KIDNAPPED, A Romantic Suspense Novel by Suzanne Ferrell Page A

leg. She drew him nearer.
    Yes. Just another minute. He’ll be inside .
    "Nyet! Nyet! I won't tell you where Jake is. He is my friend."
    They froze.
    Sami's eyes popped open. They met his crystal blue ones. "Is he awake?” she whispered. "What if he heard us.” Cold reason flooded her senses. She tried to push him off her.
    "Wait. Don't.” He gripped her arms, and held her in place. "I can't move just yet. Wait one second."
    "We can't do this. Not here.” She felt like crying. "Get off me!"
    "Just one minute, Sami.” He peeked over the couch. "He's thrashing in bed. I think he’s asleep."
    "His fever could be up.” She lay beneath him, his chest rubbing her nipples with each labored breath they took. The tip of his erection teased her with its heat. "I need to get up. I need to go to him."
    “Okay, okay.” He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. The muscles in his arms quivered from the effort to keep his upper body pushed away from hers. For a moment she feared he meant to push the issue.
    He dragged in a deep breath. "God, how do married people do this?” Slowly, he released her hands, sliding backward. Gripping his pants in one hand, he eased himself back into them.
    Sami struggled to sit with her back to the couch. He handed her T-shirt to her. A blush filled her cheeks as she slipped it on. Her eyes didn’t meeting his as she mumbled, "Thank you."
     
    Without another word to her, he stumbled to the door, letting himself out. He wasn't about to embarrass them both further by coming in his jeans in the house.
    Outside, he took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill his lungs and cool his need. He couldn't believe what had almost happened! For the first time since he'd been a boy looking at his first playboy centerfold, he’d almost lost control.
    Who was he kidding? If Nicky hadn't called out, he would have buried himself, unsheathed into Samantha's hot body.
    Never had he been with a woman without protection. It was one of his personal rules. Wear a condom, no matter what. But with Samantha, a woman he respected greatly even though he’d known her for such a short time, he’d almost broken that rule.
    Jake ran his hand over his face, then through his hair. His body still hummed with desire.
    The door behind him opened.
    "Jake?”
    "Go to bed, Samantha."
    "Are you okay?”
    The hesitation in her voice, the concern it showed almost undid him. His manhood hardened further. "Find a bed behind a door and lock it," he growled out between clenched teeth. "Now!"
    Silence filled the icy night air for several moments.
    "Don't stay out in the cold too long. I don't need to nurse you with pneumonia, as well as Nicky.” The hurt in her voice cut through him sharper than the Kreshnins’ bullet had.
     
    The door slammed behind him.
    He leaned his head against the cold wooden porch beam.
    This was not good!
    * * *
    Sami read the thermometer, one hundred degrees, even. The medicine seemed to be doing its job. Replacing the thermometer in the holder, she put it in her purse. Still shaking from her reactions both to Jake’s touch and his rejection, she pulled off her shoes. Grabbing her quilt, she crawled into bed with Nicky, curling around him, like she had so many times with Aimee.
    Go find a bed behind a locked door.
    Well, she didn't need a locked door to protect her from him. A sick child could always be a barrier between a man and woman. She’d learned that from personal experience.
    A few minutes passed. Her anger slowly eased. As her eyes started to drift shut, the front door opened again. Sami's body and mind came instantly alert. She watched Jake bank the fire and turn all the lights down low. He stood by the bed, looking at her and Nicky.
    "How is he?” Jake’s deep voice re-ignited shivers of desire throughout her body.
    "His fever is down, but not quite gone."
    For another few minutes he stood looking intently at her. Passion still smoldered in his eyes, but just like the fire, he’d