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“Are you completely untrainable?” I hit the button to redial.
“What now, Duke?” Jordy said. “You know you’re not my only case.”
I motioned at the screen.
Duke sighed. “I forgot to say thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Duke, and tell Serena I appreciate the gesture. She can call me anytime.”
Duke grunted. “Bye.” He hung up.
“What do you make of the call?” I asked.
He sighed. “Better and worse.”
I cringed. It was already pretty damned bad in my book.
“It wasn’t mistaken identity, and he’s both committed and patient,” Duke explained. “Those are not the qualities we want for him. He may not anger as easily as I’d hoped.”
“And the good news?” I asked, trying to calm my runaway leg.
“We have some time to prepare for the next contact.”
“You’re not cheering me up.” As a matter of fact, his matter-of-fact explanation had almost made me wet my pants.
“Just giving it to you straight.”
As I looked over, I admired the strong jaw. He licked his lips as he signaled a lane change, and I replayed the kiss we’d shared. Why couldn’t we have met on vacation, a beach in Hawaii, perhaps, and had the kiss be real?
I closed my eyes, leaned back against the headrest, and imagined that kiss relocated to the warm sand of a Hawaiian beach. I wouldn’t have stopped at just a kiss.
Would he have invited me to a romantic dinner or maybe a cocktail by the pool and then back to his place? Or would the no-nonsense former SEAL just lead me by the hand to his hotel room?
I got wet thinking of the possibilities.
What would it be like to be with a man like Duke, the object of a million of my fantasies? Would he be a quick lover, a rough one? What position would he prefer? I’d read enough romance novels to give me plenty of options.
A man like Duke could have his pick of women. What if I didn’t kiss well enough to get to the next stage with him? Doubt was a fickle bitch.
The engine stopped. “Serena? We’re here.”
I opened my eyes. We were back home on my street.
I followed Duke to the door, which gave me a chance to ogle him from behind. Yes, the man had a hell of a set of shoulders,and his jeans hugged a nice ass. The beach would have been great.
“Give me a minute to clear the house.”
I rolled my eyes. The house had been fine before leaving for the sheriff’s office. But instead of pointing that out, I let him go in first and waited. When I heard the commotion, though, I rushed in after him.
“Hands up,” Duke barked.
I froze in place in the hallway, and my gut clenched.Black Jacket Guy found me.For a second, my legs went weak, and my vision dimmed. I put my hand against the wall to steady myself. Fainting was not allowed.
“Drop the knife, or I’ll shoot,” Duke growled.
Reminding myself why I’d gotten my tattoo, I marched in and rounded the corner to the confrontation. I wanted to see my protector take down the asshole and finish this.
Duke
