Page 33 of Desperate Temptations

E arly Monday morning , Cain sat at his desk in his office at work.

His hands were steepled, his elbows on the arms of his chair, his brow furrowed in concentration.

He was happy. He couldn’t remember being this happy or content.

The thought of never having Jessa, never having spent time with her, never making love to her, made his stomach ache, and a jagged slash of pain pierced his heart.

He’d taken her several times this weekend and never seemed to get enough of her sweet body. In the bed, on the sofa, and in the shower. They’d made love so many times they were both tender, and it still didn’t keep them from reaching out to each other.

He smiled smugly. She was finally his. And he would do whatever he needed to keep her. He would allow nothing to take her from him, ever.

He knew he was pushing her, but he couldn’t seem to help it. He was usually a patient man with everything in his life, except her, it seemed. He wanted everything she had, everything she could give him. He wanted her heart, her body, her soul.

There were times he caught a look in her eyes that told him that she was mentally trying to pull away from him, to build a wall between them, and it infuriated him.

He could feel when she tried to keep a part of herself from him, and it drove him crazy.

The only thing that kept him rational was that every time he reached for her, she would come to him willingly, hungrily.

The more time they spent together, the more they fucked he knew would seal them tighter together.

Cain would back off if he sensed he was going to make her run.

The last thing he wanted was to scare her off.

But he wouldn’t let her go either. If that sounded like a stalker, so be it.

It might sound arrogant, hell, he knew it did, but he would make her happier, love her more than anyone else ever could.

He owed Gary a big thanks for getting them together, even though he knew that hadn’t been his intention. And if he had to guess, Gary wouldn’t appreciate the thanks.

Cain sat back, folding his hands behind his head. He’d thought more than once that something was going on with the man. His gut and the little hairs on the back of his neck told him to stay alert, and he never ignored those. They’d kept him alive more than once through the years.

At any other time, he would have ignored the situation with Gary, but because he felt it had something to do with Jessa, he had no choice but to address it.

He would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

Because the thought of losing her when he’d just gotten her would have killed something vital in him, and he knew he’d never recover from it.

A deep voice from the door jerked him out of his thoughts.

“Hey, Quinton, come on in.” Cain came around the desk to shake his friend’s hand. He and Quinton had been deployed together and had become friends in the Navy. Since their discharge, they’d both gone into law enforcement in one capacity or another.

Cain shut the door because he definitely didn’t want anyone to hear what he had to say. He strolled back to his desk, sat back in his chair, and eyed his friend. Cain wasn’t sure if he wanted to get Quinton involved, but he knew he needed help with this. He cleared his throat.

“I need a favor.”

Quinton sat back, stretching his long legs, folding his hands across his stomach.

“What do you need?”

Cain narrowed his eyes.

“Since you’re with the police department, you’re able to get more information on another cop, who’s actually a detective, than I could working with the D.A.’s office.” At Quinton’s nod, he continued, “I need you to look into Gary Sanders. He’s with the ninth district. And you have to be discreet.”

“Okay, can you tell me why I’m looking at him?”

Cain twirled a pencil and looked Quinton in the eyes.

“I don’t know him that well. I met him through Drew, that friend of mine who got shot. The three of us had a few beers together when I was home on leave. But that’s about it. Drew didn’t talk a lot about him.”

Cain tapped the pencil against the desk.

“I can tell you something’s off about the man. He was always laid-back and friendly when I saw him. Now he’s nervous, twitchy. His personality has taken a one-eighty since I’ve been back.”

“Why is he important to you? I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention him.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about, it’s that he’s messing with my woman, and I won’t have anything happen to her because I didn’t follow my instincts.”

“Can’t you just threaten him?” Quinton asked.

A hard glint came to his eyes.

“Oh, I have. The thing is, I’m concerned Gary’s into some bad shit. Just call it a feeling I have. I don’t want anything bad touching Jessa.”

“Jessa, huh?” Quinton’s face froze. “Drew’s Jessa?”

Cain’s face turned to stone.

“Drew’s dead, Quinton.”

Quinton looked concerned.

“Are you sure about this, Cain?”

Cain put his elbows on the desk and leaned forward.

“Remember the woman I talked about when we were on missions?”

“Yeah. Holy shit. That was Jessa?” When Cain nodded, Quinton’s eyes widened in shock.

“This is the woman you’ve wanted for years?” Quinton’s brows drew together. “Drew just died, what, two years ago?” Once again, Cain nodded. “So, you’re telling me, you’ve craved your best friend’s wife forever? Jesus, nothing like torturing yourself.”

