Page 33 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

Every inch of his body beneath hers was hard, particularly one part of him that was pressed intimately between the juncture of her thighs. Slowly, her legs slipped over his hips, increasing the contact between their lower bodies. With only her yoga pants between him and his sweatpants-clad body, there was absolutely no mistaking the size of the man. He was huge.

Within seconds, her body temperature soared, and her brain imagined the two of them naked, in bed, and—

“Eew, gross.”

Tess jerked her head up and gasped.

Not five feet away, frowning down on them and looking as if he’d just sucked a lemon, was Jesse. Her brother’s hair was askew, his face twisted into a thoroughly disgusted grimace. Tiger jumped up from where he’d been lounging to greet Jesse by licking one of his hands.

“Tess, really?” He pressed one hand to the right side of his belly. “That is so TMI.”

Tess pushed from Eric’s chest and scrambled to her feet. Now, her face heated but not from passion. Hardly. Getting caught by your baby brother in a face-sucking make-out session was by far not the way she’d planned the morning. Then she noticed Jesse’s pallor.

“Are you feeling all right?” She pressed her hand to her brother’s forehead, which did feel warmer than normal.

“I’m fine.” He brushed her hand away, focusing on Eric, who slowly rose from the floor, all rippling muscle and athletic grace. “What the hell, dude? She’s my sister.” Without waiting for a response, Jesse spun and headed up the stairs.

“Jesse, wait!” Tess started after him when Eric stopped her.

“I’ve got this.” He raked a hand through his hair.

She shook her head. “No, I’ll talk to him. It’s my fault.”

“Your fault?” He frowned. “We were kissing. That’s all.” A door slammed upstairs. “This isn’t about you and me. It’s about you and him.”

“What do you mean?” How could he possibly know what was going on inside Jesse’s head? The two of them barely knew each other.

“Trust me. I’ve got this.”

She opened her mouth to object, but he was already bounding up the stairs, taking them two at a time, with Tiger close on his heels. A moment later, Jesse’s door opened, then closed again.

Oh, boy.

Jesse was a young man who’d essentially grown up without a real father. One who isn’t an asshole, anyway. Now, he had a father figure in his life for the first time, and they were starting to bond. If it were anyone else besides Eric, she might have been happy about that. This scenario, however, reeked of trouble. Despite his outburst, Jesse respected and liked Eric, and now the two of them were alone in a room having a heart-to-heart. What if her brother inadvertently divulged something that shouldn’t be divulged? What if he broke down and spilled the beans about where they really came from and the horrible details of their past?

Tess tiptoed up the stairs to Jesse’s door. Leaning closer, she struggled to hear what they were saying. A few words here and there were discernible, but mostly all she heard was the deep rumble of Eric’s voice.

A tremor ran through her. Just when she thought she’d finally put her old life behind her…just when fate had finally brought her and Jesse back together…now, one incredibly astute, incredibly sexy federal agent could undermine everything.

In all likelihood, she could rebound when this was all over, then pull up stakes—yet again—and move across the country. Maybe to the Midwest this time. But if Jesse’s secrets were exposed, he might wind up in a jail cell for the next ten to twenty years of his life.

She fisted her hands and stepped quietly back from the door. I will not let that happen to him. Even if they had to run from the law.

Run from Eric.

Chapter Eleven

When Eric walked into Jesse’s room, the kid was lying on the bed, his back facing the door. Tiger trotted around the bed and stuck his snout in Jesse’s face. Petting his dog would ease some of the tension, so Eric hung back, giving Tiger time to work his canine magic.

Eventually, he rounded the bed and sat next to the kid. Any idiot could see the boy adored his sister and that Tess would do anything for him. But something about their family dynamic was out of whack.

“What’s going on, Jess?” He watched the boy’s hand curve beneath Tiger’s chin, his fingers massaging the dog’s throat as Tiger leaned in for more attention. Still, Jesse didn’t respond, but he could see the gears turning in the kid’s eyes.

“Something’s bugging you,” he continued. “I get that, and I get that you don’t want to talk about it. But you should know I’ve done surveillance for seventy-two hours straight without sleep. You won’t outlast me.”

“Fine.” He sat up and propped a pillow behind his shoulders. “Why’d ya have to kiss her?”

Yeah, he knew that was the crux of things. Jesse must have been taken totally off guard. It had shocked the shit out of him. “I didn’t have to. I—” Wanted to. So badly, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. “It wasn’t planned; it just happened.” And it won’t happen again. Kissing her had been a mistake. Nick had been right nine months ago when he’d warned Eric off. With his extreme aversion to being tied down, he’d only wind up hurting Tess, and he liked her way too much for that to happen. More so, now that he was getting to know her better.