Nice & Naughty (17 page)

“Do you want to see more of my lingerie?” she blurted in a breathless rush. Asking for anything for herself was hard enough, but asking when they both knew it was a bad idea? Oh, man.

Diego’s smile was slow, wicked and totally hot. The worry in her body melted away, along with most of her thoughts, all of her resistance and every objection she’d ever had. His hands tightened on her hips, pulling her closer, brushing against her.

The long, hard bulge in his jeans pressed against her belly. Jade’s knees turned to Jell-O. Desire spiraled, tight and tempting, tightening her nipples and making her pulse race.

Her fingers dug into his chest. Not out of desire this time, but purely from a desperate attempt to keep from oozing into a lusty puddle on his feet.

“Can I ask one little favor?”

“Anything,” she promised breathlessly.

“Will you wear those boots with your lingerie?”

* * *

N
EVER
ONE
TO
WAKE
EASILY
, Diego slowly worked his way out of the depths of sleep. His brain sputtered to a start. Then, like a beeping answering machine overflowing with urgent messages, he tuned in to his body.

It was wide-awake and horny.

With good reason. He sighed, reveling in the delighted exhaustion that only intense sex could bring.

He’d known she had a deep, intense sensual streak. A woman didn’t wear the kind of lingerie she did and not enjoy sex.

And having tasted her before, he’d known the sex between them would be awesome. But last night? Diego threw his arm over his eyes to block the dim light that could only be the morning sun. Last night—and those boots—had been mind-boggling. His awareness might only be registering in the single digits, but he was 100 percent sure of two things.

That Jade was incredible.

And the two of them, together? Freaking awesome.

And nothing said good-morning better than a warm, sleepy round of freaking awesome.

“Mmm,” he mumbled, not opening his eyes as he reached out to haul Jade—and her sleepy, sexy warmth—much closer. He wanted to feel her naked flesh sliding beneath his again. To taste her as her cries of ecstasy filled the room.

Blinking groggily, his eyes automatically locked on Jade.

She was still fast asleep and wrapped in a very thin, very smooth sheet. Not as smooth as her skin, he decided as he skimmed his hand down her back, taking the fabric down as he went.

“Wake-up time,” he murmured with a wicked grin. What a sight. Her hair surrounding her like strands of sunlight, Jade’s face was buried in the ice-blue satin of her pillow. Which left him with the tempting view of her bare back. And, he noted as his body leaped ahead to fully awake, the sweet curves of her just-as-bare butt.

She had a tattoo. Right there where the curve of her butt sloped toward her spine, just above the left cheek. A tiny purple-and-gold butterfly, flying free from a vivid green cocoon. He lightly traced his index finger over the cocoon, noting that the artist had made the threads look like bars.

Is that how Jade saw herself? Trapped as she tried to change? There, at the edge of his consciousness, was her declaration of love. He’d tried to ignore it the night before. He tried to keep on ignoring it now. No point in desperately latching on to something that wasn’t real. That couldn’t be real. Better to focus on what he could depend on.

Like how delicious Jade was.

Giving in to his body’s demand, he shifted down to press a kiss on the butterfly. Safe flight, he wished her with a grin. Because he intended to make it a wild one.

He slid his hand over the gentle slope of her butt, sliding between her thighs with whisper-soft fingers.

She stirred. Mumbled something, then burrowed her face deeper in the pillow. The move angled her leg just a little. Just enough for his hand to find easy entry.

Diego’s fingers tangled in the warm curls. Slid over the soft bud. Burrowed slowly, ever so slowly, into the welcoming depths.

She gave a low, mewling sort of noise into the pillow, her hips pressing against his questing fingers.

Diego shifted lower, nibbling a line of kisses up the firm, smooth skin where her thigh met her butt. Her perfect, butterfly-decorated butt. His fingers swirled, dipped, slid in and out. Her body, awakening much faster than she did, grew slick, wet. Welcoming.

His mouth watered. His dick, already rock-hard, pulsed against the silk sheet. With his unoccupied hand, he gently pressed her thighs apart, giving himself more access. And a better view as his fingers danced along the glistening pink flesh.

