Page 7 of Cop-Off

“If you want cream, kitten, I’m sure I can find a way to get you some.” Now his voice was lower too. Scratchy. As if it were being scraped unwillingly from the depths of his throat.

Goosebumps began to break out across her skin as she took it one step further and pushed into his legs again. “And what would I have to do in return for this cream?”

“You know what I want.” He leaned into her. So close that she could get tipsy on his beer-soaked breath.

Suddenly, she felt out of her depth. Realisation hit that she’d taken this too far. At this point, she didn’t know who was playing with who.

“Do I?” she managed to reply in a far less confident tone.

“Yes, you do.” Just as his mouth moved closer, a squeaky, high-pitched voice pulled them apart.

“What can I get ya?”

Saved by the bartender.

Thank fuck.

After clearing her throat, she ordered a beer. She needed it. And possibly a shot. Or five.

Attempting to put some distance between them, she spun in her chair until she was back facing the bar.

“Make that two,” Cody ground out, a new edge carved into his voice.

He pulled his wallet from his jeans, chucked down a couple of bills and pushed them across the bar.

“I can buy my own drink,” she automatically protested.

“Maybe so, but you ain’t buying this one.” She could still feel his eyes on her. “You gonna tell me why you’re here, kitten? Alone.”

Unbelievable.

Her guard was back up. And it was steel enforced. “I’m sorry, Lucifer, here I was thinking I was actually in a free country. You know, one where a grown-arse woman can go to a bar by herself and not have to answer inane fucking questions about it.”

“Zero to a fucking hundred,” he mumbled to himself, prompting her to spin back around to glare at him. “You ever thought that I’m just looking out for you? Huh? Or is that concept too much for you to grasp?”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What exactly are you afraid of? Me having a good time? We all know how much you hate that.”

All of a sudden he was up and off his stool, legs pushing between her thighs, head bowed until their mouths were just a breath apart. “You may not care about your own safety, but others do. Me included. In case you’ve forgotten, this is my town. This is me protecting and serving. If you don’t like it, then you know what to do.”

Now she was the one gulping. The intensity radiating off him was enough to burn the whole place down.

Run! Get the hell out of here. Now.

Seeing as her legs weren’t cooperating, words were all she had.

“You wanna know what I’m doing here? Fine. I’m gonna find myself a nice cowboy, McBride. You know, to teach me how to ride. Happy?”

He was not happy. He’d never looked more unhappy. Jaw clenched, nostrils flaring and pure fire in his eyes. This was her cue to leave. She needed to get out of this exchange before one of them did something they’d regret.

The cowboy checking her out in the corner hadn’t gone unnoticed. It looked like she would be jumping to stage two of her plan, three beers sooner than she would have liked. But it was for the best.

Finally managing to unpick herself from Cody, she sacrificed her beer and made a beeline for the corner. But she didn’t get very far.

“Nope.” Cody grabbed her arm mid-swing and pulled her back.

“What do you meannope?” she asked incredulously as she whipped around.

“I mean, no way in hell are you going anywhere near that yahoo.”

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