Baby, Don't Go (Yeah, Baby Book 3) by Fiona Davenport Page B

“Yeah, I know. It’s not that. I have an early date tomorrow.”
    Something inside me started to burn, an irrational anger building. Her date was cutting into my time with her, the bastard.
    “What kind of a date happens on Saturday morning?” I muttered rhetorically.
    “He’s taking me horseback riding and wants to get an early start before it gets really hot.” She didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about the date and it soothed a little of my ire. Why was I mad? What the fuck was wrong with me? I was being ridiculous.
    “Sounds like he’s a pretentious snob, showing off.”
    Ellison laughed at my comment, giving me a dry look. “Excuse me, but don’t you own horses, Jack?”
    “That’s different,” I huffed. “We’re friends. I’d take you riding if you wanted to go. But, taking a woman horseback riding for a first date? What a tool.”
    It was Ellison’s turn to roll her eyes and mutter, “What crawled up your ass tonight?”
    “Nothing. I just think you shouldn’t waste your time with losers and this guy is obviously trying to get in your pants by throwing his money in your face.”
    “What? Jack, seriously, what is wrong with you tonight?” Ellison stood and left the room. I followed at a slow pace, confused by my own behavior and having lost my appetite. I found her in the kitchen, loading all of our dishes into the dishwasher.
    “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “Bad day, I guess.”
    She sighed. “Yeah. I’m going to head out.”
    I felt something akin to panic creeping into my chest. I couldn’t let her walk out the door, because it would mean she’d be going on a date tomorrow morning. I couldn’t let it happen, I just couldn’t. I was stunned at my reaction and didn’t know what to make of it. Before I was able to form a response, Ellison had left the room. I trotted to the entryway to find her grabbing her keys and cell phone from the glass bowl on the little marble table by the coat closet.
    I stood there, watching, my arms hanging at my sides, not knowing what to do or say. She glanced at me with a half-smile as she slipped on her flip-flops and headed to the door.
    I joined her and put my hand on it to keep it closed. “I’ll see you Sunday for breakfast?” I asked tentatively.
    “Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you, he’s taking me to a cabin by a lake for the night. That’s why we want to get on the trail before the heat is unbearable.”
    “Your—um,” I croaked as something began to choke me. “Your date is overnight? As in spending the night with him, in the cabin, alone?”
    Ellison looked at me curiously. “Yes.”
    No. No fucking way in hell was that happening.
    The tightness in my chest and throat snapped and a rush of adrenaline, lust, and uncontrollable need rushed through my body as though a dam had broken. My hand cupped the back of her neck, the other grasping her waist, and pulled her flush against my body, my mouth slamming down over hers.

Chapter 2
Ellison
    I gasped in surprise as Jack’s tongue slid inside my mouth. It tangled with mine as he devoured me, kissing me the way I’d always assumed he would on the rare occasions I allowed my thoughts to wander in that direction. Jack Halston was a sexy devil. I’d known it from the first moment I’d laid eyes on him, just as every woman did. At six foot two, with a toned body that showed he worked out during his off hours, dark hair that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, and chocolate brown eyes that always seemed to be smiling, he was impossible to miss. At first, I was happy for him to be my work flirt when our paths crossed on a shared case. We didn’t see each other often enough for it to be awkward, and I enjoyed the little thrill I got from the way we bantered back and forth.
    Flirting with Jack offered me a naughty distraction, but I knew nothing would ever come of it. Jack had a rule about not sleeping with anyone from the hospital, a fact long bemoaned by the vast majority of the