“Oh, my.” Jade awoke with a throaty moan. He glanced up to see her grab the pillow, silk clenched tight in her hands. Her body trembled. Her thighs tensed.

He blew, his breath hot on her quivering flesh.

And sent her over the edge.

Her cries of delight filled his ears. Warmed his heart. And made his body ache.

Throbbing with desperation now, he grabbed a condom from the pile she kept next to the bed. Then he slid up her body, reveling in her moan of approval. Poised above her, he shifted his hand under her hips to raise her higher to meet his thrust.

He slid into the hot, slick heat of her with a groan.

Her moan was muffled by the pillow, her butt tight against his hips as she undulated, swirled. Tempted.

Diego almost lost it right then and there.

Carefully, slowly, he slid in and out of her tight flesh.

“Mmm,” she moaned, her sigh long and welcoming.

He moved faster.

“Oh, Diego,” she panted. Over, and over, and over. Her breath came in gasps now. Her words in pants. Her thighs quivered under his fingers.

Diego plunged harder.

Deeper.

She cried out.

Her body arched, stiff and shaking, against his.

He pressed deeper.

Swirled his hips.

Through slitted eyes, he saw her fingers clench the sheets, yanking the fabric toward her as if to keep herself from flying away as she cried out one more time.

It was probably the most erotic thing he’d ever seen.

Diego pulled back, his body so tight, so desperate for relief, that he had black spots dancing in front of his eyes.

He plunged.

She gave a mewling sound of satisfaction.

He groaned, then plunged again. Once. Twice.

Then he exploded. Stars echoed his release, flashing bright and intense behind his eyes.

His heart pounding so loud it sounded like a machine gun ricocheting through his head, Diego collapsed. Careful not to crush her, he slid to his side, pulling Jade’s still-trembling body against his.

She was incredible.

Responsive. Enticing. Delicious.

She was everything he’d never known he wanted in a woman.

And everything his heart now swore it couldn’t survive without.

As he tried to find his breath, and his sanity, Diego reveled in the warm softness of Jade’s still-trembling curves. He’d figure it out, he promised himself. Once the blood returned to his brain, he’d find a way to solve this mess his heart had made.

Suddenly there was a loud crash. Adrenaline surging, his body flew into a protective arch over hers. He made sure she was tucked safe under him even as his hand automatically flew to the small of his back. His naked back, since his gun was tucked in a drawer across the room.

Shattering glass exploded with a staccato tinkling. Something rough scraped wood, slid through glass. The cat gave an angry yowl, as if it’d been hit.

“Sophie!” Jade cried.

“Don’t move!” Holding her tight, Diego waited. Jade wasn’t having any of that, though. She struggled beneath him, trying to see past his body.

“Persephone.”

As if she’d conjured the feline, as soon as the words left her mouth, four feet stabbed Diego in the back. He winced, but managed to hold back his manly yelp.

“She’s fine,” he muttered, cringing as the animal scampered for the safety of Jade’s arms. Since that put the furry mass smack-dab between them, he figured—safe or not—it was time to move.

Slowly, his senses on full alert, he rolled off Jade, still careful to keep his body between her and the window.

“Shit.”

“Oh, my...” She gave a horrified gasp against his back.

“Why...”

She couldn’t finish the sentences, clearly overcome by the sight of her window splattered in a million pieces across her bedroom. There, in the middle of shards and splintered wood, was a brick with the word BITCH written in fat black marker.

Diego wanted to hit something. Or, his gaze shot to the now-empty window frame, someone.

Swinging his feet off the bed, he’d just reached for his jeans when Jade grabbed his arm. “Be careful,” she cautioned.

He shot her an amused look. “I don’t think the brick is loaded.”

“Of broken glass, silly. Watch your feet and shake out your clothes before you put them on.”

He didn’t know when—or if—he’d last been called silly. Or why it made him want to grin. Maybe it was Jade, her hair snarled like sunshine around her head, the terrified cat cuddled close to her chest. Her naked chest.

