Page 108 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

“Because you don’t want anyone to know.”

He gave her a single nod. “Sorry. I’m not ready for them to?—”

She lifted a palm, stopping him. “I understand. Then we’ll play it by ear.” She sighed. “All right, since my boys are home alone, I need to get home to make sure I have a house to go home to.”

“That was a mouthful.”

She dragged a finger along his sharp jawline and gave him a smile that caused his pulse to speed up again. “So were you.”

ChapterTwenty-Four

She textedhim while still in her car and parked in her mother’s driveway.Boys spending the weekend with my mother. Want to boink?

She couldn’t wait there until he answered since she had no idea if he had plans or not. So, after putting her Mercedes in reverse, she began the trek home, hoping to hear from him either way.

She wanted to plan her child-free weekend.

After a few minutes, her phone dinged and her car read the incoming message through the speakers.I could boink.

She did a giggle-snort at the robotic female voice saying the word “boink.”

She used the text-to-voice feature as she drove. “I’m heading home now from dropping them off. My place in a half hour?”

Four more traffic lights later, his response came through:Can’t get free for another hour.

“Have a date?”she asked.

With some criminals.

“Are you close enough to home to pack a bag?”

It was a few more miles before he answered.Are we going on a trip?

“Something like that,” she purred and, in anticipation, so did her pussy.

K.

She rolled her eyes at that last message. It was the same kind of answer she got from her boys. Apparently, it was too much trouble to say or spell out “okay” since the word was extremely long and complicated.

She quickly did a mental inventory of her refrigerator and pantry. If he actually ended up staying the night and didn’t sprint out of her house immediately after having sex, she would need to have something for breakfast.

Something other than Fruit Loops, Cocoa Pebbles or strawberry Pop Tarts.

For her own breakfast, she normally stopped at a locally owned coffee shop on her way to the office to fill her oversized travel mug and grab a breakfast sandwich or wrap.

She should’ve planned this better and had a French toast casserole already assembled and waiting in the fridge, so it was ready to pop in the oven?—

Wait.Why was she trying to impress him by making him a nice breakfast? He was only coming over to boink—she shook her head—to havesex. Like two full-grown adults and not naughty teenagers.

She sighed at herself when she automatically pulled into a grocery store.

One hour, fifteen minutes and ten bags of groceries later, she pulled into her driveway to find a Harley parked in it and a very hot and handsome man parked in one of the rockers on her front porch.

Sitting by his left boot was an olive-green rucksack.

The man had understood the assignment.

Of course, he wore his signature baseball cap tipped low enough to hide his eyes.

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