Page 23 of Fiona and the Fixer

“Yes, I’m aware. Like I said, he was breaking the law. I had to stop it.”

His eyes widened and a vein throbbed at his temple. “You don’t confront a man with a gun!”

“You don’t confront a woman with one, either,” I reminded, since he’d done just that. I settled my hands on my hips.

“You weren’t going to shoot me.” He repeated exactly what I said to the robber the day before.

“Then? No. Now?” I asked. “You’re acting like an asshole, so it’s possible. Justifiable homicide.”

He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “Yeah? Well, I’d have my gun out from behind my back and shoot you before you could shoot me.”

I looked down at his waist as if I could see around behind him and the gun he supposedly had tucked beneath his shirt.

I shook my head. “I know what your problem is.”

He huffed. “You?”

“My gun’s bigger. Is that it?”

He rolled his shoulders back and grew about an inch. “Sweetheart, I’m big all over.”

I could have sworn the women in the back either moaned or whimpered at his words.

I wasn’t unaffected either. I was pretty sure I became spontaneously pregnant, my IUD be damned.

He was just as intense and cantankerous as in the convenience store but without thebad guymixed in.

His gaze raked over me from head to toe. Today I was in ankle jeans, a white tank top with a long cardigan over it. It was chenille and cozy and the first thing I pulled out of my bag after my shower. Oh, and sneakers. No heels or conservative suits today. Or ever in this town. I hadn’t seen one person dressed up. His eyes didn’t make it all the way back up to meet mine but stalled on my mouth.

“If your ego was any bigger, you’d tip over,” I muttered, watching as his tongue flicked out to lick his lower lip.

He looked up, those blue eyes finally meeting mine, and grinned. Yeah, I was definitely affected. Was it hot in here? Did places up in the mountains even have air conditioning?

He had perfect straight white teeth, and a smile completely changed how stunning he was. If that was possible. He looked like he was a romance book cover model. If that wasn’t hot enough, he supposedly carried a gun.

The yoga instructor may have had a bondage kink, but Ihad one for a guy with a weapon and knew how to use it. Especially if the one in his pants asbigas he said.

“You left the scene of a crime,” I told him, all of a sudden sounding very prim.

“So?” His brow arched in a way that questionedwhyI said what I did instead of the words themselves. “I didn’t commit it.”

I shrugged. “Still.” I couldn’t help it. He was a witness and had disappeared. It seemed… shady. I’d had to explain to the police who arrived about him but hadn’t been able to give them any information other than tall and dark. I left out handsome because I was well aware that adjective wasn’t used in reports.

His gaze raked over me once again. He took a step closer which meant I could smell him. Clean, spicy. Dark. “Are you a cop?”

“No.” I wasn’t a cop. I was an FBI agent, thank you very much. As if caught in his orbit, I moved closer to him, close enough that my boobs would brush his chest if I took a deep enough breath. I had to tip my head back to meet his eyes. “Are you avoiding the law?”

I wasn’t sure what I would do if he was.

“I’m not the one who held up the store, sweetheart. I’m the one who missed out on a fresh pot of coffee because you threw it on someone.”

I sighed. “Yeah, that was a travesty,” I admitted, eyeing his mouth again.

“It was.” His agreement knocked the wind from my anger.

And then his hand circled around to the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss.

11

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