“Try it detective and you might end up with a few broken bones yourself,” she threatened softly, her heart fluttering in her throat at just the thought of Mike touching her. “Or at the very least another black eye.”
“I’ve delivered babies.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not buying that line again. I think you made it up just to, to…”
“Get inside your pants?” he asked outrageously, his face breaking out in a full-fledged grin that took her breath away all over again. The sensual warmth of his voice awakened Emma’s senses, making her aware of just how much she was attracted to him. She was mesmerized by the transformation on his face, he looked younger and less threatening when he smiled, almost boyish. The thought crossed her mind she’d like to knock that baseball cap off his head and tangle her fingers through his uncombed hair, just to see how he’d react.
Before she realized it, she was doing just that. She reached up, only instead of knocking his hat off she gently pulled it off, placing it on her stomach. Avoiding his eyes because she knew she’d lose her nerve, she slowly raised her hand, brushing the hair back from his brow before threading her fingers through the rich thickness. Silk, just like she thought.
“Emma?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you doing?”
Her eyes moved from watching the movement of her hand to meet the smoldering intensity in his eyes. She caught her breath. The hunger stamped on his expression was exciting, yet frightening. What was she doing? It wasn’t like her to take the initiative with a man. Still, the need to kiss him became so overpowering that nothing short of an earthquake was going to stop her. She didn’t care about the consequences. The hand in Mike’s hair tightened and her gaze lowered to his lips, ever so slowly guiding his head down to hers.
“If you want me to stop, you’d better tell me now, detective, otherwise I’m going to kiss you,” she purred, just inches from his mouth. She moved until she was close enough to feel his lips curve into a lazy smile against hers.
“I believe that’s my line.”
Chapter 10
Just as Mike was about to press his mouth more firmly to Emma’s and take the kiss she was offering, the same one he’d been dreaming about since that first morning in her living room, a commotion ruined the moment, causing him to jerk back. He glanced up just as a huge black dog raced around the corner of the house, being chased by two laughing little boys shouting and making enough racket to break the sound barrier. Almost immediately an elderly couple, arm in arm, followed close behind them.
“Looks like we have company,” he stated, watching them for a moment before lowering his gaze back to Emma.
The little witch, she was smiling, those doe like eyes filled with mirth as if she’d known all along they’d been about to be interrupted. He had a mind to kiss her anyway, but decided the interruption couldn’t have come at a better moment. Kissing her wouldn’t keep him from wanting her any less. In fact, if he didn’t do something soon to get her out of his system, he was going to end up in the nut house.
Lately it appeared fate, that entity he’d mocked at the Halloween party, kept tossing them together. A more logical explanation was that someone, more specifically Amanda, had a hand in it. Yet Mike dismissed that thought just as quickly, doubting she’d talked Emma into moving to the very lake he fished on every weekend just because she knew some of his habits. The smell of mint reached his nostrils, bringing his attention back to the present. It took a second before he recognized it was coming from Emma’s mouth. The scent was inviting, making him hungry to taste it on her lips. On second thought, maybe a kiss would do the trick; with a little luck she’d be a horrible kisser. Only he wasn’t about to put it to the test there in front of playing children.
“That was close,” she teased in the face of his disappointment. “Good thing we were interrupted. I’m sorry Mike. For a moment I’d forgotten you’re married. I’m not in the habit of...”
“So you keep saying,” he all but snapped back, frustration getting the better of him. That and the realization it was his own damn fault. It was on the tip of his tongue to spit out the truth but he held back, rolling to his feet. He offered his hand for assistance, his gaze traveling to where the boys were playing near the edge of the water with their dog.
The older couple, probably the grandparents, was keeping a watchful eye on everyone, just waiting for an opportunity to say something. He couldn’t blame them. Kids got enough sex and violence on TV these days. They didn’t need to see it in their own backyards. It wasn’t going to be hard disappointing them from having to say something. Mike wasn’t much into public displays. When he kissed a woman, other than the occasional peck on the cheek he bestowed on his mother or daughter, or the sloppy uncle kisses he gave his nieces, he liked privacy.
Kissing a woman he desired usually led to other things and he wasn’t some oversexed stud who couldn’t keep it in his pants. He was disciplined enough to keep his head, yet there was always a first time of losing control. Emma had the ingredients to drive him crazy. She had a lot of traits that until now Mike hadn’t known he was looking for in a woman. Most of the time he let his male urges rule his taste in mates, causing him to fall for the over zealous, shallow types who quickly revealed their true colors when he took them home for the first time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been interested in a woman with wholesome qualities.
“Thank you,” she breathed in that smoky voice of hers, putting her small hand in his.
Her light touch sent an electrical sensation up the length of Mike’s arm, but he forced himself to ignore it and gently tugged her to her feet. Underestimating the distance, he yanked too hard, causing her to slam into him, and crushing his hat between them. Only it wasn’t his hat he noticed but Emma’s soft, round breast against his chest. His gaze shot down to where the material was parted at her throat and below, to the deep cleavage which revealed where a button had come undone. Her scent assaulted his senses and for the second time Mike was close enough to breathe in the fresh mint on her breath. It angered him that his body was so quick to react to her nearness.
