Page 40

As he stared into Gina’s eyes, counting the gold flecks in her irises, the truth punched him in the gut.

Jim wasn’t inexperienced. Maybe he didn’t have as extensive a UC resume as some of the older agents, but he had an outstanding record of UC busts.

Jack had selected him because he was the right man for the job.

“ Maybe it wasn’t my fault,” he muttered, the first time he’d ever said those words, let alone actually believed them.

Sometimes things just happened and cases went bad.

She settled back against him. “ I guess we both made decisions we have to live with.”

He snorted. “ Imagine that. A thief and an FBI agent having something in common.”

When she giggled, the vibrations sent a shaft of lust shooting to his dick. He reached for the soap, intending to rub it over every inch of Gina’s body.

“ I told my friends the truth tonight,” she said. “ That I had ulterior motives for stealing from the Falzones because…” She blew out a long, heavy breath. “ Because Franco murdered my father.”

“ What ?” The soap slipped from his hand, splashing as it hit the water. He wasn’t aware of anyone with the last name Perot having been killed by the Falzones , and he pretty much knew everyone Franco was rumored to have taken out. How could he have missed that?

“ Please , Jack .” She gripped his good wrist and turned in his arms. He couldn’t miss the fear burning in her eyes. “ Don’t hold this against my friends. They thought we were stealing from the Falzones only to help the Center . They didn’t know about my personal reasons.”

Which explained a lot. Like her violent reaction to Franco at the fundraiser.

He let his head fall back against the bathtub rim. Gina’s confession didn’t change anything. No matter what they’d done, turning her and her friends in would serve no justice. When it came to the Falzones there might not ever be any justice.

“ Who was your father to Franco ?” he asked finally.

She sighed and settled back against his chest. “ My father was… No one of importance, except to me and my mother.”

Hmm . Jack wanted to pepper her with more questions. Now wasn’t the time. She’d been through enough in the last twenty-four hours. Tomorrow he could dig into the FBI database and read the details for himself.

“ How did your friends take it when you told them everything?” Well , he assumed. Before leaving the hospital, the four women had hugged, kissed, laughed, and cried like they’d be BFFs for all eternity.

“ They told me they understood,” she said in a choked voice. “ That they loved me and we’d always be family.” She shook her head as if she still didn’t believe it, and his heart melted a little bit more.

He gave her a gentle shake. “ I told you to give them and yourself more credit.”

Like him, they’d both been through a lot. Unlike him, Gina had no parents left alive and no siblings. His isolation was of his own doing, but he always knew all he had to do was pick up the phone and talk to any one of his brothers or his mother and they’d be there for him in a heartbeat.

He snagged the bar of soap from the water, then slid it back and forth across her abdomen in slow, lazy circles.

Spooning in a hot bath with her was hard enough; touching her this way could only go in one direction.

With a groan, he shifted to ease his growing discomfort.

Like that would help. But again, this wasn’t about him. It was about what she needed.

Gina raised her arms over her head, linking them behind his neck.

She arched her back, pushing her beautiful breasts into his waiting hands as he skimmed the soap over taut, wet nipples and down her belly.

He set the soap on the ledge, then thoroughly massaged her torso, grinding his teeth as he hardened even more painfully.

She unlinked her arms from around his neck, taking his good hand and guiding it down her slick body, under the water, to the juncture of her thighs. If she needed release, he was happy to give it to her. Even if it killed him not to sink deep inside her.

Using two fingers, he pumped into her, rubbing her swollen nub in slow circles with the pad of his thumb.

When she began undulating and meeting his thrusts, water sloshed against the sides of the tub.

With the fingers of his casted hand, he pinched one of her nipples and was rewarded with a throaty groan that made his balls so hard they were probably turning blue.

“ Faster ,” she moaned. “ Faster .”

“ You’ve got it, sweetheart.” He picked up his pace, pumping harder and faster.

“ Yes , that’s it.” She met his thrusts again and again. “ Yes . Oh god, yes. I’m sooo close.”

