Double Dare Part 16

"You've come a long way from then, huh?"

"To say the least," Audra replied with a roll of her eyes.

"So, you seemed a little frazzled when I picked you up. Is work always this crazy for you?" he asked, changing the subject. He needed to nail down those initials. It was better to focus on the case than on the fact that Audra was the sweetest woman he knew wrapped up in the s.e.xiest packaging he'd ever seen. d.a.m.ned if this wasn't a confusing night.

"This is way overboard on the crazy times. Things are definitely not business as usual for me," Audra told him. "With Natasha in China and all the complications we've run into, I've been stuck with a lot more responsibility for the boutique than normal. I'd like to say I'm handling it well, but that'd be a total lie."

Perfect opening to grill her on the China connection.

"I'm sure you're doing great," Jesse heard himself saying instead. She seemed so a.s.sured in most things, it was weird to hear her sound less than confident.

"No. Not great. Barely decent. If it was just the boutique, I'd be fine. Or just the fall deadline. But now there are custom designs, and my own special project."

Special project? As in the triad?

"What kind of project?"

She shot him a look and pursed her lips as if she were trying to decide if she was going to share or not. He tried to look trustworthy and encouraging.

"It's kind of, well, personal."

"Audra, I've had my hand down your panties. I think we can share personal information, don't you?"

She laughed, but he could tell she was surprised at the a.n.a.logy. What? She didn't think s.e.x was personal? Special?

Jesse vowed then, when they had s.e.x-and once he helped her straighten out her life, they d.a.m.ned well would be having s.e.x-he'd make sure it felt both personal and and special. special.

"Well," she said, for the first time since he'd known her, her tone shy, "I've been sketching up some new designs. I call this line Twisted Knickers, Twisted Knickers, mostly because that's what will happen when Natasha sees it, get her panties all twisted." mostly because that's what will happen when Natasha sees it, get her panties all twisted."

"I don't get it? You're the designer, right? So that's your job."

"Technically, my job is to design lingerie in keeping with Simply Sensual's target market," Audra said, her dry tone making him laugh. "In case you didn't notice, the boutique caters to the sweeter side of s.e.x. These designs are anything but sweet."

"Is that a problem?"

He caught Audra's shrug from the corner of his eye.

"It could be. I mean, it's reaching a point that I have to make a choice. I love working with Natasha, and she gave me my start. But the more I work on these, the more I want...need to see them realized. If she won't go for them, I'm going to have to find another outlet."

From the sound of it, that was a bad thing.

Jesse tried to figure where this might fit in with the triad and his case. No matter how he replayed her words, they didn't seem to have any deeper meaning.

Her voice, normally so upbeat and sensual, drooped with exhaustion. Jesse looked over to see her leaning her head against the window with her eyes at half-mast.

"You must be worn out. Not just worrying about the designs, but all the rest of the boutique business. Tiring, huh?"

"Yeah. I wish Sharon could have come in to help more, but she hasn't been feeling good. Add keeping that from Natasha to my list of irritating duties."

"Why would you be hiding this person's illness from your boss?"

"Sharon is her aunt. She's a total sweetie, a great lady. She'd actually sold Natasha the boutique and Simply Sensual a couple years back when she was diagnosed with M.S. She usually clerks in the boutique a few days a week."

Audra went on to explain about the health issues Sharon was dealing with and how crazy the work week had been as a result, but Jesse barely heard her.

Sharon? Natasha's aunt, as in Sharon Stover? Sharon Stover? S.S.? Jesse reviewed all the information he'd ama.s.sed on Simply Sensual and Audra, and had a giant S.S.? Jesse reviewed all the information he'd ama.s.sed on Simply Sensual and Audra, and had a giant aha aha moment. moment.

That money wasn't connected to the Larson/Du Bing Li case. Not at all. It was simple coincidence. There was absolutely nothing to connect Audra to this case, other than the fact that Dave Larson had supposedly given her something in the club and that large sum of money in her account. Now that he knew the money was clean, that meant Audra was, too. He felt like yelling his triumph out the window of the car. He felt like pulling off to the side of the road, getting out and dancing on the hood. More than anything else, he felt like grabbing Audra to hug her close and kiss her. case. Not at all. It was simple coincidence. There was absolutely nothing to connect Audra to this case, other than the fact that Dave Larson had supposedly given her something in the club and that large sum of money in her account. Now that he knew the money was clean, that meant Audra was, too. He felt like yelling his triumph out the window of the car. He felt like pulling off to the side of the road, getting out and dancing on the hood. More than anything else, he felt like grabbing Audra to hug her close and kiss her.

