Home Is Where the Heat Is by Amelia James Page A

concept. The part that boggled my mind is going out . When Kurt walked in, I had to pin you down.” He winked. “Not that I’m complaining. What changed?”
    Nothing’s changed, but this time I’m taking you with me. “I’ve been restraining myself all week. I need to blow off some steam.”
    He tossed his cue stick on the table and threaded his fingers through her hair. “Oh hell, sweet thing, if that was you restrained, I can’t wait to turn you loose.”
    “Neither can I.” The stress of hiding and running had wound her up tighter than her first training bra. She uncrossed her arms and pressed her breasts into him, but the door jingled and in walked an attorney who’d been in court this week. Claire stomped on her impulse to duck and run, and slid back slowly so as not to draw attention to them.
    JT glanced over his shoulder at the woman in a suit similar to Claire’s. “A lawyer?”
    She bent over the table and nodded while pretending to line up a shot.
    He reached for her elbow, but when she snatched her arm away, he held up his hands. “Let’s slip out the door quietly so she won’t notice.”
    She watched the lawyer take a seat at the bar with her back to them. “I need to go home and get out of my work clothes.”
    “Yes, you do.” His fingers twitched as if itching to assist.
    “And into something less legal.” The desire to wear something scandalous bolstered her urge to flee. “Where should we meet?”
    “I’m going with you.”
    “You are not . Don’t you trust me?”
    JT laughed. “Not at all.”
    Claire shuddered as heads turned in their direction. “Cheese and… damn it!” She whacked his leg with the pool cue and ran out the door.
    ***
    “Woman!” JT’s shin throbbed as scrambled after her. Another chase? When will she learn I’ll always go after her? He jumped into his truck and guessed she was heading straight for home, so he took an alternate route, sped through a couple of yellow lights, and beat her there.
    She pulled into her garage and marched toward him as he ducked under the closing door. “Cheese and crackers! What if someone had seen us? You found my house without help. They’d think we’d been fooling around the whole time!”
    “Haven’t we?”
    “That’s not the point!” She sputtered and flung her purse at the interior door. “We still have to be careful. I know people in this neighborhood. Someone might—”
    He snatched her shoulders and clamped his mouth down on hers, plunging his tongue between her lips as he trapped her against the car.
    Claire whimpered and went silent as he dragged his hands down her back and cupped her ass, lifting her body into his rigid crotch. She gasped when he came up for air.
    He panted into her hair. “You worry too much.”
    “You talk too much.” She grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him down for more kissing. He melted into her, limb by limb, molding into her body like it was meant for him. Thick molten heat enveloped them, lighting a slow fuse that sparked at a leisurely pace.
    He leaned back and sank his hands into her silky hair. “Is this what you meant by fun?”
    She ran her fingertips down his chest. “Eventually, but I still want to go out.”
    Her patience is gonna kill me. “I thought we had to be careful.”
    A daring smile colored her cheeks. “People will be less likely to recognize me in the outfit I have in mind.”
    JT’s blood boiled. “I’d like to see that.”
    “Come on.” She collected her purse and unlocked the door into a dim hallway.
    “Do you ever turn the lights on?”
    She laughed and flipped a switch, but led him out of the light and directed him to the couch. “Wait here.”
    He sat down but got up again as soon as she slipped out of sight. Half-melted candles still decorated the living room. A few dirty dishes sat on the kitchen counter, but he ignored them and gazed out the sliding glass doors to the backyard. Couldn’t see much of anything in the dark other than a