Free Midnight Action by Elle Kennedy

fifteen minutes later, she was hurrying into the lobby of the Lancaster. The fierce jumble of emotions in her chest hadn’t dulled during the taxi ride over. She was just as mad, just as bitter, and just as ashamed.
    She’d run into René and her mother on her way out. The happy couple was going to a charity dinner for the police department, and René had been decked out in full police regalia. The nerve of it made her want to vomit. Two minutes after raping his wife’s daughter, he’d donned his dress uniform and was about to spend the rest of his evening strutting around like a hero and charming rich suckers out of their money so his department could have more tools to catch criminals.
    But
he
was the criminal.
    Worse than a criminal. He was a
monster
.
    Noelle’s breathing went shallow, her vision wavering as she ducked into the elevator. She was near tears, and that only made her madder. Her real father didn’t condone tears. He considered them a sign of weakness.
    I’m trying, Dad. I’m really trying to be strong
.
    She choked on the lump in her throat, wishing she could be as tough as her dad, but knowing she wasn’t. Because if she was, she never would have let René lay his revolting hands on her. She would have fought harder and kept him off.
    The elevator doors dinged open and she rushed down the carpeted corridor, her gaze homing in on the door of Jim’s suite. The gold-plated numbers were like a shining beacon of salvation.
Jim
was her salvation. They’d been seeing each other for only two weeks, but she was already dreading the day he had to go back to America. She didn’t want him to leave. She wasn’t sure she’d survive saying good-bye to the gruff, intense soldier she’d come to rely on.
    When he opened the door, Noelle launched herself into his arms and buried her face in the crook of his corded neck. She inhaled his spicy, masculine scent, drawing warmth and comfort from his embrace.
    “You okay?” He closed the door and led her inside.
    She nodded weakly. “I’m fine.”
    Jim’s sharp blue eyes searched her face. “No, you’re not. What happened?”
    “Nothing.” Averting her gaze, she shrugged out of her peacoat and set it on the arm of the beige sofa.
    “Noelle.”
    She sighed. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” she amended. “René was in one of his moods tonight.”
    “C’mere.”
    He opened his arms and she stepped into them once more.
    “Will you do something for me?” she asked softly.
    “Anything.”
    “Will you...” She tipped her head so she could meet his eyes, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “Will you kiss me?”
    His expression flickered with reluctance.
    “I know you said you wanted to take it slow,” she went on hastily, “but please, Jim, I need this. I need you to make me forget.”
    He stayed quiet, but his eyes never left hers. What she saw there only added to her muddled, emotion-ridden state. Reluctance again, but also tenderness. And desperation. Heat. Lots and lots of heat.
    “Please,” she whispered.
    His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Noelle...”
    She held her breath, watching his expression go from hesitant to tortured to...defeated.
    “Okay,” he murmured. “Okay.”
    Her pulse sped up when he touched her chin. His hand was big and warm, his fingers gentle as he dragged them along the curve of her jaw. She parted her lips, anticipation building inside her, but when his mouth finally covered hers, it was like nothing she could have ever imagined.
    His lips brushed hers with infinite care, soft and sweet and so thrilling her heart stopped beating for one crazy moment. Then the pressure increased, the tip of his tongue slid inside her mouth, and the kiss went from gentle to downright
possessive
. She’d kissed boys before, but not like this. Never like this.
    Jim’s lips teased and coaxed, his tongue so skillful and demanding she forgot how to breathe. His mouth, hot and wicked, moved over hers, and each brush of his lips and