“Do I want to know?”she asked.
“Maybe not, but after that kiss, and what’sgonnacome next, you need to anyway.”
She took her own beat before she invited, “Right then, sockit to me.”
“You are not going out on a date with a guy who has afascination with your breasts when you’re in my bed.”
“I’m not in your bed yet, Dutch, and pointing out, it wasyou who put a stop to that.”
“I’ll amend.You are not going out on a date with a guy whohas a fascination with your breasts when it’s a certainty you’regonnabe in my bed.”
“Dutch—”
He asked a question he did not want to ask.
“You into this guy?”
She scrunched her nose.
She was not into this guy.
He straightened, and he’d never heard it come from his ownthroat, but he could not deny it was an actual growl when he started,“Georgie—”
“He’s not a cop, but he has electronic access, and he cangive me good stuff, Dutch.”
“Yeah, and I know actual cops, a number of them, who alsohave access, who not only won’t mind sharing, I’ve already got asitdownplanned with two of them tomorrow.”
“Oh,” she mumbled.
“Cancel your plans.”
She tipped her head to the side.“Ikindacan’t.”
“You absolutely can.”
“Well, see, now, if I screw this up, he’sgonnabe mad, and I’ll lose my source in the DPD.I knowsomeone else who’s got loose lips, but they don’t have his kind of access.And,as previously mentioned, I’m soon to be assigned articles on the crime beat, soI need a good source.So Ihaveto go, regardless.”
Dutch looked to the ceiling.
“I was right,” Georgiana said.
He looked back to her and saw her grinning.
“It’s totally cute, the protective, and in this case,possessive thing,” she explained.
“I’m notfeelin’ cute,” heinformed her.
“Well, you are,” she muttered to the neck of her beer bottlebefore she took another sip.
“You go, you’re done, you come here to me,” he demanded.
“There’s a problem with that too,” she admitted.
Jesus.
“What?”he asked.
“I have a cat, that’s not really my cat, but I’m claiminghim.He was not a big fan of substitute momma leaving him overnight to go meeta douchebag, deadbeat attorney in DC.So, in order to assist him in gettingover his trauma of spending the night alone, I really shouldn’t make him spendthe night alone again so soon.”
