Chapter 9

"There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself."

–Benjamin Franklin

Jameson

In all my years on the job, I had never been put in a tight spot like I was in now. Waiting for Rayne to show up, I paced the cabin and tried to think of my next move.

Of course, I had to warn her of Felix's plans.

When he and Ben confronted me about seeing us last week, I'd easily blown them off with the whole "I was trying to get laid and didn't know she was a cop" bit.

Then, they'd somehow heard that Rayne had walked me out of the cell and driven me home. That news had seemed to force Felix and Ben into plotting.

During the weekend party at his house the night before, he'd pulled me aside.

"You see, Jameson, we need someone to keep us posted on a few things. You could use this flirtatious relationship you have with the pretty detective"—Felix wiggled his eyebrows at me at that point and slapped my shoulder a little too hard—"to our benefit."

"Like I said, I didn't even get to first base," I had countered, hoping the matter would be dropped. I did not want to bring Rayne into the spotlight of the Reapers.

"Yeah, yet." Felix laughed. "What if you could get the pretty detective to trust you?"

"Meaning?" I asked.

"You see, there's a… gray spot we need to shed some light on in this town," Felix added.

"A gray spot?" I had asked, instantly wondering what he meant, but then he sprung his and Ben's plans to have me use Rayne to get information about the mayor's murder. Why in the hell were they concerned about that?

"We need a few details, you know, to make sure she's not poking her nose where it doesn't belong," he'd said. "I'll get you more details soon."

From what I could tell, none of the Reapers had so much as looked in the mayor's direction before. Sure, a bunch of them took issue with the mayor's twin sons. The brawl that week hadn't been the first between the groups. Nor, I'd wager, would it be the last, since the Reapers were already plotting their revenge.

Hearing a car drive up, I glanced out to see Rayne park her Jeep and shut it off. I watched the road to make sure she hadn't been followed, then opened the door for her.

"How big of trouble are you in?" she asked, stepping inside.

"First things first," I said, pulling her into my arms and covering her mouth with mine.

I'd missed the taste and feel of her next to me. I'd dreamed of nothing else but her since the moment I'd seen her across the bar.

"Now I feel steadier," I said, pulling back a little.

"You do?" She chuckled. "I think my entire body is vibrating." She smiled up at me.

I took her hand and led her into the living room.

"How bad is it?" she asked after we sat down.

"They want me to use you for information," I blurted out, causing her to laugh. Then she sobered.

"Information on what?" she asked.

I tilted my head slightly.

"Oh shit." She stood up and walked to the dark windows as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I had pretty much ruled out anyone in the Reapers for Sharon's murder." She turned back to me. "Now…" She shook her head.

"Yeah." I nodded. "So what's your game plan?"

"Mine?" She balked. "Shit." She closed her eyes. "Shit," she said again. She sat next to me again. "Who asked you to use me?"

"Felix."

Her eyes narrowed.

"George Felix Woolf, age thirty-two. Six foot two, two hundred and fifteen pounds. Six convictions and four years behind bars. He was last released about two years ago," she rattled off.

"Do you have a computer in that head of yours?" I asked, amazed at her recount of details.

She chuckled. "Eidetic memory." She tapped her head. "It's a curse in my personal life but a benefit to the job."

I nodded. "Something tells me Ben was in on the request too. Felix doesn't make a move without consulting him first."

"Ben Blackwood. Do you know I once went out on a date with him in junior high?" She shook her head. "Dodged that bullet. He beat up his high school girlfriend on the night of prom when she glanced at another boy. That was the first time he spent time in jail. He has six more convictions and did time with Felix for a year or two."

I nodded. I knew all there was about each member of the Reapers. Far more than any police report could tell anyone.

"In school, he used to brag about some of the crap he did. I've wanted to lock him up for years." She leaned back. "If you're here, DEA, that means drugs. Are we talking more than the shit that flows through every small town?" she asked, and I nodded. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "Do you know anything about the attorney general's investigation into Sharon Taylor?"

