Page 32 of Hot Pursuit
- 13 -
Jo
In need of caffeine, Jo stepped sleepily off the elevator the next morning and stopped dead in her tracks as her mind processed the scene before her. Agent Parker, standing in the middle of the lobby, with a brown paper bag and two cups of coffee in his hands.
“Do my eyes deceive me? Am I still dreaming?” she asked as she sauntered over with a coy smile on her lips. Tilting her nose up, Jo drew in a deep breath, catching the scent of espresso and chocolate in the air—two of her very favorite things.
He offered her a cup, saying, “You seem like a vanilla latte sort of girl.”
“Good guess,” Jo commented and snatched the drink, then brought it to her lips with a sigh. She was, in fact, a vanilla latte sort of girl. And this was a damn good one. Coffee addiction somewhat satiated, she slid her gaze to the brown bag in his hands. Jo raised a brow, eying Agent Parker. “Do I smell chocolate?”
The edge of his lip perked up in a lopsided smile that made her heart pinch inside her chest. “Banana chocolate chip muffins from a bakery around the corner from my hotel. The concierge said they were the best in the city.”
Jo’s eyes went wide. “Gimme, gimme.”
A puff of air sounding suspiciously like soft laughter slipped through his lips before he shook his head and nodded in the direction of two chairs in the corner of the lobby. “Want to sit and eat?”
“Hold on,” Jo said, narrowing her gaze as she zeroed in on him, looking to his neck, then his wrist, then back into his charming blue eyes, which were for the first time warm as a cloudless sky on a sunny day instead of cool as ice. “No earpiece. No mic. What’s going on here, Agent Parker?”
“I came to apologize,” he said with a shrug.
Jo eyed him dubiously. “Apologize? The Feds don’t apologize.”
“Maybe I’m more than a Fed.”
“Am I more than a criminal?”
He held her gaze for a moment. Jo stared right back. If they were starting fresh, for a reason that still eluded her, she deserved to know where she stood.
“I’m starting to think you might be,” he acquiesced.
Not quite convinced, Jo knelt to put her coffee on the ground and then stepped close to Agent Parker. He watched her curiously but didn’t do anything except hold his arms wide as she pressed her palms against his stomach…his hard-as-a-rock stomach.
“I’m not wearing a wire,” he murmured, voice amused.
That alone made her intrigue spike.
He’s…cheerful. Did I step off the elevator and into an alternate universe?Jo thought as her fingers ran over the defined contours of his abdomen, lingering a little longer than necessary. Okay…a lot longer than necessary. But it had been ages since she’d been around any man besides Thad and her father, let alone a man who looked like this, and smelled like… Jo took a deep breath, sighing.Clean laundry and a fresh, woodsy soap.
“Are you finished?” he drawled, looking down at her.
Jo winced internally but kept her hands in place, maintaining her cool. Holding on to his gaze, she ran her palms up his chest, nice and slow, taking her time as an electric bolt flashed in his eyes. Agent Parker licked his lips and swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing, but didn’t look away. Jo slipped her fingers around the collar of his shirt, undid the first two buttons, and stepped back with a grin.Much better.
“I’ve been dying to do that ever since I first laid eyes on you.”
“Yeah, well…” He paused, coughing under his breath and looking away. But not before Jo caught the spark of something bright in his eyes, a hint at maybe something he’d been wanting to do to her ever since the first time they’d met. Her smile deepened. He motioned back to the chairs. “So, should we sit?”
“Sure…” Jo said slowly, always one to go with the flow, even if the flow was confusing as hell.
They sat. Agent Parker pulled two muffins from the bag and slid one across the coffee table toward her, a peace offering. She carefully peeled the paper away and took a bite, moaning a little bit as fruity sweet banana and sugary cocoa exploded in her mouth, all accented by what must have been a pinch of salt in the batter to bring the flavors out.
“So good,” she mumbled with her mouth full, but it had to be said. Agent Parker lifted his muffin as if to toast with it and took a bite, then nodded in agreement. “So,” Jo continued when she finally swallowed. “I thought you said something about an apology…”
“I did,” he agreed, voice firm but not stern, more like emphatically honest. Direct and confident. To the point in a way Jo appreciated, a way that was foreign to her and her guarded heart. “I’m sorry for saying you were a bad person yesterday. I said it out of frustration, but I don’t really feel that way, Jo. You seem like a good person who maybe got caught up in a bad situation. Or maybe just someone who was raised not to know better. Anyway, I shouldn’t have said it. I know it hurt you. And I apologize.”
“Thank you.”
He stared at her.
