.” He looked around and found what he needed. A well-stocked office should always include a ball of string. He picked up her purse and threaded the string through the handles, making a big loop to go around his neck. Then he shape-shifted her, shrinking her at the same time. Her clothes tore and fell off her body, like the cocoon of a silkworm.
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Teri made an adorable firebird. Another time, he hoped he’d have the chance to see her in the detail she deserved, but for now he needed her small. Before he shifted, he unlocked the back door to the office. “Teri, I promise I’ll get you safe,” he whispered as he shifted form. You’ll get us both safe, she said. Already her telepathic voice was stronger. He heard the cars outside and knew they’d run out of time. Several vehicles pulled up outside the building, one with a screech, and this neighborhood was so quiet, that could only mean one thing. But they wouldn’t be expecting him. Jake was smiling grimly as he lifted Teri and cradled her in his hand. She was the size of a firefly now. “Hold on, baby. We’re going up. When I shape-shift, burrow down and hold on tight.” He wanted to take them on, see how many he could take down. It hurt to turn away and walk outside the back door. He shape-shifted just as the key scratched the front door lock. Jake took to the air, fuzzing as he did so. Once up, he hovered. They wouldn’t see him now that he’d fuzzed, so he could take stock. Outside stood a police car and a couple of civilian vehicles. A shout from inside told him Chauncey was in the building. Fuck the bastard. He’d pay for hurting Teri so bad. Meantime, he had a date in a Houston hotel.
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Chapter Seventeen Once he got her back to the car, Jake grabbed some clothes from his luggage in the trunk of the car and scrambled into them, keeping himself fuzzed so nobody saw him, but he kept Teri in her firebird form. Staying in her firebird form would heal her much faster. If they put an APB out for his car, he’d have to take to the air again, but he’d take the risk for now. Jake found his own passport and air ticket and stuffed them in Teri’s purse, just in case they had to make a quick exit. He kept the string around his neck. When he got to the part of the route where he’d dumped his cell phone, a group of vehicles clustered there. The thing had made more of an impact than a cherry bomb. Morris must have packed the inside of his phone with some kind of plastic explosive that detonated when he made a call. Another sign the PHR was involved, because that kind of explosive wasn’t readily available on the streets. Or maybe Morris planned to call him. That would have triggered the explosion, and even in firebird form, Jake wouldn’t have stood a chance. Jake sped on, praying nobody was looking for him, and reached Houston in good time. He was in luck. He found the Astor without too much trouble and he saw at once why the agent chose it. The windows opened, just in case he’d been forced to abandon the car and take to the air again. He checked, as he had so many times during this journey, that Teri was safe. At some point she’d fallen asleep and he’d been glad of it. Respite from the danger they were in. He touched her mind and felt her exhaustion, strain of his leaving adding to the physical stress and terror when Chauncey had attacked her. He wouldn’t come near her again. Ever. He parked the car in the underground area belonging to the hotel and made sure he took everything out. Luggage, purse and Teri. He found a jacket and put it on just so he could slip her in his pocket and keep her safe. Although this hotel was air-conditioned, so he’d probably need the jacket here. At the reception desk, the woman told him to go straight up without really looking at him, although he’d fuzzed to be on the safe side so nobody would recognize Jake Keys. Nobody watched him walk across the foyer, but he didn’t relax properly until he was in the elevator, heading for the eleventh floor. Jake felt the familiar mental contact of one Talent to another before the door opened. “Hi. I’m Scott Blackburn, griffin shape-shifter. Agent for the Department, based in Houston.” His dark blond hair gleamed from the light streaming in through the window and glanced off his deep blue eyes. He crossed the room and dropped the blind. “Don’t want anybody watching us. Shape-shift the woman on the bed so we can
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see what kind of condition she’s in.” Before he shifted her, Jake tucked her under the covers, feeling protective and proprietary. Nobody should see her naked except him. Then he shape-shifted her. Teri blinked up at the face leaning over her. Though she had no idea how she’d managed to fall asleep, she suspected the pain and the shock had made it more of a faint. But she’d never admit to that, not in a million years. The face belonged to an admittedly handsome man, but not the one she wanted to see most. “Hi,” said the stranger. “I’m Scott Blackburn, griffin shape-shifter. Pleased to meet you. How do you feel?” “Shocked. Winded. But not in pain any longer, just sore. How is that possible?” “Hi.” Jake sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. His touch went a long way toward easing her bewilderment. “It took us a couple of hours to get here. And then we kept you asleep for a while. That gave you time to start healing. Your bones are knitted together, though you’re still weak. I don’t want you walking too far or putting too much weight on your leg, not until we get to England.” “England?” That dizzy feeling started all over again. “Teri, we haven’t much choice. I won’t leave you behind and we need to get away until you’ve healed properly. There’s a cell of PHR agents after you because of your association with me. They’ve probably worked out that I’ve got you, but hopefully by the time they’ve caught up with us, we’ll be long gone” She saw the sense in that. Besides, she had nothing to stay for any longer. Except that she hadn’t anything. Except her plastic. At least she could buy some clothes. He played with her fingers, stroking them softly and she remembered that Chauncey had stamped on her hand. She’d felt her fingers crunch under his boot. Now they weren’t broken anymore. “Amazing.” She made to sit up, but Jake was there, lifting her gently and tucking pillows behind her back. “Take it easy, baby. Rest until we have to leave.” “I’m thirsty.” Scott found a bottle of water from the refrigerator for her. She gulped down the chilled water as if it were champagne. It certainly tasted just as good. Jake tucked the covers around her, just under her armpits and she gave him a smile of thanks. “You have tickets for the six-thirty p.m. flight from George Bush and you’ll get in to Gatwick, London, at around nine-thirty a.m., so you haven’t got too much time before we have to go. I’ve booked you first class.” Jake grunted. “If you hadn’t, I’d have upgraded it. It’s a long journey and Teri’s in no condition to put up with economy.” “I thought of disguising you and getting you out under false names, but that would be pretty much impossible. You can’t keep fuzzing when your passport clearly says
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who you are.” Scott raised a brow. “Is there any chance I could persuade you to go to a nice tropical island somewhere and wait this out?” Jake gave a snort of derision. “If Chauncey Morris or any of the PHR come anywhere near Teri again, I’ll kill them. And I can’t stay hidden forever. I won’t hide.” “They might try to put a stop on you leaving the country, but they won’t find it easy,” Scott said. “They have people in high places, but they’re not the only ones. That’s why I want you out of here fast. Otherwise they might have time to find a judge to uphold the request to keep you here. They won’t find one in time, I’ve seen to that, but I can’t stall them for too long. You have three hours.” Three hours! At eight-thirty that morning, Teri had arrived at work and now her life had changed completely. An hour to realize her business had gone up in smoke. Another half hour with Chauncey, and had she but known it, her last hour as a mortal. Now she was something else. She still wasn’t sure what, or what it all meant. Scott swept up some carriers from the floor. “I shopped. There’s a change of clothes for you both. I got jeans and t-shirts in a couple of sizes. I had to get sandals, but if these don’t fit, I can run out for more. Don’t expect anything fancy, I got what I could.” “Anything is welcome.” Jake grinned at him. “I owe you.” The griffin nodded. “Yeah.” Teri wondered if she could be as casual with nudity as Jake was. And Scott, for that matter. Neither man turned a hair at the fact that she was nude, even if she was tucked up in a big hotel bed. “Jake says you have your passports. That should make matters a lot easier.” “How did you explain the fire on the highway?” Jake asked. “The phone?” Teri looked at Jake curiously. What had happened to his phone? Oh God, yes. Chauncey had said something about “taking care of Jake”. “Morris put explosives in my cell,” Jake said. Teri gasped in shock. How could he be so blasé about something like that? “If I hadn’t been so fast, the whole car would have gone up when I dialed out. As it is, the car isn’t as pretty as it used to be. But Agent Blackburn here is taking care of that.” “It blew up?” Fear clutched her heart when she realized she could have lost him. “Hey.” He sat on the bed again and took her hand in his. “I’m here.” “I have a car outside ready to drive you to the airport,” Scott said. “We’d better get going soon. I need to clear you through customs. As far as anyone here is concerned, I’m a security officer, ordered to escort you onto the plane because Jake is a celebrity. I’ll go downstairs and settle the bill. Don’t leave this room please, I’ll come back for you.” Jake nodded. “Although I’d like nothing better than to hunt the bastards down, I need to get her safe. You’ll update me on everything when we get back?” “Sure.” Scott grimaced. “From what you’ve told me, I’m pretty sure Chauncey Morris planned this and set Lawrence Diller up as his patsy. By the creed of the PHR, if you are a Talent, or you’re associated with one, you’re a deviant and condemned to 134
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death. Diller came for you, driven mad when Morris told him that Cheryl’s lover had been his wife. But Morris wanted to get you free, Teri. If Jake hadn’t provided you with an alibi, Morris would have found one for you. Then when Jake stayed with you, he had to think fast. So he planted the bomb in Jake’s car and hurt you so he could tell the PHR that Jake did it, coerced and raped you. The explosion would be a car fault. That would fit with what they believe about us and it would get you free for him to care for. When Diller went mad and came for you, Morris was forced to work with Jake. That must have hurt him.” “Good,” said Jake, the lines about his mouth taut. Jake met her eyes. “Chauncey Morris is obsessed with you. He’d do anything to get you back.” Teri knew he was right. Why hadn’t she seen it before? “He left a job in Houston to follow me to Springwater, but he persuaded me his transfer to the place where I happened to live was a coincidence. Before this weekend, he’d never pushed me too hard, but he must have been setting this up for a while.” “Yeah.” Scott put the air tickets down on the vanity, a little too hard. They slapped against the hard surface. “He must have been furious when his deputy arrested you, Teri, but even that would have worked for him. He’d have got you out, maybe lied for you and put you in his debt. I’ve studied obsessive personalities before. That’s what he is. You’re the center of his universe, Teri. He’s stalked you for years, but he wanted you willing.” She could see that happening all too easily. Chauncey would ease her into his arms and let her show how grateful she was for his rescue from the twisted deviants. Her knight in shining armor. Very tarnished armor. Jake made a clicking sound between his teeth. “When I arrived in Springwater, I knew at once Chauncey Morris was attracted to you. But I never read him deeply. I didn’t see the need. Because I’m a fucking idiot.” “You had no reason to. Even if you did, the PHR know how to erect mental blocks and you probably wouldn’t have noticed the ones buried deep. And Morris is an experienced police officer who knows how to set a scene to look the way he wants it to. Don’t beat yourself up.” Scott tossed the bags on to the bed on Teri’s other side. “Just get dressed now. We have to get you out of here. I’ll go downstairs, but I’m leaving somebody outside your room in case of trouble.” “A man with a gun?” Teri imagined an FBI agent in dark suit, sunglasses and a Glock. “No, a dragon shape-shifter with a cleaning cart. You don’t need a gun if you can turn into a twenty-foot dragon with armored skin. You’re safe enough.” Scott strode to the door and left the room. In the awkward silence that fell, Teri looked away, not sure of what to say or how. She had nothing now, not even a set of clothes to call her own. No business, money in
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the bank that she wouldn’t be able to touch for a while. Totally dependent on someone else. Her own personal nightmare. Jake turned her chin to look at him, and as always, she lost a piece of herself in his soft eyes. “Baby, you have me. Never think that I’ll ever take advantage, although I want you as much as I’ve ever wanted anyone before. We’ll sort it all out.” “I know. But it stinks. What did I do wrong? Why should this happen to me?” He smiled and leaned forward to give her a gentle kiss. “Who says life is fair? Just go with the flow. I know it’s hard for you, but we need to get you safe. As soon as they have Chauncey Morris in custody, I can bring you back here.” “Bring me back?” “Oh yes. I’ll even face the good townspeople of Springwater for you.” He gave her another kiss, as soft as the first one. “Teri, that leg’s not completely mended. Lean on me as much as you can, you hear? When we get to London, I’m putting you to bed and shape-shifting you until it’s as good as new. But until then, you’ll be weaker than you expect.” “But I will recover? He said he broke my leg so I couldn’t get away, but he enjoyed it. Not hurting me, but the control. I’ve never wanted anyone to control me, Jake.” “I promise I’ll never do that. I swear it.” She believed him. She stripped the bedsheet back and watched his expression change from concern to desire. He reached out and touched her waist, sliding his hand over her body in a gesture that sent tingles clear down to her toes. “Damn, baby, but when I see you like that I can’t think of anything except taking you hard and deep.” Their eyes met, and she knew she wanted him too. “Now who’s in control?” he said, so softly she could hardly hear him. “I’m yours, Teri.” Teri swallowed and looked away. Ten minutes, Scott had said. Jake helped her to dress, not allowing her to get up from the bed, his hands gentle and careful, his desire betrayed by the slight tremor in his hands. Her jeans were a tad long and her t-shirt a blue one, with a denim jacket. Then he picked her up, stopping her protests with a kiss. “In public, you’ll have to walk, but you’ll walk with me. When people can’t see us, I’m carrying you. I could say I don’t trust that leg and that’s partly true, but, Teri—” She saw a flash of despair in his mind when he hesitated. “Teri, I want to hold you and convince myself that you’re safe. We’re going to have to spend a lot of time together until they catch Morris, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s all good.” She snuggled up against him, feeling absurdly as if she’d come home instead of leaving all she knew and all she was comfortable with behind her. A very strange feeling, considering the only thing she had from her old life was a black purse containing a few credit cards, a hundred dollars or so in cash, the keys to a house she
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could no longer live in, her passport and some makeup. Even her car keys were still in the office. The next few hours were like a military operation. Jake carried her down to the car and Scott drove them to the airport, rushing them through customs. She found her leg stiff and a bit wobbly and was secretly glad to be able to walk with Jake’s arm around her waist. Today he allowed no photos from the few press people gathered around the VIP lounge waiting for the celebrities due to pass through the airport that day, but hustled her through and found a chair for her, explaining to the assistants that they’d been in a slight vehicle accident and she was bruised. Not that her ribs and leg had been broken by a half-mad cop who wanted to keep her for himself. Teri was bruised in more than body. The plane wasn’t full, so they found themselves with the seats in front and behind them empty. That meant they could talk. When she saw the crowds of weary travelers getting on the economy part of the plane after the first class and business class passengers had been allowed to embark, Teri felt mildly guilty. That was her usual way to travel and the relative luxury of first class overwhelmed her. After they’d taken off, Jake made her eat to build up her strength, fussing over her like a parent. It had been a long time since she’d had that experience after losing her parents in an accident when she was ten years old. Brought up by distant relatives, kind, but preoccupied with their own lives, Teri got used to being self-reliant and usually preferred it that way. For the first time in her life, she began to wonder what life would be like as part of a couple. If that other person was Jake, she might be able to bear it. Jake told her about shape-shifters and the PHR, speaking to her low-voiced and occasionally using telepathy, and he began her lessons, lessons he told her she’d need now. She was a bird. One of those beautiful creatures she’d seen Jake morph into, all golden feathers and wicked beak. She still found it hard to believe, but when Jake spoke directly into her mind and showed her the picture of what he’d seen when she shapeshifted, she had to believe him. And he rarely let her out of his arms. After a couple of hours, he eased their seats down and covered them with a blanket. She slept, surrounded by his heat, absorbing his nearness. Jake watched her as she breathed deeply in sleep and he entered her mind, seating himself firmly there. He felt her healing and added his strength. She had to heal fast and gain her new strength. He didn’t entirely trust Blackburn and he wouldn’t until he heard they were safe. Even then, he wanted to keep her. His protective instincts went way beyond the immediate problem of Chauncey Morris. He wanted to care for her for a very long time.
