Page 3 of Desperate Temptations

W hen her legs started aching from crouching, she sat down on the grimy, greasy ground, wrinkling her nose at the smell of sour garbage.

Jessa studied the area around her to see if anybody was nearby.

She looked at her watch to see that three hours had passed.

Jessa decided she would give it another hour before she gave up for the night.

I can’t believe I’m doing this again, after what happened last night .

Jessa wiped a hot tear that rolled down her cheek.

She’d thought about giving up this crazy idea, but everything in her shuddered inwardly at the thought of never finding Drew’s killer.

Jessa wondered if she could ever move on because the ferocity of that night always choked and twisted something inside her that couldn’t be healed, at least until justice was served.

Jessa stiffened, and her heart stuttered in her chest as she made herself smaller.

What was that? she thought as fear raced through her.

It was probably just a rat, and although she hated rats, a shiver of fear ran down her spine at the thought of someone taking her by surprise again.

A shuffling? She held her breath and cocked her head, trying to identify the sound.

When she heard it a second time, she stood carefully, trying her best not to make a noise.

Bent over, she looked around the oil drums.

Her heart stopped, and a scream tore up her throat when a hard, muscular arm wrapped tightly around her waist at the same time a hand pressed against her mouth, hard, preventing her from screaming. Terror ran down her spine when a man’s mouth hissed against her ear.

“Little girl, what the fuck do I have to do to keep your ass away from here?”

Shakily, her pulse racing, she shook her head, unable to understand his words through the beating of her heart and harsh breaths.

Who the hell was this? Her stomach dropped when he effortlessly picked her up as if she were weightless and strode quietly back the way she’d come.

This was it. This is what Gary, hell, everyone warned her about.

A rampage of emotions raced through her, and with a clarity she had never had, she decided she wanted to live. After so many thoughts of giving up, she chose life. She started struggling against him, kicking him and scratching his arms. Cain squeezed her tighter, almost cutting off her breath.

“Stop, Jessa, before you hurt yourself. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She tensed and stilled, shocked. He knew my name! How? His cold, entirely emotionless voice sent chills down her spine.

When he got them a few blocks away, he put her down but kept a good hold of her in case she tried to run or caused more trouble. He bent to whisper in her ear.

“Be very quiet. If you say anything or try to scream, I’ll gag you.” He nudged her forward with a hard hand wrapped around her upper arm.

How had he known her name? She didn’t think she knew this man.

She’d never heard that voice before, and she knew it wasn’t a voice a person would ever forget.

Jessa tried to see more of him, but all her energy went to keep up with his strides, or he’d have been dragging her.

It was too dark to see much, and the few quick peeks she’d had were too fast to recognize anything about him.

All she saw was that he was big, very big.

Her breathing hitched in her chest when they came to her Land Rover. The man turned her, with a hand on her stomach, pressed her against the back driver’s-side door. Although he wasn’t hurting her, the heat from his hand burned through the shirt she wore.

He held out his other hand. “Give me the keys.”

She was frozen and couldn’t take her eyes off him.

She didn’t move except for the shakes that had taken over her body.

The sound of her heartbeat and her rasping breath made it hard for her to hear what he was saying.

Jessa looked around the run-down area. This section of town was usually quiet, and it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

Jessa wondered if there was anyone close enough to hear her scream.

She looked back at her captor. Who was this man?

She’d never met a scarier person in her life.

He was huge, a few inches over six feet, she guessed.

His arm muscles bulged, his shoulders so wide they stretched his dark blue t-shirt to its limit.

Her gaze slowly took in the tattoos on his arms before it lowered to his dark jeans and boots.

One of his thighs looked as big around as her waist. One of his hands spanned her stomach with long, strong fingers and blunt, clean nails.

His five-o’clock shadow was dark against his browned skin, giving him another level of menace.

Jessa slowly raised her eyes, taking him in.

With a start, she realized he was waiting for her reply, staring at her with a look that threatened to stop her heart.

She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

Several emotions crossed his face. The look of impatience, intense anger, and if she didn’t know any better, hunger, followed by resignation.

