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“Scary!” She gestured and her breasts pushed up. He swallowed. Hard. “Big-city scary.”
“I was shot, if that’s what you mean.”
“Shot?”
Uh-oh. He’d gone too far. Tessa jerked back in her chair and the view disappeared. And now he was just sitting there with a lap full of regretful lust. He never talked about being shot. Her cleavage was a damned menace.
“Oh, my God! Where were you shot?”
“In the shoulder. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“How did it happen?”
“A bullet came through a wall. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all.”
“Oooh, you’re so stoic and manly about it.”
Luke felt his scowl tip up into a smile. He reached for his margarita. “Oh, yeah? You like that?”
“I sure do. Come on. Don’t tell me that story hasn’t gotten you laid a few times.”
Lime juice burned like hell when it went down your windpipe, and that was knowledge Luke could’ve happily lived without. As he coughed, Tessa lifted her own margarita and winked. “You probably practice that sexy damaged-cop thing in the mirror.”
“Excuse me?” he choked out.
She waved her fingers toward his chest as she took a delicate sip. “I’ve got you all figured out, Detective Luke Asher.”
“Have I already suggested that you watch too many cop shows?”
She shrugged. “Maybe I do. I hope you’re not refusing to play along.”
At that moment, Luke was pretty sure he’d play whatever games she wanted. She thought he was sexy. And damaged. Maybe if he told her how screwed up his life was she’d get off on it. Then again, maybe this was a sign that she was naive and sheltered and he should really back off. After all, he’d seen enough screwed-up cops to know there was nothing appealing about them.
But the bill came, and Tessa asked, “Are you ready?” and Luke found himself saying yes. Yes, he was ready. But ready for what? Even as he stood and pulled out her chair and followed her out of the restaurant, his brain was telling him to end this here. She was too young, too sweet, too related to protective men. He did not need more complication in his life. Then she took his arm, and her hip bumped his. A breeze blew her hair toward him, sweeping it along his shoulder, and the scent of her shampoo drifted through him. She smelled … delicious. Like a treat that would be really, truly bad for you. Luke found himself thinking of kissing her neck and dragging his mouth down the neckline of that shirt. He thought of pulling it down farther and devouring her.
Christ, he wanted to strip her naked and have her for days.
He opened her car door, and Tessa winked as she got in, as if she knew what he was thinking. But surely not. She was flirting, not giving him the green light to jump her. She probably had no idea of the kinds of filthy things men fantasized about.
Luke shook his head to try to clear it. A girl like Tessa Donovan wasn’t looking to fall into bed after one date. Which was good news. Because he clearly had no willpower where she was involved.
By the time Luke settled into the driver’s seat and started the car, he’d talked himself down to a reasonable state. Her cleavage wasn’t in view. Her hip wasn’t touching his. Luke’s libido was under his control again. And then she touched his thigh. Just laid her hand on his thigh as if she had the right to do that. Holy shit, this girl had no idea what she was doing to him. There was an incredibly short distance between the nerves of his thigh and the nerves of his cock.
“That was fun,” she said, sliding her hand up an inch higher before she slid it right back to her side of the car. The air in the hot car felt cold against his thigh now that her hand had deserted him.
He inhaled very slowly. “Yeah, that was fun,” he said with a casual smile.
Her gaze dipped to his mouth, and she smiled, as well. “Would you like to—?” A high-pitched tune interrupted her words with cruel timing. Tessa cringed and reached for her purse.
Would you like to what? Scowling, Luke put the car in gear and pulled out as Tessa glanced down at the phone. She bit out something that soundly strangely like, “Oh, balls.”
“Did you just say ‘balls’?” Luke asked.
She turned a look on him that seemed to accuse him of complete insanity. Shaking her head, she put a finger to her mouth to shush him. Embarrassment fell over him in a scalding wash. He’d just said balls to this girl.
