by Ashley Logan
"Yeah, but you're not a half-British asshole either, so..."
Shrugging as her voice trails off, Nina picks up her bag and digs through it. She pulls out a color pencil with a lid like a marker and hands it to me. "If you tell anyone I let you do this, I will find out what you love and take it away," she says with a tight smile before glancing quickly at Murray. Giving him a wink, she turns her attention back to me and narrows her eyes. "You make me look like a fucking panda, and I'll take Muz. He wants to come home with me, I can tell."
"Of course he wants to,” I agree without pause. “Off-duty Murray is a traitorous bastard that follows the love and cuddles. I'm afraid you'll have to accommodate his best friend too though, or he'll be howling your house down after a few minutes."
Raising one eyebrow slowly, Nina folds her arms over her chest as her expression shifts toward complete indignation. "Did you just invite yourself to my place?"
Laughing quietly, I shake my head as I uncap what I now realize is her eyeliner pencil.
"What makes you think I'm his best friend? I was talking about his cat, Howard." Muz's ears perk up and he wags his tail at the mention of his buddy.
A small, glorious sound escapes her lips. A sound that is completely unrepresentative of her publicly projected persona. I can tell by the fluttering in my heart that it's a bona fide, girl-y giggle and it's all the proof I needed.
Nina Pryzbylewski is both a saucy minx, and fucking adorable. I am falling for this woman so damn hard.
"Murray has a cat?" she asks, still quaking with quiet laughter.
"He does. And Howard has two fish." Muz barks quietly in agreement. "Howard also brought a bird home to play with, but I had to remove Kenneth from general population, because he couldn't fly away when Howie wanted to play tag."
Holding Nina's eyeliner as I would a normal pencil, I move it toward her face. "I've never drawn on a woman's face before, so you might want to give me slightly more direction than 'don't make me look like a panda'. I know how to use a pencil, but I'm shit-scared I'll poke you in the eye by accident. You should at least stop laughing, or I think any line I draw will come out in a zig-zag jiggle."
Snorting, Nina laughs again and holds her hand out for the pencil. "I don't want to end up with a curly mustache, or maniacal eyebrows, so maybe I'll just get brave enough to leave my sanctuary and go do it myself in the bathroom."
Eying her waiting palm, I retract my own, holding the pencil close to my chest.
"You're not even going to give me a chance? I'll be really good. See?" I hold out a steady hand. "I probably won't poke you in the eye at all. Can I please have a turn?"
She laughs again and crosses her arms as she studies me a moment.
"I gave it to you without thinking. I get my makeup done by others all the time. Without a mirror handy, it made sense to me, but you're making it too weird."
"How?"
"I don't know. I just feel like a coloring book, or something. You look at me too closely. Why do you even want to do it?"
Shrugging, I twist the pencil's cap.
"I want to help you get your shields up again. I like your eyes with, or without this stuff, but I like the way you act all tough when you wear it and I'm curious about the process. With this stuff on, you can tell someone to bugger off with one look, and nobody seems to argue. They just move right along. It's an enviable trait. From a cop’s point of view," I add, not wanting to admit how much I enjoy it as a man.
Looking almost offended, she leans back. "I don't tell people to bugger off."
"That's the beauty of it," I agree. "You don't even have to open your mouth."
Her brows knit further and I continue before she targets me with the very expression we're discussing.
"Obviously you don't use a look like that on everyone; only those you need to. Cops need a good 'get-back' stare to survive out there, believe me. It takes a lot of time and effort to perfect it. I have several variations myself, ranging in severity, but this stuff really does a lot of the work for you."
"I could do your eyes next?" she offers. A ghost of a smile suggests her defensiveness is waning.
Rolling the eyeliner between my fingers, I take a slow breath, pretending I'm not thinking about having her close enough to draw on any part of me that she wanted.
"So, I can do you first then?" It comes out deeper than it should and Muz's eyebrows shift as he watches me.
I give him a 'shut up Murray' look and turn back to Nina, raising the pencil in askance.
Taking a deep breath, she leans closer and begins to instruct me.
"When I look upward, you'll draw the bottom line along the entire eye, following the lash-line. Once you've done both, I'll close my eyes and you can do the top - sticking close to the lashes, same as below. Think you can manage?"
"We'll soon find out."
Taunting myself, I lean in close and take her face in one hand as I guide the pencil tip along the line of her dark eyelashes. They flutter as she keeps her eyes on the ceiling, and it's distracting as hell, but I take in everything I can about her face while I have the opportunity to be so close.
Her huge, beautiful eyes are framed by high cheek bones below, and by wide, perfectly manicured brows above. Her cheeks hold a light blush that feels warm beneath my fingers, and as I tilt her face the other way to line her other eye, I brush my thumb lightly over the balled piercing that goes right through her cheek.
If she were smiling, it would be nestled right into her dimple. I have no idea what would have possessed her to put it in there, but it fucking works for me in a way I can't even begin to understand.
Her eyes close and her lashes shiver against her cheeks as I begin applying the upper outline. It takes me a while to achieve the careful line, because now that her eyes are closed, I keep stealing glances at her lips.
