Hide and Seek (Criminal Profiler #1)(67)

“Let me clean.”

“No, I have this.”

As he took the plates away, Macy walked to the large windows that overlooked the sloping yard below. Moonlight bathed what looked like a work shed and beyond that a stone firepit with adirondack chairs around it. She could imagine him sitting out there with the fire blazing, drinking a beer under the stars.

When she heard him approach, her gut tightened with longing. He stopped several inches away from her, but she could feel the snap of energy radiating from his body. Delicious sensations flooded her.

She didn’t want to think about cases or bad guys or weird dreams, at least for a little while. “I’m wondering if you could help me out with something.”

“What’s that?” His voice sounded deep and rich.

She worried he might not want her anymore. Scrub brush hair, thin arms and legs, and scars conjured images of a scarecrow, not a seductress. Instead of wondering too much, she kicked caution to the wind as she faced him.

“I haven’t had sex since Kansas City.”

He didn’t touch her but his attention intensified. “That so?”

“I’ve missed it. I’ve missed you.”

Nevada reached out and cupped her face. “I’m glad to hear you say that. I’ve been wanting to do this since I first saw you.”

He tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers. She leaned into his touch, savoring a skin-to-skin connection that was purely sensual. In the last five months, she had equated touch either with a physical therapist’s painful bends and twists or a sister’s hug. Both had their place, but, lord, how she missed feeling wanted and desired by Nevada.

She closed her eyes and, gingerly rising up, wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. His hand slid down her back and cupped her buttocks. He squeezed and pressed her against his erection.

He kissed her shoulder. “You’re tense.”

“My body has changed.”

“It feels good to me.”

“I have scars. I’m so thin.” Insecurity and worry were new additions to her repertoire. “Figured I better put that out on the table.”

He smoothed the short strands of hair away from her face. “It’s okay.”

Unwanted tears burned her eyes. “I don’t want you to hate my body.”

“Your naked body is all I’ve thought about since I saw you arrive.”

“You haven’t seen it.” Moonlight filtered through the trees.

“Show me. Now.”

“Strip?”

“Yes. Take your clothes off, Macy.”

It was an order she could refuse, but as much as she feared his reaction, a perverse part of her wanted to see how he handled himself.

She reached for the button between her breasts and unfastened it. She reached for the next and then the next until she shrugged off her shirt and let it puddle around her ankles.

He traced the line of her white, very practical bra. His eyes looked bluer, more intense, but his expression remained unchanged. The first time they had slept together, he’d appeared just as aloof and withdrawn. Her job brought her into contact with so many emotionally damaged and needy people that she found his detachment oddly calming.

He traced the faint pink tracheotomy scar at the hollow of her neck. “You’re a warrior.” His voice was husky, full of desire. “A survivor. That puts you in a different league. That makes you even more beautiful now.”

He slid her bra straps off her shoulders and smoothed his hands over her arms. He kissed the creamy white flesh of her breast as he reached behind and deftly unhooked her bra. Her breasts were high, her nipples hard as he fingered one and kissed her on the lips.

A dry moan escaped her lips as she struggled to keep her thoughts from tumbling out of control. She fumbled for his belt buckle and unfastened it, sliding her fingers under his waistband. It was one thing to survive, but it was another to feel alive.

“If you don’t take me to your bedroom right now, I’m taking you on the countertop,” she said.

A chuckle rumbled in his chest, but he took her by the hand and guided her through the house to a large room on the first floor. Another span of windows overlooked the wooded valley bathed in moonlight before he pressed a button by the door and privacy screens dropped.

She removed her weapon, cuffs, and Mace and set them on the nightstand before tugging off her socks.

Nevada watched her with fascination as she shrugged off her pants and let them fall to the hardwood floor.

“Keep going.”

Her gaze locked on his, and she slid off her panties.

He walked up to her and caressed her body, tracing his index finger over the long scar that snaked up her leg. Then he smoothed his hand over the road rash scars, which she hated the most. The rosy blotches spread up her side and over her shoulder.

She closed her eyes, focusing on his touch and refusing to shrink away. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, and the top of her breast.

He took her by the hand and led her to the bed and, as she sat down on the firm mattress, he undressed. His erection made her wet. She scooted to the middle of the bed and opened herself to him, feeling drunk now with sensual desire.

He lay on top of her and kissed her fully on the lips. She arched her hips, and he placed his erection at her moist center.

“Let me know if I hurt you,” he said.