Cold Case Reopened by Caridad Piñeiro

Author:Caridad Piñeiro [Piñeiro, Caridad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-01-09T19:46:04+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Jackson lifted a brow. “Sketch me?”

She mimicked drawing on paper with her hands. “It helps me relax.”

It might help her relax, but being the object of her attention would do little for his peace of mind. Still, it had been a challenging day for her, far more than for him, so if it would help her, he’d suffer it.

“If it’ll help.” He pointed toward his living room. “Mind if I start a fire?” he said, even though between the bonfire and the shed destruction he’d almost had enough of flames and wood smoke. But, as night had fallen, a chill had settled in the air and in him.

One of her dark brows flew upward, as if questioning his sanity, but seeing that he was serious, she acquiesced with a tilt of her head. “I’ll get my sketch pad and pencils.”

She rushed out and, if Jackson was reading her right, she was anything but relaxed. Despite that, he intended to go along with her request, no matter how dangerous it might be to his self-control.

He marched to the living room, determined to get this over with as quickly as possible. Since he always kept the fireplace ready, it took little time for the tinder to catch and spread flames to the logs neatly stacked above it. Much like Rhea’s dad, he was also a stickler for being orderly and doing the right thing. Which meant, no matter how tempting Rhea might be, he had to control himself.

At the wall of windows facing the deck, he hit a switch to engage the privacy blinds built into the panels. He didn’t normally use them, preferring to see the woods and stars beyond, but the last thing he wanted was for a colleague doing his rounds to see him modeling for Rhea. He’d never live it down with his friends at the station.

She returned to the living room with her sketch pad and pencils, and took a spot in a chair directly opposite his big leather couch. “Would you mind stretching out there?” she asked, peering at the couch.

He stretched out there often after a hard day at work, the fireplace lit and the television turned on to one of the fix-it channels or a baseball game. But doing so for her...

Sucking in a breath, he lay down and spread out on the couch, his toes touching one arm while he tucked a pillow against the other arm and set his head down on it.

Half-facing her, he tried to inject comfort into his voice as he said, “Here I am. Draw away.”

A half smile, the smile of a siren luring men, graced her lips while she flipped open the pad and grabbed a pencil. “Would you mind...?” She didn’t finish, only did a little wiggle of her finger that communicated her wishes.

Despite being filled with trepidation, he pulled off his T-shirt. She rose and shut off the light on the table beside him, leaving only the firelight for illumination. It created intimacy in the room.

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