Chapter Four
JL settled herself in the passenger seat and slid a sideways glance at Cole. “How was your lunch meeting today?”
“Actually, it went real well.” He pulled out into the flow of traffic. “I’ll have to thank Jace for the recommendation.”
“Jace?”
“Jace Whitney. Former Border Patrol. I recruited him for my team, and he suggested this other guy, Mitch Parker.”
“Tell me about him,” JL urged.
“In a nutshell, I need a helicopter pilot, and Mitch has all the right creds.” Cole turned off the highway onto a two-lane country road. “He flew with Naval Special Warfare, and they don’t come much better than that.”
“What’s he been doing since then?” she asked.
“Working for a private flying service. Said he thought about training for Search and Rescue, but this is more what he wants. He can come on as a full-time agent, with use of his piloting skills being the first priority.”
“And you like him?”
“I do. And since he and Jace already know each other, it makes for a good blend.”
He’d told her he was anxious to get the core of his team together. They had nothing on the horizon at the moment, but he wanted to be prepared for when something came out of nowhere for them.
“So.” She fiddled with her seat belt. “You had a chat with Grant today.”
Cole laughed. “He called you, right?”
She chuckled. “Of course. He wanted to tell me how lucky I am to have hooked up with someone like you.”
A muscle twitched in his cheek. “Jackass.”
He is that.” She swallowed a sigh. “I tried to tell you I didn’t think these were more than nuisance calls, but then you gave that nice speech to Grant about how important I am, as is the project, and how can I be mad?”
“I don’t want you to feel as if I’m ignoring your input,” he said slowly. “But this is my business.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “And so are you.”
She knew that. Just as she knew anticipating potential problems was part of his makeup, and that he was in the business of seeing bad guys behind every door. Though privately less dismissive of the calls than she pretended to be, she still didn’t think there was any inherent danger. She had a way to figure it out, but Cole would give her an argument. She’d have to convince him. Get him to understand.
“I know this can be a hot button for some people,” she told him in what she hoped was an even voice. “And people can certainly be unpredictable. I just have a hard time seeing it as something they would go after like diamonds or precious metals or things like that.”
“Oh, darlin’. Think about it. You’ve been in science all your adult life. How many discoveries have caused corporate wars and pitted people against each other? Is it such a stretch to believe desperate folks out there want to get their greedy paws on a formula sure to revolutionize the grain industry?”
She leaned her head back against the seat. “Probably not. I just think you may be going a little overboard.”
“Better too much than too little,” he pointed out.
“Grant said you’re getting back to him with a proposal.”
“I am. By the end of the week.” He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “But in the meantime, I picked up an answering machine today. When I take you to the lab in the morning, I’m going to set it up.”
“I hate those damn things,” she grumbled.
“But at least you can filter your calls,” he pointed out. “You can check the caller ID on the incoming and let the ones you dnlt want to answer go to voice mail.
JL had tried to blow them off, to minimize them, but the persistence of the people had begun to trouble her. She knew how critical this formula was, how important to the ranchers. And not just in a drought-prone state like Texas but also across the country. Even globally. While Cole worried about actual bodily harm, she worried they’d somehow convince the association to cut the funding, forcing her to accept one of the offers. But it was likely an unrealistic fear, with the ranchers totally committed to this project. They’d actually sought her out for it.
But these people who were calling—all of them . . . Greed motivated them, and she’d seen the terrible things greed could do to people. Seen it in Seattle, when . . .
Stop it. That’s behind you.
She’d thought about this for a while, figured out a way to see whether real danger lurked in the calls. In these people who were so damn persistent. But she had to present this just right. She sat in silence for a long moment, trying to figure the best way to tell Cole what she wanted to do. He’d pitch a fit, but if he felt so strongly about the element of danger, maybe she could pinpoint it a little better for him. Only following through would mean meeting each of the people involved face-to-face.
Cole broke the silence. “I called Andy and asked him to do a deeper background check on everyone. At first blush, they all came up squeaky clean, although I don’t think I’d like any of them personally. But everyone’s got stuff under the surface. I want to find it.”