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Chapter Eighteen Teri hardly registered when they arrived at Gatwick. Only the change of accents on the loudspeaker announcements told her they weren’t still on American soil. Jake helped her off the plane and she went through all the checkpoints numbly, praying they would let her through. The officials only took a desultory interest in their one carry-on bag and she suspected Jake had helped them a little, using his telepathy to persuade them. Another man was there to meet them. Apart from his darker coloring, he was Blackburn all over again. Quiet, polite, conservatively dressed, not attracting attention to himself, but the staff here did as he told them—requested of them. Very British, the way they could make an order sound like a request. She had no idea how long it took before they were in a car and on their way to Jake’s house, wherever that was. London was all she knew, but tucked under Jake’s arm, traveling through mile after mile of faceless streets, she began to realize just how big, how sprawling London was. No high-rise buildings, though, until they passed through what Jake called the City and then she saw a few. Big cities had forests of skyscrapers thrusting toward the sky in her experience, but here the high-rise was the exception. And yet they didn’t have as much space in England as they had at home. Not that she missed Texas. She had a piece of it here, holding her firmly in his arms. It didn’t seem like he’d ever let her go, but Teri was so exhausted she didn’t even think to protest. She couldn’t. When she asked questions, he answered them quietly, but the answers floated through her consciousness, and however hard she tried, she couldn’t keep hold of them. When the car door opened to let her and Jake out, she shivered. She shouldn’t feel a chill in summer, but hell, English air held an edge to it. Someone, probably their driver, remarked about the day. “Had a few storms this week. You’d hardly know it was August.” When she stumbled, Jake swept her up into his arms and into the house. He didn’t pause except to ask her if she was hungry, and when she shook her head no, he carried her upstairs. “You’re sleeping in my room,” he said. “With me.” She opened her eyes to see light streaming in through two large windows. “I shouldn’t be this tired.” “When you’re newly converted, you will be. It’ll last for a day or so yet. Then I can start to introduce you to your new life. Let go, Teri. Rest.” He laid her down on a soft bed and almost automatically she curled up, ready for sleep. He undressed her, all she did was help, but he didn’t linger over her body, only
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tucked her under the sheet. She felt him moving toward the door and her eyes snapped open. “Don’t leave me, Jake. Please.” “Shall I hold you while you go to sleep?” His voice was gentler than ever before. When she nodded, she heard the rustling of Jake removing his clothes, then he was next to her in the bed, drawing her back into his arms. Where she belonged. Teri fell asleep, her legs intertwined with his, her head on his shoulder, his arms around her. When Teri opened her eyes again, the light was subtly different and she was alone in the bed. She rolled onto her back and finally took stock of her surroundings. She lay in a large, old-fashioned bed, with a canopy draped in blue silk hanging above her. The room was spacious, the dark wooden floorboards polished to a satin sheen and covered with Persian rugs. An air of understated elegance permeated the room, from the plain blue cover to the comforter that covered her to the tonally matching drapes at the two long sash windows. Beyond, she saw only green trees in leaf and a blue sky. This was London? What kind of person had a huge garden in this overcrowded city? Only when she sat up in bed did she realize the room overlooked one of London’s famous parks. Filmy drapery prevented anyone seeing in, but it didn’t stop her view of the street outside and the park beyond. Fabulous. She loved it. The door opened and Jake walked in, dressed only in a light robe of dark blue. Before she could stop her unruly tongue, she grinned at him and said, “You match the room.” “So I do.” He crossed the room and bent to kiss her. “And you suit it. I think you should stay here and adorn it for a while.” When he undid the belt of his robe, she wasn’t surprised to find he was naked. He slipped between the sheets and drew her into his arms, his hard, lean body meeting hers. He was already erect. “I know you feel better. I’ve been in your mind, monitoring you since I converted you. I also know you’re still tired, so don’t bother to deny it.” “I don’t even know what day it is. We lost a day across the Atlantic, didn’t we?” “No, we just had a night flight and arrived the next morning. I tucked you in here at six and you’ve slept the clock around, or very nearly. You needed the rest.” She voiced her fear. “I thought I might wake up as the—” “Firebird?” He kissed her forehead. “Involuntary shape-shifts are rare. And your base form is the human one, as mine is.” “Are there any of the other kind? Where their base form is the—other one?”
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“Not as many as there once were. It’s just not convenient for modern living. You’re born in the form in which you’re conceived and you stay in that form until puberty. Can you imagine lots of little dragons wandering around?” She chuckled. “It would certainly be fun.” His cock shifted, as if it wanted to join in the conversation, nudging her thigh. “Sorry about that.” “Why?” “I want to look after you until you’re feeling a bit better, not tire you out with lovemaking.” She lifted her chin and met his eyes, enjoying their sparkling depths. “I think making love would be a perfectly good way of looking after me. Besides, I only have one change of clothes, so I don’t have anything else to do until they’ve been washed.” “I shoved them in the machine with mine,” he said. “They’ll be done by now. But you have to find out where the washing machine is first. And on reflection, I agree with you. Making love is a great way of looking after you.” He took her mouth in a deep kiss and she forgot all the questions bubbling in her mind. They no longer seemed important. He entered her mouth and she met his tongue with her own, touching it in welcome before stroking it to feel its velvety roughness caress hers. Still in the kiss, he rolled her over onto her back and gently urged her thighs apart so he could settle between them. His cock touched her belly, then pressed in, its imprint a fiery mark on her skin. A touch of heat on her thigh reminded her what she was now and he drew back, lifting his upper body and supporting it with his elbows planted on either side of her. “What is it, baby? I felt that, like a needle in my mind.” The hot patch faded a little. She swallowed. “The mark on my thigh. I can feel it when you kiss me.” A slow smile spread across his dampened lips. “That’s good. It means you want me. You should feel my mark. It adds a whole new meaning to ‘burning for you’.” He lifted one hand, shifting his weight and stroked her face, not ending the caress at her jaw but smoothing down her body to her breasts. “I do, Teri. I burn for you. Inside and out.” He dipped his head once more and kissed her lips, then her chin and the hollow of her throat. She murmured his name and he growled back at her. “You taste so good. Let me see if the rest of you tastes the same as it did before.” He flung the sheets out of his way so he could see her as well as taste her. She shuddered, but not with cold. The bright day outside warmed her, but not as much as her lover. Every kiss he gave her branded her as his and when he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking while he pulled at her other nipple with his fingers, she knew she was lost. The slight pinch he gave her shot sparks of need through her, down to her womb.
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Whatever he’d done, whatever she owed him, this was separate. She was his. Hopelessly lost and deeply in love. And scared. Teri had never depended on anyone else in her whole life. Her upbringing militated against it and she liked it that way. But she wanted Jake, needed him more than she liked to admit. Especially since he was what he was, had the reputation of a rock star moving from woman to woman. He would drop her and she’d be devastated. But not now. Now he was kissing and licking her as if she were the most delectable treat, made just for him. She relaxed, knowing he hadn’t read her mind. The more time he spent there, the more she became accustomed to “seeing” where he was and reacting accordingly. Or maybe her new state helped her do that. Now he bathed her with warmth and desire, a hot bath of it made for her to wallow in. He lifted her head. “Now that is the best idea you’ve had this morning. If you can give me five minutes…” He lifted his head and closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment. “My telekinesis isn’t so good, but I can manage to turn on a faucet. Now relax and let me take care of you.” She laughed and lay back against the soft pillows, allowing herself the indulgence of being taken care of. Very passive, very appreciative, she felt him lick down to her clit, lingering at her navel and the hollow inside her hip. Without pause, he sucked it into his mouth and brought up his hands to caress and tweak her nipples. Like a geyser surging up unexpectedly from the depths of the earth, she erupted. When he touched her, she came for him as if he’d commanded it. He kissed her thigh and lapped her until she came down from the amazing high. She reached her hands down to him, threading her fingers into his hair as he licked and kissed her. “Jake, you do that so well.” “You make it easy.” His voice, so deep, made her shiver. He kissed her thigh again. “Have you seen your mark?” “Briefly.” She recalled her conversion and, although near catatonic, her wonder at the mark on her thigh. “Look now.” He leaned up and waited for her. When she sat up, he took a breast in his hand and played with it, as if he couldn’t stop touching her. She leaned into his hand and looked at her new mark. Traced as if with the finest of needles, the firebird flew across her thigh, its wings outspread, its beak slightly open. “It’s lovely.” She traced the shape with her finger, the heat tangible but bearable now. “You’re lovely,” he murmured. He kissed her cheek and, when she turned her head, her mouth. He tasted of her and pure, wanton sex. Temporarily forgetting her
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mark, she kissed him back, wanting nothing more than him in her, but he drew back and climbed off the bed. “Your bath awaits, Madame.” She took his hand and let him help her up. He led her to the bathroom, a large room with broad windows glazed with frosted glass, gleaming ivory and chrome. As they entered, the faucet shut itself off. Jake leaned up and found what appeared to be petals in a jar. “Soap flakes,” he explained. “They’ll melt on your body.” After testing the water in the semi-sunken bath and putting the jar down, he climbed in and held his arms out to her. She subsided into them as gracefully as she could, which wasn’t very, but he didn’t seem to mind. He took her down with him to the luxurious deep bath and reached out to hit a switch on a panel. She started back against him when a churning sound smoothed away into bubbles. The sensation was glorious, but not as good as Jake’s body against her, supporting her, his cock hard against her lower back. He closed his thighs so she sat on him and curled his fingers around her, down to her pubis. “Ready for me?” “Always.” His chuckle reverberated against her back as he lifted her and slid her down on to his waiting cock. His body slid into hers as if it belonged there, filling her perfectly. She sighed and leaned against him, easing her body down. He held her steady and sighed against her neck, making her shiver and moan when his hot breath touched her skin. “Jake!” “Yes, baby, yes. Moan for me.” His hands touched her more intimately, searching out the taut peak of her clit. He pushed back the hood and smoothed his fingers down her before he pulled, treating it like a miniature cock. She obliged him, moaning louder when he began a series of shallow pumps inside her. The bubbles coursed around them, adding to the sensation, a series of tiny caresses all over her body. Now more than her thigh heated, and although the water was on the cool side in deference to the hot summer day, it felt boiling. Shivers chased each other up her spine, making it impossible for her to keep still. But he held her firmly against him with the hand not driving her crazy. She bucked in his arms, cried out, and when she jerked, he drove hard inside her, deepening his strokes. Water sloshed over the sides of the bath, bubbles coursed over her skin and the man she loved pumped her clit and pushed so deeply inside her she didn’t know if they would ever part. She prayed they wouldn’t. With a sudden jerk, he dragged her up, pulling out of her, but before she could protest, he turned her around and back on to him again. “I want to see you come. Come for me, Teri.” In this position, she had more control and she could help. She plunged down to take him balls-deep and she felt something stir inside her. It was his turn to moan.
