Arresting Holli (9 page)

“I’m not going there.”

“
Chickenshit
.”

She laughed. “I don’t want end up in jail again.”

He winked. “I’d find a way to let you work off the charges.”

She started to ask what kind of fine there would be for having sex in a police car, but decided against it, especially since they were pulling up in front of the courthouse.

The wait inside the clerk’s office was a little longer than in the bank. There weren’t very many people working, and
Holli
really couldn’t blame them. It was a couple of days before New Year’s. And it was
freakin
’ damn cold out. She wasn’t sure it was too much warmer inside the building either.

When a shiver shook her, Michael pulled her close. Public display of affection.
Holli
smiled and wondered if there would be any gossip about the unknown woman plastered against Officer Hunky’s side while they waited in line at the courthouse. She secretly hoped there was. “You know, since we’ve spent so much time together, I don’t think we’ve discussed any kind of music. Isn’t that what people are supposed to do on first dates?”

“Which day was the first date?”

“Hmm. All of them?”

“In that case, I’d have to say this has been the best first date I’ve had in years. Not to mention the longest.”

“Same. So what kind of music do you like?”

“I’m a
Parrothead
.”

“Jimmy Buffett?”

“The one and only. You?”

“Classics. Heart, Fleetwood Mac,
Lynyrd
Skynyrd
, Eagles.”

“Some really good stuff in there. I’m impressed.”

She grinned up at him, proud at having something that would impress him. She wasn’t sure what most women her age listened to, but evidently if he was impressed, she guessed the ones he went out with listened to much different music. “Why? It’s what my parents listened to, and I just kept on with it as I grew up. I like some newer stuff, but pretty much, I just like the way the classic music makes me feel.”

“Agreed. If music doesn’t make you feel good, then what’s the point?”

She started to comment, but her number was called and they walked up to the counter. Derek had filed the papers, and the computer system had been updated with her release. The clerk took her check, and within seconds, she was free. All she had to do was get her car from the impound lot, which, according to Michael, was just down the street and around the corner.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been inside a courthouse and not had to argue with anyone over papers and procedures,” she marveled when they left.

“I’m sure Derek put a rush on getting it fixed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stood over the clerk and made them correct things immediately.”

“Nice man.”

“Yes. Would you like me to drive your car back to my place? I can leave my patrol car here in the lot and just pick it up when I go back to work on Friday.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I’m not so sure about driving on the ice on these small streets. The highway I’m okay with, but…”

“I understand that. Don’t suppose you get this much ice down south.”

“We get some, but life kind of stops when there’s snow and ice. Southerners aren’t too good with it. When do you have to go back to work? Haven’t you been working?”

“Yes and no. I’ve been working having you under my watch, and I go back on patrol New Year’s Day. It’s usually four on, three off. But you let me worry how it all shakes out. We’ve talked about this,
Holli
. And why are you looking at me like that?”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Like you want to eat me for dinner. And given that I know how hungry you get…”

“Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Your watch isn’t the only thing I’ve been under.”

Chapter Eleven

Holli
got in her car and closed the door before he could respond. She couldn’t believe she’d said it quite like that, but then again, she couldn’t believe some of the things she’d done either.

They’d had very naughty sex. And the spanking? Holy
Moly
. Most men she dated didn’t get into that kind of thing, and she had always assumed she wasn’t into it either, but damn… Michael’s hands on her ass had done something to her insides. Then there were the handcuffs… Oh yeah, she really liked those. Being helpless and at his mercy. She could think of worse things.

“Can I ask you something?”

He slowed down at a traffic light. He was a big man in her little car. “Sure.”

“Had you ever used handcuffs on someone during sex before?”

“Yes.”

There was a slight smile crossing his lips. Was he thinking about that someone else? She didn’t like the idea of that. She usually wasn’t the jealous sort, but hell, she usually wasn’t the sort of woman she’d been the last few days, either. She was a levelheaded, think-before-she-made-a-move woman, not a plunge-lust-first-deal-with-heartache-later woman. “Had you ever spanked anyone during sex before?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I don’t know. Curious, I guess.”

He looked over at her for a second before turning his attention back to the road. “Did you like it? Now that you’ve had time to think about it, I mean?”

“Honestly, yes. I really did. It was my first time, and when I suggested the handcuffs, I’d half been joking, but wow.”

“Yes, it really was a wow moment.”

Holli
smiled to herself and gazed out the window for the rest of the short drive back to his place. It was a pretty little city, and she’d love to see it when it wasn’t all snowed in.

He pulled up into the space he’d vacated when they left earlier. She stopped on the way up to the back door and stared back down the drive.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just looking at the river. I bet it’s gorgeous up here in the spring when everything is blooming and green. I mean, it’s really beautiful now too, but well…”

“It is. And the invitation is an open one.”

She nodded, not even sure he saw it before he turned to open the door, and she followed behind him, walking inside. “I’m going to call Charlotte. Do you mind if I use your bedroom?”

“Not at all. Help yourself.”

“Thanks, Michael. For everything.”

His smile was tight but genuine, and she certainly understood. He’d done a lot for her, taken a lot on himself to take care of her while she’d been sequestered in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. He’d made her laugh and come and uncover new desires she’d never known she had. He’d talked to her, shared with her, and a thank-you didn’t seem enough for everything.

“My pleasure.”