His almost-black eyes were both flat and cold, but with an intense fire that bore into hers.

A suffocating sensation tightened her throat.

The muscles in one cheek ticked like he was gritting his teeth. His anger was palpable, physically bombarding her senses. Jessa had never had anyone this furious with her, not her parents, friends, or especially her husband. It unsettled and frightened her.

His hair was as dark as the night and short, almost military-short.

His skin was tanned, like he spent a lot of time outdoors.

His face had sharp contours like high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a strong, slightly crooked nose.

Everything about this man shouted badass. There was nothing soft about him.

Her entire body jerked when his rough voice demanded.

“Keys, now.”

Thank God he was holding her against the vehicle because without the support she’d be on the ground, on her ass, she was shaking so hard.

Startled, she whimpered, then fumbled in her pockets for her keys and dropped them on the pavement in her nervousness. When she bent to pick them up, he pressed her harder against the car.

“Stay, I’ll get them.” He hunched down, still holding her with his hand. He stopped after picking up the keys and glanced at her from his crouch.

Even in this position, his size overwhelmed her. Her breathing hitched at the look that came and went over his face. His gaze was so intense, it blistered over her skin like a blowtorch. She knew she should be screaming, but couldn’t fill her lungs enough to even try.

Abruptly, he stood, the lithe and powerful movement startled her. He unlocked her door and gently pushed her into her seat. After he handed her the keys, he reached over to grab her seat belt. She leaned back, trying to avoid his muscular arm across her chest.

The heat that came off of him scorched her.

The musky, slight smell of clean, male sweat and leather made it even harder to breathe.

He ignored her, brought the strap over her, and latched it.

All the time, she sat mute and frozen, pressing herself against the seat and putting as much space between them as possible.

He turned to her. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the rugged planes of his face.

“Don’t come back here again, Jessa. You won’t like what happens if I find you here again,” he said in a hard and gruff voice.

Jessa flinched at the cold, rigid tone of the man’s voice. She started to shake her head, her hands gripped the steering wheel, and her eyes widened and burned with tears.

“Who the hell are you?” she brokenly whispered. When he didn’t answer and just continued to stare at her, she swallowed back her terror and remorse. “I’m not going to stop. I can’t stop. I won’t stop. You don’t understand, this is all I have,” she stammered.

Cain cupped her chin with his palm and tightened it when she tried to pull away.

“That’s not true, Jessa. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

She stilled. That was the first time he’d spoken to her devoid of anger. Almost gently. She shook her head and dislodged his hand.

“I don’t care what you think,” she whispered. She turned away from him and tried to put her key into its slot, which had been hard because her hands were shaking so badly. She gritted her teeth as tears came to her eyes.

“Dammit.”

He expelled his breath in a slow, steady hiss.

“Here, give me the keys,” he said, taking them from her, sliding the key in, turning, and starting the Rover. “Are you able to drive?” he asked.

She nodded, keeping her eyes down, twisting her hands in her lap. She needed to get away from this man. Needed to be alone.

His voice turned menacing again.

“Look at me, Jessa.”

His eyes were narrowed and lit with cold anger, sending chills down her spine. A band around her chest tightened.

“I mean what I say, Jessa. Don’t push me on this.”

When he stood to leave, she looked up at him and repeated, “Who the hell are you?” she asked again.

Cain paused with his hand on the door, his jaw clenched tight. Jessa didn’t think he was going to answer her.

“I’m a friend of a friend.” When she opened her mouth to ask more questions, his eyes pierced her. “That’s all you need to know. Now stay the hell away from here.”

Before she could answer him, he closed the door quietly, stood back with his hands at his side, and waited.

Jessa swallowed, took a deep breath to steady herself, and put the car in gear.

With one last look at him, she pushed on the gas and turned the car toward the street.

Driving away, she looked back in her mirror to find he had disappeared.

She swiveled her head, trying to catch another glimpse of him, but he was gone.

She settled back in her seat and concentrated on her drive home, afraid she’d get into an accident with her nerves cut to threads. She would have time to think later.