Cop's Passion (2 page)

As if she
couldn’t know that, with the heat of his body seeming to almost
burn a hole through her soaked blouse and chilled flesh.

“You won’t
fall.” Amazingly, the deep tones went from angry to reassuring.
“I’ve got you.”

If she fell,
she had no doubt that giant or not, her overly-voluptuous body
would do him some damage. Maybe that would be a good thing.

“Just one step
at a time, lady.” Even shouted above the storm, that reassuring
voice reverberated through her bottom, and a large hand shifted to
briefly pat her back comfortingly before once again coming to grip
firmly beside her own hand. “Let’s go. We need to get you safely
down and inside out of this rain.”

Safe? This
behemoth was talking safe? For all she knew, he could be a serial
killer and she was his next victim. After all, she thought a little
hysterically, he probably didn’t want to catch his death of cold
before doing her in!

A boom sounded
in the distance, a flicker shot through the sky not far off, and
Maddy knew that things had turned a little more dangerous. Thunder,
lightening, rain, and step ladders combined were not good news.

With no other
option than to either go up and risk lightening strike or a broken
neck from falling off a wet roof, or scuttling down and into the
relative safety of her home, she chose the latter. Things had taken
a turn for the worse, and probably in more ways than one.

The big body
behind her didn’t allow her to hurry, but his presence was rock
solid. He matched her step for step, his hands unerringly landing
on each rung beside hers. When she tried to hurry and her foot
slipped off a rung, he pressed against her, pushing her into the
safety of the ladder and holding her there while she regained her
footing.

“Nice and
steady.” He waited a couple of seconds, before yelling, “Okay?”

She nodded,
then realising he might not be able to see her clearly, Maddy
yelled back, “Fine!”

They continued
downwards and within no time she felt the ground solid beneath her
foot. Before she could say or do anything, a brawny arm wrapped
around her shoulders and tugged her into the side of the man, and
without effort he was running her around the garage and under the
shelter of the veranda. He didn’t stop, but took her right up to
the front steps, practically carrying her up as he took the steps
in one big, easy stride - and boy, did that take her breath away -
and then he was depositing her at the front door.

Blinking the
rain from her eyes and pushing the wet strands of her hair from her
face, Maddy looked up at him - ye gods, the man was a veritable
giant - and was immediately struck by his eyes. Now that they were
close, she could see the startling colour was a pale blue. And
those pale blue eyes were starting again to flare with anger.

“Where’s your
husband or boyfriend, lady?” His deep voice was audible even above
the rain pounding on the veranda roof.

Oh, like she
was going to let him know she was all alone. Not happening. “Why do
you want to know?” Taking a step back, she mentally judged the
distance to the door, but that was a no-go zone with him standing
right in front of it.

“Because he
shouldn’t have let you get up on that roof.” Reaching out, he
rapped sharply on the door.

“He’s
sleeping,” she said hurriedly.

“Then he needs
to wake up and see that you’re doing his job.” The man rapped
harder on the door. When there was no answer, he looked down at her
consideringly.

Maddy met his
gaze steadily.

“There’s no one
home.” He stated it with complete assuredness. “Lady, I think
you’re lying to me.”

Folding her
arms across her chest, Maddy arched one brow at him. “Think what
you like, but it’s none of your business. Now get off my property
before I call the cops.” She reached back as though to fish a
non-existent mobile phone from her back pocket.

An unexpected
hint of amusement appeared in his eyes. “There’s no mobile in your
pocket or I’d have felt it already.”

There was no
way she could stop the faint blush from warming her cheeks at the
memory of that hard body pressed against her back. It was
undeniable, the closeness of their contact would have made him well
aware if she’d carried anything in her back pockets.

But it didn’t
matter, she was interested in only one thing. His presence leaving.
She arched one brow coolly. “Get off my property or I’m calling the
police.”

He was
unperturbed. “The police are already here.”

A glance around
disproved that statement. There was no cop car, and no cop for that
matter, anywhere near her yard, or what she could see of it through
the pouring rain. Maddy glared up at him. “I mean it.”

