“Huh. I did four years at the University of Washington for criminal justice. Entered the police academy after and have been a patrol officer ever since. I was thinking about maybe becoming a detective at some point. I don’t know. I love working with Jed.”
“Why?”
“We help people. Real people with real problems. And Jed’s cool. He’s not a bigot, doesn’t hate women, and loves helping people who need it. He’s kind underneath the Terminator image.”
“Like you. A protector, right?”
“I guess.”
He launched himself over her before she could move, pinning her down into the couch with his lower body. “But you’re not so great at protecting yourself.”
She snorted with laughter. “Get off, you oaf.”
“Pretend I’m a perp. How would you handle me?”
“I handled you just fine earlier.” She tried to move him but couldn’t. He had her hands pinned above her head, his weight and her crossed legs keeping her in place.
“You’re saying you’d just blow the bad guys? Is that legal?”
“You’re such an idiot.”
He truly was because he had to kiss her or die. So he kissed her, and all the warmth in his body centered in his lips. He made love to her mouth, fascinated by this hard-nosed woman who had such confusing moments of vulnerability and kindness so at odds with the tough image she projected.
He put both of her wrists in one of his hands while using the other to cup her breast.
She moaned his name and kissed him back.
He continued to plunder her mouth, fitting his hand under her sweatshirt to play with her breasts through her bra. Needing more, he angled his hand down her belly, past her underwear into the hot, wet heat of her.
Mack pulled back to look into her beautiful face, her eyes slumberous. “What do we tell your friends about our relationship?”
“Mack,” she breathed.
God, she got to him. He started moving his fingers. “Do we tell them you make me hard? Or that you’re so good with that mouth that I nearly blacked out when I came?” He leaned in to kiss her, pumping his fingers faster, loving the way she ground up against him.
“Mack, stop.”
He paused.
“No.” She wiggled against his hand. “Keep going. I say, ‘Mack stop’ because you’re too strong for me. And I can’t stop you. And it gets me hot.”
She liked to play. He was in love.
“Yeah, you’re mine to do whatever I want with.” He kissed her again, moving his mouth to her ear to whisper, “I want to feel you get my hand all slick. Come for me, and later, I’ll take you from behind. Fuck you until you can’t see straight. Holding you down while I drill you, and you’ll be so helpless while I force you to come…”
She cried out, her body clamping down on his fingers like a vise.
“Office Carmichael, you got me all wet.” Mack shifted his fingers, and she groaned. He kissed her again. “But you know, we really need to stop meeting like this. You taking advantage of me in my own home, no less. In front of the children!” He glanced over at the still-sleeping kittens.
She gave him a slow smile. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Yeah.” He sighed and eased off her, wiping his fingers on his shirt. “Now go home before I finish what you started.” No surprise he was hard again. “Pick me up no later than five-thirty. I don’t want to be late and make a bad impression on your friends.”
“Don’t worry, Studly. I’m sure they’ll like you.”
“Of course they’ll like me. It’s you I’m worried about. When they see how in love with me you are, they’ll grow concerned. I’ll have to spend most of the night letting them know I’ll be gentle with you.”
***