“And if they do? Maybe it’s got nothing to do with me.” She cleared her throat. “If you really want to get a reading on them, I have an idea.”
She sensed the sudden tension in his body. “Why do I think this is going to involve something I don’t like?”
JL drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “We haven’t discussed my ability to read auras since the night at the Romeos.”
“No, we haven’t. I’ve just been waiting for you to bring it up again.”
She nibbled her lip. “Does it freak you out?”
He gave a husky laugh. “Darlin’, very little freaks me out these days. But I am curious as to how it works.”
“Are you really sure you want me to tell you about it?” she pushed.
He slid a quick glance at her. “Why would I not? Your gift is part of who you are.”
Because not everyone believes it means anything.
But maybe, if she gave him chapter and verse, he might listen to her suggestion. She tightened her hands together in her lap. Then, recognizing her tension, she forced herself to relax. This was Cole, after all. Not—someone else.
“All living things have an aura,” she began. “The first time I realized I could see colors and electric static surrounding people, I did a lot of research. As a scientist, especially, I had a lot of questions about this weird thing happening to me.”
“I’ll bet you did.” He extended a hand and gently touched her knee, a reassuring caress.
“So. Humans generate a large magnetic energy field that can be sensed, felt, and even seen around the physical body. We all can tell when someone doesn’t feel good to us, like they are full of anger, or if they live in their heart and feel deeply.”
“Do their colors change?”
“Marginally.” She swallowed. “Everyone has their own aura, the field I mentioned, that tells me what kind of person they are. The color adjusts depending on what’s going on with them, but the main color is always there.”
“So, let me get this straight.” He turned off the highway into the driveway leading to his ranch house. “You can see me and tell what kind of person I am?”
“Yes.” JL sighed. “I hope you don’t think it’s too creepy. And it’s not visible all the time, by the way. Or with everyone I meet.”
He pulled into the three-car garage attached to the house, shut off the ignition, and turned in his seat. “So what do you see when you look at me?”
“A sexy cowboy?” she teased.
He laughed. “I damn sure hope so. But what’s my aura?”
“With you I see red.”
“Yeah?”
“Red is the color of strength, strong passion, and willpower. People with red auras also have energy and fire. A strong drive. Pretty well describes you.”
“I like the energy and fire part. I’d like to read up on this a lot more.” He started to get out of the truck but paused when she did not move. “Something else on your mind, darlin’?”
“Here’s what I’m thinking. And please, listen to me carefully. Don’t just give me an automatic no. I hope you’ll believe in me and I can talk you into this.”
She saw his hands tightened momentarily on the steering wheel. “Okay, lay it on me.”
“And you have to listen with an open mind,” she prodded.
“I’ll do my best, darlin’.”
“Okay. If I could meet personally with each of the people calling me, I could get a good read on them.”
The smile disappeared from his face, and he stared at her for a long moment.
“Hold that thought.” He jogged around to open her door and help her out of the cab. “Let’s head inside, get out of these clothes, I’ll fix us drinks, and then you can try to convince me why I should go along with this.”
As soon as they walked into the house, tension began to ebb from her body. She was still anxious about Cole’s questions, as well as what she planned to suggest, but this house always had a calming effect on her. Not that she didn’t love the home in which she’d grown up and currently lived in, at least part of the time. But something about Cole’s house soothed her. The wood floors always shone, as much with polish as with age, a testament to the diligence of his housekeeper. Light bloomed through the huge windows, casting an amber glow over the oak of the furniture and the bright colors of throws and pillows. Traces of Cole’s mother lingered everywhere, although she and his father had moved to Arizona two years before, leaving Cole with the ranch and a foreman and housekeeper worth their weight in gold.
In the huge master bedroom that had a view of the near pasture, JL changed into yoga pants and a cami; Cole changed into sweats and a T-shirt. She deliberately avoided the subject while she waited with barely leashed impatience while he poured a glass of wine for her and opened a bottle of beer for himself. They carried everything out to the deck where comfortable loungers faced the setting sun.
