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He had to make sure she had a lifetime left to spend with him.
He could wish she’d want him as much as he wanted her, but it would have to be her choice.
CHAPTER 14
The chirp of a cell phone woke Jacques. When he started to roll over to find the source, a warm hand pressed against his chest, holding him back.
“Don’t,” Danny said, her voice muffled against the pillow. She lay on her side, eyes closed, thick red hair in wild disarray, kiss-swollen lips begging him to kiss them again.
“Don’t what?” he asked, laying his hand over hers.
“Move,” she murmured. “Can’t we just pretend we’re not here? Just a little longer?” She blinked her sleepy green eyes open.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, leaning in to brush his mouth across hers. Then he lifted her hand from his chest and kissed her palm gently, careful to avoid the scrapes.
When the cell phone chirped again, Jacques reached behind him, fumbled for the device and held it between them.
“It’s from Remy,” he said, frowning down at the message.
Danny rolled onto her back and stretched. “What’s it say?” she asked with a yawn.
“They have coffee in the suite,” he said. “Swede has news, and Remy wants both of us there.”
Danny curled back into him. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Same.” Jacques laid the phone on the nightstand and pulled her into his arms. He liked waking up next to her. Liked that she’d taken the initiative and joined him the night before in the shower and then made love with him. She’d done all that without dissolving into a panic attack.
“What if he has bad news?” Danny said, her lips moving against Jacques’s naked chest.
“What if it’s good news?”
She sighed. “Guess we’ll find out. I could use some coffee.” She started to get up.
This time Jacques’s hand stopped her.
She sank back into the pillow.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I like waking up with you.”
“Mmm. I like it, too,” she said, tracing her finger around his nipple. “You have mad skills.”
“It’s all that first aid training I had in the military. Sexy, isn’t it?”
“Uh huh,” she smiled. “You had me at this might hurt a little.” She pinched his nipple playfully.
“Hey. Easy now.” He captured her hand in his and pressed his lips to her fingertips. “I have other skills.”
“Tell me about it.” She frowned. “And you could’ve been demonstrating them now, if you hadn’t read that text.” Danny sat up. “I want a raincheck.”
“You’ve got it.” His heart soared. She wanted more of what they’d shared the night before. Unfortunately, it would have to wait.
As they dressed, another text lit up his cell phone. Jacques zipped his jeans, buckled his belt and bent over the cell phone. “Remy’s getting impatient.”
“What did he say?” Danny asked as she pulled a cream sweater over her head.
“Coffee’s getting cold.” He shrugged into a shirt and quickly buttoned it, then tucked the hem into the waistband of his jeans. He responded to Remy’s text, letting him know they’d be there shortly.
When they were finally ready, Jacques checked the hallway to discover uniformed police officers standing guard, one at the elevator, the other at the stairwell.
