Chapter Seven
"If you're trying to scare me by being this close, it isn't working," Ajana taunted.
"I know you aren't about to do anything to me.
You're all talk and no bite." She doubted Ryan knew how to get rough and tough with the best of them.
"You're what we call a good guy. That's the main reason I came to you and not Officer Jones. I didn't like the way he looked."
Her nipples puckered when Ryan's body leaned closer and his chest brushed across hers.
"How do you know I don't bite? I might want to take a bite out of you right now, Miss Bennett.
With the way you keep looking at my mouth, I think you might want the first bite to be on that full bottom lip of yours. "
This can't be happening. "You're wrong, Ryan.
I wasn't looking at your mouth, and I haven't been flirting with you.
I didn't realize you had an ego problem.
" God, she had to get better at hiding her strong attraction to Ryan.
She wasn't here for a quickie with a cop.
She only craved one thing from the man that was making her stomach do cartwheels.
One eyebrow arched over bedroom eyes. "Oh, if I'm wrong please enlighten me to the truth," Ryan suggested, pushing his body away from hers. "I'm up to learning new things."
Ajana hated how she still wanted to feel Ryan's warm breath on her face, but she wouldn't let him know that tidbit of information. "You and I aren't compatible."
"Why aren't we?"
"You're the cop trying to help me on one hand. However, I'm not dumb enough to believe you aren't still trying to put me away at the same time."
"Have you always been like this?" Ryan inquired, going back to the refrigerator.
Why was he always asking her something? She should be the one tossing out questions.
Ryan was getting more from her than she wanted him to know.
He was still her hostage in some way. Maybe it was a bad idea not making him stay in the chair.
He could overpower her at any time.[S16] She should have thought of this earlier.
She had to be one of the dumbest kidnappers in the world.
"I don't think anything is wrong with me and I don't like you implying that there is," Ajana complained, getting up from her chair. "You aren't the one calling the shots here, I am."
Chuckling, Ryan opened the refrigerator and started pitching food on the counter. "Honey, you shouldn't quit your day job. You're a horrible criminal."
"No, I'm not. I did a pretty job of getting you to do what I want, didn't I?" How dare he laugh in her face! It took planning on top of planning to get everything to fall into place. "You would still be in that chair if those kids hadn't knocked on the door."
"See, that was your first mistake," Ryan replied, kicking the refrigerator shut with his heel. Grabbing all the items off the counter, he carried them over to the roll away island on her left. "A good criminal never does crimes on a holiday. Too many people out there to witness it."
Ajana wasn't buying into his logic. No one saw her when she hid inside his car at the police station. He was trying to make her doubt her ability, and it wasn't going to work.
"Nice try, Ryan, but I did an excellent job and you're still pissed a woman tricked you."
"Let's just say I wouldn't want it in a report," he agreed, winking at her. "How about you come over here and make a salad while I start on the steaks?"
"You're going to trust me with a knife?"
"You aren't about to hurt the guy who is going to help you. Besides, I'm quicker than I look. I'll have the knife away from you and you would be flat on your back in a matter of seconds."
"Alright, I'll remember that, Officer," Ajana teased, sliding a knife out of the holder on top of the island. Picking up the lettuce Ryan had placed in front of him, she started working on making a salad to go along with the steaks.
* * * *
Maybe he was having a breakdown and didn't know it.
That would be the only way to explain why he was cooking dinner with Ajana instead of hauling her sexy, tight ass down to see Sergeant Carelli.
How about if someone slipped a dumb ass pill into his coffee this morning and it was only now taking effect to his senses?
How many years had he worked as a cop? Everything that was going on right now could cost him his job.
Sergeant Carelli was an understanding man, but he wouldn't have his back when it came to this.
He was hiding a criminal suspect right under his roof.
What if someone did see them drive in and called his job?
Everyone could be waiting for him to bring Ajana in and might be wondering what was taking so long.
But, after seeing all the paperwork she forced on him, he felt deep down that Ajana might not be the woman they were looking for.
He wanted so badly to prove that his previous two cases hadn't messed with his mind.
So, he jumped at this without doing all the research he usually did.
Sergeant Carelli had been breathing down the side of his neck, and the jackass Angelo was at the other side.
He wasn't the type to be overcome by a pretty face, despite the fact Ajana's dark toffee complexion was flawless and her body would give any pinup model a phobia.
He honestly wanted to look deeper into the case.
Picking out the correct seasonings from the spice rack in front of him, Ryan studied Ajana from the corner of his eye.
She was chewing on her bottom lip while cutting up the lettuce for the salad.
The first time he saw her photos she reminded him of that actress from the Big Momma movies that played Martin Lawrence's wife.
All his friends wondered why he bought the DVD when it came out, and she was the reason.
He lost count how many times he froze it and stared at her face.
She was gorgeous, but he thought Ajana was even better looking.
"What does your family think about this trouble you're in? Do they believe you did it?" He placed the steaks on the grill on the stove and adjusted the heat.
Laying the knife down Ajana tuned to him and lifted her shoulder. "They want to believe I'm innocent, but I don't think they do. I've always been kind of a risk taker, and my dad thinks this cat burglar thing fits my personality."
"Are you sure you aren't twisting your father's words?" Ryan turned over the steaks, then placed the seasonings back in the rack.
"No, you don't know my dad," Ajana answered, reaching for a tomato. "He doesn't believe in tarnishing the family name. One mistake in his book and you're out of the will."
The meat tenderizer slipped out of his hand and it hit the counter with a loud bang. "You're kidding, right?" He picked up the container, shoving it in at the very bottom of the rack. Ryan had never heard of a parent being so callous toward their own child.
"Well…he did warn me that if I was found guilty he would leave all his money to my stepmother."
He didn't miss the way Ajana spat out the word stepmother. He wondered how long the two of them had disliked each other. Having a stepparent in your life could be hard, he knew from experience. He seldom went to visit his mother because of the jerk she married after his father died.
"How long has your dad been married to your new mom?" Going over to the cabinet, Ryan pulled out two dark blue plates. Moving around the kitchen, he collected everything he needed for a nice place setting.
He had to keep busy or he would find a way to kiss those lips Ajana kept nibbling on every now and then. There was only so much a man could take when it came to a woman as seductive as Ajana. Slowly he started to set the table and fought down his desire for the lady behind him.
"Tasha Silvertin isn't my new step-mom," Ajana hissed behind him. "She's a gold digger and my dad is too dumb to see it. I hated her from the moment I laid eyes on her."
"What makes you think she's a gold digger?" Ryan questioned, placing the last utensil on the table. "She might actually be in love with your father."
Placing the dirty knife in the sink, Ajana pivoted then gave him a you-got-to-be kidding me look. "What twenty-five-year-old girl is really in love with a fifty-two-year-old man?"
Ryan opened his mouth to argue but all his words had left him. He hated to admit it, but Ajana did have a good point.