JL loved this view. At the end of a day spent with her lab equipment and bent over a microscope, she could kick back on the padded lounge, watch the horses taking a last run in the corral before being put up for the night, and sniff the heady aromas of fresh-cut grass and hay and of horses and cattle. Her work was intense, and she needed this time to unwind and let her brain unkink.
She took a sip of her wine, forcing herself to wait until Cole spoke again. She had to do this just right to convince him.
“So.” He shifted on his lounger. “Let’s back up a minute. Does everyone have an aura? And what does it look like?”
JL thought for a moment. “Yes, everyone does. It’s an energy field surrounding them that represents different traits and aspects of their personality. It’s made up of several different levels.” She gave a small laugh. “Which I can explain to you some time when you can’t fall asleep.”
“Can you see everyone’s?”
She shook her head. “No. For one thing, some people have stronger auras than others. For another, I don’t think my ability is that honed. I’ve never worked on it. So someone has to have very definite traits, good or bad, for me to see the shimmer of light around them.”
“You see that with me.”
JL nodded. “I do. And I saw it with all the Phoenix men, too.”
Fortunately what she’d seen was positive. The one time she’d seen a black aura, no one had listened, and the results had been devastating. She had really tried to shut down her so-called gift then. Or keep her mouth shut. Isolating herself from personal relations had been another choice, only with Cole she hadn’t been able to distance herself, no matter how much she tried.
She knew how badly he wanted to make things more permanent; he was really good about giving her the space she needed to get there. How could she explain her fear to him? Or live through what happened the last time?
If I can convince him to let me do this, maybe I can move forward. Make people believe in me. Not like the last time.
“JL?”
“What?” She shook herself, aware her mind had drifted.
“You still with me, darlin’? I asked you how accurate these auras are.”
She took another swallow of wine while formulating her answer. “Pretty accurate, although they can be affected by a person’s health or personal circumstances. And sometimes the aura changes shape, if it interacts with another person’s.”
“Pretty complicated,” he mused.
“Yes and no. And if I’m going to read someone, I need to take some time beforehand to make sure I can focus properly.” She cleared her throat. “But I think I could get a handle on these people if I can see them, speak to them face-to-face.”
“Absolutely not.” He swung his legs over the side of the lounger and sat looking at her. “Out of the question.”
“Just hear me out. Please?” She’d given this a lot of thought, knowing his first answer would be, ‘Hell, no.’ But since meeting the Phoenix wives and learning what they had done and continued to do with their abilities, she’d done a lot of soul searching. The last time she’d attempted to use her gift for good, it had blown up in her face. But this was a different time, a different place. A different man. And it was a chance for her to redeem herself in her own eyes.
He tilted his beer bottle and took a swig. “I’ll listen,” he said in a tight voice, “but I can’t promise I’ll agree.”
Be calm, she cautioned herself. The last thing she wanted was an argument with him. But she was also determined. “Cole, I could just do this myself. You know that, right?”
The muscles in his face tightened. “Yes. You could. But that would be a big problem. You could compromise your safety, and—”
“And piss you off,” she finished for him.
“Yes.”
“Which is why I’m not doing that. So let me explain.” She took another swallow of wine for fortification. “If I can just see each of them, I can read their aura. Get an idea of the kind of people on my case.”
Cole shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
“Because you don’t believe something like that works?”
“Not at all. Each of the Phoenix women has a special gift, and they’ve used them in cases before very successfully. That’s why they are focusing now on getting the Psi Department up and running.”
“Then why—”
He held up a hand. “Because I just don’t trust any of these people.”
JL shifted until she faced him directly, their knees almost touching.
“What do you think they’ll do? We’ll be in a public place, and you’ll be right there with me. If nothing else, at least you can get a feel for them through personal contact. You’re very good at reading people.”
And I can see whether any of them are a danger to you as well as me.
“I’d better be, with my line of work,” he joked.
