Tri Me (Primrose, Minnesota, Book 4) (6 page)

With a heavy breath, he draped the shirt over her shoulders. “Put it on and button every single button.”

Her gaze remained glued to his chest and for half a second he thought she might actually follow directions.

“I’m dressed, Jackson.”

Of course not.
“Put it on or I’ll do it for you.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

She held his gaze for one full second longer and then sighed. “Fine.” She shoved her arms through the sleeves then buttoned all but three buttons.

He stepped closer to her and fastened the remaining buttons. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome but turnabout’s fair play.”

He frowned. “Huh?”

“You’re naked.” She nodded at the pole. “You wanna give it a whirl?”

“Hell no.” He placed a hand to the small of her back and nudged her to the door.

She stopped abruptly, blocking access to the knob. “We’re not leaving this room.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Any particular reason?”

“You’re bare-chested.”

“You’re wearing my shirt,” he countered.

“Okay.” She began to finger the buttons and wiggle beneath the cotton – almost completely out of her barely-there bra-top contraption.

He quickly stilled her motion. “Leave it on. I’ll have Rawlings bring me a security t-shirt.”

His ego roared as he signaled at the security camera. Obviously Alex didn’t share. He could totally relate; neither did he.

He braced himself on one hip against the wall while they waited on Jake’s delivery and noticed Alex’s gaze was once again focused on him, this time a slightly bit lower. His mouth suddenly became dry, his tongue heavy as he attempted to speak.

“You see something you like, counselor?”

She kept her gaze trained on his bare skin while she stepped close and placed her hands flat against his pectorals. “These are impressive, Detective.” Her soft fingers traveled the width of his chest, stroking the indentions of muscle, and then moved downward until they pressed into the valleys of his v-cut obliques. “But these give me so much more pleasure.”

His dick stretched until it threatened to exit his waistband, almost as if the tortured muscle thought it might actually manage to slide beneath her touch. Three, maybe four good strokes would end his misery. He almost groaned out loud as somehow, good sense managed to penetrate his lustful fog.

With a tight hold on his out-of-control libido, he reached between them, grasped both her hands, and pulled her close to whisper in her ear. “As bad as I want you flat underneath me, you realize you’re providing everyone in the security room a wealth of information, don’t you?”

Her quick intake of breath and the solid pound of her heartbeat only make him impossibly harder. “I forgot about the camera,” she admitted softly.

Although he wanted to deny it, the recording had also slipped his mind. Was he disappointed?
No way in hell
. “I’ll do everything I can to smooth this over.”

“Thank you, Jackson.”

She stepped out of his hold and he attempted to unscramble his brain as his body cursed their separation. In order to cement the incredible memory of what had just transpired between them, he allowed his gaze to peruse her figure one last time. Her sexy little body tucked in his shirt just seemed right. He was suddenly almost jealous of the cotton. “I like this look, Counselor.”

She cocked her head to one side and twisted her lips. “I like you, Detective.”

“Even when I tell you how not so smart this was?”

“You mean stupid?”

“Not so smart.”

A grin creased her lips. “Yes, even then.”

“I’m adding this to my list.”

“You don’t have a list.”

“I do now.”

She shrugged. “Fine. Add it to the list.”

“Done.” He opened the door and nudged her back into the bright hallway. “Straight through the club, out the back door, and into my truck.”

He didn’t give her an opportunity to argue or resist as he took her hand and led the way.

“That’s listable,” she said from behind him.

“Tough.”

She only hesitated once they entered the dressing area. “I need to change clothes.”

“No.” He tightened his hold and continued toward the back door. “Keep the disguise until you get home.”

“Do you like to play dress-up?”

His nerves jumped while her soft giggle following her question slid over him like warm honey. He stopped with his hand on the knob, turned to face her, and raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

“You tell me.”

The mischievous sparkle in her eyes tightened his balls until they crowded the base of his cock. A sucker for self-punishment, he moved his gaze down her curves and then back up again, taking great care to appreciate every single inch. “As long as I’m dressed like the bad-ass cop and you’re dressed like that, I’m game.”

“Oh really?”

He followed her eyes with his own as they roamed from left to right across the width of his chest and then back again and resisted the urge to grin. If she meant to disguise the hunger that lingered there she’d failed miserably. In fact, if Alex weren’t the picture of sophistication, he was ninety-eight percent sure she’d drool like a rabid dog.

“Yep. And I’d most definitely arrest you for indecent exposure.”

“Something about that doesn’t sound pleasurable.”

“Believe me, you’d find extreme ecstasy in being arrested.”

“You’re proud of those handcuffs, aren’t you?”

“Extremely. Are you going to cooperate or do you need to try them on for size?”

“Need I remind you that you’re not a cop anymore?”

“Doesn’t matter. I still have handcuffs and the question still stands.”

Her tongue left her mouth to moisten her lips and his greedy cock jumped. Very carefully, he attempted to shift his weight into a more comfortable position.
Impossible
.

“I’ll cooperate,” she said finally. “For now.”

He released a long, slow, silent breath, grateful that she’d come to her senses. And although he
really
wanted to declare victory, he held back. Better to let her think she’d agreed on her own; he’d been dead serious about the handcuffs. Had she pushed him, he wouldn’t have hesitated to lock both of her wrists tight and swallow the key. What he didn’t tell her, however, was that once she was at his mercy, he’d bend her over the arm of one of those nice, smooth, leather chairs, pop every single button of the cotton shirt that covered her, rip off her skin-tight shorts, and brand her as his own.

