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hormones. I was horny as hell, and you were in love with love.” He shot to his feet unexpectedly.

Cathy looked up at his back, a sick feeling hitting her in the pit of her stomach. How many times during those two weeks they had shared had he told her how much he loved her?

Only a few times—when they had been having sex.

Maybe that’s all it had been for him. Just sex.

She stood, walked over to him and laid her hand on his back. “Are you saying that you didn’t love me?”

He turned so quickly that if he hadn’t reached out and grabbed her, he would have knocked her down. His hands tightened on her arms.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever known what love is, not the kind of love you’re talking about. But if you’re asking did I want you, did I need you, did I think about you all the time, did I want to make you happy, then the answer is yes. If that’s love, then I think you’re probably the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

Of all the things he could have said to her to dissolve her resistance, he had chosen the one argument that no woman could resist. And before she had a chance to assimilate the information and separate her thoughts from her feelings, Jack cradled her face with his big hands and then leaned down and kissed her. Gentle at first, the kiss soon became a ravenous mating of mouths and tongues.

Breathless and shaken when Jack ended the kiss, Cathy shoved against his chest. “Oh God, Jack. God…” Tears misted her eyes.

Slowly, reluctantly, he eased his hands away from her face. “I guess it’s obvious that I still want you.”

She nodded.

“If you’d let me, I’d take you to bed right now. But I’m in no position to make you any promises, and unless I miss my guess, you’re still the kind of girl who’s got love and sex all tied up together.”

“I—I want you,” she told him. “That’s the honest truth. But my life is far too complicated already to have to deal with an affair with you or anyone else.”

“Not even Donnie Hovater, whom I’m sure your mother and your in-laws approve of?” Jack cursed under his breath. “Forget I said that, will you? If you want the honest truth, then I’ll admit that I’m jealous of the guy.”

“I’m flattered that you’re jealous of Donnie, but you have no reason to be. As I told you, he’s a new friend and that’s all. And you and I are friends, and that’s all I can handle right now. So if you want to date someone else, I’ll understand. I won’t like it, but I’ll understand.”

“Yeah, sure.” He nodded toward the front door. “I guess I’d better go and let you get some sleep.”

She walked to the door with him and then out onto the porch, not caring what her neighbors thought if they saw her standing there in her robe.

“I should have some preliminary plans for your house ready by the end of the week,” she said. “How about lunch on Friday?”

“Sure thing. Call me with the time and place.”

“I will.”

“Good night, Cathy.”

“Good night.”

She stood on the porch and watched as he drove away. Her body ached for him. It would have been so simple to have taken him to her bed and made love with him all night.

Simple? Was she crazy? Nothing in her life was simple these days, least of all her relationship, past and present, with Jackson Perdue.

Chapter Eighteen

While working with the Fire and Brimstone Killer task force, comprised of local, regional and state law-enforcement officials, Jack had come to respect Derek Lawrence. Heck, he was beginning to like the guy, something Maleah wouldn’t want to hear. Yeah, sure, the man could rub you the wrong way with his cockiness, but once you got past that character flaw, you had to admire his brilliant mind, his great sense of humor and his keen insight into human nature. It wasn’t that he and Derek had become good friends. A relationship like that was built over time and required a foundation of trust that had to be earned. But they had reached the drinking-buddies stage, and each night this past week, they had grabbed a quick bite and a few beers together before heading their separate ways. Last night, Mike had joined them and they had talked business before their minds wandered off in a different direction after a couple of rounds. The subject