“On the other hand, if any of them have a black aura, or fields even tinged with black, we’ll get an idea of how dangerous they really are.”
“I still don’t like the idea of you being anywhere near these people,” he repeated. “You know that.”
She set her wine glass down and took one of his hands in both of hers. “I do. And your concern makes me feel secure enough to move forward with this. Because I know you’ll be right there, ready to protect me if necessary. But I’m pretty sure none of them would try anything in a public place.”
“Say I agree to move forward.” He frowned. “How would you want to do this?”
“Everyone wants to take me out to lunches and dinners. Why don’t I let them do it? Only it will be both of us.”
She made herself wait patiently while he processed the idea. He believed in her gift, a major step. Maybe this time, when she got a reading, someone—Cole—would believe her. That would go a long way toward helping her heal. She let out a sigh when he nodded.
“Okay, but I pick the time and place.”
“That’s a given.” She curved her lips in a tiny smile and held out her glass. “How about some more wine to seal the deal?”
JL stepped out of the shower and slid open the glass door. She extended her arm to reach for a towel and instead connected with a hard male body.
Cole stared at her with fire blazing in his dark eyes. Just that look set her body to trembling with anticipation.
“Allow me.” His voice was low, rough with need. “You’ve had a very tense day. And I think I know just how to get rid of all that stress. Just put yourself in my hands.”
With anticipation curling low in her belly, she stepped out onto the thick bath mat and stood there on suddenly shaky legs as Cole patted her dry with slow strokes of the big fluffy towel. The slight abrasive feel of it as he stroked it over her breasts made her nipples harden and swell and her breasts ache.
He patted her shoulders and her neck, pausing to lick the drops from the hollow of her throat. The rough surface of his tongue against her skin made every nerve sit up and scream, Take me. He moved the towel along the line of her hips and legs but left her stomach and every inch of her sex still damp as he turned her around.
The same smooth, gentle movements blotted water from her back and coasted over the curve of her ass and down the back of her legs. Then he turned her back to face him, knelt before her, and nudged her thighs apart. When he drew the towel across the lips of her pussy, lust surged through her so strongly she had to grip his shoulders to keep her balance. The internal muscles of her sex quivered in response as her body reacted to his touch.
Cole locked his gaze with hers, visually holding her captive as he rubbed the towel back and forth across her sensitive skin. The beat of her pulse accelerated, her heart rate ratcheting up.
“Cole.” The word came out as little more than a whisper.
“What is it?” But his question was muffled with his mouth now pressed to the curls covering her mound, his breath tickling her, the soft whisper of it making her weak.
He dropped the towel but stayed on his knees, parting the lips of her pussy with his fingers and taking a slow lick of her slit. He swirled his tongue over the hot nub of her clit, teasing, tantalizing. Lightning seared her to the soles of her feet, her breath hitched, and she pressed her fingers into the hard muscles of his shoulders.
Take me to bed.
“Soon.” His words were muffled, his mouth still against her flesh.
Oh God. Had she said it out loud?
With a gentle nip at her distended clit, he rose, lifting her with him and tossing the towel aside.
“You smell incredible.” He pressed his nose to the soft flesh of her stomach. “I could lick you all over. In fact”—he yanked the covers back on the bed and settled her on the sheets—“I might just do that.”
“You have too many clothes on,” she pointed out.
“I plan to remedy the situation right now. Spread your legs, JL. Let me see that sweet little pussy while I strip.”
Everything always clenched when he said things like that. And, lately, he’d been saying them more and more. Controlling the situation. She wondered fleetingly whether a new side of him had emerged, one he might have kept a lid on while their relationship developed.
“Now,” he commanded.
The rich voice slid through her and jolted her into awareness. Obediently, she opened her legs, staring up at him from lowered lids. Her breathing hitched as he stripped off his T-shirt and jeans, and kicked his boxer briefs to the side. She never failed to salivate at the sight of him, all those hard muscles and taut planes of his body. His cock rose thick and proud from the dark nest of curls surrounding it, the head swollen.
