Careless (2 page)

Her eyes fell to the bulge in the front of his jeans. “I should…
but… damn it, I’ve never been very good at stayin’ on the right side of wrong.”

He smirked. “Does that mean you’re comin’ up?”

She sighed. “Yeah, you go on ahead. I’ll meet you up there in a
few.”

“Like hell.”

Tori couldn’t have been more than five foot two and a hundred and
ten pounds. Not to mention the fact her face was usually plastered all over
every magazine and TV screen in the country at least once a week. He had no
intention of letting her walk through a deserted parking lot by herself late at
night.

“You been watchin’ too many of those late night cop shows, Coop.”
She grinned as she whipped the truck around and headed in the direction of the
guest parking lot.

“Pull into the underground,” he said.

He didn’t want to walk through the building with her on his arm.
It’s not that he wouldn’t be proud to be seen with her, but he knew if the
wrong person caught sight of them together, he’d be the next one to have his
mug plastered all over the grocery store rags. He didn’t need the aggravation.
This was just a simple one-night stand. No sense complicating things by letting
their family and friends in on their secret. 

“Why’s that?” she asked, easing the big truck down the hill toward
the underground parking garage. “You afraid of bein’ seen with me?”

He sighed. “Honey, it’s not that—

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. Her grip on the steering wheel
tightened. “Let’s get one thing straight. If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna
play it my way. You don’t treat me like one of the little airheads who follow
you around ’cause they have some stupid fantasy about bein’ handcuffed to your
bed.”

The image of using his handcuffs on her had him shifting in his
seat. Damn, this girl could heat him up faster than anyone he’d ever known.
“Fine, anything else?” He couldn’t believe he was willing to go along with her
rules
.
He was usually the one laying down the law, not being dictated to.

“Yeah, no one can know about this.”

Now it was his turn to be affronted. “Why? You afraid bein’ with a
cop might hurt your image as a hell-raiser?”

“It’s nothin’ personal. I just don’t like advertisin’ who I’m
sleepin’ with is all.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he muttered, crossing his arms. He knew he was
acting like a petulant child, but he didn’t want to be her dirty little secret.
He wasn’t any more anxious than she was to let the world in on what was going
on between them behind closed doors, but her warning seemed more like a gag
order.

“Hey,” she said, pulling into an empty parking spot too fast to be
considered safe. “If I wanted your opinion about who I sleep with, I woulda
asked for it. Until I do, assume the subject is off limits.”

He clenched his teeth so hard he half-expected to crack a molar.
“This isn’t one of my spots.”

She pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Oh, who cares? Are we
gonna do this or not?”

If the offense wasn’t punishable by law, he’d be sorely tempted to wring
her sweet neck. “You know what you need, don’t you?” He met her around the rear
of the truck, not the least bit surprised she hadn’t waited for him to open her
door.

“I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.” She planted her hands on her hips
and stared into the middle of his chest before tipping her head back to look up
him. “Well, I ain’t got all night.” She tapped her flip-flop against the cement
ground under her foot.

“Girl, I’ve never wanted to…” He grabbed her by the waist when she
rolled her eyes at him. Pulling her hard against his chest, he was satisfied
when the air left her lungs in a soft whoosh. “Tan someone’s behind more in my
life.”

“I’m not into anything kinky, so you can get that thought right
outta your head.” 

Mike had been fighting his attraction to Tori ever since his
father’s friend, Luc Spencer, signed her to Titan Records, telling himself that
her smart mouth and raunchy image was a turn-off. But when they were this
close, he had to admit he’d never been so turned
on
.

“I want you,” he whispered, bringing his mouth down her neck. “Damn,
I want you so—”

“Let’s take this upstairs.” She pushed against his chest. “The last
thing I need is for the tabloids to get a hold of this. Last week they caught
me out with the Cowboys quarterback and this week… you. Even Avery would tell
me to slow the hell down.”

Mike’s grip on her waist tightened. He didn’t want to think about
her being out with any other guy right now. Tonight, she was his and he didn’t
intend to let her forget that.

“Let’s go, sexy.” She threaded her hand through his and led him
toward the rear door. “I’m glad you brought me ’round back, less chance of
bein’ seen.”

“God forbid.” He suddenly wished he’d paraded her in front of the
cameras so the world and her quarterback boyfriend could see them together. “We
wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

“Hell no! We pay Avery a small fortune to make sure I’m seen with
the right men.” She smiled sweetly. “Sorry, but you don’t fit the bill,
honey.
”

“Why the hell not?” He passed his access card through the slot and
threw the heavy metal door open as soon as it beeped.

 “People expect to see me with bad boys. You know, bikers,
professional fighters…” She shuddered dramatically. “Imagine what it’d do to my
image if they saw me out with a
cop
.”

She said it like it was a dirty word, incensing him even more.
“They’d probably think I was arrestin’ you for disorderly conduct.”

“They might at that.” She tried to nudge him, but her shoulder just hit
his lower arm. “You know, I might’ve been wrong about you. I always thought you
took yourself too seriously.” She followed him onto the elevator. “It’s nice to
know not everything is a matter of life and death with you.”

He punched the button for his floor. “Life and death is my business.
I can’t afford to treat it as a joke.”

Tori took a step toward him, crowding him against the mirrored wall
at his back. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun once in a
while.”

“Trust me, I have plenty of fun.”

“If you’re talkin’ about those silicone-injected Barbie dolls you
refer to as dates, you and me must be from two different planets.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“You can’t tell me you get off on that.” She laughed. “Aren’t you
afraid you might puncture somethin’ if y’all go at it too hard?”

