Free Renee Simons Special Edition by Renee Simons

coming here."
    "I thought you might need company."
    He took a minute to respond. "Not at the risk of your safety. I've been alone before."
    "So have I. That's why I came."
    Ethan pulled her close. "You okay?"
    I shouldn’t, she thought, but leaned against him, savoring his solidity and strength. "I'm better now."
    He pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head. She lifted her face and searched the darkness for some clue to his emotions. With a small groan, he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss as sweet and gentle as the flutter of a butterfly's wing.
    So sweet she didn’t want it to end. He pulled her closer. His lips caressed hers, taking small nips as if sampling a new delicacy. Her arms slipped around his neck, pressing her breasts against his hard chest. They clung to each other and at every point of contact, she tingled. Through their clothes, she absorbed the heat of his body feeding her own until she thought she might burst into flame.
    "Well, I can see I needn't have worried about you two." They hadn't heard Kevin open his door and she was grateful for the darkness covering a violent blush.
    Ethan merely grinned at his friend. "Thanks, mate. Do the same for you sometime."
    "As if I’d ever get myself in this kind of trouble." Kevin touched Ethan's shoulder. "Let's shove off."
    Once inside, Jordan tuned out the quiet conversation between the two men and looked out the window as they traveled the quiet city streets.
    Light shone from an occasional apartment window. Here and there a store front displayed its brightly lit wares and signs glowed warmly, but most of the neighborhoods they passed were dark, with their residents deep in slumber. She thought there might be little sleep for her tonight. The experience in the shed had evoked memories and emotions that would need sorting out before her mind could settle down.
    How disturbing that after fourteen years, she could nearly be reduced to a quivering mass of jelly because she'd been locked in a dark place. That she'd had to fight for control. She wondered what Dr. Torino would have said about that. Or about the unexpectedly hot embrace that followed.
    Dear Dr. Torino, who'd been psychologist, confidant and surrogate parent until she'd grown old enough to be on her own. It seemed to her now that too much time had passed since they'd last talked. Maybe a phone call was in order - whether she continued to handle things on her own or not.
    As Kevin pulled up in front of the hotel Ethan asked, "Recognize that car, Jordan ?"
    A light colored car waited in the loading zone some thirty feet beyond the hotel entrance. Two men filled the front seat like twin mountains of flesh and muscle. "Do you think it's them?" she asked.
    "Yeah."
    "Who's ‘them,’ mate?" Kevin asked.
    "The blokes I told you about, that tried to run me down the other day. Don't stay, Kevin. Just keep going."
    "If I pull out now, they're liable to get suspicious."
    "Well, we can't sit here."
    "Sure we can."
    "What are we waiting for?" Jordan asked.
    "For someone to come out and make us move."
    A few minutes later, the doorman appeared, went to the driver of the first car and said something that sent it off into the night. Then he approached Kevin. "You'll have to move your van if you're not dropping off a passenger, Sir. This is a no parking zone."
    "Sorry, mate, but you let those folks ahead of us sit."
    "They arrived shortly before you did, Sir, and you can see they’ve gone."
    "No problem." Kevin pulled out with a glance at Ethan. "Now we’ve an idea how long they were here. Where to now?"
    "The house," Ethan said. "Let's make sure no one's watching the place when we get there."
    From the bottom of the hill, Jordan saw gaslight gently illuminating the cobblestones and warming doorways and facades. Vehicles lined the streets.
    "How are we going to tell if anyone's here that shouldn't be?" Jordan asked.
    "We'll make a tour," Ethan replied. "See if you recognize the car. I'll check if any are occupied.