Hot in Here: Uncovered / Tailspin / An Honorable Man. Lori Foster

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СКАЧАТЬ mouth flattened. “What are you doing here, Harris?”

      Dane hung up and stepped out from behind her desk. “He thought he might have found the mystery lady.”

      Clair crossed her arms and thrust out a hip in an arrogant pose. “Do tell.”

      Clearing his throat, very unsure of her mood, Harris said, “Yeah, well. She was flirting with me at this coffee shop where I stopped this morning. I realized I stop there a lot, and that could be the connection. You know, where she knew me from and everything.”

      “Have you ever met her?”

      “No.” Clair sounded so...accusatory. “But she could have heard my name from someone. I’ve been in there with the guys a few times too. Occasionally in uniform, so she’d know I was a firefighter.”

      “Assuming she hangs out there as well.”

      “Yeah. Assuming that.” Harris wished Dane would offer a little help. He’d acted enthusiastic about the possibility of the woman being “the one,” yet now he just stood there and grinned, enjoying Harris’s plight.

      “Ever notice her before?” Clair asked.

      Feeling harassed, Harris said, “No. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t noticed me.”

      “Obviously she has if she’s flirting with you.” Her eyes narrowed in thought. “Did you ask her if she’s the one?”

      “No, of course not.” Sheepishly, Harris admitted, “I followed her so I could get her license plate number.”

      “Oh gawd.” Clair flounced the rest of the way into the room and dropped her purse on the desk. “A stalker, that’s what you’ve become.”

      Dane laughed. “No one saw him, Clair, and the plates paid off.” Then he turned to Harris. “But as I said, Alec doesn’t think it’s her.”

      At the moment, with Clair glaring at him, Harris didn’t really care. “All right.”

      Though he hadn’t asked, Dane explained. “Body shape isn’t the same.” He pulled out the larger photos they’d created. He put the one of the woman’s derriere on top of the stack.

      Clair made a choking sound, but when Harris glanced at her, she didn’t seem to be paying them any mind. In fact, she was busily arranging and rearranging things on her desk.

      “Your woman—”

      “His woman?” Clair repeated with mocking disbelief, her desk and its clutter forgotten.

      “—has a heart-shaped behind.” Dane shrugged. “The woman you saw in the coffee shop is rounder. Or so Alec tells me.”

      “Then it must not be her,” Harris agreed.

      “He’s not positive,” Dane said, “so he’s going to check her out a little more. But he said not to get your hopes up.”

      Clair started laughing. Loudly. When Harris frowned at her, she put her face on the desk and covered her head with her arms. She roared with hilarity until her shoulders were shaking.

      “What,” he demanded over the awful noise she made, “is so damn funny?”

      Gasping, wheezing with her humor, Clair straightened. She had tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks. “You three,” she gasped, apparently including Alec, though he wasn’t present. “Tracking a woman by...the shape of...her ass.” She burst out laughing again.

      Dane cocked a brow. “I guess it does sound funny. Not that we have much else to go on.” And then louder, to make his point to Clair, he said, “Since somebody hasn’t found us the address of the previous owner yet.”

      Her amusement dried up real quick. “Oh.” Her frown was fierce. “I’m working on that.”

      “Work harder,” Dane suggested. “Or better yet, I can do it.”

      “No! I mean, I’ve got it covered. I’ll have something for you in a few hours.” Disgruntled, she seemed to sink in her chair. “Will that be good enough?”

      “That’d be great.” Dane picked up a file and headed for the door. “I’ll be staking out the Westbrook Motel today if anyone needs me.”

      “A stakeout?” Dane and Alec handled a lot of mundane, annoying cases—like cheating spouses and stolen lawn ornaments. But they also got involved in some really cool situations that Harris loved hearing about.

      “Yeah. The owners of a small motel suspect one of their employees of spying on guests in the pool changing rooms. I’m going to hang out back in the bushes and catch him in the act, then we can call in the cops.” Dane winked. “You kids be good. I’ll see ya later.”

      Finally. The second Dane was out the door, Harris headed for Clair. Anticipation hummed inside him. He couldn’t wait to taste her again.

      As he advanced, her eyes widened and she hastily pushed her chair back, but Harris didn’t give her time to retreat. He braced his hands on the arms of her chair, caging her in, and leaned down to take her mouth. She made a small sound of surprise—and then the sound got muffled.

      Oh hell yeah, he’d missed her mouth.

      Clair stayed stiff for about three seconds, then melted with a small moan. He liked that. He liked her. Maybe a lot more than he’d ever realized. When her lips parted, Harris accepted the invitation and slipped his tongue in for a deep, hot, wet kiss that lasted just long enough to get him semihard.

      “I missed you,” he growled against her mouth.

      Speaking must have broken the spell, because she blinked and shoved him back. She was breathing fast and her lips were slightly swollen and very pink. She readjusted her crooked glasses, then scowled. “Yeah right. You missed me so much that you’re following strange women around, desperate to meet your secret admirer.”

      “Not desperate.” Harris wasn’t all that steady on his feet at the moment. The idea of laying her out on the desk, pushing up her sensible jumper and indulging in a little office sex tempted him. But she didn’t look too receptive to that idea. “Just curious. If some guy was in love with you, wouldn’t you be curious?”

      A myriad of expressions—anger, frustration, hopelessness—crossed her face before she sighed and flopped back in her seat. “Maybe.” Her chin lifted. “But not if I was interested in someone else.”

      Harris propped his hip on the desk. He needed the support. “I’m more than interested, Clair.”

      Eyes flaring, she caught her bottom lip in her teeth. “Really?”

      Was she in love with him? As to that, was he in love with her? Harris had always figured that when he fell in love, the realization would hit him over the head. He wouldn’t have to wonder about it, he’d just know. But Clair was so different, he couldn’t figure her out. And that meant he couldn’t really figure himself out either.

      Choosing his words carefully, Harris hoped to talk her around to his way of thinking, without looking too pushy СКАЧАТЬ