“You already said that,” he said laughingly, walking past my brother and the other officer who brought him, which happened to be James.
My brother’s mouth twitched as I passed, and the bottle he’d handed back to me as he shoved me into the car sounded like a great thing to throw at him again had I had it.
Except Michael had made me lose it with his caveman tendencies.
When he got to the passenger door to his truck, he unlocked it with the keys in his hand and yanked the door open forcefully before depositing me unceremoniously on the seat.
I gasped in surprise, and then glared at the closed door that had just slammed in my face.
“Pendejo.” I muttered, then tried to open the door.
It didn’t open, mostly because my brother was there to stop me.
I flipped him off and he laughed.
“I’ll get you back for this,” I said, pointing at him warningly.
He lifted both hands and shook in fake terror.
I narrowed my eyes, and then smiled as I pulled out my cell phone.
“Hello?” My best friend answered.
“Georgia,” I said when she answered. “You know last week when you asked Nico what he had for lunch, and he said salad? Yeah, it was really a burger from Jucy’s. He lied to you.”
Her outraged gasp, and then the click of the phone in my ear, followed by the instant ringing of Nico’s had me nearly laughing in hilarity.
“Karma’s a bitch!” I yelled when he answered the phone.
Georgia was on a diet, which meant that Nico was on one, too.
Except Nico didn’t want to be on a diet, and every day he was on shift he ate out because he was so hungry.
He paid in cash because she could see their bank account, and I’d caught him at Georgia’s favorite restaurant just last week where he’d made me promise not to tell.
Like the good sister I am, I didn’t tell. Until he put on his bastard hat. Then all bets were off.
“That wasn’t nice,” Michael said from my side.
I’d heard him open his door, of course, but I was ignoring him so I didn’t bother acknowledging him.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared straight ahead and refused to even think about him.
“Put your seatbelt on,” he ordered as he started the truck.
I ignored him.
“Nikki,” he said with a sigh. “Put it on.”
I didn’t.
Growling in exasperation, he unbuckled his own seatbelt, reached across me.
His forearm caressed my breast, and my nipple tightened.
The traitorous bitch.
Once he had a hold of the belt, he reached it around me and buckled it into place next to my hip.
He smelled good. Not that I would admit that.
And my nipples were still tingling.
Michael went back to his seat, rolled down the window, and started backing up.
“Thanks!” He yelled at the two men watching us leave.
I snorted.
Screw them, too.
I’d be talking with James’ wife, too. I was fairly sure I could find some dirt on him to wipe that smirk off his face.
“What crawled up your ass?” He asked once we were on the road.
I turned my head to look out the window and stayed silent.
“Stop being childish and talk to me. What you did today could’ve turned out a lot different. You’re lucky it was your brother to pull you over and not someone that didn’t know you. Things could’ve gone to shit easily,” he growled.
I turned to him then.
“You wanna know childish? How about your wife telling everyone at work that I’m a piss poor employee, and then tattling on me because I’m wearing the wrong shoes. The same ‘rule,’ and I say rule with the upmost reluctance because nobody follows it, that everyone breaks. Which I then get sent home for,” I snarled.
He blinked. “She’s not my wife.”
“Well, you fucked her and you were married to her. Nearly the same thing,” I told him.
“It’s not nearly the same thing. I’ve been divorced from Joslin for way over two years. We have no relationship whatsoever, and she’s marrying my brother,” Michael said matter of factly.
I tried hard not to react to the fact that she was marrying Michael’s brother, but failed.
“She’s what?” I yelled.
Well if that didn’t take the wind out of my sails, I didn’t know what would.
Michael shot me an amused look, and it only made that fire burning down in my belly become hotter.
He was so sexy.
His black hair was shaved tightly to his head on the sides, and had about a half inch on top, and his face was clean shaven, though it hadn’t been last night. He was back in his trademark black t-shirt, and a pair of jeans covered his legs.
“Yeah, you heard right,” he nodded.
I blinked and turned back towards my window.
She was such a hoe!
Bryan. At least three doctors that I knew. And Michael’s brother? For real?
How did the woman have that much energy?
“I thought you had to work today,” I said accusingly, not turning away from the view.
“I do. At twelve. It’s only nine thirty in the morning,” he answered. “I was up there to come see you, when I didn’t find you at your apartment, but Joslin was telling me you were sent home.”
I clenched my hands into fists.
“She is such a bitch,” I snarled.
He snorted. “And you’re just now figuring this out?”
I snorted. “You were touching her.”
He sighed. “There’s something wrong with her. She doesn’t understand the word ‘no.’ She’s devious and vindictive. I’ve learned over the years that the easiest way to deal with her is just let her have what she wants. Or, at least, let her think she got what she wants. Gentleness seems to throw her off, so that’s why I do that. I’ve learned to be just as manipulative as she is out of necessity.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, I think if you want to continue this relationship, you are going to need to figure out how to not touch her, because I don’t like it. Not even a little bit.”
He smiled, revealing brilliant white teeth.
“Noted,” he agreed immediately.
Then he turned back to the road, and I was left contemplating my brashness of stealing his truck.
“I sometimes don’t think before I act,” I admitted softly, looking at my hands.
He snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
“I’ll try not to steal your truck again,” I said softly.
“You won’t have the opportunity to steal my truck again,” he laughed.
I raised my brow at him.
“You think?” I asked.
He smiled. “I know.”
When we pulled up to my apartment, I pulled out my keys and offered them to him.
He took them, thankful that he hadn’t asked, and started up the stairs.
I’d realized over the course of our four month dating life, and again last night, that Michael liked to be cautious.
It didn’t matter if we were gone ten minutes or five hours, when we got back to my place, he was going to take a look through the house to be sure that everything was fine before he left me.
I followed behind him, bemused, and walked into the door just as he was coming out of the kitchen and disappearing into the bedroom.
I had a one bedroom apartment that I loved to hate.
I was on the top right of a four apartment unit, and I hated every second of it.
The neighbor to my right stole my parking spot. The neighbor to my bottom left liked to take my clothes out of the shared laundry room. And the neighbor directly below me liked to have loud, wall banging sex. Not that I knew how he did it since I was above him, and I was fairly sure he couldn’t fuck on the ceilings.
Regardless, he did it, and I was impressed. But also a little sleep deprived at times.
The interior of the apartment was nothing special. White generic walls, beige carpeting. Plain crappy countertops and appliances that should’ve been updated last decade.
My furniture, however, was nice.
I spent a lot of time at home, and I wanted to be comfortable while I did it.
Which was why I’d spent nearly an entire paycheck on my couch, and the next paycheck on my TV.
My bed wasn’t as nice as my couch, which was why I found myself sleeping on the couch more often than not.