“No, I didn’t.”

“I don’t understand.”

Jackson sighed, wishing she’d stayed curled in his arms a while longer. “I don’t have any protection and it’s too soon.”

Her eyebrows came together. “Too soon?”

He kept rubbing her back, willing her to understand. “You’re in a vulnerable position right now and feeling emotional. I didn’t want to take advantage.”

The flush of sated desire was quickly turning into anger. He could see it in the way her entire body stiffened. Her voice was low and controlled but throbbed with hurt. “Let me get this straight. It would be taking advantage of me to sleep with me, but it’s not taking advantage to have me strip naked and make me come outside on a patio chair.” Her voice got louder with each word and he winced. When she put it like that, it sounded bad.

“I just wanted to make you feel good.”

Stiffly, she climbed off his lap and grabbed her clothing, holding it in front of her. “I don’t need your pity.”

“Pity,” he yelled. “I don’t feel pity for you. If anything, I feel pity for me. I’m the one with the raging hard-on.”

She sniffed, tilting her chin up as she glared down at him. “That’s your own fault. I think you’re just too afraid to be vulnerable. It’s okay for me to be totally exposed to you, but you don’t want to risk the same in return.”

Jackson froze in place. Was she right? Was he afraid to risk opening himself up to her so soon? No! No, he assured himself. He was being thoughtful, trying to be sensitive, and look where it got him. “That’s not true. I wanted to touch you, to taste you, more than I’ve ever wanted any woman. And I’ll always be grateful for the gift you just gave me here. The last thing I wanted to do was to make love to you here tonight and have you regret it in the morning.”

Uncertainty filled her face as they simply stared at one another. Finally, it was Emerald who broke the connection between them. “I’m going to bed.” Without another word, she hurried into the house. He caught a glimpse of her lush ass before the door closed behind her with a resounding thump.

Jackson slumped back in the chair and closed his eyes, wondering exactly what had gone wrong. He didn’t know how long he just sat there thinking about everything, but by the time he dragged himself out of the chair, darkness had claimed the land. He tugged his jeans up around his waist but didn’t bother to zip or button them as he followed her inside, closing and locking the door for the night.

He strode over the closed door of Emerald’s room and laid his hand on the door. He stood there for long seconds, trying to decide what to do. Sighing, he dropped his hand, turned and walked away. His footsteps were heavy as he climbed the stairs and headed for the bathroom and a cold shower. It was going to be a long night.


Emerald lay curled in a ball on top of her bed as she listened to Jackson finally come into the house. He’d been out there so long she almost got up to check on him. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about what had happened between them.

Her body was still thrumming with the aftereffects of her orgasm and she squirmed to get more comfortable beneath the thin sheet that was draped over her naked body. She hadn’t been able to bear the thought of putting on a nightgown. Her skin still felt extremely sensitive. Even the sheet was almost too much.

She’d let down her guard and made herself vulnerable to Jackson while he’d held part of himself back from her. Maybe she should be glad at least one of them had some common sense. She hadn’t even thought about protection and there was just no excuse for that, especially not in this day and age.

She’d felt his presence outside her bedroom door. Could almost feel his indecision as he hovered there. She’d had to bite her lip to keep from calling out to him. Part of her wanted to comfort him and another part of her was warning that he could hurt her. She could easily lose her heart to him if she wasn’t careful.

When she’d finally sensed him leave, she didn’t know what she felt exactly. Slightly bereft. Partially relieved. She was a mess of emotions. With all the other troubles she had, a romantic entanglement was the last thing she needed. It had been an incredible experience, one she’d never forget, but it couldn’t happen again. After all, she wasn’t going to be here that long.

And why that thought depressed her, she didn’t know. Her life was in New York, not here. She heard water running through the pipes and knew that Jackson was taking a cold shower. She could use one of those herself. But she didn’t move. She just didn’t have the energy. The morning would be time enough to shower.

The water cut off and she thought she heard his footsteps as he walked to his bedroom. Then there was silence. With her window wide open, she heard what she thought might be an owl. It was so quiet here compared to New York.

