With superhuman strength, I break away from her kiss, stunned. “You’re so fookin’ hot. Dammit, I-I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Oh, luv. I could give you about a million reasons. For one, Sir James is an act, luv.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
This is the real me, Lucky, from down un-dah. ’Stray-la.”
“You stopped kissing me because your Australian?” Her confused look, coupled with her swollen lips, are a real ball buster.
“I stopped kissin’ you because I’m workin’. You’re my client. If I didn’t stop, we’d would’ve ended up in your bed.”
“And I’m not your type, is that it?” A few tears shine in her eyes, she bites her lower lip, and walks through the kitchen and into her living room.
“You’re putting words in me mouth. I didn’t say that. Tell you what, as soon as we get those earrings into the bank, I’ll ask you out proper. Okay?”
Her face goes darker, still.
“Oi. Don’t look at me like that. I’m doin’ both of us a favor.” I jump when something rubs against my leg but it’s just a small yellow blob, purring loudly.
She picks up her cat, rubs noses, then it squirms out of her grasp. She watches for a moment before looking up at her desk. There she stops and stares with her mouth wide.
Suddenly, she runs back to me where I still stand by the kitchen door. “Dammit. Someone was here.”
I reach for my gun. “Bloody hell, what did you see?”
“My mouse. It’s on the wrong side of my computer. Can you check the other rooms?” With her front teeth on a lower lip, she grabs her cat and, steps into the hallway.
“Suds, we might have us an intruder.”
“Fuck.” The volume distorts my headset.
I’m a bloomin’ idiot. Gun forward, I check her bedroom, the bathroom, and every nook and cranny. Then, I step back into the hall. “No one’s here luv. You sure the mouse was moved?”
She’s pale and more than in the car, truly shook. “I can’t say a hundred percent but I never leave it on the right, I’m a lefty.”
Suds’ head pops up the stairwell, gun in hand. “What happened?”
“Callie thinks someone was in her apartment but the lock looks fine. She’s a bit freaked. I think she’d feel better if she came with us.”
He rubs his hand across his face. “Huh. Any thief worth his salt would know she had the jewelry in her ears all night.”
“Agreed.” I look at her with fresh eyes.
What are you into, luv?
