ICE PRINCESS, page 14
Claudia blocked his way when he tried to pass. "Don’t, Zach. Don’t do this." She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.
Zach clamped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, tracing the warmth inside while the blood beat in his ears. From some dark recess, Rowan’s warning trickled through. Reluctantly, he girdled her waist and set her away from him.
"Claudia, we can’t do this."
Undeterred, she nuzzled under his chin. "Why not? If I were any other woman, would you hesitate?"
He peeled her fingers away, and tried once more to put some distance between them. "You aren’t just any other woman."
A smile lit her eyes. "I know," she whispered. "I’m your Ice Princess."
Her lips destroyed his resolve, beckoning him to take that road Rowan had cautioned him against. He wanted her. He loved her. His very soul shouted to possess her, but he knew he couldn’t if doing so was going to cause her more pain.
He sealed the kiss, but did not, could not, put her away from him. "How do we know where this will lead us, Princess?"
She traced the curve of his mouth with her thumb. "Your bed, I imagine. Why bother to analyze it? Why not enjoy the moment?"
He tightened his hold. "Because Rowan told me about Todd."
Her smile faded. "Rowan has a big mouth. And Todd has nothing to do with us."
"He does if things don’t work out and you’re hurt again. Nothing’s for sure."
"How do you know I’ll be hurt? Maybe I’ll be the one to break your heart."
That’s what he was afraid of.
Her chest rose against him in a sigh, aggravating his predicament. "I want you, Zach."
The words were a caress against his jawline. For extra emphasis, she nipped at his earlobe. It was all he could take. With a low growl, he scooped her into his arms and took the stairs two at a time.
Claudia’s heart raced them to the bedroom. This was what she wanted, to be free of the shackles she had placed on her life. Fear and anticipation now waged a war against each other. She couldn’t back down now. She had come too far. Damn the consequences—she was going to have this moment.
Zach cautioned himself against haste. He didn’t know if they would move beyond this point. But he was determined to make this something she would remember and cherish. He placed her lovingly in the center of his bed and stretched out beside her.
Claudia sighed and arched against his questing lips as he nipped the tender curve of her neck. It was a glorious feeling to be free, to feel the heat of passion flush her skin. To…
She trembled beneath his touch as he breached the barrier of her outer clothing. With the same care given to fine porcelain, he slowly stripped her naked, teasing her with the barest of touches, until all that remained between them was what he wore.
When he pushed away, she felt bereft of his nearness and suddenly shy to be so exposed. Claudia fought the urge to shield herself and focused only on him. He stood at the side of the bed and undressed with the same maddening lack of speed he had used to undress her.
His gaze never left hers and for that Claudia was grateful, for she couldn’t summon the nerve to look at what he was exposing, even when his attention focused on sexual protection.
Zach shuddered with every breath he took. God, she was beautiful! There was no part of her that wasn’t perfect. Just the few glances he managed to sneak in were enough to make him lose himself like an inexperienced teenager.
"Zach."
She reached for his hand and tugged him near, pressing his long fingers around her breast. It was no use. He’d never make it at this rate.
Claudia gave a low sigh the instant his hot mouth covered her nipple. He teased it to a tight peak while piercing jolts of pleasure ripped away any inhibitions that remained. She raked her fingers through his thick hair and held him in place. He suckled hard, drawing a cry from her throat she never knew she possessed. She arched against him, wanting more.
He dusted his hand downward, across her stomach, around her hip, and slowly to her thighs. Claudia opened herself to his search. Then he found it.
She gasped as his fingers slipped deep inside, pressing upward while his thumb danced a lazy circuit of its own. There was a tickle, a tremble, a building so intense Claudia swore she would die if she didn’t reach it soon. He shifted atop her and paused.
Her eyes flashed open and she saw just how glorious he looked above her. With quaking hands she traced his muscular ribs, then draped her legs around him and pulled him in. He possessed her by slow degrees, spreading her wide, pinning her beneath him, making her his.
He was so still that for one disappointing moment, Claudia thought he was finished. Then he moved, and she knew they had only just begun.
They rocked in timeless abandon, each press of his body to hers easing her closer to completion. Each time she tried to hurry things along, he drew back, taking control of them…of her once more. It was maddening. It was delicious. It was…
Claudia tensed against the first spasms of joy, her breath suspended as the moment washed over her. He carried her onward, oblivious now to anything but his pleasure now that she had reached hers. Through hooded eyes, she watched him as he beat one pounding stroke after another into her eager body.
His muscles grew taut beneath her hands as the moment neared. There was a tightness to his face she likened to pain, then the magical rush of light and energy that took them over the edge into ecstasy and made her want to do it all over again.
Chapter 11
* * *
No doubt about it. His heart was involved. It always had been. This was love in all its glory. Being with her, making love to her over and over, only reinforced it. Their night together had surpassed even Zach’s wildest imaginations. Each time he pulled Claudia into his arms, it felt like his heart was going to explode.
Being with her was everything. She was open, responsive, and sensual without being demanding. Zach was ready to lay all he possessed at her feet just like any adoring subject would his princess.
