He’d be stroking that massive cock of his right now. She’d bet good money on it. She’d watched, mesmerized, as he’d slowly slipped the foreskin back and forth over the head of his cock with a natural ease that said he’d done this often and enjoyed it immensely. She’d felt him even then, his thoughts somehow hovering in her mind—Jake’s need, Jake’s passion.
All wound up with her own mindless arousal, her body’s cry for more. A cry she’d ruthlessly silenced. She didn’t know him. Didn’t understand this connection with him. Until she figured out exactly what was going on, who the hell Jacob Trent really was—what he was—and how he managed to wield such sensual power over her, Shannon swore to keep her guard up.
She’d never believed in things like mental telepathy or any of that psychic babble, but she couldn’t deny what Jake had done. She’d felt him, understood his thoughts inside her head.
Damn. Except for that one small aberration…
Shannon pressed her fist against her mouth, afraid she might laugh out loud. Well, other than that, whatever that was…Jake was gorgeous to look at, sexier than any man she’d ever seen and, as far as she could tell, intelligent, caring and so damned perfect he made her heart ache. More than enough reasons to move slowly. To watch him carefully and listen closely to everything he said.
Even when he wasn’t saying it out loud.
Shannon shoved her wet hair out of her eyes. She was going to have to be damned careful she didn’t do something stupid like fall in love. Love got you hurt. It ruined everything. Took away your control. Eventually, it left you alone and wanting.
Shannon thought of her mother, the nights she’d spent crying alone in her room when Shannon’s father hadn’t come home. Thought of the long months of cancer slowly killing the woman who had already died a little every night Shannon remembered.
No. She’d never allow herself to be so needy, to love so deeply. No man would have that power to wound her, to leave her an empty shell waiting for a merciful death.
She found her sweats and quickly dressed in the warm outfit Jake had bought her last night, then shoved the extra things they’d gotten into a plastic bag. Wandering slowly across the room to open the heavy blinds, Shannon slowly ran a comb through her tangled hair.
She glanced through the narrow crack in the shades as she reached for the cord to raise them, and stopped. The black sedan they’d driven last night was parked in full view a few spots down from the space beneath their room. Three men wearing dark suits and equally dark glasses appeared to be inspecting the vehicle.
One spoke into what looked more like a radio than a cell phone, another stood to one side, his arm resting in a cloth sling and a white bandage covering one side of his head. Another man had a bandage wrapped all the way around his head, but Shannon knew she’d recognize him anywhere.
He was the one who’d been waiting last night, sitting on the edge of her bed with his back to her. A fourth man moved into view and gestured toward the registration office at the far end of the complex, then took off in that direction at a brisk walk.
Shannon moved quickly away from the window and knocked on the bathroom door. Jake opened it immediately, caught in the act of rubbing himself dry with a fluffy white towel. If Shannon hadn’t been so terrified she would have enjoyed helping him.
“Four men, all suits, checking out the car. Two of them were my visitors last night. One just headed for the hotel office.”
Jake didn’t hesitate. He nodded, slipped past Shannon and took a quick look through the slit beside the blinds. While he dressed, Shannon gathered up Jake’s belongings and stuffed them into his leather carry-on bag. She put her plastic bags together into the larger laundry sack the hotel had provided. Neither of them said a word. Shannon had the oddest feeling they had no need for speech. Each knew what the other expected.
Moving swiftly and economically, they had their belongings gathered and were moving down the stairs at the far end of the complex in less than a minute. The stairwell was hidden from the parking lot until the bottom level, which opened directly to the lot.
Jake slipped over the railing on the second level and dropped quietly to the ground behind a large holly bush. Shannon tossed his leather bag to him, followed by her plastic sack, then made the leap herself. It was at least an eight-foot jump, but with Jake waiting to help her, she didn’t hesitate.
Jake caught Shannon just as her feet hit the ground, steadying her, breaking the jolt of her landing. With a quick nod of thanks, she grabbed the bag Jake handed her and followed him. Moving soundlessly, he found a narrow trail through the riparian zone bordering a small creek behind the hotel. The trail skirted the parking lot through a tangle of thick brush, then turned at an oblique angle, away from the three men still standing by the car.
Heart pounding, senses on high, Shannon felt a strange exhilaration, an excitement that somehow reminded her of that amazingly sensual dream she’d had just last night.
They broke into a quick jog as soon as they were out of hearing of the men in suits. Racing along the overgrown trail, following in Jake’s footsteps, leaping over rocks and fallen tree limbs, Shannon felt as if she could run forever. Her heart and lungs seemed to have found a perfect rhythm. Her legs stretched out in long, powerful strides and she followed Jake’s quick pace without any effort at all.
Jake leapt over the creek, aiming for a break in the brush on the far side of the water. He turned to help Shannon but she was landing lightly beside him even as he stretched out his arm.
He gave her a quick thumbs up and a wolfish grin, then turned and raced up the narrow pathway through ferns and twisted willows. It almost seemed as if Jake were enjoying himself!
Shannon stayed right on his heels until they both broke out of the small forest into a perfectly normal looking neighborhood of older homes and small shops.
They paused on the narrow sidewalk, lungs heaving, eyes sparkling with excitement. Jake leaned close. His amber eyes glinted now with a dark intensity, his lips parted slightly. Shannon stood perfectly still, waiting for his kiss, but he merely reached up and brushed twigs out of her tangled hair, then smoothed it back over her shoulders.
The air rushed out of her lungs on a long, disappointed sigh as Jake turned away, slung his leather bag over his shoulder and took Shannon’s hand in his. His palm was warm against hers. She found herself thinking of those long, sensuous fingers, of the things Jake had done with them last night. Of the responses he’d dragged from her, over and over again.
Shannon’s pussy contracted in remembered heat. Jake appeared oblivious to her growing arousal. Just like the aftermath of her dream, she felt energized by the run. Euphoric. As if her body had been awakened in some unusual way. So many emotions and sensations raced through her mind, titillated her body. Shannon found it almost laughable, the way the two of them walked along the street as if they were merely browsing through the shops, not dwelling on the amazing sex shared the night before, not catching their breath after running for their lives. She should be frightened, to know those men were following her, that they wanted her for some mysterious reason.
Instead, Shannon felt as if she’d been dropped into a most amazing adventure, complete with her own superhero. She turned and looked steadily at Jake walking beside her. “What now?”
He gazed down at her with that same grin, the one she remembered when he’d knelt last night between her legs, his face shimmering with her fluids. He’d grinned just that way, then dipped his head between her thighs once more and given her a climax that had left her senseless.
“What now? Why, a cup of coffee and a bagel. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Laughing out loud, Shannon followed Jake across the street.
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