Well discuss your grievances with the department tomorrow night, too.
She angled her chin, belatedly insulted. What makes you think Im free tomorrow night?
Pipers closes at six, and Jolie and Dace claim you have no social life. So tomorrow night, Im it.
Jolie and Dace had told him she had no social life? Mortification mingled with irritation. Just because it was truejust because it was her choicedidnt mean it didnt sting.
He cut through her momentary silence by commanding, Come over here.
Instantly wary, she remained where she was. Why?
So you can lock the door behind me. He jerked his head toward the ice pack shed left on the counter. Then for the rest of the night keep ice on that cheek. Twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off. Its going to start hurting once you fall asleep and the numbness wears off. Youre going to want to take a pain reliever before you turn in.
In face of the genuine concern in his voice Lindsay felt her ire fade away. And that was perhaps the most lethal part of Langleys attractiveness. It would be easier to ignore his sexual magnetism if he wasnt so darn likable.
She was reminded again of what hed done for her that night, and she felt something inside her soften further. I will. Thank you.
He lifted a shoulder. Hey, its Fallon who should be thanking me. If I hadnt shown up when I did you probably would have crippled him.
The suggestion was outrageously untrue and guaranteed to make her smile.
He sobered, studying her intently. Id feel better if someone stayed with you tonight. Are you sure you dont want to call Jolie?
Im really okay, she assured him. And she was. The events of the night had rattled her, but shed regained her equilibrium. And there was satisfaction to be had from knowing that for once she hadnt been too late. That shed helped save a woman from certain trauma.
On impulse, she closed the distance between them, went up on tiptoe and brushed a kiss across his cheek. But thank you. For everything.
She went to step back. Found it impossible. Jacks hand had slipped behind her nape, his thumb tilting her chin up. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, on his lips, when he said huskily, Youre welcome.
But she detected no amusement when his mouth covered hers. What she tasted was heat. It transferred from his lips to hers and sent corresponding spirals spinning through her veins. He wasnt a man to miss an opportunity, she reminded herself. But shed invited this one, hadnt she, the moment she gotten this close to him.
Maybe she hadnt changed as much as shed hoped.
Because responding to his latent sexuality meant she hadnt completely conquered her desire for excitement. Returning the hard pressure of his mouth meant she hadnt outgrown her taste for a little danger.
That should have dismayed her. Terrified her. But those werent the emotions careening through her system right now. He kissed with the same lazy self-assurance that was so much a part of him. With just a hint of wickedness that invited her to be wicked with him.
And Lindsay was tempted. When his tongue swept inside her mouth, she met it with her own, relishing the dark flavor that traced through her system. Desire rose quickly, whipping her blood to churning white caps.
Emboldened, she leaned into him, taking the kiss deeper as she raised her hands to his chest. Her fingers flexed against the hard muscled planes, a purr of feminine satisfaction in the back of her throat. His chest was just as solid as it looked, with all sorts of intriguing angles and hollows where sinew met bone. She had the overpowering urge to tear her mouth from his and test one hard pec with her teeth.
She didnt recall ever feeling this fever in her blood that stripped away the caution shed learned to live by. This scorching heat was its own kind of seduction for a woman used to keeping her own wild nature tamed.
Jack Langley made her want to unleash it. And that made him far more dangerous than she had first assumed.
The realization had Lindsay reluctantly tearing her mouth from his, evading his lips when they would have lured her back.
Each of them drew a deep, shuddering breath. If he said anything, did anything, Lindsay couldnt be certain shed have the strength of will to resist him.
When he spoke, his voice was an octave lower than usual. Dont forget to lock up after me.
She had to force herself to back up a few steps to allow him space to pull the door open. Clenching her hands at her sides, she managed to let him walk through it without hauling him back inside.
But it was a long moment before she could manage to do as he directed and lock the door behind him.
You went to see Neldstrom? Coming fully awake, Lindsay sat up in bed, her cell phone clutched to her ear. Mitch, I wish you hadnt done that.
Early-morning light slanted through the blinds covering the lone window. She didnt know what time it was when shed taken Mitchs call. But Pipers opened at 6:00 a.m. Mitch hadnt wasted any time.
He humiliated me. In front of everyone. There was an unfamiliar note of rage in the mans voice, layered under the mortification. He looked me right in the eye and dumped the plate of food down my shirt. Poured juice on my head. Said I must be slower than he thought if I didnt get the message.
Lindsays jaw clenched. The owner of Pipers, Bill Neldstrom, was something of an ass. Shed seem him lose his temper before. The episode with Mitch hadnt been his first. But he paid in cash and didnt require references when hiring. That had made him an attractive employer for Lindsay.
You didnt deserve that, Mitch. Hes a jerk. Youll find a better job. With a nicer boss.
No one did a thing to stop him. No one said a thing about it. Mitchs voice was tinged with bitterness. Alex just smirked at me. Like maybe I had it coming.
Bringing a hand up to rub her temple, Lindsay grazed her cheekbone and flinched. Im sorry that happened. Bill had no right to treat you that way, and Ill tell him that.
There was a beat of silence. Then, You dont work today, do you?
No. Thank God, she mentally added. Various aches shed been unaware of last night were making themselves known now, a regular little chorus of pain. But when I see him tomorrow
Dont worry about it. Bill is going to get his one of these days.
Guys like him usually do. She hoped her words sounded more certain than she felt. Her experience was quite the opposite. Innocents were destroyed while evil flourished. And waiting for justice could take a lifetime. But Im free this afternoon. How about if I buy some newspapers and you and I can go through the want ads? That would show Bill, if you had a new job lined up in just a few days.
Maybe another time. Mitch sounded preoccupied. Promise you wont go talk to him today.
Stifling a yawn, Lindsay lowered herself gingerly to a prone position again. That was a promise shed have no trouble keeping. This would be her first day off all week. I wont.
Good. Ill talk to you later.
All right. And, Mitch? We will find you a better job.
Once the call had been disconnected, she checked the time on the phone. Past nine. But she was in no hurry to get up. Jack had been right. Her face had throbbed during the night, making it difficult to fall asleep. She was unwilling to admit that there had been any other cause for her sleeplessness. Unless it had been mortification at the struggle it had taken not to jump the mans bones before hed walked out the door.