No Ordinary Man. Suzanne Brockmann

in an approximate facsimile of a smile. This was not a man to whom a broad, heartfelt smile was a natural expression. It was strange that Lenny should hire him as a bartender. He normally liked retired bouncers—big, tall men with biceps the size of her thigh. Either that, or Lenny hired out-of-work stand-up comics. This Pete was obviously neither.

      He wasn’t skinny, but he was no Arnold Schwarzenegger. As for his sense of humor…well, he was no barrel of laughs, either. There was something strange about him, and it was more than just the way he always seemed to watch her—after all, she was a performer. People were supposed to watch her.

      Adjusting her microphone, Jess began to play a soft, soothing instrumental. She closed her eyes and before too long, she lost herself in the music.

      HIS BODY WAS HUMMING. Every nerve was stretched tight, taut, ready to snap.

      He couldn’t have her.

      She was singing. Her beautiful, rich voice washed over him. It should have been calming, peaceful—instead it tore like barbs into his already sensitized skin. And the sound of the applause cut through him like a knife to his brain.

      But he couldn’t leave.

      Not with the stage lights making her silky dark hair gleam. Not when she looked out over the quiet audience and sang directly to him. For him. She had to be singing for him. He knew that she was.

      He couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t stay. He just sat, feeling the rage building, boiling in his veins.

      Chapter Four

      It was after one o’clock before Jess put her guitar in the trunk of her car.

      The parking lot was nearly empty, and inside the Pelican Club the lights were going off, one by one.

      Rob was carrying Kelsey, and he gently put the sleeping child into the back seat and fastened the seat belt around her. He backed out of the car, careful not to hit his head, and quietly shut the door.

      This wasn’t the way Jess had imagined their evening out would end. They had separate cars—and hers had a sleeping child in the back seat. Odder yet was the fact that if they said good-night here and both went home, they’d end up back at the same house.

      Rob was watching her, his face hidden in the shadows.

      “Well,” Jess said, to fill the silence. “That was a real circus, wasn’t it?”

      He looked away. “I’m sorry about Ian showing up.”

      “You didn’t know.”

      “I should have.”

      “Well, now you do.”

      “I felt bad for Kelsey,” Rob said.

      Jess glanced toward the car, where Kelsey was still sleeping, and shook her head. “Ian ignores her,” she said. “It’s unbelievable. He doesn’t even say ‘hi.’ And it hurts her so much. I try to keep him away from her.” She sighed. “That’s not necessarily the answer, but for now, it’s easier for Kelsey.”

      “It could be worse.”

      They lapsed into silence. Jess could hear the sound of the waves lapping at the dock alongside the restaurant. In the grass and trees, insects buzzed and chirped. Somewhere down the street, a dog barked.

      “Well,” she said again. “I’d better get Kelsey home.”

      Rob looked up. “Jess, I have to tell you,” he said in a rush of words, “that I can’t…”

      But before he could finish, the last of the bright club lights went out, plunging them into sudden darkness.

      “…that I can’t do this,” Rob concluded softly.

      It was velvet, the darkness—soft and warm and enveloping them totally, cutting them off from the rest of the world and from each other.

      “Whoa,” Jess said, reaching out for him, suddenly uncertain which way was up. “It’s dark. Where are you?”

      “Here,” he answered. His hand gripped her arm, just above her elbow. “I’m here.”

      “Can’t do what?” she asked. “I don’t understand.” His grasp turned into a caress as he ran his fingers up her arm to her shoulder. There were other people on the other side of the parking lot, but the darkness was complete, giving Jess and Rob privacy for the first time all evening.

      She stepped forward even as he pulled her into his arms.

      “Oh, God,” he breathed, holding her so tightly. “Oh, Jess.”

      She could feel the warm solidness of his arms, the hard muscles of his chest, the athletic strength of his thighs. She fit against him perfectly, as if he’d been created with her in mind.

      He groaned, and she could feel his arousal growing, pressing unmistakably against her. “I can’t do this,” he said again, his voice hoarse. “I can’t kiss you—”

      But then he did. He lowered his head and took her mouth fiercely, with an intensity that left her breathless. It was a kiss nothing like the gentle brushing of lips they’d shared inside the club. It was a kiss that claimed her, filled her, possessed her.

      Jess kissed him back passionately, hungrily, exploring his mouth eagerly as he seemed to inhale her. She’d been wanting to kiss him like this all evening long. She’d been anticipating this incredible rush, this roller-coaster pleasure ride of emotional and physical sensations that she knew kissing Rob would bring.

      His hands were in her hair, on her neck, sliding down the bare V-back of her dress, moving down even lower to press her hips closer to him.

      And still he kissed her. He kissed her as if there were no tomorrow, as if he, too, had been waiting much too long for this moment.

      It was nothing like she’d imagined, and better than her wildest dreams.

      Rob was so quiet, so calm, so careful. She’d imagined sweet, gentle kisses, softly whispered questions, asking her permission to touch her, to move each small step beyond a simple kiss.

      But he kissed her wildly, relentlessly, his hands sweeping urgently across her body, cupping the curve of her derriere, weighing the swell of her breasts, his thumbs caressing the sensitive, erect points of her nipples. He knew exactly how to touch her to make the heat of desire flood through her, to make her gasp with need and tremble with longing. His thigh pressed insistently between her legs, and she opened herself, pressing the heat of her most intimate place against him.

      The rocket of desire that soared through her was so intense, she gripped him harder and kissed him even more deliriously, urging him on.

      Urging him on…?

      Was it possible that mild-mannered Rob Carpenter was going to make love to her right here, in the darkened parking lot of the Pelican Club?

      There was no denying that she wanted him. But not here. Not like this. Not with Kelsey asleep in her car….

      Jess pulled away. It was only the slightest movement, but Rob instantly released her. He stepped back, still supporting her, but now from an arm’s length away.

      She could hear his breathing, ragged and quick as he struggled to regain his control.

      “Oh, my God,” he whispered. “I’m sorry—”

      “No,” Jess said quickly. “Don’t apologize. Come home with me. That’s where we should be. I want to stop—but only until we get home.”

      Across the parking lot, a car engine started with a roar. As it pulled out, its headlights swept across them. Rob released her and took another step back, pushing his disheveled hair out of his face.

      “I can’t,” he said tightly. God, she would never know how much he wanted her. She’d never know how close those kisses had come to pushing him over the edge. She’d tasted so sweet, she’d