Page 46 of Hot Pursuit
Which was why he didn’t call his mother.
Because he couldn’t stop. Not now.
Not when he was so close to justice.
If I can get to Jo.
If I can make her see.
Make her understand.
A tingle tickled the back of his neck.
Two hands came over his eyes.
Nate acted instinctually, too many self-defense lessons drilled into his psyche for his mind to catch up with his muscle memory. One second he was on the bench, and the next he was on his feet with his fingers wrapped around two petite wrists, twisting them into a pretzel as he flipped around. He stopped short of lifting a knee as the auburn hair and feminine body finally registered. Instead, his arms jerked forward, and Jo slammed full-force into the center of his chest, her eyes wide as she stared up at his face, which was now a mere matter of inches away.
“Jo!”
“Morning,” she said slowly, mirth evident in the buoyant tone.
He didn’t move. He was too caught up in the feel of her thighs pressed against his thighs, the way her body fit like a glove against his, how she was the perfect height. She bit the side of her lower lip, drawing his attention to the plush softness of her mouth. If he leaned his head down, one, maybe two inches, he could finally do what he’d wanted to do ever since he saw her cruising toward him on that jet ski, her caution lost to the wind.
“You going to let me go, Agent Parker?” A smile spread across her bright-red lips as she wriggled in his arms, rubbing up against him in all the right—I mean, wrong—places. “Not that I’m complaining. But I brought coffee.”
Nate released her hands immediately and stepped back. The warm spring air felt like ice compared to the heat of her body—a much-needed cold shower. He resisted the urge to shake his head clear of the elixir that was Jolene Carter.
“Guess I should’ve known better than to sneak up on a Fed,” she murmured as she knelt, reaching for two paper cups on the ground. “Though a little manhandling in the right situation can be fun. Coffee?”
Nate furrowed his brows, still stuck on that manhandling bit. A vivid image snaked into the forefront of his thoughts—Jo, pressed against a wall, his lips trailing a burning path down the side of her neck as he held her hands above her head, captive.
He did shake his head that time.
Get it together, Parker!
“Huh?” he muttered.
“Coffee?” she repeated, offering him a cup. A suspicious twinkle sparkled in the corner of her eye. “I figured you take yours black. Just a hunch.”
“Yeah…” He accepted the coffee, being careful not to let their fingers linger. “Thanks.”
Jo stepped around him and sat down. He tried not to notice the way the sun gleamed off her smooth skin as she crossed her legs in those short-shorts…tried and failed. Nate took the spot next to her, just to have somewhere else to look, like the dirty city street. Same thing.
Not.
“So, who were you talking to?” Jo asked as she studied his profile, taking her time, tracing every contour with her eyes. “Girlfriend?”
Nate almost choked on his coffee.
“Hot…” He coughed and pounded a fist to his chest. “And no, just my mom.”
“What a charmer,” she commented smoothly. “Good with his hands and remembers to call his mom.”
Nate frowned, glancing at Jo. Was she being more forward than usual? Well…sending him a photo of herself in lingerie was about as forward as it got. But something about her tone seemed more goading, more personal. “What’s going on here?”
“Just returning the breakfast favor,” she said with a shrug, tugging a brown bag from her purse and handing him a bagel. “From a place around the corner.”
He eyed it curiously. “You eat things that don’t have sugar?”
