Page 8 of Beauty and the Bounty Hunter

He shrugged and went back outside. I followed him to the door and watched as he carried a cord of firewood to the side of the cabin and covered it with a tarp. He moved with sure strides. He hadn’t removed his winter coat, but judging by the ease with which he carried all these heavy objects, it wasn’t difficult to imagine rows of muscles underneath his winter layers.

“I have a wireless hotspot,” he said, bringing in a few pieces of firewood and placing them in the grate. “We can do some research while we make dinner.” He neatened the pile of wood, then straightened. “Unless you’d like me to leave you alone. I don’t want to impose.”

“You brought treasure.” I gestured at the wealth he had brought into the cabin. It made it seem shinier, lighter, and far less grim. Plus, he’d bought lemon-scented cleaning solution, so that would go a lot further than my melted snow adaptation. I smiled and picked up a styrofoam bowl of ramen. “The least I can do is make you dinner before you go.”

A grin flashed across his face, and he turned to the fireplace. He struck one of the long matches from the box he’d bought, and the flame danced at the edge of the stick as he lowered it to the logs. Soon, with a crackle and snap, the fire roared to life, lending a smoky warmth to the room. “You look cold,” he said, stretching out his hands near the flames. “Why don’t you get changed? I’ll see what I can pull together.”

CHAPTER 7

Harbor

While Katrina changed, I set the now-clean kitchen table with the cheerful checked tablecloth I’d bought. I used the cardboard drink holder with the hot chocolate and coffee as a centerpiece, found the bamboo disposable plates, and placed the pastries I’d bought on one of them. I had wanted to buy her flowers, but the florist in town had closed already, and the sad-looking roses at the local grocers didn’t suit her. This cabin was still nowhere near good enough for Katrina Valdez, but at least she wouldn’t freeze or starve overnight.

From the sound of the water running, Katrina was getting cleaned up. That was good. She deserved a rest.

I turned on my hotspot and powered up my laptop. John extended access to all the good private investigation websites, courtesy of the Hunter’s Guild.

She emerged from the bathroom looking like a flannel-covered angel. She left her long hair down and combed through it with her fingers. “Ooh, are those pastries? They’re not from Sugar Kisses, are they?”

I had no idea what the shop was called, but the minute I decided to go to town for supplies, my mouth watered at the thought of snickerdoodles. “I’m not sure. Laura and Sasha work there.”

Katrina clapped her hands. “Excellent! Sweet and Salty has much better food than Sugar Kisses.”

A warm rush of pleasure pooled inside of me. Being with her made me forget I pushed the collection of cups toward her. “There’s hot chocolate, decaf coffee, or tea. I didn’t know what you liked.”

“Look at you, you hunter gatherer.” Katrina grinned, and she looked so damn beautiful, I wanted to kiss her right then. It was a good thing I was disciplined, but she tested every ounce of my resolve. “I like mochas. No whipped cream, a little heavier on the chocolate.”

“Okay.” I took the collection of cups, ignoring the way the scent of the soap I’d chosen for her wafted around me like happy little clouds. Lilies and lavender.

Springtime and sunshine, that was Katrina.

I picked an empty cup, then poured some of the coffee into it, topping it up with more of the hot chocolate. “No whipped cream, just the way you like it.” I handed it to her. Did I let my fingers linger a little too long against hers? Yes, and I wasn’t sorry about it. I had never met a woman like her, someone who made me respond the way she did. Who made me feel like she wanted to know me.

A man could only take so much.

“Thanks.” She cradled the cup in her hands like it was a ring box from Tiffany’s, and damn if I didn’t want more than anything to give that to her. “These pajamas are amazing. I’m finally all warm and dry.”

I didn’t want her warm and dry. I wanted her hot and wet, writhing underneath me.

I kept my attention on my computer screen, willing my body to listen. “I’m glad they fit.” My voice sounded strained, probably because most of the blood was flowing southward. If I concentrated on work, maybe I could shove my attraction for her into a corner. “Can you give me your old address?”

“What’s that?” She moved a kitchen chair to sit beside me and sipped from her drink, moaning a little. “This is so delicious.”

There went the resolve to calm down my erection.

I grunted and shifted in my chair to give myself some space. Friction was a heartless bitch. “I have access to closed circuit feeds in Milwaukee. If you give me your old address, we can tap into some of the public feeds, like from red light cameras or storefronts or whatnot. Most security cameras aren’t even necessarily trained on your house, so it’s good to get a few different perspectives.”

“This is vastly more than I ever got from my public defender.” Katrina leaned in closer and gave me her old address. With a few taps on the keyboard, I managed to pull up footage from a red light camera aimed toward her driveway. “Is this legal?” she asked.

“Mostly. It’s less legal to do this.” I opened another window on my laptop and, with another few clicks, tapped into the security footage from the house that was across from her old place.

“Wow.” Her eyes widened. “You can just do that?”

She didn’t sound disappointed, but I wouldn’t have blamed her. It was better this way. She deserved to know the kind of guy I was. I wasn’t all bootleg mochas and pastries. I wasn’t innocent and sweet. I was a liar and a bruiser. No matter how much I liked her or wanted to help her out, at the end of all this, I was still going to deliver her to the Milwaukee authorities and collect my bounty.

Wasn’t I?

“If you don’t want me to do it, I won’t.” My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

---