A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1)(3)

As if reading my mind, or feeling the air shift, he drew back. The smoldering effect lessened, but just a little. It was still there. I was still amusing him, and I didn’t know how I felt about that either. “You have no idea who I am.”

I frowned. “That gets you off or something?”

His grin turned inward, showing off a dimple.

God. The dimple. What female didn’t have a thing for a cheek dimple? That wasn’t fair. Some of my bristling eased up.

He chuckled, still in that baritone, and it was sensual too. “Apparently it does with you. Trust me. I’m just as shocked as you seem to be.” His eyes sharpened. “Are you here with someone?”

I straightened out of the fighting stance I’d assumed and relaxed, only slightly. “My roommate.”

Another spark of interest in those eyes of his. “Is your roommate a significant other? Or just a roommate?”

Damn. He was direct, and fast about it.

If I’d been at the bar and in the mood for a one-nighter, this conversation would have a whole different ending. I liked guys who were direct. A lot.

“She’s my best friend.” I saw the next question forming, so I added, “And she’s straight.”

His head lowered, those eyes of his softening. “And you? Who are you into?”

My throat swelled up. I didn’t know why, but I felt entranced by him.

He took a step closer, slowly.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away, and I couldn’t take a step back. I didn’t want to.

A part of me was railing at myself, in the back of my head, but my heart was pounding, and my throat was still swollen. My body was heating, and an ache was forming between my legs.

This man, what was he doing to me?

This reaction didn’t happen to me, ever.

“Who are you into, Miss . . . ?” His head cocked to the side, like he could lure me into answering him.

I wanted to do just that too.

My lips parted from surprise, but then his eyes shifted to my shirt, and everything changed. Abruptly.

He’d been seductive and coaxing. And then nothing. Frigid cold.

I even shivered, feeling his withdrawal though he hadn’t moved a muscle.

I followed his eyes down to my sternum. My badge was sticking out from my jacket, but when I looked back up, I sucked in my breath. His eyes were on me, and they were not friendly. They were hostile. All that flirting was gone in an instant.

“You a cop?” His tone was flat, cutting.

“I’m a parole officer.”

His phone started ringing again, and he fished it out of his pocket. Without saying a word to me, he hit accept and turned to go back up the stairs. “Hey. Hold one moment. I’m heading for the door. Open it for me.”

I couldn’t suppress a shiver as he disappeared around the turn, going up the last set of stairs.

Thump!

The door opened. Sounds from the hockey game filtered into the stairwell, and then they were muted again.

I waited, but nothing.

He’d gone.

What the hell had just happened?

Also, I was still locked in.





CHAPTER TWO


JESS


“Girl.” Kelly was laughing when she opened the door for me. We’d had a good chat while I navigated her to where I was. It had been an elaborate game of Marco Polo, with Kelly laughing as she’d called out the Marco part and me half growling when I’d answered the Polo part. We were in our older twenties, and even though my bladder wasn’t amused, it was a fun game. I guess some part of us would never grow old.

I stepped through, the sounds of the game coming full force.

“How did you end up in there again?”

I’d already explained, so I ignored her, tossing my now-empty beer cup in the recycling bin. “Where’s the bathroom?”

She kept laughing as she showed me, and since we were smack in the middle of the third period, the place was empty.

And filthy. Paper towels were everywhere, some hanging half out of the garbage and a huge pile around the bottom. There was water pooling under one of the sinks.

Kelly went toward the sink area while I grabbed the first clean stall I could find.

It was the sixth one.

“You said there was a guy in there with you?”

I grinned. “In here?”

“You know what I’m talking about. Who was it?”

I didn’t know what to say. This was Kelly. Recently divorced and heartbroken, but she was a romantic at heart. I mention anything about him, his reaction to me, and she’d be building him up to being some wealthy Romeo.

“No one. He thought I was a cop.”

“Why’d he think that?”

“He saw my badge.”

“Why’s your badge out?”

I finished peeing, flushed, and came out. She was waiting at the end, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. I felt sheepish about this, but I didn’t know why. “I saw an old parolee and wanted to scare some of his coworkers away.”

She burst out laughing.

I went to the sink, washed my hands, and did a cursory hair fix.

I was a mess on a normal day, but there was an extra sparkle to me. My skin glowed a little more. I had a little bit more pink to my cheeks, and my eyes were crystal clear, which said something because they were normally dark almond.