“I’m sorry, Mike.” Emma laughed, pulling his hat out from between their bodies.
“That’s okay,” he began, reshaping it before slapping it on his head. He stepped back out of necessity, watching her brush off the back of her jeans. There were leaves in her disheveled hair. Without thinking, he reached forward and began plucking them out. Their eyes met and held and suddenly his hand halted.
Her tongue came out, gliding over her bottom lip. Mike felt like he’d been sucker punched. “It’s not going to happen,” he said in a low, rigid voice as he lowered his arm. The best thing he could do was turn around and walk away. Better yet, move out of the whole damn state.
“What’s not going to happen?” Emma questioned innocently, the warmth of a light blush spreading across her cheeks.
“We’re not going to happen,” he said with stronger conviction, trying to convince himself as much as her. She was not going to get to him.
He’d had it with women and relationships that went nowhere once they realized he came with a kid. Mike wasn’t going to hurt Melissa that way again, no matter how horny he got. Even as he thought it, he figured he wasn’t being fair, lumping Emma in with the whole female race. He stepped back even further, squaring his shoulders as if that alone gave him the power to remain strong. “I have…”
“There he is, officer!”
The sound of panic in a voice always drew Mike’s attention and he swung around, not surprised to see Elliot and a cop in uniform striding directly towards them. He’d been expecting it. As he made eye contact with Pete, who was following close behind Elliot, his mouth twitched with wry amusement at the completely different expressions on the two men’s faces. Pete raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders in question. Elliot’s face was pink, the indignation in his eyes visible only because he had backup with him.
“Are you okay, sw
eetie?” Elliot gave Mike a dirty look, walking straight to Emma.
It shouldn’t have, but the sound of a another man calling Emma sweetie rubbed Mike the wrong way, making him want to reach out and pop Elliot in the mouth. He doubted it would take much to wipe that pompous look off his face and shut him up. If there was one thing Mike didn’t have the patience for, it was a gushing pretty boy out to make himself look good in front of a woman.
When Elliot put his hands on Emma and pulled her behind him as though to protect her, Mike literally saw red. Where the hell did he come off? A few minutes ago he’d gone running from there with his tail tucked between his legs, leaving her in a cloud of dust. His concern for her came a little too late as far as he was concerned. His gaze skipped over Elliot’s shoulder, meeting Emma’s eyes, scowling at the humor he saw lurking in their pretty depths. That she was thoroughly enjoying the situation was evident on her pleased expression.
“Arrest him officer,” Elliot insisted, giving Mike a look he would have probably thought twice about had it just been the two of them.
“Elliot, I’m okay, it’s not what you…”
“Arrest me for what, frightening you?” Mike returned, having the satisfaction of seeing Elliot’s face pale. “Maybe I’ll arrest you for striking Emma, or at the very least for abandoning her when you saw me coming.”
“I-I went for help,” he stammered in defense, actually taking a step back so that Emma was between him and Mike.
“For yourself. It’s a little late for chivalry,” Mike snarled, disgusted at Elliot’s chickenhearted move.
“Boys…”
Boys? It had been a damn long time since anyone, including his mother, had referred to him as a boy. Crossing his arms, he narrowed his gaze on Emma long enough to make her visibly uncomfortable.
“Is that a challenge?” he asked softly. He watched her cheeks turning crimson when his gaze lowered to her mouth. Mike discovered he enjoyed making Emma blush. She had an innocence about her that made her seem years younger. Furthermore, he knew it wasn’t a come on to get him to notice her, unlike some women who could turn their emotions on and off as easy as a faucet. With her it came natural. She lowered her face, breaking eye contact with him for a moment, before peering up at him from beneath the heavy sweep of thick lashes. The hunger in her eyes couldn’t be disguised.
“That sounds like a threat, officer,” Elliot stated, quickly stepping in front of Emma as though offering his slight weight as a shield. “It’s a good thing you got here when you did too. Emma has a hand print on her cheek,” he remarked, forgetting he’d been the one to put it there.
A chuckle escaped her. “Elliot…”
“She also has a bruise on her neck,” Mike pointed out with deep meaning in his eyes, watching as her hand automatically went up to where the Band-Aid should have been, only to discover it was gone. Her eyes widened expressively.
“What?” Elliot swung around so he could get a better look at what Mike was referring to. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the purple mark on her neck meant and he glanced back at Mike with wild anger in his eyes. “You, you molested her!” he accused.
Mike burst out laughing; he couldn’t help it. And he was sure he heard Pete release a low snicker before cutting it short when Elliot’s eyes shot his way.
“Elliot…stop it,” Emma said, trying to suppress her own giggle. She grabbed his arm to get his attention. “Mike didn’t do anything to me; this whole thing has been a great big misunderstanding.”
That was putting it mildly, Mike thought, bringing his laughter under control, barely. It didn’t help when he caught the gleam of humor in Emma’s eyes, realizing she was struggling with her own lack of restraint.
“What’s going on, Mike?” Pete finally injected, making an obvious effort not to grin again.