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“Jake, what have you done?” How could he move inside her when she was so deep? But he had. “We have an extra inch. An extra-special gift for the ones—” He broke off and his head went back, so he howled the next words at the ceiling. “Ah God, Teri, don’t stop!” She had no intention of stopping and neither did he. He brought his head back down and dragged her close, taking her mouth and making it his, feeding off her as she fed off him. She would never forget this moment, this instant out of time when they belonged to each other and nobody else, nothing else came between them. Her screams mingled with his hoarse cries and she felt him spurt hotly inside her. Teri fell forward onto Jake, unable to hold herself up anymore. He gripped her tight, held her to him, crooning her name and stroking her hair. They stayed like that for an uncountable time. She almost fell asleep, but he leaned over the side of the bath and switched off the bubbles. When he shifted her to sit her up, she protested, half asleep despite her recent sleeping marathon. She only opened her eyes when a warm spray of water hit her scalp. “Relax, let me do it,” he murmured, as gentle now as he had been fierce and possessive a moment before. He put the hand shower down, grabbed a bottle of shampoo and poured a puddle into his hand. “Turn around.” He washed her hair, gently massaging. “Have you ever seen a commercial where the woman has an orgasm just washing her hair?” She gave a short laugh. “I think I could do it now.” “You just did,” he said. “Fuck the shampoo.” “It smells good.” “So do you, baby, so do you.” Jake wouldn’t let her do anything, but wrapped her in clean, soft towels and patted her dry before pushing her arms into a short silk robe with dragons swirling up its length. “A kimono,” he explained. “From my flamboyant period.” She remembered it well. In fact, she could probably remember the concert when he’d worn it. Right at the beginning, before he’d embraced the jeans and ripped t-shirt look. “I liked you flamboyant.” “You want me to do it again?” He grinned. “When I wear this onstage, you’ll know I’m doing it for you. That’s a promise.” It was a good promise and the only one she was likely to get. She had learned that whatever else Jake Keys was, musician, libertine, firebird, he was above all things honest. He never told her any lies and she knew he never would. Hiding her thoughts away, she gave him a broad smile. “I’ll keep you to that.” “Maybe you’ll be in the front row to watch me. Or maybe at the side of the stage.” “I’m told Pure Wildfire don’t like hangers-on.”
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He kissed her, his lips lingering on hers. “You’re never that, baby. Anything but that.” “What happens now?” Apprehension gripped her. “What’s happening in Springwater?” He crossed the room to her and swept her into his arms. “The Department agents will try to find the cell, take the members in, question them and then Sorcerers will wipe their minds of any memories of Talents or cells and let them go.” He stilled, gazing at her face. “I won’t lie to you, Teri. Some of these people might be too far gone to reform. They will die. There’s no other way. But we don’t kill indiscriminately and the ones who can be saved will be saved.” She wondered if that included Chauncey Morris.
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Chapter Nineteen “Do you want to come in to the studio with me today?” Teri looked up from her breakfast, surprised at his question. Since the news that Chauncey and the others were in custody, Jake had relaxed a little, left her at home while he went in to the studio. It was almost like he had a regular job. He came home to her, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon, to take her to bed and make love to her and he never came home later than nine. He’d even taken to yelling, “Honey, I’m hoooome!” in that sickly sentimental style of the sitcoms, just to tease her. But he still didn’t want her going out, not, he said, until he was sure the PHR cell was neutralized. Then there was shape-shifter practice. Terrifying and wonderful at the same time, Jake made her practice shifting from one form to another over and over again until she could do it almost as well as he could, although he had other skills that would take her some time to master. Fuzzing, for instance, the art of making people look away. Tricky was an understatement. At least she was more comfortable in her skin—whichever one it was, but it would take a few more moons until she got used to it completely. He’d provided her with jeans, t-shirts and the most amazing collection of underwear, from places like La Senza and Ann Summers. His taste in outer wear didn’t reflect his penchant for sexy, lacy bits of stuff. She pointed out that she’d rather go shopping, she had the money and she was in London, for heaven’s sake, but he asked her to wait a little longer. And when Jake asked, she complied. If he’d ordered, she probably would have walked out the house and got into the nearest taxicab, but he never made that mistake. Always asked. She almost wished he would order her, because she longed to shop. She’d never been overly keen on the shopping experience, but she was in London, for fuck’s sake. And her hair was about a week past its appointment with its very own specialist. It was cut in a feathered style that spiked over her cheeks, but it was dropping into her eyes now and she’d taken to shoving it back with a band better suited for sports. She’d nearly reached the “grow it out or cut it” stage. Now she smiled at him. “So can I go out today?” “Hell yeah. I can take you out. If you want to come to the studio and meet the others, I’ll take you out afterward.” “You want to come shopping with me?” “Sure. I want to show you off a bit.” She stared at him warily. “You mean photos and stuff?” He shrugged. “Why not?” She narrowed her eyes. “Have you set something up?”
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His grin spread across his face. “No. I don’t have to. There are usually fans outside the studio. Only a few, but it’s the school vacations, so they’re out there. And they have cell phones.” “Shit.” “Time you got used to it, Teri. If we’re together, we’d better start putting ourselves about.” Jake watched as she stared at him in adorable confusion. He loved that look. It made him want to take her back to bed and fuck her all over again. In fact, he wondered why they ever got out of bed in the first place. Except that Ryan would be seriously pissed if he didn’t show up at the studio. He’d come back from the States without Gina, prepared to work and pushed them all so hard they’d been out of the studio early most days. They’d created the previous albums mostly at night, but with Aidan and Corinne’s son growing older and needing regular hours, Ryan’s slave-driving act, and his own eagerness to get back home to Teri, this one was a daytime album. Which was odd, considering the title was Moonfire. Two weeks in her company here only confirmed what he’d suspected when they met. This was the one. Teri was his and he intended to keep her. If he knew her, and he was beginning to know her well, she’d think about restarting her life soon. So he’d thought ahead and asked a few questions. “The album’s nearly done.” She gasped. “In two weeks?” He laughed so much he nearly lost his coffee. When she was slapping his back after his spluttering fit, he hauled her on to his lap. “We wrote most of the tracks on tour last year. We reviewed what we had and decided which tracks to go with and we recorded the bulk of the music over the last two months. But we all needed a break before we got together for the last bit, so we let the engineers do their thing. In any case, when we go into the studio, we’re refining what we’ve already done. Sometimes it can drag on when we don’t get an arrangement right or something’s not working, but this one has gone like a dream. In another two weeks, it’ll be done.” He kissed her, unable to resist before he added, “So I should be free soon. How about a holiday?” Now it was her turn to splutter. “What? I need to go—get back—” “Why?” Her face turned grave. “Jake, I can’t stay here forever.” She would have pulled away, but he held her firm and wouldn’t let her go. “No, no you don’t. Think about it.” “If you’re about to say you have enough for the both of us, you can think again.” He knew she’d say that. “No I’m not, although it might be something you want to think about. We might want a baby one day.” He could sense her mind reeling, so he carried on while he knew he had her. “Teri, what have you got to go back to? You said
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your business there was finished, but you still have your skills. You could start again. Here, for instance.” She gaped at him, looking so adorable he couldn’t resist another kiss. “I don’t know London. Not at all.” “There are other people who do. Listen, in my line of work, I meet all kinds of people and event planners are around a lot. I know a few. If you want to work for a big concern, I can fix you up with an interview, although from then on, it’s pretty much up to you. You might want to start as an employee or a partner and think of working for yourself again a bit further down the line.” She sat up and stared at him, eyes wide. “I never thought. But yes, it could happen. But how do I know if I’ll like it here?” “Baby, I came from Texas and I fit right in here. I love it. I wouldn’t live here if I didn’t enjoy it. Give it a try.” He was almost pleading now and he didn’t care. He’d do anything to keep her. She stared at him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in a gesture he’d come to love. “I suppose I could try. But I have to do something. On my own, Jake.” “Sure. I know you do.” He couldn’t resist her anymore, but spread his hand over her back and pressed her close for a kiss. He nibbled at her bottom lip, taking small, luscious bites of her. Wanting more. They might not have made love an hour before, for the hunger that rose inside him as keen as ever. He was finding his self-imposed edict to give her time harder each day. Maybe he should give her more time, let her settle into her new life and tell her when she was stronger. But he knew she needed to come to her decision for herself and not feel rushed. “Baby, would you consider doing something with me?” He felt breathless all over again, sharp gasps and hot touches. “Jake! We only—” “I know.” He kissed the underside of her jaw, feathered kisses over her throat before returning to her mouth. That delectable, luscious mouth. He plunged his tongue inside, tasting coffee, nutty cereal and her. So beautiful, so perfect. So his. “You’re a never-ending feast, Teri. I’ll never stop wanting you.” She laughed, but it was a shaky laugh. “You can’t know that. We hardly know each other!” “That’s not true.” He palmed her cheek, holding her in place when she would have turned away. “Teri, we’ve been in each other’s minds, we know each other deep down. I’ve seen you in both your forms and you’re beautiful both ways. Can you really say you’re not as sure as me?” He’d gone further than he meant to. He might as well take along a bit more. “Open your mind, baby. All the way. And read me. Come on. Completely. I won’t hide
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anything from you, anything at all.” He meant it. He dropped all his mental barriers, every one. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. Although he loved her, Jake had never done this for anyone before, not even his brother Chris. While he spoke, his hands hadn’t been idle. He pushed her t-shirt up and over her head and slid his hands down to her jeans. She lifted her arms to make it easier to take her top off, so he knew she wasn’t unwilling, but when she reached around to unclip her bra, he sighed in delight. “Feed me, baby. Give me your breasts.” He’d learned that she disliked some of the words he used, so he gave up some of them. Teri held her breast up for him to taste and he bent toward it, mouth watering, but at the last minute she pushed away, leaning back against the kitchen table. “No. Skin to skin, Jake.” A slow smile filled him and he willingly shed his own shirt, almost ripping the buttons off in his haste. The sight before him gave him inspiration and as soon as the shirt was off his back he reached for her, pulling her back to him and filling his mouth with her full, peaked nipples. He feasted on them and dimly heard something crash. His plate, probably. He managed to tear himself away enough to gasp, “Bare enough for you?” “Not nearly enough.” She leaned forward, her hair tickling his cheeks as she kissed his forehead and pushed her fingers into his hair, only to drag him away from her. Her nipples were tightly furled, glistening with his attentions and he wanted more. Tender and sweet, she tasted unique. But he got the message. He got to his feet and placed her bottom on the table. Luckily, his kitchen was a farmhouse-style one, all wood and clean tile, so the kitchen table was a heavy old oak one, unlikely to topple whatever they did. He’d give it a good trial though. He shoved the plates to the other end of the table and put the coffee pot out of harm’s way. They could smash as many plates as they liked, but he wouldn’t have her hurt. She could shape-shift and heal, but that wasn’t good enough—he didn’t want her to hurt at all. Only to ache. It took him seconds to drag his jeans and underwear off and he knew she watched him. The awareness tingled over his skin, raising the fine hairs to prickling attention. Her concentration made him want to preen and pose, although he’d never been fond of vanity for its own sake. But she made him feel good and he knew she enjoyed looking at him naked. She could look all she liked. As long as he could reciprocate. He pushed her back to lie on the table, her legs draped over the edge, and he unbuttoned her jeans. Maybe she should get some skirts, at that. It would certainly make her more accessible. Yeah, skirts would be good. But for now, he concentrated on getting her jeans and panties off. He paused for a moment to admire the sight of her in the white, lacy panties he’d chosen so carefully, imagining how she’d look in them. She looked better than he could ever have imagined.
