Page 70 of Between the Lies

His lips pressed down on hers, demanding she let him taste, let him nibble at her lower lip. Nina sighed. Oh, this man… What the hell was he doing?

She rested her palms on his chest and shoved. ‘What the fu?—’

Robert slanted his face and pulled her closer for round two. ‘There’s someone in the car.’

And what were they? In a fucking romcom? Nina pulled her lips away. ‘So you kiss me? Why?’

‘’Cause I wanted to lay one on you.’ He smirked. If that sneaky kiss hadn’t stirred her, she’d have smacked that smirk off his face right there. Robert reached for her hand. ‘Plus I was wondering if the people in that car would react to it… in some way.’

Nina melted into his side. If they were watching, let them think Robert and her were just another dramatic, lovesick couple. ‘Were we followed?’

‘Don’t think so. A black SUV with tinted windows isn’t exactly a flashy red Lamborghini that turns heads. But it’s a high-end model. That’s why I noticed it the last time I was here. Those windows look customised as well.’ Robert pulled Nina closer. ‘Can you write the license plate down?’

Nina pulled out her phone and wrote the number Robert recited. ‘Are we going to ask your pals to track it?’

Robert’s sigh and slight eye roll was all the answer she needed. Outside of work, she didn’t pry into people’s lives. Most of their stories were boring enough to put her to sleep, and she didn’t care for most people.

Nina didn’t know where to put her hands, so she stuffed them into her jacket pockets, and the silence between them mushroomed, tickling at her heart. Awkward, awkward, awkward!

Finally, she blurted, ‘Did you argue because of me?’

‘Something like that. When I prove your innocence, Cheryl will come round. Eventually.’

Cheryl. Nina hadn’t spent a lot of time with the woman, but from what Robert had said and what Nina had witnessed in the flat that morning, the detective inspector was a force to be wary about hurting. ‘Is she sort of a mother hen? And Joshua the joker?’

Robert’s laugh rang out. He was holding her so close, she felt the laughter vibrate through him. ‘Something like?—’

She heard it then, the sound of a machine – an electric bike. And it wasn’t coming up the hill. Nina twisted, gripped Robert’s chest and pushed with all her weight behind it. Robert was so caught up in his storytelling, he lost his footing and fell backward. However, his arm was still around her, and given Nina’s own forward momentum, she had no chance of staying upright.

She screamed, reaching up to cup Robert’s head. He let out a loudoomphwhen he collided with the ground, and Nina’s hand smacked against the edge of a step leading up to a shop.

Robert’s head bounced off her palm. ‘Wh?—’

Nina rolled off him, peering over her shoulder to see an electric scooter ploughing past the exact spot where they’d been standing.

Nina’s chest was heaving, her left hand bleeding. She opened her mouth, her eyes trying to track the scooter. Instead, she saw the black SUV roar to life and pull out into the traffic. It moved so suddenly the cars going down the road honked at it.

To her right, the biker disappeared down the bend.

Robert sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

‘Are – are you hurt?’ Nina said then winced when pain shot through her hand.

Noticing her discomfort, Robert lifted it and muttered a curse. ‘You cut yourself on that step. And I think you’ve smacked your knees against that tile.’

Before she could so much as attempt to sit up, Robert’s cool fingers gripped her neck. His face loomed over her, concern evident in his eyes. ‘Careful.’

He bent towards her, then cradled her in his arms and picked her up, bridal style. Nina groaned, her hand now throbbing. An angry gash sliced from her knuckles to her wrist. Blood dripped down the side and onto the pavement. She tried moving her fingers, but pain smarted through them. ‘Urgh.’

Robert still clutched her to his chest. ‘We might need to get that stitched up. There was glass on the ground.’

Nina blinked. His touch held a caring warmth to it, his torso and chest so close, she could burrow in and linger, listening to his heartbeat. The nearness gave her an opportunity to study those eyes – those ever-so-expressive eyes. She’d studied them under the glow of lamplight, but now, in daylight, they had the most fascinating patterns.

Hell, the man was gorgeous in every way possible.

On a sigh, she reached forward and nipped at his lips. Robert opened his mouth, trying to object, but hell no?—

Nina pushed up and captured his lips again. This time, their kiss wasn’t a ruse. She wasn’t just kissing him because she found him attractive. No, against her better judgement, Nina was kissing him because she felt something for him. Something a lot like… love.

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