Page 2 of Scotch & Shortbread

She snuck a glance at him as he was looking down at the clipboard that now held her papers. Hmm. Even with that accent, he was still 100 percent intimidating, but he was also rather easy on the eyes. His jaw was nothing short of a masterpiece really, topped with a sexy five o’clock shadow accentuating all that raw manliness. She hadn’t determined whether he tipped more towards sexy or towards danger, or maybe he was the balance of both.

A thin scar ran diagonally down the side of his squared chin. How had he come by it? Had he been in a brawl? She almost snorted thinking how that would have gone for the other guy. Hmm, or maybe it was one of those childhood scars from playing outside with his friends. She imagined him as a child running in the emerald hills of Ireland. It made him seem much more enchanting.

It was intriguing that the scar only seemed to add to his handsomeness. Her eyes slipped to his mouth again. It was rather sensual. Scowl and all. She was curious though what those lips would look like if he smiled. At this point, she wondered if he ever did smile. The man was awfully serious as he concentrated on the clipboard.

She continued her study of him, taking in his nose. It was long and narrow with slightly flared nostrils. It was a strong-looking nose, proud. Her gaze continued upward to his piercing stormy blue eyes… Oh shit, those eyes were glowering at her with an intensity that sent electricity pinging down her spine. She flushed, feeling embarrassed. If he hadn’t caught her open perusal before, he certainly had noted it this time.Nice Quinn, she chided herself inwardly.

“Oot of the vehicle now.” His brogue was thick, and this time there was no doubt in her mind that he meant it. She felt a pang of trepidation. Lilting Irish accent or not, he was making her nervous. Why did he want her to get out of her car? So she was speeding a bit, okay maybe more than a bit, but still, what was with this guy? Such a Grinch. A giant intimidating Grinch. Well, she wasn’t one to be intimidated—nervous yes, intimidated no. Despite his size and the fact he was a cop and, sure, she had been speeding, it didn’t give him the right to be a total ass about it.

Quinn crunched off a big piece of her candy cane, chucked the wrapped bit down on the passenger seat, and got out of her car, slamming the creaky heavy door behind her to demonstrate her displeasure.

2

Hot Jerk

Thegrumpygiantglancedup at her from his clipboard, disapproval was written all over his too-handsome face. Those stormy blue eyes penetrated her with their intensity.

The shiver she felt dance down her spine had nothing to do with the cool mountain air. Quinn shifted uncomfortable with her body’s sudden unexpected reaction to him. Now that she stood before him, his height and breadth were so distinctly masculine it made her feel petite and…feminine. Like he was some kind of alpha god, and she was the woman his intentions were set upon. Quinn slowly crunched the piece of candy cane in her mouth as she openly stared at him, but this time, his glowering blue eyes gave way to something akin to male satisfaction. Her breath hitched at the not-so-subtle change in his countenance, and a bit of candy cane nearly choked her.

He held her gaze for only a split second, but it was long enough to leave her certain that he knew all too well the heady effect he was having on her. When he turned away from her to talk into his two-way radio, she wondered if she’d imagined that look in his eyes. The moment passed so quickly. Was it just her overzealous imagination?

Quinn had taken her coat off in the car for the drive, and the crisp mountain air that now snaked its way through her thin sweater was more than enough to cool any fires. She crossed her arms over her chest trying to keep warm.

“It’s freezing,” she muttered, subtly trying to indicate that he should hurry up with whatever it was he was doing.

With his broad back turned to her, he paid her no attention. He was still talking back and forth on his radio. She didn’t hear what he was saying. She didn’t care really. What she did care about was why the heck he had her get out of her warm car if he was just going to yak away to someone else. She just wanted to get back in her toasty car, crank her Christmas tunes, and get on her way to see her friends and start their girl’s weekend.

Was the sadistic man deliberately taking his sweet time as she stood there shivering? Frustrated, her impatience got the best of her.

“Excuse me, officer, I hate to interrupt, but could we speed things up here? I have plans, and this is putting a dent into them.” She hadn’t meant to come across as snarky, but even she heard the sarcasm in her voice.

The cop turned back to her and looked down at her with a dark arched brow. She wasn’t sure what was more annoying, his intimidating manner or the fact he was decidedly hot. He currently towered over her. He had to be well over six feet and built like a bull, but she refused to be intimidated. Standing her ground, she gave him a challenging look back.

“Have ye been drinking?” he asked, leaning in closer to her, his sheer size made her step back. A hint of cologne wafted in the crisp mountain air tickling her senses. She suddenly had an urge to reach up and pull him to her so she could breathe him in. How could someone with his demeanour smell that amazing? Such a contradiction. God, what was with her? He just asked her if she’d been drinking, and all she could focus on was his cologne. Quinn stood a little taller, despite herself.

“Not yet, but thanks for asking,” she quipped matter-of-factly with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She thought she saw a slight twitch in his lips. If he was going to crack a smile, he reigned it in quickly. Pity.

“Where are ye headed, Ms. West?” He was looking back down at his clipboard and started to scribble something.

Ooh, so formal, she thought. But she was cold and just wanted to go already. “Calen.”

“Visiting?” he asked not looking up.

“Yes,” she said, her teeth beginning to chatter. “Well, sort of.” The sun hung low in the sky and would likely set within the hour. Out of nowhere, big, fluffy snowflakes began to float around them, and Quinn was instantly distracted, as if there wasn't a giant cop glowering at her. “Look, it’s snowing,” she said breathlessly, as she lifted her palms to the air like those snowy puffs held some kind of Christmas magic.

Feeling his glare, Quinn looked back and caught the cop’s gaze on her. He had that mystified scowl look again, but less scowly this time. Realizing she’d gotten distracted, she carried on with what she’d been saying, “I’m going to Calen to meet up with my girlfriends. We haven’t seen each other in ages.” She sighed and then grinned, adding, “It’s going to be an epic girl’s weekend, but I’m planning…”

“Come,” he cut her off, not the least bit interested in what she was saying, and the irritated scowl made a reappearance.

So rude, she thought, but she reluctantly followed the brute as he led her to the back of her car. He pointed to her broken tail light, and she cringed. She planned to get that fixed, but it wasn’t in the budget this month. Damn. She was kicking herself now. She supposed she could have pulled some money from this weekend’s party with the girl’s budget.

“Ye have a broken tail light,” he said more calmly than she’d expected.

“Mm-hmm.” She nodded in quiet agreement. She couldn’t very well lie and pretend she knew nothing about it. She’d come out to it about two weeks ago after picking up some groceries. No one was in sight, and she stood there looking around the parking lot wondering what in the heck happened. Frustrated, she’d gotten in her vehicle and put it out of her mind.

Quinn could feel his cool gaze penetrating her as she stared blankly at the back of her vehicle at a rare loss for words.

“Ye knowingly drove on the highway with a broken tail light?” It was more of a scolding statement than a question, and she felt well and put into her place. She didn’t say anything.

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