Fool Me Once (Codie Snow #1): A Romantic Suspense Series by Jade C. Jamison Read Free Book Online

Do you know what it is?”
    She shook her head.  “No.”
    “One minute.”  Pete strode over to the other cop car and chatted with the officer.  In less than ten minutes, they had a team of specialists on site in full safety gear, and the other cop shoved the guy named Brian into the back of the car so he could take him to the detention facility.  Then Pete told Codie to get in the car.  “I wonder if I should take you to the emergency room.  Is that stuff burning or itching?  Any odor?”
    “It doesn’t hurt or feel bad.  It’s kind of sticky feeling.”  She turned her head and took a big whiff of her damp shirt.  “Honestly, it kinda smells like…like ginger ale or Sprite, maybe.”
    “You sure that’s what it is?”
    She touched her arm.  Goosebumps stood out on the flesh as a cool breeze wafted past.  Two months from now in the relentless heat of summer, and her shirt would probably already be dry.  “Yeah.  Pretty sure.  It smells sweet.”
    “We need to get you cleaned up.”
    Codie imagined there were showers and locker rooms at the police station, even though she’d never been given a thorough tour.  She didn’t completely disagree that she needed to clean up, but she was fairly certain he should be patrolling the streets instead of pampering his ride-along.  It kind of defeated the purpose of going on the ride-along in the first place.  “I’ll be okay.”
    He grinned and winked.  “Buckle up.”
    Oh.   That voice again.
    She felt another involuntary shiver work its way through her spine and she flashed a smile—albeit a weak one—back at him.  Tonight’s little life experiment had reminded her all too well how attracted she’d always been to Pete.  He was masculine, self-assured, and even sweet, even though he didn’t show that side much, and now that she and her sometimes-boyfriend Slade were separated, she was seriously considering putting the moves on her cop friend.
    But, um…not while doused in Sprite.
    Soon enough, Pete was driving down the road.  Codie felt like she should say something, but the words weren’t there.  He didn’t talk either, instead focusing his attention on the road.  No, actually, he was doing more than that, and Codie had been watching him enough this evening to know that.  Part of him was tuned in to the chatter that came through the radio off and on, but more than that, he was keeping his eye on his surroundings, looking for anything on his patrol that was out of the ordinary or suspicious.
    In a few minutes, he was back in a residential section of town— his section of town and, shortly after that, he was pulling the patrol car into his driveway.  Pete switched off the ignition and glanced over at Codie.  “Time for my lunch break or dinner break, whatever you wanna call it.”  She felt a little confused but nodded and, when Pete got out of the driver’s side, she did the same.  “And you can shower while we’re here.”
    She followed him up to the front door of his modest off-white brick ranch-style house.  “But I don’t have any clothes to change into.”
    Pete shrugged as if he didn’t care but as he pushed the front door open and waved Codie in first, he said, “I think I’ve got something that will fit you.”
    She began laughing as he shoved the door closed and started to reply when in seconds he got close to her.  His eyes had grown dark and felt like they could see through to her soul as he closed the gap.  She could feel a deep vibration in her core as he got close enough that she could feel his body heat.  As her muscles felt like they were growing limp, she managed to swallow the saliva pooling in her mouth before saying, “I don’t think we’re the same size.”
    “I’m pretty sure I have something .”  His voice grew lower when he added, “I just don’t know that I want you wearing it yet.”
    Oh.   And so, when Pete’s face got near hers, she had no response other than to move her lips the