Damn it. A soft spot with Rick’s name on it was forming in her heart. She needed to quash it quick.
“So,” she said, “you went from a hall monitor who got bullied to a grown-up cop who does the bullying.”
“I did not bully you,” he said, immediately grasping her meaning.
“Oh, really? Pretty sure blackmailing me into being my stakeout partner qualifies.”
“Only in your head.”
“Is that right?”
“Completely. You’re like the kid that’s about to get shoved in her locker and has no clue. You should feel lucky that the hall monitor is around to make sure nothing happens to you.”
She pursed her lips. “Not sure ‘lucky’ is the word I’d use.”
“Hmm, not yet maybe.” He leaned in closer, close enough she could smell the faint hint of cupcake that lingered around him. “But I might grow on you.”
She swallowed, thinking of several inappropriate meanings for that turn of phrase. Every one of them taunted her, despite her best efforts to get her mind off Rick and getting lucky.
By one in the morning, Gina was ready to call it quits. Surprisingly, the night hadn’t been a total suckfest. All in all, it hadn’t been so bad hanging out with him. Not that she had any intention of telling him that.
Finally, she sighed and started packing things back into her bag. “All right. Let’s call it a night. I don’t think he’s going to hit the truck tonight.”
“You sure?” he asked. “I’m happy to hang out a few more hours if you want.”
“I don’t think…” She stopped, distracted by a rustling sound. “Did you hear that?”
Rick froze and listened, then nodded. He inched closer to her.
“Don’t. Move.”
Chapter Five
Rick moved closer to the rustling bag while Gina stood stock-still, her eyes wide and anxious.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“I think a mouse has decided to help himself to the rest of our cupcakes.”
“What?” she shrieked.
Before he could say another word, she’d jumped up on her chair. Not designed for trampoline practice, the thin plastic promptly shredded. Rick reached out to catch her as one leg went through the plastic and the rest of her went sideways. He caught her before she hit the ground. But apparently their movements landed them a little too close to the occupied bag for her comfort because she took one look down, gasped, and climbed him like a tree.
“What are you doing?” he asked, both laughing and grunting as she twisted around him.
“Get rid of it!”
“What, the bag?” He grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling ass-first onto the hard roof.
“No! The damn mouse, or rat, or whatever the hell it is!”
The bag rustled again, and she squeezed her legs around his waist and gripped his neck so tight she was dangerously close to strangling him.
“I can’t do anything if you don’t loosen your grip.”
She tore her gaze from the bag o’ death at their feet and looked at him. “Oh. Sorry,” she said, letting up a little.
He took a nice deep breath. “Thank you.”
His eyes met hers, and she seemed to realize the position she’d gotten them into. Her legs and arms wrapped about him. His hands beneath her butt and thighs, holding her up. Their faces only inches apart. All their delicate bits pressed as close as they could get with their clothing still on.
Her cheeks flashed fifty shades of red in the faint light coming from the streetlight below.
“Sorry,” she murmured again. “You, um, can put me down now.”
He tightened his hold on her. “You sure?” he asked, not wanting to let her go. He liked the way she felt molded to his body. The vanilla scent of her hung in the air between them, whetting his appetite for something a little sweeter than the cupcakes in the rat bag. All he had to do was close the distance between them…
Her breathing sped up, her lips parting with a little sigh. Her gaze zeroed in on his lips and there was no hiding from her how he felt about her wrapped around him. For a split second, her legs tightened their hold on his waist, pressing even closer. Her eyes fluttered closed. But then she shook her head and loosened her grip.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said, pushing away from him. “But…put me on the chair until you get rid of that thing.”
He chuckled and reluctantly deposited her on top of the chair he’d been sitting in. Then he bent and swiftly scooped up the bag, rolling the top down so whatever was inside couldn’t get out.
“What are you going to do with it?” she asked.
He frowned. That was a good question. He finally walked over to the side of the building nearest the alley and looked down. A dumpster sat against the wall and luckily, some lazy person had left the top open. He hung the bag over the side, aimed, and dropped it, smiling when it landed squarely inside the bin.