Page 75 of Hot Pursuit
And he knew if anyone had come with him, they’d arrest her on the spot.
And he wasn’t sure he could bear the sight of her in handcuffs or the knowledge that all those glorious ideas of after would be gone.
Jo took a step forward, wary. “What are you doing, Nate?”
“I don’t know, Jo,” he growled, anger simmering, threatening to break free of his careful control. Anger at her for leaving. Anger with himself for letting her go. Anger that after so much time and so much dedication and so much commitment, he was risking it all—a promise he never spoke of, a revenge nearly two decades in the making, his entire career—over something his father would have scoffed at. Over a woman. A woman he’d only known for a week.
But for some reason, Jo was so much more than that.
Somehow, she was everything.
“Why’d you leave?”
Jo sighed, tilting her head to the side, as though the answer was obvious. “Why’d you follow?”
“Because it’s my job.” Was that the real reason? Or was it because he needed to see her again, to fight for her, to at least say goodbye?
Her eyes softened, as though she heard the struggle in his voice. “Are you here to arrest me, Nate?”
“I don’t know.” Nate shifted his weight, gaze dropping to the asphalt beneath his feet. He didn’t seem to know anything anymore.
Jo stepped closer, hesitant but growing bolder, turning back into a more recognizable version of herself. “Are you going to let me go?”
“I don’t know,” he said through gritted teeth. As Jo closed the distance between them, his hands formed into fists. She pressed her palms to his chest, sending a different sort of heat into the inferno building beneath his skin, two sides, two warring sides, one tender and one tempestuous, both fighting for the lead. Jo slid her fingers around the back side of his neck, teasing, toying as her nails grazed his scalp.
“Are you going to kiss me?” Her voice was deeper this time, full of an ocean of implication.
Yes.
He leaned down.
No.
He pulled his head back.
Yes.
Again.
No.
Again.
I shouldn’t—
We shouldn’t—
She—
I—
Nate shook his head, releasing a frustrated breath as the battle reached a crescendo. “Goddammit, Jo, I don’t know!”
She folded her lips, rolling them into her mouth and biting down for a moment as the corners twitched. “Then what do you know?”
She was enjoying this.
Enjoying this!
