“I don’t think the cops know anything about the girl.”
Probably not. They had their hands full without having to arrest the same guy twice.
Jase reached into the pocket of his black T-shirt, plucked out a folded-up hundred-dollar bill and slid it across the table to Dieter. “Let me know if you come up with anything else.”
Tommy snagged the hundred. “Good luck,” he said. “I hope you nail this prick. What he did to that girl...fucker deserves to fry.”
Jase made no comment since he completely agreed. One of the perks of the job was bringing dicks like Harding to justice.
As Tommy walked away, Jase noticed his seat at the bar was still empty. Since he wasn’t ready to leave, he picked up his beer and headed back the way he’d come.
He watched the blonde as he passed the dance floor. He’d been watching her all evening. The good news was, she’d been watching him, too.
When the song came to an end, she left the boy biker and walked toward him, stopped right in front of his bar stool, the heels on her boots pushing her closer to his height.
She smiled. “You like to dance, cowboy?”
“Depends.”
“On what? The song?”
“Who I’m dancing with.”
A dark blond eyebrow went up. “Is that right...”
“That’s right, darlin’, and you’ll do just fine.” Without waiting for a reply, Jase swept her onto the dance floor. She felt good in his arms, fit him just right. She was a good dancer, but so was he. He was a Texan. He’d done all the usual things a Texas boy did. Played football, drank beer down on the river, rode horses and two-stepped.
“What’s your name?” he asked as he whirled her around the floor.
“Kate.” She smiled. “You’re Hawk.”
So she’d heard Tommy greet him. “I prefer Jason or Jase.”
Her smile widened into a grin that etched a dimple into her cheek, and he felt jolt of heat. He realized she was on her way to drunk, but so far, he didn’t think she’d crossed the line.
“I like Hawk,” she said. “It’s sexy.”
“You think so?” As the song came to an end, he drew her off the dance floor into the shadows, took a chance she wouldn’t slap his face and kissed her.
She softened against him and kissed him back, and he took it a little deeper, felt the rush hit his system. Since they were standing in a bar full of people, he didn’t let it go too far.
Kate ran a finger along his jaw. “You looked like you’d be a good kisser and you are,” she said.
“We can go outside and I’ll show you just how good I can be, but it’s gotta be up to you.”
Something flickered in her big brown eyes, and for an instant her bright smile faded. “I need that. Just this once, just for tonight.” Her grin returned. “Come on, cowboy, let’s go.”
She left him long enough to grab her purse off the bar. When she led him outside, he didn’t resist, just followed her out the door and pulled her back into his arms. She tasted better than good and he deepened the kiss, sinking into those plump pink lips, inhaling her soft perfume.
Kate was right there with him, taking the hot kiss deeper, pressing her full breasts into his chest, turning him rock hard and making him reckless.
“My house or yours?” he asked. He wasn’t into one-night hookups, not usually, but this woman hit every hot button he had.
For the first time, Kate looked uncertain. “I might want you, big boy, but I’m not dumb enough to leave with a total stranger.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Smart girl.” Pulling the keys to his big black Yukon out of the pocket of his jeans, he clicked the locks, flashing the lights, and gave her the keys. “So you know I’m not going to drag you off somewhere.”
She looked down at the keys, then over at the SUV parked in the dark at the edge of the lot. In his job, it paid to be careful. Kate slid her arms around his neck and kissed him again, hot, wet and deep, and the last of her reservations seemed to fade.
