Chapter Twenty-Two
Several days passed, after that Halloween debacle of a visit, and yet more radio silence from Grease.
I eventually forced myself to put my mind on my coworkers, since I’d let them drag me to the pub for the first time ever as a group.
How badly wrong could it go? Would I get a few drinks in me, and declare to the whole group that I was having sexy feelings for a criminal? I really fucking hoped not.
The pub was actually more of a bar, but without the class, and maybe that was what we needed.
There was music, there was a dancefloor, and there was alcohol.
For the first time ever, I allowed myself to just enjoy myself.
To sink into the atmosphere, and interact with the people around me.
I received a few ‘you’re not as uptight as I thought’ type comments, mostly from the older guys in our group, but I ignored those, and danced with the other women, because that’s what I came here for.
It was rare to have a whole night off, without an early start the next morning, so of course I enjoyed a few beers, and some shots, and danced my ass off, and when I felt large warm hands sliding over my shoulders, as I boogied to something fast and bassy, I froze, because why do men always think that’s okay?
I don’t know this asshole, and I don’t want his fucking hands on me.
Before I could turn to yell at him, I heard a growl and a curse behind me, and those hands disappeared fast. I spun on my heel, almost tipping sideways from the sudden shift in momentum, but a strong grip on my arm caught me just in time.
“The fuck?”
“You wanna apologise to the lady for putting your fucking hands on her?” I heard the man holding onto me growling at the offender, and that’s when I recognised that growl, that cologne, and my body practically shuddered with need. Grease.
“You’re the one hanging onto her like a fucking keeper.
Why don’t you back off? I was here first.” Oh, the other guy was a fool, because he didn’t realise who he was messing with, and no, I didn’t mean Grease.
I shook my arm free of his firm grip, and stepped ahead of him, my chin lifted and my glare firmly on the blonde guy who’d touched me.
“I’m a police officer. Want me to explain to you what consent means, and what assault is?”
“I’d rather fucking show him,” Grease growled out, right in my ear, and I spun to glare at him next, dismissing the first guy in a flash. Hey, I even didn’t nearly fall over this time.
“And you? You can back the fuck off too. How dare you get involved, and think you have to protect me. Me! I’m a fucking police officer, dammit.
I have self defence training and… and… I could have ripped off his fucking balls, and handed them to him!
” I think that got away from me a bit, but Grease’s slow grin took some of the fire out of me, because he wasn’t laughing at me.
He was nodding as he did it, and that validation is what kept his balls attached for him.
“Oh, I’m all too aware of how tough you are, little pain. I just didn’t like his hands on you.”
Asshole. I rested my hands on my hips, and ignored the way his eyes dipped down to look at me, like down there.
“You don’t get to decide whose hands are on me. For all you knew, maybe he was my boyfriend! You don’t have any right to make any fucking judgements about me, or any men in my life!”
He leaned closer, his fingers resting against my cheek, as his thumb lifted my chin.
“You don’t have a boyfriend, baby, but you have me. I’m not about to share you with any other assholes, so why don’t you just wind it in, and come with me.”
I swallowed hard, for some reason not moving from his light grip on my face. Why wasn’t I moving?
“Is there a problem here?” One of the women I’d been dancing with, another PC, stepped in, and I realised this was so much worse than me arguing with some rando on the dancefloor.
This was me caught in an intimate moment with a criminal, the kind of man who fucking exudes just how much of a bad guy he is.
There was no way she’d think this was anything other than me being confronted by the kind of guy I’d normally arrest. In fact, let’s be honest here…
the one man I’ve arrested more times than any other.
I tugged my face from his hold, and backed up a step.
“Nope. All good. This ‘gentleman’ was just leaving.”
Grease snorted, mocking my finger quotes as he responded.
“This ‘gentleman’ hasn’t quite finished his ‘conversation’ with the ‘lady’ here.”
“Argh, you’re such a prick! Leave me alone before I find another reason to arrest you!
” I stormed away from him, and the dancefloor, and headed for the table we’d been seated at, where Alex and two of the other officers were chatting, or at least had been until they saw the altercation on the dancefloor.
“Do you need assistance, Jay?”
Alex leaned past me and groaned.
“Jesus, is that who I think it is?”
Shit. “I don’t care,” I said firmly, grabbing my things and heading for the door.