Page 100 of Hot Cops

“One of the producers from a local news show called me and said they had a last-minute cancellation this morning. He was hoping you and I could make an appearance. Nothing major. We just go on and answer a few questions. Whole segment isn’t going to last more than five minutes.”

She sat up, tugging at the leg of her boxers. He was sorry she’d done that. One side had ridden up, giving him ample view of her entire thigh and the tiniest bit of her ass cheek.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I thought you’d be excited. It’s thatNew Day Baltimorething with the hot weather guy. You love that show.”

“Well, I do, but…what are we going to say?”

“That’s why I’m here early. I thought you could get a quick shower, then we’ll grab some breakfast, get our stories straight. Our segment airs live at nine-fifty, but the guy would like us there an hour early for makeup and to briefly go over things.”

Landon had expected her to jump right on this, but she still hesitated. “Why would you agree to this? You’re going to hate every minute of it.”

He shrugged. He was. Hereallywas. But he knew she’d love it—even now he could see she was starting to get excited by the prospect—and it gave him the chance to further his cause. Finn and Sunnie had both mentioned that their fifteen minutes of fame would fade soon, and they were right.

Which meant Landon needed to make the most of the time he had if he hoped to achieve his dream.

He had one goal right now—and it was to win Sunnie’s heart.

That required finesse, skill and outright subterfuge. She’d never go down easy, so he would just have to trick her, seduce her into it. Last night had been a pretty hot start. He’d jerked off three times since as he recalled the way her face flushed when she came on his fingers.

Landon stood up, offering her a hand. “I figured you could do the majority of the talking.”

Sunnie obviously didn’t have a problem with that. But that didn’t mean therewasn’ta problem as she leapt out of bed and darted to the closet. “Dammit! What the hell am I going to wear?”

He chuckled, following her. After a twenty-minute discussion of her wardrobe, Sunnie went to the bathroom for a shower while he meandered to the kitchen. He was just polishing off the bagel with cream cheese he’d helped himself to when she appeared.

“I thought we were going to breakfast.”

“That was just an appetizer. Daily Grind?”

She nodded and they headed downstairs. Her uncles Tris and Ewan were sitting at the counter of the bar, having a cup of coffee, discussing last night’s ball game. They hadn’t been there when Landon arrived, which made things awkward…and potentially dangerous. Her uncles were big guys and protective of their nieces…and sisters…and wives…and daughters.

“Late night or early morning?” Tris asked.

Sunnie gave both of her uncles a quick kiss on the cheek. Now that she’d showered and dressed, she’d come fully to life, the excitement over her television interview growing by the minute.

“We’re going to be on TV,” she said, filling them in on the details—the channel, show and time. “Talking about our viral video.”

Ewan was amused by Sunnie’s enthusiasm. “We’ll be sure to watch it.”

They started to leave, but Sunnie turned around just as they reached the door. “Oh, I almost forgot. Landon and I are pretending to be a couple to scare away all the single ladies who’ve been swarming since his Hot Cop debut. Do not become alarmed,” she said casually. “It’s all make believe.”

Sunnie turned away, not noticing the narrowed-eyed, suspicious looks her uncles shot in his direction. He gave them a subtle one-shouldered shrug, then turned to follow Sunnie.

They walked hand in hand to the coffee shop. There were no cameras, no fawning women, no one watching. There was no one on the street with them besides people rushing to work, so he didn’t need to hold her hand.

But he wanted to. Mercifully, Sunnie didn’t give him shit for it or try to pull away.

Once they got their coffee and breakfast sandwiches, they found a table in a quiet corner.

“I suspect they’ll ask about our relationship, so I was thinking—” Sunnie started, her eyes bright. If he knew her—and he did—she was ready to concoct the mother of all stories, something over-the-top and probably ridiculous.

Landon headed her off at the pass. “I was too,” he interjected. “The safest, smartest bet is sticking as closely to the truth as possible.”

Her shoulders slumped and it was clear she didn’t care for that suggestion. Regardless, he pressed on. “We just say we’ve known each other since we were kids. After the mugging, we realized our feelings had changed from just friends to something more.”

She feigned a yawn. “Oh, I’m sorry. What did you say?” she said sarcastically. “I fell asleep halfway through that thrilling tale of our romance.”

---