She was innocent. Oh, sure, there were still a few i i's to dot and t t's to cross, but this information, along with his gut instinct, was enough to a.s.sure him she was one hundred percent innocent.

Of any crimes, at least.

AUDRA relaxed in the pa.s.senger seat of her car and watched Jesse navigate the streets to her apartment. relaxed in the pa.s.senger seat of her car and watched Jesse navigate the streets to her apartment.

This had been one interesting date. Not one thing they'd done had fit into her realm of experience. First, she'd taken him to her childhood home. He'd watched her give in to sentiment and sing to an old man. Then she'd spilled her guts, not just about her childhood, but her design dreams.

Then? If that all hadn't been weird enough, they'd gone to the movies. A romantic comedy, complete with an extra large b.u.t.tered popcorn, soda and, of all things, M&M's.

"You know," she told him in a contemplative tone, "I don't think I've gone to the movies with a guy since I was ten years old."

"Your dad?"

"Nah, a date. But that's the last one that took me to the movies." She laughed at the mock glare he sent her.

"After your barside serenade, I couldn't think of a lot of options," he said defensively.

"Really? I can think of a bunch. Clubbing. s.e.x. A fast drive to the ocean. s.e.x. Music at one of the jazz clubs. s.e.x."

"I think I'm seeing a theme there."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. They're all things that would keep us up late."

Audra snorted. "Especially the s.e.x."

"That's an all-nighter for sure," he agreed.

His husky tone sent shivers down her back. Audra could picture them, wrapped around each other's naked bodies as they tore up the sheets. From his clenched jaw, so could Jesse.

"So what's wrong with an all-nighter?" she asked.

"Besides the good boy thing?" he asked, reminding her of his stupid getting-to-know-her plan. "You're exhausted and we both have to work tomorrow."

Audra gaped.

"You'd put work before s.e.x?" The concept simply boggled the mind.

Jesse started to say something, then shot her a glance. He shrugged and pulled into her apartment complex's parking lot.

"Yeah," he admitted quietly as he parked in the slot she'd pointed out. "I mean, in some cases, work has to come first."

Audra shook her head. Maybe it was the stress of the week, or the unfamiliar s.e.xual frustration, but she had to force herself to hold back her snarky retort.

What the h.e.l.l was she doing with a guy who put work before s.e.x? A good boy who was more into having dialogue than getting horizontal? A guy who didn't think relationships were something to bulls.h.i.t his way out of?

"Look," she began, about to let her remark fly.

Jesse shot her a surprisingly effective look, making her shift back in the seat and shut her mouth.

"Sometimes you have to do what's right," Jesse said. "Like your designs. Even though you have a sweet job, a nice t.i.tle, you're willing to take a risk with something you value. You're ready to risk that to be true to yourself. To your vision and what you believe in."

All she could do was stare. Snarky retort forgotten, Audra tried to calm her suddenly racing pulse. Had anyone ever seen her so clearly, understood her so well? And still wanted to be with her? Not that she had some poor-misunderstood-me thing going. Quite the opposite. She was an open book. But people tended to only be interested in reading certain chapters. In connecting with certain aspects of her. Her friends were the perfect example, wanting her to fit their vision, rather than accepting that she was too much to fit in some easy definition. Natasha wanted her to fit her version, too.

But Jesse looked at her as if she were his every s.e.xual fantasy just waiting to come true. And he listened. Not just to her, but he'd sat for hours this evening listening to stories about about her. As if he couldn't get enough. her. As if he couldn't get enough.

Audra had to swallow twice to get past the lump in her throat.

"You say that like it's a good thing," she joked, trying to distract herself from the unfamiliar feeling of vulnerability.

At his raised brow, she shrugged. "I suppose it is, although this is exactly the kind of thing my friend, Isabel, lectures me on. I mean, who is crazy enough to finally grab their dream, only to throw it away because it's not all that and and fries on the side?" fries on the side?"

"A woman who believes in herself enough to fight to make sure that dream is exactly what she wants it to be. A woman strong enough to hold out for what she's worth," he suggested.

Never one to doubt her self-worth on the surface, his suggestion still made her frown. Was that why she was hesitating? Did she really believe in herself? She believed in her s.e.xuality. Her body. Her ability to bring a man to his knees and have him beg. And she believed in her talent as a designer.

Didn't she?