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Her pubis pushed against the lace in a delectable swell, a few curls peeking around the sides. He pushed his palm against her and felt her wetness. For him. His mouth watered some more. She lay on his kitchen table, waiting for him, and never before had Jake had such a feast waiting. Her nipples stood out proudly and when she saw his gaze travel there, she cupped them for him, pushing the soft mounds up. Jake groaned low in his throat, wanting to touch everywhere at once. The scent of her arousal swelled his cock to bursting. He had to taste. Just a little, and after all, she was his breakfast. “I need you,” he murmured, unable to raise his voice above a hoarse whisper. “Teri, I want you.” He knelt on the tiled floor and breathed her in before he kissed her and opened her up to his gaze. “So lovely.” Kissing her thigh to prolong the moment just a little, he couldn’t resist any longer. Her glistening folds beckoned him to taste, to sample something close to ambrosia. So he gave up and licked her, one long lick from opening to clit. As he’d thought. Delicious. But he didn’t want to linger too long. He wanted her first orgasm to be with his shaft filling her. Jake stood and rubbed his cock up her slit, getting the head wet, drowning it in her juices before he pushed inside her with a quick, succulent drive. The sucking sound as she drew him in almost drove him right up to climax. Teri gasped and arched her back, pressing her shoulders against the table to push her body up to his. That made Jake gasp too. “Oh baby!” Before he could forget himself in her again, he remembered what he’d asked and he asked it again. “Teri, come into my mind. Read me. Read everything I am, everything I want. I’m open to you.” She opened her eyes and reached for his hand, gripping it hard. He pummeled into her, one hand on her waist to hold her steady, glorying in the sight of her breasts bouncing with every stroke. “Jake, are you sure?” “Never surer.” He felt her enter his mind as he entered her body and it was the greatest aphrodisiac he had ever known. To have Teri inside him, to plunge into her body and feel her invading his mind made him throw back his head and fight for control. He didn’t want this over yet. Lifting her up, he made sure the Windsor chair was still at his back and he sank into it, taking her with him to straddle him. The chair scraped over the floor, but hit a groove between two of the large quarry tiles and stopped, holding steady. Jake was almost past words. He lifted her and slammed her back down onto him. Teri gave a little sound of pleasure, an “Oh!” that filled his soul and forced her eyelids open, gazing down at him, a small smile gracing her lips, warmth in her breathtaking blue eyes. He pushed up into her, her liquid depths surrounding him, and slid one hand down to the crack of her ass, fingering her delectable rosebud. 149
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Teri blinked and he saw the shock in her eyes before she relaxed against him. “Has nobody touched you there before?” he asked and she shook her head no. “I won’t do anything you don’t like. Open your mind, love, let me in.” She didn’t just open her mind, she opened her heart. Humbled, Jake entered, his body maintaining the rhythm he’d set, but his mind temporarily occupied with the wonderful feeling of entering the soul, the heart of the woman he loved for the first time with all barriers down. He saw her fear and soothed it away, saw her determination and gloried in it, then joined his experiences to hers. The instant she felt it, she stiffened in shock. “When two shape-shifters make love, they can do it completely.” He drew her back down, surrounded her, so every sense he had was fully invaded, her scent in his nostrils, the feel of her silky skin and wet pussy. He took a taste of her, a lick against her skin, and contemplated a bite. Her small gasps bathed his ears better than the best lyric Ryan had ever written. He wanted to write poems to her, real honest-to-God poetry, not lyrics or doggerel, but the real Keats on Sunday stuff. All he could do was love her with everything he had. So he did that and she relaxed again, getting more accustomed to their conjoined experience. He loved the sensations she gave him in return for his and knew with every fiber in his body that she was for him. His finger entered her anus a tiny bit, tickling and stroking the sensitive skin, but after initial resistance, she relaxed and it went in a little farther, enough to touch the spot that brought her a new kind of pleasure. Her delight thrilled him and the knowledge that he was the first to touch her there made him feel like a groom on a wedding night. “Jake.” Her breathy gasp made him groan. “Say my name again, Teri. I love it when you say my name.” “Jake.” She began a chant, every word his name. “Jake, Jake, Jake,” until it ended on a sharp cry. Her orgasm turned into his, and a breathless second later, he bathed her in heat and wetness, driving as deep as he could to give her everything he had. “I love you, Teri.” She hadn’t heard right. Surely Jake hadn’t said—he had. He surrounded her with warmth, with Jake and rocked her in the aftermath of their joint explosion. His cock, hard inside her, echoed by the smaller invasion behind, still stimulated, still brought her pleasure. “You’re an old romantic.” She tried to keep her common sense—someone had to— but when she lifted her head from his shoulder to see his face, so open, so sincere, tears stung her eyes.
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“You got that right.” He withdrew his finger slowly and lifted her off him. “We’d better shower before we leave for the studio. It can get sweaty in that place and I could drive Ryan totally insane if I didn’t shower first. Gina’s still in the States.” He didn’t let her go but lifted her into his arms. “I meant it.” He sounded as if he’d just asked her to dance, not given her the momentous statement that took her breath away. “I’ve been in your heart, in your mind. I love you.” She studied his face and tentatively lifted her hand to trace the line of his jaw. “I’m afraid, Jake.” “What?” He stared at her as if he couldn’t believe she’d just said that. “You? You’ve come through incredible things. How could you be afraid of me?” “Not of you. Of what this means.” “It means I’m in love and I want you to stay with me. You’ve been driving me mad with all that talk about going home. I want this to be your home. If you don’t like it, if you really need to go back to Springwater, I’ll come with you. But I don’t want to leave you ever again.” Teri had never been a coward. Never done anything but face head-on all the things life threw her way. So she did it now. “I love you too, Jake.” “Oh baby!” He bent to kiss her, making it long and sweet. He stood in the kitchen stark naked, kissing her, and she loved it. Once she’d made the admission, it didn’t seem so scary after all.
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Chapter Twenty Hand in hand with Jake, Teri walked out of the house that had protected her for the last two weeks and looked back at the façade. Because she’d been out in the garden out back, she knew the house was a Regency-built terraced house, one of a row overlooking Regents’ Park. Their garden was as private as it could be in this crowded city, a high old wall separating it from their neighbors, but the front was busy with activity, people passing by on their way to the Park or nearby Baker Street, one of the busiest streets in London. Jake took her around the corner to the small garage, just large enough for a couple of cars. He went to the sleek black Lexus, pressing the electronic key to open the doors. “Climb in.” He glanced at her, a grin spreading over his lips. “Unless you’d rather use the Lambo?” She eyed the dangerous-looking red Lamborghini with appreciation. “Probably not today. I won’t be able to get all my shopping in the trunk. But I’d like to drive it another day.” “Then we’d better get your license sorted out.” He pressed the ignition and pulled out the car smoothly into the constant stream of traffic. The garage door slid silently closed behind them and Teri looked back for a last glimpse of the car. “I tend to use that one out of town or when I want to make a scene somewhere.” He smiled at her, his hands relaxed on the wheel. “I never knew you liked sports cars.” “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She took her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down to give herself the twinge that reminded her who she was and what she was doing here. “That’s why I’m worried, Jake. What we said, what we’ve done—don’t you think it’s too soon?” He answered without hesitation, taking his hand off the wheel to give her hand a quick squeeze. “No, I don’t. We link fast and close. It seems to be part of being a Talent. We enter each other’s minds and read things it would take mortals months to discover. Everything else is unimportant. We have a long time to find out about each other.” That was her point. She was glad Jake introduced the subject. “Jake, I saw some really weird stuff in your head. Just glimpses. A World-War-II-style aircraft, a Ford model T, things like that. Do you carry the memories of past lives?” “No.” He took a corner with competence and Teri held her breath, because he took a left turn and driving on the left side of the road just seemed so wrong. The pinch reminding her of the real world brought her back down and she listened to him with relative calmness. “I’m a hundred and fifty years old, or thereabouts. A hundred and fifty-two, to be exact.” Her mind reeled with that thought. What had she done? Let him
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turn her into an immortal? “We live a tad longer than the average mortal. Around five hundred years, give or take. Sometimes more.” Bereft of speech, she gaped at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but you’ve had a lot to cope with. It doesn’t mean you have to live that long, only that you can if you want to.” “Euthanasia?” She wasn’t comfortable with that idea. He flicked a glance at her and winced, nearly blinded by the sun when he took another corner and it glared into his eyes. Hastily, he reached for the pair of sunglasses on the dashboard and propped them over his nose. “Yeah. My kind have never been averse to it. Bonded couples die together anyway.” “Bonded? What, like the fated mates thing in the books?” “What books? Just that when a couple chooses to, they can bind their spirits and souls and live as one person. They have to choose to do it and many don’t.” He reached out to pat her hand again and she resisted the impulse to take his hand and never let it go. He needed it for driving. “Not that I’ll ask you to take that step for a while. We’ve only just started. It’s going to be fun.” Fun. Teri had never thought about that. Yes, it would be fun. She could let herself slip into this experience and take it for what it was. Stop worrying about all of it and take it one day at a time. She was beginning to think that was the only way she could cope with things, anyway. Another shock awaited her when she discovered where “the studio” was. Only the most famous studio in the world in Abbey Road. After he’d parked the Lexus in the allotted space, Jake took her hand and led her around to the entrance with a laconic, “Might as well start the ball rolling.” A few people hung around outside the famous doorway, young school-age kids for the most part, male and female. Both responded to Jake, thrusting books and CDs at him to sign. He wouldn’t let her draw back but hauled her to his side. A few girls gave her daggers looks, but nobody said anything to her. Some held cell phones that they lifted to get photos. This friendly atmosphere soothed Teri, who’d begun to think of Jake’s fans as ravening wolves. He took her hand and they went inside. “I hate to break it to you, but we’re not using Studio 2.” He grinned at her unspoken query. “The Fab Four recorded there. We’re in 3. The mixing desk in that one is awesome.” They climbed the stairs after Jake nodded to the man behind the reception desk. “A few years ago we would have done anything for a session here. It’s happened so fast, we’re only just catching up with things. When Aidan met Corinne and recruited her, we were famous, but we could have been like so many others, shooting stars. We’d just come out of our addiction jag, starting to think straight for the first time in years. The only reason our then manager put out a live album was because we were too strung out to get it together enough for a studio one. We could always perform onstage, whatever state we were in.” 153
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He stopped at the top of the stairs and drew her close. “Those days are long gone.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “I promise you that.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” “I don’t.” With the lopsided grin she loved, he grabbed her hand and hauled her into the studio. Raucous cries of “At last!” greeted him until they saw her. Then they fell silent. Teri felt overwhelmed. This studio wasn’t particularly small, but it contained all the members of the band she’d last seen ripping up the stage in Los Angeles last year. She’d taken a special trip to see them with Cheryl and gone backstage afterward, but Jake had been surrounded by groupies so she never got to meet him. Aidan Hawthorne, aka Splinter, the soaring guitar sound a signature for the band. Aidan’s wife, Corinne, second guitarist, whose fast precision playing and crisp solos counterpointed her husband’s inspirational music so well. Aidan’s brother, Ryan, lyricist and vocalist, who had one of the greatest ranges in rock and used every note to wring the last drop of emotion out of the audience. Chris Keys, not just Jake’s brother, but Pure Wildfire’s heartbeat, combining with Jake to create what was coming to be known as one of the greatest rhythm sections in rock music. This band had provided the soundtrack to her life in recent years, echoed her pain and disappointments, her happiness when she’d met Cheryl and moved out to start her own business. And here they were, in all their slouching majesty. Smiling at her. “Hey.” Corinne came over and hugged her. “Welcome to the family.” And she didn’t mean the band, Teri realized. She meant shape-shifters. She knew Corinne was like her, made, not born. “Anything you need to know, just give me a call.” “Thanks.” She exchanged a smile with the guitarist. Ryan watched them warily from red-rimmed eyes. Had he been crying? “No, just talking far too late into the night with Gina.” “I didn’t say anything.” “You didn’t need to. The others have already made every joke possible.” Jake’s voice came from behind her. “The one about the red-ringed orifices?” “Oh yes. More than once.” Ryan heaved a theatrical sigh. “Don’t look at it as a challenge, Jake. You have an advantage over me.” Jake snaked his arm around Teri’s waist and hugged her close. “I do. When will Gina be back?” “Next week.” “Six days, five hours and twenty-nine minutes,” Chris intoned, and over the laughs, he nodded to Teri. “Welcome.” “Thanks. I don’t know if I should be here though. I know you don’t like people coming in to your sessions.”