Wishing he could switch places with the yet-again growling and hissing cat, he gave his jeans a quick shake before pulling them on. The glass pattern swept clear under the bed, so he shook out his boots, then yanked them on, too.

Careful not to step on glass and damage the floor further, he walked over to examine the brick. Spying a piece of white fabric on the floor, he grabbed it to lift the object. Part of her curtain, he realized, keeping his face stoic, clear. No point upsetting her by letting her see the fury that was pounding through him.

Nope. He’d save that for the asshole who did this.

“You know who it was,” Jade said, her eyes wide as she stared at his face. What? Could she really see into his soul? And why didn’t that bother him more?

Diego just shrugged, though. He was on the job now, and he could see the end of the case as clearly as he could see her pretty face.

His entire career, his goal was to close the case as fast as possible. For the first time, he hated finding the answer.

“Are you going to arrest someone now?” she asked, setting the cat on the bed, then wrapping a sheet tight around her body. Diego looked around, then opened the closet to find a pair of hard-soled slippers to hand her.

“I have to go through channels. Talk to Applebaum, confirm a couple of things.”

His jaw clenched. And deal with the fact that it was time to go.

* * *

M
ISERY
WASHED
OVER
Jade with the same power as the orgasms that had pounded through her the night before. He was leaving. Sure, he had those channels to go through, the cop steps to take. But he was leaving.

She wanted to cry.

“Is it a bother, having to take those extra steps?” More important, did they take a lot of extra time? She hoped so.

“The trials of a guest cop,” he said with a dismissive shrug.

She almost asked if he’d decided about the job offer. But that meant a) letting on that she knew about the offer. And b) pressuring him to make a decision not only about the job, but about them.

The idea of asking him, of hearing his answer, scared the hell out of her. Jade clutched the sheet between her fingers, wishing she was brave enough to ask. Strong enough to tell him that she wanted him to stay. But if he stayed, it’d be for her.

“I’ll be right back. Gonna get the vacuum.”

She opened her mouth to call him back. Then snapped it shut again when a wave of hot black terror washed over her at the prospect of confronting both her emotions and his decision. She couldn’t leave. Not without hurting her family. And herself, she realized. She was a part of this town. Seeing it through his eyes had shown her that.

The only drawback to living in Diablo Glen was not having a career she loved. Well, a career, and Diego.

Even if she found the nerve to ask him to stay, she knew he’d choose to go. A guy didn’t grow up exposed to the ugly side of small towns, then want to live in one.

Back, vacuum in one hand, grocery bag and paper towel in the other, he lifted the brick without touching it and settled it into the bag. Then, setting it aside, he stood with the vacuum cord in hand. He didn’t plug it in, though.

“Applebaum mentioned a local job,” he said finally, tonelessly. As if he had no opinion. As if he was filling her in on something he knew she already knew, and figured he should do the polite thing and mention it. “A cop deal, here in town. You probably heard about it.”

Jade nodded. She swallowed hard, wishing she were brave enough, strong enough, to ask him to sacrifice for her. That he give up his big promotion and transfer, and stay here. To risk hearing that he didn’t care enough to want to.

Besides, she’d already used him enough.

For excitement and great sex, sure.

But she’d hoped through him she’d find the answer to making her dreams come true.

Turned out, he was the answer.

But she couldn’t ask him to give his up to make her happy.

“I did. But is that the kind of thing you’d want to do?” she heard herself saying as if from far, far away. “Be tied down to a small town? It’d probably be pretty boring compared to what you’re used to. There aren’t any promotions or juicy cases to solve around here. And who knows how long it’d take for another panty-thief caper to ensue.”

She tried to smile at that last part, but her face felt stiff. Painful. Almost as painful as the little pieces of her heart breaking away as she realized this was it.

He’d solved the case, so he was leaving.

She was too afraid to ask him not to.

And equally afraid of what would happen if he actually stayed.

