Chapter Six #2
The irony of her situation kind of hit her funny bone.
When she’d first stumbled upon this beautiful town, Elle’s heart told her this was the right setting for her series.
Then she’d met the officer she was supposed to shadow, and Elle knew without a doubt that fate had sent her here, because the name of the officer who’d died trying to save her brother’s life, twenty-five years ago, was also Officer Mercer.
Well, actually, it had been Officer Martin, but his partner, Officer Mercer had also died. And since there were only about thirty-four thousand people with that surname, she took it as a sign that she was meant to write her series with his help.
Now, she was beginning to doubt it. Big time.
“No, you don’t need to apologize, Ms. Hudson. I do,” he proclaimed, stunning her silent. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I just needed clarification of your actions.”
She cleared her unreasonably dry throat. “I get it. And I can assure you that my actions toward you have always been honorable.”
Her thoughts? Not so much.
Especially when he showed up naked in her dreams.
“Is that right?” His lips twitched and gaze heated, and that was when Elle realized she’d just spoken all of it out loud.
Freakin’ seriously?
When dealing with Jeremy, she needed to be firing on all cylinders, and that wasn’t the case at the moment. Dammit. It took all of Elle’s concentration to keep her body’s reaction to him under control.
It was ridiculous, really.
He was analytical. Rigid. Saw things in black and white, while she was a dreamer who saw many colors. They didn’t mesh.
He raised a brow and continued to stare at her with heated interest. “Afraid to admit it?”
No. Yes.
She shrugged. “You live in a world of facts and evidence, while I live in a world of emotions and dreaming. We clash.”
Elle’s body didn’t care about logic, though.
Her pulse was erratic, and her nipples were beading behind the lace of her bra.
It was stupid and interesting and exhilarating.
Nothing like this had ever happened to her before, but then, she’d never met anyone like Jeremy before, either.
He was the most manly, vigorous, alpha male she’d ever met.
Sex together would be spectacular, and combustible. High-octane.
But that wasn’t why she was in the Poconos.
“You still didn’t answer my question.”
“What’s the point? It’s not like you’d do anything about it, anyway,” she stated with a lift of her chin.
The heat in his gaze intensified, and he moved closer.
She really needed to stop poking the bear.
“Is that what you think?”
His intimidation tactics weren’t going to work on her. Okay, they so were, but she never was good at backing down.
Elle shrugged. “It’s what I know.”
Jeremy took another step closer, and with her car at her back, escape wasn’t an option. But the thing was, Elle didn’t want to escape. She wanted to see just how far Officer Mercer was willing to go.
“Is that right?” the gorgeous, smug man repeated, this time softly.
“Yes,” she replied, just as softly.
He closed the distance between them, and their bodies touched.
The man was in her personal space, so she set her hands on his chest, but the feel of all that hard, warm strength kind of blurred her reasoning.
She didn’t push him away, nor did she pull him closer.
Instead, Elle stood there in a heated, foggy limbo.
It was extremely fascinating and rather amazing.
Good thing the car was behind her, because her knees threatened to wobble.
“What if I told you that you know nothing, Ms. Hudson?” The timbre of his voice lowered an octave, as he brushed the back of one of her hands with his thumb.
The man was good and potent.
“I’d say prove it,” she replied, fighting a threatening tremor. “But that’s not something Officer Mercer would do, is it?”
He stared at her for a long moment before a sinful grin tugged at his lips. “You seem to forget one important thing.”
She blinked, having trouble remembering what the heck the point was, anymore. “What’s that?”
“I’m not wearing a uniform tonight.”
With that, he cupped her jaw, then leaned in until their lips nearly met. Hovering there, Jeremy waited a moment, holding her gaze while her body hummed to life. Try as she might, Elle couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting shut in an open invitation.
His lips brushed hers then, once, twice, before settling full on, causing breath to hitch in her throat and a tremor to break loose.
Their kiss grew stronger, and when his tongue slid inside her mouth and touched hers, she moaned.
Elle couldn’t help it. She’d never been this turned on so soon.
An answering low sound rumbled in his throat, then he shoved his hands into her hair and deepened the kiss.
Not to be outdone, she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck and melted against him.
His hot, hard body made her feel soft and feminine.
The sensation was new and addicting and dangerous.
But a second later, someone passed by and blew a horn.
Jeremy released her, and she reached for the car behind her to steady herself.
The same couldn’t be said for her breathing. It was far from under control.
“Okay, what…just happened?”
“Some yahoo thought he was funny blowing his horn,” Jeremy replied through ragged breaths.
She snorted. “I didn’t mean that. I meant the kiss.”
“A mistake,” he said, without hesitation. Ouch. He blew out a breath and shoved a hand through his hair. “You drive me crazy.”
A half bad and half good answer. She did her best to take it at face value and not to heart. Mostly because she was in complete concurrence.
She lifted her chin. “Then I guess we’ll pretend it never happened.”
Not that she’d ever forget an incredible kiss like that.
Their gazes met and held for a few unnerving seconds.
Then he nodded. “Good.”
“Good,” she said back and got into her car, digging out her key and shoving it in the ignition a little harder than necessary.
He was quite the sight as he moved in front of her open door, muscles flexing as he set his hands on the roof of her car. Those delectable creases in his jeans were practically at eye level. The man was virile, dangerous, and sexy as sin.
He leaned down into her open door. “Sweet dreams, Ms. Hudson.”
The smug expression remained on his handsome face as he stepped back.
She winked up at him. “And in yours, Officer Mercer.”
Smiling, Elle shut the door and drove away, but her triumph was short lived when she remembered she still had several more “cooped up in a squad car” days to go with the potent man.