Page 2 of Frosted and Sliced

Finally, he gets it,she thought and gave him a little nod.

He eased back, releasing some of his weight from her, without completely moving away. “Are you hurt?” he asked.

Was she? She had no idea. The tumble had been…aggressive in nature. He had yanked her off the tip of the stars, smashed her against his broad chest, then fell backwards and rolled twice. Maybe she was in shock, but nothing seemed sore. She shook her head, looking down to assess her limbs.

His finger touched her chin, snagging her attention again while he spoke. “Good. Now, what were you thinking? You don’t check your phone on the stairs. Especially not those death trap stairs. Geez.” He swiped a hand over his face, annoyed, while Georgie stared at him, openmouthed with shock at his gall.

“You broke in, sneaked upstairs to do who knows what creepy things, startled me unexpectedly, you’restillon top of me, and now you’re lecturing me on proper stair etiquette? I should have you arrested.”

He didn’t smile, but somehow he looked amused, and that infuriated her further.

“My brother is the chief of police. He’s not going to be happy that you broke in and manhandled me.”

This time he did laugh. “Manhandled? I have never once heard another human use that word. As for your brother, pretty sure I can take him.”

She gasped. It was one thing to invade her space and be amused at her expense, but nobody, absolutely nobody, was allowed to talk smack about her big brother. She wriggled again, more furiously this time. “Get off me, you ape. And you cannot take Brody. Nobody can. And besides, I won’t let you.”

“You’re the size of a hedgehog, and you smell like sugar,” he said.

She gasped again, harder this time. “You’re horrible. By far the worst burglar I’ve ever had.”

Now his eyes narrowed. “People actually break in here?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, because my brother is chief of police. Obviously everyone is afraid of him and knows he keepsan eye on this place.” Actually he kept an eye on her, a bit too much, but there was no need to tell this obnoxious stranger that.

“Then where have you encountered burglars?” he asked.

“I lived in New York when I went to school.” She wriggled again. “Can you get off? I would really like to experience oxygen again one day.”

“Am I crushing you?”

Was he serious? He must outweigh her by a hundred pounds. “As previously mentioned, I’m the size of a hedgehog and you’re…”

His brows rose, waiting for the end of that sentence.

“Not,” she finished.

He rolled off her and sat up. She remained prone, making certain none of her limbs were broken and there was no damage to her spine. Impossibly, after her close encounter, she seemed fine. When she was done assessing herself, she realized he was watching her, waiting for her to look up so he could speak. It was oddly perceptive of him to realize and remember she couldn’t “hear” him unless she was looking at him.

“You need to be more careful. Those stairs are no joke.”

“Life advice from a burglar. I should be writing this down.” She pretended to pat her pockets.

“I think you’ll remember,” he said. “And I am not a burglar.”

“Is there a word for someone who goes around almost shoving someone down the stairs and then saving them at the last minute?”

“Yes, it’s called customer. No one was at the desk when I tried to check in, so I helped myself to a room and deposited my things.”

Her jaw dropped. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not? I’m paying to stay here.”

“I assigned rooms. You can’t have your pick.”

“Why not? I got here first. That cop brother of yours never taught you dibs?”

“Don’t talk about Brody,” she snapped.

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