on principle. Maybe it’s because I remind you of somebody. Or maybe I’m just a convenient target for some misplaced anger. Whatever the problem, Detective Law, it’s yours, not mine. So deal with it. And in the meantime let’s just keep out of each other’s way.”
“I think that’d be wise.” He reached down and took the cup from her hand.
At her arched brow he simply said, “In your present state of mind, I’d hate to have you toss it at me. It’s too hot.”
She almost laughed as he turned away and tossed the coffee over the railing into some rosebushes, before carrying the cups to the kitchen.
By the time he returned, she’d walked to the far end of the porch and kept her back to him as he descended the steps and picked up his supplies.
As he walked away, a smile flitted across his lips. Damned if she wasn’t just about irresistible when she got that temper up. He’d had all he could do to keep from dragging her against him and kissing those pouting lips.
It’s a good thing he hadn’t. A woman like that would probably go running to her uncle crying harassment. He’d had enough sensitivity training sessions to know a police officer had to hold himself to a higher standard.
Still, it hadn’t been easy. There was just something about Heather McGrath that brought out the beast in him.
“A little higher.” Thad stood on the ground, directing two workmen on ladders who were installing security cameras on the back of the house. Both would focus on the nearby hill. One lens gave a wide-angle view, the other a zoom, to be used for close-up shots of anyone trespassing.
In his hand was a palm-sized monitor showing what would appear on a much larger screen in Joe Colton’s office.
“Okay. That’s perfect.” He switched off the monitor and was just turning away when he saw Heather and Joe coming across the lawn, heads bent close in earnest conversation.
He’d seen them go out earlier, and had assumed Joe’s niece had talked him into taking her to town. Apparently they had just walked some of the property.
Joe was laughing. A rare sound these days. And a much-welcome one. Heather’s answering laughter drifted on the breeze, as musical as fine wind chimes.
Until the two had gone out, they’d been locked in Joe’s office all morning. Thad had only had to interrupt them once, to check the monitor. And when he had, he’d found Heather busy at the computer, a phone to her ear. Though she’d seen him, she hadn’t acknowledged him in any way. But he’d seen her pass the phone to her uncle, before continuing with her work on the computer.
Maybe he’d been wrong about her. Maybe she actually did know how to work. For a day or two. He’d see just how disciplined she was after a little more time on the job.
In the meantime, he intended to heed her advice. He’d just keep his distance for a few days. By then she’d probably be gone. When the day came that he saw her toting a packed suitcase, he intended to remind her of their bet. Even spoiled little rich girls were required to pay when they lost. And that was one debt he’d enjoy collecting.
“Thad.” Joe walked closer, trailed more slowly by his niece. “How’s the work going?”
“Good. We should have these two cameras up and running soon and I’ll show you how to switch them on and off from the console in your office.”
“That’s great.” Joe looked up when the cell phone in Heather’s pocket began ringing.
She turned away to answer it, then passed it to Joe. While he carried on an animated conversation with someone, Heather and Thad waited, an awkward silence stretching out between them.
“Time to get back to work,” Joe announced as he handed the phone back to Heather. “I’ll see you in my office whenever you’re done here, Thad.”
“Right.” Thad watched as Heather walked away beside her uncle. She appeared relieved to be escaping. Not that he could blame her. He’d come across like a Neanderthal this morning.
There was just something about her that pushed all his buttons. And now that he’d had some time to consider, he knew why. She’d accused him of hating her on principle, because she reminded him of someone else. And she was right. Though she looked nothing like Vanessa, Heather came from the same privileged background as his late wife. He frowned as Heather and Joe disappeared inside the house. One broken heart was enough for any man. And the best way to ensure that it didn’t happen again was to keep his distance. Which shouldn’t be too hard, since Heather McGrath had already made it plain that she didn’t want him around. Not that he minded. He already had so much going on in his life he found himself wishing he could be cloned.
A short time later he knocked on Joe’s office door and stepped inside. The first thing he saw was Heather, standing on tiptoe trying to reach a leather-bound volume perched on a shelf high above her. Without thinking he strolled across the room and reached over her head, easily snagging the book. What he hadn’t counted on was brushing her body with his. Or the way his body betrayed him without warning.
She turned with a smile. “Thanks, Uncle…” Her smile froze. “Thad.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you again.” He couldn’t seem to look away from those soft blue eyes, wide with surprise. A man could easily drown in them. And happily go under without lifting a hand to save himself.
He lowered the book but didn’t step away. He couldn’t. He’d already fallen under the spell of her perfume. It was filling his lungs, clouding his mind.
He knew he was about to make a fool of himself, but it didn’t seem to matter. Nothing did at the moment except staying here, just like this, breathing her in and tempting himself with the thought of those lips.
She couldn’t back up. There was nowhere to go. Her back was already firmly pressed to the bookcase. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The electricity sparking between them was mesmerizing. Like the static charge in the air before a wild summer storm.
She tipped her head higher. “If you’re looking for my uncle, he should be back in a minute.”
“Good. A minute’s all I need for what I have in mind.” Though an hour would have been better. Much better he thought as he lowered his face to hers.
Heather saw it coming and was helpless to stop it. But though she braced herself for his kiss, she was totally unprepared for what followed.
His free hand cupped the back of her head as his lips covered hers in a kiss so hot, so hungry, she was rocked back on her heels. This was no tentative brush of mouth to mouth, tasting, testing, persuading. This was all fire and flash and thunder. And she was tossed into the heart of the storm, with lightning flashing between them, and wildfires being ignited everywhere.
He crushed her against him and took the kiss deeper. She could feel that hard, muscled body imprinting itself on hers. Branding her with his taste, his touch.
He kissed like a man who intended to possess her. She returned his kiss like a woman already possessed.
She was shocked by the way she was reacting. If any other man had dared to take such liberties, she would have cut him off at the knees with a single harsh word, a killing look, a slap across the face. But this man was kissing