His eyes fell to her mouth-watering curves and he smirked. “Are you
tryin’ to tell me you haven’t had a little help from a good doctor or two?”

Just as he was about to fit his key into the lock, she grabbed his
hand and filled it with her breast. “You tell me. I know you’ve felt enough
fake ones to know the difference.”

Mike couldn’t believe her audacity. But damn her, she was right.
Experience had taught him a thing or two, and there was nothing enhanced about
Tori. “If you don’t want to draw a crowd, we’d best be takin’ this inside.”

She grinned. “Don’t trust yourself, huh?”

“It’s you I’m worried about. First, you want me to feel you up out
in the hall. Next thing I know, you’re gonna start takin’ your clothes off,
tellin’ me you’re into voyeurism.”

“Shut up.” She laughed as she pushed his hand away. “You and I both
know you’re the one who won’t be able to control yourself.”

“Whatever.”

He feared she may be right, but he would never give her the
satisfaction of admitting how much he wanted her. If she expected tonight to be
fun and playful with sexy banter to keep her on her toes, he’d be more than
happy to oblige. It was better than worshipping her the way the other men in
her life seemed to.

“Have you got anything to drink?”

“You invitin’ yourself to spend the night?” He wouldn’t risk his
pride by admitting how much he was hoping she’d say yes.

“I told you before, I could drink you under the table on my worst
day.” Her eyes wandered over his body. “I got a couple of brothers just about
your size and I make ’em cry like little girls every time we play a drinkin’
game.”

“Let’s go into the kitchen, see what I’ve got.” He wasn’t planning
on letting her leave his place if so much as a drop of liquor passed those
sweet lips. He reached into his liquor cabinet and found the Jack Daniels
before lining up two highball glasses on the counter.

“Now we’re talkin’,” she said, rubbing her hands together.

He poured a splash of liquor into one of the glasses and reached
into the fridge.

“That’s okay; you don’t have to water mine down, hon. I like it
straight up.”

“So do I.” He pulled a bottle of ginger ale out and filled the other
glass.

“You’re not gonna join me?”

He threw back the shot and smiled in spite of the burn. “Ah, just
what I needed.”

She scowled at the glass of ginger ale. “What the hell are you
tryin’ to pull?”

“Since you’re drivin’ home, I can’t let you drink, darlin’. Sorry.”

She practically growled her displeasure. “I told you I’ll be fine,”
she said between clenched teeth.

Mike shrugged. “That’s not a chance I’m willin’ to take. If you
wanna drink, you need to hand over your keys.”

“I just remembered why I don’t date cops.” She stalked into the
living room. “I think y’all took an oath to quit havin’ fun along with that
oath about servin’ and protectin’.”

He caught her off guard when he came up behind her and pulled her
back against his chest. “I am protectin’… you. Now, how ’bout a little
service?” He nipped the back of her neck and smiled when he felt the thrill
bumps rise on her arms. “Ah, I think I’ve found a sensitive spot.” His tongue
caressed the spot his teeth had found before she turned it around on him by
pressing her back into his arousal.

“You’re not as cool as you’d like me to believe, Lieutenant.”

When he felt her hand snaking around to grab her fill, he seized her
wrist. He was not going to let her call the shots, not tonight.

Tori was trying hard to act like this was nothing new to her,
engaging in a one-night stand with a sexy stranger. Not that Mike was a
stranger exactly; they’d known each other for some time, but never like this.
He’d made it clear that he could barely tolerate her… until tonight.

“You’re not gonna make this easy on me, are you, Mike?” His name
felt foreign on her lips. She’d gotten so used to calling him “Coop” or “Lieutenant,”
because she knew it irked him. Calling him by his given name felt so much more
intimate somehow.

He licked a path up her neck. “You don’t want me to make this easy
for you, sugar.”

She knew she should reprimand him for trying to sweet talk her with
endearments, but she couldn’t find the words when he was busy distracting her
with that sinfully skillful tongue.

Tori didn’t know when things had changed, but sometime between his
first and last drink, he’d decided he wanted her, and even though she knew he
wasn’t stone cold sober, she couldn’t help but take advantage of the situation
to get what she’d been wanting for a long time:
him
. 

Ever since she’d won that competition, people treated her differently,
as though she was untouchable. They pandered to her like she deserved
preferential treatment, and she hated it. The only person who’d acted as though
she was the same girl who used to sing in the church choir and embarrass her
brothers at target practice was the sexy lieutenant with the killer smile.

She shivered when he pulled her tank top over her head and tossed it
to the floor. So much for playing it cool. She knew he believed the gossip rags
that glorified her sexual escapades, trying to prove to the conservative
country music buying public that change was on its way and she was spearheading
the campaign. Tori didn’t know how she’d earned the reputation as a beer
drinking, man-eating, gun-wielding, poster child for country singers gone wild,
but somehow she had, and Avery suggested playing it up, making it her brand.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he whispered, skimming his big hands over
her curves.

Tori knew she wasn’t tall, stick thin, or ripped, like most of the
women he dated. She was small, curvy, and soft. And she wouldn’t trade her body
for any one of theirs.  

Mike reached for the button on the front of her white cut-offs and
she couldn’t have contained her sharp intake of breath for anything.

This was really going to happen. After years of teasing, taunting,
and verbal lashings, they were finally going to surrender to the sexual tension
that had been simmering between them since she caught her first glimpse of him
in his father’s pool. That black, low-slung swim suit… those rock hard abs, broad
shoulders, and smattering of hair covering his massive chest became the
standard by which she’d judged every man since. She’d dated an athlete, singer,
race car driver, and even a professional boxer, but none compared to the man
standing behind her, driving every thought of self-preservation out of her head
with his gentle touch.