of course. He’d found out plenty of things. Like how sweet she tasted. How pliant and welcoming her lips were. How hot her skin felt beneath his fingers.
“You mean your overwhelming charisma didn’t win her over?”
Caleb bristled. “I offered to help her paint tomorrow, so maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll open up then.”
AJ’s black eyes narrowed. “And what about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Will you be getting lucky?”
The sudden bite to AJ’s tone was unexpected. Caleb met his partner’s wary gaze head-on. “Come on, AJ, I told you I’m not going to sleep with her.”
“You sure? Because that make-out session looked pretty damn hot. Actually, it looked like you were going to beat your chest a couple of times, throw her over your shoulder and drag her upstairs so you could screw her brains out.”
Caleb’s lips tightened. “I was playing a part. I have no intention of taking her to bed.”
“Uh-huh…”
“For the love of—”
“How long has it been since you got laid?”
Caleb’s eyes flashed. “That has nothing to do with anything.”
“No? I think it has a lot to do with this. Look, I get it. She’s an attractive woman. But don’t—”
“Don’t what?” Caleb cut in. “Forget why I’m here?”
“I’m just asking you to be careful. Grier needs to be behind bars for what he did to Russ. And I can’t have a cute blonde distracting you from catching him if he shows up.”
“She won’t. Trust me, I want Grier as much as you do.” Caleb swallowed. “Russ was the best friend I ever had, damn it. And tomorrow I plan on getting the truth out of Marley. If she knows anything, I’ll find out, okay?”
AJ looked unconvinced. “And if she suddenly rips all her clothes off and begs you to do nasty things to her?”
Caleb swallowed harder, forcing himself not to imagine the ridiculously tempting scenario AJ had just described. “Then I say no,” he maintained. “I’m serious, man. I’m not going to sleep with her.”
“And if she unrolls the yoga mat and starts doing naked pelvic thrusts…”
He gritted his teeth. “I’m not going to sleep with her.”
But oh, how he wanted to.
Not gonna happen, man.
No, he wouldn’t let it happen. The weeklong attraction he’d felt for Marley might have culminated in an explosive kiss, but he was determined not to let it go further.
He just hoped he had the strength.
Scratch that—he prayed he had the strength.
M ARLEY WAS WIDE AWAKE and dressed for manual labor when the doorbell rang the next afternoon. She’d taken a power nap when she got home from the hospital, and her alert state was actually a bit of a surprise. There had been a massive car accident on Interstate 5 and half the nurses from the respiratory unit where Marley usually worked had been reassigned to the E.R. for a couple of days to tend to the onslaught of victims. Marley was one of them, and she’d been running around like a chicken with its head cut off for the past nine hours. Yet here she was, bright-eyed and ready to paint her kitchen. Figure that one out.
Okay, well, maybe it wasn’t that hard to comprehend, considering who she would be painting the kitchen with.
She opened the door and there he was, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a black T-shirt. The shirt clung to his muscular chest, a sight that made Marley’s heart race like a Formula One car. Darn it, why did he have to be so attractive?
And why had she let him kiss her? They’d only just met, for Pete’s sake. Only a couple days ago she’d been telling Gwen she wanted to take things slow when it came to her love life, that getting intimate with a stranger scared her. And what had she done? Gotten intimate with a stranger.
“Hey,” Caleb greeted her. His deep voice had a sexy rasp that brought a rush of heat to Marley’s belly. “Ready to paint?”
She gestured for him to come in. “Ready, yes. Excited about it, no.”
His lips quirked and she instantly
“You mean your overwhelming charisma didn’t win her over?”
Caleb bristled. “I offered to help her paint tomorrow, so maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll open up then.”
AJ’s black eyes narrowed. “And what about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Will you be getting lucky?”
The sudden bite to AJ’s tone was unexpected. Caleb met his partner’s wary gaze head-on. “Come on, AJ, I told you I’m not going to sleep with her.”
“You sure? Because that make-out session looked pretty damn hot. Actually, it looked like you were going to beat your chest a couple of times, throw her over your shoulder and drag her upstairs so you could screw her brains out.”
Caleb’s lips tightened. “I was playing a part. I have no intention of taking her to bed.”
“Uh-huh…”
“For the love of—”
“How long has it been since you got laid?”
Caleb’s eyes flashed. “That has nothing to do with anything.”
“No? I think it has a lot to do with this. Look, I get it. She’s an attractive woman. But don’t—”
“Don’t what?” Caleb cut in. “Forget why I’m here?”
“I’m just asking you to be careful. Grier needs to be behind bars for what he did to Russ. And I can’t have a cute blonde distracting you from catching him if he shows up.”
“She won’t. Trust me, I want Grier as much as you do.” Caleb swallowed. “Russ was the best friend I ever had, damn it. And tomorrow I plan on getting the truth out of Marley. If she knows anything, I’ll find out, okay?”
AJ looked unconvinced. “And if she suddenly rips all her clothes off and begs you to do nasty things to her?”
Caleb swallowed harder, forcing himself not to imagine the ridiculously tempting scenario AJ had just described. “Then I say no,” he maintained. “I’m serious, man. I’m not going to sleep with her.”
“And if she unrolls the yoga mat and starts doing naked pelvic thrusts…”
He gritted his teeth. “I’m not going to sleep with her.”
But oh, how he wanted to.
Not gonna happen, man.
No, he wouldn’t let it happen. The weeklong attraction he’d felt for Marley might have culminated in an explosive kiss, but he was determined not to let it go further.
He just hoped he had the strength.
Scratch that—he prayed he had the strength.
M ARLEY WAS WIDE AWAKE and dressed for manual labor when the doorbell rang the next afternoon. She’d taken a power nap when she got home from the hospital, and her alert state was actually a bit of a surprise. There had been a massive car accident on Interstate 5 and half the nurses from the respiratory unit where Marley usually worked had been reassigned to the E.R. for a couple of days to tend to the onslaught of victims. Marley was one of them, and she’d been running around like a chicken with its head cut off for the past nine hours. Yet here she was, bright-eyed and ready to paint her kitchen. Figure that one out.
Okay, well, maybe it wasn’t that hard to comprehend, considering who she would be painting the kitchen with.
She opened the door and there he was, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a black T-shirt. The shirt clung to his muscular chest, a sight that made Marley’s heart race like a Formula One car. Darn it, why did he have to be so attractive?
And why had she let him kiss her? They’d only just met, for Pete’s sake. Only a couple days ago she’d been telling Gwen she wanted to take things slow when it came to her love life, that getting intimate with a stranger scared her. And what had she done? Gotten intimate with a stranger.
“Hey,” Caleb greeted her. His deep voice had a sexy rasp that brought a rush of heat to Marley’s belly. “Ready to paint?”
She gestured for him to come in. “Ready, yes. Excited about it, no.”
His lips quirked and she instantly
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