Jesse shut off the ignition and turned to face her. He traced the back of a finger down her chin and leaned closer. Close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek. She could see the banked heat in his eyes.

Yum. An answering fire sparked in her belly. He presented the perfect distraction from her neurotic soul-searching.

Not willing to wait and see if he'd move on the desire so clear in his eyes, she did it herself. With a little growl, Audra leaned forward and took Jesse's mouth with hers.

She slid her tongue over his lower lip, then nibbled at the delicious pillow of flesh. She felt him relax, the surprised tension leaving his body as she ma.s.saged his shoulder.

Hmm, relaxation was never her goal in a kiss. As sweet as this was, Audra decided she was gonna have to kick it up a notch.

With that in mind, she turned up the heat. An all-out s.e.xual a.s.sault of tongue, teeth and lips, she used every skill at her disposal as a self-professed kissing expert.

d.a.m.ned if his body didn't tense right back up again. She grinned against his mouth in satisfaction, then gave herself over to the kiss.

His moan of appreciation was m.u.f.fled by the sound of blood rushing through her head. Maybe it was the pent-up antic.i.p.ation. Maybe it was the edgy attraction that'd been building for the last week, or the dreams. Or even the phone s.e.x. Whatever it was, just the touch of Jesse's lips beneath hers had Audra primed, wet and ready to explode.

"We seem to be making a habit of getting naughty in my car," she said with a breathless laugh as he trailed his lips down her throat.

"It's that voyeurism factor combined with a safety net," he murmured, his lips tracing a delicious pattern down to her collarbone.

"Safety?"

"Yeah." He pulled back to grin at her. His hair was all finger-mussed so that a long black strand trailed down his forehead in a way that made her heart melt. "After all, this d.a.m.ned car is too small to really get carried away."

"Oh, I don't know. I'll bet you do pretty well in tight s.p.a.ces," Audra purred. Then she laughed and leaned back. Detecting weakness, she scanned his face. He was turned on, for sure. But he still had that good boy glint in his eyes.

Could her bad girl self overcome his good boy reticence? She'd put money on it.

Audra leaned forward to brush that s.e.xy strand of hair off his forehead and gave Jesse a long look from under her lashes.

"I suppose you're right. It's probably time for both of us to be getting into bed."

She watched his throat move as he swallowed and hid her grin. Excitement warred with relief. She wanted Jesse like crazy, but there was more to her excitement than simple wanting. She was grateful to know she hadn't lost her s.e.xual mojo, but there was more to her relief than simple ego.

Bottom line? She wanted Jesse like she'd never wanted any man before. And since she didn't know what to do about it, she'd go with her fallback answer. Seduce him into a puddle of l.u.s.t, and have her wicked way with him.

"I'll walk you to your door," he offered.

Smiling her agreement, Audra waited for him to come around and open the door before she slid from the car. As she stood, she made sure her b.r.e.a.s.t.s brushed his chest. Her breath caught at the delicious sensation. The dark desire in his eyes was gratifying thanks for her effort.

She led the way to her apartment, s.e.xual energy zinging between them like an electrical arc. She had it all figured out.

She'd open the door, give him enough time to clear the threshold, then slam the door shut and pin him up against the wall.

Hot, wall-banging s.e.x. What better way to see how high he rated on the o.r.g.a.s.m scale?

11.

JESSE TRIED TO FOCUS on something other than the hypnotic sway of Audra's hips as she led the way to her front door. Even though he knew, both instinctively and with the new evidence, she was innocent-at least of the involvement with the triad-she was still off-limits. Until he'd come clean, told her the truth, he couldn't give in to his raging desire. on something other than the hypnotic sway of Audra's hips as she led the way to her front door. Even though he knew, both instinctively and with the new evidence, she was innocent-at least of the involvement with the triad-she was still off-limits. Until he'd come clean, told her the truth, he couldn't give in to his raging desire.

Nope. Like he'd told Audra, he was a good boy. He had control. He wasn't ruled by l.u.s.t.

Audra reached her door and pulled keys out of a tiny purse. The look she tossed over her shoulder, pure temptation combined with the promise that she could make his every dream come true, sent all the blood in his brain south. So much for control.

Clearly reading his struggle, Audra giggled. The sound was both sultry and sweet, filled with heat and delight. It summed her up perfectly.

Jesse realized, in that moment, he was lost. Body, heart and soul, he was hers.

Without a word, she pushed the door open and took his hand. Other than an impression of flash and color, he barely noticed the interior. His attention completely focused on Audra.