14

A
CHILLY
D
ECEMBER
AFTERNOON
probably wasn’t the best time to sit in the park. Still, Diego had needed time and space to think. He slumped on the bench and glared at the swings. What had he expected? For Jade to be excited when he’d mentioned the job here? To want him to stay? He’d barely got the words out before she’d rejected the idea. Clearly, he’d served his purpose, rocked the sex and had shown her a good time. But faced with the possibility of having him around on a long-term basis? She wasn’t much interested.

Story of his life.

“There you are.”

Frowning because he hadn’t heard the approach, Diego inclined his head to Applebaum. “How’d you figure on finding me here?”

“Just followed the trail of bread crumbs. Or, you know, asked a few people if they’d seen you about.”

The older man settled onto the bench and pulled out his pipe. Diego’s glance slid to the no-smoking sign. Was he going to have to bust the mayor? Kinnison would love that.

But Applebaum didn’t light the pipe. He just passed it from hand to hand. And waited.

The man would have made one hell of a torturer. He’d just sit there like a benevolent grandpa, waiting for his prisoner to blurt out everything and anything.

It was a trick Diego liked to use himself. Except for the grandpa part, of course. Still, it shouldn’t work on him.

A few more minutes of forcing himself not to look toward Jade’s house, not even to see if Persephone was still watching from the window, and Diego shifted. He stretched his shoulders. Cracked his neck. Ground his teeth. And finally, he sighed and gave in.

“The thefts never made sense,” he said quietly, dropping his voice even though nobody was close enough to hear. “The nature of it suggests a sexual focus. There aren’t too many other ways to regard the theft of women’s underwear.”

“Unless the thief is a closet cross-dresser too afraid to actually buy his own,” Applebaum mused aloud, his attention focused on buffing the gleaming wood of his pipe.

Diego snorted. Then he slanted the other man a curious look. “And would there be suspects if that were the case?”

“There would. But given the sizes of underwear stolen, and the fact that I looked into this particular resident myself to make sure he really is in Florida visiting his daughter, I think we can rule that out.”

“I’m oddly comforted to know you do have perverts,” Diego murmured. Too bad it added another weight on the stay-in-Diablo-Glen side of the scale. Unable to resist a peek, he glanced toward Jade’s. His lips twitched. Persephone had plastered herself, lengthwise, up the window as if she was trying to reach the ceiling.

Applebaum followed his gaze, smiling around the pipe now clenched between his teeth.

“You’re on to something?”

Diego shrugged. “I know who did it. I just don’t have that last puzzle piece. It feels big, though.”

“The motivation for stealing panties is big?”

Diego laughed at the sarcasm in the older man’s voice. Then he shook his head. “Like I said, it was set up to look sexually motivated. But it isn’t. That’s what threw me.”

“You think you know what that missing piece is, don’t you?”

Diego nodded.

“But?”

Diego almost blurted out all the reasons he didn’t want to close the case.

That he’d grown attached to the town.

When he made this arrest, people were going to get hurt. People he’d come to care about.

An arrest meant saying goodbye.

And he was in love with Jade.

“No buts. I need to go over a few things with you first, though.”

“Give me ten minutes to take care of a few details. I’ll meet you at my office.”

Without another word, no questions, no recriminations, no nagging insistence to share information, Applebaum sauntered away.

Leaving Diego alone, trying to find the courage to take the scariest leap of his life.

The leap of faith to believe that the feelings he had for Jade were not only real, but that they had a chance of lasting in the real world.

* * *

J
ADE
ATTACKED
THE
STACKS
in the far back corner of the library with a vengeance. As if eradicating every speck of dust on books that nobody ever checked out would clear her head, settle her stomach and help her figure out what the hell to do with herself now.

How sad was she. Little Ms. Empowerment, emotionally cowering behind dusty books. Because she wasn’t brave enough to risk hurting anyone. Not herself. And definitely not anyone else. Not when it really mattered.

Maybe she should get a new tattoo. FRAUD in big fat letters.

“Hiding?”

“Working.” Shoulders stiff, she didn’t look at her sister. Just kept on dusting.

“C’mon out to the lobby.”

“I said I’m working, Ruby.”

“Beryl’s out front. She’s a mess.”

