In Hot Pursuit by Joanne Rock Read Free Book Online Page A

you want.”
    She didn’t have to ask what “this” was. “This”currently strained against her, sizzling her from the outside in.
    Somewhere in the passion fog of her brain, she heard a dog bark. For the first time in her life, she didn’t want to run inside to greet her pets.
    She wanted this man, this feeling, this renewed sense of daring to last all night long. She’d figure out how to handle the backlash tomorrow, when her hormones weren’t conspiring against her.
    Right now, all she could think of was finishing the game she’d started in the bar.
    Lexi wriggled against him shamelessly. “Don’t make me break out the handcuffs again, Detective. You’re not going anywhere tonight.”

4
    H ANDCUFFS and a sex goddess. The fates had granted Josh all his best fantasies in one feisty package called Lexi Mansfield.
    Lust surged through him with renewed force. Lexi had just given him the green light.
    He withdrew her apartment keys from her fingers, eager to proceed inside before she changed her mind. Women like Lexi didn’t come along every day, at least not in the world Josh lived in. His usual dates were women he’d met at the gym, women who wanted the same things from a relationship he did—physical release and a simple good time. Josh had no complaints about those relationships, but he wasn’t about to let anything mess up his chance to play bondage games with a spitfire dominatrix.
    He’d barely pushed his way inside Lexi’s apartment when a pack of wild dogs rushed him. The restrained barks he’d heard a few moments ago turned into a chorus of raucous canine yipping and howling. Josh couldn’t see the animals in Lexi’s darkened foyer, but he could hear the snapping jaws, glimpse the flashes of white teeth around his knees.
    â€œThat’s enough, guys,” Lexi admonished, somehow managing to shoo the brood down a short hallway. “You can play in the guest room while Mama has company.”
    As the barking died down, Josh became aware of a bird chirping in the background. The hum of a fish tank circulator provided a soft white noise, drawing his eye toward a small aquarium and the lone source of light in the room. One pink fish swam around bright cliffs of coral in its home on the kitchen counter.
    Distracted by the menagerie, Josh failed to notice Lexi’s return until she was a few feet in front of him. He couldn’t distinguish all the particulars, but he could tell she’d ditched her high heels somewhere along the way. Not only had she grown quieter, but also she’d lost a few inches. Josh guessed if he pulled her close her head would just reach his shoulder.
    â€œSorry about that.”
    Wariness threaded through her words. Hesitation. Second thoughts.
    â€œNot a problem.” He stepped closer, looking for ways to gain lost ground. He had a hunch that if he struck out with Lexi tonight, there wouldn’t be any second chance. Her house full of pets had him thinking she wasn’t the sort of woman who lived on the edge very often.
    Normally when he brought a woman home from the gym or the boxing club, he would simply initiate a carnal wrestling match that would leave them both breathless and more than satisfied. But he got the impression Lexi was the kind of woman who wouldn’t appreciate the erotic possibilities of a half nelson.
    â€œThe animals miss me when I go out.” She tracedher toe along one of the floorboards in the foyer, her body backlit by the blue glow of the fish tank. “They’re excited to see me.”
    â€œI can hardly blame them.” Josh nudged aside the folds of her black shawl to trace one finger along the delicate ridge of her collarbone. “Just standing next to you makes me feel like howling.”
    Her heartbeat pounded just below the heel of his hand.
    â€œDon’t tell me I’m going to have to lock you up in the guest bedroom,