“We can go now,” Jack said. “They’re gone.”

Cassandra looked at the ring for a moment longer, trying to work its sudden appearance into the larger puzzle she’d been assembling in her brain.

“What have you got there?” he asked.

Cassandra gave herself a shake, slowly standing up and slipping the ring into her pocket.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure,” she admitted. “But I think that was what I was looking for when we came to Laura’s house. I think we’re done here.”

“Let’s get back to the car,” Jack said, getting to his feet.

Cassandra nodded. As she followed him out of the back yard, keeping to the deep shadows created by the trees and bushes, she considered the bizarre clue hidden in the dirt. She had never at any point thought there might be a connection between Max and Laura—but if he hadn’t known her, why would his ring be in her back yard?

They came out into the front yard and Jack hurried onto the sidewalk, avoiding the security lights on the street. Cassandra followed him around the corner, jogging to keep up with his fast pace.

Well, she thought with a wry grin to herself, I do know one person who should have a very good idea of what Max Adelman’s wedding ring would be doing in Laura’s back yard. And this time, I know where to find him.

When they finally reached her car, Cassandra’s whole body tingled with the possibilities of what she might have learned in their few moments of hiding.

Jack looked around quickly, making sure that they were alone.

“What’s going on? What was with that ring you picked up?”

Cassandra took a deep breath and slid the jewelry out of her pocket, examining it in the feeble light of the parking lot lamps.

“It’s Max—well, it’s Max’s ring,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “I don’t know what it was doing at Laura’s, but I think it means he had to have been involved.”

As she gazed at the ring, a scenario started to form in her mind. Cassandra thought about Max’s overly-familiar shoulder pat in the courthouse, the way he’d encouraged her all along in pursuing Laura Granger’s murder investigation, the way he’d subtly pushed her to new discoveries.

“He didn’t separate from his wife—he lost his ring. He murdered her…or at least, he had something to do with getting rid of her.”

Cassandra looked up into Jack’s face, holding up the ring for him to look at it again.

“It has to be Max’s. I’ve seen his ring enough times; this gaudy thing wouldn’t be caught dead on anyone else’s finger. But it’s not enough.”

Jack stared at the ring in confusion for a moment, then looked at Cassandra, the expression on his face unreadable, but unmistakably intense; it reminded her of the way he’d looked at her in the courtroom, the day he’d been convicted of Laura’s murder.

“How did you…?”

He shook his head in disbelief, his lips curving up in a slow smile. Before Cassandra could begin to answer, Jack wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, lifting her up against his body.

“You gorgeous, brilliant woman,” he murmured, bringing his lips down onto hers.

Cassandra stiffened against him as Jack deepened the kiss, his hands tightening on her body. A moment later she felt her body relaxing, the surprising warmth that radiated from Jack seeming to sink into her through her clothes, drenching her skin.

Jack’s tongue probed her mouth, tasting, testing, and Cassandra tilted her head up towards him, trying for a greater advantage. She draped her arms around his shoulders, barely able to bring her hands together against his back.

He spun her around, pinning her to the car, reminding Cassandra of the moment, hours earlier, when she’d gone into her kitchen only to find herself immobilized, a hand over her mouth, pinned against the wall. She moaned softly against Jack’s lips as desire flooded through her body, every little lustful half-thought she had entertained over the course of their time together flitting through her mind, heating her up from the inside out.

She felt the hard ridge of Jack’s cock digging into her hip, rubbing against her. Jack broke away from her lips, panting slightly; Cassandra’s heart pounded in her chest, rabbit-fast. She could taste Jack on her lips, feel the tension in his body pressed to hers.

“Unlock the car,” he told her, his voice tight with desire.

Cassandra frowned in confusion; her whole body tingled with need, her nerves were exquisitely awake, and for a moment her brain was too hazed over with the arousal coursing through her that she couldn’t make sense of the words that had come out of his mouth.

“Cass?”

Jack rocked his hips against hers, rubbing the hard ridge of his cock against the juncture between her thighs.

“Oh—yeah. Yeah, the door,” she said, exhaling sharply.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys, nearly dropping them to the ground in her haste.

Jack chuckled lowly, his head dipping down. He dragged his lips along the column of her throat, and Cassandra shivered at the contrast of the coarse stubble rasping against her sensitive skin, interrupted by the softness of his lips.