“Drew knew how I felt.” He chuckled at Quinton’s look of shock. Cain leaned back, interlocking his fingers behind his head. “Once, he even made me promise to take care of her if anything happened to him.”

“No shit. Does Jessa know that?”

Cain shook his head.

“We’d been friends since childhood. He knew he could trust me. He also knew I would’ve never betrayed him.”

They sat in silence, each with their own thoughts, until Quinton coughed.

“I don’t envy you, friend,” Quinton said and stood. “Let me do some checking.” He held his hand out. “If I find something, I’ll get in touch with you.”

Cain shook his friend’s hand and watched him move toward the door. Quinton turned back with a smirk on his face.

“Jessa must be pretty special if two incredible men have loved her. Aren’t you afraid I’ll fall in love with her if I meet her?”

Cain smiled smugly.

“No, because she knows she’s mine. Just wait until you meet her. I wouldn’t be surprised if you did fall for her. She’s perfect.”

Quinton laughed.

“I look forward to it. Maybe she can hook me up with one of her friends?”

Cain chuckled and waved him out of his office. He had work to do before he could get back to Jessa, but he needed to hear her voice. He leaned forward to grab the phone, then punched in her number.

“Leona, is Jessa in?”

There was a short pause.

“She’s in. Let me just check if she’s able to take your call.”

Less than a minute later, a shy “hi” came through the phone, making him grin. How could she still be shy with him? He’d had her naked most of the weekend, and when they weren’t fucking, they were talking but always touching. The only time they left the house was to get her car.

“Hi, Sweetheart. How’s your day going?”

“Fine, I was handed a new case this morning that’s pretty fascinating.”

“That’s good, it makes your job more interesting, and that’s always a good thing. I won’t keep you. The reason for the call is that I just wondered if you wanted me to bring dinner to your place tonight?”

There was another short pause.

“Sure, that sounds great.”

Cain frowned. She sounded odd. She better not be trying to put space between them again.

“Why do you sound so wary?”

He could see Jessa as she sat in her office, nervously playing with a lock of her dark hair like he’d seen her do several times. She was wearing it down a lot more these days because he liked it that way. He loved playing with it and wrapping his hand in it to hold her still for his kiss.

“I didn’t know if you would want to see me again so soon,” she said.

“I guess I’m not doing a good job showing you how I feel.

Listen up, Buttercup.” He smiled when she laughed out loud.

“I want to be with you every day.” His voice dropped, got huskier.

“I wish I could be with you all day and be inside you every night.” He chuckled at her gasp.

“The only time I can’t be with you is when we’re at work.

Or when you ask for some time for yourself.

Now, do you have any questions about the way I feel? ”

“No, um, I don’t have any questions,” her sweet little voice squeaked.

He laughed. “Good,” his voice dropped again, “By the way, if I thought I’d get away with it, we’d be living together.

” She wheezed, and he continued before she could reply.

“I know you think it’s too soon, hell, it probably is, but I don’t care.

I’m going to talk you into it, sooner rather than later. ”

Jessa cleared her throat. “Um, okay ... I mean, no, I mean, I understand ... uh...” she stuttered.

“Now, don’t get all nervous. I won’t push too hard. I also want you to tell me when I’m coming on too strong.”

“You’re coming on too stro—”

He grinned. “Too bad.”

Her voice sputtered. “You big jerk,” she said and laughed.

Cain chuckled.

“What should I bring home for dinner?” he asked again.

He liked the sound of going home to this woman. She sighed.

“Pizza. With everything except mushrooms,” came the quick answer.

Cain grinned. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t shy about asking for it, at least about food. He liked that she wasn’t afraid to speak up.

“Sounds good. I’ll probably make it home about six,” Cain said as he looked at his watch.

“Okay, I should be home then. If something comes up here at work and I’m not going to make it at that time, I’ll call you,” Jessa said.

“Call my cell phone. I have that with me at all times.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

At five-thirty, Cain was headed out of his office when his phone rang. He cursed, all he wanted was to be with Jessa. But he knew he couldn’t ignore the call. It might be relevant to the case he was working on. He sat down and snatched up his office phone.

Cain listened to Quinton, a cold shiver ran through his body, his mind dashing at warp speed.

After he hung up, he sat back, contemplating everything he’d just been told.

As he took it all in, he was making plans on how best to protect Jessa without telling her anything.

He didn’t think it was possible, but he was going to try.

He hated the thought of her being afraid.

He glanced at the time and cursed. He’d order the pizza on the way out, that way, it would be ready when he picked it up. He wouldn’t relax until he was with Jessa and knew for sure she was safe.