Now struggling with an even heavier dose of arousal, he reigned in his wayward thoughts and gave her hand a squeeze. “C’mon, I’ll take you home and tuck you in.”

“Judging from your stranglehold, I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

“Not really.”

Without releasing her, he opened the door, stepped outside, and led her approximately twenty steps to where he’d parked.

“No chance of escape,” she murmured.

He snickered in response and opened the passenger door as he glanced at her pink
do-me
shoes. “Need a boost?”

She lifted one leg, braced her foot solidly on the running board, and then raised her body until both feet rested on the surface with her perfect, heart-shaped ass inches from his face. His mouth watered when the shirt crept up to allow the tight, toned skin to peek from beneath her shorts as she bent to position herself in the seat.

“Guess not,” he mumbled. “Seatbelt.”

With a half-assed hold on his screaming libido, he shut the door and stomped around to the driver’s side as if his heavy footsteps might extinguish some of the fiery flames between them. Holy hell, the woman taunted him with her every single move.

Once seated beside her and behind locked doors, he willed himself to relax as he started the engine and drove out of the parking lot. He silently welcomed the short drive and exhaled again as he pulled into her driveway and exited the truck.

“No more late-night rendezvous,” he said as he opened her door and extended a hand.

“As I recall, you’ve participated in a few late-nighters with me.” She unfastened the seatbelt and batted at his hand. “Back up. I can get down.”

“Oh hell no.” Desperation kicked him in the ass; he couldn’t take any more teasing from that luscious ass.

Without a second thought, he wrapped both hands around her waist and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. Too late he realized that magnificent flesh hung at eye level again.

“Jackson,” she growled, “you have exactly three seconds to put me down before I plant these spikes somewhere other than in the ground.”

Safety measures caused him to squeeze her closer to him. “Relax. It won’t take me even that long to get to the house.”

He slammed the door and took long, wide steps until he stood on the front porch. He very carefully lowered her to stand and then took several steps backwards.

She simply glared and crossed her arms over her chest. “Now what?”

“Open the door and turn off the alarm.”

Her glare didn’t waver. “Can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Did you even stop to consider for half a second that I might not have pockets in this outfit?”

Now doubly frustrated, he pushed her logic to the back of his brain. “How in the hell did you plan to get back inside?”

“I have an extra key.”

“Well, where is it?”

“In Dara’s purse.”

“Oh for the love of—”

“Or,” she interrupted as she pointed over his head, “we could use the one up there.”

“Where?”

“In the base of the porch light.”

“I’m sure it’s hot.”

“No.” She simply batted those long eyelashes. “It’s a false bottom. The security company installed the fixture.”

Still aggravated, he reached overhead, unscrewed the silver cover, and extracted the key. “You know this is risky, right?”

“Jackson, I’m standing on my front porch half naked. Do you really want to discuss the safety of hiding an extra key right now?”

“No.” He jammed the key into the lock and opened the door, relieved to hear the ringing of the alarm system. “Code?”

“I’ll do it.” She brushed past him and punched four digits into the keypad.

He waited for silence and then closed the door. “Interesting.”

“How so?”

“Your security code is my badge number.”

“Coincidence.”

Despite the three-ring circus she’d led him through all evening, he had to grin. Very gently, he pulled her into his embrace, wrapped both arms solidly around her waist, and rested his chin atop her head. “Alex, it’s okay to let me over those walls.”

She pressed both palms against his chest, rested one cheek against them, and answered with a quiet sigh, one he interpreted as somewhat of an agreement.

“I will find her.” He squeezed his eyes closed with the force of his promise. “And when I do, I will make absolutely sure she regrets threatening my woman.”

She released a soft giggle. “You and me both.”

“Do you want me to stay tonight?”

“Thank you, but no. I’ll be fine. I’ll take a glass of wine and soak in the tub for an hour or so.” His body cursed the separation when she stepped out of his hold. “I’ll be good as new.”

He moved a wayward curl at the base of her neck. “Sure?”

“Positive.”

“I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t alone. Would you consider calling one of the girls to stay?”

“Thanks to you, Bri and Dara are probably on lockdown, and Shane won’t let Liberty out of his sight.”

“That leaves Marnie.”

“Yes, but I won’t risk her safety. Besides, do you really think a five foot, two inch blonde bombshell scares many people?”

“She scares me.” He didn’t hesitate to speak the truth. He’d seen her in action; Marnie could bring a ten-foot giant to his knees with her tongue alone.

“Okay, look. I’ll break it down for you. If this head case plans to do her own dirty work, she is
female
. That means she’s most likely not going to cause a scene trying to get to me. Bri tells me most women who murder tend to be methodical and sneaky, for lack of a better word.”

“You think that makes you secure?”

“You know firsthand that my security system makes this place a fortress. Every single opening in this house has a sensor and security cameras will monitor every room if I choose. I’d know if she attempted to enter and I have a safe room.”

As badly as he wanted to argue, he knew she had him. Except for one tiny little detail. “That means you can’t leave the house.”

“Really,” she drawled. “Why would I go out this time of night?”

“It can’t be after ten o’clock.” He grinned while he raked his gaze over her body. “I hear tips pick up around this time.”