Page 29 of Cops and Robbers

The tracker she had pulled up was in Philadelphia at a location Raz recognized, since he had the map posted on the poster board in his kitchen. The Super Bowl ring was at the ball player’s residence, from whom she had stolen from.

“I return every single item I steal, and my clients do with it what they want at their own discretion,” she said. “I’m not responsible if they commit insurance fraud, but I try to turn them in without leading them on. These people hire me to do a job. At first, I was doing it under the radar, but it wasn’t long before the news caught up with me. I performed my part and told them to funnel my payment into orphanages because I’m not the one who needs the money.”

Given her past, that didn’t surprise him, and this woman who had a big heart chipped at his armor.

“That paper trail is collateral I keep against the people who hire me, not that they think of it that way. Do you know how much publicity they get because the Bubblegum Bandit comes to their establishment? I even tipped off the field office about the trackers, but no one paid attention. Why is it that someone who is trying to help others in this way is called a criminal? I’m not without blame as I’ve used unfriendly tactics and used them as a ploy to get to you, but you’re a vigilante—don’t try to deny that—so you should understand what I’m trying to do here. I want to help people who can’t help themselves.”

Raz’s ears pounded, drowning out her words. His dragon was a thundercloud in his head, raining down lightning and fire throughout his body. Her words spoke to him on so many levels. Did his team go to dangerous locations and kill brothers and sisters or husbands and wives to keep cities safe? Yes. Did he understand what it was like to want to help others? Yes.

Fuck.

“So sorry to tell you”—she lifted her legs onto the corner of his desk, leaning the chair back into him—“you can’t call me a criminal any more than you can call yourself one, hotrod.”

Her suggestive tone and that damn fucking confidence were enough to set him ablaze, an explosion waiting to happen. There had been one inevitable outcome between them that he was finding harder and harder to deny, especially now that he couldn’t think of her as the enemy—if she wanted him, he’d fuck her. But what was coursing through him now wasn’t just sexual desire, though most of it probably was—he couldn’t deny the tension between them had been thick enough to swim in—but this was attraction on another level. The kind that could destroy a man if he allowed himself to get too deep. But he found himself caring less and less about the consequences.

Kate didn’t just make him feel like he didn’t have the world on his shoulders; she made him feel like that weight could be lifted, the burden shared. Because if there were someone like her who had been raised in the darkness, lived in it, yet still found a way to shine. To fight. Then maybe there was hope for him to avenge his clan and destroy the thing that haunted him, and she was hope wrapped up in a fun little package. And he wanted to help her. He wanted to—

His hands, feeling more like claws, grabbed the back of the leather seat.

Kate fell quiet and turned toward him. “What are you thinking about?”

“Every reason not to fucking kiss you.”

She took a slow breath. “I think about that a lot too. But…”

“But?” he pushed.

“I’m running out of reasons.”

He couldn’t agree more and captured that damn mesmerizing mouth in a kiss.

The plush cushion of her lips surrendered, and her fingers curled into his shirt to tug him forward. Her feet plopped to the floor as she turned into him, seeking more contact. Kate opened her mouth without hesitation; her wicked tongue playing with his in maddening wet strokes. Savage need scorched blood straight to his cock, pulsing, filling.

Kate jumped, the chair crashing to the floor. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him forcefully—just as desperate as he felt. He pushed her against the desk. Bending her backward, he pressed his dick against her midsection, sending tingles through his constricted shaft. Her hands tore at his shirt. And hell—he wanted more.

Grabbing her onesie’s zipper, he ripped it down her body and shoved the clothing away from her soft skin, allowing him to drown in her scent. Only her.

His fingers flew to the back of her bra. By the time he unclasped the material, she had unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt. Running his hands over her shoulders and down her chest, he let the bra slide into her lap. Her breasts filled his hands; her tightened peaks pressing into his palms. She moaned into their sloppy but fucking hot kiss.

His shirt came free as she ripped it open, destroying each button. Her urgency spurred his dick into an angry throb. Gasping, Raz tore away from the kiss to rock his cock against her core, trying to soothe the rutting ache tearing through him. She moaned, and her confident hands ran up his shoulders and under his shirt to push it down behind him, locking his arms behind his back.

Turning the tables on me, you foxy—

She slammed him back into the wall, and his arms were effectively trapped. The stare she gave him, like he was the only man she wanted to fuck, melted him. And despite the vulnerability, he stayed put, wanting everything her gaze promised. Her lips crashed into his in a passionate heat, warming to a raging boil.

As she trailed kisses down his naked chest, the hair on his neck stood on end. His focus billowed up into a haze of need. The snap of his pants’ button and zipper released his penis from the constriction. Sparks fluttered in his stomach.

She shoved his pants and briefs to the ground. His cock bobbed free, causing pleasure-pain to arc from his bollocks to his groin.

“Fuck,” he groaned, banging his head back against the wall. What is she doing to me? He licked his lips and gazed down at her.

Her pursed lips were so painfully close to his throbbing member. A shock of blown warmth spread over his sensitive skin. Is she blowing hot air at my… She gazed up at him with that playful look in her eyes. What have I gotten myself into? She’s too hot…she’s too… Her lips covered his tip, and she sucked. His body tingled, balls tightening to loosen the seed that her mouth beckoned as she swallowed him inch by slow inch.

“You’re fucking perfect,” he growled. But damn, there was no way he was letting her be the only one to play that game.

She gasped at his words—the sincerity in them caused liquid heat to pool between her legs. Did he really just call me perfect?

Raz’s arm strained distractingly as he ripped the shirt Kate had used to lock his arms. The clothing fluttered to the floor of the office as he hoisted her up under her armpits. Glee bubbled through her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and he carried her to the desk and deposited her on the surface. His gaze spoke of delicious torture, and she smiled, accepting the towel she had thrown. She wanted him. All of him. Because she knew what lay on the other side of this desire-filled haze—a dangerous mission that might tear them apart. If they were just going to have this one time together, she’d make it count.