Page 48 of Shenanigans

“Are you feeling okay?” Going up on my tiptoes, I placed my hand on his face. “Maybe you’re suffering from heatstroke.”

Tinkerbell woofed in agreement.

Dutch took my hand. “I’m not sick nor do I have a head injury. Do you know you’re the only person who didn’t believe Natasha’s lies?”

I did a mental happy dance. Yay! Dutch was no longer thinking about my father’s serial killer eyes. “That’s cause I’m psychic. One look at her muddy green aura and I knew she was lying.”

“What does my aura tell you?” Dutch stroked my hand with his thumb.

His touch sent a tsunami of sensations crashing through me. God, I wanted him so badly I ached. Why did he have to be a friggin’ cop? A very observant cop. I took a deep breath and studied Dutch’s aura. “You’re highly intelligent, intuitive, detailed oriented and honorable. Your sense of morality would never allow you to rape a woman. You are driven to protect, not harm. Once you start tracking your prey, you never stop until you bring him or her to justice.”

A grim smile curved Dutch’s mouth. “You know me better than my own family.”

“Your father’s still angry?”

“He moved to Alaska. What do you think?”

“He was getting as far away from Natasha as he could. He’s ashamed of his actions and doesn’t have the guts to face you.” Thank God, no matter what happened, my family would always be there for me. “You should call him,” I urged. Liam had been a fool, but he deserved a second chance. Family was forever.

Dutch shook his head. “My father took Natasha’s word over mine. He said I was dead to him and no longer part of the family. He made it crystal clear he never wanted to see me again.”

“That’s harsh, but once he calmed down and thought the whole situation through, he probably regretted saying that.”

Anger and pain flashed across Dutch’s face. “My father chose that psychotic bitch over his own son.”

“I know it’ll be difficult, but you can rebuild your relationship,” I reassured him.

“Can I? Dad was my best friend. Now, he’s a stranger. A stranger I can never trust again.”

“There have been times I wanted to divorce my mom. Her fascination with Christmas gets old.”

“What’s wrong with that? I like Christmas,” Dutch said.

“24/7? All year long?”

“It can’t be that bad?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Have you met my mother?”

“I have. She brought me Christmas cookies.” Dutch’s eyes widened slightly. “Does she always dress like an elf?”

“Every single day. Let’s just say she’s one of a kind.”

“So are you. I’ve been wanting to do this since you had those pigeons shit on Natasha.” Dutch bent down and took my mouth in a hot, open-mouth kiss. He made me feel like I was the last woman on Earth and priceless.

Pure arousal thrummed in my veins. Dutch tasted so good I never wanted to come up for air. I cradled his face and kissed him back.

Tinkerbell growled ferociously and snapped at the detective.

Dutch jumped back. “Protective little guy.”

“Girl. Tinkerbell is a girl.”

Dutch gave me his gotcha smile. “I knew that was Tinkerbell. Youarethe Ninja Nun.”

Reality smacked me in the face. “I admit nothing. Are you adding seduction to your interrogation techniques?”

“No,” Dutch said soberly. “I don’t want to arrest you.”

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