squeezed his eyes shut as if he regretted what he’d revealed. Then he admitted, “Even you. You know what you look like.”
She smiled. “My mama passed on good genes.” For physical appearance. For picking men, she had also passed on her lousy judgment genes, regrettably. Tessa had dated too many losers to be flattered by any man, yet the lieutenant wasn’t trying to flatter her. If anything, he was still insulting her. Her smile widened. “I hadn’t thought you noticed what I look like, Lieutenant.”
The elevator bell dinged as it reached the lobby, but Tessa reached out and pressed the door button, holding them closed.
“Your flirting doesn’t affect me any more than it did the chief,” Michalski assured her.
“I wasn’t flirting with the chief,” she pressed. “You’d know if I was flirting.”
“I would,” he agreed—too easily—then added, “but I don’t think you do. It’s probably just second nature to you, kind of like your speeding.”
“I know when I flirt.”
Unfortunately, so did he. Since her traffic stop, he hadn’t been able to forget the way she’d trailed her fingers over his and leaned in through her open SUV window, her breath nearly tickling his ear. His pulse quickened at the memory and at the reality of being alone with her. The elevator dinged again as someone probably stood on the other side of the doors, pressing the Up or Down button. But Tessa held the Close button again, trapping them inside the small car.
He could have easily brushed aside her hand and opened the doors, but he leaned against the wall of the elevator and wrapped his hands around the brass railing to prevent himself from pulling her into his arms.
“I don’t think you do know when you’re flirting,” he argued with her arbitrarily. Was he wanting to rile her as much as she had tried to rile him with her “stuffy” insult? “I think you act just as recklessly with your…wiles as you do your driving.”
“Recklessly?”
“Some day you might flirt with the wrong man,” he warned her, “one who doesn’t understand that you’re not really aware of what you’re doing.”
“I know when I flirt,” she repeated, jabbing the Close button again. Then she crossed the small space separating them, swaying her hips with just a couple of steps. She didn’t stop until her body touched his. Then she lifted her chin, staring up at him, her blue eyes wide and bright.
“Lieutenant…” she murmured as her fingers trailed up his chest to tap his badge.
He knew she was playing with him, teasing the stuffy police officer and trying to prove her point. But his heart beat hard beneath his vest. “Tessa…”
She bit her full bottom lip and then swiped the tip of her tongue across it, moistening her mouth. Her lips parted and she breathed the word, “Yes…”
He hadn’t realized he’d asked a question. To what was she giving permission—for him to kiss her? He leaned forward…just as the elevator dinged again. Without her finger on the button, the doors slid open to a trio of rookie officers standing in the lobby. Heat climbed to Chad’s face from where it had pooled lower in his body, where Tessa’s curvy body brushed his.
One officer whistled.
One whispered, “Oh, man…”
And the third spoke coherently, “Lieutenant, we didn’t want to be late for roll call. But we’ll take the stairs.”
“Sorry,” muttered the whistler as they whirled away from the elevator.
The rookies weren’t going to be the only ones late for roll call. Chad closed his eyes and groaned.
Tessa’s body, lush and soft, settled fully against his. He swallowed another groan, fighting to keep his body from reacting to her closeness. He dragged in a breath, but it smelled of her—some light floral scent and fruity shampoo. He gripped the brass railing so hard he nearly snapped it free of the elevator wall. But he wouldn’t reach for her. Even though his body hardened to the point of pain, he couldn’t give in to temptation.
Her lips brushed his throat as she murmured, “Now that’s flirting.”
Feeling her gaze on his face, Chad kept his eyes closed. He couldn’t see her this close and not lean down those few inches to press his mouth across hers, to find out if she tasted as sweet and naughty as she smelled.
She eased away and added, “And no matter what you claim, my flirting affects you.”
He opened his eyes just in time to watch her hips sway as she sashayed out of the elevator and walked across the lobby. She was right. She affected him. And he couldn’t have that—he couldn’t have her.
Chapter Three
Flirting with Lieutenant Michalski had been a bad idea. She had proved him right; she had acted recklessly. Now, after flirting shamelessly with him, she had to see him again at the CPA class. Her face warmed as she walked into class—late. She ducked her head, hoping not to draw attention to her entrance.
But Amy, the college girl, called out, “I saved your seat!” and waved her to the table at the front of the room.
“You almost missed us, Ms. Howard,” Lieutenant O’Donnell remarked from where he leaned against the officers’ table. “We were just about to leave for our tour of the department.”
Great, if she had been a little later, she could have justified leaving to the judge, if she had walked into an empty room. He would have had to let her miss this class.
“We’ll break into smaller groups to get into elevators,” O’Donnell continued. “We have sixteen citizens, now that Ms. Howard has joined us.” While Michalski, seated behind the officers’ table, stared at her in disapproval, O’Donnell winked at her. “There will be an officer with each group, so don’t worry about getting lost. And feel free to leave your academy binder and personal stuff in the room.”
Chairs creaked and voices rose in conversation and excitement over the tour. Tessa glanced down at the briefcase she had propped next to her chair. While the leather bag was heavy, it was also too important for her to risk leaving behind.
“It’ll be safe,” a deep voice assured her.
She lifted her gaze to Chad’s handsome face. Along with those gold-flecked green eyes, he had chiseled features. She sighed, disgusted that such good looks were wasted on a man with such an uptight personality. To silently challenge his claim, she raised a brow.
“You’re in a police department,” he reminded her.
“But someone pointed out last week how dangerous this area is at night.”
“Outside,” he explained. “On the streets. You’re safe in here.”
The memory of the two of them in the elevator—her body pressed against his long, lean frame—passed through her mind. She shook her head. She wasn’t safe in here—not with him. But she left her briefcase beside her chair and turned to leave the room, which had already emptied. He followed her as she walked
