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It was true. Probably because he felt like shit and had been sleeping like shit. Ever since Thursday night when he’d walked out on Caroline, he’d been restless and uptight, stressed and confused.
He’d done the right thing. Dammit, she would have hated his guts even more the next morning if he’d taken what she was offering. At least, hethoughtshe would.
He hadn’t intended to set her up like that, or to punish her or anything. After all, he’d certainly been punished, too. They’d just gotten carried away, fallen into something neither of them had been ready for and both would have regretted.
His parting shot had been meant to turn her from melting seductress to furious virago. It’d obviously worked. She hadn’t even looked in his direction since then. Just as it should be.
Before Daniel could say anything more, Mick saw the very person he’d been thinking about. He knew it was Caroline—the sun caught the highlights in her dark brown hair so that even from here he wanted to sink his hands in it.
She looked weary and frustrated as she talked with a couple of techie-looking guys. Mick couldn’t help stiffening when one of them put a familiar hand on her shoulder.
“God, man, haveyougot a case.”
He looked at Fletcher. “What are you talking about?”
Daniel merely laughed.
Not wanting to hear any more b.s. about Caroline, Mick quickly changed the subject. “I saw the chipmunks on my way over here.” He was referring to the two young deputies, cousins who were often mistaken for twins. “Chip and Dale.”
“Curtis and Ennis,” Daniel corrected him with a distinct roll of the eyes.
“Whatever.”
Looking almost afraid to ask, Daniel said, “Were they still directing traffic at the corner of Young and Vine?”
Mick shook his head, enjoying the moment.
“Tell me.”
“I think they wanna star in a remake ofLethal Weapon.”
“Tell me they haven’t shot anybody.”
Mick merely smiled. “Not yet. But I think they were about to handcuff the mayor’s wife because she’s insisting on driving her Cadillac down Decatur so all the envious people out in TV land can see her shiny new car. They told her they’d shoot out the tires if she tried to go around the roadblock.”
Daniel visibly shuddered, shook his head and hurried away. As he did so, Mick heard him mutter, “This department doesn’t need a chief, it needs a damn baby-sitter.”
Standing alone in the middle of the crowd, Mick couldn’t stop his gaze from returning to Caroline. Suddenly, she glanced up and met his stare. Even from several yards away, he saw the way she stiffened, and her face grew slightly pink.
Still pissed. No doubt about it.
If only she knew he’d hurt himself far more than he’d hurt her the other night. Yeah, he’d left her high and dry—that is, he remembered with a pleasurable smile, high andwet. But he’d also left himselfhardand dry. Rock hard, hungry and insane with need to finish what he’d so stupidly started. With her.
He’d had to take a cold shower, which hadn’t done a thing to heal him off. Neither had jerking off. Nor, he knew, would another woman. It was Caroline or nothing. Just like it had been when they’d met.
It was darn near impossible to do much of anything with a 24/7 hard-on, as he’d discovered. There was only one way it was going away. And that didn’t look to happen anytime soon because the only woman he wanted had been ignoring him while mumbling, “I hate you Mick Winchester” under her breath for thirty-six hours.
That woman finally seemed to make up her mind about something. Mick was shocked to see her stride toward him, her steps purposeful and her expression stern.
Here it comes.He braced himself to hear, “I hate you Mick Winchester.”
“I need you, Mick.”
Well, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.“Finally realized that did you?”
She shot him a glare. “I mean, I need to talk to you. Walk with me.”
She stepped away, in long, even strides that ate up the sidewalk and dared him to keep up.
