LITMIR.BIZ

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her cheeks. Then he touched the spattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Kate didn’t so much as twitch.

      Finally, heaving a sigh, Jack rolled her to the center of the queen-size bed, pulled back the covers, then scooped her up and tucked her in between the sheets and pulled the covers back up to her shoulders. With a wry smile tugging at his mouth, he smoothed her damp curls off of her forehead.

      “You win this round, Mick. But our reckoning is coming.”

      Kate made a sleepy sound and burrowed her face into the pillow.

      Four

      A sliver of morning sunlight sliced through the gap in the black-out drapes and drew a line across the bed where Kate slept. Slouched in a chair, Jack sat in the shadows, watching her.

      Funny how merely looking at her made him happy, he mused. Being near her made him feel…whole, somehow. Alive. As though she filled an aching empty place in his soul.

      She’d had that effect on him from the beginning.

      Remembering that first encounter, the barest hint of a smile flickered over Jack’s mouth. In his early twenties he’d been restless and craving adventure and had wanted to see the world, footloose and fancy free. With that goal in mind he’d made the decision never to marry. Joining the agency after college had cemented that choice.

      Then, four years later, he’d met Kate.

      From the moment he first saw her he’d been drawn to her like metal shavings to a magnet. They had been at a party at the Houston home of a mutual friend, and from all the way across the room he’d noticed that she seemed to glow from within with a vitality that was irresistible.

      Without waiting for their host to introduce them, he’d taken matters into his own hands and strolled over to her group, inserted himself between her and the man with whom she’d been talking and, before she realized his intent, maneuvered her away to a secluded corner.

      Within moments he’d been smitten. After dating her for only a few weeks he’d been forced to revise his life plan. The mere thought of a life without Kate in it had been unbearable.

      He’d always supposed it was some sort of poetic justice that he’d fallen so hard and so fast. And that Kate had not rushed into his arms, as so many a woman had before her. Though he did not think of himself as being particularly good-looking, up until that point he’d never had to pursue a woman.

      However, Kate was not one of those women who needed a man to complete her or support her or take care of her. She had far too much self-esteem and confidence for that.

      And why not? She’d come from a stable family, every member of which loved and supported her. She was smart, educated, talented, socially adept and ever since he’d known her she’d had a successful career of her own making.

      Even back then, at the young age of twenty-four, she’d already begun to carve out a name for herself as a designer of fine diamond and gemstone jewelry. These days her designs were sold in high-end jewelry stores all over the country and she was often commissioned by wealthy patrons to do one-of-a-kind pieces.

      No, winning Kate had not been easy.

      But then, he’d been prepared to do whatever it took to persuade her to marry him. Hell, he would’ve gotten down on his knees and begged if it had come to that.

      Jack’s gaze slid over Kate’s face like a caress. She looked about eighteen, with her face scrubbed clean and rosy with sleep and those long lashes lying against her cheeks like little fans. Her lips were bare and slightly parted, her short auburn hair mussed.

      She wasn’t truly beautiful, he supposed. Her nose was too short and splattered with freckles and her mouth was too wide and full for classic beauty. Even so, she had an irresistible appeal. Maybe it was those big, expressive green eyes that made his insides melt. Or that impish grin, complete with a dimple at each corner. They even winked at you whenever she talked.

      Beautiful? No. What she was was downright adorable.

      She was also passionate, feisty and absolutely fearless—frighteningly so at times.

      Kate had a tendency to leap into a fray before she thought. Whenever she felt that she was in the right or encountered an injustice she’d wade right in, all one hundred and five pounds of her, and stand toe-to-toe with anyone, no matter who, when, where, how much clout they had or how big and intimidating they were. When riled, his ex-wife was like a fearsome little terrier.

      Jack was just grateful that in her current situation she’d recognized the serious danger that she and Colleen were facing and had the good sense to know that she was in over her head and needed help.

      Although…he could imagine just how much it had galled her to call on him.

      Kate made a soft sound and shifted in the bed. Jack’s frugal smile flickered again. The small protest was a sure sign that her morning waking ritual was about to begin.

      For all her energy and drive, Kate was not a morning person. When fully awake—a state which took a hearty breakfast and at least two cups of strong coffee to achieve—she was a little dynamo. However, when that active mind finally shut down she slept with the abandon of a child, sinking deep and clinging to mindless oblivion as long as possible.

      She shifted again, then rolled onto her side and tried to burrow her face into the pillow. Seconds later she rolled onto her back again. After another minute or two of squirming she heaved a sigh and gave up.

      Yawning, she stretched one leg then the other, then raised her arms over her head and, in a slow, sinuous motion, arched her back and made a purring sound.

      Jack’s arousal was instantaneous.

      Aw, hell, Mick. You’re killing me here, he groaned to himself.

      Unlike his ex-wife, he had not slept well the previous night, despite exhaustion and a cold shower. Awareness of Kate just a few feet away in the next bed had nearly driven him nuts.

      Relaxing her body, she slumped back onto the mattress, but an instant later she cried out and jackknifed into a sitting position. “Jack!”

      “Easy, Mick. Easy. I’m here,” he murmured.

      Her head snapped toward the sound of his voice. “Oh.” She gave him a rueful look and raked the fingers of one hand through her hair. “For a minute there I thought…”

      “What? That I’d deserted you? Left you high and dry with no warning? I would never do that to you.”

      Kate’s sheepish expression vanished. She shot him a sleepy but sullen look. “That was a dig at me for the divorce, wasn’t it? For the way I handled things? You are still angry.”

      “Maybe. But then, I have a right to be, don’t you think?”

      Pressing the heels of both hands to her temples, Kate squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. “I knew it. I knew it. I should never have contacted you. I knew I’d regret it,” she muttered.

      Dropping her hands, she sent him a bleary-eyed look. “If that’s the way you feel, why did you bother to come home at all? Or did you just use my request for help as an excuse to confront me? If that’s the case, you can leave right now. I have more pressing matters to deal with than your lingering resentment.”

      “Resentment?” Jack gave a mirthless chuckle. “Sweetie, that doesn’t even come close to what I felt when I received those divorce papers. But we’re not going to have this discussion just yet. Not until you’ve had some coffee and are wide awake. You see, I believe in fighting fair.”

      “I’m not going to discuss the past with you, Jack,” she mumbled, knuckling her eyes. “What’s done is done, and there’s no going back. In fact, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t need your help. I want you to leave.”

      “Feeling brave this morning, are you? Amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for your outlook. Well, too bad. I’m staying.”

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