He felt the stiffness leak out of her, felt the exact moment when she decided to let the argument go. He stayed like that for a while, his arms around her while their hearts beat in the same rhythm.
When they’d both calmed down a little, he pulled away and said, “Finish telling me about what the cops said.”
“That’s it, really.” She let him pull her over to the sofa, let him cuddle her against him as he stroked her hair. “They want to know about my lovers—present and recent past. I told them we hadn’t even known each other when the calls started and that you were with me when some of the messages were left. So they’ve ruled you out.”
“What about your other lovers?”
She blushed, turned her face away. “There hasn’t been anybody but you in over a year. And Carlos wasn’t exactly the insane, wreck-a-car-when-the-relationship-goes-south kind of guy, you know?”
“So there’s been no one else.” His stare was direct and uncompromising. “No one-night stands, no casual hook-ups—”
“Kevin!”
“I’m not interrogating you, Serena. I couldn’t care less. But I’ve been thinking about this, a lot, and I need to know.”
“No! There’s been no one. That’s why I was so … you know, when we first got together.”
He grinned. “No, I don’t know. Do you mean hot? Horny? Unbelievably sexy? But we’ve been together a couple of weeks now, working on all that pent-up frustration, and you don’t seem to have cooled off any.”
“Will you stop it?” Her cheeks flamed and she stood, desperate to put a little distance between them. Desperate to get her equilibrium back.
When she’d seen her car, her first thought had been to call Kevin and let him deal with it. She’d known that he would be there for her, would hold her hand and deal with all the messy stuff she didn’t want to handle. It was that knee-jerk reaction, more than the car and all that it had implied, that had sent her into a tailspin. Since when did she let someone else, particularly a male someone else, deal with her problems? Since when wasn’t she strong enough to deal with them herself?
That was the real reason she hadn’t called him. Because she’d wanted to. She’d needed him to be with her. She, who didn’t need anyone, had felt the absence of another person keenly for the first time since her twin died. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Serena started toward the big bay window at the end of her living room. His strong arms reached out and pulled her back onto the couch, back onto his lap. His lips skimmed over her forehead, down her nose, across her cheek and then back to her mouth. Their lips met, and though Serena felt the familiar arousal beginning to burn in the pit of her stomach, Kevin kept the kiss light, soothing. Healing.
When he finally pulled away, she was pressed against him, her peaked ni**les against his hard chest. They were both breathless, and she was gratified to see that for once, Kevin’s hands shook as badly as her own. She cuddled against him, ran her lips up the strong column of his throat. She was weary, emotionally worn-out and desperate for the distraction he could so easily provide.
But instead of giving in to the fire that burned so brightly between them, Kevin lifted her off his lap and placed her next to him on the couch. He was careful to maintain some small physical contact with her, but she got the message loud and clear. He didn’t want her. She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, hugging herself though she’d much rather have Kevin’s arms holding her. But, though his hand remained on her thigh, he’d never felt so far away.
“Look, Serena, I’ve been thinking …” His voice trailed off as he searched for words.
“Are you dumping me?” she asked incredulously. “Now?”
“What? Are you insane?” Both his face and voice reflected his shock. “Where the hell did you get a crazy idea like that?”
“You didn’t want to—” She gestured to the couch. “You’re mad about me not calling you and I know I’ve been a lot of trouble lately but—”
His mouth swooped down and took hers violently, the tenderness from earlier nowhere to be seen. His lips devoured hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, claiming her, branding her with every stroke.
When he finally broke the kiss, her lips were bruised and swollen and her panties were soaked through. “You aren’t any trouble. And even if you were, I’d still want to be with you. Vous me rendez fou! You make me crazy, cher. You turn me inside out. When are you going to figure that out?”
Serena stared into his midnight-blue eyes, saw the anger and possessiveness burning there. His feelings were so intense she wanted to look away, but she forced herself to maintain eye contact. As she looked deeper, she saw past the rage to the caring and concern, saw past the fear to the agony of love reflected there.
His hands were still wrapped around her upper arms, his fingers gripping her hard enough to leave bruises, but he seemed oblivious to his actions. She reached up, cupped his face. “Then what were you thinking about? What are you having such a hard time saying?”
His hands dropped away and he looked instantly uncomfortable. “I almost didn’t say anything, because I could be wrong. But I’ve been thinking things over since I got Steve’s call.” He took a deep breath and finally blurted, “What if it’s all connected?”
She looked blank. “What if what’s all connected?”
“The SUV in San Diego, your car here. These crank calls. What if it’s all the same guy?”
“But who?” She was bewildered, even as her heart rate increased. “We already talked about the fact that you’re the first serious relationship I’ve had in a long time.” She paused, backtracked. “Not that we’re—”
“Damn right we’re serious,” he snarled, his expression daring her to contradict him. “But, as you said earlier, I think we can safely rule me out. However, and I’m really sorry to bring this up if I’m wrong, but haven’t all these things happened after Damien got out of jail? After you testified at his parole hearing?”