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Ryan shrugged, the gesture supremely elegant on his slim dancer’s form. “You’re not ‘people’. If Jake wants you here, then you’re welcome.” “Thanks.” She felt somewhat surprised. Ryan shot her a mischievous grin. “You’ll be bored though.” Teri couldn’t imagine being bored. It wasn’t possible. The band was creating their new album here, how could it be boring? Three hours later, she wished she’d brought a book. Those three hours had been spent on one song. Just one. They listened to every note, played it slow, separated all the tracks, added echo, took it off again. Only when Jake picked up the bass guitar from its stand did she perk up. She’d never heard Jake play, not since she’d gotten to know him better. Never this close. Jake struck a few notes and adjusted the tuning pegs, then kicked one of the foot controls. He struck a few more notes and grunted, before putting a pair of headphones on. He nodded to the engineer in the box. “Ready?” “Go for it.” Teri sat very, very still as Jake played a variation on the original bass line. He played until the middle eight, then sped up the tempo a tiny amount before returning to the original rhythm. She’d never heard him play solo. The sight of Jake Keys doing his job reminded her what he was and how incongruous her presence actually was. What was she thinking? How many women had told him they loved him? But I never told anyone I loved her before. The voice came through their private channel of communication, perfectly calm, even while he was playing a run of notes to enhance the track that only he could hear. That moment was infinitely precious to her. Even more when he finished playing and looked up to meet her eyes. It was as if only the two of them sat in this room, that the rest of the band, appreciatively listening, ceased to exist. The exchange lasted barely a moment as the music faded and everyone sat still. Then the engineer announced, “Good one. Want me to feed it in and play it back?” “Sure,” said Jake, but he didn’t take his gaze away from her. Ryan made a sound of disgust. “You know you’re driving me crazy here? You want to know why my eyes are red? Because I’m not sleeping, that’s why. So do me a favor, guys.” He strode to the far end of the studio and raked his hands through his short, red hair. “God, I miss her!” The frank admission astonished Teri. No man she’d ever known had the balls to say something like that. They’d put on a brave face. But not Ryan Hawthorne. He didn’t care who knew how deeply he loved and missed his wife. “Have you tried holding her pillow?” Teri ventured.
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Ryan turned to face her, a slight smile gracing his lips. “Yeah. But her scent’s gone now. I call her in New York and let her talk me to sleep. That’s the only thing that works. But it didn’t work last night, so we just talked.” Such deep love, so honestly expressed, was something Teri hadn’t come across before. It took real bravery and honesty to do that. Her admiration for Pure Wildfire’s singer went up another notch. Honesty seemed to run in the family as Aidan crossed the room and pulled Ryan into his arms for a brotherly hug. He released him and grinned. “Bonded, aren’t you?” “Oh yeah.” The word would mean little to the engineer and his assistants sitting in the box and was so mundane it could pass unnoticed, but everyone else knew what that meant. One soul, one heart. No wonder separation was hard for them. Teri wondered if Gina was suffering as much and then knew that she was. Ryan glanced at her and grinned. “A whole new world, eh?” She nodded. “You’ll get used to it. You have four friends here you can rely on. And Jake.” He swung around to face the others. “So here’s my news, gang. Gina’s relocating. Starting a branch of the agency in London. How’s that?” He beamed, as bright as he’d been depressed and frustrated a moment before, and his smile proved so infectious that Teri couldn’t help but grin back. “Hey, man, that’s great news!” Aidan clapped him on the back. “Will she tour with us too?” “Probably not all the time, but certainly some of it. The world tours are going to be a problem, but hey, we can cope. It’ll probably wear off by then.” Aidan exchanged a glance with Corinne. “I don’t think so.” The mood in the room had lightened with Ryan’s news, but unlike many close-knit groups, they didn’t exclude Teri. She would have understood it if they had done, they were used to working together and she was new to them. And not a musician. No more than Gina is, Jake reminded her, ambling across to her. He still had his guitar slung across his shoulder, as much a part of him as his limbs. He caught her close for a brief kiss then raised his head. “Are we done here?” “Sure. Another few days should see us putting this away. Are you up for an allnighter tomorrow? If we work all day, we’ll probably see this thing done.” Chris grunted. “I did have a little party planned. Just the three of us, but I guess I can put the girls off for a night. They’ll be pissed though. I’ll have to come up with something extra special for them, but I think I can manage that.” “You still seeing Paige and Ashley?” Jake drawled. Chris grinned then shot a guilty glance at Corinne. After all, she was their sister. “Somebody got to keep them happy, bro. They’re not too overjoyed about their reception in Springwater.”
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“I wasn’t too crazy about my reception there, come to that,” Jake added. He hugged Teri closer before releasing her. “I don’t think either of us will be going back. At least not for long.” “I have to go and pack things up, arrange to sell the house, that kind of thing,” Teri said and watched Jake’s face. Happiness flooded him, but all he said was, “I’ll come with you.” “That place was never any good for you, Jake,” Chris said laconically, then shot a look at the engineering booth. “I’m glad you’ve decided to give it up.” Jake laughed. “I gave it up a long time ago, but it kept following me. When Cheryl found out my links with the town, that was her in.” “How did she find out?” She’s a Sorcerer. She read me. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Jake’s laugh told her he’d picked up her laconic thought. He slung an arm around her shoulders. “We’re out of here.” “What are you doing?” Chris asked. “Is it safe for Teri to go out in the open now?” “Oh yes.” Jake faced them, smiling broadly. “We’re home free now. Just ourselves to think about.” “So when’s the wedding?” Ryan demanded. He’d regained most of his insouciance, but under it, she saw real interest and a warmth she’d never expected from the wildest child in the band. “Don’t rush it,” Jake growled. “We’re taking a bit of time. A holiday, maybe, a bit of R and R and Teri has a life to sort out. She’s not giving up work for me.” “What do you do?” Aidan asked. “I’m an event planner.” She sighed, remembering the business she and Cheryl worked so hard to set up. “At least I was. They all cancelled after Cheryl died.” Ryan swore. “Tough shit, kid. But think about it a bit. There are other kinds of events. Your skills are co-coordinating the services and creating an overall theme, am I right?” Jake’s head went up and he stared at Ryan. “That’s about it.” “Well, there are events other than weddings and bar mitzvahs. Band tours, for instance. Album launch parties.” “Oh yeah.” She felt Jake’s realization. “Definitely worth thinking about. You need to meet our manager, Randy Norwood. You into that?” With excitement slowly creeping over her, she recognized the rightness of the idea. She’d been thinking too small. Concerts, big events, Christmas designs for the big stores and malls. She’d spent the last five years learning her trade. Now it could be time for her to move up. “Oh yes. I’m into that.”
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While they were out, Jake’s cleaning lady was to arrive and do her thing. She called Jake while they were lunching at an English pub. Jake had fuzzed, so people saw him but didn’t recognize him, and sure as hell they weren’t going to recognize Teri. She loved the pub experience, except for the beer, which was both stronger and more bitter than anything at home. And while she wouldn’t call it warm, it wasn’t chilled like she was used to. But then, the weather here was actually bearable. The day was sunny, but not overbearingly hot. She couldn’t understand why people walked into the pub complaining about the heat. Jake answered his cell. “Mrs. Wells! Sorry about the mess, but we—” He listened for a minute or two. “Yes, okay. Tell the men to bring them in and put them in the hall. We’ll see to them when we get in. Yes, Mrs. Wells. Okay.” He listened some more. “Sure. Yes, it’s good to be back. Thanks for looking after the house so well while I was away. Put the letters in the study as usual, please. Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” After a laugh and another thanks, he hung up and turned to her. “Your luggage has arrived.” “What?” “It seems someone packed up your clothes and sent them on. I’m guessing the Department saw to it. Maybe Agent Blackburn.” She snuggled close to him. “That’s nice.” “So do you still want to shop or should we just…” He waggled his brows. She laughed, lighthearted, as the realization hit her. Her life finally meant something. Things were coming together. If she took the chance and started her own business, or worked for someone else in the larger arena, she would have something of her own. And that meant a lot to her. “I still want to shop.” “Then I’ll come with you.” He kissed the top of her head. “What else am I going to do?” “Play guitar?” “I can do that too. Later.” He bent lower and murmured to her. “If I promise to play to you, will you promise to listen to me—naked?” It sounded good to Teri.
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Chapter Twenty-One “Oh God!” “What is it?” Jake shot into the bedroom at full-tilt to see Teri holding up a ragged piece of cloth. He vaguely recognized it as a jacket, the sleeves the only recognizable part of the garment. The lid of the biggest case that had been waiting for them when they got home was thrown open and Teri knelt before it. He wanted to grab her away from it when he saw the rest of the contents. Agent Blackburn had certainly not sent these cases. One look inside the case told him everything was completely trashed. “Shit.” “Yeah.” She stirred the contents a little and an unmistakable stink wafted up to them. “Close it.” Teri looked up at him blankly, so he shoved the lid closed with his foot and stepped across the thing to get to her. “Baby, come away. Let me deal with it.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. He hated to see her like this. She was so strong and she hated crying. She’d probably done more of it recently than ever before in her life and he guessed she’d allowed herself a weep when he hadn’t been around too. “That’s my life. He’s trashed the whole of my life.” Because there was no doubt who’d done this. Chauncey fucking Morris. Jake made up his mind. If Agent Blackburn couldn’t do anything, he would. This had to stop. “There’s not much I can say, sweetheart. Except I’m going to find that bastard and kill him for you.” “What, so that I’ll lose you too? No, please, Jake. Leave him. Let somebody else deal with it.” He carried her across to the bed and laid her gently on it. “Let me get rid of that thing and I’ll be right back.” He didn’t want the case polluting their bedroom any longer. Although the smell had diminished when he closed the lid, just having the obscenity there tainted the room. He found all three cases and dropped them in the utility room. If Morris was stupid enough to shit in them himself, they’d add to the evidence and he wanted a restriction order on the man until they got him for murdering Cheryl and Elizabeth Diller. Otherwise, he’d have dumped the whole lot. One way or another, he’d get Morris. Nobody did that to his woman and got away with it. Suppressing his fury the best he could, he went back upstairs to comfort Teri.
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She was lying dry-eyed in the bed, but she turned her face to look at him when he entered the room. Her expression broke his heart. Totally blank. He picked up the phone and dialed the number Agent Scott Blackburn had given him. The agent answered immediately. “Hi.” “It’s Jake Keys.” Jake told Scott about the luggage as succinctly as he could. “Fuck.” “Tell me about it.” Blackburn gave a heavy sigh. “Chauncey Morris got away.” “What?” “We got most of his cell, took them in and wiped them, but Chauncey Morris was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Teri and conspiracy to kill Cheryl and Elizabeth. We had him in custody, but he got away. Legally. The official story is that Diller killed Cheryl because she was having an affair with his wife, then he killed his wife. He assumed Teri was involved and came to kill her too, so Morris had to kill him. Diller ain’t alive to tell the tale. They’re calling him a freaking hero, Jake.” Jake swore. “I should have known better than to trust the fucking law. Can’t you get him for anything at all?” “Well, we can now. If it’s his shit in those cases, we’ve got him and you can have him kept away from you. We have to work within the law, Jake.” “I’m telling you, if he comes near Teri, I’ll kill him.” Although Jake kept his tone nice and even, he meant every word. “I’ll arrange to have the cases picked up.” That surprised him. “You’re in London?” “No, but I know a man who is. The Department is international. I’ll brief them and get someone to call round. He or she will be a Talent, so they’ll identify themselves that way.” He paused. “We’ll keep an eye on him over here and make sure he doesn’t try to get to you. You can get a restraint order in the UK. Stop him from coming near Teri.” Jake considered it. “That’s what I thought. I’ll talk to Teri about it.” “Is she okay with this?” Jake nearly smashed his phone against the wall and worked hard to keep his voice below ten decibels. “She’s recently converted, her worldly goods have been trashed, she’s in a new country, what do you think?” “Tell her I’m sorry.” “Yeah. So am I.” Teri surprised him by reaching out and putting her hand on his arm. “You’re right, Jake. My telepathy is getting better.” “Hey.” His voice softened when he talked to her. He heard it and he was glad. He turned back to the phone. “Just keep trying to get him, okay?”