Mike took a deep breath, quickly giving Pete a brief run down. He glanced at Elliot long enough to see dawning fill his eyes. Mike wondered if there was more going on between him and Emma than just rehearsing for some play; it certainly seemed a possibility if he was reading the other man right. It was none of his business if she liked younger men. Yet what she saw in a pretty boy like Elliot…
Pete nodded, turning his attention back to Emma. “Sorry for all the confusion, ma’am.”
Her grin was split from ear to ear, the familiarity in her tone indicating she recognized Pete. “That’s okay, officer, it’s not every day I have two men fighting over me,” she teased with a wink.
“Well, if that’s the case, maybe you’d better pick one so the other will know where he stands. That way I can leave here and not worry about being called back.”
“Don’t forget we have to rehearse,” Elliot was quick to point out, making sure everyone present knew he had a legitimate reason for staying.
“That’s okay, Pete, I’ll make it easy for the lady. I’ve got some fishing to do.” Mike forced a smile for everyone’s benefit. It wasn’t easy to do when his gut was churning with something akin to dread at leaving Emma and Elliot alone together. Not normally a jealous man, he knew the feeling enveloping him could only be the green-eyed beast.
“Thank you again for coming to my defense.”
She had no idea how sensuous her voice sounded. “My pleasure,” he returned, beginning to back up. “See ya around.” It was the same phrase he’d murmured the night before.
As he walked away, Mike could hear Pete saying that he’d be on his way too. Since he hadn’t taken the time to tie his boat to the dock, Mike was forced to wade into the cold water for it. Mumbling beneath his breath, he was soaked to the waist before he was able to climb aboard. As he began to row away from shore, his gaze shot to where Emma and Elliot were watching Pete disappear around the corner of the building, and then Emma turned and directed those hard to-forget eyes at him. Even from this distance he could see the look of disappointment on her pretty face. Damn, how much longer was he going to be able to keep up the charade?
Not much longer, he mumbled beneath his breath. Which was why he was going to make sure they didn’t run into each other again.
Chapter 11
“Oh God, shoot me now and put me out of my misery!” Emma gasped, collapsing ungracefully onto the blue mat and closing her eyes in agony. She released a loud groan, throwing her arms out with exhaustion and praying no one stepped on them. She hadn’t realized how out of shape she was. An hour on the treadmill, half hour on the bicycle, but it was the twenty long minutes on the stair master that had finally done her in. They’d been the longest minutes of her life.
“It will get easier,” Amanda promised, keeping in step with the aerobics instructor.
Emma could detect the grin in Amanda’s voice but was too tired to return it. “That’s what you said last week about the bicycle,” she reminded her. “Wake me in a few hundred years.” She was hotter than heck, plucking the clinging spandex away from her body in order to let in a small gratifying amount of cool air. She moaned in absolute misery, thankful the music booming through the room was loud enough to drown her out.
“You look great in that outfit,” Amanda commented, sounding pleased with herself.
Having serious doubts about Amanda’s statement, Emma curved her mouth into a frown. She’d finally given in, letting Amanda talk her into shopping for a new gym outfit. The rose color looked good on her but she wasn’t sure it was the look she was going for, in spite of Amanda’s enthusiasm. The material was too clingy for her tastes, outlining every curve and not leaving much to the imagination, although it covered her from her shoulders to knees.
“What kind of exercise is that?”
“I’m exercising my brain,” Emma responded with a half smile, recognizing Troy’s voice above her. She was too tired to open her eyes.
“Mom used the stairmaster for the first time today,” Amanda explained, stopping long enough to give him a quick kiss on the lips.
“Do I need to find someone to give her mouth to mouth?” he teased.
“Or do I call for an ambulance?”
Emma opened one eye to glare at Amanda’s future husband. He was apparently serious about his workouts and was drenched in sweat, his blonde hair darker where it was plastered to his head. He was smiling down at her, deep dimples apparent at both sides of his mouth. “Cute. All I need is a little break.”
“Why don’t you get into the hot tub? That’s the perfect thing for those sore muscles.”
The hot tub, now why hadn’t she thought of that? It sounded like heaven. Emma hadn’t been in it since joining the gym, opting for the steam room instead. Maybe Troy was on to something. She made a half-hearted attempt at getting up, grunting with exhaustion before falling back onto the mat.
“Here, let me help you.” Troy laughed, holding out his hand. “Do I need to walk you to the tub and help you in, too?” He continued in a joking voice, giving Amanda a wink.
Emma glared threateningly at him after letting him tug her to her feet. “Keep it up, son, and you’ll need help,” she snorted, turning her back to them. “I’ll meet you in the steam room in a few minutes,” she added, making it clear to Amanda that she was done for the day.
* * * *
Mike quietly watched Emma leave the room, picking up speed until he was at a full run on the treadmill. He’d spied her the minute he walked into the room, unable to stop himself from running his eyes along the shapely length of her as she lay panting on the mat. A grin covered his face before he remembered she was the last woman he wanted to see, much less be near. She was too damn appealing. And if it wasn’t bad enough that fate seemed to be constantly throwing them together, he was dreaming about her now.
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