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He kissed her hard once more and, as if he couldn’t help himself, he did it yet again. Then turned her toward the garage door and slapped her gently on the ass. “Let’s go. And enough with the ‘bro.’ Instead, start figuring out how you’re going to explain our close relationship to your son.”
***
Alia went to follow Sloan to where he stored the car, but hesitated at the door.
“What’s up?” He saw her stop.
“Wait here for a second. I’m going to get my firearm. You never know what we might be heading into. I’ve learned over time not to go unprepared.”
“Right. I keep a spare in the glove box.”
She joined him a few minutes later in the vehicle, this time wearing her uniform yoga pants and a black island T-shirt, her hair swept back in a ponytail.
“Whoa. You look different; all businesslike now.”
“Yeah. Well, it’s best not to stand out too much from the crowd. Don’t know where we’ll end up, so just taking precautions.”
He looked down at himself. His shorts were navy but the golf shirt was white. He reached into the seat behind and whipped out an article of clothing. She couldn’t make out what it was until he shrugged out of his shirt.
His muscles gleamed in the light of the garage and his tanned skin had her fingers itching to touch. Good Lord, the man was well built. Saliva pooled in her mouth and she swallowed rapidly. Then gripped her fingers to stop from following her instincts to touch and caress.
“Quit looking at me like that.” He quickly donned the black golf-shirt with the wordBooker’sembroidered discreetly in white on the pocket.
“Like what?” Dazed, she’d heard the words but hadn’t taken in the meaning.
“Like you want to eat me.” Voice husky, he pushed the lever that opened the garage door and started the car, winking at her before putting it in reverse.
“I do.”Too much! Back off, or he’ll get the wrong impression and think you’re needy. “I mean, I am?” This time she formed a question, and made it sound like it was an outrageous thing for him to say. “Looking at you like that? You exaggerate. How can you think I’d want to eat you?”
Sloan chuckled. “Methinks the chick doth protest a whole lot more than she really needs to.”
“That’s just silly.” Did her voice sound as squeaky to him as it did to her?
“Not to me. I’m planning to do the same to you just as soon as we can get some privacy.”
A gush of moisture pooled low down, and she squirmed from the image she’d visualized. “Stop talking like that. It – it’s annoying.”
Sloan chuckled and headed around the corner to park under a palm tree. Once stopped, he reached for her hand and twined his fingers around it, swallowing hers in his large palm.
Both stared at their joined hands. He swiveled his palm so he could rub the skin gently, stroking it in such a tender way as to wrench her heart right out of its normal place and rev it up to where she couldn’t breathe.
She knew it was foolish but she imagined swirls of energy around their connection and wondered if he felt the same.
“You don’t wear any rings.”
“Not since my divorce six years ago.”
“Was it an amicable separation?”
“Yes… No. I don’t know. I guess it was.” She pulled back but he held on. “Paul, my husband, Kean’s father, couldn’t have cared less about me leaving him. He was so wrapped up in his job, we didn’t matter. At all. In fact, I have no doubt he was glad to see us go, even signed over full custody of Kean without making any demands.”
“Were you still in love with him?” Sloan switched his gaze from checking the street to looking at her, measuring her reaction to his question.
“Good God, no. He wasn’t easy to love. A narcissist like him takes care of that all on his own. He’d become closely associated with the type of people I wasn’t comfortable with. Unless I was arresting them, that is.”
“He’s broken the law?”
“Let’s just say he skims very close to the edge. He’s a contractor and pays off a lot of scumbags to keep the filth from rubbing off on his thousand- dollar, silk suits.”
