Jack resisted the urge to slam the door behind them. He also resisted the urge to plow
his fists into Deke’s face—but that took a lot more effort.
What in the hell is wrong with me?
“Okay, whatever it is, spill it,” Deke demanded, sitting in the chair beside the
computer workstation.
Jack didn’t pretend to misunderstand.
He sighed and plopped down into his own chair. Where should he start? The tangled
tale only got more complicated with every minute that passed. Revenge, lust, attempted
murder, sex that didn’t just rock his world, but rocked his soul—all in the last two days.
But like every story, Jack figured he’d better start at the beginning.
“My ex-wife was having a fling with another man before she left.”
“You mentioned that once after about your sixth hurricane that weekend in New
Orleans.”
“His name was Brandon Ross.”
Deke frowned. “Brandon Ro— the Brandon that Morgan is engaged to?”
Jack rested his elbows on his knees and peered up at his friend. “The very same.”
“I’d say it’s a huge coincidence that you wound up with your enemy’s woman under
your protection and under your roof— and unless I’m totally off-base here—in your bed.
But I know you too well to believe in a coincidence that big.”
“I planned it,” Jack confirmed. “Everything to the last detail. I was going to seduce
her, then fuck her, and rub that fact in Brandon’s face, the way he rubbed it in mine.”
Deke whistled. “Ballsy, man. Crappy but ballsy. So what happened?”
Jack stood, paced the small windowless room. When had it gotten so damn small in
here? It had never bothered him before.
He turned his back on Deke. Sighed. Fisted his hands. Merde, he felt jumpy.
No, it was more than that. Anger—at Brandon for starting this shit, at himself for
feeling the desire to get back at his former pal being dangerously usurped by the desire
to have Morgan under him again. Anger that Morgan had, all night long, cheated with
perfect bliss on her fiancé and appeared not to care a single bit. Yet she’d still managed
to hold back that…something inside her. Damn it, her body, her face, told him she still
hadn’t fully fucking submitted.
Then he had to endure Deke’s teasing and flirtation with her. That just equaled
wanting to rip the big blond giant’s head off.
To top it all off, there was his desire… Jack swallowed against the need bubbling in
his gut. He’d been inside Morgan less than four hours ago, and already he was like a
starving man, panting, salivating. Ready to fight to taste her again. The need raged, like
he had no control. It was unacceptable…and undeniable.
“I don’t know,” Jack said finally. “It just… It’s not as simple as I thought.”
“Did you become her stalker to get her where you wanted her?”
“You know me better than that. I wouldn’t have called you to profile a pretend
stalker. I’d just planned to lure Morgan to Lafayette for an afternoon. Nail her enough to
persuade her that Brandon wasn’t her one and only, then let her go. There’s a real
stalker, and when he shot at her in a crowd in broad daylight, she was fucking terrified. I
brought her here.”
“That makes sense, except this possessive thing. It’s not like you. In the past, we’ve
shared—”
“Don’t even think it,” Jack growled. “Morgan is very reserved. Besides, this is a
woman running for her life, not some kitten one of us picked up in a sex club.”
“None of that has stopped you from fucking her, though, has it?”
“Drop it, damn it. Now!”
“Okey dokey.” Deke heeded his warning growl with a tilted smile and held up his
hands in a show of surrender. “All lascivious thoughts of the luscious redhead in the
next room are gone.”
Jack rolled his shoulders, trying to release his tension. Damn, a night with Morgan
had him completely tied up in knots and his head screwed on wrong. He wished he could
banish his lascivious thought of her half as easily as Deke supposedly had. It wasn’t
happening. He wanted more of Morgan. And he wanted her now.
“My question is, why the jealous lover routine?” Deke skewered him with a piercing
stare, as if he knew every damn thought screaming through his head. “Unless, of course,
you really are jealous.”
Damn! The sad reality was that the green gremlin was feasting on his gut. No
question about it. He had shared a few women with Deke before. Good times were had
by all. Repeating that with Morgan… the thought conflicted him. An instinct told him