Broken Promises (18 page)

He felt a shiver pass along her arm. She
slowed her pace. “And you were visualizing the worst-case
scenario?”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “That’s where my
mind went.”

She squeezed his hand, tighter this time. “Me
too.” Her tone softened and soothed as she admitted her earlier
doubts.

By now, they’d reached his car. He held out
his hand for the keys. “I’m all right. I can drive.”

“You sure?” She shot him a quizzical
expression. “I don’t mind driving your car at all. It’s much nicer
than mine.”

“Keys, please.” He kept his tone playful and
opened the passenger door. “Thanks. I’m glad you were with me. What
an ass, worrying about my career. My sister could still be just as
dead as the woman they just fished out of the lake.”

“I know your career’s important. I
get
it.” Her cheeks colored, she averted her gaze. “I—uh, just didn’t
think my family would matter, and then when it seemed like it
might, it was too late. You already knew.”

“Thanks to Spitz.”

“Yeah, good old Detective Dog.” She frowned,
slid inside, and he shut the door.

When he entered the driver’s side, she patted
his knee. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to ruin your career. We had a
quickie. That’s all it was. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

He swallowed the hard lump of emotion forming
in his throat. “Ever since my brother was found, all I ever wanted
was a career with the Bureau.”

“Chill. You don’t owe me any explanations,
Double-O. I’m a big girl. It’s not like I was a virgin. Besides, we
both had a good time.” She lifted her shoulders in a casual
shrug.

What a woman. With those few brave words,
she’d released him from the necessity of continuing their
relationship. Gave him his freedom. Once his sister was found, all
he had to do was walk away. From Canandaigua. From family. And from
Bette.

But could he? Could he just tuck tail and run
from everything that reminded him of the greatest losses in his
life? Hell, yeah, he could.

Wouldn’t be the first time. How many girls
had he loved and left before they got too close? Wouldn’t be the
last. But somehow, Bette was different. He more than liked her. He
trusted
her. One of life’s little jokes: the one he didn’t
want to leave was the one who could torpedo his career.

~~*~~

Bette entered her apartment, half expecting
Alex to turn and go back upstairs. But he seemed in no hurry to
leave. He straddled a ladder-back chair and patted his knee. Shadow
placed her two front paws on his thigh, and he rubbed her head.

Now, that was new. Bette walked over to the
counter and checked the coffee pot. “Want some coffee? Won’t take
long.”

“Yeah. Guess I will.” He shrugged. “You know,
this dog of yours isn’t so bad.”

“Told you,” she said over her shoulder while
she ran cold water into the glass pot and then poured it into the
receptacle. Measuring the coffee and dumping it into the basket,
she wondered how far he’d go in making up with Shadow. “She has a
name.”

“Yeah,
Shadow
. I know.”

She leaned back with her elbows on the
counter and watched the two. “She’s a good dog.”

“Just don’t expect me to talk baby talk.”

“Just don’t complain when
I
do.”

Shadow jumped down from Alex’s thigh, circled
the room, and picked up one of her toys. She brought it back to
Alex and stood looking at him with her expressive eyes.

He frowned. “What’s the matter? What does she
want?”

“She wants to play. Tug-o-war or fetch.
Either will do fine.”

He reached for the stuffed toy, and the dog
pulled back. “Hey, she’s strong.”

“Careful. Don’t pull too hard.”

“I’m not pulling. She’s the one pulling like
a tug-o-war machine.”

The coffeemaker bubbled and hissed,
signifying the coffee was finished brewing. Bette poured a cup for
Alex, who’d just managed to wrest the toy from Shadow, and then
retrieved a Diet Coke from the fridge.

“Now throw it. She loves to fetch.” Alex
tossed the toy, and Shadow scampered to retrieve it. Bette set the
cup down on the side table.

“Thanks,” he said. “I need it. Intravenous
would be even better. It’s not every day you think your sister’s
body might’ve just washed up on the lakeshore.”

Damn, the man really had a gorgeous face. She
swallowed, refusing to acknowledge just how much she was attracted
to him or how much she cared. “Glad I could be there for you.
Doubly glad Detective Dog was wrong. That jerk should’ve been more
certain of his facts before he summoned you to the morgue.
Honestly, he’s clueless, and that’s not a good condition for a
detective, now, is it?”

