Big Bad Easy by Ursula Whistler Read Free Book Online Page B

gave Ida a hug and steeled herself for the laughter she knew she’d see in Jameson’s eyes. As she approached him, she avoided his eyes. “Thank you for walking Ida home. I’m just three blocks away. I can make it myself.” Being alone would be best at this time. While the streets of her neighborhood weren’t well-lit by the pale yellow streetlights, they were quiet, no traffic to speak of, and always a dog walker or two out and about. She’d be safe from harm and from her overwhelming urge to jump the bones of gorgeous hunk of a man.
    “Absolutely not. Consider me your private security detail for the night.” He offered her his arm. He must have tossed away his beer, so she did the same, depositing it in a neighbor’s trash can.
    She took his arm, solid muscle beneath her hand, and let rivulets of desire travel through her blood to her pussy. “I arrange private details for work all the time. They aren’t cheap.” Damn, she adored being this close to him, their arms brushing against each other. Her body thrummed with need.
    “For just tonight, I’m offering a deal. Free detail for up to ten blocks.”
    “Excellent. I think I can afford that.” She flashed a smile at him as they navigated the uneven sidewalk broken and uplifted by the trees in the neighborhood filled with duplexes and big homes broken into apartments.
    He returned her smile with a grin and a raised eyebrow. The blue of his eyes glinted as they walked under a streetlamp. “What exactly did you tell Ida about me?”
    Aw, shit. He was fishing, and as much as she wanted him, there was the whole cop/victim thing. She couldn’t exactly do an internet search with the question: Can cops have sex with someone involved in a case? “I said you were large.”
    He brushed against her hip, sending renewed tendrils of need through her. “You had to have said more than that.”
    “I might have told her that I was interested in you, but I can’t remember due to the creep who hip-bumped me and then got all in the poor kid’s face.” She had two ways to approach this, being coy or being blunt. Coy didn’t fit her.
    “Too bad. Ida might’ve told me everything.” He let his hand slide down her arm. He wrapped her hand in his. Smoothed-over calluses warmed her cool hand.
    For Zara, it was as if he’d taken possession of her. A physical statement of the undercurrent running between their erogenous zones. From the heat coming from his side, Jameson wanted her, too. This night could quickly become amazing. “I can tell you.”
    “I’m waiting to hear it.”
    They’d reached her house already. Walking without Ida had increased their pace, so she led him by his hand onto her side of the porch. She took a deep breath, still unsure if she should tell him this. If he said no, she’d punch him for caring about the rules, but she’d accept it. She had to. Catching the damn criminal was more important than sating the mountain of desire that she had for this man.
    “I…” She couldn’t say the words. As she looked into his pale blue eyes that shone in the amber light of the street lamp, one axiom came to mind. Actions speak louder than words. She grabbed his head with one hand, his waist with the other and claimed his firm mouth with hers. He spread his hands around her back, pulling her closer.
    Her breasts pressed against his hard chest. He opened his mouth to her, and she plunged her tongue past his teeth, searching for his tongue. When the smooth velvet touched her, something inside her melted, releasing all the bonds she’d placed on her need for Jameson. He angled his head and took the kiss deeper, further, asking for more as his tongue explored. She tasted mint and nearly laughed that he’d found time to put one in his mouth. He’d wanted this, too.
    That knowledge released the vixen in her. She pulled his shirt from his waistband and sought his skin. Her fingers found the lines of the muscles on his abs. Hardness covered by soft skin enticed