Body Heat

CHAPTER ONE

THE DAYS WERE HOT but, thanks to her, his nights were even hotter. He welcomed the mixture of anticipation and desire that rushed through him as he looked around The Sidewalk Café. As he looked for her.

Jake Lowell clasped his hand around a chilled glass of ice water. The condensation left his palm cold and wet, in stark contrast to the New York City heat and humidity pulsing around him. In opposition to the inferno raging inside him. Nothing could extinguish the flame she’d ignited.

He leaned forward in the wrought-iron seat, shifting, trying to find a comfortable position for his back against the hard metal, one that wouldn’t put pressure on his left shoulder and the injury that had finally begun to heal. He shifted again, and pain shot through his upper body. Damn fancy chair. Outdoor cafés with sissy drinks weren’t his thing, they were his sister’s. But ever since he’d come here for the first time, ever since he’d taken a look at the sexy waitress with the compelling gaze, he’d forced himself to endure.

Jake glanced around, but the woman who starred in his fantasies was nowhere to be found.

Only a few couples graced the outdoor section of the restaurant. He looked at his watch. Typical of his sister, Rina, she was already fifteen minutes late. After a childhood of sharing one bathroom with a teenage girl, he’d become used to waiting for her; he’d be shocked if she showed up on time. But with the guy who shot Jake wandering the street, Rina’s lateness-typical or not-made him wary.

He took in the empty street once more, then turned toward the inside of the nearly empty restaurant and bar, reminding himself that the scum was now living a so-called clean life and that his sister was safe. He headed inside, figuring he’d wait for Rina in front of the television set and a good Yankee game.

That was when he saw her-his vision in white jeans and a black tank top with an apron tied around her waist. She stood by the bar, a bottle of water in hand. Her auburn hair had been pulled back in a ponytail while stray strands resisted confinement and curled around a face with delicate, angelic features. More than lust or desire, it was the purity in her expression and the smile on her lips that lured him back to this place, to her, over and over again.

After reading an order off her pad, she shoved it into her pocket, and the bartender got busy mixing drinks. Jake rose from his seat and walked to the open sliding glass door that led to the inside of the restaurant. She leaned against the wall and glanced around-looking for what, he didn’t know. Then she tipped her head backward and ran the bottle over her forehead, down one cheek and then the next, until she finally eased it over her long neck.

As the bottle moved over her skin, he swallowed a groan. Her back arched and her breasts pushed against the black tank. Taut nipples teased both the fabric and his restraint. He ought to feel like a voyeur, yet her every sensual, seductive movement seemed as if it had been choreographed for his eyes only.

Though she was a stranger, he felt as if he knew her intimately, yet not intimately enough. Eyes shut tight, her shoulders dropped and her muscles relaxed. As the cold plastic touched bare skin, her long sigh echoed inside him. Whether aware or not, she’d aroused both his curiosity and his imagination.

What would she taste like? he wondered. Would he find her lips moist, her mouth flavored with mint? Or would she taste sweet, like the coffee drinks served here? And in the throes of passion would she meet his gaze or shut her eyes in expectation and pleasure? Just imagining making love to her had his body strung tight with need and his soul on fire. He took neither lightly.

Little had piqued his interest other than the incident that had sidelined him and taken down Frank Dickinson, his best friend and fellow detective, causing Jake to rethink his direction in life. But desire licked at him now, hotter and with more force than the bullet that had seared his skin.

Neon lights over the bar reflected off the droplets of water on her flesh. He wanted to taste her damp heat, to absorb it with his body. He broke into a sweat that had nothing to do with the heat wave outside. His hand had turned wet from the condensation on the glass, and he wiped his palm on jeans that had grown too tight.

She straightened and placed her bottle on the bar before glancing around the confines of the small restaurant. He held his breath, but she didn’t look in his direction. Then she grabbed a napkin and blotted the glistening skin on her chest, patting downward to where droplets had probably dripped into the V of her cleavage, nestling between her full breasts.

Without warning, she turned and glanced his way. Her gaze met his and her eyes grew wide, not with horror but with surprise. Just as he thought, she hadn’t known anyone was watching. But when the surprise wore off, she stared at him with more than a hint of interest in her expression.