She turned and aimlessly started
straightening paper napkins on the small counter. Anything to keep
her hands busy and her mind off a certain agent’s hot bod.

“Bette.”

At the sound of her name, she whipped around
and sucked in a startled breath. In spite of the fact Alex was
sitting astraddle the chair, Shadow had somehow jumped into his
lap, had her front feet planted on his shoulders and was licking
his face. His expression wavered between abject fear and tentative
acceptance.

“Make her stop.” His tone was soft and
pleading; his hands gripped the back of the chair.

Biting her lips to hold back her laughter,
she clapped her hands. Shadow stopped bathing Alex’s face, turned
in Bette’s direction, and promptly curled up between his
thighs.

“Get her off. Please.”

“You are seriously phobic, aren’t you?” She
sighed. “Okay, Shadow. Down.” She pointed to the floor, and the dog
obliged. “See, she’s very smart. All you had to do was ask her.
Never have I seen a supposedly alpha male act so un-alpha.”

She slipped onto his thighs, facing him. “I
don’t think Shadow will mind if I take her place.” She leaned
forward, intending to kiss his brow. Instead, he took her face in
his hands. Her breath caught. “I thought—”

“Stop thinking, Bette.” He winked. “You saved
me from that creature. I don’t know what I would’ve done without
you.”

She extricated herself from his lap and the
chair and got to her feet. “You are such a
liar
. And a
damned bad actor too.”

“I don’t know if that animal of yours is
properly licensed. Maybe I should take you in for—”

Feet planted apart and arms folded across her
chest, she glared. “Take me where? For what? For rescuing a
dog?”

“No.” His gaze caught hers and held fast.
“I’d rather take you to bed.”

Now, what did he expect her to say to that?
Bette swallowed the knot in her throat. “That’s just great. You’re
ready for another booty call, and you used my dog to play on my
sympathies.”

“Booty call?” He shook his head. “Not so. You
were there for me this afternoon. Don’t know what I would’ve done
if it’d been Jackie. I needed you.”

“Let me get this straight.
This
is
your way of saying ‘Thanks’?”

Shaking his head, he stood, moving the chair
aside. “It’s my way of saying… Hell, I don’t know.”

She folded her arms across her chest. No
point in making things easy for him. “If you don’t, neither do
I.”

“Bette, I don’t know what it is about you.”
He stroked her cheek with his finger. Such a tender, unexpected
gesture surprised her. Still, she didn’t draw back when he
continued with a half grin, “But there’s something—”

She held up her hand to stop him and
straightened her back. “Careful, Agent MacGregor, you’re venturing
into dangerous territory. You’ve a career to think about. Correct
me if I’m wrong.” Attitude wasn’t enough to keep him at bay. His
presence drew her like hot fudge on vanilla ice cream. Inexorably.
Completely. Oh, God.

“Liked it better when you called me Double-O.
Remember New Year’s Eve?”

“As if I’d forget.”

“You were blazing hot that night. No wonder I
couldn’t sleep.”

“You certainly didn’t act like I was.” No,
indeed. He’d been an all-too-perfect gentleman.

“Didn’t seem right to take advantage of a
lady in distress.”

“Like you want to take advantage
now
?”

“Mutual advantage.” He swallowed hard. His
Adam’s apple bobbed with the effort. “No strings.”

“Such an attractive offer—not.” She tried to
turn away, but he hooked a finger under her chin and raised it.

“If you want me to leave, I will.” His gaze
held hers, daring her, or was he pleading to stay?

Her feet seemed rooted to the floor. More
than anything, she wanted to lose herself in his arms and the rest
of his hot body. She swallowed, trying to bring some moisture to
her mouth.

He inched closer. Close enough that the spicy
smell of his aftershave tickled her nose. Close enough that his
body heat enveloped her and drew her ever closer into a web of
desire.

Close enough that his lips brushed hers.
Resistance be damned. She surrendered to his strength…to his
intensity…and to his questing tongue. Her head spun, and her bones
weakened, accomplishing a fine imitation of Jell-O left out a
little too long.

A half moan, half sigh escaped as her tongue
met his. She grabbed his shoulders, and he swung her up into his
arms, her legs encircling his waist.

