Seducing Officer Barlowe by Paige Tyler Page A

was. Dear God, the woman was perfection on high heels. Tall and slender, she had curves in all his favorite places. He’d always had a thing for blondes, especially ones with pillow-soft lips and big, blue eyes.
    “The car is a rental,” she explained. “I don’t know what happened to it. The darn thing was fine when I picked it up, but while I was driving, it just stopped and I couldn’t get it started it again. And on top of it, my stupid cell phone died.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and gave him a sheepish look. “I don’t know anything about cars. Do you think you could take a look at it for me?”
    Normal police procedure would be to call a tow, but that would mean handing her off to some big guy with tattoos named Tiny, and Royce was too selfish at the moment for that. If he couldn’t fix the problem, he’d get her a tow.
    He grinned. “Sure. I’d be glad to.”
    His cock was pretty damn thrilled, as well. Mainly because when he leaned over to take a look at the engine, so did the gorgeous blonde, which gave him a great view of her cleavage. Damn, she had some nice firmware. All smooth skin and luscious curves. It was all he could to drag his gaze away.
    “I really appreciate this,” she said. Her voice was soft and sexy, like the rest of her. “I thought I was going to be stranded here all night.”
    He gave her a sidelong glance, studiously avoiding her cleavage. Or at least trying to. “What are you doing in this part of town anyway? It’s not exactly on the list of the top ten places to visit on a vacation to San Diego.”
    She reached up to tuck her long, silky hair behind her ear, inadvertently brushing against him. Or maybe not so inadvertently. He wasn’t sure. Whichever, it made his cock throb.
    “I’m not on vacation. I’m here on business,” she told him.
    “What kind of business?”
    “I’m in IT. I’m going to be setting up a new software system for a company here.”
    IT, huh? Well, then he was a new fan of the computer programming field. Hell, he might even become a card-carrying member. “On a Sunday?”
    “Tomorrow, actually. I was just going to drive by the company’s offices on the way to my hotel to make sure I knew where it was. But I took the wrong exit off the freeway, then ended up getting completely turned around and couldn’t find my way back on. Guess I should have paid extra for GPS when I got the car. Not that it would have helped since the stupid thing conked out.” She looked at him hopefully. “Do you think you can fix it?”
    “Maybe. If I can figure out what’s wrong.”
    He methodically checked out each of the usual suspects under the hood that could be responsible, before finally turning his attention to the battery. He couldn’t test it without the right equipment, but he could jumpstart it for her.
    “I just realized I didn’t introduce myself,” she said. “I’m Harley Miller.”
    “Harley.” He grinned as he checked the battery connections. “That’s an unusual name.”
    Her cheeks colored in the late afternoon sun. “My dad was obsessed with motorcycles. Boy or girl, my parents were determined to name me after one. It could have been worse, I suppose. My last name could have been Davidson.”
    He chuckled. “Or they could have named you Yamaha.”
    She groaned. “I think I’ll stick with Harley.”
    “Good. Because it’s pretty.”
    He turned his head to look at her, and suddenly the temperature under the car’s small hood went up a few degrees. Damn, she had eyes a man could get lost in. He dragged his gaze away and straightened up.
    “I—um—think I found the problem.”
    She blinked. “You did?”
    “The grounding wire on the battery is loose. I’ll grab a wrench and tighten it up for you, but you really should go back to the rental place and tell them you want a new car. If the connectors are faulty, the same thing will end up happening again.”
    Telling her he’d be a minute, Royce walked around to