Tangled Hearts (5 page)

When he eased back a bit, Brianna realized her coat was open, as was his. They had pushed them apart to press closer. She had no desire to move an inch unless it was to close the gap he’d created.

“Don’t be nervous around me.” Jake’s voice was low and seductive. His breath brushed across her damp lips, warming them in the rapidly cooling night air.

“Jake, I’m not nervous. I was merely saying—”

Again he cut her off with a kiss, deepening this one until Brianna forgot where she was, forgot what she should be doing. The only reality was Jake in a spinning universe that spiraled in wondrous delight. She strained to get closer, to offer him the same heady delights he provided. Her mouth moved against his, her tongue mating in a rhythm as old as time. Her hands threaded themselves through his thick pelt of hair, relishing the texture, testing the length.

His heat scorched her, made her coat superfluous. Gone was the numbing cold of the winter; gone was the hard concrete beneath her feet. She floated on a warm, tropical cloud of blissful sensation. Shimmering waves of electricity sparked along her nerve endings, bringing remembered pleasure so long forfeit.

“It was always hot between us,” Jake mumbled, lifting his hands up to cup her face, dropping little kisses against her lips, across her cheeks, tilting her face to trail kisses along her jaw, down her throat.

“It was always wonderful,” she replied, eyes closed to better savor every stroke of his touch. She could go on forever. Could he?

“I didn’t come for this,” he said, swooping back to capture her lips for another kiss. Was he lying to himself?

He straightened and reluctantly dropped his hands.

Brianna blinked, crashing back to reality in a rush. Embarrassed at her ready compliance, she bent to retrieve her books and purse. Searching for her keys, she turned to head for the door, conscious of Jake only inches away. She couldn’t look at him. Did he mean to imply she’d thrown herself at him?

“Just why did you come?” she asked as she walked to the door, her head held high. She would not apologize. He’d kissed her after all. She’d only gone along for the ride—for the dizzy, spiraling, heart-stopping ride. She still felt his warmth.

Once inside, she shrugged out of her coat and hung it in the closet.

Jake followed her inside, closing the front door firmly behind him. He watched her steadily with his dark eyes as she turned to stare defiantly back at him.

“Well?”

“I came to update you on the progress made so far,” he said easily.

Brianna wondered if that were true or only a trumped-up excuse. Wishful thinking on her part, no doubt. Jake had never had to trump up anything.

“I thought Officer Winston was the one in charge of this investigation.” She sat down on a chair in the living room, gesturing to another for Jake.

He took the offered chair. Brianna noticed he didn’t remove his heavy coat. He was obviously not planning to stay long.

“Don's in charge. But he filled me in and I told him I’d be seeing you and could let you know.”

“Why?” she asked again.

“Why what?”

“Why bother? Officer Winston could have done the job. I think you’ve made it abundantly clear we have nothing to say to each other. So why were you the one to come by? Especially when a phone call would have sufficed.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned forward, wanting to shake her for being so elusive, for being so darn pretty sitting there practically ordering him out of her house.

He wanted to rail at her for shutting him out, for being all he could not have.

She’d invited him for dinner only a few hours ago; now she was as cool as the snow in the yard, as distant as summer.

“We talked to the duty officer at the base and obtained a list of people who had an idea of what projects you worked on. We cross-checked with the university. Got another list. We’ve been investigating the names on each list to see if anyone needed quick cash and consequently might be interested in minor espionage. We’re trying to determine who knew you had access to classified files, and that you’d be away for a week at Christmas.”

“Good grief, you’re questioning all my friends?” she asked in disbelief. “Why don’t you put an ad in the paper? Anyone who knows Brianna Hart come forward and be suspected of—”

“It’s routine police work and so far has resulted in nothing. But I wanted you to know we’re doing all we can to make sure we catch the man.”

“A telephone call would have worked.”