It was an interest he recognized because she captivated him, too. The mutual attraction had been strong from the first. And over the past few weeks, the sizzling awareness had only grown stronger.

His sister had fed his interest, meeting him here in the evenings so he could get his fill. And she’d always been here, always waiting on tables in stations other than his. He didn’t know why she hadn’t approached him, only why he’d maintained the distance. Fantasy, he’d learned, always surpassed gritty reality.

But never had the current between them been as charged as it was tonight. Their connection was electric, so all-encompassing that his body throbbed with need and his mind soared with myriad possibilities-none of which he intended to act upon.

She still held his gaze, as if waiting for him to make the next move. Without breaking eye contact, he lifted his glass in silent acknowledgment. He expected her to turn away, to rebuff his subtle advance. She did neither. Instead she held his stare with a searing heat and bold curiosity he hadn’t expected-until the bartender’s arrival with her order severed the connection.

She glanced back at him once more before she crumpled the napkin and tossed it into the trash. Then she returned to business, taking orders and serving drinks. But the flush in her cheeks remained, testament to what had passed between them.

“Oh my God, Jake, I’m sorry.” His sister’s voice calling him brought him out of the sensual haze, though the sizzling in his veins remained.

Relieved Rina had showed up unharmed, he headed back to his table and settled himself into the uncomfortable seat. Though distracted, he tried to focus as she slid into the chair across from him. Her skin glistened from the humidity and her dark hair clung to her cheeks. She was no different from most rushed and overheated New Yorkers, yet her outfit distinguished her from the other mostly jean-wearing patrons of the café. All elegance, she appeared out of place in the casual atmosphere, but Rina being Rina, she failed to notice.

“I know I’m late. But Norton hates the heat,” she said, talking about her Chinese sharpei. He was all wrinkles with a black tongue, a dog no self-respecting person would take out in public, but Jake had developed a soft spot for the pedigreed pooch.

He shook his head and laughed. “Money really has changed you, Ri.” They’d grown up with a half-breed mutt that had wandered through the dirt and grime of the South Bronx. The dog had taken a nap one day by the front of their building and had stayed.

When Rina, a legal secretary, had met and married her boss, Jake had had his doubts about the man and the marriage. Who wouldn’t question a guy who had his fingernails polished weekly? But he’d turned out to be the best thing ever to happen to his kid sister. But then he’d died, leaving Rina alone. She was too young to be a widow, but Jake found comfort in knowing she’d had happiness for a little while.

A union of opposites had worked well for Rina, but not for Jake. His marriage had ended in a bitter divorce because his wife hadn’t realized that marrying a cop meant living on a cop’s salary and adjusting to erratic hours. His wife hadn’t just given up being married to a cop; she’d given up on Jake. And, after five years, it still hurt. Not because he still loved his wife but because he thought he’d given that kind of life his best shot. Still, Rina’s marriage had flourished, and for that Jake was grateful.

“Money hasn’t changed me.” She sniffed, raising her chin in the air, pretending to take offense. “Well, not much, anyway. At least I walk him myself. I could pay someone to do it for me, but they’d quit after one day.”

“High-maintenance breed?” Jake asked, watching the sexy waitress out of the corner of his eye.

“You could say that,” Rina said.

He barely heard. She worked the inside restaurant, where the thickening crowd chose to sit. She impressed him with things that went beyond the superficial. Nothing fazed her-not the overwhelming heat, not the picky customer. She served with a thousand-watt smile, one he could watch all night. Especially since, every so often, she sent a covert look his way-to make sure he hadn’t left? He liked to think so.

Because he sure as hell was aware of her. Jake couldn’t recall the last time he’d been so sexually and emotionally conscious of a woman he didn’t know. He hadn’t been celibate since his marriage, but he hadn’t gotten seriously involved, either. And none of the women in his far or recent past had piqued his interest in quite the same way she had. The sensual game they played intrigued him. He wasn’t ready to end it by meeting her and destroying the fantasy. No woman could be as fresh and unjaded as she seemed to be. His marriage had taught him that.

