Soul Deep by Pamela Clare Page B

of himself for seeing both of these things before
noticing how sweet and sexy she looked in her silk nightgown.
    You are the soul of decency and decorum,
West.
    She kept her face averted, as if to hide her
distress from him. “I’m fine. I’m just having a bit of a rough
night.”
    “You’re having nightmares again, aren’t you?”
He’d worried that tonight’s shooting would trigger her again.
    She nodded, her chin quivering. “Every time I
close my eyes ... ”
    “It was selfish of me to ask you to stay here
with all of this going on. I should have taken you back to Denver
today when the highway reopened.”
    She pressed her fingertips to his lips to
silence him. “Please don’t say that. I’ve had a great time.”
    “Give me a few minutes to get washed up, and
I’ll make you my special remedy for sleepless nights.”
    “I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”
    He reached out, ran his knuckles over her
cheek. “Just say, ‘Thank you.’”
    “Thank you.” She smiled.
    He hit the shower, brushed his teeth, then
dressed in a T-shirt and pair of sweatpants and walked to the
kitchen, where he found Janet reading yesterday’s paper, a silk
robe covering her nightgown, her feet bare.
    She looked up. “How did it go tonight?”
    While he heated milk in a saucepan on the
stove, he brought her up to date. “Luke identified Kip from a photo
lineup. Taylor says they’re going to bring Kip in tomorrow morning.
As soon as they get a warrant, they’ll search his place for
firearms. I wouldn’t have thought him capable of this, but I guess
you never know.”
    “Why did you fire him?”
    “He had a drinking problem. He never got
violent, but he did have a hard time presenting himself for work in
the morning. We gave him a few warnings. I even gave him time off
to go to alcohol treatment. But a few weeks ago, he missed his
shift again. I had to draw the line somewhere.”
    “Was he resentful about being fired?”
    “Not that I could tell. But enough already. I
don’t want you worrying about any of this.” Jack took the mug from
the microwave, sprinkled a bit of nutmeg into the milk. “Now we’re
ready for the secret ingredient.”
    “Is that secret ingredient some form of
booze?” Her lips curved into a smile.
    “Damn it, how did you know? It must be your
special agent training.”
    She laughed. “Bourbon was the secret
ingredient in your chili. Hard cider was the secret ingredient in
your stew. Let’s just say I made an educated guess.”
    “I feel transparent, exposed.” He got down a
bottle of Aberfeldy, poured out a shot, and stirred it into the
warm milk. “It’s bedtime. Let’s get back to your room.”
    She pointed to the mug, confusion on her
pretty face. “Shouldn’t I drink that concoction first?”
    He shook his head. “You’re going to be asleep
thirty seconds after you drink this, so unless you want to sleep on
the floor ... ”
    She gave him a look that said she didn’t
believe him but grabbed her cane, got to her feet, and started down
the hallway.
    When they reached her room, she slipped off
her bathrobe and sat on the edge of the bed, staring skeptically at
the mug in his hand.
    He handed her the mug. “Drink it as fast as
you can.”
    She took a sip, made a face, shuddered. “Oh,
God! That’s awful !”
    “I didn’t say it would taste good.
Drink.”
    She took a breath, clearly gathering her
resolve, then swallowed the drink in several deep gulps and
shuddered. “Oooh, God!”
    He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m right down
the hall if you need me. You know which room is mine, right?”
    “Yes.” She looked up at him, her gaze slowly
losing focus, then lay back on her pillows. “But Jack...”
    “Yeah?” He drew the blankets and quilt up
over her.
    She caught one of his hands with her much
smaller one, her eyes drifting shut. “Can’t you stay? Not for sex,
though I like the thought of having sex with you. It’s just that I
don’t think I’ll ... have