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In reality, she folded her arms, crossed her legs, and expelled a long breath that was anything but grateful. “Let’s go.”
“Seat belt.”
He waited for her to buckle up and tried not to notice the way the air conditioning blew trailing strands of her hair away from her face. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Reckless. Of all the people in town to hook up with you found the two most likely to—”
“Hold up. Who’s Reckless?”
He turned in his seat and caught his reflection in the mirrored lenses of her sunglasses. Hair on end, jaw clenched. Perfect. He looked as unhinged as he felt. “That would be you. My point is—”
“I am not reckless, Officer Donovan.” Her chin came up. “Maybe I don’t live my life the way you think a person should, but I’m old enough to make my own choices. I take care of myself. I’m a responsible adult.”
“Really? I’d love for you to start acting like one. A responsible adult ought to know better than to trespass onto private property, have a swim, get stoned, and consider driving with an expired license.”
That stubborn little chin of hers dipped as she drew in a breath through her nose. “First off, there were no fences or signs. I didn’t know we were trespassing. Second, I didn’t get stoned. I don’t do drugs.” She ran her hands down her arms, where goose bumps rose, and God damn him, he zoomed in on her chest. Cold nipples poked against thin fabric.
Fighting the compulsion to warm them in half a dozen intimate ways, he punched the air conditioner down a few notches and then took her chin and turned her face to his. Next, he slid her sunglasses down. Clear, blue-green eyes shot I-told-you-so at him. “Fine. You went for a swim while Dumb and Dumber got wasted. Still not responsible. Neither is driving with an expired license.”
“I forgot about the license, but that’s a technicality. There’s nothing wrong with my driving record. I just need to renew the stupid thing.”
He revved the engine as a warning and glanced in his rearview mirror to make sure Dobie and Kenny wouldn’t go flying when he pulled out. They were secure, so he steered onto the road. “Until you do, any time you take the wheel you’re breaking the law.”
“It’s an infraction.”
“Roxy.”
“Come on, West.” She slouched in her seat and re-crossed her arms. “No harm, no foul.”
“What a great philosophy. Why don’t we all just pick and choose the laws we want to follow? Or maybe only follow them when it’s convenient?” He shook his head. “I gotta warn you, Reckless, that strategy will land you in hot water around here.”
“You don’t have any give in your world for extenuating circumstances?” He felt her gaze on him and sensed something more than momentary def
ensiveness behind the question.
“That’s just a long term for shitty excuses, and I’ve heard them all. People where I grew up had a million reasons why they couldn’t do right. The unfairness of life and all manner of unavoidable situations justified everything from stealing, to beating the crap out of someone, to selling drugs. I enlisted as soon as I could, got out, and you know what the Navy taught me pretty damn quick?”
She shook her head.
“There are no acceptable excuses. You respect rules and honor your commitments. Fall short, and somebody might go home in a body bag. Same deal with law enforcement.”
Open fields transitioned to single family homes. They’d reach town soon. Although he knew every word out of his mouth diminished any chance she’d confide in him about whatever trouble had chased her away from wherever she’d come from, with bruises on her wrist and a nervous look in her eye, he couldn’t seem to stop talking. He valued the law. Valued the order it brought to life. “I took an oath to protect and serve. The citizens of Bluelick trust me to enforce the laws uniformly, not give some people a free pass because they mean no harm and make others toe the line.”
“You never let anything slide because of…contributing factors?”
He wasn’t a complete idiot. He saw her absently rub her wrist and heard the hesitation in her voice. “I let you slide yesterday.”
She raised her head and stared out the window, but her cheeks went pink. “Lucky me.”
The Gas ‘n Go sign came up on the right. “Roxy, if you’re in trouble, now would be a really good time to tell me.” He pulled into the service station, stopped beside the garage, and turned to face her. Waited.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Dobie and Kenny scramble out of the back of the truck. “Roxy?”
“Me? Trouble?” She unfastened her seat belt and pushed her door open. “Officer Donovan, you’ve got the wrong girl.”
The last five words couldn’t have been truer. She was definitely the wrong girl, but some twisted part of him refused to hear it. “Sit tight. I’ll drive you home.” Yeah, right. After his speech, she couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
“No need. I’ll hang with the guys. Make sure they get their tow.” With that, she slid out of the truck. The move turned her already tiny swimsuit into a thong. Christ, she had an ass like a ripe peach. He ground his molars together against an urge to sink his teeth in. That hint of ink reaching toward the small of her back from beneath her bikini was sexy as fuck, and…okay, maybe driving her home to their empty, shared house would be a bad idea right now.
“Reckless.”