The bottom one is fuller, but the top one makes the sweetest little dip in the middle, giving it an enticing and shapely appearance. Running my tongue over my own lips as I think about tugging on hers, I wonder if she'll taste as good as she smells. From what I can tell, she's been drinking some sort of tropical fruit juice, and in combination with the coconut scent of her shiny hair, she smells like a fucking Piña colada. My dick strains against my jeans and I angle him away as I gently cradle her face and complete the job.
When I lift the pencil from her face and lean back, her eyes blink at me a few times.
"How'd you do?" she whispers.
"Hard to improve on perfection, but you look fierce as hell once again."
Her eyes grow round as she stares at me.
"What?" I ask, recapping her pencil and slipping it into her bag. "They look good. I can follow instructions when I have to."
Her brows draw down and she continues to regard me with wary eyes. I have no idea how she can go so long without blinking. It gives me far too much time to get sucked into her huge, man-melting eyes. Even with her feisty makeup, she's still got the cutest, saddest, lost-puppy gaze I've ever seen.
"I suppose you give the orders more often than you take them," she says, breaking our eye contact to glance at Murray.
"Well, if I let Muz lead us around, we'd just end up eating steak, playing with his reward stick, and curling up with Howie all day. It wouldn't be a terrible life, but I'm looking for something more."
A devious smile spreads over her sexy lips, but before she can say what she's about to, the door as it swings open and we both turn to the busty brunette in a tight sweater that's just barged in.
Serge's neighbor.
Closing my eyes, I feel myself bristling as she plays out the perky routine she's tried to corner me with before. 'Hi! There you are! I'm Blah-Blah. I ran into you in the hall, remember? Blah fucking blah.'
Gritting my teeth, I plaster a fake smile on my face, ready to meet her with the kind version of my 'back-the-hell-off' glare, but just as I'm about to shine it at her, Nina's hand fists the collar of my t-shirt, drawing my attention back to her instead.
>
She doesn't pull me closer, or push me away, but simply holds me firmly in position as if she owns me. Turning her 'get-the-fuck-away-from-me' glare on the intruder, Nina very effectively frightens the bimbo into a backwards step, but when the girl doesn't straight up leave the room, Nina continues to glare at her, raises one eyebrow and also... runs her hand over my shorn head.
The move is nothing short of possessive.
Nina's bold gesture of claiming me works like a charm. Not only does the chick rush to leave, but apologizes on her way out and even shuts the door behind her.
My eyes still trained on Nina, I wait for her to face me again.
She pets my head as she might Murray's and smooths my shirt for me as her lips curl into a smug little smirk.
"Now you won't have to hide either."
I tip my head in thanks. "And all without a single word. Fierce. As. Fuck. Welcome back Prez."
"Thanks. For everything."
"No problem."
For a moment we just stare at each other. I don't know what she's thinking, but I can't get past the thought of her hand stroking my head.
Even though I know it was a scam, it sent my blood pumping to all the right places. Or maybe the wrong ones, because I'm currently thinking I should risk asking her out, now that she's feeling better. The words fall out before I can think better of them.
"You want to brave the world with me? Maybe grab a beer, or whatever candied-water you must have been sipping on before I found you?"
"Candied-water?"
I shrug. "Juice. Nectar. Whatever. You haven't been drinking alcohol. We'd smell it," I add, rocking a thumb between Muz and myself.
She raises that eyebrow again.
"Muz," I command in my work tone, bringing him to full attention in a flash. I point to Nina. "Booze?"
Giving a sniff in her direction, he looks back to me and makes a grumbling noise. Praising him, I turn back to Nina.
"Muz says you couldn't be more sober if you tried. You smell too sweet."
She's still staring at me.
I've probably gone too far. People don't like finding out they've been subjected to covert assessments; even though everyone does it. It's how first impressions are made - though most people don't have canine back up to prove their theories. That definitely adds to my intimidation factor. I should have left it out.
"He said I smell sweet?" Nina asks, her eyes narrowing at me.
Much to my surprise.
I'd expected her to do that thing where her eyes shy away from me, as they have any other time I've shown her a hint of my interest. Either her shields are back at maximum power, or we've made some definite progress today. Trying to hide my smile, I put my hands up in surrender.
"He just confirmed your sobriety. I added the sweet part. Is that going to be a problem?"
"That you think I'm sweet?" she asks, before nodding. "Yeah, that'll be a big problem."
"I didn't say that I think you are sweet. I said you smelled sweet."
Those big brown eyes study me with renewed focus.
"You don't smell sweet," she whispers.
"Probably not," I agree. "But hopefully I don't smell bad to you either. And to clarify, I actually do think you're sweet. I just also happen to think that you're a total badass as well. It's an intriguing combination. To me."
I can't really be clearer than that. Since we first met, I've known she feels this warm, crackling, whatever-it-is between us, just as I do. For reasons I'm dying to find out, she's always shied away, but we both know it's there. I can sense it in her; in the way her body responds while her mind is busy steering her feet well away from me.
