She kept up the ridiculous pretense until she had applied lip gloss. Oh, yes, she always went to bed wearing lip gloss. Never know who might come knocking on the door in the middle of the night.

She stared at herself in the mirror, then reached for a tissue to remove the lip gloss. She sighed. She still wanted to rip Jack’s clothes off and kiss every inch of his body. When it came to Jack, she didn’t know right from wrong.

No matter what, she wasn’t going to open that door. She circled her bed, pulled the covers back, and then set her alarm clock and her cell phone to wake her at the ungodly hour of four-thirty a.m.

Daddy! She suddenly remembered that her father would be calling her at midnight. She knew she couldn’t stay up till then if she had to get up at four-thirty, and that meant she should call him now and leave a long message on his voice mail. She could hear Jack talking on the phone in the living room. This would be the perfect time for her to call, but as she was heading to her closet, Jack knocked on her door.

“Sophie, you got a minute?”

Say no. Just say no. “I’ll be right there.”

Okay, new plan, she decided. At least take the time to put on a robe before opening the door. No reason to give him the idea that you might be even remotely interested in…what did he call it?…oh yes…getting friendly.

She didn’t reach for her robe. Yes, her nightgown was on the short side and a bit low-cut, but he couldn’t see through it unless he had X-ray vision. The silk wasn’t transparent. Besides, women wore much less clothing to a Chicago beach. What was the big worry?

The beach didn’t have a bed, nor the privacy for a man and a woman to do whatever they wanted. That was one gigantic worry.

Do not open the door.

She opened the door. “Yes?” she said sweetly.

Jack stood with his phone in his hand for several seconds, never taking his eyes off hers.

“Jack? Did you want something?” she prodded.

“Alec called,” he answered.

Sophie couldn’t read his expression.

“What did he want?” She was becoming more embarrassed by the second as she waited for Jack to say something about her nightgown, but he didn’t say a word about the way she was dressed…or undressed.

“To say good-bye, I guess. Your hall bath doesn’t have a shower. Think I could use yours? Where are the towels?”

“Linen closet.” She was surprised she managed to get the words out.

He shook his head. “I looked. None there.”

“Look in the dryer. Laundry room is just off the kitchen.”

“Okay, thanks,” he said as he slowly pulled the door closed.

He was gone. Sophie’s insecurities came roaring back. Had he even noticed? She glanced down at herself and shook her head. She certainly hadn’t made much of an impact on him, had she? She had thought this nightgown was sexy, but if that were so, then apparently the woman wearing it wasn’t. Maybe she was the problem, not the gown.

Sophie was used to men noticing her. She liked to flirt, but she didn’t tease, and she knew the difference. She did not sleep around. Truth was, she was as much of a prude as Cordie—although her friend called it being old-fashioned. Unlike Sophie, Cordie allowed herself to have dreams. She wanted to get married and have children, but there was one little glitch in her happy-ever-after fantasy: Cordie was madly in love with Aiden Hamilton, and he, stupid man that he was, didn’t have a clue.

Sophie was thinking about Cordie’s predicament when it suddenly dawned on her how foolish her own behavior was. She had never seduced a man, and why she thought it would be okay with Jack was beyond her. She didn’t have an excuse except that she had let lust control her thoughts. Fortunately, she had come to her senses.

Jack knocked on her door again. This time Sophie didn’t run for her lip gloss or play silly mental games about her appearance. She was through acting like an idiot.

“Come in,” she said.

“Did you set your alarm clock?”

“Yes, four-thirty. Did you find the towels?” Dumb question since he had one draped over his shoulder.

As he disappeared into the bathroom, she wondered if he noticed that she was now wearing a robe. She heard water running in the shower, and that meant he was getting naked. She picked up a book from her nightstand thinking she’d get lost in a good novel, but several minutes passed and she hadn’t read one word. Her imagination was in that shower.

Apple. She’d get an apple and stay in the kitchen until he was out of the bedroom, and she would quit acting like a budding nymphomaniac, but before she could leave, Jack stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. No shirt, no shoes…no service. Why that saying came to mind she couldn’t imagine.

