Gina reached up and kissed him. “You’re too good for your own good.”
He chuckled and pulled her close. “You are not the first one to tell me this.”
“Hmm, well, maybe one of these days you’ll listen.”
“One can always hope.”
She glared at him, though it probably didn’t have the effect she was going for since she was smiling also.
“Who’s going to protect me from Alejandro if you’re not there?”
Rick frowned. “Do me a favor and don’t stalk the truck tonight.”
Gina dropped down from her tiptoes and looked up at him, trying to keep a rein on the immediate irritation his request sparked.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you getting into any trouble.”
Anger joined the irritation, and Gina took a deep breath, trying not to go off the deep end. She’d known he wouldn’t want her going to the rooftop alone. This wasn’t a surprise. No point in being angry over something she knew would happen. It came from a good place. No matter how irritating…
“I got along fine before you came along, you know?” she said, trying to keep her tone playful.
“I know that. And I’m sure you’d get along fine now. I still don’t want you watching the truck without me. All right?”
“What the hell kind of trouble do you think I’m going to get into sitting and watching a truck all night?”
Rick cocked an eyebrow at her, and Gina couldn’t help but smile.
“You mean besides rat cartels and knife-wielding muggers?”
“Ah, come on. Pretty sure you got rid of Alejandro that last time, and the poor mugger was just really thirsty and looking for a juice box.”
Rick shook his head, amusement shining from his eyes. “Be that as it may…think of it as a favor, okay? I promise, I’ll do what I can from my end. You can come in tomorrow and make a formal complaint…”
Gina immediately bristled at that, and Rick could obviously see it before she even said a word.
“It’s how things are done, Gina. You aren’t ratting him out or anything. All you have to do is file a formal complaint, and then I can legally question him about it. And then,” he said, drawing her into his arms again, “we can spend our nights doing something other than hanging out on dirty rooftops.”
He kissed a trail down her neck, and she leaned her head back to give him better access. “You’re not fighting fair,” she said with a hitch in her voice.
Rick did that smug male chuckle that Gina loved so much, and she shivered in his arms. “I might play by the rules, but that doesn’t mean I always fight fair. I like to use the resources at my disposal.”
He nipped the sensitive spot behind her ear, and she gasped.
“Use a few more resources.”
He laughed again and nipped at her other ear. “Promise me,” he murmured. “Don’t go without me. I’ll worry if you do, and if I’m worried about you, I won’t be focusing on my job.”
She sighed. His job was dangerous enough without his mind being on her the whole night. “All right. I promise. But if my truck gets hit tonight, it’s your ass.”
“Deal. Okay, I gotta go. Behave yourself while I’m gone,” he said, grabbing her ass and hauling her against him. “And maybe I’ll have a reward for you when I get back.”
Her eyes narrowed. Part of her wanted to flip him off for the “behave yourself” remark, but the rest of her was already begging for the reward. “I promised I wouldn’t stalk the truck tonight. I never said anything about behaving myself.”
“I assumed the behaving was implied.”
“Well, you know what happens when you assume…”
Rick laughed and then groaned when his phone went off again.
Gina grabbed his face and pulled him down for a kiss. “Go on. Go play cops and robbers. I promise I’ll remain stalk-free until you return.”
“Good. I don’t want anything happening to you.”
Before she could say anything else, he had her against the wall kissing her until she was moaning and clinging to him just to stay upright. Then he broke away.
“A little something to think about while I’m gone,” he said with a wink.
He was out the door before Gina could respond. She dropped to the couch, her legs too shaky to hold her. Holy shit, that man was a piece of work. One she couldn’t wait to explore, in detail, as soon as possible.
Well, her plans for the night had suddenly cleared since she couldn’t go a-stalking. She debated calling Nat to see what she was up to, but she was relatively sure Eric would be involved, and Gina wasn’t feeling up to being a third wheel. Jared could always be counted on for an amusing time, but his level of energy was more than Gina was up for. Staying in with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and Netflix actually didn’t sound so bad. She grabbed the necessary supplies and settled onto the couch.