I'm going to work out what the shields are for, and then I'm going to blast them apart so I can curl up in her dimple like that little silver ball I can't stop looking at.
It doesn't shimmer until she smiles, and then I swear, it winks at me. I want to make it sparkle like that every time I see it. I want to see that glint in her eyes too. Someone has done a good job of trying to extinguish it, but I'm going to nurture that little spark into a ready fucking blaze.
"What if I'm not as badass as you think?" she asks quietly, her voice trembling just a little. "What if I used to be a badass, and now I just pretend?"
"Why would you do that?"
"For protection. Self-preservation. Survival. Call it what you will."
The shift in her posture is akin to that of a beaten dog trying to stand up for itself enough that it'll be left alone.
Okay. Something traumatic definitely happened to her to warn her off alpha jerks. My whole image is a massive warning sign to her. That explains the avoidance despite the attraction. I'm going to have to prove that I'm different. Not an alpha asshole, but alpha awesome.
"Is that why you joined a pack?" I ask, relaxing back on my haunches and resting my chin in my hand to assume a non-threatening posture.
"I didn't join the pack," she says squarely. "I created it."
"I know. Because you're a badass. Case in point. Enough of the avoidance now. Do I have any chance of dating a sweet little badass pack leader such as yourself?"
Nina glances away and keeps her eyes from returning to mine. I've lost her again.
"Mitch..."
"It's fine. You're not ready. I knew that, remember? I shouldn't have pushed. I just didn't want to regret not asking, in case the answer was yes." Running my hand over my bristles, I'm reminded of how good it felt when she'd done it. "I'm not giving up, Nina. So I'll apologize in advance if you're wanting me to back off completely. There's something between us, and I can't drop it." Her eyes come back to me for a second and I do my best to hold them. "You can feel it, right?"
Pressing her lips together, she looks away again as she nods.
"Good. Then all I have to do is convince you not to be afraid of me. I can do that. I'm not a gentleman, but I don't believe that's what you're looking for. I just need to be a less scary me, and for that, I'll need for you to get to know me better. Do you at least want to know me better?"
Her eyes scan my face and then my body, before she squeezes them shut. Giving me the slightest of nods, I get the feeling she really wants to get to know me better, but her enthusiasm is reined in tight. My heart-rate kicks up a notch. She might be a harsh mistress to her emotions, but she wants me alright.
I want to pull her face to mine and tug on that bottom lip before chasing her tongue piercing around her mouth a while. I definitely want to scope out what the other side of her dimple piercing feels like too. Taking a deep breath, I don't do any such thing. Giving her a nod of my own, I stand up and hold out my hand.
"Let's start by getting a drink. I've been on call all week and I'd really like a cold beer. Would you like another juice, or something stronger?"
Gingerly taking my offered hand, she lets me help her up from her seat, but releases me almost immediately once she's up, as if the act of retrieving her bag from the floor is a two-hand job.
I let it go.
Progress is progress, and forcing things isn't an option. She wants me, and she wants to know me better. It's more than I had when I arrived.
Keeping my hands to myself, I open the door and gesture for her to go through before me.
Pausing for a moment before she exits, she looks up at me with those gorgeous, dark-rimmed eyes.
"This ‘ladies first’ behavior is quite gentlemanly."
"I firmly believe a lady should always come first."
A faint blush creeps onto her fair complexion and I have a distinct urge to press my lips to her cheek to feel the warmth. I don't. I make it bloom instead by whispering in her ear.
"But while she definitely comes first, I don't get her there in a particularly, gentlemanly fashion."
Rewarded with a delicious crimson, I flash Nina my best smile, before turning back to Muz and giving him a wink.
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BOOKS BY ASHLEY LOGAN
Other books in the BEYOND series...
Available Now!
Beyond HUNGER
(Violet Wheeler & Sergio Moretti)
Beyond HEAT
(Bruno Jackson & Scarlett Warner)
Beyond TOUCHED
(Alexa Carrington & Damon Shermansky)
Beyond COMPARE
(Katarina James & Lennox Green)
Beyond TAKEN
(Natalia Chenkov & Nikolai Rigby)
Beyond Series OFF-SHOOTS...
JENKINS & the Naughty Nurse
(Bradley Jenkins and Stacey Lane)
Coming soon from Ashley Logan...
Beyond CONTROL
(Nina Pryzbylewski & Mitchell Jones)
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About the Author
Ashley Logan writes sexy, inspirational romances with a splash of cheek thrown in for good measure.
Ash lives in a house in the trees on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, with her crazy/awesome family. She hates folding laundry, but loves music, writing, a good belly-laugh, and of course, happy endings - especially for underdogs! Always a fan of stories and the amazing successes of human resilience, Ash traded a career in nursing for an armchair and a laptop when she became inspired by people's incredible strength of mind. Creating characters in her head started as an innocent hobby, but became terribly addictive when those characters began to dance and the compulsion to tell their stories became too much to resist.
Read more at Ashley Logan’s site.