Hard to Fight (Alpha's Heart, #1)(24)

“Lady,” he murmurs, running his lips up my neck. “You were grinding.”

I shudder and flinch when he runs his hands up my sides, up my arms, over my fingers until he’s got his palms flat against my door. His hips thrust against my ass, and my God, he’s got an erection and it feels amazing. Dammit, it’s not meant to feel amazing. Kick him off, Grace. Your job is on the line. Invite him inside. Call Don. End this.

“And right now your heart is f*ckin’ pounding for me.”

Call it in, Grace.

“And I’m going to kiss you again.”

Now. Do it now.

He spins me around, I open my mouth to argue, he captures it before a word even comes out. His lips, his body, his hands. All of them so rough, so damned beautiful. He runs his hands down my arms and around to cup my backside. He hauls me forward all while his mouth consumes mine. Heat floods between my legs, and I whimper, clutching his shirt, not sure if I’m going to push him back or pull him closer.

I pull him closer.

Then I kiss him harder.

Our tongues tangle, our hands roam, and our bodies collide in the most exquisite way. I’m panting, he’s growling, and I know I have to dig deep to find the restraint not to pull him into my house and let him slam me against the wall.

I manage to find enough of that restraint to put my hands to his chest and push him back, disconnecting our lips. “That’s enough,” I breathe.

“You can play hard to get, lady,” he murmurs, running his tongue over my bottom lip. “But I will win.”

With that, he lets me go and turns, striding down my front walk. When he reaches the street, he looks over his shoulder and calls, “Ice that eye, yeah?”

Then he’s gone.

Dammit. It occurs to me only then that I should have called it in while he was standing in my front yard.





Chapter Eleven

I drag my feet through the halls toward my office the next morning. I’m exhausted. I’m tired. I’m sore. My eye is now swollen and black. Thanks, Terry. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night due to the fact that I had Raide on my mind and a throbbing headache. I’m trying to figure out my best plan of action that allows me to prove my point and keep this case. Keeping this case means bringing Raide in. Which means any emotion I may have needs to go. I have to stay professional.

My plan was a bust—that’s clear.

Now I have to go to plan B … except I don’t have a plan B.

“Morning, Gracie Lou,” Vance calls as I trudge past his office.

“Hey,” I mutter.

“Hey!” he yells, getting up and rushing out after me. “What’s up?”

I turn without thinking and stare up at him. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. “Jesus, Gracie, what the hell happened?”

“Ah—” I press my fingers to my eye and wince. “—Terry did that.”

“Shit, it looks bad. You look bad.”

“Thanks, Vance.”

He narrows his eyes. “You need to talk?”

I sigh and drop my head. “I think I do.”

He takes my arm and leads me into his office. He shuts the door and I flop down onto the chair beside his desk. He sits down and wheels his chair over to me, stopping when our knees bump. “What’s going on?”

“The seducing thing … it, ah, it was a bad idea.”

He narrows his eyes. “How so?”

“It just was,” I lie. “It’s taking too long and I don’t think it’s the right plan.”

He nods. “So what are you going to do?”

“I need this case, Vance. It’s everything to me. I think my only option is to try to bring him down with help. Taser him, maybe.”

He rubs a hand over his chin. “You know we’re supposed to use the Tasers only if we need to. Are you sure you can’t bring him in without it?”

“He’s huge, Vance.” I sigh, dropping my head into my hands. “It won’t be that easy. He’ll know what I’m doing the minute I get close, and he’ll run. I can pull a gun on him, but both he and I know I won’t use it, so the Taser seems like my best bet.”

“Well, I’ll help you.”

I snap my head up and glare at him. “I’m trying to prove I can do this without help.”

“Gracie,” he says, reaching over and taking my hand. “Don’t you think we all need help sometimes? Shit, there are times I’ve had to take Julio on a case. It doesn’t make you weak.”

“This is my first big case,” I say. “This is my chance to prove I don’t need to have someone with me. I know there are times when help is needed—I get that. But this one … this is it for me. This is my chance to prove myself.”

He nods, and I know he understands. “Well, then you’re just going to have to get more creative. You do the work enough to get him to the front door, and let us take it from there—that’s still you bringing him in. Hell, you could even get him to your place or his and call it in. We do it all the time, Grace. You don’t have to crash-tackle him to the floor for it to be considered a successful job.”

That’s true.

“How do you suppose I do that?”

He shrugs. “You’ve been working the seduction angle, but why not try the victim path?”