She yawned and closed her eyes. It had been a long, strange day.

Chapter Seven

Emerald sighed deeply as the farmhouse faded from view.

“That was a deep sigh. Anything wrong?”

She turned to find Erin glancing her way, concern on the other woman’s face. “No, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

The truth was she’d hardly slept at all. She’d drifted off to sleep but had spent the entire night waking up almost as soon as sleep claimed her. Strange noises had made her heart pound, and when she hadn’t been thinking about her stalker, she’d been imagining Jackson naked upstairs in his bed. And that thought was more than enough to keep a woman awake all night long.

“You’ll settle in.” Emerald wished she felt as confident as Erin sounded. “That is, if Jackson doesn’t scare you off.”

“What do you mean?” Oh God, did Erin suspect what had gone on between her and Jackson last night? Her heart began to pound. Had she seen something? They’d been naked together on the back porch, of all places. Well, she’d been naked. Jackson had still been partly dressed.

Erin just laughed. “I figured if the mess and Jackson’s grumpiness hasn’t driven you off yet, it’s not going to.”

Emerald took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. Of course no one knew what happened last night. It was her imagination working overtime this morning. She hadn’t been sure how she was going to face Jackson this morning, so she’d gotten up early, made a pot of coffee and cooked breakfast. When Jackson came downstairs, she’d served up bacon and eggs and then hurried upstairs to start cleaning.

It had worked for the most part. He’d left her alone until just before he left the house at seven o’clock. She’d sensed him behind her and had turned off the vacuum cleaner. The look he’d given her had been filled with a combination of exasperation, lust and some other emotion she couldn’t quite place. But there had been a distinct tenderness in his blue eyes when he’d placed his hands on her shoulders.

“You can’t hide from me or from what’s happening between us forever, Emerald.” He’d rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip, making it tingle. “We don’t have to deal with it until you’re ready, so there’s no need to hide from me.”

She’d bristled at the suggestion that she was hiding until she realized that it was the truth. She hadn’t wanted to face him last night and that was cowardly. Still, she’d felt the need to deny it. “I’m not hiding.”

“Good. Then we don’t have a problem, do we?” He’d bent down and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. Her nipples had tightened immediately and she’d parted her lips, but he was already backing away. “Good morning.” His husky voice had made her shiver, but she’d quickly shaken off the sexual lethargy that had threatened to descend upon her.

“Did you go over the grocery list that I left on the table?” She desperately needed to get things back on a businesslike setting.

He’d stared at her as if he knew exactly what she was doing, but thankfully he didn’t call her on it. “Yeah, I checked it. Erin will let you know if there’s anything else you need. After this trip you should be able to handle it on your own. Just tell them to put it on the farm tab. With Erin there to vouch for you, there should be no problem. I’ll call in to the store later and tell them that you can charge groceries there until I tell them differently.” He’d hesitated, but then a determined look settled over his face and he squared his shoulders. “I don’t know how much money you have or if you need anything. If you do, just get it and charge it to the farm.”

Once again his generosity had overwhelmed her. She’d opened her mouth to thank him, but he was already plowing ahead.

“Don’t get all riled up. I know you’re proud and you’ve got money that you can’t access. Think of it as an advance on your salary.”

Emerald had almost smiled when she’d realized that he’d expected her to argue with him. “Okay.”

That had seemed to surprise him. “Okay. Good.” He’d dragged his hand through his hair as he puffed out a deep breath. She realized that he wasn’t any more comfortable than she was this morning. He’d just been hiding it better. “Did you make the list of names I asked you?”

She had. When she hadn’t been able to fall back to sleep early this morning, she’d turned on her light and made a list as he’d asked, even remembering to add her investigator’s name and phone number at the top. It was similar to the one she’d given the police and Dane Hatcher, except that list hadn’t included information about the investigator himself. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she’d pulled out the folded list. Jackson had taken it from her, his fingers barely grazing hers. But that simple touch had been enough to set her heart racing.