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downward. As she looked up into his eyes, he regarded her with warm attention.
“You shouldn’t be here alone, Autumn.”
“I wouldn’t be, but for Ginger. How did you know I was here?”
“I was talking to Mom and she said you hadn’t come home yet. She was about ready
to call and check up on you. I saw the SUV was still here.” He sobered, leaving the
glimmer of a smile on his mouth. “You know, you are one tough lady.”
“Not so tough. I’ve been thinking all day about that woman and what happened. I
hate it. I think my brain is fixated on the fire,” she said. “It’s stupid, I suppose, but I can’t
seem to get my mind off what happened.”
“That’s natural. I think you should have had a week off to recover both mentally and
physically.”
Out of nowhere, the tears came again, and he must have seen the floodgates start to
open. “It’s okay. You can talk to me.”
Tears spilled onto her cheeks. She wiped at them, then grabbed a tissue off the desk.
“It’s not okay, Jack. She’s dead. And I didn’t … I couldn’t do anything to help her.”
“Autumn, her death isn’t your fault. We talked about this in the hospital.”
“I’m allowed to feel bad about it, aren’t I?” The words snapped from her mouth like
a whip. “I keep seeing her face over and over. It’s horrible. I hate being like this.”
She inhaled deeply, trying to recover a sense of balance.
“I know.” His clasped her shoulders. “You didn’t cry much that night, did you?
You’ve been holding it inside.”
Autumn saw deep understanding in his eyes, and the balm on her soul made her want
to weep even harder. “I needed to make it through the night. I had to be…”
“Strong?”
“Yes.”
He slipped his hand into her hair to caress the back of her neck. “You’ve been
through a lot lately. Not too many people I know have a car wreck, then almost get killed
in a fire. That’s too much stress all at once. You need to ease up on yourself. And yes,
you’re allowed to feel it.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“It’s okay. And I think there’s more you’re not telling me.”
“There’s nothing else to tell.”
“I don’t believe you. It isn’t only the woman’s death that’s bothering you.”
He rubbed her neck, and while the feeling of his strong fingers shot thrills up and
down her spine, at the same time it made her want to cry more. His touch felt so good she
almost moaned. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his caresses turning her
muscles into gelatin. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d become until he touched her.
Tears continued to pour from her eyes; she couldn’t seem to halt that reaction.
His tenderness undid her one string at a time. Without warning, she was trembling
and shaking, her resistance shattered.
“Ah, damn,” he whispered.
Autumn thought she saw the telltale sheen of moisture in his eyes, too, as his arms
slipped around her. His fingers tangled in her hair, and he continued to stroke her neck as
he brought her tight against him.
“It’s all right,” he murmured against her hair. He kissed her forehead and smoothed
his hands over her back. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
Under his reassurance, she released the floodgates. She couldn’t remember the last
time she shook and sobbed so hard. Crying never felt this bad and this good, and it
seemed to go on forever before his presence lifted some of the heaviness in her soul. As
he touched her hair, stroked her arms and back, she drifted into a new reality where pain
turned to pleasure. Now his touches swept fire into her belly and made the trembling a
result of raw, sexual tension. Suddenly she realized her hands wadded his turtleneck.
“God, I’m all over you.” Her fingers twisted deeper into the fabric.
When she looked up, he owned a lop-sided grin. “I don’t mind you being all over
me. With the death grip you have on my shirt, I don’t think it’ll ever be the same.”
“I’m sorry.” She smoothed the rumpled sweater and gave herself permission to enjoy
the sensation of rock-hard pecs.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. You know we haven’t talked as much as we
could. Last night was…”
“Fun,” she said nonchalantly, automatically on the defense, unwilling to go too deep.
His arms loosened and dropped to his sides, and she thought she saw disappointment
cross his features. “Yeah. Fun.”
She gave him an irreverent smile and wiped at the moisture on her cheeks. “Hey, you
know what? People are already giving me goofy looks because I’m driving your SUV.”
He stuffed his hands in back pockets. “So what if they think something is going on
between us? I don’t care what anyone thinks.”
She shrugged. “Maybe you should. People claim sticks and stones may break their
bones, but we all know words can hurt. You heard about the photograph of you and me
making it to The Chronicle in Billings and to national papers, right?”
“I heard. Everyone will forget it by next week.”
She didn’t think a week would be long enough to forget the fire, in any case. At least
not for her.
Time stretched as he gazed at her, his attention unflinching and admiring. “Come on.
I’ll help you find Ginger’s wallet.” Once they found Ginger’s wallet in her desk, he held
out his arm, “I’ll walk you to the car.”
After she grabbed her purse and coat, Jack stopped at the door to the reception area.
“If you’re going to stay late again do me a favor. Call me and let me know you’re safe? If
I’m free I’ll come by and escort you home.”
“That isn’t necessary.”
“It isn’t safe for you to leave this building alone at night. You know that.” His voice
went husky, a naked tone hinting at something dark and worrisome. “You saw what
happened when Beckett came in here.”
She realized she was being unreasonable. “You’re right. Thanks again for being here
for me.”
Tension knotted between them again, and she felt it this time deep in her belly. He
moved closer. “I can’t stand this.”
“This what?” she asked softly, half certain she knew what he meant.
“Whatever this is between us.” He tilted her chin up so she looked into his soul-
searching eyes. “God, you are so pretty. And I want to kiss you so badly.”
She saw his intention but couldn’t make a move to step back. His mouth closed over
hers gently. Jack didn’t touch her anywhere else, a soft joining of their lips so feather
light it stirred her heart like the touch of butterfly wings.
The door opened and they broke the kiss. Jack swept a protective arm around her
shoulders.
“Howdy,” the old man in the security uniform said, his smile wide and full of
mischief.
“Sorry, Hammond,” she said quickly. “We were leaving.”
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