although he couldn't possibly have heard her coming with all the chaos around them, his head lifted and his gaze met hers. he pushed to his feet, saying something to the female paramedic without taking his bloodshot eyes off darcy. he was soot-stained but alive, making him the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

shoving her kit at a passing firefighter with a hasty thanks, she broke into a run. jared met her halfway, catching her up and squeezing the air out of her.

"i'm okay," he said hoarsely. "it's all right."

"you scared me half to death." she held on to him with every bit of her strength. "i c-can't let you out of my sight for a minute."

he cupped the back of her head and pressed her close. they clung that way for a long moment, their hearts pounding in a synchronized beat. the cold knot in her stomach eased at the feel of him against her, warm and strong.

she pulled back to examine him. "how's your partner?"

"well enough to be in the front office typing up a prelim report. this riled her up." he brushed his fingertips over her brows. "walk me through the scene with you. the sooner we get through it, the sooner we can get out of here."

darcy drew herself together with a deep breath, then stepped back and went in search of her kit. her hands were shaking as she reached for the box.

chris intercepted her. "where's jim?"

"on his date. he knows what's going on. i told him i'd handle it, and if i had any trouble, i'd give him a call."

he nodded, then yanked off his hat to shove a hand through his hair. "hell, darcy. five of the rooms were occupied. a half dozen people could've been killed."

"was anyone seriously injured?"

"tear gas in the air duct system pushed everyone out before the fire started."

jared stepped into chris's line of sight. "you keep tear gas in inventory, sheriff?"

"already looking into it, cameron."

she looked at the two-story building, noting the area with the most damage. "the fire started in morales's room?"

jared set a grimy hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "yeah."

"shit." she reached up and set her hand over his, needing to deepen the connection.

chris's gaze narrowed. "someone wants you dead, deputy."

"wouldn't be the first somebody." the raspiness of jared's voice made her wince in sympathy.

"let me do my job," she said. "and we'll see if we can find something that gets us closer to figuring out who our torch is."

she moved toward the obvious point of origin with a brisk stride.

jared drew abreast of her. "you're aggravated with him."

"some things have come up since i saw you last."

"oh?"

"ask me about it when we get home."

it was just after midnight when they got back to darcy's house. jared could see how exhausted she was but knew more than the length of the day was weighting her slender shoulders. he decided not to press her to talk, to let her decide when she was ready to share. she was a solitary woman in many ways. joining her inner circle was going to take time and patience. the latter wasn't one of his strong suits, but he'd make the effort for her. not that he had a choice; he wanted her too much.

in the meantime, he showered, then made them both some cold sandwiches while she typed her preliminary report for ralston. when they crawled into bed just after two in the morning, she turned into him, wrapping herself around him. with her legs tangled with his, her palms pressed to his back, and her face in his neck, he dropped into a deep sleep.

he woke up alone. glancing at the clock, he noted it was barely six. he left the bed, then the bedroom, looking for darcy. he found her in the living room, curled up on the couch beneath a chenille throw. she was watching a muted television, her eyes marred by dark circles. an open box sat on the floor by the coffee table, holding a variety of loose items, including framed photos of darcy and danielle.

"hey," he said softly. "let me join you."

she sat up at his urging and he settled behind her, taking her weight against his chest. he ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it back from her forehead. the feel of her bare skin against his soothed him. as the explosion had thrown him out into the parking lot, his thoughts had been with darcy and how he'd be damned if some sick asshole blew him to hell before he figured out what he had with her.

"you wanna talk?" he asked softly.

turning her head, she pressed her cheek to his chest. "i don't even know where to begin."

"wherever you want." he kissed the crown of her head, hating the misery that radiated from her and his helplessness to alleviate it. "i can pull it all together later."

"how much crap can i dump on you, jared, before you run screaming?"

