Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
She looked up at him. “I’m not. But I didn’t have plans and thought it would be a good time to get some paperwork done.” Her stiff and formal tone was appropriate for work.
Damned if he didn’t hate it anyway. “When you’re finished, what do you say about a trip to New York to do a little digging into your cold case?”
Her eyes lit up at the idea. “What kind of digging?”
“I have a contact I want to hit up for some information.”
“Sweet.” She rubbed her hands together in excitement. “I’m in!” She glanced at her watch. “Give me an hour?”
“You got it.”
She shot him a quick smile before reimmersing herself in work, ignoring him completely.
It grated on him, how easy she found it to put up barriers here at the station, ignoring the chemistry that sizzled between them when they were alone. Hell, just looking at her, he felt it now. He remembered how she’d looked lying in his old bed, all tousled and well kissed and open. To him.
If he couldn’t hold it together at work, he really had a problem. Maybe he just needed to get her out of his system. After all, he hadn’t had sex with her since his return. All this teasing and foreplay had him on edge. He needed to get her alone, and though that hadn’t been the plan when he’d asked her to go to Manhattan, it was definitely his agenda now. New York City was his turf, and he knew just where to take her for some long overdue alone time with no interruptions.
By the time they came back to Serendipity, Mike had no doubt he’d be satisfied and have had his fill. No more jealousy, no more emotional thoughts crashing into his brain. He’d be his cool, calm, collected self once more.
* * *
Since Cara had planned to do some paperwork and head home, she’d worn jeans to the station. When she met Mike at his truck, she discovered he’d changed into denim too, so she didn’t have to worry about being underdressed for whatever meeting they were going to have.
Unfortunately, the worn, faded denim lovingly hugged Mike’s muscular thighs and tight ass. She sighed, knowing she was doomed to be distracted during this work-related trip.
“Ready?” he asked as he slipped his sunglasses onto his face. Leather jacket, jeans, and aviators were a potent combination on this man.
“Yep.” She pulled her own sunglasses out of her bag and plopped them on, hoping he wouldn’t notice her staring.
He opened the passenger door for her, and she was struck by what a gentlemanly thing it was for him to do. She settled into her seat, buckling in. He joined her around the other side, and soon they were on their way.
Since leaving his parents’ house on Sunday, she’d been on edge and off-kilter. Her mind fluctuated from his intense, heated words, While we’re together, you’re mine, to his emotional withdrawal and colder reply of No hearts involved.
She shivered, and he glanced her way.
“Are you cold?” he asked, turning up the heat without waiting for an answer.
“Yes. That’ll help.” The lie slipped easily off her tongue as she glanced at him.
Though it was overcast and looked like snow, the glare forced them both to keep their sunglasses on, and she had a hard time reading him behind the lenses. Still, she didn’t doubt that he desired her. Their sexual chemistry was off the charts, and she’d be stupid to deny herself something she wanted so badly. But she needed to hold on to the stark truth that for Mike, this thing between them was all about sex. And Cara had never been much good doing sex without emotion.
She bit the inside of her cheek and decided to put all those feelings into a little box, shut the lid, and push them aside to deal with when this relationship was over or Mike left town, whichever came first. She was good at compartmentalizing and shutting down emotions she didn’t want to deal with. She’d had an entire lifetime so far to develop the skill.
“So tell me about this contact,” she said to Mike.
“Someone I know from my undercover days. I’m hoping I can be convincing enough to get my friend to dig into the database without raising a red flag. Last thing I need is to put this case on anyone else’s radar,” he muttered.
“Do you really think Simon knows what happened to those bills?” she asked, unable to reconcile the upstanding police chief and man she knew with someone who’d hold back crucial information on any case.
“Can you think of another reason he’d go silent on me or Sam?”
He had a point. “I guess not.”
The rest of the ride passed in surprisingly comfortable silence. As they drove into the heart of Manhattan, Cara sat up higher in her seat to look out the window. Tall buildings and so many people bundled in their winter coats, some walking their dogs, their kids, and even babies in covered strollers.