Pulled out of her pout, Jade tossed the duster on the cart, wiped her hands on a cloth and faced her older sister. Barefaced, wearing a ratty sweatshirt and jeans, Ruby looked stressed. But Ruby never looked stressed.

“What happened?” It had to be bad if she brought it to the library instead of waiting to deal with it at home, especially since their mother only put in a few hours doing paperwork on Sundays.

“She broke up with Neal.”

“Oh.” Jade tried to sort through the dozens of emotions to settle on a reaction. Relief was most prominent. And, she figured, the least welcome.

“Exactly.”

The look on Ruby’s face made it clear she wasn’t on the Neal bandwagon either. Why hadn’t Jade known that? Was she such a total wimp that she didn’t even tell—or ask—the people she loved things just because she worried they’d have a different opinion?

She was finding out so much about herself this weekend. And other than her newly discovered ability to straddle a guy while wearing five-inch heels, none of the rest was very admirable.

“C’mon, Jade,” Ruby prodded. “And remember, this is going to be hard for her. But be careful, because I don’t know if it’s a real breakup or just a tiff.”

“I know how to be supportive,” Jade snapped.

Together, they wove through the tall bookcases and display racks toward the lobby. As Ruby continued to whisper instructions on how to be a good sister, Jade pulled on her most sympathetic face. At the same time, she shoved her real opinion of Neal—quite likely colored by her feelings about his mother—into a dark corner of her mind.

The lobby was empty. Silent and dim.

The office door was closed, blinds pulled.

“How anticlimactic.”

Ruby’s lips twitched. “So we wait to be sympathetic and helpful.”

Jade shrugged. It wasn’t as if she had anywhere to go.

“I brought your purse. You left it at Mom’s when you bailed on the party yesterday,” Ruby said as they both stared at the closed office door. “Where’d you go? Rebecca Lee was looking everywhere for you. Then someone mentioned that they saw you leave with the hottie cop, so we figured you’d found other entertainment.”

“What’d Rebecca want?” Jade didn’t feel like justifying her departure. Sharing Marion’s rudeness wouldn’t help support Beryl, and outing their mother’s make-out session was just, well, weird.

“I think she wanted you to do a styling party for Cathy’s wedding. She’s treating the bride and her sisters, as well as five of their friends, to a weekend in the city. She wanted to know what you’d charge to go along, help the bride choose the perfect trousseau and outfit the wedding party for all the bridal events. You know, rehearsal dinner, luncheons, bridesmaids’ tea.”

“That sounds really...cool,” she decided. Cathy Lee and her sisters were pretty girls, all a little on the heavy side. They’d be so fun to style, to show them how to dress to make themselves feel great and look fabulous.

“I heard her talking to people about it at the party,” Ruby continued. “It’s a really hot idea. By the time they’d finished sandwiches and moved on to dessert, at least three other people were talking about contacting you. A couple more wanted to know prices so they could put you on their Christmas list.”

Jade laughed in surprise. “Me? On a wish list? That’s so wild.”

“Is it something you’d be interested in?”

Jade leaned against the countertop and considered. It was a fun concept. Something she’d be good at and would enjoy. The trick would be finding the right clothes, since she didn’t have a store or designer affiliation. But all that would take was a day or so of preshopping, maybe making a few new contacts and checking out store websites ahead of time.

If it actually made money, and the teaching took off, she could quit the library. Build up her contacts, put together a few styling events, maybe expand her online presence. She could actually call herself a stylist by occupation.

Excitement stirred.

Wouldn’t that be too freaking awesome?

“I think it’s definitely something I’d like to try,” she finally said, trying to temper her excitement.

“What about wanting to leave? Wouldn’t you rather focus on that?” Ruby asked quietly. “If you want to, we’ll help. Berry and I were talking last night. We didn’t realize how much we’d put on you here, or how trapped you might feel.”

Trapped.

Jade looked at the closed office door and sighed. Was she trapped? Or was she just afraid? The possibility of building a career as a stylist here was so exciting. The cost of living was much lower than in a big city, especially since her house was paid for. She had support, friends and a solid foundation in Diablo Glen.