Appearances, Jake knew now, were too often deceiving; women weren’t always what they seemed. The sexy waitress attracted him more strongly than his ex ever had, and if that wasn’t enough of a warning to steer clear, he had his current case to focus upon. He couldn’t risk the distraction.

Rina waved a hand in front of his eyes and grinned. Obviously she knew his mind had been not on her words, but on the waitress who fascinated him. Considering he’d insisted on meeting at this place, at this hour, on the same night for the past few weeks, Jake figured his thoughts were pretty much transparent.

“As I was saying,” she reminded him, “I had to walk Norton before meeting you, and he didn’t want to go. I mean, he’s trained to go on command, but you have to get him out onto the street, first. The poor thing hates the hot concrete on the pads of his paws. There I was, literally dragging him down Park Avenue, while he was trying to drag me back home. Can you imagine the sight?”

Jake shook his head. “The dog’s a wuss,” he muttered. He glanced over her shoulder, looking for the woman of his fantasies, but in the moment he’d refocused on Rina, she had disappeared. Disappointment gripped him as hard as the desire had earlier.

Rina patted his hand. “She’ll be back. And Norton’s not a wuss, he’s just particular about what he likes, who he likes…”

“And who he doesn’t,” Jake said, recalling the puddle that had ruined his new sneakers on their first meeting.

“Well, regardless, he was Robert’s dog, and I’m all he has left now.”

Jake leaned forward in his seat. “So how are you, really?”

Rina had decided not to accompany her husband on a business trip, and he’d died in a car accident while rushing home to avoid an overnight stay. She’d been consumed with guilt and grief, and Jake had made it a priority to keep her spirits up. That included meeting her for dinner or drinks a few times a week. Almost a year had passed-a year in which Jake had kept up the routine because he enjoyed it, too. Rina was stronger now. Even the jokes had come more freely to her of late. Jake’s mission had been a success. It had also recently led to his obsession with a woman he didn’t know.

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. How I’m doing. I’m going to take a vacation. A friend invited me to spend the summer with her in Italy. And I really need the break. I need to get away and…”

“I think it’s a great idea.” Jake didn’t hesitate. Not only would the vacation do wonders for Rina’s mental health, but it would keep her out of the country and safe until Ramirez was behind bars. “Anything that gets you out of that mausoleum of an apartment is good by me.” Besides, all that marble and china made Jake nervous. Every time he turned around in the penthouse, he felt in danger of breaking something.

“I’m glad you think so. But about the penthouse?”

“Mausoleum.”

“Whatever. I need you to stay there while I’m gone and watch Norton-and before you say no, think about the whirlpool and the pool. They’ll do wonders for your rehabilitation.” She opened her brown eyes wide and fluttered her thick lashes.

Not a good sign, he thought, and he knew he was in deep. “I don’t need physical therapy. I’m doing some exercises the orthopedist recommended, and my shoulder’s just fine.” He caught her stare and realized he’d been subconsciously rubbing the muscle with his hand. He quickly wrapped the hand around his glass, which had grown warm to the touch.

She raised an eyebrow. “The department says otherwise.”

Much as he loved Rina, no way could he let her in on the fact that he had been undertaking strenuous rehabilitation. Her well-meaning concern often translated into talking at inopportune moments and generally butting into his life. He couldn’t risk her informing the department that he’d be in shape sooner than they thought.

“The department has no say unless I choose to go back,” he told her. And he was no longer sure he wanted to. Getting hit by a bullet and damaging his shoulder while diving out of harm’s way had nothing to do with his uncertainty. The circumstances surrounding the episode did.

Louis Ramirez, who had been drug trafficking on college campuses and had access to major dealers, had been ripe for the picking. As a detective on narcotics detail, Jake had invested all his time and energy on the scum. He’d seen one too many co-eds in the morgue thanks to Ramirez’s tainted goods, too many once fresh-faced kids now addicted. Jake had sworn he’d nail the crook, and had skirted the edges of proper police procedure to arrange a bust that would put Ramirez away for a long time. He’d trusted a snitch, something he regretted the instant the first bullet was fired and he realized he and his fellow officers had been set up.

