Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
A compliment. Interesting. She shrugged. “I also ate two cupcakes yesterday,” she admitted before she could stop herself.
He laughed harder. “Nothing wrong with cupcakes, especially if you jog every morning.” He cleared his throat. “Back to that topic. Do you have a running partner?”
Wow. He was intent about that issue. It was confusing. They were definitely at work, and he was definitely not treating her like any other man in the building with that line of questioning.
“I’m perfectly capable of defending myself, if that’s what you’re insinuating. And, may I point out, you just said you would treat me equally. Yet, you’re rather hung up on my jogging safety.” She was pretty proud of herself for articulating herself so well considering she was in a small room filled with this man’s overwhelmingly sexy scent.
He flashed his dimples, undaunted. “When you’re jogging, you’re not at work.”
She released her grip on the sides of the chair to rub her thighs. “Then I guess you’ll have to discuss my jogging habits with me when I’m not on the clock.” What. The fuck. Is wrong. With me. This mantra was becoming a habit.
Before she could stick her foot any further down her throat, she nodded toward the door. “I should get to my desk. I have some paperwork to file.”
He chuckled. “Whether or not we’re at work, I suggest you not lie to me.”
She gulped, partly because he’d called her out on her fib, but also because again, the inuendo was all over the place.
He stood. “I’ll let you go. For now. Would you send Wyatt in?” He opened the door for her.
She rushed past him, not meeting his gaze. She really needed to get to her desk so she could pretend to work while she dissected that encounter.
“You’re up, Wyatt.” Avery knocked on his desk to get his attention. From the indulgent smile on his face as Wyatt stared at his phone, a message from his Little had amused him.
“Hey, you look rattled. Is everything okay?” Wyatt asked as he stood. Wrinkles lined his forehead, and Avery knew he was worried.
“It’s fine. It’s always stressful to meet your new boss. I really wanted to get started on that new case first thing. You know it’s hard for me to switch gears,” Avery said to distract her partner who knew her too well.
“Focused like a laser,” Wyatt said with a laugh. “I’ll go get my interview over and we can get out of here. Would you pull up the suspect’s record?”
“On it. Go talk.” Avery walked to her desk just a few steps away and sat down to turn on her computer. As soon as she heard Wyatt’s footsteps fade away, she exhaled in a relieved gust.
Quickly, she accessed the file and printed it for Wyatt before turning to the stack of papers under her Little Cakes paperweight. Ellie had given her the promotional item for helping with the self-defense Avery had helped Wyatt teach. Just seeing the logo of the happy place cheered Avery up even as she filed the papers she’d ignored for days.
The new captain would walk by her desk to leave. She didn’t want him to notice the pile and have an excuse to call her into his office again. Avery definitely didn’t want to provoke his attention. Squeezing her legs together, she could feel her wet panties against her.
This is ridiculous. Stop this now!
“All finished. That was easy. You’ll have to tell me what he asked you.”
Avery controlled her startled reaction to her partner’s voice interrupting her inner turmoil. “Hey, you’re ready to go?”
“Whenever you are.”
“Grab the record report I printed for you, and I’ll finish here,” she suggested.
Wyatt immediately turned to retrieve the paper, leaving Avery with a much smaller stack of papers to speed file. She quickly filed five more pages before he returned. With several left to slide into the correct files, Avery stashed the remains back on her desk with the cute paperweight on top. She’d get to it later.
“I’ve got his last known address,” Wyatt commented as he studied the papers. “You drive and I’ll notify dispatch of our destination.”
“Perfect.” Avery welcomed the distraction of maneuvering in the busy streets. That would keep her mind occupied. She grabbed her keys and led the way through the building.
Chapter Four
Dragging her battered body out of bed the next morning, Avery avoided looking in the mirror as she washed her face and pulled her hair back into her traditional bun. It kept her thick hair controlled, and Avery thought it made her look more professional.
They’d delivered the suspect to jail yesterday with a few more charges added to his already boisterous rap sheet, including resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a police officer. The resulting bruises from his punch to the right side of her face were a variety of purples. The perp obviously enjoyed hitting a woman based on the domestic abuse charges and restraining orders in his file. As she had anticipated, he’d targeted her instead of Wyatt. Avery had been sure to not allow pain to show on her face as she wrestled him under control with Wyatt’s help.