Flame by Skylar Cross Page B

cop.”
    Shit.
    I
look directly into his eyes. He knows. He knows I know he knows.
    Zing!
    Something
about the way he called me out so directly is so fucking hot.
    But
the fact remains I’m blown. I’m a complete failure. This assignment is trash. I’m
going to be sent back to the Pit. Some fucking detective I turned out to be. Maybe
my dad is right.
    “Look,
I’d better go,” I say as I slurp down the last of my drink.
    “No,
it’s okay. I like cops. Have a friend at MPD. Goffman .
Know him?
    I begin
to stand up. “No, I’m not a cop. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m also
leaving.”
    “C’mon,
you blew whatever it was by letting me see you kick that guy’s ass. Gotta work on that, officer. OCS?”
    Fuck me.
    I grit
my teeth and nod.
    He leans
back, putting his hands behind his head. “Hmm, next time I’d go with bodyguard instead
of student. More convincing.”
    I stand.
    “Nice
to meet you, Mr. Stark,” I say.
    “It’s
Colton,” he says. “And, you’re not going anywhere.”
    “Look,
you know who I am. I blew it. We can drop the charade. I’m leaving.”
    I pick
up my purse and move toward the stairs.
    “Let’s
go for a ride in my Bentley,” he says as he gets up.
    “Yeah,
right. That may work on your usual party-girly-girls ,
but Bentleys don’t impress me, Mr. Billionaire Playboy. I’m going home.”
    I reach
the door to the stairs.
    He’s
now up and following me.
    “Goodbye,”
I say as I open the door.
    He moves
toward me, grabs my arm, and turns me toward him. My self-defense mechanism activates,
but I sense he’s prepared for it. His grip is just forceful enough.
    I look
up into his eyes.
    Which
is a huge mistake.
    Because
they’re deep. Dark. And penetrating.
    My knees
go weak.
    He moves
his hands up to my shoulders, freezing me in place.
    And kisses
me.
    I can’t
believe it, but I let him.
    It’s
a hard forceful kiss. His tongue finds mine.
    Oh,
God.
    No, Sofia! Don’t! You’re kissing a criminal!
    I push
him back. I have too much self-respect to allow this to happen.
    “I’m
leaving!” I say in my officer-in-charge voice. His eyes go wide. I swear I see his
cock move in his pants. I wonder what it looks like. My hand drifts down his shirt
from where I pushed him away.
    Stop, Sofia!
    “Goodbye!”
I say and walk into the stairwell. I need to get the fuck out of here and
figure out what I’m going to tell LaTashia .

 
    He follows
me down the stairs.
    “This
way,” he says, taking me straight down another access stairwell that opens into
the very same alley out back, completely bypassing the club, thank God.
    We
step out of the darkness and over to the side street. There’s still some blood
on the ground from Dickwad’s nose.
    I turn
and face him, my arms folded.
    “Thank
you for the drink,” I say.
    “I’ll
walk you to your car. Not that you can’t handle yourself.”
    “Very
fucking funny. No, please don’t. I’d rather just go.”
    The look
I give him tells him I’m serious. Even though a part of me longs to stay. I’ve got
to get out of here and get a handle on all the conflicting thoughts in my head.
    “Fine,”
he says. “You win. But I want to see you again, Officer Sofia Badass. Tell you
what, let’s meet in a place you’ll feel comfortable. Monday at three at Tony’s Gym on 14th Street.”
    Is he serious?
    “For
what?”
    “So I
can kick your ass at boxing.”
    I laugh.
“Don’t. You’ll only embarrass yourself.”
    He takes
a step forward.
    “I’ll
destroy you,” he growls with a squint that makes me think he really believes he
could.
    Ha!
    I
laugh. Shit, maybe I can still work this. Maybe I can get the info I need even
though he knows who I am. Think about it. I’ve already blown it. What could I
possibly lose by spending more time with him?
    Not to
mention, I’d love to see the expression on his face when I knock him senseless.
    “Fine,
Mr. Billionaire Playboy,” I say. “Monday at three. Tony’s Gym on