“I can’t—I can’t unlock it if you don’t let me go,” she said, shivering as Jack’s teeth grazed the pulse-point just below her jaw.

Jack paused, then his grip on her slackened, and Cassandra sank down along the curve of her car until her feet came in contact with the asphalt of the parking lot. Cassandra slid her arm out from under Jack’s body and awkwardly inserted the key into the driver’s side lock. Twisting the key twice, Cassandra heard the mechanical click as the door locks popped open.

Jack’s hand snaked around her, and Cassandra stumbled as he opened the back door of the car. Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, she found herself tumbling into the back seat, one of the seatbelt buckles poking into her back. Then Jack was on top of her, kissing her, his hands moving over her body as if he could barely restrain himself.

The fact that Jack had been in prison for three months—that it had been at least that long since he had been with a woman—flitted through Cassandra’s head as he nibbled her bottom lip, making her gasp at the unexpected pleasure. The ridge of his erection in his jeans felt like a hot lead pipe pressed against her, digging into her thigh, and Cassandra couldn’t deny that she had—in the back of her mind, at least—been wondering ever since he’d shown her the names inked on his hip what it would look like, what it would feel like inside of her.

They writhed together, trying to get comfortable and vying for control of the kiss. Cassandra’s hands wandered all over Jack’s body, exploring the ridges and planes of his back, feeling the ripple of muscles under the skin. Within moments, she felt as though she might actually die if she didn’t feel his skin against hers, if she didn’t feel him inside of her soon.

She tugged and pulled at Jack’s tee shirt, struggling to guide it up along his back, past his broad shoulders. Jack’s hands were busy as well, peeling her blouse up along her waist, tickling her ribs. He lifted her up and they broke apart long enough for Jack to pull the blouse over Cassandra’s head and toss it aside.

Jack buried his face against Cassandra’s breasts, nuzzling into her cleavage, his hot breath tracing where his lips and tongue and skin left off.

“Fuck, Cassie,” Jack murmured, tugging the thin fabric of her bra down to expose her breasts more fully. “You have no idea how long it’s been… How hard it’s been to keep my mind…” He claimed one of her nipples with his mouth, sucking and licking the firm little nub, sending crackling waves of electric pleasure straight to Cassandra’s throbbing, soaking wet pussy. “When we stopped at that gas station, all I could think of was bending you over the hood of the car and making you moan for me.”

Cassandra shuddered, remembering how attracted to Jack she had been even that far back in their adventure, even as deeply apprehensive as she had felt, given his reputation.

“You—you could have had me…” She gasped again as Jack switched from one nipple to the other, barely grazing her sensitive skin with his teeth. “Back—back at the apartment,” she finished, letting her head fall back onto the seat as her hands tightened on his back.

Jack’s hands shifted down along her ribcage, sliding against her skin.

“Wish I’d known,” Jack murmured, breaking away from her breasts to kiss her on the lips once more. “It would have been worth taking the time to get rid of some of this tension.”

One of his hands slipped underneath the waistband of her pants and Cassandra squirmed as his fingertips brushed against the soaked front of her panties. Her breath caught in her throat as Jack rubbed downward, shifting his weight on top of her. Cassandra’s hips came to life, twisting underneath Jack’s touch as his fingertips pressed between her labia, stroking up and down, barely missing her clit.

She struggled with his shirt, her arms tangling with his as she fought to get it off of him. Finally she threw it across the interior of the car, uncaring of where it ended up as Jack worked his fingers around the thin layer of lace that made up her panties and began to rub her bare skin underneath. He found her clit and began to stroke her, swirling his fingertips around the bead of nerves, sending jolts of pleasure through Cassandra’s body.

Cassandra dragged his face back up to hers and kissed him hungrily, twisting her hips and pushing them down for better contact with his fingers as they writhed together. Her inner walls flexed and tightened in erratic spasms as Jack teased and touched her, sliding his fingertips down to her inner labia and giving her a few firm strokes that didn’t quite penetrate before slipping them along her drenched folds to play with her pleasure center once more.

“If you’ve been waiting so long, why aren’t you fucking me?” Cassandra broke away from Jack’s lips, panting and gasping for breath, desperation palpable in her voice.

Jack chuckled lowly, slipping one finger inside of her tightening pussy achingly slowly.