He had just come by to update her on the investigation. She didn’t know why he’d kissed her, but she'd bet her last dollar he hadn’t expected her to respond so fervently. She’d all but plastered herself to him. She wanted to melt into a puddle of embarrassment. But she held on. She wouldn’t give way until he left.

“I wanted to see you,” he admitted.

“That wasn’t the impression I got this morning on the phone.” She looked away, remembering how hurt she’d felt at his rejection.

“Yeah, well, the reason I didn’t want to come to dinner is I didn’t want a scene like we just had on your front walk. There’s no future in it.” That much he did know.

What’s wrong with me that you can’t love me?
she screamed inside. Gritting her teeth hard, she clamped down on the words.

“Have you seen anyone suspicious around here or around your office?”

“Officer Winston asked me that. No, I haven’t. And I’ll be sure to let him know if I do.”

“Him, not me?” Jake asked, his voice whipcord sharp.

“He’s still in charge, isn’t he?”

Leave, leave, leave, she willed him. Just leave me alone once and for all.

This was torture to be so close, to have shared hot kisses, and still hear him say they had no future together. What did he want from her?

Jake rose, towering over her. “Yes, he’s the one in charge.” Slowly he leaned over, his finger rubbing gently against her swollen lips. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

She shook her head.
Not the way you mean.

With an exasperated sigh, he straightened and turned to the door. “I can see myself out.”

Brianna remained perfectly still. Her eyes watched him walk away. Her ears heard the door open, close. Her body felt the silence and stillness of her empty house. She was alone—again.

But Jake’s scent still surrounded her. The heat he engendered still warmed her body. The tiny pulses of electricity his very touch brought still hovered against her skin. Closing her eyes, she imagined he was still there with her. She sighed. It was going to be a long night.

And so it proved. It was after midnight and still she couldn’t fall asleep. Groaning in frustration she rolled onto her side. The scene between them earlier that evening replayed over and over in her mind.

She couldn’t forget how wonderful it had been to be in Jake’s arms again. The pleasure she’d received in his kisses, the touch of his hands against her face, his fingers threaded in her hair burned in her memory. She yearned for more.

Bother! At the rate she was going, she’d still be tossing and turning at dawn. She needed to get some sleep! She had a math section at eight in the morning, and those students were sharp. She needed to be on her toes to challenge them.

Flinging off her covers, she quickly rose. Maybe some cocoa or a brandy or something would relax her enough to fall asleep. What she really needed was to get her mind off Jake. But that didn’t look likely in the next few centuries.

She padded silently down the short hall and reached the door to the kitchen at the same instant the window glass broke. Startled at the sound, she snapped on the switch by the door, flooding in the scene with revealing fluorescent light.

She caught a glimpse of a hand and arm, quickly yanked out of the window and then gone. Shock held her immobile for a long moment, then she flew to the phone to call the police.

As calmly as she could, she explained the situation to the dispatcher. He promised immediate help. Even as she hung up, she could hear the distant wail of a siren. Apprehensively she stayed by the phone, watching the kitchen door to see if anyone came through. She heard nothing but the blood pounding through her veins. She thought she’d scared the intruder away, but she wasn’t sure. She yanked on her coat and stood by the front door, tense and alert. If anyone came in through the kitchen, she’d flee out the front.

Seconds later, heavy pounding shook the door. Brianna whipped it open and almost flung herself into the policeman’s arms.

In less than half an hour, things were back to normal. The officer had temporarily patched the window, scoured the grounds for an intruder, written down her statement and posted a patrol to survey the neighborhood until morning.

The disturbance had awakened the Bensons, and when they heard what had happened, they insisted Brianna spend the rest of the night with them.

Gratefully she accepted. For one brief moment, she was tempted to call Jake. Gathering up her things, she locked the door behind her, wondering if she should consider moving. If these break-ins threatened to become a habit, she'd have to. She couldn’t continue to live like this.

Snuggled down in the guest room of the Bensons’ a few minutes later, Brianna seriously wondered what anyone could want badly enough to break into her house twice. She had no classified secrets, no final exams, no jewelry. It was most puzzling. Reading mysteries was fun, this not so much.

