Page 268 of A Matter of Time

Just the thought of him holding me down had me desperate for it. When I caught my breath, he wedged his knee between my legs, and then his thigh as he leaned into me.

“Listen, I want you to meet me around the corner at the River Road Bar.” His voice was deep and sexy, sending ripples of heat through me. “You go there and wait, and as soon as I’m done here, I’ll meet you.”

But my brain kicked in and my head cleared.

“Did you hear me?”

I had no intention of meeting him anywhere. This illustration of his power over me was terrifying. No other guy could get me panting and writhing in seconds. No one else had such control over me. I wanted to run away as fast as I could.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back hard, uncaring about whether or not it hurt. “Do not even think about ditching me.”

“No.”

He kissed the base of my throat. “Your heart is beating so fast, baby.”

I shivered hard.

“Fuck it, get in the car.”

“You’re on duty,” I reminded him.

“No, I’m not. I was just driving home and heard the call. I figured I was close to where you were, so I could check in on you after.”

“How did you know where⁠—”

“I can track your phone. I told you.”

Police detective. I forgot sometimes. “Lemme go,” I ordered. “You’re hurting me.”

“I am not,” he said, his hand moving from my hair to my throat. “I could never hurt you.”

“Get off me,” I snapped, wriggling in his arms, trying to lever myself off the car. He stepped back, and I moved quickly away from him.

“Walk to the bar, J. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

I turned to go, but before I was out of his reach, he grabbed hold of my shoulder and spun me back around to face him.

“God, what?”

His expression was dark, brows furrowed, jaw clenched. “Be there.”

I just stared at him for a long moment before I started walking backward.

“You’re not gonna meet me there, are you.”

I shook my head.

“Why?” he yelled down the street, the space between us significant enough that even if he bolted, he wouldn’t reach me.

“Because of what you just did.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

I shrugged.

“You loved every second of that.”

And if we were being honest, I had, but we weren’t being honest. He stood there watching me, and I turned and walked away.