Jinxed!

8

IAN RAN OUTSIDE THE police station into the now clear night. The wind had chased away the clouds.

And, apparently, Chloe.

He raced through the lot, turning in a circle in the middle, stopping short at the sight of her at the far end, his gut clenching hard.

Her skirt soggy and clinging, his own sweatshirt covering her from fingertips to mid-thighs, her hair damp and hanging in her face, she looked like a wreck, an adorable, sexy wreck.

He’d never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.

“Great exit,” she was saying to herself. “But your car’s at Ian’s, you idiot. Of course, it’s at Ian’s, because this is Valentine’s Day.” Sighing, she tipped her head heavenward. “Karma? You listening? You suck.”

“Does karma ever talk back?” he asked, stepping close.

She didn’t jump, didn’t scream, just closed her eyes. “Perfect.” Then she opened her eyes and looked at him. “Do you believe in karma, Ian?”

“That’s not the question I expected you to ask.”

She let out a low, mirthless laugh. “Tonight, at the party? I had my palm read. The lady told me some pretty crazy stuff.”

She’d been crying, and his heart tipped. “Like…?” he asked very softly.

“Like…” She squirmed just a little, which he didn’t understand. He’d expected to be on the hot seat, not her. “She said true love was going to walk into my life. Tonight.”

“What did you say to that?”

“I laughed. And then she gave me a warning. She said my karma was going to take a vacation to the Bahamas.”

“Harsh.”

“Maybe she was mad that I didn’t believe her.”

“You don’t believe in love at first sight?”

She looked at him. “Do you?”

“Yes.” He was shocked to hear himself say it, but it was true, he realized.

“How about karma?” she asked. “Do you believe in karma?”

“I believe in making your own karma, by being a good person, doing your best, finding ways to be happy so that life is good.”

“What if you’re too busy securing your future to stop and smell the roses, and then one day you’re thirty and all you have to look forward to on Valentine’s Days is a day like this?”

She sounded uncertain and alone, very alone, which he hated. With a sigh, he pulled her close, wet clothes and all. “Was the night all bad?”

She went quiet a moment. “No, not all bad.”

He found his mouth close to her face, and kissed her temple, her jaw. “Destiny is your own for the taking, Chloe. You know that, right?” He kept his mouth on her, loving the feel of her skin beneath his lips. “And I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine you doing anything bad enough to warrant worrying about your karma going south.”

Arching her neck to give his mouth better access, her hands came up to his shoulders as if she couldn’t help herself. “Why not?” she whispered.

“Because I know you.”

“But your case-Steve and Al-”

“If you had anything to do with this, it was without your knowing it.”

Her huge eyes never left his, though some of the tension in her body did. “You really feel that way?”

“Really.” He let out a long breath. “Jesus, Chloe, do you really think I could kiss you like I did, and believe you to be a thief?”

“I kissed you.”

“Well, I can fix that.” Hauling her up against him, he covered her mouth with his. Like before, it was a sucker punch of need and arousal to his gut.

And something more.

Chloe kissed him back, murmuring her pleasure with a sexy low hum in her throat. “Tonight?” she whispered. “When you found me in that office?”

He stroked his thumb over her lower lip. “Yeah?”

“I’d gone in there because I’d heard a noise.”

“Me.”

“Yes.” She shivered, and he ran his hands up and down her arms to warm her. “I found something,” she said. “A set of files. Files I didn’t know about that show far more income than has been reported.”

“Good. That’s really good, Chloe, but right now I want to get us out of here and into dry clothes. Can I do that? Take you home?”

She looked at him for a long moment, and he hoped to God she saw a man she could trust. When she finally nodded, he felt like he’d won the lotto. He steered her toward his car, which Danny had left in his spot.

Inside, he directed the heater vents her way and drove her home. He parked in her driveway and walked her to the front door, but when she moved to let herself in, he stopped her, his hands on her chilled arms as he looked into her eyes. “You asked me about karma,” he said carefully, watching her eyes flicker with her own unsettled feelings on the matter. “And I said we make our own. I mean that, Chloe. So much so that I’m about to make mine.”

“What-”

He put a finger over her lips, then, looking deeply into her eyes, he murmured, “Let me be with you tonight.” Then still holding her gaze he replaced his finger with his mouth and let his eyes drift shut, because having his mouth on hers again was so exactly what he needed he could hardly stand it.

Chloe held herself still at first, not because the kiss wasn’t stop-her-heart yummy, but because his words had been so unexpected.

No. Not unexpected, but wanted, wanted more than anything, and she hadn’t been able to see that they’d ever be here again, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms, mouths fused, soft, sexy little sounds escaping their throats…“Inside.”

“You read my mind.”

They fumbled to open the door, both their hands trying to work the key at the same time. She pushed his hands away, which left them free to touch her, a situation he took full advantage of, gliding his hands up her rib cage, to beneath her ribs, the tips of his fingers just brushing the undersides of her breasts…

Knees wobbly, she finally got the key in. “There-”

Which was all she got out before he lifted her over the threshold, kicked the door shut and turned to press her back against it, taking her mouth again.

And again.

Mmm…

“I’ve got to tell you,” he managed. “Ever since I saw you tonight, I-”

He broke off when she pressed her mouth to his throat and just breathed him in, inhaled him. “You what?”

“Wanted you.” His fingers tightened on her. “Jesus, I wanted you.”

“You never even let on-”

“I was trying not to be me, remember?”

“Your eyes gave you away.”

“Yeah?” Sliding his fingers into her hair, he gently tugged her head back and stared into her face. “What did my eyes tell you?”

That you love me. Her breath caught on that. She’d have to be crazy to admit that out loud, that fantasy. No way would she make herself that vulnerable. “They told me that we have a connection.”

“Always have. No matter how I ran.” He stroked his finger over her cheekbone. “I know it’s too late for this, but I’m sorry about how I left you. You deserved better. I was afraid back then, afraid of what we had. I’ve lost that fear, Chloe.”