Immediately following that thought came the speculation about what Jake would do when he heard about this night’s adventure. She really didn’t need his help. The other police officers in the city were all competent individuals. And a lot less threatening to her own stable well-being.

He’d mentioned again last night that they had no future together. She’d do nothing but set herself up for a load of heartache if she continued to see him, no matter how she longed to do so.

Starting tomorrow morning, she’d stand on her own two feet again. And if she needed some help, she’d call one of her brothers. They’d be here like a shot.

With that resolution firmly fixed in her mind, she finally drifted off to sleep.

Her home looked the same the next morning when she returned to dress for school. Officer Winston caught her right before she left for campus. He reviewed the report the duty officers had prepared and asked a few more questions.

“I’m not sure how safe it is for you to remain here by yourself. Do you have another place you can stay until we can find the intruder? Someone like a close friend or relative?” he queried as he prepared to leave.

“Do you really think I’m in some sort of danger?” Brianna asked.

“The perpetrator had to know you were home last night. That makes the entire situation more dangerous. It seems as if our guy is getting more desperate.”

She nodded, still baffled by what anyone could want from her. “I have some friends I could stay with I guess. I can’t move in with someone indefinitely.”

“We’ll see if we can get any leads from last night’s attempt. Until then, Miss Hart, I’d suggest you find another place to stay for the next few nights at least.”

The interview with Officer Winston made her late. And Thursdays were her heavy days. She dashed from the parking lot to her first class, feeling as if she was out of step with the rest of the world.

The feeling lasted through the morning. Without the calm preparation time she usually enjoyed, it seemed as though she was constantly scrambling to catch up. And always at the back of her mind was the constant worry about the break-ins.

Grabbing a quick lunch, she wondered which of her friends she should ask for a favor. Sandy would be the best bet, not having any family to disrupt.

Her brother Josh lived too far away, plus he still acted as if she were a baby.

She liked being independent. She didn’t want to be under his overprotective thumb again. Yet Brianna wondered if leaving her place unattended would offer an open invitation to the intruder to try again.

What did he want?

Brianna’s last class of the day was advanced calculus for mathematics majors. She was well into the lecture, turning from writing a complex formula on the blackboard, when her eye caught the opening of the back door. Jake Morgan walked into the lecture hall and went to stand against the back wall. Brianna swallowed hard, losing her train of thought for a moment.

What was he doing here?

She caught sight of the puzzled faces of the students, several of whom had turned to see what was causing her momentary distraction. Taking a deep breath, Brianna picked up the threads of her lecture and plunged in again. Feeling more vibrantly alive than just seconds before, she was aware of Jake’s steady regard while she wrapped up the lecture for the day.

What was he doing here, and dressed as he was? He leaned negligently against the wall, wearing all black, from the dark boots and black cords to the thick black sweater that hugged his torso. He tossed a shearling jacket over the back of a seat, crossed his strong arms over his muscular chest and stared at her.

Brianna could scarcely concentrate. He was far too distracting.

She wanted to discuss some theorems, but couldn’t remember which ones. She wanted to excite her students with the knowledge of the practical uses of calculus, but could only feel the excitement that being near Jake brought.

Finally, unable to concentrate, she dismissed the class ten minutes early. From the eager sounds from the students, she'd made their day.

Slowly the lecture hall emptied until only Jake and Brianna remained. She busied herself stacking the assignments that had been turned in and erasing the blackboard. Aware that Jake remained leaning against that back wall, studying her, she did her best to ignore him.

When the last student vanished, Jake pushed away from the wall and walked down the side of the room, his step measured and soft. Brianna was resigned to watch him approach, her heart beating double time.

His dark eyes almost shot flames as they narrowed in on hers and held them captive. A muscle in his cheek jumped as he clenched his teeth. His broad shoulders were displayed to advantage in the dark sweater. The black cords encased long, muscular legs.