"You're the one who started this, doll." As he plucked pins out of her bun, his words were lost somewhere in her hair. Running his palms down her back, he felt something tucked into her waistband. Just before she twisted away, he yanked the object into the air. Muted light glinted off silver handcuffs. "Kinky."
"Hand them back," she whispered, eyes wide and frozen.
"Okay, but . . ." Sure, the idea of imminent sex with this beautiful woman had fogged his brain, but the effects quickly lifted. Holding his hand above her head, he let the cuffs dangle from his fingertips. "You're a cop?" The words were quietly spoken and full of derision.
"Look, sir—"
He leaned in close, his words a deep pulse between them. "I don't have to pay for sex, doll. Never have, never will."
Maybe it was petty, but he dropped the handcuffs on the asphalt as he strode away.
His cock wept in hearty remorse.
It wasn't the first time he'd been five seconds from getting arrested. Dollface back there might be shocked to the core if she got a look at his rap sheet. All of it was old, and all of it was an act of desperation by a parentless child. Criminal mischief had never been enough to send him to Rikers, but solicitation of a prostitute sure would fuck up his night.
As he cranked his car, he felt his blood pressure rise. Who the fuck did she think she was, trying to trap working men into that shit? Minding their goddamn business at the end of a long day, knocking back a beer or two, and there she comes. With a body built for sinning, no straight man would turn her down. Flynn wondered how many would reach the point where they just needed to get in her pants and agreed to anything she asked out of desperation.
Her shadow was still visible by the wall when he pulled out of the lot's back entrance. He'd spent more time with cops than the average person—one who wasn't related to any, at least. Whether they were arresting his parents, delivering him to Child Protective Services, or hauling him downtown to question him about shit gone wrong, he'd spent too much time in their company to ever trust one. They never said what they meant or meant what they said. Always using doublespeak to trick him into ratting out his buddies. The idea of fucking one left a bad taste in his mouth.
Before reaching the end of the second block, he'd already turned the wheel to go back. When Flynn stalked through the door a second time, it was with a purpose.
"Hey, Sully."
The bartender looked up, his brows raised. "Thought you left."
"I did." Nodding at Sully, Flynn pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "With that one."
"Smokin' hot gypsy woman?" The corner of Sully's mouth lifted. "She knee you in the balls or somethin'?"
Leaning close, Flynn said, "Turns out, she's five-o."
Sully froze. "Say what?"
"We didn't get as far as her asking for payment so she could bust me, but that don't mean it won't happen to someone else."
"Not in my bar."
Flynn thumped the scarred wooden bartop. "Exactly."
With a scowl on his wide, pock-marked face, Sully lumbered around the end of the counter. "Hey, you!"
The hot chick didn't even look surprised when she glanced up at the former heavyweight champion of Palmer High. With a defiant chin, she looked Sully directly in the eyes as he spoke to the patron she flirted with.
"She's a hooker, Mac." The other man scrambled back in his chair, turning it over as he stood.
"Actually, I'm not."
Flynn watched with a sardonic grin as she rose gracefully, the hair he’d mussed falling around her shoulders like a dark cloud. Mac made a mad dash for the men’s room.
She continued, "But I can see I'm not welcome here." As though nothing had happened, she made her way to the door with her head held high.
"She's a goddamn cop, looking to trap one of us into a solicitation charge." There was a collective grumble, but no dramatic gasps. Flynn wasn't sure what he'd hoped for, but he needed them to know she wasn't trustworthy. "Steer clear if you see her anywhere else."
"I don't want to see your face back in here," Sully said.
As her cheeks flushed red, she retreated. Flynn followed, blocking her exit with his palm on the door.
"Find another establishment to do your dirty work in, doll."
