Copping Attitude by Ava Meyers Page A

created intimacy between two people.  True intimacy that no amount of sex could manufacture.
    “What are you thinking?”
    She stirred briefly before settling back against him.  “That I wish I knew more about you.”
    He ran his fingertips lightly up and down her arm.  “Yeah?  And what do you wish you knew?”  He jiggled her when she didn’t answer.  “Come on.  I’ll tell you anything you want.”
    “Yeah right,” she snickered, but when she looked up at him, he wasn’t smiling. 
    “I’m serious, Jenna.”
    Biting her lip, she considered what he was offering.  Knew it was too precious to turn down.  “Did you always know you wanted to be an Internal Affairs cop?”
    “Yes.”  His answer was swift.  Proud.  He obviously didn’t buy into accusations of being a turncoat or rat, two terms she’d often heard in relation to the kind of work he did.  She was glad. 
    “Why?” she asked.
    “Because no one should be above the law, especially the ones who are sworn to uphold it.  Cops put themselves on the line everyday.  Good cops.  Good people.  Merecen respeto .  They deserve respect; those masquerading as cops don’t.”
    His words healed something inside her, a wound she hadn’t even known was there.  They reminded her that even though Stavish was powerful, perhaps true justice was even more so.  Perhaps her plan to expose Stavish would really make a difference.   
    “So what else do you want to know?” he asked.
    There were so many things she wanted to ask him and even she was surprised by her next choice.  “You said sometimes you like to dominate a woman in bed.  What does that mean?”
    To her surprise, his eyes flickered with unease.  Why?
    “Do you really think we should talk about that?”
    “You said anything,” she said lightly.
    “Why do you want to know?”
    “You’ve proven you can keep your cool with me.  But I’m curious what you’re like when you’re with someone you can lose control with.”
    “First off, let’s get something straight.  I’ve never kept my cool with you.  Ever.  Just because I don’t act out of control, doesn’t mean I don’t feel out of control.  You understand the difference?”
    She searched his eyes for a moment before quietly saying, “Yes.”  And she really did.  For a while, it had gotten all mixed up in her mind, the fine line between wanting and doing, but she understood how Noah could feel out of control without acting that way.  Hell, he’d proven it to her time and again.  
    “Second, when I dominate a woman sexually, that’s when I’m under the most control.  Because I don’t want to hurt her, because I know a woman is softer, smaller, and yes, weaker than me, I have to be even more deliberate in what I do and say and use.”
    She frowned.  “Use?”
    His mouth tipped up and he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, much like he had at the bar.  Instead of snapping at him like she’d done then, she leaned into his touch, rubbing against him like a kitten.  “For a former Playboy bunny, you really are quite innocent.”
    She immediately stiffened and tried to pull away. “Rape victims aren’t innocent.”
    He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.  “Of course they are.  Or at least, they can be.  Just like a Playboy bunny can be innocent, too.”
    She frowned and stopped trying to get away.  “Like most men, you seem a little preoccupied with that.  Don’t be so impressed.  It was a fluke, me being in that magazine at all.  The editor was hanging around campus, looking for fresh faces, and for some reason he took an interest in me.”
    He bobbed his eyebrows up and down.  “I can think of several really nice reasons.  If you want me to take inventory, I will.”
    Despite herself, she laughed.  It amazed her, this man’s ability to one minute drive her out of her mind with lust and then make her laugh in the next.  “I was flattered at the time.  I needed the