“Yeah. Too soon. I remember my mother baking her a little cake for her first birthday. Now…”
Max stepped closer as Jac stretched up to grab a taunting pink balloon just over her own head.
His hands went around her waist, and he lifted.
Right where her shirt had risen.
His hands scorched her skin. She grabbed the balloon—and an undignified squeak escaped.
He lowered her to the ground.
Jac’s front pressed to his. “Maddox James, what do you think you’re doing?”
It came out in a breathless whisper.
“We’re not at PAVAD right now. I…like the new shirt.” His fingers tightened. Max had perfect hands. Big, strong, hot. “It looks…soft. Beautiful. You should always wear this color.”
Jac looked up at him. Ten inches separated them in height. One hundred and fifty pounds. He made her feel feminine and breathless right then. Sexy, desirable, feminine. In that moment.
Like he hadn’t before.
Even during the Kiss-That-Shouldn’t-Have-Been.
They weren’t arguing now. They weren’t in the heat of the moment.
“Max? I thought we said we weren’t going to do this?” There was a look in his eyes now. One that told her Max liked knowing he had her so confused. The jerk—he liked disconcerting her.
Playing with her. Hunting her like the prey she most certainly felt like. Jac shivered.
It had been a while since a man had made her feel like this.
She fought the urge to close her eyes and just breathe the scent of man and birthday cake in.
He was enjoying himself. Her front tingled where it was pressed against his absolutely perfect chest. Max felt hard and strong against her. He had a six-pack under that sweatshirt—she’d seen that before.
Jac didn’t know what to do with her hands. Somehow, her arms slipped around his waist. Then they were pressed almost as close as they could be with clothes on—and a nine-year-old in the room with them.
She sent a look across the room. Emery had her eyes closed and was doing a kid version of head banging to the music. “I think…we’d probably better back away here. Before we do something else we’ll regret. Something I don’t think you’re ready to talk to your daughter about just yet.”
“I’ll never regret this.” Max’s mouth covered hers. It was enough to tilt her entire world sideways.
Heaven help her, Jac kissed him back instinctively. Before she could stop herself. Or think about the possible repercussions.
She kissed him back right there with Emery fifteen feet away. Until someone knocked on the door that led to the driveway from the garage.
She pulled away.
Her eyes met his.
“You…you and I…we’re going to talk. One way or the other, Jaclyn. You can count on that.”
Someone knocked again. The shadow at the window shifted.
Jac stepped back.
Paul Sturvin was peering into the window.
No doubt, he’d come to retrieve his daughter’s stuffed animal.
Jac didn’t care. She scurried to the bathroom, leaving Max to deal with the man at the door.
Leave it to Max—just when Jac thought she’d figured things out, the man did what he could to shake things up completely.
Jac brushed one finger over her lips. She could still taste him. Could still feel him pressed against her. The man just kept changing everything, just when she least expected it.
28
Anger. Paul had always known he had a problem with anger. Most of the time, he was able to control that. Even for years. But it built. Inside him, so strongly that he sometimes couldn’t keep it in.
That’s when impulsive, stupid things happened. Things he’d always regret.
He hadn’t meant for this to happen. He had meant to wait until he had the money, they were established in their new lifestyle, and the girls were doing well, and then he was going to quietly discuss his plans for their separation.
Meeting Jaclyn Jones and feeling the passion that she brought in him had made it clear that he was only harming himself by being tied down to Rachel.
There was another, better woman for him out there. A better mother for the girls. One who wasn’t so weak all the time.
He hadn’t wanted to repeat past mistakes. Not like he had before.
He had intended to make Rachel understand that he would be the best choice to raise the girls, with generous visitation rights, of course. And then they were going to separate, go their own ways.
Leaving him free to build a relationship with someone else.
He had even considered Jaclyn as a perfect replacement for Rachel. She was cultured, wealthy, beautiful, and the girls already thought well of her. It had made the most sense. He had discounted Max Jones, at first.
He had revised that idea after the party, after what he had seen.
Liars. Jones had lied to Paul, making him think that Jaclyn was free. All the while she had been with Emery’s father.
Most likely, it was to protect their reputations at the bureau. He wasn’t clear on PAVAD regulations, but fraternization was generally frowned upon, or so he assumed.
Unless one was the director of PAVAD and the head of forensics, that was. Or that director’s daughter and the head of the CCU. Or a CCU team leader and the top medical examiner in the country. Paul had a list he’d created somewhere in a spreadsheet.
Being special people evoked special privileges.
Nothing he had found on Jaclyn told him that she had broken the rules. If anything, she was extremely adherent.
Red was everywhere.
Paul couldn’t stay there. He had to make this look like an accident.
Then he would find his daughters. They would move on.
Build the life he wanted.
With Jaclyn, perhaps. She was rather perfect.
Except for her relationship with Max Jones.
Rachel was out of the way now. He had to figure this out.
Nothing else he could do. He had to move forward. Otherwise, everything he had worked for would be destroyed.
Again.
He had their savings, he had the money he had been given for his information. He would be ok. He would find the girls and start over.
They would all be ok.
He would figure out what