Jack barely glanced at her as he walked past, and that made her all the more bewildered. Damn it, he had kissed her. Didn’t that mean he was attracted? Must have changed his mind.

She followed him into the next room. “Jack…”

“Yeah?” He turned to face her.

“I want the truth. Why are you really going with me?”

He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “I lost a bet.”

“Lost a bet? Very funny.” He couldn’t come up with a more believable lie?

“Really, Sophie, I lost a bet.”

She shook her head. “I can take care of myself.”

“Sure you can, except when someone calls and tells you to look out the window.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“I’m going with you.” Each word was carefully enunciated. He picked up the comforter and unfolded it. “And Sophie…”

“Yes?”

“I swear to God, if you open your door dressed like that again, I won’t be sleeping on this sofa.”

JOURNAL ENTRY 618

CHICAGO

To keep things quiet, we have set up cages in the basement of Eric’s house, which is out in the country and is the only house for miles. He inherited the home from his parents, and we are both thankful he didn’t sell it.

It has been three months since we took tissue samples and blood from the monkeys and then injected them with K-74. They’ve reacted remarkably well, showing signs of increased energy and stamina. We will know more when we do the autopsies.

Killing has never been easy for either of us, but it’s unavoidable if science is to advance.

TWENTY-THREE

“ALL RIGHT THEN.” SOPHIE TURNED AROUND AND WALKED back into her bedroom, the sass back in her stride. She didn’t smile until she’d closed the door. Her world made sense again. Her insecurities were gone, for the moment anyway, and she was feeling desirable once more.

Jack had noticed and had obviously been affected by the sight of her in her nightgown. Was she disappointed he hadn’t taken her into his arms and kissed her? Of course not. But why hadn’t he?

Oh, no, she wasn’t going down that road again. She knew she could be neurotic and obsessive about certain things, but her feelings for Jack were making her all sorts of crazy. One minute she was convinced he was a jerk, and the next minute she thought he was the hottest man she’d ever met. If that wasn’t crazy, what was?

Sleep would be impossible if she didn’t stop thinking about him. She forced herself to be practical by going through her checklist of what she had packed and what she would need to buy in Fairbanks. If she needed an extra pair of wool socks or thicker long underwear, she was sure she could pick them up in one of the stores there. Should she take her laptop? What about her cell phone? She knew she could get a signal in Prudhoe Bay and probably in Barrow as well.

An hour later she hung up her robe and got into bed. Her head had barely touched the pillow when she remembered she needed to call her father and leave a message for him.

She crept to the door to see if Jack was asleep yet. She peeked out and saw the television was still on, but he wasn’t sitting in the easy chair. She could only see the back of the sofa, but she assumed he’d fallen asleep.

The soft light from the bathroom spilled into her walk-in closet. Leaving the door open a crack, she got the cell phone from its hiding place and sat back against the wall with her legs stretched out and one ankle crossed over the other. Once she was comfortable, she called her father. She didn’t have to leave a message. He answered on the second ring.

“It isn’t midnight yet,” he said. “Is everything okay?”

Sophie quickly explained that she was leaving for Alaska early in the morning, and she didn’t want him to worry when he called at the scheduled time and she didn’t answer. She didn’t have any idea how long she would be away. One week, maybe two. Once she’d filled him in on her itinerary, she wanted to hear what he’d been up to. He told her that he was working on a resolution for Kelly’s, but he wouldn’t explain what that meant or even give her a hint of what his plans were. Her father liked to be cryptic, and she had learned not to ask questions.

Daddy was in a chatty mood and told her a couple of very funny stories that made her laugh, and by the time she ended the call and put the cell phone back in its cubbyhole, she was feeling relaxed and sleepy.

She was still sitting in her dark closet when Jack opened the door.

“Sophie? What are you doing?”

It should have been obvious, but apparently it wasn’t. “I’m sitting on the floor.”

“In your closet.”

She looked around. “It would appear so.”

With as much dignity as she could muster, she slowly stood and walked past him into the bedroom. She couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing a pair of faded plaid boxer shorts and nothing else.

“I heard talking and then laughter,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” she agreed, nodding. “That was me…talking and laughing.”