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“Sure. If Teri came over to witness his attack, we might be able to, but as you know, there are some hinky things about that scenario. We could work something out.” Jake sighed. “What would that do?” Blackburn echoed the sigh. “Not as much as you want. We’re keeping a close eye on him. He’s going in to work every day, behaving like normal. Listen, if everything else fails, we’ll get a Sorcerer to wipe him and block him.” Jake shuddered. “What’s he talking about?” He turned to address her, leaving Blackburn to stew. “Sorcerers have exceptional psi gifts. They can slice and dice a person, take out what they want. A Sorcerer could wipe his emotions of you and put a block in his mind, making him want to avoid you. It’s illegal unless it’s sanctioned, but we can get it sanctioned.” She studied his face, her eyes sharply assessing. “So what’s wrong with doing that?” “It’s Compulsion, something no Talent likes to do. Making someone do something they wouldn’t agree to do. Persuasion is okay, but not compulsion. And it hurts.” “Who does it hurt?” “Both.” She frowned. “Then I don’t want it to happen on my account.” He went back to the phone. “We’ll let you know.” “Jake, there’s something else you might want to know.” “Yeah?” “We’ve been looking into Chauncey Morris’s background. It turns out he wasn’t a stranger to Springwater, or his folks weren’t. His great-great-grandmother lived there. Luanne Meredith.” Previously Louanne Keys. The woman who’d helped drive him out of town in the nineteenth century. “Fuck. Are you serious?” “Absolutely. No mistake. She probably reared all her kids with a hatred of your kind. It explains why Chauncey Morris hated Talents enough to join the PHR if that hatred was passed on. The Sorcerer genes probably came from his father’s side. That must have been a pisser for him.” Jake gripped the phone tightly, carefully getting himself back in control. “And you can’t take him in?” “We will. We’re waiting until he gets some leave or stops working double shifts. Then we’ll take him and wipe him.” There didn’t seem to be much else Jake could do right now. “Okay. Keep in touch.” “Sure thing.” If it had been anyone but Teri, Jake might have felt sorry for the harassed Agent Blackburn. He’d helped them get out the country and he could see the bind the man 161
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was in. His intervention made prosecuting Morris almost impossible. How to explain the giant bird that transformed into a man and took Teri away? Not that he would have done anything differently. He put down the phone, not caring where it landed, and turned to her. Teri was smiling. A very faint smile, but she was smiling. “Oh Teri, don’t do that. You’ll break me up.” “I’ll smile if I want to. What have I lost? Some clothes, some photos, some other things. I don’t have many sentimental treasures, Jake. My life hasn’t been like that. My parents died when I was little and the photos I have from that time don’t mean a lot to me. I know they should, but I don’t remember it clearly enough. I have a few pictures left that weren’t in the Springwater house, but in storage. I lost clothes. I honestly don’t care about those. I’ve never cared much for clothes, just have what I need. I don’t keep personal diaries. My house in Springwater was always meant to be a temporary measure, that’s all.” Her smile broadened a little. “Jake, I never had a home past the age of ten. I had a good upbringing, but the people who looked after me didn’t invest more emotion in me than they had to. They had many foster children and they were good at what they did. We’re friends still, but that’s all. Yeah, losing those things is a blow, but I still have a good bank account, a good degree. I can start again. And I have you. I don’t know for how long, but that makes up for everything. Everything.” The prick of tears was beginning to feel familiar to Jake. He entered her mind, almost reverently. Inside, despite her brave words, he found her warring with her tears, trying to stay calm. “I will not allow that man to upset me anymore,” she said. “I love you. I want to be with you. That’s what matters.” “Oh Teri!” He took two hasty strides to the bed and folded his arms around her, sinking down by her side. “You should be upset. This guy has tried to ruin your life.” She lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Instead, he drove me into your arms. If he hadn’t killed Cheryl and Liz, if he hadn’t been eaten up with jealousy, he might have got me back. You left.” “I came back. I was always going to come back.” “That might have been too late. I have to tell you this, Jake. I liked Chauncey Morris. At least I thought I did.” “Not like he is now, baby.” He stroked her hair, relishing the silken texture. “You’re fiercely independent, and apart from everything else, he’s too possessive for you. You would never have stayed with him for long.” She sighed. “You could be right. So why do you think I’m going to stay with you?” He gave a small, bleak smile. “I don’t. I want you to, but I don’t have any ties. Once you’re used to your new state as a firebird, there’s nothing to stop you walking.” “That’s why I’m staying,” she said softly.
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He couldn’t resist anymore. He leaned forward and kissed her, gently and lovingly. He’d wanted to kiss her this way for a long, long time. He’d kissed her passionately, seductively but this time it was love. He didn’t expect anything and he didn’t want to do anything except love her, any way she wanted him to. “Teri, I’m so sorry. But I’ll try to make it up to you.” “You did nothing, Jake. You just tried to look after me without smothering me and you tried to make me happy. Make me happy now.” His smile warmed her right through. “It’s my pleasure.” He rolled so he was lying over her, all his weight off her body. “You should rest.” “Jake, I’m sick of resting. I’m getting stronger every day. I want to live a life again, a real life.” “Soon, baby, soon. I want to catch the bastard first. If it takes a Sorcerer, then we’ll use one, but this guy is a grade A stalker as well as a bigoted fuck.” “Can we forget him? Just for a while?” “Anything you say.” He kissed her, just touching his lips to hers, but returned for another taste. This time he opened her mouth, flicking his tongue over her lips and then entering to taste her in a leisurely way. He savored her, enjoyed her unique flavor. I’m open to you, love. Anything you require is here for you. Let me love you. Serve you. Just love me, Jake. Let me love you back. He deepened their kiss, enjoying her flavor and sharing his. His hands stroked her, as if soothing an agitated cat, firm, strong sweeps of his hands down from her breasts to her hips. When he lifted his head, he kissed her chin, her forehead before drawing back to gaze into her eyes. “Shall we get naked?” “Sounds like a good idea.” He lifted off her long enough to strip his t-shirt over his head and then help her with hers. He lingered to admire her breasts tucked into a lilac bra, the swells enticing him with their plump fullness above the lace. “I’ve improved your underwear anyway.” “Only for your pleasure.” “And, I hope, yours too. Don’t they feel better than your old, plain underclothes?” She smiled. “I like to wear them, knowing you know what I have on. It’s our secret. Some of them aren’t as comfortable, but feeling them cupping my breasts can turn me on because you’ll enjoy removing them later.” “Damn straight I do.” He slipped his hands under her, lifting her a little so he could unclip the enticing underwear. She lifted her arms so he could slide the straps down and off her, tossing the garment on the floor somewhere. Now that she wasn’t in the bra, his interest in the lacy garment disappeared entirely. Teri held all his interest. “Your breasts are so pretty,” he told her now. “Beautifully curved and they always look dewy, with a sheen on them that invites tasting.” 163
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“Then what are you waiting for?” “I like to look too.” He kissed her, licking his way down to her nipples, the morsels he wanted to kiss and suck. But anticipation was half the feast. “What do I taste like, Jake?” He touched his lips to her nipple and sneaked his tongue out for a quick lick. She shivered delightfully. “Strawberries.” He took another lick. “Maybe raspberries is closer. And a touch of spice. Cinnamon maybe.” He sucked gently. “Very, very good.” Her long drawn-out sigh was better than any of the music he’d played that day. He kissed one nipple, then the other, trying to get them to the same level of stiffness. They peaked for him and he pulled them erect, curling his tongue around them, drawing them out. Now they glistened, the tips tautly furled for him. He licked the crease underneath, tasting her heat and her need. “Sweet.” She leaned up, but he pushed her back against the pillows. “Let me love you, Teri. Do what I want to you, with you. Try to make you completely mine.” “Oh Jake!” “No. Don’t tell me anything. Let me win you over.” “You—” He put a finger over her lips to quiet her, but she sucked it into her mouth, letting her tongue run over his knuckles. His breath sounded in a hiss of wanting. He wanted to plunge his dick deep into her body, but he also wanted to take his time and relish every inch of her. Working down her body, he tasted her navel, dipped his tongue around the little indentation and found the spot just inside her hips that she loved having licked. She gripped the sheet under her body, her fist relaxing when he strengthened his caress from a tickle to suckle. A low groan made her breasts quiver and Jake couldn’t resist reaching up a hand to pinch, soothing the sting with a caress, then taking her nipple between thumb and forefinger and drawing the nipple up high. He unzipped her jeans and made short work of stripping them off, before stripping off his own, taking his underwear with them. He kicked them away and sat up to look at her again. The lilac lace panties enhanced rather than hid the shadow of her pubic hair and curls shyly peeped around the edge of the scanty underwear. He teased one with his finger. She lay still, legs apart, hands on his chest, watching him. Her smile warmed him right through. This was almost enough. But not quite. He skimmed her panties down her legs and took a deep breath, the delicate scent of her arousal perfuming the air. “You are so beautiful.” “No, you are.” The way she looked at him, he almost believed it. He kept himself fit, but he didn’t think his body was anything but utilitarian. 164
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She laughed. “I heard that. You’re anything but utilitarian, my love. You’re strong, your skin feels like velvet under my hands and I love the hair on your chest. Silky. And this.” She slid her hands down his body to cup his balls and palm his erection. Closing her fist around him, she pumped. Jake threw his head back and howled. She heated him faster than a Ferrari could get from zero to sixty. He flicked the untidy strands of his hair back from his face and went in for the kill, his mouth open, dying to taste her most intimate places. When he touched her labia and used his tongue to ease between, he knew this was his home. Teri made a small cry and lifted her body up for him. Jake opened his mouth on her and took one lavish lick, taking her essence into him. He wanted more. Breathing her in, her flavor lush on his tongue, he drove deep into her, pleasure seeping through him when he felt her resulting flood of bodily juices. Just for him. Only for him. He’d shared women before, but he’d never share her. If another man looked at her wrong, he’d kill him. “No violence. Not tonight,” she whispered. He understood what she meant because he felt it too. After the recent hostility and hatred, their bed would be dedicated to love and pleasure tonight. Nothing else. “You’re mine, Teri,” he murmured against her skin and dove in for another taste. He wanted to make her come again and again. He wanted to taste her, but he wanted to be inside her as well. He could have both and he would. Sucking her clit right out of its protective hood, he tenderly caressed it with his tongue and brought his hand up to push two fingers inside her. Her resultant cry filled him with triumph, but he wasn’t finished with her yet. He scissored his fingers inside her, opening her to take another finger. “Oh Jake!” Jake didn’t let up. He sucked hard, felt her clit expand and stiffen inside his mouth and drove his fingers deep inside her. His cock strained, pushed at him for release, but he could wait. He didn’t want to stop working her to please himself. The power he had over her body drove him to work her more deeply and try another finger. She jerked, but not in pain. Carefully, lingering in her mind to sense any twinge of discomfort, he worked four fingers inside her body. Her flesh, impossibly soft, drew him in, inviting him. When he fluttered his fingers inside her, she howled and would have pulled away, but it was only a reflex action and he held her steady for his invading fingers and tongue. An orgasm rippled through her—the first one tonight, but not the last if he had anything to do with it. Jake had never felt a woman this intimately. Usually he let them do him, happy to allow a woman to work his body, taking her pleasure and his. This was different. He wanted her, but her pleasure was paramount and he obtained all his satisfaction from hers. Sharing her enjoyment, lingering in her mind, Jake loved her, lost to everything but this woman, this bed, this moment.
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Slowly he withdrew his fingers but couldn’t resist another taste. He drank her, absorbed her and relished the taste of her body on his tongue. After driving his tongue as deep inside her as he could go, Jake reluctantly listened to the demands of his own body and lifted up again, coming up the bed. Her eyes were half closed, but she gazed up at him with love. Strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, the rest spread across his pillow. Their pillow, he realized. Everything he owned was hers and she was welcome to it. Including this, his body. She clutched his buttocks and lifted her knees, opening her legs wide for him. “Higher,” he whispered. “Lift your knees right up, darling.” Teri willingly did as he wanted, hugging his ribs with her knees and curling her feet across his waist. Only then did he descend, his cock finding its way home without guidance. They both sighed as he slid inside her. Impossibly deep and yet not deep enough, he felt every fold of slick flesh glide over his sensitive skin, caressing him with her inner body. When she clenched, he hissed in a breath and gave a grunt of effort, trying not to come before his first stroke. She laughed, a deep, throaty sound of delight. “You like that?” “Hell yes!” She clenched her muscles again and Jake nearly lost it. His seed and his reputation. Not that he would have cared, except that he wanted this to go on forever. His first drive made her cry out, her body going rigid, every muscle clenched for him, not just the ones in her vagina. He knew she was close, he felt it in her mind and in every taut line of her body. Jake regained a little control and forced his orgasm back. Not yet, not yet. He drove hard inside her, feeling the extra inch push its way into her, and she took it all. Took it and cried out for more. “Never stop, Jake, oh God, darling!” she managed before a sudden, piercing orgasm took all her words away temporarily. “That’s it, baby. Keep coming. Go for it!” He thrust hard into her, his rhythm helping him to drive her up without driving himself mad. His balls slapped against her sweet ass. Maybe one day they’d explore that too. Maybe tonight. But for now he loved her, pushing up on his hands so he could watch her. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy, but as he gazed at her, she opened them, brilliant and sparkling. “Jake!” “Baby, don’t stop now.” His breath came in short pants and he pounded into her, pushing her relentlessly to come again before he finally lost it. He spurted into her in long, forceful streams, unable to control his body now. Only his hands, locked at the elbows, prevented him from slumping onto her, completely lost in her body and mind. In her love.
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When she screamed, he held on for exactly three more thrusts, but then his body turned to mush and he collapsed on the bed like a felled tree. But a tree never heaved for breath like this and wasn’t quite so wet with love and with sweat. He curled in to her, held her tight and almost immediately fell asleep.
