“Shit. It’s the police.”
“What?” I rush for the door, but he holds me back.
“Too late. He already saw our flashlight. This way. There’s got to be a back way out.” He pulls me toward the bedrooms, but I drag my feet.
“The back door is boarded,” I remind him. “Our only way out is—”
“Maybe there’s an open window.” He yanks me into one of the bedrooms, the spare room my parents used as their home office. Chase curses when he finds three walls, all solid. No window. We’re trapped.
I creep to the door and peer out, swallowing a gasp when I see a man’s form, silhouetted by the police car’s headlights, filling the front door. He holds a flashlight in one hand, something else in his other.
“He’s coming in!” I hiss. “I think he has a gun!”
“Hello?” The officer calls tentatively, and the floor creaks under his weight. “If someone’s in here, come on out. This is a restricted area.”
“Get back,” Chase whispers, looking around, maybe for a weapon.
I grab his arm, digging my fingers into his skin. “Don’t do anything crazy.”
He looks at me like I’m the crazy one, and for a moment I think he really is going to lunge at the officer. My heart jumps into my throat as I hear the cop moving toward the hallway. His footsteps get closer and closer, and I pray for him to turn around and walk away. When his shadow appears in the doorway, I hold my breath, afraid of what will happen in the next two seconds.
Instead of lunging at the cop, Chase turns to me, pulls me flush against him, and kisses me.
His lips meet mine before I even have time to gasp. This is no ordinary sweet kiss. It goes from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye. Chase slides his hand down to my waist, steadying me, and he tilts his head, deepening the kiss with a confidence that thrills me.
It’s exactly what I’d expect from a guy like him. He instantly renders me breathless, not because I can’t believe it’s happening, but because it feels so good. While his tongue teases mine, his thumb brushes the side of my neck, igniting sparks that seem to run from my skin to the very core of me. The scent of him, leather and soap, captures my senses, blurring everything else.
My hands have somehow tangled in his shirt, clutching at him, and for a second, I forget everything. The cop, the house, even my own name.
“Ah. Mr.Hedlund. How did I guess?”
In the next instant, Chase breaks away from me. He sounds as calm as ever, a little surly too, as he says, “Deputy Price.”
The flashlight shines in my face and I squeeze my eyes shut, hugging myself to keep from trembling. Why are my knees so weak?
“Come on, come on out of there,” the deputy commands, motioning us forward.
I step out into the living room, cheeks scorching and still trying to catch my breath. I look over at Chase and blush even harder when I notice his hand dip down to rearrange his pants, but he doesn’t seem at all embarrassed. His posture is relaxed, and he’s even smirking a little. Why is he so calm?
We stand shoulder to shoulder as if in a police lineup while the deputy now shines the light on Chase’s face. “Switching it up, eh, Hedlund? I’ve caught you with girls a bunch of places, but this is a new one for you.”
Chase chuckles. “It was the police tape. I can’t keep away.”
“Well, for the last time, I’m going to ask you to try. Don’t make me bring you in again,” Deputy Price barks. When he turns to address me, his tone is kinder. “Honey. You need to make wise choices. Don’t go along with this guy. He’ll only drag you down.”
I bristle. As if. I suppose it makes sense why he would believe it—Chase did have his tongue down my throat, after all—but I don’t like what he’s insinuating. That I’m stupid enough to be one of the legions of gullible girls who fell for Chase Hedlund.
The deputy escorts us outside. “Where’s your vehicle? Do I need to drive you home?”
Chase digs his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and rocks innocently from toe to heel. “No, sir. We’re good. My bike’s stashed near that tree over there.”
“All right,” he warns, wagging a finger at us. “Don’t let me catch you here again.”
As the deputy gets in his cruiser, we head toward Chase’smotorcycle. He doesn’t say a word as we don our helmets and climb on. I’m pretty sure he’s intending to make it the whole way home without discussing what happened between us.
So I blurt out, “You bring girls all over town to hook up, huh?”
I mean it as a joke, but he doesn’t laugh. He grunts.