All she needed was a career she loved.

And Diego.

She pressed a shaky hand against her churning stomach. Could she ask him to stay? Ask someone to put her wants, her needs, ahead of their own dreams?

What if he resented it, as she had?

What if he didn’t care enough to even give the idea a try and find out if he resented it?

She laid her head on the cool desk and sighed.

What if she was such a big wuss, she scared herself out of reaching for both her dream, and her dream man. The dream seemed to be finding its way back to her, whether she’d earned it or not.

The man, though? Once he roared out of town, she was sure he was gone for good.

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked, her hand warm and supportive as she rubbed Jade’s shoulder. “You don’t have to decide now, you know. We are here for you. And Mom will be, too. Although she’s been acting a little funny lately. Have you noticed?”

Jade suddenly remembered the first shock yesterday, before seeing her thong flying from Santa’s head.

The mayor. Kissing her mother.

Kissing.

She winced. Then, with a sigh, relaxed. Mayor Applebaum was a good guy. And Mom had been alone for a long time now. She deserved to be happy, to have a little fun. The question was, would Ruby and Beryl agree?

Before Jade could decide whether or not to share what she’d seen, the door opened. They both looked toward the front of the library. And winced.

“Damn,” Ruby whispered.

Marion strode in with a rain cloud of a scowl, looking like the Grinch before he’d found his heart.

Jade grimaced. “I forgot she was coming in today.”

“This is going to be ugly,” Ruby predicted, setting her feet more firmly into the floor, as if preparing to go to battle to defend her little sister.

A good thing, too, because just as Marion was stomping her way down the steps toward Jade, the office door opened and out came Beryl and their mother.

“You,” Marion barked, whirling to glare at the youngest Carson.

Before she could follow that up, the door opened again. Jade stepped forward, prepared to throw herself at the feet of whoever it was.

Diego.

Would she ever get used to how gorgeous he was?

Her heart thumped, then took off at the speed of sound. She’d rather throw herself on something besides his feet, but she’d take what she could get. And given that her mother was right there, and the mayor at Diego’s shoulder, that was probably for the best.

“Gentlemen,” she greeted in a bright tone. “What brings you in today? Can I interest you in a holiday book?”

“Actually, we’re here to let you know we arrested the Panty Thief,” Diego said.

“What? Who?” everyone asked at once.

“Neal Kroger,” he said quietly. Instead of looking at Jade, he stared at Neal’s mother. Jade ripped her gaze from her sister’s face, pale with shock, to look at Marion. The older woman looked furious. As if she wanted to leap across the room and tear a chunk out of Diego’s flesh.

It was kind of scary.

“How dare you. What right do you have to come into our town and make such a baseless, ridiculous accusation?”

Diego didn’t say a word. He just pulled out his badge and held it in front of her, offering up proof of where his rights came from.

“Why?” Jade asked her quietly. “What’d any of those women do to him? What was the point of stealing underwear?”

“Distraction,” Diego said with a shrug. Then he gave her a small smile, just a little wicked around the edges. “He got the idea from your cat, by the way.”

“That damn cat,” Marion snarled. “This is all ridiculous. That cat’s the one who stole the underwear. You caught it in the act, remember.”

“Marion,” the mayor said quietly, as if trying to get her to slow down and think before her next idiotic accusation. Since Jade was still smarting at the suggestion the older woman had made the previous day to put the cat down, she hoped Marion kept on babbling and digging her own grave.

“You have nothing on my son,” the woman said, her furious tone echoed in the fist she shook at Diego. “Nothing, you hear me?”

“Actually, we have enough proof that the D.A. is doing backflips,” Diego interrupted. “Right down to the brick he threw because he blamed Jade for Beryl dumping him. As to why? It was all a distraction.”

Clueless, Jade shook her head. Everyone else looked just as confused. Everyone except the mayor, who looked resigned. And Marion, who just looked pissed.

Despite all the drama, the confusion, the fury on Marion’s face, all Jade could think about was one thing.