Page 39 of The Fighter
I held it up and stared at it. This was the one I’d thrown in the trash can after our fight. Why did Leo take it and bring it home with him? Even before I had finished that thought, I knew why.
He had fantasized about me. It had to be the only explanation, and for some reason it made my whole body tingle with satisfaction. I lifted the tank top to my nose and inhaled the scent of my perfume mixed with my sweat, and then I smiled. From the first time I met Leo, he had annoyed me with all his talk about women not being fit for the work of a police officer. But sometimes when I read steamy books, I would imagine the male characters with a man bun and serious dark eyes.
My hands spread over his bedsheets and I lifted his pillow to inhale the pleasant scent of Leo. A dirty thought entered my mind, but it made me feel like a deranged person, and I wasn’t here to get sexual pleasure. So what if we had sexual fantasies about each other? Even if the thought was hot, I wouldn’t let the troublemaker inside me act on an embarrassing impulse to pleasure myself in my boss’s bed. Quickly, I put the tank top back where I’d found it and continued on to search his built-in closet. On the top shelf behind a pile of his clothes, I found my research.
“I’m so badass,” I muttered feeling proud of myself for not letting anyone stop me. After spreading it out on his bed, I photographed everything. It would have been much quicker if I could have just taken it with me.
When I was balancing on my toes to put the research back in place, a flash of light lit up the bedroom from the outside. A drone. Shit, that meant Leo was coming home. Would he notice my drone? I hadn’t parked it right outside but on the back side of the house. If I was lucky, he would be too drunk to notice.
Closing the closet doors, I moved to my only escape route – the window – but the damn thing wouldn’t open. I had entered through the window in the living room and needed to get back there, but when I got to the bedroom door, I heard a voice shouting, “Hellooo.”
Shit, shit, shit.
It was Leo. I couldn’t let him find me in his bedroom. In a state of panic, I searched for a place to hide and fell to my knees thinking I could squeeze under his bed.
“Raven, are you here?
I froze. How did Leo know I was here? I hadn’t told anyone. Had he found my drone?
“Raven, I know you’re here.” Heavy footsteps were coming this way and at the first sound of the bedroom door creaking, I moved up to sit on the bed, pushed my shirt over my shoulder, and faced the door with a fake smile plastered on my face.
Leo stopped in the doorway and frowned, his balance a little off as he swayed.
“Hey, Leo.”
“Raven. My security system sent me an alert and I saw a picture of you walking around in my living room. Thought that was a bit strange.” I could tell from his speech that he was drunk but it wasn’t too slurred.
“I didn’t know you had a security system.”
Tapping his temple, he nodded. “We policemen can never be too careful. We deal with some pretty bad scum on occasion.” Taking another step into the bedroom, Leo sunk down on the bed on the opposite side. “Why did you come here?”
“Because I wanted to see you.”
His eyes darted around the room as if checking whether something was missing. “I saw your drone outside.”
“It’s not my drone, it’s one of my father’s. He just lets me use it.”
Leo’s eyes fell to my bare shoulder before he rubbed his face. “I thought you were mad at me after today, but you don’t look mad.”
“Why would I be mad?” My smile was meant to cover up how nervous I was.
“Because I confiscated your research.”
“I get why you did it and I kind of like that you’re so strong and protective.”
I expected Leo to call me out on my bluff, but he was intoxicated and broke into a boyish smile that almost sucked the air out of me.
“You do?” At that moment he was beautiful and radiant as he sat close enough for me to reach out and touch. The thought made me pull my hands back in my lap.
“Uh-huh.” I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “You should smile more often, Leo.”
“I used to, but then Commander Magni gave me the toughest position in the country and I’ve been fucking tense ever since.”
I tilted my head. “If you don’t like being an inspector, then why do it?”
He pulled off his jacket and threw it on the floor. “I don’t mind being an inspector. But being the protector of a gorgeous young woman who insists on coming to work and putting herself in danger every day is bloody exhausting.”
My palm flew to my chest. “Are you talking about me?”