But they’d gotten their man, anyway. After the hail of bullets that had stolen Frank’s life and sidelined Jake, Ramirez had been taken into custody. And he would have stayed there, too, if Jake hadn’t been down for the count. If some rookie hadn’t screwed up and failed to give proper Miranda rights. Ramirez had walked, on a technicality. It wasn’t the first time Jake had seen a criminal go free but it was the proverbial last straw. Jake was disgusted, disillusioned with his role in bringing in the dregs of the earth only to have his efforts thwarted courtesy of America’s judicial system.

The detective Ramirez killed had been a good man-a man with a wife and kids-and though all cops knew the risk, Jake would have preferred to take the fatal bullet instead. He had no little ones who needed a father. Jake’s weekend visits and phone calls to Frank’s family were a poor substitute for the real thing.

“The system pisses me off and I’ve had it with the whole routine,” he said, giving his sister the gut-honest truth.

“So Frank’s gone and you’re just going to give up?”

Her tone conveyed disbelief, possibly because she knew Jake better than anyone. She knew his friendship with Frank and his family ran deep and she understood the pain of losing someone. But she also knew her brother. Jake Lowell didn’t throw in the towel, and he never left a job undone without a fight.

“I’ll redirect my energies,” he lied. He didn’t want to upset Rina by admitting he planned to get Frank’s killer on his own.

Jake couldn’t bring Ramirez in on any of the charges stemming from the original bust, but no doubt the guy was still selling drugs and somehow he’d slip up. Between Jake’s off-duty digging and the official information two of his detective buddies continued to feed him, Jake would nab Ramirez. It was only a matter of time. But he wouldn’t have the freedom to follow up leads if he was constrained by his superiors and newer cases he’d no doubt be assigned.

Jake also needed personal R-and-R. Time without the pressure and restrictions of the job to find out what direction he wanted to take in life. To decide what the restlessness he’d been experiencing lately meant. Was it the gritty life of a cop and the disillusionments that came with the job that had worn him down, or something more? Jake didn’t have any answers. And he had a hunch none would be forthcoming until his mind was free of Ramirez.

His lieutenant would jump on him if he thought Jake was ready, so allowing a prolonged recuperation provided the perfect excuse. “Can we change the subject?” he asked his sister.

She shrugged. “Suit yourself. Let the muscle atrophy until you can’t make it work. Then when you want to go back, you’ll flunk the physical and-”

“Rina,” he said, warning her with his tone.

But he understood her concern because it mirrored his feelings for her. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his sister. She knew it and played him shamelessly, but he adored her, anyway. Without a doubt, she had the same loyalty toward him, which prompted her pushing him now.

She held her hands up in surrender. “Okay, I’ll back off. So will you stay in the penthouse while I’m gone?”

He raised an eyebrow. Given her usual propensity to butt in where she didn’t belong, Jake didn’t buy the easy subject change, but he was grateful for the reprieve. “Couldn’t you put the dog in a kennel?”

“Norton doesn’t like kennels. He gets nervous. And if you won’t watch him, I’ll have to stay home.”

“Never mind,” he muttered, resigning himself to animal-and apartment-sitting for the summer. His fate had been sealed from the moment she’d batted her brown eyes at him across the table. It didn’t matter where he set himself up, as long as he had the freedom to come and go as he pleased on his quest for Ramirez.

With Rina out of town, Jake had nothing and no one cramping his movements. Besides, she needed the break. “You should get away, and if you need my help to do it, I’ll stay, even if it means walking that pathetic excuse for a dog in public,” he said, infusing his voice with warmth and humor. Once he said yes, he’d never knowingly make her feel guilty and, besides, he and Norton had developed a grudging respect for one another.

Her face lit up in a way Jake hadn’t seen since before her husband passed away. “Oh, thank you.”

Before he could blink, she was up and around the table. She wrapped one arm around his good side and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. You can’t imagine how depressing it’s been for me alone in the penthouse. This trip will help me put the memories behind me,” she whispered.

“That’s all I want for you.” He squeezed her back. “Now, can you get off me before the humidity glues us together?”

She laughed and resettled herself in the chair. “Now that we’ve dealt with my life, such as it is, it’s time to deal with yours.”