“Hey, Jamie,” she said into the phone, and Luke felt another rush of heat. He’d promised Jamie he’d stay away from Tessa; now Luke was holding his breath in the seat beside her.
“She called?” Tessa asked, turning her head to face the window. “Okay. Do you think I should call her back …? Well, someone has to talk to her. She didn’t say anything in the message?”
Luke unashamedly listened in, but he couldn’t hear Jamie’s side of the conversation. He’d gotten a weird vibe from these two at the robbery call, not to mention this afternoon. There was a tension between them that they were pretending didn’t exist.
Tessa made a couple of affirmative noises before telling her brother she’d call him later. She was quiet when she hung up, any hint of flirtation gone from her body language. Luke tried to let it go, but he was a cop at heart.
“Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah!” she said too brightly. “Just brewery stuff.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Are cops always so suspicious?”
Yeah, she was lying through her charming teeth. “You don’t have to tell me, Tessa, but it was obvious to me that you and Jamie were hiding something at the brewery this morning. Does it have anything to do with the robbery?”
“What?” she breathed, her voice weak with shock. “No, of course not.” Now there was honesty in her eyes.
“I didn’t really think so or I would have pushed it at the scene. So do you want to talk about it?”
She wasn’t flirting with him anymore, but somehow Luke found that he liked her even more now. Her eyes were soft with worry, and he could see pale gold flames streaking through her green irises. Her mouth was still pink and beautiful, and her teeth pressed into her lower lip as she considered his offer. Her teeth. Her lip. The tiny indentation she made with the pressure. The hint of moisture that glistened against the pink …
A car horn blasted the air, and Luke looked up in utter shock. He was stopped at a four-way stop sign, and there were two cars behind him. Real smooth, Asher.
But Tessa didn’t seem to notice, thank God. She was too busy frowning down at her hands. “It’s not my story to tell. Suffice to say that I know something I don’t want Eric to find out about. It’s family stuff.”
“I understand.” Oh, boy, did he.
“It’s no big deal,” she insisted. But clearly it was. She stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, staring out at the gingerbread houses of the street. It was strange to think of her living in one of these big old houses by herself. Yet somehow it fit her perfectly. He could picture her wearing one of those frilly aprons while she baked cookies and—
“Oh, shit!” she yelped, ruining the pretty picture he’d painted. “Eric is here.” Instead of caressing his thigh again, her hand slammed into his chest. “Stop!”
He followed her wide-eyed stare to the sight of her place three houses down. A pale gray SUV sat at the curb, glowing under the streetlight.
“I’m sorry. He comes by pretty often. He’s probably looking for dinner.”
“Oh, I—”
“Don’t drive up! Just let me out here.”
“Tessa … this is a little weird.”
“I know. I’m sorry! But I had a good time.” She reached for the handle before stopping abruptly and turning back to him. “A really good time.” The girl was quick as a damned thief, and before Luke knew what she was up to, her fingers touched his jaw, and then her lips touched his mouth. Without giving him even a second to respond, Tessa was out the door and waving as she hurried up the narrow sidewalk. But Luke was sure she’d transferred that tiny hint of moisture from her lip to his. He certainly convinced himself that he could taste her. And sure enough, the sweet taste stayed with him for hours.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE NEXT MORNING, Tessa smiled and waved at Eric as he walked past her office door. As soon as he disappeared from view, she leaned over her desk, nudged the door shut with an outstretched hand and picked up the phone. “Answer,” she ordered Jamie as the phone rang, but it went to voice mail after one ring. Granted, it was only 9:00 a.m. and she wouldn’t normally call him this early, but he hadn’t returned her call last night. She didn’t bother leaving a message. She’d already left three. Jamie was probably passed out in some girl’s bed while his phone beeped helplessly from the pocket of his jeans.
She cursed him for his ability to so easily forget his problems, even as she fondly considered how she’d tried to forget her problems last night. Damn Eric for interfering. Her brothers were seriously cutting into her private life. But at least Eric had suspected nothing more than a girls’ night out when she’d strolled in the night before.
