Page 59 of Waiting for Him
Damn it! Twenty feet away from avoiding the obnoxious asshole!
She’d thought she could slip away without being hit on for the eighth or ninth time in four days, but apparently, she wasn’t that lucky. If she could get rid of him now, she wouldn’t have to see him again until Tuesday. The Friday training ended at twelve-thirty today, so the officers with long commutes heading home for the Fourth of July weekend could beat rush hour traffic.
Pasting a not-too-friendly smile, she pivoted around to face Officer Rob DaSilva of the Eugene Police Department as he stopped in front of her. He was just under six feet tall and good-looking, but he thought he was God’s gift to women and was sexist. The worst part was the man couldn’t seem to take “No, thank you” for an answer.
“Yes, Officer DaSilva. Did you have a question about today’s training?”
“Uh, no. Look, I know you playing hard-to-get is just an act in front of the other guys, so now that we’re alone, do us both a favor and agree to go out with me.”
His leering grin and the way he talked to her chest had her temperature at a near boil. The only reason she wasn’t telling him where to shove his egotistical attitude was she tried very hard to be seen as a professional, aggressive K9 trainer in a predominantly male-oriented career. But it didn’t mean he was allowed to harass her.
He must have placed his German Sheperd in his department-issued, air-conditioned vehicle since the beautiful animal was nowhere to be seen. She felt sorry for the dog, being partnered with an arrogant ass.
Glancing around, she saw the rest of the trainers and trainees had either left, were still out on the practice field, or were heading toward the kennels. At least fifty yards away, no one was close enough to be used as a diversion. She’d been heading toward her little cabin on the large ranch, a mere twenty feet away.
After returning to Portland two weeks ago, she’d sat down with her bosses and explained everything. They had been wonderful and offered her the use of the empty cabin instead of returning to her apartment, where she no longer felt safe. Jeremy had also hooked her up with his attorney, who was starting the process for her to be “Katerina ‘Kat’ Maier” again now that she no longer had to hide from anyone.
She’d been shocked when the deputy director of the FBI had called her, at Ian’s request, to tell her the money in the Cayman Islands was hers to do with as she pleased. Any statutes that may have covered the money had expired, and since there was no one left alive who would fight her for it in a court of law, she was now a reluctant millionaire. Kat wanted no part of it. After she got over the shock and her name changed, she would look into charities that could benefit from the ill-gotten gains.
“Look, Officer DaSilva?—”
“Rob.”
God, she hated his smirk. Gritting her teeth, she crossed her arms, ensuring they covered her breasts instead of thrusting them upward. He didn’t need any more encouragement, just the opposite, in fact. What he did need was a two-by-four cracked over his thick skull. “Officer DaSilva, I’m here to train you, not date you. I’d prefer if you would please keep things professional.”
Taking a step toward her, it was clear he wasn’t deterred. “C’mon, babe. I’ll show you a really good time.” She saw something click in his eyes like a light bulb went off in his dense brain, and he tilted his head. “Oh, wait a minute . . . I get it. I saw you chatting it up before with the dike from Salem P.D. You play for the other team, don’t you? Well, it’s all right. With one good fuck, I can fix that. Why don’t you let me show you what a real man can do for you that other chicks can’t?”
“Oh, don’t worry. She knows what a real man can do. Don’t you, Kitty-Kat?”
At first, she’d gaped at Officer Obnoxious, but now she stared open-mouthed at Carter strolling toward them.
Where the hell did he come from?
His expression was deadly, matching the tone of his voice, and she was so glad it wasn’t boring into her. Instead, it was aimed at the cop, who suddenly didn’t look too sure of himself.
Carter had a good four or five inches on the other man and was twice as broad in the shoulders. He looked like he could take DaSilva down with both hands tied behind his back and not even break a sweat. Wearing faded jeans, which fit like a glove, black leather boots, and a snug gray T-shirt from Jenn’s University of Tampa, the man was sex on two long legs. Add in his surfer-boy good looks, hair pulled back into a small ponytail, and chiseled body, and she was sure he left soaking wet panties, broken hearts, and satisfied women everywhere he went.
The hunky spy walked up to her, pulled her into his arms, and . . . holy shit . . . dipped her! His lips locked on hers as he kissed the ever-living shit out of her. Kat was so stunned all she could do was hold on for dear life.
Ending the kiss, he winked at her before setting her upright as she stared at him in utter shock. The corners of his mouth ticked upward as if he were trying to hold back his laughter. His gaze never left hers. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have better things to do. Come along, beautiful.”
He took her arm and turned toward the cabin before glancing back at DaSilva. Like a coiled deadly cobra, Carter glared at the other man as if he were prey. “Oh, and by the way, if I ever hear you disrespect a woman like you just did, especially this one, they’ll never find your body. Understood?”
Kat’s blood chilled at the unveiled threat, but apparently, Officer Obnoxious was too stupid to know not to poke the viper, who was more than ready to strike. DaSilva blustered, his face flushed blood red in his attempt at bravado. “You can’t threaten me! I’m a cop! I can have your ass arrested so fucking fast you won’t know what hit you.”
Releasing her arm, Carter pivoted toward the other man. He took two deliberate steps forward and, faster than she could blink, grabbed DaSilva by the throat, leaning in so only the cop could hear him. She longed to know what Carter had whispered because the formerly arrogant man flinched and paled before being freed and taking a step backward. Without another word, he turned tail and scurried away like the weasel she thought he was.
“Let’s go inside, Kitty-Kat. We have things to talk about.” Carter gestured toward the door, waiting for her to lead the way.
As her shock faded, Kat’s pissed-off attitude returned. She crossed her arms again and stomped her foot while glaring at him. “What the fuck was that all about? I had it under control. What did you say to him? And who do you think you are, walking up and kissing me like that?”
A smirk appeared on his handsome face, and she couldn’t help but think it looked so much better on him than it did on Officer Obnoxious. The cocky bastard mirrored her stance but left out the childish foot stomp. “Like what? I didn’t give you any tongue . . . well, not a lot of tongue. Just pretend we’re bowling partners again . . . who just happen to kiss when we want to get rid of pricks like him. The other option was to beat the shit out of him, but I doubt your boss would’ve appreciated it. And I know you had control, but mine was better.”
He lifted a shoulder and let it drop again. “It’s a Dom thing, so you might as well get used to it. As for what I said to him, sorry Kitty-Kat, you’re better off not knowing—gives you plausible deniability if I ever have to follow through with it. And before you ask, Boomer doesn’t know I’m here. Now, we can have this conversation out here, or we can go inside and eat the lunch I’ve been keeping warm in your oven. Hope you like Italian—I was in the mood for pasta.”
Kat blinked, twitched, and gaped at the man who sauntered past her and held open her door. Furious, she didn’t even know where to begin. “You were in my cabin? How did you get in there? Wait . . . how the hell did you find me in the first place? And what do you mean, ‘it’s a Dom thing . . . get used to it’?”
An exaggerated sigh escaped him as he rolled his eyes. “So many questions. Uh, let’s see.” He ticked off the fingers of one hand. “The answers are—yes, I was; I picked the lock; and please, finding you was like finding a cat in a fishbowl—pun intended. We’ll discuss the ‘Dom thing’ after we eat. Now, either get your pretty ass inside, or I’ll spank it out here where anyone can see.”