Jake groaned. “I knew my reprieve was too good to last. I’ll make a deal with you. Go to Italy and have fun. Come back happy, and then we’ll deal with my life.” By then Jake should have Ramirez back behind bars where he belonged. But he knew Rina wasn’t just referring to work.

Rina glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t know, Jake. If you wait too long, someone might snatch her up. For all you know, she might already be attached.”

“No ring,” he said, and immediately regretted the admission.

“Then, do something about it,” his sister said, challengingly.

He wanted to rise to the bait as he’d often done when they were children. But he couldn’t. After his ex-wife, the only women he’d consider now were the ones who were safe, who didn’t threaten his sanity or his heart. Considering the strong pull she exerted over him, Jake had a hunch this one was capable of doing that and more. With the Ramirez case hanging over his head, Jake didn’t have time for distractions. And she was most definitely a distraction.

SHE WAS LATE. Brianne Nelson sprinted down the street toward The Sidewalk Café. She needed this second job and the money it brought in, but all she could think about was him. Was he here as he’d been last night and the night before that? Was he waiting or had he given up and gone home? And was he alone or, as usual, was he with the beautiful woman? The woman Brianne had seen hug him last evening.

Brianne’s heart beat a furious pace, due more to anticipation and excitement than from her mad rush to make it to work. She’d thought she would never get out of the hospital. Her last client had gotten hung up in X-ray, and by the time Mr. Johnson arrived at physical therapy, he was forty-five minutes overdue for his appointment. After his second stroke, the older man needed rehabilitation as much as Brianne needed the money this waitressing job brought in. He had a new grandbaby he wanted to hold on his lap. She couldn’t reschedule or hand him off to another therapist any more than she could give up her night job.

Nor did she want to. Not since she had the man of her dreams waiting. He arrived three times a week, wearing the same type of outfit-a pair of jeans and a shirt he’d obviously created himself with a pair of scissors and one good rip. The cropped shirt exposed a hint of tantalizing tanned skin, with a dark sprinkling of hair running down his abdomen until it disappeared into the denim waistband. And his forearms…she’d never seen muscles that well toned. He’d piqued her interest and fed her fantasies.

She slowed her pace as she reached the outdoor entrance, her gaze taking in the crowded tables on the sidewalk, lingering on the men seated outside. Though many had jet-black hair, none made her heart race. None met her gaze with a knowing gleam in his eyes or caused a liquid rush of desire in response to his sexy grin.

She shook off the disappointment caused by his absence, reminding herself that the man she anticipated was already taken. Meeting with the same woman that many times a week spoke of devotion and commitment-to someone else. Which was why she’d asked Jimmy to let Kellie handle the outdoor tables. Kellie was an accomplished flirt who rarely took any one man seriously, someone who could handle such a gorgeous customer with ease. Unlike Brianne, who had way too much interest in the man. Besides, even if he weren’t involved, her dating and mating skills were rusty from disuse. Brianne understood her real life. He was a fantasy. She rushed in and past the bar.

“You’re late,” Jimmy called out.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hang on. Someone wants to-”

She ducked into the small bathroom, cutting Jimmy off before he could lecture her about burnout again. He was her boss and in the process had become her friend. She was a physical therapist by day, and Jimmy understood how badly she needed this job at night. No matter how tired or how weary she was of smiling for the customers, she had no choice. She needed the money.

She was just fortunate Jimmy put up with her often delayed arrival; he rarely complained. Like her, he’d lost his parents young, and he’d also raised a sibling. He just hadn’t had the added pressure of having a genius brother who deserved to remain in an exclusive, expensive, private boarding school and who would attend college thereafter.

Too bad her parents hadn’t thought of either Marc or Brianne when they’d gone out in a small plane in weather that even the FAA had warned against flying in. Too bad they’d invested their money in pleasure and not in insurance for their children.

She shivered, then pushed all thoughts of her selfish, risk-taking parents aside. She’d been her brother’s only means of support for so long, she didn’t know any different. But even a boss who was her friend couldn’t keep her on if she didn’t get her behind outside and start serving the customers.