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Chapter Twenty-Two “An all-nighter?” Jake grinned at her. “We want to get this album in the bag. We’ve worked hard on this, but we’re all tired and it’s time for a break. Randy’s sorting out a big world tour to start sooner than we all like, so if we don’t finish Moonfire soon, we won’t get any kind of vacation.” He bent and kissed her. “Mmm. And I want a vacation. With you. Soon.” “Oh where?” She put down her pencil and lifted her brows in a question. “Secret! But we have to wrap this up and we think one more long session could do it. Are you coming?” She bit her lower lip. “This is going really well.” Finally her muse had returned and she was thinking around a theme of stage design. Not for Pure Wildfire, but for another of Randy’s bands. He peered over her shoulder. “I like that,” he said and dipped a little lower to nuzzle her neck. “You should work with the Celtic Chicks. God knows they need a bit of direction.” “Isn’t that Paige and Ashley Westfall?” “And their man of the moment. Their father needs them now, he’s lost a lot of bands recently. He’s going into a new business, so I heard. TV Svengali.” “Sounds interesting.” She stifled a yawn. “Doesn’t it?” His voice warmed as if he was grinning. “I suppose I should tell you.” She half turned to meet his gaze. “That you slept with them both?” Now it was her turn to grin. “Yes, I knew.” “Don’t you mind?” “As long as you don’t do it again, no.” He took her lips in a long, luscious kiss. “Never. That’s a promise.” He kissed her again. “I don’t want to go.” “I don’t want you to either, but if this is the last time, then it’s worth it.” “I suppose so.” After one more kiss, he reluctantly got to his feet. “You’ll be okay?” “Sure.” She flashed him a grin. “I was the night before last, wasn’t I? Jake, you’ve made me strong. I can fight back now.” “Let’s hope you don’t have to.” He sauntered to the door and paused to look back at her. “Lock as soon as I’ve gone. Don’t get caught up in those designs.” She laughed. “It’s not as if I’m a real artist.”
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He winked at her. “I’d say you’re doing real well, darlin’.” He closed the door, laughing when she threw a pencil at him. He’d broken the mood, as he’d wanted to, she realized. She’d forced herself to try designing, before now Cheryl’s territory, and found that although her drawings weren’t as accomplished or as professional as her late partner’s, she could sketch out her ideas close enough to convey them to other people. Perhaps being with artists—one in particular—aided the creative process. She got up and went downstairs to the kitchen. She might as well get herself a hot drink while she was down there. Jake’s kitchen—the only part of the house he still thought of as his—demonstrated his interest in cooking. The stove and sink were brushed stainless steel, the surfaces either steel or marble. In the cupboards and the two large refrigerators were specialist foods and sophisticated electrical equipment, some of which Jake had used once and put away. Teri didn’t know what half the stuff did. She eyed the coffeemaker but passed it by with a sigh. She’d never get any sleep if she made herself a pot. She couldn’t pass the door to the utility room without a shudder, knowing what Jake had stashed there, but someone would collect them in the morning. Jake told her they’d promised to salvage what they could. Swallowing back her tears, she determined not to look back until it hurt less, but to look forward. She had a lot to look forward to. Digging into her jeans’ pocket, she retrieved the keys to the back door. As she reached for the lock, the door smashed open. Teri stepped back just in time to stop it smashing her face, her heart pounding double time. Chauncey Morris grinned at her. “Ready to come home now, sweetheart?” “You’re looking particularly pleased with yourself, Jake.” Jake gave Aidan a grin. “Just like you’ve been looking ever since you got with Corinne.” Corinne looked up from her guitar tuning. “Does that mean you and Teri are a bit more than a temporary convenience?” Jake nodded, too happy to hide anything. Unlike Ryan, who glowered at him, but he was glowering at everybody these days. “Long-distance love is a shitter. Will she be going back to the States?” “Not if I can help it.” Chris tested the edge of a hi-hat cymbal, running his finger along the edge. “Fuck, that’s sharp.” “You think?” Jake tightened a bass string. “Why do you do that, Chris? You cut your finger every single fucking time.” Chris shrugged. “Maybe I like pain.”
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Jake gave him a glance. Yes, that figured. His brother had some weird-ass kinks sometimes, but he suspected a lot of it was sheer boredom. Much as he’d been a couple of months ago. Right before he met Teri. Time to tell them. He couldn’t be surer. He cleared his throat. “Actually, I was thinking of asking her to marry me. Teri.” Chris was the first to break the astonished silence. “You’ve only just come out of one marriage. Are you sure you want to go right into another one?” “Oh yeah.” He shook his hair back and confronted them all. “Anybody got a problem with that?” Nobody had. In fact, Ryan grinned for the first time in weeks. “Yeah, well, longdistance or not, it’s a hell of a lot better than what I had before. Congratulations, Jake.” He pulled off his headphones and crossed the floor to shake Jake’s hand. “Welcome to the madness, pal.” Jake tugged on his hand and brought him in for a quick hug, slapping his back to keep it masculine. Now that he’d found Teri, he understood why Ryan was missing Gina so much. Not just the sex, but the talking, knowing there was somebody coming home or to come home to. It was then a thought pierced his mind. Jake! Jake, help! He pulled back and lifted the strap of his bass over his head. “Anyone else hear that?” Aidan frowned at him warningly, indicating the engineers in the box with a jerk of his head. Jake opened up. Chauncey’s here! “Gotta go.” There was a general dumping of instruments. Guitars hummed as they hit the floor and Chris’s bass drum thumped just once. Despite the engineer yelling through the mike, they were out of there. “Chauncey, what are you doing here?” Heart thumping hard enough to burst through her chest, Teri took a couple of deep breaths, trying to center herself. After her initial cry to Jake, she remembered what he’d told her, that telepathy didn’t work over long distances. So she had no idea if he heard her or not. In any case, even if he shapeshifted and flew, he wouldn’t get here in time because Chauncey held a gun on her and nobody could speed faster than a bullet. Not this side of a comic book, anyway. “I’ve come to take you home, sweetheart.” He took a step into the room and his face hardened when she took a corresponding step back. “How fast can you pack?” He leered at her. “Oh wait, you haven’t got anything to pack anymore, have you?” “Why did you do that, Chauncey?” It took everything she had to keep her voice steady. She used a trick she’d seen Ryan use recently and lowered her chin to keep the muscles in her throat steady. “Why did you destroy those things?” “I hadn’t given them to you. In future, the only things you’ll have are the ones I give to you. You deserve better and I’m going to see you get it. Come on, sweetheart,
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we have a plane to catch. We gotta do a fast turnaround because the people watching me think I’m holed up in my house sleepin’ off a succession of double shifts. We’re not going back to Springwater. I got us somewhere else for now.” He took another step and this time she didn’t step back, afraid of how he would react. His expression scared her, beneficent like a mindless goon tricked by some false god. But she was very much afraid that the god was her. “I—I have to wait for Jake to come home.” That was a mistake. At the name, Chauncey’s face darkened. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come for you sooner. That was unavoidable, I couldn’t get away. Has he hurt you?” She shook her head. “Chauncey, I really can’t go without talking to him first. It wouldn’t be fair.” Her voice softened just a little. She’d never acted so well before in her life. “Besides, if I left without telling him, he’d come after me.” “And he’d die for it.” Chauncey waved the gun and slipped his free hand into his pocket, drawing out a syringe. “One jab of this and he won’t be able to do his little party trick for a while. Go get your passport, Teri. It’s time to go home. Jake Keys won’t find us.” He’d know she had her passport handy, so she couldn’t lie about it not being available. It would take some time to get to the airport—Heathrow and Gatwick were both some distance away, so that would give Jake more time, but she’d have to send him some kind of message. And although she’d left her mind open, she couldn’t sense him at all. At least Chauncey hadn’t stuck her with the needle, which meant he didn’t believe she was a shape-shifter now. “Okay, Chauncey.” If she got that gun off him, she could take him, no problem. Her new form gave her far more strength, but with that weapon, he could kill her. How had he got the thing through Customs? The Brits didn’t allow personal firearms and confiscated any they found. But she knew they were available on the black market. Nothing like a little flattery, it might put him off his guard. “How on earth did you get that thing? That must have taken a lot of thought.” A shadow of a smile flickered across his face. “I had some contacts in London just in case I needed them. You forget, darling, I’m a lawman. We have all kinds of contacts.” And he’d been a lawman in the big city, he’d only moved to a small town recently. Shit. Yes, he’d have contacts. If they went out in public, he’d have to hide his gun. She might have a better chance out of doors. She led the way to the spacious drawing-room. Her passport was in the elegant bookcase-bureau in the corner. She took her time, pulling out the supports from each side and lowering the flap-down top. “Come on, what are you doing?” “This is an antique, Chauncey. It deserves to be looked after.”
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When Chauncey shot the bureau, she couldn’t suppress her scream. The glass in the bookcase door shattered just above her head and she leaped back, passport in hand, to avoid the falling glass. This time she forgot her fear and spun around to face him. “You fucking idiot! Not only could you have hurt me, you’ve destroyed a beautiful piece of furniture!” “You never cursed before you met that bastard.” He strode to her and grabbed her wrist. “You need taking in hand.” “And you’re the man to do it?” she demanded, still furious. That was when Jake managed to contact her. He came through loud and clear. Hang tight. I got you now, baby. I’m fine. Chauncey’s here and he’s got a gun. He’s insane, Jake. Shape-shift. Do it now. No! If I do that he’ll know what I am and he doesn’t know yet. Jake cut off his curses, but returned in a couple of seconds. Shape-shift. Just do it! He was right. The mad light in Chauncey’s eyes was getting worse. She had to become the bird. “Yes, I’m the man to tame you. And I will.” She took a deep breath and held it, aware of Chauncey glaring at her, preparing to shape-shift and go small, to avoid any shot. But she couldn’t do it in one smooth motion the way Jake did. Her bird came out its natural size and only then could she grow or shrink. Feathers popped out on her bare arms and her claws began to grow. Then they stopped. She tried again. They stopped again. Chauncey stared at her, eyes wide, but not with horror or surprise. No, it was a mixture of madness and concentration. She entered his mind, and for the first time saw his mind wide open Chauncey Morris was a Talent. One with very sophisticated psi skills. His telepathy easily surpassed hers and he held himself back, for now. What had Jake said? “They can kill with a thought. They’re lethal, Teri.” Shock arced through her, like an electric bolt. “What are you doing, Chauncey?” He held the gun just out of her reach. “Stopping you changing. He’s done a terrible thing to you sweetheart. What he’s done is an abomination of nature. But it can be reversed.” “You’re a Talent?” He wrenched her toward him so they stood breasts to chest and fumbled in his pocket. They were so close she could smell his foul breath. No doubt he hadn’t eaten for days. He must have grabbed a flight as soon as he went off duty. She’d bet his passport didn’t say Chauncey Morris. He’d worked it all out. He’d have an alibi arranged, maybe including a time shift.
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Fear had left her. With the wanton destruction of a lovely piece of furniture, he’d shattered her fear of him, leaving only anger and a determination to stop him getting away with this. “I’ve heard that expression, but I don’t like it. No, I just have a knack for doing a few things and I’ve learned a few more. I can do stuff, but it doesn’t make me a deviant, like them. I can combat his kind and what he’s made you into.” Which explained why she couldn’t get in touch with Jake anymore. Chauncey was blocking her. She’d left her mind open for him, but now she closed it down, knowing it would only let him in. “Why do you hate them?” He grimaced. “You have to ask me that?” He grasped her shoulders and pushed her away from him before dragging the syringe out of his pocket. “You? Teri, you can’t be serious!” She was, but she tried not to show it. He’d pushed her near the shards of glass left from the bookcase top of the bureau. One, a long piece, lay close to her foot. Without a weapon, she hadn’t a hope of stopping Chauncey. He was a big man, near two hundred pounds, she’d guess, and she wasn’t the biggest of women. It sucked to be short. But at least she was closer to the ground. Teri dropped her passport, making it part of her stumble when he pushed her away and she went down, bending to retrieve it. But she left the passport where it lay. Instead, she came up with the long piece of glass in her hand. Careless of the cuts she was receiving, she slashed at Chauncey, who wasn’t fast enough to move back. A long slash appeared across his upper arm and chest. Not deep, but enough to make him swear and lose his concentration. She went again, aiming for his belly. The glass went in, but not before Chauncey got off a shot. Teri didn’t feel the sting, but a sensation of cold, slicing through her lower body as if he’d stabbed her with a piece of ice. She lost sensation in her right leg and went down, not faking her fall this time. Chauncey swore, and as he came for her, his mind opened with all its terrible strength and she went down. With one last effort, she brought the glass up. If it pierced her, so be it, but she’d get him as well. Jake shape-shifted and fuzzed at the same moment as soon as he could do it with nobody watching, which in London was quite a feat. He shrank small, leaving his clothes behind him, and flew out of one of his sleeves before the suddenly empty fabric collapsed in on him. Immediately, he expanded to his natural firebird size, around fifteen feet beak to tail-tip, and took off, exploding out of the narrow alley he’d used to head toward Regent’s Park and home. After he leveled off in flight, he sensed someone behind him and he ventured a quick glance. Chris, in all his shining golden glory, soared through the sky, like Jake himself, fuzzed to stop anyone seeing him in his true form. 173
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I’m being blocked, he told his brother. So am I. We’ve underestimated Chauncey Morris. Chris sounded as grim as he felt. He’s not getting out of this one. Right now, all I care about is Teri. Grimly, Jake flew on, wondering how he could have been so stupid as to trust anyone else where Teri’s safety was concerned. Stalkers had obsessive natures. As long as Chauncey Morris was breathing, he’d be obsessed with Teri. His house appeared perfectly normal from above. Jake couldn’t see the barrier that surrounded it, but he felt it. A psychic block as perfect as any he’d ever sensed. It stopped him contacting Teri, stopped any psychic sense he had. Shit, where had the bastard learned how to do that? With a sickening lurch, he realized Chauncey Morris was a latent Talent, probably a Sorcerer, because vampires and shape-shifters became only too aware of their Talent at puberty. Sorcerers could suppress their natural gifts for psi Talents if they were scared or isolated. The PHR called them “sensitives” and declared them mortal, recruiting and perverting them to fight against their own kind. There was no doubt in his mind that Morris was one of those. No time now. No time for anything except getting inside that house fast. Except he’d made sure every window lock was sealed tight and the doors were locked. How had the fucker got in? The back door. He’d told Teri to lock it. When he flew around the building, he saw it yawning wide open. He didn’t curse himself now, but he knew he would later. With Chris behind him, Jake flew into the house, all his senses on alert. Inside, the barrier didn’t prevent him contacting Teri, but he daren’t. If this man was powerful enough to build a sophisticated shield, he might be able to intercept any communication, even at the deep-down level he used with his lover. Jake wished he knew more about this kind of situation, but he hadn’t come up against a Talent before in his life and was on shaky ground. Jake and Chris stood completely still, listening. Jake’s feet sank into the rich oriental carpet in the hall, the tufts tickling his bare toes. Silence. Gesturing to Chris to stay back, Jake moved cautiously forward. The living room on this floor was a long lounge, made from what had been two reception rooms, but now an open arch connected them. That meant, depending where they were, they would be able to see him and Chris from both doors into the hall. The doors on the other side were closed, so Jake backed up against them and carefully moved forward, keeping his attention on the vista beyond the doors. Nothing behind the first door. Surely there should be voices, movement, something? Link with her, Chris urged. He might kill her. He wouldn’t take any chances with the life of the woman he loved.