“Lady, I am a
cop.”

That blew the
wind right out of her indignant sail. “Pardon?”

“I am a
cop.”

Maddy looked
him up and down. “You?”

“Yep.” He
angled his head to study her face. “I’m also your neighbour.”

That sinking
feeling started. “You live in the other half of this duplex?”

He nodded.

Great, just
great. This Neanderthal was her neighbour. “So what the hell do you
think you’re doing yelling orders at me?”

All hint of
amusement vanished. “What the hell were you doing up on the roof in
this weather?”

“Fixing a
leak.”

“Fixing a
leak?” Those dark brows lowered. “You were up on the roof fixing a
leak? On your own?”

“That’s what
happens when you’re by yourself,” she retorted angrily.

“So there is no
husband or boyfriend.”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you
call a roof repairer?”

“No one is
going to come out in this weather, and besides, I can fix the leak
perfectly well myself.” She elbowed him aside, more than conscious
of his big frame dwarfing her, which was a real novelty but one she
wasn’t interested in right at this moment.

He shifted
enough to allow her to open the door, but when she stormed in and
started to shut it in his face, it stopped. Swinging around, she
saw that he had one big hand on the door, holding it open.

“Lady,” he
rumbled, “No woman should be going up on the roof in any weather to
fix it. Next time, get a roof repairer.” When she scowled, he
added, “Or call me.”

Her mouth fell
open. “What?”

“Call me. I’ll
go up and fix it.”

She didn’t know
what to think. “You’ll fix my roof?”

“If you’re so
stubborn as to do it yourself, then yes, I’ll fix it.” He pulled
his hand back. “That’s not a lady’s job.”

A turmoil of
emotions rioted through her. Dismay, surprise, and outrage. “Not a
lady’s job?”

“You need a man
to do those things.”

The big lug was
digging a deeper hole for himself and seemed blatantly unconcerned
about it. Maddy opened her mouth to give him a verbal blasting
about what he could do with his opinions, but he foiled her attempt
by turning on his heel and stepping out into the pouring rain.
Within seconds he disappeared from sight.

Muttering to
herself, Maddy kicked off her soaked shoes and placed them outside
the door to dry before heading to the bathroom.

Chaz followed
her curiously, watching avidly as she undressed and stepped into
the warm water.

“I can’t
believe it,” she muttered. “He actually told me it wasn’t a woman’s
job. What era is he living in?”

Chaz pawed at
the pile of wet clothing.

“And if that’s
not bad enough, he’s my neighbour.” Pulling the shower curtain
aside, she frowned at Chaz. “He lives on the other side of this
wall, Chaz. Can you believe it?”

Big blue eyes
blinked at her.

“Yeah, that’s
what I thought, too.” Maddy resumed her shower.

~*~

The woman next
door was a menace to herself. Sipping from the cup of hot coffee,
Mike studied the rain teeming down into his backyard and thought
about the woman.

Ye gods, she’d
been up on the roof fixing a hole. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d
been dressed in the most ridiculous pair of shoes for the job, too,
pretty little nothings with no grip. He shook his head.

Taking another
sip, he squinted at a movement in the yard. Something moved amongst
the bushes and disappeared again. Too small to be a human, it must
be an animal of some kind. Probably a cat. He made a face.

A flare of
lightening lit the sky and he thought again about the woman next
door. She’d moved in while he was away on holidays and this was the
first time he’d met her. Boy, had that meeting gone down like a
rock thrown into a lake. Rock bottom.

Speaking of
bottoms,
mmmmmm
. He took another sip of coffee and half
closed his eyes. He could almost imagine that he could still feel
the voluptuous derriere that had pressed into his upper abdomen.
Soft and full and luscious. Firm, plump thighs that could squeeze a
man’s hips while he - Mike frowned and moved closer to the
window.

There was
definitely something in his backyard. He caught another movement, a
flash of mottled grey, and something small hurtled across his
drenched lawn and disappeared into the little shed of which he’d
left the door partially open.

