Page 8 of Wine and Research
She arrived with her arms laden with slices of cake, and by the time she handed them out to her friends and his, Jeremy had his mind made up to address what he’d done. She set his cake down without a word.
And when she made to walk away, he caught her wrist in his hand.
“Elle, wait,” he said, noting the pulse leaping under his thumb. “About before.”
Her gaze brightened, and interest replaced dread. “Yeah?”
“I was out of line,” he said, hoping to put her at ease. The sudden urge to keep her gaze as open as it was right now had words scrambling in his head. He cleared his throat. “It won’t happen again.”
In his haste to put her at ease, he overshot his mark, because her expression closed, and for a moment he wished he could…Hell. He had no idea what he could and should do when it came to Elle.
“Good to know,” she said and walked away.
His gut tightened.
She twisted him in knots then twisted those knots into knots.
Last year, they’d rubbed each other the wrong way, but seeing her again, being close to her again had him, for a split second, thinking about rubbing her the right way. It proved how much stupidity had been beaten into his brain today.
She didn’t just get under his skin. Elle made him weak, and he didn’t have time or space in his life for any type of weakness.
Avoiding her had been the smart move and one he intended to continue.
With luck, he wouldn’t run into her for another six months.
Chapter Three
And the Moron of the Year Award goes to…
Elle blew out a breath and forced memories of yesterday’s interaction with Jeremy to the back of her mind. At least, she tried to force them away, but the buggers kept making an appearance in her head, flaunting her stupidity.
Not today.
She had no time for anything but competence and control.
If she learned anything from yesterday, it was that although she was definitely attracted to Officer Mercer, Elle was doubly attracted to the man—Jeremy Mercer—who’d actually joked along with her, stating he wanted to have the sex she was offering. It was all about a piece of cake not actual sex, but damn, her body had heard an entirely different context.
Probably because it was the first time he’d ever regarded her with warmth in his eyes. The effect was strong, shockingly strong, which had a tremor rippling through her body, causing the dishes in her arms to rattle.
Ever the knight in shining armor, he’d jumped to his feet and cupped her from behind to help steady her armful of dishes. Feeling his warm, hard body brushing hers, those tremors had instantly multiplied. She had to give him credit, though. If Jeremy had noticed, he had the decency to remain silent.
Yep, knight in shining armor.
His voice had been soft and warm in her ear, too. For a moment, she’d thought…wrong.
She’d thought wrong.
Officer Mercer had shown up then and pretty much told her he’d made a mistake touching her and showing his human side, and that it wouldn’t happen again.
To be honest, she wasn’t mad at him. Elle was mad at herself for letting her guard down. He was a source of information. That was all. She knew this, and yet the faint lines of stress around his eyes and mouth and the tension in his shoulders yesterday had pushed her to joke and tease in an attempt to help him relax, if only for a moment.
A smile tugged at her lips.
She’d actually succeeded. Officer Mercerhaddropped his shield for a few seconds, and for the first time, she’d experienced the human behind the cop.
Now she was doubly intrigued.
Dammit.