Holli
grabbed her cell phone from her purse as soon as they got back inside his apartment. She went into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, scrolling through her phone for Charlotte’s number in her contacts. She pressed Send and waited, thinking she’d figure out what to say as she went along.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Hey, girl. How are you? Everything cool?”

“Yeah, I am free again.”

“Oh awesome. Are you coming then?”

“I… How’s the weather over there?”

“Been snowing all day, supposed to freeze tonight. I don’t know how far it is from wherever you are, but you better get a move on if you are coming.”

Holli
walked farther into the room and sat down on the bed. She took a deep breath, let it out, and just plunged forward with her question. “Would you…would you hate me if I didn’t?”

“What? Why? You’ve been looking forward to this trip all year. I know you got waylaid in
BFE
, but you’ve still got a couple of days left. Why wouldn’t you want to come?”

* * * * *

Michael paced the living room. It didn’t take long to get from one side to the other and back. He would walk the length of the place from the front door to the bedroom door, but he didn’t want
Holli
to think he was eavesdropping on her conversation. He knew she’d be able to hear his footsteps.

She was calling her friend. She was making arrangements to head into New York for the next couple of days before she had to go home. He couldn’t blame her. Times Square was indeed spectacular to see on New Year’s Eve. He even wished he could go with her. He probably could, provided they got back in time for his seven a.m. shift to begin on the first.

He couldn’t get over how much he liked her, how well they’d fit, both in bed and out. Granted, they’d spent most of the time having sex, but they’d talked, laughed, even worked in the kitchen a little bit together. She was special, and he had to admit, he was going to miss her when she left.

He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Shit.”

Getting involved with her to the point of missing her hadn’t been the plan. Hell, he wasn’t sure he’d ever had a plan, but falling for a woman over the holidays hadn’t been it. Though her landing in jail hadn’t been her idea of the perfect holiday and he’d even be willing to bet it hadn’t been in her plans to fall for anyone while on vacation either. He had no doubt, however, that she had.

He wasn’t conceited or full of himself, but he knew she was feeling the same sort of anxiety at their parting that he was.

“Michael.”

She’d called his name, right? “Yeah?”

“I need help.”

Was that panic in her voice? “I’m coming.” He was standing in the bedroom doorway within seconds. And then he stopped dead in his tracks.
Holli
was naked and kneeling on his bed. She looked over at him and grinned. She goddamn grinned.

He’d thought she was hurt or that something terrible had happened, but she was naked and grinning at him. “What the hell’s going on?”

Then he heard the clink of metal. He walked farther into the room and looked at the headboard. She’d cuffed herself to it.

She tugged. “I’m kind of stuck.”

He shook his head, torn between laughing and spanking her ass for making him worry that something was wrong. “You think?”

She nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh.”

“How did you get that way?” He was already halfway undressed. He bent to take off his boots and socks; then he straightened and pulled at the buttons on his
501s
.

“Well, I was on the phone, you see, and I happened to see the handcuffs in the drawer over there and ”

He shot her his best I-don’t-believe-you look. “Happened to see them, Ms. James? They were in a drawer that was closed. The only way you could have seen them was to open the drawer, and if you opened the drawer, well, that’s called snooping.”

“Oh.” She pouted.

Michael stalked around the bed to the other side. “Were you snooping, Ms. James?”

Holli
hung her head. “Yes, Officer Hunky. I was snooping.”

“I am very disappointed.” He shucked his jeans all the way off.

“I know.”

“I’ll have to punish you for this. I can’t let you get away with snooping through things that don’t belong to you. Why were you doing it?”

Hands on his hips and a scowl on his face, he knew he created the perfect disapproving cop image. Well, except for the rock-hard cock jutting from between his legs. Damn thing was going to be the death of him.

“I was trying to find… I was looking for… Crap. I’m staying. Well, at least until I have to go home, and I was trying to be cute.”

“You’re staying and were trying to be cute by handcuffing yourself to my bed?”

“Yes.”

Michael did laugh then and crawled on the bed until he was kneeling against the side of her body. With one hand, he trailed fingers down her back, through the crack of her ass, and slid them up inside her pussy until she moaned. He cupped her face with his other hand and turned her head toward him. “You are definitely cute in handcuffs, but you could have just told me.”

“I’m a decorator.” The last was said on a whimpering exhale as fingers brushed over her clit. “Creating effect is what I do.”

Her breath fanned his face, and her gaze drilled into him. Hungry and aroused and his… For two more days. He pressed his lips to hers for a quick taste, followed by another, and another that lingered longer than he’d intended. “And you’re so good at what you do, Ms. James.”

The smile that crossed her lips took his breath away. “You’re pleased then?”

“Oh yes.”

He plunged his fingers deep, making her gasp in pleasure, then withdrew quickly, making her groan in protest. “Your friend was okay with you staying here with me?”

“She was. Told her I’d make it up to her next year.”

He used his pinky finger to rotate around her clit, not daring to touch it again, only just grazing the outer edges of it. She caught her breath, then released it in a rush. He loved the way she responded to him. “Good.”

Holli
bucked her hips, and his cock pulsed against her flesh. She jolted when his thumb flicked against the tight, puckered hole of her ass. “You’re teasing me, Officer Hunky,” she purred.

“It’s my job, Ms. James. It’s what I do,” he whispered before trailing his tongue down her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat.

She gripped the headboard in her hands and bore down hard on the hand between her thighs, sighing as she began to flutter around his invasive, penetrating fingers. “And you’re so very good at your job.”