“I think I’d rather make you wait,” he murmured, curling the finger along her inner walls, rubbing her clit even as he probed her slowly, pushing deeper and deeper, “just a little while longer; just until you can’t stand it for a second more.” He added a second finger and Cassandra shivered at the tight, full feeling. “It’s been a while for you too, hasn’t it?”

She nodded breathlessly, bringing her hips up to take his fingers deeper, while her inner walls tightened around him; her body didn’t want the rough, thick intrusion to leave.

“Fuck, Cassie,” he groaned, rocking his hips against her, rubbing his still-covered erection along her thigh. “I’d give up a month to have the whole night to fuck you over and over again.”

He kissed her hungrily, plunging his fingers deeper and deeper inside of her. Cassandra shuddered, crying out with pleasure as his fingertips brushed against her G-spot. Her hands tightened on his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin, but she didn’t care whether or not she hurt him—she couldn’t even imagine hurting the big, muscled man who had her pinned underneath him.

She lost all track of time as they writhed together, rubbing against each other’s bodies, the air heating up around them. Jack worked her pants down over her hips, and moments later he was tugging her panties down, exposing her to the humid, hot air in the back of the car. She sprawled on the seat as he pulled himself up, looking down at her, his fingers shining with her fluids. He smirked and brought them to his lips, sucking them clean.

“Another time,” he murmured, reaching down and unbuttoning the fly of his jeans, “if I ever get free for good, I am going to spend an entire night getting you off over and over again.”

“That—that sounds amazing,” Cassandra said breathlessly. She pulled herself up onto her elbows, watching intently as Jack unzipped his fly. His erection sprang free immediately, and Cassandra’s eyes widened as she realized that he wasn’t wearing anything underneath the denim. She licked her lips, taking in the sight of the thick, hard cock only a little more than a foot away from her face. Jack was as thick and as long as Cassandra had imagined, the tip gleaming with pre-cum, the length flushed and the tip almost purple.

“You look like you’re seeing something you like,” Jack said lowly, his voice rippling with amusement.

Cassandra glanced up at his face for just an instant, catching the smirk on Jack’s lips. Instead of replying, she pulled herself up and reached out for his body, anchoring herself against his strong, hard thighs. She wrapped her hand around the base of Jack’s cock and slowly moved up along the hot length, bringing her thumb around to rub the tip as she began to stroke him slowly.

Glancing up again, Cassandra brought her lips to the tip of Jack’s cock, and she opened her mouth to take him in. Jack groaned, his hand closing on her shoulder with a squeeze. She took him gradually deeper into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the hot, hard length, moving her lips up and down along the shaft. The salty-sharp taste of Jack’s pre-cum coated her tongue, making Cassandra want more. One of Jack’s hands tangled in her hair, tugging slightly, messing up the braid it had been in for more than twenty-four hours already.

Cassandra felt Jack’s cock twitching between her lips, felt the tension in his body as she took him as deeply into her mouth as she could, feeling consumed with the desire to swallow down every last bit of what Jack had to offer When she was certain that he was on the point of climax, Cassandra felt Jack’s hand on her shoulder, pushing her mouth away from him.

She let out a startled, disappointed groan, falling backward onto her elbows. She looked up at him. “What’s wrong, Jack?”

“I don’t want to finish in your mouth,” he said, taking shuddering, shaking breaths as he closed his eyes and gripped the back of the driver’s seat. He opened his eyes once more and smiled down at Cassandra. “If I came now, we wouldn’t have time for more.”

He pulled her up towards him, draping Cassandra’s legs around his waist. Cassandra trembled as she felt his erection brush against her inner thigh, slick with her saliva and his pre-cum. Jack reached down between her legs and cupped her soaking wet vulva in his hand, rubbing the heel of his palm against her and sending electric jolts of pleasure through her body. His fingers slid between her drenched labia, rubbing up and down, and in moments Cassandra was moaning again, her hips moving seemingly with a mind of their own, her whole body alive with the pleasure that was coursing through her veins.

Cassandra grabbed at Jack’s shoulders, pulling him down onto the backseat, reaching up to bring her lips to his as she shivered and writhed. Jack’s fingers withdrew, and he broke away from her hungry kiss just long enough to lick them clean, giving her another knowing grin. He reached down once more and Cassandra gasped as she felt the tip of his cock sliding and rubbing along her labia, teasing her.

