“Thanks,” he said with a tight smile. “That’s good to hear because I seem to have very few of those at the moment.”
He looked so miserable her heart went out to him. “Come here,” she said, hugging him.
She smiled as his arms went around her and she nestled into the warmth of his chest. It felt nice and comforting.
“Matthew?” she said.
“Yes?”
“Why is your heart beating so hard?”
“Because you’re pressing against me.”
Faith decided it was time to release him.
“That was nice,” he said, the smile back on his face. “Thank you.”
“Your arms are still around me.”
“Your hands are still on my waist.”
“So they are,” she said softly as they stared at each other.
When he dipped his head to kiss her, Faith’s instinct was to jerk her head back but she didn’t move. As she gazed into those dark eyes of his, her own heart started to beat harder.
He cupped her face in his hands, the feel of his skin against hers making her ache inside and when he kissed her she didn’t pull away, moaning into his mouth as the kiss deepened. His hands went into her hair as her arms locked around his neck.
The memory of Vance shielding her from a bullet returned and she tore herself away.
“What’s wrong?” he said.
“This isn’t right,” she replied, turning her back on him.
“Because I’m a police officer?”
“Yes,” she said, deciding that was truth enough. “And it’s not fair to lead you on now I know your true feelings. On top of that, you’re getting over the break-up of your relationship.”
“I’m not using you to get over Alice if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
She gasped with pleasure when he kissed her neck and she leaned back against him, enjoying the sensation. He was making her body come alive in a way it hadn’t when they’d slept together. That had been very pleasurable but it was now enhanced because she realised she did harbour feelings for him, feelings that ran deeper than friendship.
He turned her back round to face him and kissed her again. Faith was furious with herself when she didn’t step away.
“No,” she said, finally tearing herself free of his embrace. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I just can’t help myself. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“Well, no harm done,” she said, catching her breath and running a hand through her hair. “Let’s not mention this to anyone, especially my brothers.”
“Agreed. They’d probably chop me up into tiny pieces.”
“More than likely. I like you Matthew, I really do and if things were different then…”
“I know,” he said gently. “The worst thing is, I think you’ve got the stamina to have a relationship with me and put up with my career but we could never be. No one in your world would ever trust you again and my superiors would be furious with me.”
“Shame,” she said, gazing at him as she was hit by the force of her feelings for this man. No wonder Vance had kept telling her to only communicate with him by phone. Had he picked up on something she hadn’t even realised herself? And why was it only striking her now? Had she needed that physical connection to bring her feelings home to her? Or was it because she’d nearly died in a fire?
“I’d better go before I bend you over that desk,” he said, smiling when her cheeks bloomed with colour. “Unless you want me to?” he added, eyes twinkling.
“Tempting,” she smiled back. “But we’d better not.”
He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “We could keep it a secret between the two of us.”
“We don’t need that complication,” she whispered back. “Right now it’s taking all of my concentration just to stay alive.”
“And I don’t want to distract you,” he said, his lips brushing her ear, making her tingle. “But you distract me constantly.”
“Please don’t say things like that,” she breathed.
He smiled down at her and ran his thumb across her cheekbone. “Maybe in another life it could have worked between us?”
“I think so.”
He pecked her on the lips. “I’d better get back downstairs. I couldn’t take having my heart broken twice in one day.”
She watched him leave, feeling both sad and relieved that she’d stopped it before it had gone too far. Vance was the man she loved, she lived and breathed for him, so how could she have such strong feelings for Matthew? Did she just like men she couldn’t really commit to? If she chose a future with either of them her life would become very difficult and she dreaded to think what Vance would do if he found out she’d kissed Matthew. When he was in prison he’d been able to deal with her sleeping with other men because they hadn’t been together but now they were a committed couple, even if no one else knew about it. She’d just betrayed him and she didn’t know how she was going to look him in the eye. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just a physical thing with Matthew but emotions were involved.
She sank into the chair behind the desk with a sigh. How had everything got so fucked up so fast? Just a few days ago business had been running smoothly, they’d owned the town and she’d been in a devoted relationship with the man she loved. Now their business was in disarray, people were trying to kill them and she’d just cheated on Vance. She loved two men, there was no denying it anymore and she couldn’t have a future with either of them.
“What a fucking