He carried her into her bedroom and kicked
the door shut before the dog could follow. His mouth never left
hers as he laid her on the bed. She pulled his knit shirt over his
head as he snaked a hand underneath her torso and unsnapped her
bra.

“Pretty good at that,” she said into his
mouth. “Must’ve had some practice.”

He made an unintelligible response which
sounded suspiciously like a snort, then said, “Ain’t going there,
Jersey. This is about you”
—h
is head
dipped to leave a trail of kisses down her neck
—
“and me.”

She pulled away enough to lever up on an
elbow. “No strings, remember?”

“Right.” He drew the word out as if
reluctant. “No strings.”

“Then forget the ‘you and me’ crap. This is
just about
now
. That’s all.”

“You’re one tough broad.” He slipped her
T-shirt over her head and pulled away her bra for good measure.

She marveled at the perfection of his chest
and ran her hands languorously over his shoulders and down his
chest to the waist of his jeans.

“No rush. I want to look at you,” he said,
pulling her closer to him. “I want to touch you all over.”

Beneath him, Bette gave a tiny snort into his
shoulder. “Wasn’t that a song back in the day?”

Propped on his forearms, Alex made a face and
shook his head. “What am I going to do with you, Jersey?” Then he
gazed down at her with a devilish light in his laser-blue eyes. “I
know.”

A warm thrill coursed through her. What did
the man have in mind?

His mouth fastened on a nipple, causing it to
tighten into a nub. She grasped the sheets with both hands. “Comes
with the territory, being a Mafia princess and all.” How she
managed to respond coherently at all was a minor miracle. The
warmth of his tongue and the light scrape of his teeth on her
nipple set her thighs to quivering and heat pooling between her
thighs.

He lifted his head and sucked in a breath.
“Not going to forget
that
fact.”

His ironic tone hit her like a sucker punch.
Neither one of them was likely to forget her background. Not now.
Not ever.

He unzipped her jeans. She lifted her hips,
allowing him to work them down. Burying his nose at the apex of her
thighs, he slid her jeans and panties down her knees and calves.
Her thighs trembled at his intimate touch. “No fair,” she gasped
and kicked off her jeans. “You’re not nekkid yet.” She rubbed
Alex’s erection through his jeans.

“I’ll fix that quick enough.” He stood on his
knees and slid down the zipper.

She could make out the jut of his cock
through the thin material of his silk briefs. Her mouth dried. She
reached and jerked down his jeans and briefs in a rush. Freed from
restraint, his cock pulsed when she caressed it.

“Hold on.” His plea came out in a raspy
groan.

She looked up at him, her heart pounding like
a snare drum. “I am.”

“No, I mean hold up. Hell, I don’t know what
I mean. Take it easy, or this’ll be over before we’re started.”

“Wouldn’t want that.” Bette reached for a
condom at the same time he did, his warm hand covering hers.

“No, we wouldn’t.”

She sheathed him while he stared down at her,
his eyes darkening to deep sapphire blue. “Not at all,” he mumbled
as he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked.

He slid two fingers inside her while
massaging her clitoris with his thumb.

Hips squirming, she moaned her need for him.
She grasped his shoulders and opened herself to him. He cupped her
buttocks, centering himself, thrust home with one sure stroke.

She answered his thrusts with her own, biting
his shoulder to keep from crying aloud. Deeper. Harder. Faster and
faster, they tangled and entwined until neither could resist the
overwhelming tide that washed and exploded between them.

Alex’s breath was ragged, and perspiration
glistened on his forehead as he sagged against her. His eyes were
half closed, but she saw the emotion as he gazed down. He kissed
her and breathed, “I love you, Jersey. God help me, but I do.”

He
loved
her? Was he out of his
mind?

True, no man had ever taken her to these
heights. But why count on what could never be? She wasn’t about to
ruin his career. And there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about
her family, especially since Gino was still a major player in
Atlantic City.

A clean break. That was what she needed. As
soon as they found Jackie, Bette would take Shadow and head to LA
or Seattle. Or anywhere but where she was likely to run into Alex
MacGregor. And yet, the thought of never seeing him again brought
tears to her eyes.