Fixing Justice by Suzanne Halliday Page B

comments,” he murmured silkily, “or that we’d found a way to discipline that awful habit.”
    She stomped her foot and swung her hands onto her hips, snarling, “Oh, stuff it St. John. Someone needs to put your arrogant ass in its place.”
    “Oooh, such strong words from someone who was caught checking out said ass.” His smug grin suggested he thought that comment would shut her up. Hmmm , how many ways could she prove him wrong?
    Pretending to organize a stack of files, she shrugged and smiled sweetly. “Ah yes, well….who could blame me? After all, your ass is legendary. I’d have been remiss not to take advantage of the opportunity. Of course, not everything is as good in person as what one imagines.”
    Damn him but even that little put-down didn’t so much as slow him down. “If you play nice Victoria, I’ll let you get up close and personal with my legendary backside.”
    When she narrowed her eyes at him and blew the curl of hair hanging in front of her eyes with a heavy breath, he smiled even broader. “Men! Is that all you think about?”
    Draegyn stepped quickly to her side and placed his hands on her as an arc of heat from his touch took her by surprise. “Easy,” he murmured. “I didn’t come in here to get you all riled up, but really woman, sometimes that attitude of yours makes it too easy.”
    She couldn’t help herself from staring up into his face as they stood inches apart with his hands gently touching her shoulders. His thumbs were drawing lazy circles at the base of her neck causing all sorts of havoc inside her. They eyed each other for a long moment before she spoke. “Well, maybe if you didn’t try to rile me up at every opportunity.”
    “Ah,” he whispered, “but I like winding you up. Like the way your chocolate eyes shoot golden sparks when you’re mad.” One thumb moved from her neck to run absently along her bottom lip. An impulse as old as time made her touch the tip of her tongue to his finger. His glittering eyes turned suddenly smoky. “You will pay for that Victoria,” Draegyn murmured darkly.
    Deftly stepping back from the sexual heat and tension that pulsed between them, he offered a half smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Alex will be upon us in a few moments. He thought we needed some time to shake hands and sing a round of “Kumbaya” before finalizing the Vegas plans.”
    Oh crap. She’d almost forgotten what had started all this. Alex. Vegas. Draegyn and her traveling together. “I’ll behave.” She sighed. “If you promise to stop being such a …”
    “I am not a damn bully!” he growled before she could finish. “Why does everyone want to paint me with the same brush?”
    Wow. He really didn’t like that expression. And especially wasn’t happy that anyone saw him in that light. Apparently he had feelings just like everyone else. “Well, I was going to say stop being such a control freak.” She paused for good measure. “And I’ll amend what I said earlier about the bully thing. It isn’t right for Alex to draw such a conclusion. I’ll set him straight.”
    He chuckled and motioned with his head at Alex’s approach. “No need to defend me, but I appreciate the sentiment. Let’s just get this job done with a minimum of snark, okay?”
    Tori’s eyes noted Alex’s slow approach, gauging how much time she had before he reached the door handle. Turning fully toward Draegyn who strategically placed himself on the other side of the cramped room, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, making specific use of her middle finger in the process. The icy sparkles in his eyes briefly exploded, letting her know he’d caught the insult. In the split seconds before Alex stepped through the door, she slapped a fake smile on her face. Through lips forming a friendly smile she growled, “Eat me, St. John.”
    She hadn’t expected the intentionally snarky retort to bring him snapping upright and moving toward her so swiftly