Hell, some fur
ball had just taken shelter in his shed. He just hoped it didn’t
piddle all over the place. Maybe he should just go out there and
hunt it out. Thunder boomed overhead and he took another sip of hot
coffee. No, he’d leave it. He didn’t like cats, but even he wasn’t
heartless enough to hunt it out into the storm. He’d just have to
check out the shed later and remember to close the door.

He stood gazing
out into the drenched garden in the gathering gloom until the rain
eased to a stop, and he was just about to move to turn on the light
when another movement caught his attention. This time, it came from
the side fence that joined his yard to his neighbour’s, and if he
wasn’t very much mistaken, it was his neighbour’s head bobbing
along behind the fence.

Now what the
hell was she doing in the backyard in the rain? And without a
raincoat or umbrella? Mike shook his head. He was starting to think
the lady a little odd.

With interest,
he watched as the top of her head bobbed along. She stopped halfway
along the fence, her hands came up to grip the top of the fence and
then her face appeared. Cautiously, she peered over to his house.
Knowing she couldn’t see him, Mike held very still. She disappeared
from sight and his eyebrows rose as the top of a ladder appear.
Sure as God made green apples, she came up the ladder and over his
fence to drop down into his yard.

Coffee cup
forgotten in his hand, he watched incredulously as she gripped the
ladder and proceeded, with much effort, to wrangle it over the top
of the fence and down onto his side. Leaning it against his fence,
she glanced around before walking slowly across his lawn to his
shed.

Mike’s mouth
fell open. What the hell…? Was she breaking into his shed?

Another glance
around and then she was easing the shed door open and slipping
inside.

Anger burned
through Mike and he slammed the coffee cup onto the sink before
storming to the back door. He was going to catch her in the act.
Quietly, he opened the back door and stepped out onto the back
veranda. Moving stealthily, he went down the steps and, avoiding
the path, he crossed the wet lawn to the small building.

As he neared,
he heard a quiet murmur and froze. Was there someone else in the
shed after all? Someone who had slipped in while she was on the
roof next door? An accomplice perhaps? Maybe she wasn’t the
neighbour after all.

Easing forward,
he stood next to the open doorway and listened, but he couldn’t
make out the words. It was dark inside the shed, indeed he could
only just make out his backyard in the gathering evening, so he
waited.

Something
streaked out from the shed and shot past him to disappear into the
night.

A thump sounded
followed by a curse, and the woman stumbled out the door.

Mike grabbed
her arm, she gave a shriek and swung to face him. Panic showed in
her wide eyes and she struck out with her knee. He managed to avoid
what would have been a crippling blow to his manhood and made a
grab for her other hand. It wasn’t easy in the dark which had now
fallen. She struck out at him again.

“Stay still!”
he ordered.

“Let me go!”
she yelled. “Help!”

“This is the-”
was all he managed to get out before she took him completely by
surprise.

Her full body
weight hit him, making him stumble backwards. His boots skidded in
the wet grass, and he went over onto his back without releasing his
hold on her.

She cried out
as she fell on top of him. Mike only had a couple of seconds to
register just how warm and soft she felt against him, before she
started to struggle and he remembered why he was lying on the wet
grass.

In a practiced
move, he flipped her off and over onto her belly and had her hands
in a tight grip behind her back.

“Help!” she
shrieked. “Help!”

“I suggest you
be quiet and tell me who the hell you are and why you’re in my
backyard,” Mike growled. “And quit yelling. I’m a cop and you’re
about to get arrested.”

She froze
beneath him before turning her head to try and glimpse him out of
the corner of her eye, but it was too dark. However, she obviously
recognized his voice because she suddenly groaned and relaxed back
into the grass. “You!”

“Yes, me,” he
replied grimly. “Now are you going to stand up quietly, or do I
handcuff you?”

“Handcuff me?”
She lifted her head again. “What the - are you out of your mind?
Let me go!”

“Lady, you were
breaking into my shed. I have serious doubts that you’re my
neighbour. You might have been breaking into her home as well.”