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It see ti today’s dead wo his wife, so young to be so ravaged by disease So much loss

And he’d been as helpless to save her then as he had been to save the dead wo to say to him

Life isn’t fair

It sounded so trite, but at the same time, it was so true

She never did speak, because at last, he touched her face Lifted her chin Found her lips It seemed as if a storm, a tidal wave of heat, washed over her, as if the hot spray of the shoas once again beating tu, al, his passion volatile

Suddenly the tempest ebbed, and his movements turned sweet, then wicked and wild Before…there had been hunger and the thrill of exploration Tonight it was as if the floodgates had opened She couldn’t taste enough of his flesh, his sex, couldn’t ride hard enough against him He was equally forceful She had never felt so co, entwined as if they were one

She soared to a sudden climax, drifted in the still-volatile aftermath of what they had shared She had barely cal above her once more His eyes were darker than any abyss, his features tense with concentration But this tiue teased her collarbone and breasts

He slid into her once again, then withdrew His th of her, but slowly Slow torture Prolonged seduction She wrapped her fingers around his sex Played hiue danced over his shoulders, down his chest, tasting the salt on his skin No words were exchanged in the darkness of the night In the end, he siainst hiht, so she just closed her eyes and allowed sleep to co that as much as she wanted him, as sweet as it was to be with Jed, it was equally true that she did not want to be alone

She slept like an angel

Awakening, Jed rose up on one elbow and watched Christina sleep Her hair was a true auburn, and as it splayed across her pillow, the touch of the sun turned it into a cascading torch Her lashes, however, were darker, and they swept over her cheeks to add a touch of mystery He felt a catch in his throat And in his loins But he didn’t intend to wake her, so he only continued to watch her, feeling a flush of war how lucky he was, and yet afraid to think of what that meant

At last he rose, impatient with himself

He’d known her forever, and he’d cared about her How could he not? She was Ana’s little friend Ana’s little friend who had grown up tall and stunning, elegantly built, with huge blue eyes When he thought about it, he realized that he’d been involved with her forever

But he’d been in love with Margaritte

If he was in love again…

Did that make him disloyal?

He didn’t want to think about that, so he strode into the shower He had loved his wife; there was no question about that And it had been torture to watch her die, little by little, day by day He’d never been disloyal then Never been anywhere but at her side Fighting Hoping

But in the end, fighting and hoping hadn’t changed a da

There had been other women since then, of course He hadn’t lived like a monk But Christie was different This could hurt him She could hurt him Hurt him badly

He couldn’t stay away He wanted her far too much Needed her, craved her…

Damn it, he didn’t want to think about it

He finished his shower and got dressed, and then the dog followed him downstairs, where he turned on the television, checked his watch He called Jerry, who invited hi food and fed Killer Da sure that the lock caught once he was outside It was better when the door was double-bolted, but it was broad daylight And the dog did bark like blue blazes when anyone came near the house

There was dead silence when Jed opened the door to the bare-bones conference room at the police station He knew some of the officers, didn’t know others Undoubtedly a lot of the s handled the situation for him

"Anyone who doesn’t know him, this here is our celebrity ex-cop, Jed Braden He’s a licensed PI now, and he’s working for Beau Kidd’s fas announced

A ," someone whispered "After that book?"

"Yeah, ironic, huh?" Jed said,around the room Mal O’Donnell and Jerry were seated up front Doc Martin was there, too, along with another twenty-plus cops, some local, but at least six of theer detectives leaned over to bring Jed up to speed "That’s Gil Barron talking He’s FBI, but he seems to have a handle on real life"

Exactly what that meant, Jed wasn’t sure, but he nodded his thanks, then listened