Jack guided himself up against her inner folds, and Cassandra’s hands tightened on his shoulders as he thrust into her slowly, filling her up inch by inch. She trembled underneath him, pushing her hips down to meet his, moaning against Jack’s neck as he pushed deeper and deeper inside of her. Cassandra closed her eyes, savoring the heat and thickness of Jack’s cock rubbing along her inner walls. It felt so full, so tight, that she could barely imagine how they could possibly start moving.

For a long moment, when their hips pressed together, Jack held himself absolutely still, and Cassandra swallowed as her breathing slowed, her heart still racing at the delicious feeling of him inside of her.

“Just think,” Jack murmured against her ear, his hot breath drenching her neck. “Think what it would be like…pressed up against your wall…or bent over that little table in your dining room…” He pulled out a few inches, and then thrust deeper inside of her, making Cassandra moan. “I’d love to throw you down on that bed of yours and fuck you senseless.”

“Fuck,” Cassandra said, her back arching up off of the seat. She pushed her hips down to meet Jack’s thrusts as he slid in and out of her with aching slowness. “Fuck—God, Jack… Would you—would you really have…”

“If I’d given into temptation,” he murmured lowly, picking up the pace of his thrusts, “I would have ripped your clothes off right there and then.” He groaned, rocking his hips against hers, buried so deeply in her body that Cassandra’s nerves twitched at the overload of sensation. “Fuck, Cass—you feel so good I could spend the next week just screwing you over and over again. Feeling you…feeling you like this.”

Cassandra gasped and cried out as the tip of Jack’s cock brushed up against her G-spot, sending a mind-shocking jolt of pleasure through her. She fell into his rhythm, moving in counterpoint to his thrusts, her hands wandering over his body to explore the topography of his spine, his rippling muscles, the rough patches of scar tissue from all he had been through in his violent life.

Jack’s mouth shifted from her lips to her breasts and back up again, as if he wanted to devour her whole. Their limbs slipped and slid against each other as sweat drenched both of their bodies in the close, hot confines of Cassandra’s backseat.

As she came closer and closer to orgasm, Cassandra completely forgot that they were in a public place. She was a million miles away, where nothing mattered but the tension mounting in her body, the tightening muscles that flexed around Jack’s thick, hard cock, the orgasm so close that she could almost taste it on her tongue as they both moved faster and faster.

All at once, the tension inside of Cassandra’s body reached an almost unbearable level and she cried out, throwing her head back against the door. A moment later, the tension dissolved and wave after wave of pleasure washed through her. She lost herself in the sensations coursing through her body, driving out all thought except for the pleasure that Jack was giving her.

As erratic spasms racked her—so intense they might have been pain—she barely heard Jack’s long, low groan of pleasure, nor felt his cock twitching inside of her, rubbing against her inner walls. Feeling the first sticky-slick gush of his orgasm deep inside of her body, Cassandra’s climax intensified and she fell into the warm, soft darkness, clutching at Jack’s body as if for life itself as they continued to move together through his final hard thrusts until they both collapsed.

* * *

Cassandra came back to herself bit by bit, aware of the dull protests of her neck, her back where the seatbelt buckle had been digging in, her hips aching from the awkward position. Aftershocks of pleasure danced along her nerves, and her heart had just begun to slow when Jack lifted himself up off of her, looking down into her face. Cassandra smiled shyly, blushing as she thought of what Jack had told her—about the way he’d wanted to take her from the moment he’d had her pinned to the wall—and how turned on his words had made her.

She pushed the strands of hair that were sticking to her face off of her forehead, twisting her neck out of the uncomfortable position she’d fallen into. She shivered, remembering the dream she’d had of Jack—the fantasy she’d pasted him into. If she hadn’t known better, she would have suspected the fugitive had read her mind. She couldn’t lie to herself about how much she would have enjoyed him bending her over her kitchen table and taking her in the impulse of the moment.

“You okay, Cass?”

Cassandra opened her eyes and took a deep breath, meeting Jack’s gaze. She saw the concern in his eyes as he watched her intently.

“We’ve got a long night ahead of us,” she said, swallowing against the dryness in her throat.

He nodded. “That was a good break though,” he said with a little grin. “And maybe we’ll have some more free time later… I can’t go back to prison without having you at least one more time.”

Cassandra smiled, blushing, but more than a little thrilled at the idea of doing one or two of the things that Jack had murmured in her ear.

“In the meantime, let’s get dressed,” Jack said. “You’re right—we need to get back on the road.”