She reached out to him, eager to close her fingers around that thick shaft. Feel the velvet of the skin and the hard core of steel it covered. Touch the smoothness of the plum-colored head. Put her lips around it and draw him deep into her mouth.
His gaze dropped to her hand, and he took a step back.
“Not tonight.” He blew out a breath. “Do I want you to touch me? Suck my cock? Lick my body the way I do yours? Of course I do.”
“Then . . .”
“Strange as it might seem to you, I get more pleasure using my mouth and hands on every inch of you and watching you react. Feeling the way you respond to everything I do to you.” He leaned over her, caressing her cheek. “One of these days I’m going to show you just how high I can take you and how long I can keep you there before I finally let you come.”
Desire swirled low on her belly at his words.
“Tonight is for you. To relax you. To empty that busy mind of everything except how you feel. How I make you feel.” He looked his fill of the entire length of her body. “Touch yourself,” he commanded, his rich baritone sending shivers through her body.
JL eased one hand down her body until she reached the top of her mound. She had discovered Cole became immensely aroused watching her do this, and, unexpectedly, it turned her on as well. Her pussy was already drenched when her fingers slid along the slick surface, wet with her juices and her hot need, and she stroked herself, avoiding her clit for the moment, just brushing lightly over her sensitive skin.
“Tell me how it feels,” he demanded. “Do you like to touch yourself? Can you feel your fingers sliding so smoothly in and out of yourself?”
Her breathing hitched. “W-when you watch me, I do.”
“Describe it.”
Describe it? I can barely think.
“Now, JL.” His voice became whipcord sharp.
“I . . .” She swallowed. “I can feel how wet I am. I pretend these are your fingers on me. In me. And the muscles inside my pussy tighten with need. A pulse beats deep inside me, hard and strong, and I want to come. But—”
“But you want to wait for me to tell you. Give the command. Right?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” She moved her fingers faster now, desperate to reach the elusive pinnacle and push herself over it.
Cole knelt on the bed between her feet, eyes blazing with hunger as he watched the movement of her hand. It still amazed her how much it aroused her to stimulate herself while he watched. She’d never thought of herself as an exhibitionist. Until now.
“That’s it,” he growled. “Stroke that sweet little sex. Open those lips so I can see it all. Jesus, JL. I could come just from watching you.”
Her pulse rate escalated as the movement of her fingers sped up. She circled her clit the way he liked, brushing the top, then pinching it lightly before rubbing it again. With each touch, each stroke, the pulsing in her body grew stronger and more intense. When she slid two fingers inside her hot, wet channel, she couldn’t hold back the little moan escaping her lips.
“Good, good,” Cole encouraged, his eyes devouring her. “Just like that. Bend your knees and open yourself more. Let me see everything. Oh, yeah. Pretend that’s my cock inside you. Look at me, darlin’. Keep your eyes on me.”
She teased her clit with one hand while she slipped her fingers in and out of her body faster and faster. Pressing her heels into the mattress, she lifted her hips and rocked into her hand. And all the while she never took her gaze from Cole’s, from those hot dark eyes and the savage hunger blazing in them.
“Now.” His voice cut through the haze. “Come now.”
A cry burst from her as she gave in to her body’s desire and the walls of her pussy spasmed. As she shook with the tremors, Cole leaned down, put his mouth over her clit, and tugged it between his teeth. The climax shook her with incredible force, her entire body bowing in an arc, pushing at him.
When the quakes lessened, she eased her hand away from her sex. Cole braceleted her wrist with his fingers, lifted them to his mouth, and slowly and carefully licked each one. Deep inside JL, the craving began to grow again, the demand for him to fill her, to ride her until they both tumbled over the edge of a very steep cliff.
“Not yet.” As if he’d heard the words in her head.
He positioned his lean body between her thighs, pressed his face to her sex, and inhaled deeply before stroking her slit with his tongue.
“Ohhh!” The sound escaped on a breath, her sex so sensitive that the barest touch started the need for release again. She wasn’t sure she could tolerate it so quickly, but he gave her no choice.