I guess my surprised look answered the question.

"For?" I asked.

Rayne shifted slightly.

The moment her leg brushed against mine, I wished we were there for anything other than work.

"Apparently, corruption and embezzling," she answered.

"Apparently?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I've got a request in for more details and to be added to the loop, but since Sharon's death, I doubt they'll give me much. It seems like their case hit a dead end." She rolled her head towards me. "No pun intended. I have known Sharon Taylor my entire life. Even though I never had a personal friendship with her, she was there when I received my badge. What happens now? What do Felix and Ben have in store for you?"

"I'm to use you," I answered and saw a twitch in her lips. "Yeah, Felix is expecting all the juicy details of our sex-capades."

She chuckled. "Well, we'd better make sure our stories match then." She shifted and moved over me. Her legs straddled my hips.

"Oh?" I smiled and gripped her hips with my hands, digging my fingertips into her softness. I'd dreamed of this. Of this very moment. The feel of her, the soft subtle scent of leather and flowers that she carried on her. "And how do you propose we do that?" I asked, trying to keep my heart from exploding in my chest.

Instead of answering, she brushed her lips across mine softly. The featherlight touch was almost my undoing.

How long had I gone without the feel of a soft woman next to me? Too damned long, that was for sure.

While she ran her mouth over mine, tangling our tongues in tantalizing play, I moved my hands all over her body. Even though she was probably the tallest woman I'd been attracted to, she was still so much smaller than I was. Her body fit tight up against mine and when she started moving her hips, I about lost it.

I was holding back years of pent-up desire, so I lifted Rayne in my arms and carried her the few dozen steps or so into the bedroom.

Her body slid down mine, and we both took a moment to remove our weapons—my Glock, which I slid into the finger-coded safe on the nightstand, and her Beretta.

"Nice piece," I said as she sat it and her holster down on the same nightstand.

"It's my personal piece." She smiled. "I have a few different ones. We can compare and appreciate each other's weapons later." She laughed as she unbuttoned her blouse.

My mouth watered when she exposed a simple skin-colored bra underneath. She was lean, toned, and had tan lines that crossed over her perfect skin, indicating she'd spent some time outside recently.

She tossed the shirt onto the chair next to the bed and reached to start pulling my shirt over my head.

"God," she purred as she ran her hands over my chest. Then she traced one of my tattoos with her fingertip. "I'm a sucker for these. I have a few myself." She smiled up at me.

I nodded and started tracing the small, curved flowers on her shoulder.

Pulling her closer, I kissed her until we both felt unsteady as we frantically peeled off layer after layer of clothing.

When we finally fell onto the bed, every bit of clothing was gone. The feeling of her skin against mine sent shock waves through every fiber of my being.

This was new, I kept telling myself. This mattered.

How long had I managed to avoid letting down my guard while on the job? Not caving to any of the pleasures dangled in front of my face for years. And trust me, there was plenty of pretty fruit willingly offered.

None of them had mattered. Not one was worth taking that step. This step. The one I so desperately wanted with Rayne.

I'd asked myself why. Why her?

Then I'd think back to the handful of conversations we'd had. How the time I'd spent with her had mattered more to me than any I'd had over the years.

Besides my boss, Rayne was the only person who knew me.

Now, I was lucky enough to be able to spend these moments with her and vowed to stretch the time out for as long as I could. I was going to explore every inch of her soft sexy body so that I could memorize every curve. I knew there might come a time when things changed. In my line of work, things could grow dark very fast. I might not always get to be here with her in the future.

I ran my mouth down her neck and lapped at each breast while her fingers dug into my hair, holding me, pushing me where she wanted.

I followed all of her demands until I settled between her thighs, which wrapped around my shoulders.

When I tasted her for the first time, I knew there was no way in hell I would stop at having her taste on my tongue just once.

I dipped one of my fingers inside her as I continued to suck at her skin. She arched. Bucked. Moaned.

