Page 4 of Desperate Temptations

“Here, give me the keys,” he said, taking them from her, sliding the key in, turning, and starting the Rover. “Are you able to drive?” he asked.

She nodded, keeping her eyes down, twisting her hands in her lap. She needed to get away from this man. Needed to be alone.

His voice turned menacing again.

“Look at me, Jessa.”

His eyes were narrowed and lit with cold anger, sending chills down her spine. A band around her chest tightened.

“I mean what I say, Jessa. Don’t push me on this.”

When he stood to leave, she looked up at him and repeated, “Who the hell are you?” she asked again.

Cain paused with his hand on the door, his jaw clenched tight. Jessa didn’t think he was going to answer her.

“I’m a friend of a friend.” When she opened her mouth to ask more questions, his eyes pierced her. “That’s all you need to know. Now stay the hell away from here.”

Before she could answer him, he closed the door quietly, stood back with his hands at his side, and waited.

Jessa swallowed, took a deep breath to steady herself, and put the car in gear. With one last look at him, she pushed on the gas and turned the car toward the street. Driving away, she looked back in her mirror to find he had disappeared. She swiveled her head, trying to catch another glimpse of him, but he was gone. She settled back in her seat and concentrated on her drive home, afraid she’d get into an accident with her nerves cut to threads. She would have time to think later.

Chapter Four

Cain watched her drive away from the shadows. He held his hands out in front of him. He was shaking, actually shaking. He’d been in every shithole in the world at Uncle Sam’s orders and never had he lost control, or God forbid gotten the shakes. He always stayed in control. Nothing ever got to him. Except for her. She was more beautiful than any picture he’d seen of her. With her long, dark hair and green eyes. They reminded him of a place he’d been in South America, where the beaches were white and the water an incredible shade of green.

Jessa was such a loving, gentle person. He remembered one of the pictures he’d seen showed her laughing up at Drew, while Drew fondly smiled down at her. As dorky as it sounded, you could feel their love for each other, just from the picture. He used to be so jealous of his friend, finding a woman like her. Something he thought would never happen for himself. Cain knew he didn’t attract women like her. He was too big, too worn, too hard. She was too soft and too sweet. The women he dated were tough, only wanting a good time and knowing the score.

She and Drew had been a match. A set. They fit perfectly together. Cain rubbed a hand over his face. He and Jessa were as opposite of each other as two people could be. Cain shook his head. Even knowing why he pulled her away from the warehouse, and that it was for her own good, he knew he scared her so bad that night she’d never let him close to her again. It didn’t stop the minuscule hope that she would be his someday.

At night, when he dreamed about her, it always felt right when she was in his arms, like she belonged there. Although night and day, dark and light, Cain always fantasized they would look just as good together as she and Drew had.

He would have felt guilty about his thoughts if not for Drew. Cain smiled fondly as he remembered the conversations they’d had. Drew knew Cain had fallen for his wife. Had made jokes and teased him about it. Teased him like few people in his life dared. It was usually dangerous to mess with him, and just his looks alone dissuaded people from getting too close. But because Drew and he had grown up together, he knew he could get away with it. Also, the fact that Drew was very secure in the knowledge that he had his wife’s whole heart.

Cain had secretly thought that, given a chance, she would never choose to be with someone like him. Where Drew was class, smooth, easy to be with, Cain had seen too much of the wrong side of humanity and was too rough for someone as soft as Jessa. No one besides Drew had known the old Cain, the one behind the mask, the man he was before the military changed him. God, he missed Drew, and would always miss him. He’d been like a brother to him.

He probably never would’ve gone to her if not for Gary, Drew’s friend. The detective had been worried enough about her to call him, wanting him to scare her enough to leave Martinez alone. Gary told him he couldn’t think of another way. He’d tried everything he could, short of arresting her.

Cain didn’t like the thought of scaring her, but he wanted it a lot less than her being anywhere near that bastard Martinez. He was the slime of the earth. The type that liked to hurt people for his own amusement.

Cain rubbed a hand across his chest where a dull ache existed. The problem was that he’d heard her sweet voice, touched her softness, smelled her unique womanly scent, and it would take all his strength to stay away from her now. The strength he didn’t think he had.

Chapter Five

Early Saturday morning, a knock sounded at her door. Tired and sluggish from lack of sleep, Jessa answered, surprised to see Gary standing there with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“Come in, Gary,” she said, stepping aside and then closing the door.

Before she could step farther into the room, Gary spun around angrily.

“What the hell, Jessa?”

Jessa stopped, her hand going to her throat, shocked. She closed her mouth and took a small, hesitant step back. In all the time she’d known him, Gary had never raised his voice to her.

“What?” That was two men in less than eight hours who had been angry with her.

He brushed his hand through his thinning hair.

“I’ve asked you to please stay out of the investigation, and I find out you’re still snooping around. Snooping in places you have no right being.” He strode to her, grasped her shoulder tightly, and made her flinch. “You’re going to get killed if you don’t stop. Do you realize how much danger you’re putting yourself in and what things Martinez will do to you if he finds you?”

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