Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(25)

Cici spoke over Vance. “I got you a seaweed salad, sashimi, and soup too in case you’re hungry.”

Oliver sighed. “Sometimes you’re too good to me.”

Cici beamed, and Oliver walked into the kitchen where he looked over the food.

“Yeah,” I said. “We’ll get out of your hair and see you tomorrow.”

Oliver had peeled a clear plastic lid off a black base and stabbed two wooden skewers into a mound of green leaves. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen tomorrow. You have the filming schedule, but I need to make sure Camille is okay before I leave.”

“Sounds good. We’ll wait to hear from you in the morning then. Have a good night,” Vance added.

Cici walked us to the door, and I went out into the hallway to fetch the elevator while Vance hung back for a moment. He murmured something to Cici, and she laughed softly. After the elevator arrived, we began the ride down.

“Looks like the two of you had a nice time getting the food,” I said, biting a piece of skin off the side of my thumb. The doors parted on the bottom floor.

He smiled wide and stepped into the lobby. “We did, as a matter of fact. She’s a nice girl. What did you and Oliver discuss while you were drinking—what was that, whiskey—on the job?”

“I wasn’t drinking on the job.”

“That’s not what it looked like.” He leaned into my face and almost kissed me, inhaling against my lips. “Was it good? Sure smells good.”

“Like I could pick out a good whiskey versus a bad one. They’re all awful. He offered. I said no. Then he practically insisted, so I took it when he handed it to me. It doesn’t mean I drank any, which is more than I can say for you. We’re you able to keep your hands off Cici long enough to remember you were still on the job?”

I stomped through the parking lot toward the Range Rover and spotted a few random people lingering in front of the building. I worried word might have been leaked that Oliver and Camille were staying there.

Vance hit the button on the remote, unlocking the doors. I reached for the handle, but he spun me around and pinned me against the side of the car. My hands slapped against the cold steel while his flanked either side of my shoulders, holding me snuggly in place.

His lips curved into an overconfident grin.





Eight





My hands shot to Vance’s chest, and I held him back. The frustration of watching him flirt with Cici all day had come to a festering head. “Knock it off.”

“Knock what off?” He grinned crookedly and stared me dead in the eye.

I should have moved or ducked, but I didn’t. I said nothing, daring him to do something with the silence between us, but I knew he wouldn’t, because he never did.

“You know what? This has gotten us in trouble before. People could be watching the building. You never know if there’s a photographer around. Our faces were just on the news. If someone snaps a picture of this, and it gets back to Cavanaugh, we’re both gonna be in hot water. Move your hands.” I gave him the quick fake smile he always gave me.

His hands slid down the side of the car and rested on my hips. “There. I moved them. Better?”

I clamped my fingers down over his hands. His warmth and strength didn’t go unnoticed. “Why do you do this shit?”

His smile fell, and a twinkle of moonlight caught his eyes. “Because I like watching you squirm.” His voice, though deep, was crisp and clear, and held the faint rasp of delight.

I straightened my spine and widened my stance. “You think I’m squirming?”

He dropped his gaze and assessed me. “Well, aren’t you?”

“You know, sometimes...” I shook my head and laughed. “You know what you need?”

His grinned widened, showing me his nearly perfect smile. “Please, enlighten me.”

“You need someone to make you squirm.”

“Oh really?”

His fingertips digging into my hips were all the encouragement I needed. Before he could blink, I hooked my fingers up into his armpits, a soft pressure point he always forgot about, and pushed in hard. Vance bent his arms, and his elbows went into his sides. He tried to pry my fingers from his armpits, but I wiggled them instead because, well, he’s incredibly ticklish.

Vance started laughing, and it was contagious. The harder he choked, the more I tickled him until we were both near tears.

Through gasps, Vance shouted, “Stop it! Stop it! Okay, okay you win.” He managed to break free and step out of my hold.

“Hah, got you to squirm.”

“You play dirty with those damn pressure points.” He hunched over and tried to catch his breath. “Damn it, I need to learn some of those.”

“It would mean you’d have to read a book. Do you even know how to do that?”

He took a moment to stand upright and grinned. “Why would I need a book when I have you? You can teach me.”

I leaned into the side mirror and checked my face, pretending to fix imaginary lip liner. He stepped behind me, and I met his eyes in the mirror. “Hmm, I don’t know if I have the time.”

“All right, smart ass, get in the car.”

Still laughing, I opened my door and got in.

“Want me to drop you at home?” he asked, adjusting the rear view mirror.