He had to think she was crazy. How could she have been so careless as to assume he was asleep and couldn’t hear her? She had kept her voice to a whisper, but she shouldn’t have laughed, no matter how funny the stories had been. If he had heard anything, it was inevitable he would figure she was talking to someone on the phone, and it wouldn’t take a leap to guess who that someone was. She needed to distract him.

“How did you get that scar?” She took a step toward him and put her hand on his chest. His skin was warm, wonderfully warm. “This scar,” she said as she traced a tiny circle above his heart.

“I don’t have a scar there,” he said.

“I know.”

He grabbed her hand and held it against him. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

She looked into his eyes. “Yes, I do. I’m distracting you. Is it working?”

He slowly nodded. “Pretty much.”

She could feel his heart beating under her fingertips, and the way he was looking at her made her own heart race.

“You should get some sleep,” he said.

He didn’t move. Neither did she.

“You should kiss me,” she said.

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He sighed. “Want me to tell you what will happen if I kiss you?” He started walking her backward to the bed.

“I’d rather you showed me.”

His hand cupped the back of her neck, and he roughly pulled her toward him. “This is going to get complicated.”

“I can do complicated,” she whispered.

It was all the permission he needed. He tilted her head back and kissed her hungrily, letting her feel the passion inside him. His tongue delved into her mouth to mate with hers, and the sweet taste of her was so intoxicating he had to have more. He kissed her again and again until he was shaking with desire.

She threw her arms around his neck and melted into him. Her unrestrained enthusiasm overwhelmed him.

In the bedroom Jack was a master of pacing and control, always giving his partner the ultimate pleasure, usually multiple times, before he took his own. Slow and easy. Satisfaction guaranteed.

But Sophie changed all that. Kissing him with such abandon, her mouth so warm, her lips so wonderfully soft, she held nothing back, rubbing her tongue against his, her fingertips stroking his shoulders as she moved seductively against him. Her erotic sighs drove him wild, and within seconds she had turned him from a master to a novice with raging hormones. His breathing was harsh, ragged. He held her tight against him, burying his face in the side of her neck.

“Slow and easy, Sophie.”

She gently tugged on his earlobe with her teeth. “Why?”

Before he could think of an answer, she pushed him back, keeping her eyes locked on his, as she seductively lowered the left strap of her nightgown and then the right, letting it slide down the length of her body.

Suddenly, slowing down didn’t make any sense to him at all. She was beautiful. His gaze slowly moved over her golden skin, her full breasts, her tapered waist, and her long, perfect legs. Oh yes, she was magnificent. A tightness settled in his chest, and he was desperate to touch her. He stripped out of his shorts and wrapped his arms around her, groaning from the surge of arousal he felt when she moved against him.

Together they fell into bed. He wedged his knee between her silky thighs, then stretched out on top of her. His arms bore his weight so he wouldn’t crush her. Her soft full br**sts rubbed against his chest and sent tremors through him. He buried his face in her hair. Her feminine scent aroused him; her velvety skin felt so good against his. He wanted to touch her everywhere, to use his mouth, his tongue to excite her. Caressing her breasts, he kissed a path down her neck, her whispered sighs urging him on.

Sophie loved the way he stroked her, loved the feel of his hot mouth against her skin. When his hand slid down her stomach and moved between her thighs, the fire inside her intensified until it became unbearable. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades as she arched against him and cried out.

Their kisses became ravenous, their caresses more demanding, rougher. Sophie made him burn like no other woman had, and Jack could feel his control slipping away. When he knew he could wait no longer to make her his, he moved between her thighs and thrust inside, groaning from sheer ecstasy. Liquid heat surrounded him, and the jolt of pleasure was so intense, he thought her fire would consume him.

He stayed perfectly still for several seconds. “You feel so good,” he whispered.

Her breathing was as ragged as his, her need as demanding. He kissed the base of her throat, felt the frantic pulse of her heartbeat.

Sophie wrapped her arms around his waist and raised her legs to take him deeper inside.

Jack moved slowly at first, but the urgency built inside him, and his control snapped. Their lovemaking was wild, passionate, and when at last they cl**axed, she cried his name.