Page 51 of The Claiming Series: Collection 1
Oh, hell, no!
“It’s fine. I can walk. The storm won’t be here for another hour,” I say stubbornly.
“Not happening,” Drayton shakes his head. “It’s well below freezing out there. You’ll have hypothermia before you get halfway home, and I won’t have the death of one of my residents on my conscience.”
“Danny offered to give me a ride,” I try again, sending Danny a pleading look. The last thing I want to do is spend any alone time with his grumpy son. I might forget I’m angry with him and do something I’ll regret, like crawl into his lap and rub myself all over him.
“Makes sense for Drayton to take you, honey. You got the snow chains on, Son?” Danny asks.
“Few hours ago,” Drayton nods.
Ah, crap. There goes my last argument. I’m making it obvious that I don’t want to ride with him, but what can I do? Itwouldbe suicide to walk home in brutal weather like this. Looks like I’m going to have to suck it up and spend ten more minutes in the company of Mr. Sexy Grumpy Pants.
“I’ll grab my things,” I sigh in defeat.
I bundle myself up in my coat, hat, and scarf and grab my purse. Waving goodbye to Danny,I follow Drayton to the cruiser parked outside. He’s right—it’s freezing out here. Much colder than it was a few hours ago. I can smell the threat of snow in the air, and I’m suddenly grateful I didn’t attempt to walk—no point in risking becoming a human popsicle for the sake of my pride.
Drayton crosses to the passenger side, holding the door open for me in an unexpectedly sweet gesture.
Don’t crumble, Jenkins. You’re angry with him, remember?
“Am I allowed to sit in the front of a police vehicle?” I ask, looking up at him in surprise.
“Sure. Unless youwantme to handcuff you and put you in the back,” he replies, his blue eyes twinkling.
I’m suddenly assaulted by images of me handcuffed to his bed while he licks and nibbles his way down my naked body, and I squeeze my thighs together on the needy throb that blooms there.
I duck inside the car before he sees the fiery blush heating my cheeks, sure he’ll somehow know it’s not only from the cold. Those piercing blue eyes of his don’t seem to miss a trick.
Drayton slides in behind the wheel, and the interior of the cruiser suddenly seems to shrink. He has apresence that’s overwhelming but not in a scary way. He oozes an air of authority and protectiveness that appeals to me on some elemental level. I have no doubt that he’d go above and beyond to keep me safe. I don’t know how I know that, but I do.
“I owe you an apology,” Drayton says unexpectedly as he guides the cruiser onto the main road. “The woman who worked for Pa before you took advantage of him, but that doesn’t excuse what I said to you earlier. I’m sorry.”
His apology takes me completely by surprise. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who does it often, and my opinion of him rises several notches. It’s kind of hot that he can admit when he’s wrong.
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” I reply softly. “Danny’s been great to me. I’d never take advantage of him.”
“I know,” he says, glancing across at me.
“Ah, I see. Went back to the station and did a little digging, huh?” I ask, tongue in cheek.
“Guilty,” Drayton replies sheepishly.
“Oh, crap. You found out about my double life as an undercover agent, didn’t you?” I ask with a straightface.
Drayton’s eyes shoot to mine, and he bursts out laughing. “Knew it. Had a feeling Pa hired a spy.”
“Fully trained in origami and cartography,” I say in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Impressive. Paper folding and map-making are underrated in this day and age.” He chuckles, playing along. His laughter is deep and rich—something else I’ll bet he hasn’t done much of lately.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but in reality, I lead a very dull and boring life,” I say wryly.
“‘Dull’ and ‘boring’ are not words I would ever use to describe you, Daisy,” Drayton says as he stops for a red light.
“No? What…what words would you use?” I find myself asking, suddenly very interested in his reply.
Drayton turns to look at me with those intense blue eyes. “Bright. Interesting. Beautiful,” he says softly, reaching out to tuck a blonde curl behind my ear.
