Twice Kissed - Lisa Jackson [114]
“Thane…oh, no…oh, God…Thane…”
The first spasm hit.
She bucked upward.
He held her firmly, refusing to let her go, giving more and more, fanning the fires of desire to a new height, and again she was forced into a wild, wanton vigor that caused her to convulse and the world to shatter behind her eyes. She cried out, her voice hoarse, her arms reaching for him, and he pushed himself through the valley between her legs, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her as if he would never stop. Tears burned hot behind her eyelids, but she didn’t care, clinging to him, her naked, sweating body enveloped in his.
She expected to satisfy him as he had her, knew he, too, needed a release and reached for the zipper of his slacks, but he stopped her hand with his own. “Later,” he whispered into her hair.
“But—”
“Shh. This was for you.”
“Don’t patronize me, Walker,” she tried to protest, the room still muted and soft.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Trust me, I’ll expect to be repaid in kind.” He kissed her tousled hair. “Soon.”
“And what if I refuse?” she teased.
“You won’t.”
“You think you’re that irresistible?”
“Sure of it, Ms. McCrae,” he said with a smile. “Sure of it.”
“Of all the egotistical, self-serving…”
He seemed doubtful, daring her to continue, and she blushed at the recent memory of their one-sided lovemaking.
“I, um, stand corrected.”
“Good.” He kissed her temple and yawned. “Now, go to sleep, Maggie. If you’re serious about this plan of yours, which, for the record, I’m still dead set against…”
“Too bad.”
He sighed and twisted a lock of her hair around one finger. “It is, isn’t it? Anyway, tomorrow you’re gonna have some pretty big shoes to fill, and I, Ms. McCrae, am sticking to you like glue.”
She started to protest, but he silenced her with a kiss. “Enough,” he said, “before I change my mind and have my way with you.”
“Promises, promises.”
“Careful.”
“Never, Walker.”
“I know. And that, darlin’, is the problem.”
No, Maggie thought with heart-piercing clarity. The problem, Thane Walker, is that I’m falling in love with you. Oh, God, no. No! She couldn’t love Thane. She didn’t even trust him! She rubbed her arms, as if she could erase the premonition of doom that had settled like lead in her gut. But she couldn’t. From this night forward the course of her life would be changed forever.
Nothing would ever be the same.
Chapter Fifteen
You’re playing with fire.
The words seared through Thane’s brain, and he winced as he slipped out the back door of the hotel and huddled against the wind that swept through the well-lit streets. That was the trouble with the city; it was never dark, and this morning he needed all the cover of darkness he could find. Checking his watch, he frowned. Four-fifteen. Denver hadn’t started to awaken yet.
Turning up the collar of his jacket, he jaywalked, ducked through an alley where snow was still packed against the old buildings, then zigzagged his way on foot about eight blocks to an all-night restaurant with a pay phone in the lobby. He had a pocketful of change that he used for the long-distance connection. He dialed swiftly, the number burned into his brain, and as he did, he eyed the customers in the coffee shop through the second set of glass doors. They were mostly truckers, he guessed from the looks of the men huddled over their black coffee and platters of ham and eggs.
The phone rang three times before a groggy voice answered. “’Lo?’’
“It’s Walker. What have you found out?’’ No reason to mince words.
“Hell, what time is it? It’s not even light out,’’ Roy DePres grumbled, his voice gravelly. Thane had known DePres since grade school in Laramie. At fifteen they’d been caught stealing cigarettes and beer from the local mom-and-pop grocery just out of town. Both boys had been kicked out of high school and worked swabbing the floors and cleaning the rest rooms of the store to avoid being prosecuted by the owners. Roy had gone on to become a Green Beret in the army. Thane had avoided being sent to prison for nearly beating his old man to death.