Serena paled alarmingly, her skin turning clammy beneath his hands. She struggled for breath, tried to maintain perspective as nausea threatened to overwhelm her. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he risk his parole on something this stupid? Someone could have easily seen him in front of my house, could have called the police and he’d end up back in prison for another five years.” She shook her head, her tone decisive. “He’s too smart. He wouldn’t risk it.”
“He may be smart, but he’s also obsessed. And more than a little crazy or he wouldn’t have been able to … do what he did.”
She thought over what Kevin said, hating the cold logic behind his words. “But the calls started in late June, months before he even got out of jail.”
Kevin shrugged. “He wasn’t in maximum security lockdown, right? That means he had access to a phone.” His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “In fact, it should be easy enough for the police to check out the records from the prison, see if there were any calls from the pay phones inside to your home or cell numbers.”
“But why? We had almost nothing to do with each other when Sandra was alive. She knew I didn’t like him, so after the first couple of months she kept us apart.”
“You were the key witness for the defense, right? Wasn’t it your testimony that forced him into cutting a deal?” At her nod, he continued, “Revenge is a hell of a motivator.”
“Ten years later?”
“What’s that old expression? ‘A dish best served cold?’ ”
Her lungs wouldn’t work. She tried to breathe, tried to force air into her starved lungs, but nothing was happening. It was as if Kevin’s words had broken her, tearing her apart until nothing worked as it should.
Things started to go black and she felt herself sway. Then Kevin was shoving her head between her legs, calling her name as he pounded repeatedly on her back.
The blackness beckoned, so once again she focused on her breathing, concentrating on drawing noisy breaths into her oxygen-deprived lungs. The sounds she made weren’t pretty as she tried to force her shock-frozen lungs to accept air, but finally, finally, the darkness began to recede.
When she felt well enough to sit up, she did so only to find Kevin staring at her with horror-glazed eyes. “Mon Dieu, bebe. You sure know how to take the years off a man’s life.”
She smiled weakly. “I can’t—”
“I know, cher. I know.” She let him cuddle her, let the steady beat of his heart lull her into a sleepy daze where she didn’t have to think about her sister or Damien or the blood that had covered her long after the nurses had sponged her off.
Kevin held her for a long time, murmuring softly to her in French. When he finally spoke in English, it was to say, “We need to call the police. Tell them what we think.”
“Not yet.”
“Serena—”
“I know, I know. We will. But not right now, Kevin. Not quite yet. Just give me a few more minutes before I open that door again. Just a few more minutes.”
He continued to rub her back. “All right, bebe. But just a few more.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Serena? What are you doing here?”
She turned at the familiar voice, and watched in surprise as Assistant District Attorney Jack Rawlins strode across the battered police station toward her.
He crouched down next to her. “Is everything all right? Did something happen?” Jack rested his hand over her clasped ones. “Can I help?”
She felt Kevin stiffen behind her at Jack’s familiarity, heard the low rumble in his chest before he could stop it. She leaned back against him reassuringly. “I’m fine, Jack. Just dealing with an unfortunate incident that happened yesterday.”
Kevin snorted at her “unfortunate incident” comment before saying, “Her car was vandalized.”
“You’re kidding! Like you need more crap, right? Do they know who did it?”
“We’ve got a good idea.” Once again, it was Kevin who answered.
Jack turned to Kevin, eyebrows raised. “Who exactly are you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Kevin, this is Jack Rawlins, the ADA who worked extremely hard to keep Damien in jail. Jack, this is Kevin Riley. He’s my …” Her voice trailed off as she tried to figure out what to say. Boyfriend seemed far too insipid for what they shared.
“Lover.” Kevin supplied as he extended his hand. “I’m Serena’s lover. It’s good to meet you, Jack.”
“Kevin!” Serena flushed bright red as she twisted in her seat to glare at him. His face was bland as he met her look with a smile.
He shot her an innocent look. “Well, I am, cher. Aren’t I?”
She was too mortified to answer so she simply glared at him. He winked, then turned back to Jack. “Maybe you can help us,” he commented.
“Maybe I can.” Jack pulled up an available chair and sat with them as they waited for the detective in charge of Serena’s case to return. “Now why don’t you two tell me exactly what’s going on?”
Kevin nodded, almost liking the quiet ADA, despite his overly friendly interest in Serena. But the hurt she’d inflicted the night before was still raw enough that his answer was abrupt. “Detective Grayson doesn’t seem to be taking our suspicions as seriously as I would like. Maybe you can speed him along.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose questioningly as he pulled out a pen and a yellow legal pad. “We’ll just have to see, won’t we? Now, this is about your car, correct?” His tone grew serious.