He thought making love to her once would satisfy him, but he found it was nothing more than a teaser. He couldn’t get enough of her. He craved contact, being deep inside her, holding her against him, watching the pleasure wash over her face and ripple through her body to his. Even as they lay sated in bed wrapped in each other’s arms, he soon was hard again and ready to have her. And he knew she’d never refuse.
It left one unsettling question. Why? Why after all these years had Claudia decided to let down her defenses and sleep with him? The probable answer didn’t sit well with him.
True, lust had been simmering beneath the surface since they moved in together. But Claudia had always held him at arm’s length until he convinced her she had to go back to San Francisco. Had she used sex as a weapon to ensure her stay?
Zach cursed himself for even considering that possibility. For one, no matter how professionally aggressive Claudia was, she wasn’t devious, and wouldn’t diminish the value she placed upon herself by doing such a thing. Second, they had nearly made it to bed the day before the attack, and, in fact, had planned to do exactly what they had done last night.
So, did that mean she cared for him? Had she really made a commitment to him as Rowan believed? Zach would have loved to explore this, to let the relationship take life and grow, to see where this passion would lead. For five years he had longed to see the woman beneath the icy exterior. Now he had, and he liked what he had found. It only made him love her more. And no matter how enjoyable, sensual, and fulfilling it was, no matter how deeply his heart was involved, Zach was about to destroy it all.
Years down the road he knew he would look back on this moment with regret. She would always be the love that got away, the one he forced away. But at least he would know she was alive and hating him, not dead because of his selfish needs.
Claudia stretched against him. Zach longed to draw her atop him and thrust himself deep within her heat. Instead, he tossed back the covers and sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Going for a run? If you wait, I’ll go with you."
Sleep made her voice husky, just as passion did. Thinking of that, remembering the night before, Zach’s libido throbbed, begging to be appeased.
"We need to talk."
The sheets rustled behind him. She was sitting up.
"Claudia, look…last night was a mistake."
The bed sagged. He felt the heat of her body as she neared, but it still didn’t prepare him for the rush when she wrapped her arms around him. Her nipples pressed hard against his back, devastating him by slow degrees.
"Which time? The first? The second? Or the third?"
Who would have thought that that gentle whisper would tear away his resolve? With a muttered curse, he whipped around, pressed her back, and joined his body with hers.
There was nothing gentle about it. And she met him halfway stroke for stroke as he pounded out his passions over and over again, for his pleasure…for hers. It was wild, crazy, intoxicating. And in the aftermath, one horrifying realization hit him—for the first time in his adult life, Zach had failed to use protection.
He was lost. He was in love. And Claudia had to leave.
Zach shoved away and slid from the bed. There was no choice. Already he hated himself for what he was about to do. He wouldn’t, he couldn’t look at her. Reaching for his clothes, Zach laid it all out.
"Start packing. You have a long drive ahead of you."
"And what do you intend for me to drive in?" she asked with a light laugh. "Phillip’s at work, and my car is in the shop being repaired. And even if it weren’t, I have a funeral to go to this afternoon."
Zach turned around. It was a mistake. She was propped up on her elbows gloriously displayed with nothing left to the imagination. He forced himself to look at her face. Another mistake. One eyebrow was arched. A cross between humor and challenge was in her blue velvet eyes.
"It’s over, Claudia. There’s nothing more for you here. I want you gone."
Claudia cocked her head to one side as if by doing so she could examine him more closely. He was afraid! Zach Taylor was afraid! But of what? What they had just shared? Or for her safety in this mixed up investigation?
If it was the former, Claudia understood it well. She had spent ten years fearful of any relationship. For her, the night had been an intense, genuine bonding of body and soul. There was no telling where this was going, but she knew it was good and wasn’t about to let it go until it had fulfilled its course naturally.
Had she not made this resolution, perhaps it would be her dressing with haste, ready to head for the hills. She wasn’t ready to say her good-byes to Zach, but neither was she going to corner him into admissions he was unwilling to make. In time, with patience, he would come to her.
But if it were the second fear…well, Claudia had a big surprise for Zach. They had come too far in this investigation to give up now. Like it or not, she intended to see this through to the end.
Peeling back the rumpled sheets, she draped her legs over the side of the bed. Using her toes, Claudia hooked up the edge of her robe from the floor, arched one long leg in a slow-motion tease, then pulled it on. Only then did she decide to face him. From the look in his dark brown eyes, her little exhibition had drawn his full attention.
"We’ve established the fact that Allison and Teddy were friends. We’ve established the fact that she is upset by his death. We’ve established the fact that apparently she is a victim of vicious spousal abuse. Knowing all those things, don’t you think she at least deserves the right to say her final good-bye at his funeral?"
Zach looked away.
Claudia pressed on. "I’ve given her that chance. She can’t go unless I take her. Her husband would never allow it. We can’t take that from her, Zach. We just can’t."
She walked on to shower and let him think. He wouldn’t protest her stand, she knew that. But she also knew that he would still insist she leave once the funeral was over. She’d give him that victory, but she had no intention of staying away no matter how big an argument it created. They had a job to do. They had a relationship to explore. And, dammit, they were going to do to both. He wanted to know the real Claudia, now he had found her. He was going to have to learn to deal with her.