Before she could pick up the receiver again, the phone rang and Tessa snatched it up. “Hello?” she said desperately.
“Hey, Tessa! It’s Wendy. I got your message about the break-in.”
She liked the temp waitress a lot, but Tessa still slumped in her chair at the sound of her voice. “Oh, good. I know you haven’t worked in a few months, but your information was still on the computer.”
“I already called the credit agencies to check in. Like you said, an alert has been placed on my name and Social, so I think it’s all good.”
At the sound of male voices, Tessa craned her neck to see through the glass window in her door. Eric was talking to Wallace in the hallway.
“You need anything else?” Wendy asked.
“Oh, are you still planning to fill in for us in the barroom this summer?”
“Absolutely. It’s just that this course load is killing me this semester.”
“No big deal. You’re welcome back anytime, Wendy.”
She hung up just as Wallace started gesturing in angry jerks. Not an unusual scenario. The man was a genius, and like most geniuses, he was temperamental. Deciding that Eric would be occupied for a few minutes, Tessa dug out Roland Kendall’s number and tried his office one more time.
“This is Tessa Donovan again. Is Mr. Kendall available?”
“I gave him your message yesterday, Ms. Donovan. I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon.”
Tessa stuck her tongue out at the receptionist’s voice, then nearly bit it off when the office door snapped open. Tessa threw the phone into its cradle before she realized it was Jamie.
“Oh, Jamie. Thank God. Why didn’t you call me back? If you want me to talk to Monica, then—”
“Did you go out with Luke Asher last night?” Jamie demanded.
“Um … What?”
“Eric said you were out with someone last night and you wouldn’t say who. Was it Luke?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It was him, wasn’t it? I saw how you two were looking at each other.”
“Jamie, seriously. I’m twenty-seven. Cut it out.”
“No, I’m serious, Tessa. Stay away from Luke Asher. He’s bad news.”
Utterly confused, Tessa leaned to the side to look past Jamie to the hallway beyond. “Am I being Punk’d? I thought that show was canceled a long time ago.”
“Damn it!” he shouted. Tessa jumped an inch out of her chair when his fist thumped her desk.
“Sheesh. Calm down.”
“I won’t calm down. He’s not someone you should be hanging out with, much less dating.”
“Oh, really? Who is? A priest? Luke’s a friend of yours. If he’s good enough for you to hang around with, why not me?”
“Because I’m not a woman.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. Her brothers didn’t like her hanging out with any male over twelve and under eighty. “We just went out for dinner. We didn’t participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”
Jamie’s face flamed red immediately. “Tessa!”
Sometimes she felt she was living in the middle of a Jane Austen novel. “I like him, all right? Just leave it alone.”
He crossed his arms. “I like him, too. He’s a great guy. How else would he have gotten so much action in college?”
“Oh, really? As much as you?”
He raised an eyebrow in silent acknowledgment.
Tessa cleared her throat. “That was in college.”
“Sure it was. And his current nickname is Magnet.”
“Magnet?”
“Yes,” he bit out. “As in Babe Magnet. I heard one of the other cops call him that when he wasn’t listening.”
Tessa tried not to smile. She could understand the reputation. The man had a lethal attraction.
“And,” Jamie continued, pointing his finger at her, “have you not noticed the fact that his partner is currently pregnant up to her damned ears?”
“So?”
“So, the kid is his, Tessa. Jesus. Pay attention.”
She felt all the air leave her body in a whoosh, and it took all of her little-sister outrage with it. “What?”
“He knocked up his partner, and now he’s letting her swing in the breeze.”
“How do you know that?”
Jamie spread his arms out in her small office. “I’m a bartender, Tessa. I hear things.”
“So …” Tessa’s mind flailed. That was why he’d been so awkward when he’d talked about his partner. “So maybe she’s the one who wants him to keep his distance.”