"i never scream and i damn sure never run away." he gripped her shoulders, resisting the urge to give her a little shake. "spit it out."

in a low halting voice, she told him about miller's visit and her subsequent talk with nadine. "i knew she had to be with someone familiar to me, but chris...? i can't believe she didn't say anything. i wouldn't have been upset."

"a lot of people have secret lives. their loved ones are shocked when they come to light. it's no reflection on you."

"i can't help thinking that i fucked up somewhere and that's why she couldn't trust me with this."

"it sounds like it was a couple random encounters. maybe she was embarrassed. heat-of-the-moment type thing that she regretted."

"even more reason to tell me, so we could've laughed it off and put it away." she exhaled harshly. "and chris...wow. he had a responsibility to disclose his affair with her to the feds. why didn't he, if he had nothing to hide?"

"it's definitely a problem. but at least we've got enough to get a dna sample from him now."

"i've known him forever. he was my high school sweetheart. i thought i knew him." her exhale shuddered out of her. "i wanted to vomit when he said he slept with darcy as a substitute for me. it's so sick."

"how far would he go to keep you from finding out about it? especially if he's the one who got her pregnant?"

she twisted to look into his eyes. her gaze was so haunted it gored him like a dull knife.

"i hate that i was thinking the same thing," she whispered. "he was important to me at one time. how could i be so wrong about two people i thought i was close to? the dani i know couldn't stomach casual sex. she always became emotionally attached when things got physical. and chris...he's a sheriff, for chrissakes."

jared brushed his fingertips over her cheek. "it's killing me that you're hurting and i can't do a damn thing about it."

"you're here. that's what i need more than anything." leaning into his palm, she sighed. "the answers will come later. we'll find them."

"did she have a bad breakup shortly before her involvement with miller?"

her gaze softened. "you really do pay attention when your sister talks, don't you? yes, she met a fellow vet at a conference, and it was hot and heavy for a while. then she found out he was married and that she was just a piece of ass on the side. she took it hard. i thought she'd sworn off men."

"or became determined to prove she didn't give a shit about them."

darcy sat up, the throw falling to pool in her lap. "and i'm her example for that? what the fuck does that mean?"

"that she had issues," he said calmly, "and she didn't know you all that well. you like men just fine. you just hadn't met one you liked enough to get serious about."

"until you."

he inhaled deeply at the admission, knowing how important it was to her. and to him.

she stood, gloriously naked, agitation pouring off her in waves.

straightening, he tossed the throw aside and held her gaze. "none of this is your fault, darcy."

"right." she paced, her lithe muscles flexing through her thighs and buttocks. "you know, you say 'commitment' and i get butterflies."

"you've had commitments before. this one scares you because it's the last one you'll have." he set his elbows on his knees and linked his fingers together. between his spread legs, his cock was hard and thick, thrusting upward hungrily in appreciation of the sight of his woman. "even i find that scary."

she paused midstride, staring at him. he saw her chest expand on a slow breath and her eyes darken with both grief and longing. her turmoil was tangible, and unable to bear it, he pushed to his feet. she plowed into him, nearly knocking him back into the couch. catching him by the nape, she yanked his mouth down to hers. his teeth cut his inner lip and the sharp metallic flavor of blood stirred him violently.

lightning in a bottle. it had struck the moment they'd laid eyes on each other. sexual creatures that they were, they'd both mistaken it as lust at first, and certainly that was a major part of what they knew about each other so far. but lust could be appeased. sated. what they had ran much deeper, was more voracious than mere desire.

gripping her by the elbows, jared lifted her to her tiptoes and took over the kiss. his lips sealed over hers, his head tilting to find the perfect fit. the stroking of her tongue along his was as arousing as if she'd licked his cock.

she reached down and grabbed his ass, grinding against him, massaging his dick with the soft firmness of her lower belly. "fuck me."

"darcy." there's nothing he wanted to do more, but the rapid-fire switch in her mood gave him pause. he couldn't afford to screw things up with her. as fragile as she was at the moment, the intensity of their lovemaking could be too much. "easy, sweetheart. i'll take care of you."