Page 40 of Under Pressure

He didn’t like him. Not at all.

“You’ve stepped on his territory, for sure.”

“Fuck—I don’t give a shit. He can come at me if he’s got a problem,” Delta snapped, watching and waiting.

Feeling his chest muscles tighten and flex, his protective instinct pulsed up his spine, driving him to plot and scheme, until that familiar blonde ponytail bobbed through the bar’s entrance and interrupted his thoughts. As Kendra strode in, the muscles in his body relaxed momentarily, shifting gears. From the corner of his eye, he could see Warren watching him, a sly grin on his mouth. There was no mistaking what was happening, so Delta didn’t bother trying to hide it.

Kendra slowly gazed around the crowd, over the clusters of cops and operators drinking in the sunset at the oceanside bar. Other patrons, local women, were trying to mingle with the guys, laughing and flirting. Delta knew where that was going. There wasn’t much mystery to how the night would be ending for some of them. If he’d only be as lucky.

He shot a grin and a nod to Kendra, and her face lit up in return, beaming ear to ear. As she pushed through the crowd, her hips swaying, his cock hardened and he stifled a groan. Carefully adjusting his wood, he drank in all that was Kendra, a sight he had come to enjoy. Her light, natural look was what turned him on—her loose-fitting jeans, ripped in the knee, her white shirt, relaxed but revealing her mouth-watering cleavage with that golden tan. She looked fucking hot.

“Relax, man,” Warren grumbled, drawing Delta’s attention to the fact that his grip was literally about to snap his pint glass in half.

Delta sucked in a breath, chugged the rest of the beer and released the glass back to the bar top. He ran his teeth over his lip, averting his gaze and trying not to stare.

Warren added, “What is with you and this girl?”

From his peripheral vision, Delta observed Hunter striding to greet Kendra as she was halfway into the bar, causing Delta to tense up again. Who the fuck does he think he is? Something primal flooded Delta’s senses, a hot rush running up his neck.

Warren grunted a final warning. “Don’t get in the middle of that.”

“Fuck off,” Delta snapped at his friend as Kendra pulled away from Hunter and closed the gap between her and Delta.

Finally.

Delta adjusted, pushing Warren away and opening up space for Kendra to join him. With the sun dropping below the horizon, Delta enjoyed how the last rays of light lit up her blonde hair. It was like she was on fire.

“You’re late,” Delta joked as Kendra moved in beside him. Everything in his body grew hotter as she leaned against the bar, her shiny lips flashing up at him.

“I’m never late.” She grinned and engaged with the bartender to order a drink.

Leaning back casually, he observed this new woman in his life. He appreciated how natural she kept it. If she was wearing any makeup, he didn’t see it, not like the other women hanging around the bar. Those women, who’d layered on way too much war paint and were snapping posed selfies for their followers, were the type of woman who usually threw themselves at him, thinking he’d be all in. Kendra was a far cry from that type. She was clearly a woman who was just unapologetically herself—natural, so take it or leave it.

Turning back to him, she nodded. “Thanks for supporting me today. I’m used to having to do everything alone.”

“It was nothing.” He shrugged. “You were on my team.”

Kendra picked up her pint as it was served, raising it to Delta.

“No, you don’t understand. They said I was going to eat it on the course. I know they wanted me to screw it up.”

“Why?”

Raising her brow, she slowly sipped on the glass, her mouth consuming the frothy liquid, before explaining, “To prove their theory—that I’m not cut out to be a cop. I belong behind a desk or a lab counter.”

She brought the pint back to her mouth, dancing her lips on the edge of the glass. It was the most goddamn erotic thing Delta had ever seen. Stifling his reaction, he drilled his attention into her words, needing to stay focused.

“Dudes are fucking dumb sometimes,” he assured her, trying to find the right words. “Don’t worry about them.”

“I guess. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Kendra confessed, her eyes big and thankful. “And, aside from keeping me alive, you actually made it fun.”

He couldn’t accept the compliment. “But you did it on your own. I just stood behind you.”

“Yes, you did.” She grinned, insinuating everything.

The sudden change from serious to playful was perfect, drawing a smile across Delta’s mouth.

He leaned in. “Tell me you didn’t like it.”

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