Holding her in place, he licked and savored and tasted, lapping at every inch of her sensitive, tender flesh. She writhed beneath him, so sensitized every brush of his tongue ignited sparks. She couldn’t bear it, yet at the same time she wanted his erotic caresses. His mouth on her sex was magic, coaxing responses where she wasn’t sure she had them.
He stiffened his tongue and thrust it inside her and pushed her over the edge again. She spasmed, her inner muscles tightening and clamping down. He was relentless, sucking and tugging and thrusting until he’d wrung the last bit of response from her.
He looked up at her, a self-satisfied smile on his face, and moved up until his head hovered over hers. Then he brought his lips to hers, a light touch at first but growing greedier by the minute. When his tongue swept inside, she had no choice but to answer with her own, and the dance of desire began anew. She tasted herself on him, that combination of sweet and tart, mixing with his own particular essence like an aphrodisiac, wringing new responses from her body.
His hands cupped her face, stroked her cheeks and her neck, slipped down to cup her breasts. His palms were warm, his fingers calloused as they pinched and twisted her nipples, making them more swollen than ever. He finally broke the kiss and eased his mouth down to those distended buds, sucking hard on first one then the other.
JL writhed beneath him, the hard, hot length of his shaft pressing against her leg. She ran her hands over the taut muscles of his shoulders and his back, reaching down to the hard curve of his buttocks. In desperation, as the craving built inside her again, she twisted against him, silently urging him to fill her.
“You want me, darlin’?”
“Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
“Not half as much as I want you.”
She got the message he was deliberately taking his time, drawing it out. His other hand slipped between her thighs and cupped her outer lips, stroking the moist flesh, gently abrading her clit. Driving her entire body to become one quivering mass of sensation. To where she’d do anything if only he would just fuck her!
At long last, she heard the tear of the foil, felt him shift as he rolled it on and positioned himself behind her. Then his hands were on her hips, and the head of that hot, hard dick pressed against her opening. Little by little he eased himself inside her tight clasp.
Oh God!
“Breathe, sweetheart.” Cole’s deep voice rumbled through her. “Slow, deep breaths.”
Sensation swept over her in an erotic mixture of heat and ice. Her breasts ached, her nipples tingled, and her pulse pounded at every erogenous point.
“Here we go.” His voice was thick and gravelly.
He began the slow in-and-out movement, retreat and thrust, sliding back until only the head lodged inside, then pushing forward. She timed her breathing to the rhythm of his thrust, giving herself over to the incredible shower of sensations. Incrementally, he picked up the pace, riding her harder and faster until he pounded into her with such force each thrust drove her forward.
God! She was so close. So close. Almost there.
He seemed to know how to keep her on the edge, how to hold back until every nuance of her body, every moan and cry, told him she had reached her limit. He pounded into her even harder.
“Now,” he ground out. “Come now.”
As if he’d flipped her internal switch, her orgasm roared through her, spasms shaking her like a leaf in the wind, hips thrusting back and back and back. Inside her, his cock pulsed as he spilled his come in the latex sheath.
Time evaporated as they slowly came down from the high of the shared climax. Cole rolled to the side, taking JL with him, his cock still snug inside her. The only sounds in the room were their harsh breathing as they dragged air into their lungs.
It seemed to JL they lay there forever with him curled around her, locked inside her. His muscular arm wrapped around her waist, one hand cupping a breast.
“I think I’m completely relaxed now,” she murmured.
His laugh rumbled against her. “I think we both are.”
At last he slowly eased himself from her and slipped from the bed, heading toward the bathroom. She heard water running, then he was back beside her, lifting her in his arms.
“I think another shower’s in order, darlin’.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “I hope we have enough strength left to hold each other up.”
As Cole carried her into the big bathroom, JL wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. For the moment, she felt satisfied. Replete. Safe. If only things could always stay that way, but no one knew better than she did how quickly it could all be destroyed.
Please don’t let it happen again.