He had a split second to brace himself for the jolt, but it never came. The deceleration was smooth, and then they were rising again.
Bouncing on the end of a rope, his woman in his arms, it occurred it him that life with Jess would never be boring.
She thought they were getting each other out of their systems. She was wrong. He just had to work out the right time and place to explain that to her.
Finally, they stopped moving, someone grabbed his shoulders and lowered him to the ground. Jess wriggled free. Her face was white, and he leaned toward her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That was fun. You want to go again?”
She curled her lip in a snarl. “Bugger off.”
Chapter Ten
Declan had changed after the jump. There had been something in his eyes she couldn’t recognize, but it had made her twitch. Determination? But what was he determined to do?
Anyway, it made her nervous, but not enough to stop seeing him. Rather it had made her more desperate to get as much as she possibly could of him before everything went to shit.
It was five days since the jump, and they’d had sex every one of those days. Lots of sex. Quick sex, slow sex, at his office, in his apartment. She couldn’t keep her hands off him. Though she refused to spend the night, which he said was a pain because he wanted early morning sex with her all sleepy and tousled.
But that was getting into dangerous territory.
She needed to get a little distance, but more than that, she needed to prove to herself that she could control this thing between them. Because there was something between them. Even if it was only sex, it was there. Drawing them together.
All the time in his presence she sensed him watching her, wanting her. It made her body twitch with need, until her dreams were filled with Declan and each morning she awoke, hot, bothered, restless, and ready for more sex.
Now, watching him across the room, cool, remote, businesslike, she decided she was worrying too much. In just over a week, the court case would start. After that, presumably Declan would no longer need protection. And there would be no reason for them to ever see each other again.
She hated the shaft of pain that pierced her at the thought.
Looking away, her gaze clashed with Jake, who watched her, his brows drawn together as though he were picking away at a particularly interesting puzzle.
They were in a meeting, this time in Jake’s office. Jake had wanted to meet their newest client. No doubt he’d been listening to office gossip.
The two men had sized each other up, then shook hands, one of those testosterone-fueled handshakes that always looked like they’d result in broken fingers. But she got the feeling that Jake respected Declan, and it took a lot to impress her boss.
Dave and Steve were also present. The guys were all seated, but Jess was too restless and she paced the room, listening while Jake outlined a plan for drawing out Declan’s attackers. For the first time, it occurred to her that there was actually danger involved. That there was a small chance they would get to Declan, maybe hurt him, even kill him. These guys were serious. Something unexpected and almost unidentifiable twisted inside her.
She was afraid. Not the adrenaline-inducing fear of the bungee jump, but something much darker. Plonking herself down on the edge of the sofa, she tried to get a grip on her fear.
“You okay, Jess?” Jake asked.
She rubbed the spot above the bridge of her nose as she thought about her answer. She suspected the correct response was “no.” She was pretty sure she was not okay. Instead, she tried to give a casual shrug. “Just having second thoughts. I’m not sure we should be playing around with these guys.”
“And have you an alternate suggestion?” Jake asked.
“Up the security. Keep him safe until after the court case.”
Jake turned to Declan. “How do you feel about all this? Are you okay to go ahead?”
Something flashed across his face and then was gone. He shrugged. “Whatever you think best.”
Did he want this over with? Including her? A week ago, she would have said yes. Now she wasn’t so sure. “We go ahead then.”
Declan rose to his feet. “Will you walk me out?” he said to her.
She followed him out of the room, eyes glued to his very impressive ass. At the elevator she pressed the button for the ground floor and gestured for him to enter.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he said as the doors closed behind them.
She shrugged again. “It won’t do the firm’s reputation any good if we lose a client. Especially now, when Jake’s stepping down. So I’d prefer it if you didn’t get yourself killed.”
He leaned back against the wall of the elevator. “Maybe I should get a gun.”
“I don’t think so.” She shuddered. Clients with guns were not on top of her things-I-want list. “Can you shoot?”
“Never tried. Never even held a gun.”
“Never? Really?” She considered him for a moment. “You want to?” Was she just looking for an excuse to keep him here? Probably. But what the hell. “Or have you got an important meeting to go to? You look like you have an important meeting.” He was dressed in a sharp charcoal-gray suit, crisp white shirt, and dark red tie and looked the perfect executive. Except for maybe the restlessness in his silver-gray eyes. It occurred to her that maybe he wasn’t happy with his perfect life.
When they’d been teenagers, she’d always known that under the controlled exterior had lurked a wild boy. It was what had drawn her to him. What had pushed her to get a reaction from him. She’d believed when they met again, that the wild boy was entirely eradicated beneath the perfect veneer of sophistication. But he wasn’t gone entirely. He might show a perfect front to the world, but beneath the glossy facade there was a volcano waiting to explode. There always had been. Her question was did Declan have more or less control now than he’d had ten years ago?
But why should she care.
He studied her for a moment. Then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed speed dial. “Paul? Cancel my meetings this morning. Something’s come up.” He closed the call before the other man could speak and turned back to her.
Heat coiled in her belly, and her heart rate picked up. Leaning across him, she pressed the button for the basement.
It was quiet down on the lower level. There were a lot of cases at the moment and most of the operatives were out on assignment. At the far end of the corridor, she punched in the code for the shooting range, then pressed her thumb to the pad. The door clicked open. Jake had contacts that facilitated them getting the licenses for their firearms, but there were strict rules for their storage.