light.
J.T. snatched the keys from Toby and stalked over to where Nikki stood.
“Cut the crap, Nikki.” He turned her around and jammed the keys into the cuffs. In another second, he had her free and tossed the cuffs back to Toby. He made a jerking motion with his thumb, and Toby was only too happy to scram.
Nikki turned around and cupped one wrist in her palm, rubbing absently.
“Not too fun, huh?”
Her expression didn’t falter.
“Now, want to tell me why the hell my deputy brought you in with cuffs on?”
She lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug, and it sent her long dark hair sliding forward. The inch-wide pink streak, the one that drove him insane, glared in the fluorescent overhead lighting.
Her palms slid down her sides in a deliberate motion then shoved into the pockets of her jeans. The action sent her waistband lower, baring the thin ring in her belly button.
Sweat beaded his brow. Why me? What kind of miscreant had he been in a past life to deserve this kind of punishment?
“Your deputy brought me here because you were here,” she said simply. “You’re avoiding me.”
J.T. blew out his breath. “Come on. I’ll take you home, honey.”
He immediately cringed as the endearment slipped from his lips. She flashed him a brilliant smile. Hell, she probably thought he was encouraging her.
She closed the distance between them and moved into his space. She pressed against his chest and wrapped her arms around him, burrowing her cheek against his shirt.
6
www.samhainpublishing.com
Reckless
His body reacted, jumping to attention. Starving. It was the way he acted around her.
And she knew it. Damn her.
“You can’t run from me forever, J.T.,” she murmured. “Sooner or later, you’re going to give in. You know it, and I know it.”
She turned her head up and brushed her lips across his jaw. When she would have found his mouth, he turned away and stepped back, out of her arms, away from her warmth and softness. Suddenly the oppressive heat lifted, and a chill settled in its stead.
“Nikki, stop.” His voice came out in a husky sound that definitely didn’t back up his command for her to halt. It sounded like an invitation, a plea .
She laughed softly. Then she pulled away and headed for the door. When she reached it, she gripped the handle and opened it. She paused and turned back to him.
“Don’t bother driving me home, J.T. I’ll walk.”
Then she disappeared out the door, leaving him standing there gawking like a moron at the seductive sway of her hips. And that ass. Sweet Jesus, that ass!
And then he realized that she’d said she was walking home. Alone. In the dark.
Fuck that.
He snagged his Stetson and stalked out the door, glancing down the sidewalk to see her walking with a lazy stride down Main Street. Like any male within a ten-mile radius could resist that come-and-get-me strut? He’d be lucky if he didn’t have to beat someone’s ass before he managed to wrestle her into his squad car.
He was going to kill Lucas. Not just kill him, but cut him from asshole to appetite and gut him. Six months ago, Nikki’s brother had extracted a promise from J.T.
He remembered the moment well. He and Lucas had been standing outside the auditorium at the small university Nikki had just graduated from, waiting for her to come out.
“She wants to move home, man,” Lucas said as the two men stood by Lucas’s truck.
Something deep inside J.T. flared. A sudden burst of adrenaline spiked through his veins. A warm buzz blew through his head, and he shook it to ward off the reaction to Lucas’s announcement.
www.samhainpublishing.com 7
Maya Banks
Playing it cool, he slid his friend a sideways glance. “You don’t sound happy about that.”
Lucas shrugged. “Barley? What the hell is she going to do in Barley? What’s there for her? She always swore she’d get out. Just like I did.”
“Maybe she just wants a place to regroup and figure out what she wants to do
J.T. snatched the keys from Toby and stalked over to where Nikki stood.
“Cut the crap, Nikki.” He turned her around and jammed the keys into the cuffs. In another second, he had her free and tossed the cuffs back to Toby. He made a jerking motion with his thumb, and Toby was only too happy to scram.
Nikki turned around and cupped one wrist in her palm, rubbing absently.
“Not too fun, huh?”
Her expression didn’t falter.
“Now, want to tell me why the hell my deputy brought you in with cuffs on?”
She lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug, and it sent her long dark hair sliding forward. The inch-wide pink streak, the one that drove him insane, glared in the fluorescent overhead lighting.
Her palms slid down her sides in a deliberate motion then shoved into the pockets of her jeans. The action sent her waistband lower, baring the thin ring in her belly button.
Sweat beaded his brow. Why me? What kind of miscreant had he been in a past life to deserve this kind of punishment?
“Your deputy brought me here because you were here,” she said simply. “You’re avoiding me.”
J.T. blew out his breath. “Come on. I’ll take you home, honey.”
He immediately cringed as the endearment slipped from his lips. She flashed him a brilliant smile. Hell, she probably thought he was encouraging her.
She closed the distance between them and moved into his space. She pressed against his chest and wrapped her arms around him, burrowing her cheek against his shirt.
6
www.samhainpublishing.com
Reckless
His body reacted, jumping to attention. Starving. It was the way he acted around her.
And she knew it. Damn her.
“You can’t run from me forever, J.T.,” she murmured. “Sooner or later, you’re going to give in. You know it, and I know it.”
She turned her head up and brushed her lips across his jaw. When she would have found his mouth, he turned away and stepped back, out of her arms, away from her warmth and softness. Suddenly the oppressive heat lifted, and a chill settled in its stead.
“Nikki, stop.” His voice came out in a husky sound that definitely didn’t back up his command for her to halt. It sounded like an invitation, a plea .
She laughed softly. Then she pulled away and headed for the door. When she reached it, she gripped the handle and opened it. She paused and turned back to him.
“Don’t bother driving me home, J.T. I’ll walk.”
Then she disappeared out the door, leaving him standing there gawking like a moron at the seductive sway of her hips. And that ass. Sweet Jesus, that ass!
And then he realized that she’d said she was walking home. Alone. In the dark.
Fuck that.
He snagged his Stetson and stalked out the door, glancing down the sidewalk to see her walking with a lazy stride down Main Street. Like any male within a ten-mile radius could resist that come-and-get-me strut? He’d be lucky if he didn’t have to beat someone’s ass before he managed to wrestle her into his squad car.
He was going to kill Lucas. Not just kill him, but cut him from asshole to appetite and gut him. Six months ago, Nikki’s brother had extracted a promise from J.T.
He remembered the moment well. He and Lucas had been standing outside the auditorium at the small university Nikki had just graduated from, waiting for her to come out.
“She wants to move home, man,” Lucas said as the two men stood by Lucas’s truck.
Something deep inside J.T. flared. A sudden burst of adrenaline spiked through his veins. A warm buzz blew through his head, and he shook it to ward off the reaction to Lucas’s announcement.
www.samhainpublishing.com 7
Maya Banks
Playing it cool, he slid his friend a sideways glance. “You don’t sound happy about that.”
Lucas shrugged. “Barley? What the hell is she going to do in Barley? What’s there for her? She always swore she’d get out. Just like I did.”
“Maybe she just wants a place to regroup and figure out what she wants to do
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