With a groan he started to roll off her, but she grabbed his arms, held him fast.
"It"s four in the morning, Kristi. I"m not in the mood for word games."
"What are you in the mood for?"
"Don"t do this," he said.
"Do what?"
"You know."
"Yes."
He warned, "This is dangerous."
"No, Jay, it"s not," she said, and lifted her head to kiss him hard on the lips. He didn"t respond, but she felt the heat in him, sensed the tenuous hold he had on his emotions.
"You told me earlier that it wouldn"t work and now, after what I would a.s.sume was a very disturbing nightmare, you want to make love?"
"I won"t think less of you in the morning. I promise."
He half laughed. "G.o.dd.a.m.n it, woman, I missed you." Before she could respond, he kissed her again and this time there was no turning back. She skimmed his boxers off his b.u.t.tocks and he nearly tore her pajamas from her body.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as they wrestled on the small bed, their limbs straining and entwining.
As they had years before.
It seemed so natural as the old bed creaked and the dog, resting on the rug, snored softly.
Kristi kissed Jay feverishly, warm sensations rushing through her veins, her skin heating as he caressed her. Her breath came short and fast. He kissed her lips, her throat, the hollow between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His thumbs circled her nipples and deep inside the wanting heated in a liquid spiral and she thought only of making love with him until dawn, maybe later....
Her fingers traced the sinewy muscles of his shoulders and she felt the sc.r.a.pe of springy hair against her smooth flesh as he breathed across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s only to take a nipple in his teeth.
She arched and he kissed the tight bud, his tongue teasing her flesh, her body aching with need. The sound that came from her throat was breathy and primal. Blood rushed through her veins in heated spurts.
Lower he descended and her heartbeat quickened as he parted her legs fuller and lifted her up, his hands on her b.u.t.tocks. Her own fingers clenched in the bedsheets and her back arched.
How long had it been since she"d loved him? How many years had she wasted? She cried out as he kissed and laved her, creating a need so hot she began to writhe, wanting more, aching for all of him.
"Jay," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Jay-oh, oh, G.o.d."
"Right here, darlin"." And his warm breath reached the deepest part of her before he lifted her further off the bed, adjusting her legs over his shoulders.
She bit her lip rather than beg for him to come to her and then as she looked at him, he grinned wickedly in the night, pulling her hips downward as he met her. In one slow thrust, he entered her.
She gasped, feeling her eyes round, her heart pound so hard she thought it might burst. He withdrew, and she cried out, only to have him push into her.
"Oh, G.o.d."
Again he thrust and again, his fingers dug into her flesh, his body straining with each hard thrust.
And she met him eagerly, her mind spinning, her eyes open as she watched him moving so easily, pleasuring her while still holding back. Her throat tightened, her entire body heating as he came to her, faster and faster until she could barely breathe, couldn"t think. Though it was dark, she saw him, felt him, smelled the pure musk of him.
Faster and faster, he pushed into her, pulled her against him, and her legs wrapped around his neck as she gave more of herself to him, felt his hand, along with his erection, touching intimate parts of her, sending jolt after jolt through her nerves.
More, she thought wildly, she thought wildly, more! more!
Faster! Faster!
She grabbed hold of his arms and arched her back as the first wave jolted through her and the images in her mind flashed behind her eyes. She saw Jay"s face now, the younger, roguish smile, and ropey muscles, and...and...and...She convulsed then, her body jerking as Jay cried out and collapsed upon her.
He bucked several times as she gasped for breath, clinging to him, wrapped in the scent of s.e.x and musk and candles that had burned low.
She kissed him then, on the shoulder, and tasted the salt of his sweat. Turning, he pressed his lips against her neck and then nipped at her with his teeth.
"Hey!"
He laughed, tousling her hair. "Just messin" with ya."
"Dangerous," she said, still struggling for breath as he rolled to the side. "You don"t know what I was dreaming about."
"Oh, right, sorry." But he laughed again and she rolled her eyes. "Are you going to throw me back to the chair?"
"No...though you might deserve it, you creep."
"That"s Professor Creep to you."
She groaned. "I forgot how corny you could be."
"And s.e.xy and manly and-"
She snagged the pillow from behind her head and hit him with it.
"Don"t test me," he warned.
She arched a brow. "Yeah? What"re ya going to do about it?"
"You want to see?"
"I figure you"re all talk, no action."
"Oh, h.e.l.l." He rolled over again, pressing his body hard against hers. "Then I guess I"ll just have to show you, won"t I?" He kissed her hard and she felt her so recently banked fires start to ignite again.
She was smiling and feeling safe and secure for the first time since she"d moved to Baton Rouge. "Sure you can handle it, Professor Creep?"
For an answer he kissed her again, then lifting his head, deftly turned her onto her stomach and stuffed the pillow she"d flung at him under her hips. Lying atop her, he leaned forward so that his breath ruffled the hair over her ear. "Watch me," he whispered wickedly, and Kristi buried her face in the bed and giggled until his slow, sensual movements earned an equally slow, sensual response from deep inside her, and she found herself gasping and begging and urging him to love her more...more...more....
CHAPTER 19.
Rap! Rap! Rap!
Kristi groaned as she rolled over and stared at the clock. Nine-thirty in the morning...Sunday morning. Who would be beating on her door? And why? She wanted to pull a pillow over her head when she realized she wasn"t alone. Jay was wedged in tight against her.
Images of a night of lovemaking slipped easily through her mind and she smiled to herself.