Every movement and every sound that she made affected my body, and I knew I was running out of time.

I pulled on one of the rubbers I'd purchased the previous week for just such an occasion and slid up her body. I covered her while she tangled her legs around mine.

"Before," she said, holding still, "one last question." I smiled and nodded. "What's your real name?"

I hovered over her, looking deep into her dark eyes. Her hair was fanned out on the pillow in long straight lines. Her lips were plump and pink from our kisses. She looked like a woman who was already sated, yet the vibration coming from her body told me that she was still in need. "The truth is, I can't even remember," I said as I slid into her.

"Jameson," she whispered as I started to move.

Yes, that felt right. The man I had once been, long ago, was nowhere to be found.

Even now, being here with her like this, I was reborn. Remade.

What I was feeling now, I'd never felt before. I was sure of it.

Her tightness wrapped around me. The taste of her on my lips. The feeling of her heated skin next to mine. Every new feeling and thought I had was like exploring the world for the first time.

We moved together, seeming to know what the other needed, wanted.

Our fingers tangled over her head as I pumped long slow strides deep inside her. When the speed quickened, our eyes locked for a moment.

There, deep inside her soft brown eyes, I could see the same things I was feeling. The same wants.

She shouted my name as I felt her convulse under me seconds before my release, one that rocked my core and shattered every hope of getting out of the small town unscathed.

I was lost. There would be no coming back from this.

I collapsed next to her, pulling her heated body up tight against my side.

We lay in the quiet, listening to the cicadas and crickets outside the cabin.

"I can't stay," she said after our bodies had cooled.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I can't either."

"Where do we go from here?" she asked, rolling over to hover over me as she rested on her elbow. Her eyes scanned my face, my chest.

"I suppose we need to make some sort of public appearance for the cause," I suggested.

"Bayou Brews?"

I shrugged. "I work tomorrow from eight to three."

She smiled. "I could hit the gym during my lunch break. I'll make sure to wear something… just for you."

I instantly thought of seeing her in one of the skimpy gym outfits most of the women wore when they worked out and felt myself grow hard again.

In one quick move, I spun us around, pinning her under me, and had her laughing.

This time, when we came together, there was no speed. Instead, laughter filled the room as we tested each other's limits.

Her nails scraped my sides and back, no doubt leaving slight marks there. Still, when she flipped me over, I willingly went and watched in amazement and wonder as she climbed on top of me and took what she wanted from me.

This time, we jumped over the edge together. The moment our bodies cooled, we retreated to the shower, gathered our things, and dressed.

"It's morning." Rayne groaned softly. "I'm going to kill you if you make me do burpees," she warned as they walked out into the early morning air. The sun was just starting to cast shadows through the thick trees.

Before she could climb into her Jeep, I pulled her back into my arms, needing to feel her once more against me. This time, when I kissed her, I allowed everything I was feeling to pour from me.

"Wow," she said, resting her forehead against my chest.

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Yeah, wow."

Riding back to the apartment, I parked and figured I'd stop in the café downstairs for a cup of coffee and something sugary to help me get through the rest of the morning.

By the time I gathered my gym bag, I was almost refreshed.

When I stepped out onto the balcony at the top of my stairs to head back down to the bike, I spotted two of the Reapers sitting in an old truck across the street, watching me.

Shit. Had they been there when I'd arrived? I'd been too tired to notice. Did it matter? Double shit.

Acting like I hadn't seen them, I climbed on my bike and went to work.

In the safety of the locker room, I pulled out my phone and sent Rayne a coded text.

"Thanks for last night. I enjoyed watching the movie The Surveillance with you."

I hoped she'd get the clue and waited, watching my phone screen for her reply.

"It was a great movie. Next time, you can pick, I trust you can find something that will entertain us. I'll see you at lunch."

I smiled. Yeah. Okay, so I was falling fast for her. Her brains and wit far outshined anyone I'd met before. Plus, she was sexy as hell.

I didn't know how I was going to get through the hours until I saw her again.