Water sloshed over the lip of the tub onto the floor. Jack was so turned on by her slick, undulating body writhing against him and the feel of her throbbing pussy beneath his fingers, he needed to… He bit down gently on her shoulder to keep himself grounded.

She slipped her hand behind her and grabbed his dick, rubbing up and down as she tightened around him and cried out. Her body arched and bucked, sending a small tidal wave shooting from the tub, and damn . Watching her in the throes of orgasm was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

Her chest rose and fell as she sucked in breaths. She released him and turned to straddle his thighs, again taking him in her hands and stroking him up and down.

As much as his body craved release, the sight of her sleepy eyes was too much. “ Gina , no. This is about you. Not me.” His balls were on the verge of exploding, but he still wouldn’t take advantage of her while she was so emotionally wrung out.

She gave him a weary smile. “ How ’bout we make it about both of us?”

There was nothing he wanted more, but… “ I don’t have any more condoms.”

Gina grinned. “ I do.” She stepped out of the tub, then pulled a condom from the vanity drawer and tore open the wrapper.

“ Was that for that soggy-faced wimp, Paul ?” A stab of jealousy hit him dead center in his chest.

“ It was.” The corners of her mouth quirked as she stepped back into the tub and straddled him. “ The key word being was .” She began rolling on the condom. “ Are you jealous, Special Agent Gates ?”

In response to her question, he grasped her waist, ignoring the stab of pain in his fractured wrist. “ Jealous my ass.” She giggled as he held her suspended half an inch above the tip of his cock. He lowered her just enough to rub himself against her swollen clit.

“ You’re killing me.” Her hands settled on his shoulders. She tried scooting down on him, but he wouldn’t let her, preferring to tease, rubbing the top of his cock back and forth against her slick folds until she gasped, writhing helplessly above him. “ You always need to be in charge, don’t you?”

“ Like I said, it’s an FBI thing.” He leaned forward, just enough to capture one of her nipples in his mouth and roll it between his teeth and tongue.

“ Jack , please .”

“ Please what ?” he asked around her nipple, knowing exactly what she wanted.

For the first time in his life, he was not only totally aroused but thoroughly enjoying the fun of sex.

No , not sex . He wanted to make love to her.

To thoroughly and permanently banish any lingering memory she might have of making love with any other guy and replace them with new ones. Of him. Only him.

He released her nipple, lifted his hips, and thrust deep. Her eyes flew open and she uttered a cry of surprise. The groan that flew from his own lips was loud, feral, possessive, and he nearly came on the spot.

Sleek thighs clenched around his, and he slipped his hands beneath her ass, guiding her body up and down as he thrust harder. She rode him like a bronc rider, sending his pulse rocketing, but he held back, waiting for her to come and shatter around him.

With every merge of their bodies, she gasped, louder each time until her head fell back and her cry echoed against the tiled walls. He thrust deep one last time, coming right behind her and bellowing her name.

She collapsed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly as the last spasms of his orgasm rocked his body from head to toe.

The only sound in the bathroom was their heavy breathing. He continued holding her, eventually realizing her back rose and fell evenly in a steady rhythm. She’d fallen asleep.

He needed to get them out of the tub before they shriveled into raisins, but he wasn’t quite ready to move. Sated was the word that popped into his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so content, so utterly at peace. Try never . Which shocked the heck out of him.

Still buried inside her warm body, he managed to rise and step from the tub onto the bath mat.

Seemed like half the water in the tub was now on the tile floor.

Jack eased out of her and lowered her to the mat.

He grabbed a towel and gently rubbed her body dry.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and mumbled something incoherent. The woman was asleep on her feet.

Working quickly, he dried himself off, ditched the condom, then carried her to the bed and lay down next to her. He pulled the covers over them and rose on one elbow, watching her pink lips part as she breathed softly. He could watch her like this for hours.

Gently , he unclipped her hair, sifting his fingers through the thick, silky strands. The tug on his heart was unfamiliar yet identifiable.

He was falling for her.

Nailing the Falzones was still a priority, but somehow it had ceased to be the one driving obsession in life. Now he had another priority.

The beautiful woman lying next to him.