Rap! Rap!
Whoever it was, was insistent. Go away, Go away, she thought, cozily snuggled against Jay, then jolted awake thinking the person outside the door could be her father. she thought, cozily snuggled against Jay, then jolted awake thinking the person outside the door could be her father.
Bruno gave off a soft, disgruntled woof.
Jay lifted his head. "What"s going on?" He glanced at the clock and blinked.
"You look like h.e.l.l," she said, noting his puffy eyes and hair stuck at all angles.
"You"re beautiful."
"Oh, yeah, right."
The rapping continued and before Kristi could stop him, Jay rolled off the small daybed and yanked on his boxers.
"Don"t answer that!" she warned, her mind clearing, her eyes feeling as if they had sand in the sockets. She didn"t want anyone to see her half-naked professor answering her door. "Don"t!"
But Jay wasn"t listening. He looked through the peephole and started moving the bike.
"Who is it?" Kristi scrambled into her pajamas. What was wrong with him? "Jay...oh, d.a.m.n...don"t!"
Ignoring her, he unlocked the door just as she pulled the bottoms over her naked body. Her underwear was in the middle of the floor. She swore under her breath as she shimmied into the very uns.e.xy T-shirt with All Saints emblazoned across it.
A rush of cold air entered the room, but nothing else. He stood, blocking the entrance with Bruno nosing past him, wagging his tail. Through the slit of s.p.a.ce left between his waist and the doorjamb Kristi caught a glimpse of a red T-shirt and khaki-colored pants.
"Is there something I can do for you?" he asked.
"Oh, uh, I was looking for Kristi...Kristi Bentz," a female voice asked. Mai Kwan. Mai Kwan. Kristi made a face. Kristi made a face. Great. Her snoopy neighbor. On the prowl again. Great. Her snoopy neighbor. On the prowl again.
Kristi rolled off the daybed, hearing it squeak, tossed the covers over what was a mess of sheets and blankets, then kicked her bikini undies into a corner. Pushing her hair from her eyes, she came up behind Jay.
"You"re Dr. McKnight," Mai said, extending her hand at that moment. "Mai Kwan, I"m a neighbor. I live on the second floor."
Jesus! She was introducing herself to Jay? Now what?
"Professor. No PhD, at least not yet."
"Hi!" Kristi tried to sound bright and cheery though she felt anything but chipper. She stepped around Jay, but Mai"s eyes didn"t so much as flicker in her direction.
She was zeroed in on Jay. "And you work in the crime lab, right?"
How did Mai know that?
"Yeah."
"I didn"t know you two..." She motioned her hand back and forth, then finally looked at Kristi again. "I mean...I didn"t know you knew each other."
"We went to the same high school," Jay said.
Too much information.
"Was that why you stopped by or was there something else you wanted?" Kristi asked, wondering how to shut Jay up. To her horror he draped an arm over her shoulders. d.a.m.n him, he was enjoying this. She shot him a look she hoped would send him the message.
"I was just thinking you might want to go out for a run or get a cup of coffee or something," Mai said. "But I see you"re busy, that you"ve got company, so...maybe some other time."
Was it Kristi"s imagination or did Mai actually look slyly at Jay when she made the last offer? "It wouldn"t have worked this time anyway, I"ve got a ton of homework and then my shift at work starts in a few hours," Kristi said. Why was she explaining herself? What she did was no business of Mai"s. Kristi only hoped to G.o.d that Jay wouldn"t be polite enough, or stupid enough, to invite the other girl in.
Jay suddenly snapped his fingers. "Mai Kwan. You called me a couple of days ago, right? About a piece for the school newspaper?"
Kristi stared at Mai with new eyes and Mai lifted her chin just a fraction, as if she knew the wheels were turning in Kristi"s mind. "Yeah, I did. I"m doing a story on criminology. I"d like to interview you, get some of your credentials and background, then tie it all in to what you"re teaching here at All Saints. How what you discuss in the cla.s.sroom could be applied to real police work. In the field kind of stuff. I was hoping for an interview with you, then maybe with a local detective, maybe even Kristi"s dad since he"s pretty famous and has helped with some cases on the campus."
Kristi inwardly groaned. No wonder Mai had been buddying up to her. So much for true friendship.
Jay nodded. "I think I can help you."
Mai smiled brightly at him and said, "Anytime. You name it."
So Kristi was supposed to believe that Mai had just stumbled onto Jay here? Or had she seen his truck, watched him come in with Kristi last night, and decided to force an encounter this morning?
"I"ll have to check my schedule and get back to you," Jay said. "I still have your number on my voice mail."
"Oh. Sure." Mai couldn"t hide her disappointment as her gaze slid to Bruno. "Your dog?" she asked Jay.
"Uh-huh."
"He"s cute." She lowered herself to one knee and scratched Bruno behind his big floppy ears.
Jay said, "Don"t tell him that. He thinks he looks fierce."
Mai laughed and Kristi wondered if she"d ever take the hint and leave. "Okay, well...look, I"ll catch up with you later, Kristi." Then she flashed a girlish smile at Jay. "Nice to meet you, Professor Professor McKnight." McKnight."
Kristi said, "See ya," as she pulled the door shut. She then gazed disgustedly at man and dog. "I distinctly remember telling you not to answer."
"Embarra.s.sed of me?"
"No...yes...Oh, I don"t know," she admitted. "Look, I just don"t want it spread around campus that I sleep with my professors, okay?" She pushed her hair out of her eyes.