Page 46 of False Evidence

“In Kendall’s Jetta. In the glove box. It has the cop’s blood on it.”

JT rose from the couch. “I’ll grab it. Is the car locked?”

She nodded and rose to get the keys from her coat pocket.

Minutes later, he was back with the hard drive. He set it on the marble countertop, and Alexandra felt sick at seeing the dried blood on the sharp edge of the rectangular metal box. There were a few hairs caught in a seam.

She covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to gag.

She hadn’t killed him, and she’d fought in self-defense. But still, knowing that the head injury she’d caused had led to his cold-blooded murder made her ill.

JT’s arms surrounded her again, and again, she remembered the night they met. When another man had intended to hurt her, but JT had stopped him.

She thought about their first kiss. She’d been so angry and wanted mindless sex to claim her bodily autonomy. This was different.

She wanted to kiss him tonight too, but this time, it was to escape the horror. Forget the nightmare.

Still, anger was there too. Why had the cop—Corey Williams—pulled her over and assaulted her? Was she one of many such victims? Would investigators discover he was a serial killer? That wouldn’t clear her name, but it would go far to show hitting him with the hard drive had been done in self-defense.

She didn’t want to think about those moments by the side of the road when she wondered if Williams intended to rape and kill her.

No, she wanted to think about JT’s hand on the small of her back. His scent was oh so familiar. This man, who she’d loved since she was twenty-five and a struggling grad student.

Her hands moved up, sliding around his neck. She tilted her head back and met his gaze.

“Lex,” he said. His voice almost pained. His erection was a familiar pressure against her belly.

“Kiss me.”

He looked like he was going to refuse her, but then he lowered his head until his lips met hers.

It was like a thousand kisses they’d shared before, yet it was also totally different. His tongue explored, stroking hers. Deep and slow. Thorough, like he was making up for lost time. Lost kisses.

She responded in kind. This was exactly what she needed. To get lost. To escape.

This would be like the times they’d slept together after she’d called off the wedding. No commitment. Just sex. Wonderful, hot sex.

She reached for his belt buckle.

JT ended the kiss. His hand covered hers as she worked the leather free. “Lex. We can’t.”

“Please, Jay. I need this.”

“Sweetheart. You know this would be a mistake.”

“It’s just sex. Don’t worry. I won’t expect a ring afterward and I don’t want your money. I know Gemma is the ultimate JT repellant. I just want you to fuck me. So I can forget.”

He flinched. “I know I had that coming.”

“I didn’t mean it as an insult. It was meant to be reassuring.”

“And once again, I don’t want to be your fuck-and-forget buddy.”

“You wouldn’t be taking advantage of me. We’re not strangers this time.”

“Yeah. Butyouwould be taking advantage ofme.”

She took a step back. He was serious. “You don’t want me. I’ve got a kid. She’s not optional anymore. There is no other dad she can be shipped off to, like Lee was when his mom found him inconvenient. I would think you’d be thrilled to get laid again without worry that I want more than you can give.”

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