She felt the heat rising into her cheeks and tried to fight it, wanted to glare back at him or, better yet, walk over to him and punch him. Not that she could actually hurt the hulking beast. He was several inches over six feet tall, with more muscle than was decent for any man. He was like a giant, ferocious wolf with all of the crazy, almost-magic instincts that came along with being a master predator.
Halley heard the soft laughter beside her, the sound jerking her out of the trance Mike had put her under with his look. "Oh yeah, she's got it bad!" Mackenna teased, blowing out a gust of air and fanning herself.
"Finally!" Fleur agreed. "I thought they would never acknowledge the sparks flying between them."
Kelsie chuckled. "Isn't that a bit of the pot calling the kettle black?" she asked.
Fleur had the grace to blush as she patted her sleeping daughter draped over her shoulder. Emma didn't even bat an eyelash at the obvious tension. "Hunter and I were different."
Mackenna turned slightly, more fully facing Fleur. "How? You and Hunter were pretty volcanic. And now Halley can't ignore Mike any longer, just as you and Hunter weren't able to. Same thing. I'm guessing that the result will be the same as well."
Fleur sighed as the memories of her frustrating courtship with her handsome husband came rushing back to her. With mock sadness, she shook her head. "I'm so sorry Halley."
Halley wasn't having any of that silliness. She jerked her head in a nod as if that could reinforce the issue with the universe. "Mike and I are not together."
"Yet," all three ladies replied at the same time, then burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the room full of people.
She stormed away from them, refusing to deal with her family today. Mike had thrown her off balance before the funeral with all of that touching and his demand for a date when they would … discuss … stuff. She wasn't in top form at the moment. Halley knew that she needed to be completely on the ball when dealing with Mike.
She pretended to be heading for the bathrooms, but once she was out in the hallway and away from the prying eyes of every other person in that reception room, she turned right to head for another exit instead of the bathrooms. It was quiet here, darker and she breathed a sigh of relief as she happily made her way out of the church … and away from Mike. She knew that he was waiting for her to leave so that he could pounce on her again. She felt a sudden burst of giddiness that she'd outsmarted the man.
Escape was just a few feet away and she almost danced with relief! Her hand was reaching for the doorknob and she was just about to laugh out loud, but pressed onward, knowing that … .
Unfortunately, that was also when she felt the heat. The tingling sensation. Her stomach dropped down to her toes and her whole body braced for impact. Sure enough, Mike's arm was reaching around, pulling her away from the door. Away from her escape!
One moment, she was about to break free and burst into the sunshine, the next moment, she was pinned by Mike's hard, muscular body and an equally hard, cement-block wall.
"Trying to escape?" he asked, his voice husky as his hands slid up her waist.
Halley was still for a long moment, but when those huge hands started to head further north, she gasped and grabbed his wrists, stopping him only millimeters from her breasts. "No!" She wasn't sure if she was saying that in answer to his question or telling him not to go further. "Don't flatter yourself," she said, albeit a tad more breathlessly than she would have liked. "I'm just trying to go home. I have things to do!"
He chuckled and the sound caused vibrations to zip through her body, right down to that place in her groin. Darn it, how could he do this to her every time?!
"It's okay, honey," he said and lowered his head to nibble at the side of her neck. "I understand that this attraction is a bit scary for you right now. But the sooner we talk about it, the sooner it won't be scary anymore."
She pushed her hands against his massive chest, trying to dislodge him. "I'm not afraid of you." Okay, so she'd intended for her hands to push. Was it her fault that her fingers discovered all of those amazing, fascinating muscles? If he'd been wearing his uniform, there would have been that annoying bullet-proof vest under his shirt and she would have been safer. But he wasn't in his stupid uniform and the soft, white dress shirt allowed her fingers to find, and indeed explore, the muscles. She was silent as her fingers moved against his chest, exploring, discovering and … fighting against the intense desire to shift her fingers more. Hmmm … major failure on winning that battle.
When her fingers found that flat, male nipple, she heard his breath hiss and she froze. Looking into his dark green eyes, she couldn't stop her fingers from moving again. Her mind was telling her to stop playing with fire, to duck under his arms and run as fast and as furiously as she could.