Shoving her clothes under one arm, she paused to wash the grime of the New York City subway from her hands. Brianne wondered if he would show up later, and knew that thought would keep her going when her feet begged for a rest. Because, lately, she wasn’t as tired, nor did she approach this job with the dread she had felt in the past. He kept her spirits high and her adrenaline flowing. Just knowing he’d be waiting, watching, making her feel sexy and desirable, when she had no time to be desirable, caused her anticipation to soar.

She air-dried her hands, then grabbed her clothes and turned toward the stalls. Before she could blink, she ran smack into a customer. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“My fault.”

Brianne took a step back and found herself face-to-face with the woman who usually sat with her fantasy man. Her dark hair was layered and razored in the most up-to-date style. The shaglike cut was perfect with her lightly made-up face and trendy clothes.

The woman certainly didn’t look as if she’d spent the day massaging other people’s body parts, Brianne thought, glancing down at her own scrubs. Then she looked at her watch and groaned before meeting the other woman’s appraising gaze. “Excuse me. I’m running late.” Brianne started for the open stall.

“Can we talk first?”

The other woman’s voice stopped Brianne cold, and she pivoted fast. “Excuse me?” Her heart beat more quickly.

They had nothing in common, nothing to discuss-except him. She’d done nothing wrong, Brianne assured herself. Yet the thoughts and fantasies she’d spun about a man she’d never met were enough to make her-a woman who’d seen men and women in varying degrees of nakedness during patient therapy-blush.

But no one she’d seen in patient therapy had even remotely resembled him. He was every inch a potent, sexy male who allowed her the freedom to feel like a woman, to test her limits and flirt without fear of anything more coming of it, because he was involved and she was too busy-which made him safe. Or so she thought.

“Hey, are you okay? I don’t want you to faint on me,” the woman said with concern.

Brianne nodded. “I’m fine,” she said, embarrassment and shame filling her. Her fantasy man had a girlfriend who wanted to talk. Brianne had witnessed that hug between them last night with a pang of envy she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling. But it served to remind her that he was spoken for. She cleared her throat. “I’m fine,” she said again. “Thank you. It’s just that I’m running very late. My boss…”

“Is a great guy. He said we could take a minute when you got in.”

Brianne shook her head. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I really need to get to work. Jimmy’s wonderful, but he can’t compensate for the tips.”

“I understand much more than you think. I come here often.”

“I know.” Brianne could have bitten her tongue for that admission.

“Yes, well, I don’t want you to think I’m rude, or that I was eavesdropping, but…” She shrugged, and a sheepish grin lifted her lips. “I was eavesdropping. Last night. I heard you tell Jimmy how tired you were and how much you wished you could afford to get off your feet. And then he reminded you how much you want to move with your brother when he starts Stanford in the fall.”

“And you’d like to put me on the first plane west?” Brianne asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Yes. No.” The woman let out a laugh. “I’d better just explain.”

Brianne wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear. If this woman thought Brianne was poaching on her boyfriend, she’d probably attempt to make California look good. Which it did-a new start for both her brother and herself. Physical therapy in a warmer climate, Brianne thought. Normal hours. Friends. A life.

She sighed. She’d sent résumés, but so far she hadn’t had much luck. Either she’d been turned down flat or the salaries offered didn’t come close to New York City’s. Brianne had to be picky if she wanted to pay off Marc’s boarding school loans and her own debts.

But reality aside, Brianne had a dream job in mind. A place she’d applied and still hadn’t heard back from. If the Special Kid Ranch offered her placement, she hoped she could afford to take it. Working with children had always been her goal, one she hadn’t been able to fulfill because the geriatrics job she’d gotten right out of school paid so well. Brianne didn’t hold out much hope that the Ranch offer would come or be any better than those she’d had so far. She and Marc would be separated for the first time in both their lives-which was probably best for her brother’s college experience, but still…

“Are you with me?”

Brianne blinked. “Yes. Sorry.” She had so much on her mind these days, it was a wonder she functioned at all. Brianne refocused on the woman before her.

“I’d say we should sit and talk, but…” The other woman glanced around, taking in the tiled floor and single stall, and she grinned. “Well, you see the problem there. But just hear me out. I’ve got a proposition that I guarantee you won’t be able to refuse.”