Jamie Denton - Sleeping With The Enemy

Before he could conceive a viable plan, her door opened. “Are you drinking enough water to replenish what you’re losing?” she asked abruptly, keeping the screened door between them.

He detected a note of irritation in her voice, but finished his stroke along the mower blade before looking over his shoulder at her. Definitely irritation. Her sable eyebrows slanted into a frown. He couldn’t see her eyes clearly, but he easily imagined the gold highlights sparkling due to her annoyance. Annoyance he’d bet his badge was unwanted.

The question as to the cause of her aggravation held all sorts of interesting possibilities, and had him curious as hell. Because she didn’t want to care if he was running the risk of dehydration? Or did her attitude stem from some other, more base instinct? The same base instincts he’d been unable to stop thinking about since they’d touched that morning in her compact kitchen.

“I’m fine, Doc,” he said, forcing himself to return to sharpening the mower blade and not try to see for himself if those gold highlights were indeed sparkling. He flicked his finger over the sharpened blade. Not bad. Satisfied, he started working the opposite side.

“By the way you’re sweating, I’d say you’re dangerously close to dehydration, unless you’re taking in plenty of water.”

A smile kicked into a grin when he glanced over his shoulder at her again. She’d been watching him. And paying attention. “Is that strictly your professional opinion?”

He couldn’t be sure, but he could’ve sworn her eyes narrowed slightly.

“It’s an observation,” she said, the husky nuances of her voice conjuring plenty of images, but not a single one of them professional.

“So you’ve been observing, huh?”

Her mouth opened, then snapped shut. Damn, but he wished he could see her eyes clearly.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, it’s… Just drink plenty of water. And that is my professional opinion.” The sound of her door closing was followed by the slide of the safety chain.

He shrugged and went back to the mower blade. Not exactly the kind of conversation he’d envisioned, nor would it even remotely classify as a success as far as getting closer to her.

He slid the stone along the dulled blade. Considering his lack of progress all week, he supposed today’s encounter ranked right up there with mediocre success.

She noticed him. She noticed him and it bothered her. If that was the case, then Chase knew it’d only be a matter of time before he located the right combination to unlock the secrets that would lead him right to Jared Romine.

He heard the gentle glide of metal against metal again, followed by the jingle of the safety chain.

He looked up expectantly as her door opened one more time. She pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the covered porch. “Have you eaten?” The slight irritation he’d detected earlier hadn’t dissipated. The gold highlighting her green eyes intensified, almost flaring to life.

God, she had the most intriguing gaze. He couldn’t help wondering what they’d do when banked in passion.

He shrugged and shot for a casual attitude he was far from feeling. He was close, he could feel it, and he had to play it cool so he didn’t blow it. “Not since lunch, why?”

She slid her hands into the front pockets of her khaki walking shorts and frowned. “I have some halibut defrosted. It’s too much for just one person and it’d end up going to waste…”

“You inviting me to dinner, Doc?”

She let out a puff of breath. “I guess I am.”

He grinned, and set the blade and sharpening stone on the step beside him. “Then you got yourself a date,” he said rising.

“Uh, this isn’t, isn’t a date.”

Chase just grinned. He didn’t care what she was calling it. He’d just gotten closer, and that’s all that mattered. Almost all that mattered, he amended.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.