Seeing him focused, I saw his eyes were no longer conflicted and remorseful. They were quicksilver still but affectionate, gazing at me like he gazed at me when I fancied he was thinking I was cute. Or at least I hoped it was that.

He liked me wearing my glasses. He’d told me that flat out. Said he never had a woman who wore glasses. He told me it was like stepping out with a sweet, sexy school teacher.

I’d never felt sexy, not in my life. Not until Jake.

“We’ll talk later, yeah?” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” I answered, hope budding in my heart at his look, his tone, his words.

“We’ll talk later, Tess. Yeah?” he somewhat repeated and I blinked.

“Yeah,” I repeated too.

“Promise me, babe.”

I stared at him not sure why he needed that. I didn’t play games with him, not at all, not even when Martha told me I should, repeatedly. Test the waters. Test him. Don’t be too available. Don’t let on how much I liked him.

But I was too old for that shit and I’d never had a man like Jake. There was no way I was going to f**k it up with games.

So now I didn’t get where he was going with his need for a promise.

But still, he asked and I’d give him anything he asked. Anything. Even from the very beginning.

“Promise,” I whispered.

He nodded.

Then he asked, “You sleep naked?”

A shiver I couldn’t quite read slithered over my skin. It wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t good.

“No,” I answered.

“Don’t start tonight,” he ordered, I stared at him and while doing it saw his eyes move over my face.

Then he leaned in, his hand not in the bed coming to cup the back of my head, he pulled me to him and kissed me hard and wet.

His mouth released mine but he only allowed me to pull back an inch before his hand still at the back of my head put pressure on to stop my retreat and his eyes locked with mine.

“We’ll talk later,” he whispered.

Then his hand disappeared because he disappeared.

Gone.

I listened to my front door close.

Then I collapsed back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

One could not say that Jake Knox was not a complicated man, he was. And although I knew him, I had no freaking clue.

But that whole scene was wild.

Then again, Jake – with his motorcycle boots, his bike, his beat up pickup, his old t-shirts that fit way too well, his faded jeans that fit better, his dark brown, longish, unruly hair, his silvery gray eyes that told a million stories without giving away a thing, his capacity to drink beer, down shots, eat hearty, howl at the moon and kiss so hard it was like he knew it was the last moment for every being on earth and he was going to make the most of it – was wild.

Being with Jake was like the ride I once took on a mechanical bull. You could not even begin to guess which way that thing would buck. All you could do was hold on as tight as you could and enjoy the ride for as long as you had it.

So I needed to cool it.

It would all be okay.

It would be okay.

I got up, put on underwear and a nightie, went to bed and turned off the light.

It took awhile for me to find sleep even after having a very, very sweet orgasm, one given to me by Jake, one I’d waited a long, long time to have and after him leaving after kissing me like it was the last moment on earth and him telling me there was more to us because we were going to talk.

But after I fell asleep, I woke when my front door was busted open, a large cadre of bulletproof vest wearing men surged into my house and minutes later, I was hauled to the Police Station for questioning.

Chapter One

Fucking Great Actress

The door to the interrogation room opened and a man wearing slacks, shirt, tie and ill-fitting sports jacket strolled in, eyes glued to me, manila folder in his hand.

He dropped the folder on the table I was sitting at and sat across from me.

I kept my eyes on him and, like I’d been doing since I’d been led in that room what felt like hours ago (and what I didn’t know actually was), I kept them away from the mirror where I’d seen enough cop shows on TV to know recording equipment and possibly police officers were watching.

“Mrs. Heller,” he said and I felt my heart skip at hearing that name.

“Ms. O’Hara,” I replied and his gaze didn’t leave mine.

“Sorry, ma’am?” he asked but he wasn’t sorry, I knew he wasn’t sorry.

“Ms. O’Hara, my name,” I answered and he nodded, still not releasing my eyes and I didn’t tear mine from his.

“You were Mrs. Heller,” he stated. “Do I have that right?”

“Yes,” I told him. “You have that right.”

“For ten years,” he went on.

I didn’t reply, just lifted my chin a little wondering what the hell was going on.

“Married to Damian Heller, is that correct?”

Uh-oh.

I wasn’t sure this was good.

“Yes, I was married to Damian Heller,” I agreed then enquired, “What’s this about?”

“Funny,” he said quietly.

I wasn’t thinking anything was funny including him weirdly saying the word “funny”.

“Funny?” I prompted.

“Funny you didn’t ask that first,” he observed. “Usually folks wanna know right off why they’re sittin’ in a room like this.”

I stared at him. Then I returned, “Well, seeing as you opened with the knowledge you didn’t even know my name, I thought it important to get that straight before we got started with whatever is going on here.”

I watched his eyes flare with annoyance as his mouth got tight.

Jerk.

“So,” I pushed, “would you mind telling me why I’m here?”

“There’s a few things we need to know.”

I lifted my brows. “And those would be?”

“Can you tell me if you’ve been in contact with your husband recently?” he asked.

Damn it all to hell. Damian. God!

My ex-husband. A pain in my ass. Would I never get rid of that man?

“Yes, I can tell you that I’ve been in contact with my ex- husband recently,” I answered.

“And what did you discuss?” he went on.

“We didn’t discuss anything except me asking him repeatedly to stop contacting me,” I replied.

He studied me. Then he asked, “So was this on the phone or did you meet?”

“On the phone,” I told him.