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He moved forward another fraction and saw something that hit his chest with a hammer-blow of shock. The room was done out in shades of blue and cream. Not red. But the wooden parquet floor, usually gleaming with caramel and brown tones, now screamed red at him. That was why it was so quiet. Someone was dead. Perhaps two someones. Jake leapt forward, only letting his brother know what he was about to do with a fast mental link before he struck. He crouched, ready to destroy Chauncey Morris if he was attacked. Because sure as sugar, if Morris had killed Teri, he was a dead man walking. Teri groaned and opened her eyes a fraction onto broad daylight. And warmth. She lay cradled in Jake’s arms. His bare arms. She blinked and smiled at him. “You got here, then. A bit late.” His smile was tender and he stroked her shoulder gently. “You did good, baby. You got the warning out before Morris shut you down. He’s dead.” “Yeah. I killed him.” To her horror, her lip trembled and she felt hot tears welling up. “I’m sorry.” “No. Don’t be. He was going to kill you.” “Here. Put these on.” A thud next to Jake on the sofa made her flinch. She recognized Chris’ voice and turned her head to see him. Dressed in jeans that were so tight she might have blushed had she enough blood left and a t-shirt that couldn’t stretch anymore, Chris grinned at her. “Well done, little sister. Great job.” Chauncey’s body lay on the floor, a blanket thrown over him. The mound looked unnatural. Like the man. “He’s dead?” “Stone dead. Hey, do you mind if I substitute for Jake while he gets dressed? He’s gonna have a lot to tell the police when they arrive as it is without being stark nekkid when they arrive.” Smiling, he lifted her off Jake’s lap as if she weighed nothing. Jake pulled on the jeans and Teri realized why Chris’ didn’t fit properly. He’d raided Jake’s wardrobe, and Jake, while a big man, wasn’t a drummer and his shoulders weren’t quite that broad, nor his body as large as his brother’s. Not that Chris had an ounce of fat on him. The arms that held her so safely bulged with muscle. She felt as weak as a kitten, but definitely alive. Jake sat on the sofa and immediately Chris lowered her back to him. Secure in his arms, she snuggled in while Jake spoke to her and she let the words sink in. “Listen, baby. We’re telling the authorities that Chauncey Morris was a stalker, pure and simple. Not the Talent he turned out to be and nothing to do with the PHR. He broke in, tried to kill you, you hit back. Nobody’s going to argue with that.”
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He stroked her hair back off her face. “I came home early, brought Chris home for a meal and we found you and Morris like this. I won’t shape-shift you until later, because you have to show the wounds to the cops, but I will once we’re out of this. I’m taking you away somewhere nice and warm and private. Most of all private.” As if unable to resist, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “They’re not so bad, messy, but not too deep. Do you think you can hang on? Because if you can’t, we can change the story.” His mouth twisted. “I wanted to shape-shift you there and then, but Chris stopped me. But it’s your call. You want to heal now and we’ll think of something else.” “No.” She curled in to his warmth. “I want everyone to know and I want this over. I killed him, Jake.” “Oh baby!” He cuddled her, but she pushed away, wincing at the pain in her hand, the one she’d used to grip the glass. “No, Jake. I did it, I looked after myself. That means a lot to me, you know?” “Independent as fuck,” he said. “Perhaps that’s why I love you so much.
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Chapter Twenty-Three Jake pushed open the door of the cottage and peered inside as if he were entering a lion’s den. Summer had gone and the chill of a crisp fall day permeated the place. Shuddering, he walked inside, only warming when he heard Teri’s laugh. “What a baby!” she said, teasing him in the way he loved. “Can’t stand a bit of cold!” He turned suddenly, surprising her by snatching her up into his arms. “Somehow I didn’t have a country cottage in mind when I suggested somewhere romantic for our honeymoon. It can get wild in Devon at this time of year.” She moved sinuously in his arms, making him shudder and scan the cottage for the stairs. Sure enough, an open stone staircase beckoned and he made for it. “Hey, what about the luggage?” “Screw it. It’s in the car, it’ll be safe enough.” He wouldn’t let her down when she wriggled, but took the stairs two at a time. Nice. The help had made up the bed. A simple wooden bedstead covered with crisp white sheets and an old-fashioned quilted throw. Warm and perfect for the first time making love since he’d made an honest woman of her. Or she’d made an honest man of him. Not that Jake cared. He’d proposed, wanting to make her his in every way, and Teri had surprised the hell out of him by not only accepting but suggesting an early wedding. Oh yeah, he was all for that. “Now, Mrs. Keys, how about a nap before dinner?” “Sounds perfect.” She closed her eyes and snuggled against him, as she usually did when she was getting ready to sleep. “Hey.” He laid her gently on the bed. She looked utterly gorgeous, her spiky dark hair clinging to the pillow and her long lashes feathered over her cheeks. “Teri, if you’re tired, we can…” He never finished that thought because she opened her eyes, laughed and grabbed his arm, dragging him down beside her. Never one to pass up an opportunity, he rolled over her and brought her lips to his, kissing her deeply and thoroughly. He’d seen several likely places on the road and his erection had bothered him all the way here, but now that they’d arrived, he wanted to take his time and enjoy her and make sure she enjoyed him. They were panting when their lips parted. Jake gazed down into his wife’s pretty blue eyes. Still blue, but with sparks of gold that caught the light sometimes, a legacy of her new form. “I love you, Mrs. Keys.” “I love you too, Jake.”
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He frowned at her dress, a lilac one fastened with what looked like a couple of dozen buttons. Pretty, but damn, that was going to take awhile. But he could always just rip it off— She caught his thought. These days she was always doing that. “No, you don’t. I love this dress and it’s new.” She bit her lip and he knew she was thinking about Chauncey Morris’s wanton destruction of her possessions. Luckily he hadn’t gotten hold of the things she couldn’t get in to her miniscule house in Springwater that she’d put into storage, so she had some reminders of her previous life. But when they got the news, she’d brushed it away as unimportant. “You said we’d go on with each other and sometimes we’d have to leave everything behind,” she’d said with an insouciance he’d never come near to having. “It’s just practice for that.” Now he watched her sit and reach for a hidden zipper up the side of the dress. As it slid up, it revealed a strip of skin and Jake didn’t waste time, heading south to lick and touch. “You are addictive,” he murmured, letting his breath wash the skin he’d just licked. “God, Teri, you’re perfect.” “Not quite.” As she pulled the dress over her head, he saw the pink line of the scar left when the glass shard had driven into her skin. The leather belt she’d worn with her jeans that day had helped to make the cut shallower than it should have been, otherwise, she might have died with Morris. Thank God for thick leather belts. One of his, cut down to fit her, covered with studs that were meant to be decorative, but which had helped to save her life. Jake kissed the scar. “This will go in time.” “I don’t want it to.” She wore it like a badge of pride. She’d stood up for herself and won. Jake arrived in time to call for help, that was all. By the time he’d got there, she’d dealt with the bastard all on her own. He couldn’t have been prouder of her. Or at least later, when her cuts were all stitched and bandaged and he had her back home again safely in bed, where he could look after her. “I still think I should have shape-shifted you right away. You would have healed without a scar.” He ran out of scar, but he still had a lot of woman left. He kissed up to her satin-covered breast. He remembered this bra, a dark blue one that he loved to see on her. He hoped she’d remembered the matching panties. He couldn’t wait to find out. These kind of surprises he could live with. “Jake, take off your shirt.” He had to take off his jacket to get to his shirt. It fell to the floor, disregarded, as he dragged it away and pulled his shirt apart with one hard jerk, too impatient to bother with buttons. Teri ran her hands over his chest, tangling her polished fingernails in his hair, laughing at his impatience. “What’s your hurry, big boy?” “I want to get inside you, now.” If he had to wait any longer, he’d turn Neanderthal. She’d made him wait for fucking days. Two of them while she moved out to stay in Ryan’s flat while she got ready for their wedding. Jake didn’t understand why
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she wanted to do it, but Chris had sighed and told him to wait. Jake could have killed him for that but, well, Chris was his brother and he was sometimes entitled. Ryan hadn’t been present at their wedding, hurtling across the Atlantic to join his wife as soon as they’d declared the album a wrap, but he and Teri had understood. How could they not, now that they understood so well how he’d suffered being apart from her? But he’d kissed her, hugged Jake and given them a typically Ryan gift—an arrangement for the song Jake had written for her. Beautifully simple and destined never to be sung in public. The song Ryan wrote for Gina was part of Moonfire, but this one belonged solely to Jake and Teri. For now, at any rate. There she lay, his wife, his love, dressed only in a dark blue satin bra and matching panties. Gorgeous. Waiting for him. She looked at him as if she wanted to eat him alive, then he noticed something else. No dark curls graced the edges of the panties. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. She stared at him, her bottom lip between her teeth. “I hope you like it.” She sat up and reached around to unhook her bra, letting the smooth material slide down her arms and off. Her breasts were already half-erect, begging for his mouth. But he had to see what was under those panties. Had to. Keeping her gaze firmly on his face, Teri slid her thumbs under the strings that held up the panties and slowly, slowly lowered them. Jake groaned. “Oh baby!” He could hardly speak. He’d seen shaved women before, plenty of them, but none of them had been Teri. The very thought of eating her out, her soft skin smooth against his tongue, had his cock straining his pants. Teri opened her legs and let him look. His hands shook as he brought them to his pants, but he had to get out of them before he had a permanent zipper mark against his cock. He tugged the tab down and eased them over his hips, taking his underwear with them and kicking them away, never taking his eyes from the paradise before him. She was already wet for him, her clit as erect as his cock, peeping out invitingly from her lush open cleft. Her scent was all the perfumes he’d ever scented, and when he bent his head to her, she opened her legs even more. Surrounded by her, he took his first taste of married bliss. It felt good. Better than anything he’d ever tasted before. This would last him a good long time. Maybe forever. No, that was wrong. Definitely forever.
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About the Author Lynne Connolly has been published for five years and in that time has won two Eppies and a number of other awards, Recommended Reads and other acknowledgements for her paranormal romances and her historicals. While these are very gratifying, that isn’t why she writes. She wants to bring the stories in her head to life and share them with others, in the hope that then she might get some peace. Writing is what she was doing while she was working, bearing children and doing the other boring things that constitute living. Her favorite writer’s motto is “I can use that.” She lives in the UK with her husband, children and cats, and her doll houses. Creating worlds, miniature or otherwise, seems to be Lynne’s specialty! Lynne welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Lynne Connolly Pure Wildfire 1: Sunfire Pure Wildfire 2: Icefire
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