Zach was gone by the time she came down the stairs fifteen minutes later. Claudia wasn’t surprised. He had delivered his ultimatum and expected her to follow through. Let him think he had won. Once lulled into a feeling of complacency, she’d show him the full force of her feelings.
She heard dishes rattling in the kitchen and found Vic meticulously dusting each cup, glass, and plate for fingerprints. His disguise this morning? Plumber.
"The neighbors are going to think this is the most run-down house on the block. Coffee or tea?"
"Coffee’s fine." He kept working.
"Were you able to get an angle on Hanson’s car yet?"
"As a matter of fact, a few people have indicated they saw damage before the accident with you. He passed it off as a fender-bender. It’s still not enough to elicit a search warrant. Right now it just looks like a big coincidence. And besides, what motive could he possibly have to involve himself with the Sinclairs to the extent of murder?"
"Maybe hitting Teddy was an accident."
He shook his head. "Nope. It was murder."
Claudia mulled that over. "Could he have been struck hours before he was dumped? That would eliminate Sinclair’s alibi."
"He wasn’t dead that long."
"He…uh…was alive when I found him."
Vic didn’t bother to look up. "I was wondering when you’d get around to telling me that. Yes, I know. Phillip told me. Anyway, that theory makes more sense than implicating Hanson. He just has no motive. No one’s that loyal to his commanding officer. Do I get that coffee now?"
"Sure…how’s it going there?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "We found several good prints in the back of Sunline’s car. Low on the seat and door. The same ones on the outside of one of the back doors."
"Have you found a match?"
"Hard to say at this point for sure. We’ll have to have them processed. Your friend did a good job here, though. Allison Sinclair’s print is the topmost on all of these dishes."
Claudia poured the coffee, then sat down to watch. "It’s hard to think of the poor thing, huddled in the back seat while her friend was killed. She was probably scared to death she was going to be next."
"If she’s been living under the umbrella of abuse all these years, she probably lives in fear of death every day." Vic tsked and shook his head. "It’s ironic, isn’t it? She’s afraid to stay, afraid to leave, and the first attempt to escape her fear is re-enforced by her rescuer being killed. You’ve got to wonder why she took the chance in the first place."
It wasn’t hard for Claudia to figure out. "Her baby. She wouldn’t want to subject her child to that lifestyle."
"You can bet she won’t try again."
"I don’t know. She was brave enough to chance it with Sunline. She might be again if the right person and opportunity approached her. The baby’s life will be more important to her than her own."
Vic turned around, mug clutched in his hand. "I’m beginning to think Zach’s right in sending you away. You try something crazy like trying to spirit Allison Sinclair out from under her husband’s nose and you’ll wind up dead, too."
Claudia took a slow sip of her coffee, then lifted her gaze to his. "First of all, Vic, I’m not a child to be shipped off, and Zach will find that out soon enough. Second, my conscience won’t allow me to sit back and not help her. I just need the chance."
To her surprise, he tilted his head and gave her a slight bow. "Then I’ll try to see you get it. Just keep me informed and I’ll watch your back." He raised his mug. "Here’s to the liberation of Allison Sinclair."
Claudia hesitated, then lifted her own mug in the toast. "To Allison’s liberation."
A strange ally, but then a week ago nothing in this world would have convinced her that she would be sleeping with Zach Taylor, much less married to him…and enjoying it.
* * *
For the first time since Zach took over as Legal Assistance Officer, he found he didn’t mind listening to the mundane problems of his clients. The problem was he had worked through the waiting room full of people in record time. Now there was nothing to keep his thoughts distracted.
"I never thought I’d say this, but today you’re a workaholic."
Zach looked up to find Aaron Howard hovering in the doorway. "Just thought I’d come in, put in a little extra time, and help you out."
Aaron plopped down onto the sofa. "Odd…Legal Assistance never seemed to appeal to you before. In fact, you used to be the first out the door whenever we had liberty. Is your investigation not going well? Or has shacking up with your nemesis taken its toll?"
Neither question was worth answering. Father Aaron was not going to wring a confession out of him today.
"Ingrate. See if I bust my chops helping you out again." He shoved away from the desk. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got other things to do."
Zach made it as far as just outside the entrance to the court room building before Colonel Scott swooped down upon him.
"What the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to take the week off and act like a happily married couple. You botch this investigation, and I’ll make damn sure you’re working as the General’s Aide."
"Sir, things have gotten a little more complicated than we expected."
"That’s what happens when you start uncovering the truth. Now get the hell out of here." He glanced beyond Zach’s shoulder. "Staff Sergeant Stuart, see if you can’t talk some sense into this brother-in-law of yours."
Zach inwardly groaned. Not Rowan, not now. With dread in his heart, he turned around. She stood there calmly appraising him, the baby bundled in a pouch before her. Colonel Scott walked into the building, leaving them alone.
"I came in to pick up my maternity leave papers," she told him. "Do you want to talk?"
