Page 32 of The Scenic Route
The problem was that what she knew about PI B. Green, she liked. A lot.
She finished showering and dressing quickly in the otherwise empty locker room, trying to keep her mind off a certain private investigator who was currently naked just a wall away. Once she focused on the task of retrieving the listening devices, it was easier to shove Bennett to the back of her mind.
Quietly, she pushed open the locker room door, catching it before it could thud shut. Another much larger hand wrapped over hers on the edge of the door, and she jumped before turning her head to meet Bennett’s gaze. After the unruly thoughts about him that’d run wild just minutes before, she couldn’t stop her cheeks from heating.
Hoping he thought her face was still flushed from the heat of the shower, she tilted her head wordlessly toward the office, and he gave a short nod. After holding his hand over hers on the door a half second longer than technically necessary, he released her, and she closed the door silently.
Trying to move as quietly as possible while not appearing to be sneaking around was a feat in itself, but Felicity’d had plenty of opportunities to practice. From the way Bennett glided behind her, looking slightly bored to a casual observer, this wasn’t his first rodeo either.
It was still early enough that the gym was quiet, but she knew that wouldn’t last. Already, there were a couple people walking through the front door and a small line checking in at the desk. Felicity let her gaze slide past the gym patrons indifferently, checking for familiar faces or anyone who seemed interested in her and Bennett, but no one stood out to her. The manager at the desk had his back to them, so Felicity made her way through the weight room with a casual stride that masked her sense of urgency.
“Hey!” a male voice called out, breaking the sleepy quiet of the gym.
She fought down the urge to jump and glanced with studied indifference over her shoulder. The caller was heading toward a woman doing bench presses who finished the set she was on before sitting up and smiling at the man approaching her. They started talking, and Felicity covered the last few feet to the office door.
As she grabbed the knob, she prayed to the breaking and entering gods, sending up a silentthank youwhen the handleturned easily. Reaching back, she grabbed Bennett’s hand and hauled him into the office with her.
The setup from the murder club meeting was the same as it’d been the evening before, and Felicity made a beeline to her chair, retrieving the bug from where she’d stuck it on the upper inner back right leg. As she held it up triumphantly, she saw Bennett collect his own electronic device from between the wall and the back of a picture frame.
“Nice spot,” she whispered almost soundlessly, and he looked pleased as he pocketed the bug. She moved to follow him out the door when they both froze.
The doorknob was turning.
Bennett turned and grasped her upper arms, twisting Felicity around until her back was against the wall with his considerable bulk pressing against her front. She was confused for the split second it took for the door to open, not sure what Bennett’s intent was. Sure, there’d been a lot of bullets flying around them lately, but she doubted that whoever was coming into the office was going to try to harm her physically. He gave her a meaningful look, as if asking permission. Assuming that he was checking if it was okay that he’d pushed her up against the wall, she nodded.
Then his lips crashed down on hers, and her thoughts stopped completely.
She froze, barely aware that the door swung wide and that someone else was in the room with them. All she could focus on was the press of his mouth on hers, the heat and hardness of him trapping her against the wall, as well as the shocking softnessof his lips. Her own parted automatically, and he deepened the kiss in response. It turned from a mannequin fake embrace to something real and intense and incredible.
“Oh sorry!” The words yanked Felicity out of her kiss-induced daze, and she jerked back from Bennett. His mouth followed her at first, but then he seemed to recall himself, and he retreated.
Blinking lust-shocked eyes, Felicity looked blankly at Daisy and an unfamiliar man, both of whom looked equal parts amused, surprised, and bewildered.
“Oh!” Felicity didn’t have to feign her shock—or her embarrassment—as she scrambled to come up with a reason for them to be in Daisy’s office.Sothat’swhat Bennett had been silently asking.“Sorry! We were just… This is all new, and… Um, we didn’t mean to…”
Daisy finally took pity on her. “Don’t worry. I get it. Chris has pulled me into a random room or two.”
The uniformed guy next to her—who must be Chris, her deputy sheriff husband—looked at Daisy with a mix of humor and heat that made Felicity think the other woman would be pulled into another random room in the near future.
“Sorry,” Felicity said again, sheepish now as she extricated herself from Bennett’s hold. “The gym just got busy, so we…” She shrugged, still feeling flustered by the whole thing. Although she didn’t want to admit it, the kiss was the main reason she was a babbling mess. The threat of getting caught retrieving listening devices wasn’t even an issue at the moment.
“I get it.” Daisy waved her hand as if dismissing the wholesituation from her mind. “Felicity Pax and Bennett Green, this is Deputy Chris Jennings, my husband and main information source.”
Although Chris winced at the “information source” part, his smile came easily enough as he nodded at both of them. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve been hearing all about you and your…work here.”
Bennett raised his chin in the universal guy greeting.
“Same,” Felicity said, ignoring the way Chris had paused on the wordwork, as if he had a whole slew of questions for them. “I appreciate your help with finding the militia’s location.”
Chris made a noncommittal humming sound. “Things seem to have gotten a little riled up over there. We’ll see if I regret passing on that bit of information or if I thank you in the end.”
Unable to hold back a grin, Felicity said with assurance, “Oh, you’ll definitely thank us. I’m sure of it.”
His repressive cop look was ruined by the way his lips wanted to twitch into a smile. “We’ll see,” he just repeated before giving Daisy a kiss on the cheek and a much more serious look. “Please stay away from the militia’s compound and any trigger-happy Simpsonites today, sweetheart.”
“Of course,” Daisy said, her wide-eyed expression almost too innocent for comfort. “I don’t know why you’d even need to say that. Safety is my middle name.”
With a snort that managed to be both amused and loving, he gave her another kiss—this one on the lips—and turned to leave.
