Page 26 of The Night Ride
“Nope.I like my creature comforts way too much.I have a difficult time sleeping on a bed that’s not mine.And I hate camping.”
I chuckled at her candor.Couldn’t help myself.Beth was a breath of fresh air.“Camping ain’t half bad.Don’t you want to get back to nature and enjoy the outdoors.”
“I can enjoy them just fine on my back deck, sipping a mojito.And then I go inside where there hopefully aren’t any bugs and sleep on my mattress that feels like a cloud.”
I lost it.Almost spit out the sip of coffee I’d taken.And the quixotic pull, full of yearning, drew me in, like it did that night long ago.Lust hit me.Yet it was more than simple lust, it was layered with a desire, a craving even, to know this woman inside and out.I wanted to know the things that had broken her heart and what her hopes were for the future.In a blink I could see how it could be, how it might have been, had I chosen her over my oath.
And I wanted to erase the time and distance between us.Though it was doubtful she would accept me, not after the way I bungled things back then.
Beth eyed me, with a dramatic raised brow, telling me what she thought of my hilarity.God, this woman would put lesser men in their place with a single arched brow.
I wasn’t most men.Yet it left me in a quandary unsure of my next step.A feeling as foreign as sleeping on a cloud.I wanted her but couldn’t touch her.Or could I?
It’s doubtful she would want an advance from me.And I felt the specter of Evan’s ghost.As if the fucker knew I was considering his sister once again in an unholy light.But the truth was, I never stopped thinking about her or that night.The feel of her, the taste of her, had remained.
I took a testing step toward her.And then another.A flare of desire illuminated her goddess hazel eyes.Beth retreated, the pulse in her neck erratic.
She put a hand up to stop me, landing on my chest like a hot brand that scorched through my layers into my soul.“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
I didn’t fucking know myself.Except I did, but I lied because I couldn’t admit the thoughts flowing through my head, many of them were rather x-rated for starters, and the rest were an unattainable field of dreams.“You have some flour on your nose, I was going to wipe it off.”
Bald faced lie.There was no flour.Just a craving for her that went soul deep.
“Oh,” she swiped at her nose a few times.“Did I get it?”
“Yes.”And now I knew something I hadn’t before—Beth still wanted me.She might not like me.I might have botched things.But the kinetic energy that had swirled between us that night long ago still existed and was even more potent than before.
I took a few steps back, giving her space.“I like your place.Give me fifteen minutes to scope it out and get the proper measurements, then I’ll get out of your hair.”
“I appreciate your help.”A buzzer sounded.
It jolted me into awareness.What the hell?Where did it come from?Was there a bomb in Beth’s place?
Beth laid a comforting hand on my forearm.“It’s just my oven timer.I have croissants in the oven.Hollar if you need me.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, yet left me standing in the front of her shop.Because she knew what I’d thought.How could I not?I’d been in far too many firefights and dangerous situations.It would be odder if I didn’t have a reaction and think an attack was imminent.If I lost my edge it would be disastrous for me and my unit, especially given my new post was a command position over my own team.
While she was in the back, I took measurements from different angles.If video was required to figure out the culprit behind the theft, then we needed as many angles of the registers as possible.I figured one for each side of the register, one in the front and back of it.And then one directly above, capturing every movement from every angle.
I noted the distances, marking the positions, Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and so on.
When I finished in the front, I headed into the back.I located Beth in the kitchen pulling some heavenly confection from the oven.I didn’t want to startle her, so I waited until she set the hot pan on top of the stove and shut the oven before I said anything.
“I’m done up front.”
Beth spun around with a splash of fear on her face, before it vanished without a trace.She put a hand on her ample chest.“Jesus, you scared me.Even snakes make more noise than you before they strike.”
“Sorry.Didn’t mean to startle you.But I figured I would try to get in and out before you have any customers.”
She nodded.“Okay, I’ll show you where the back office is, and you can do your thing.”
“It might behoove you to have cameras in here too.”
She frowned.“Why?They aren’t stealing pastries, they’re stealing money.”
“I understand that.But you don’t know when the theft is occurring.It could very well be during the transfer of the till from the front to the back and vice versa.”
“Hmm.That’s a valid point.”She blew out a breath and her bangs ruffled in the sudden breeze.“All right, fine.I want them caught.”
