He grabbed each side of the shirt and yanked, buttons flying across the room. She gasped, and his glare dared her to laugh. She settled back into the chair and put her hands over her mouth. Her heart swelled and she felt the well of tears again.
She loved this man. She loved him heart, body, and soul. For him to attempt a striptease for her was beyond anything she ever thought he would do for her.
His jerking body movements told her he was not comfortable with his act, yet for her he continued. He grinned like the devil himself when he caught her eyes and freed the top button of his trousers. His jerky undulations stopped and he stood ramrod stiff when he pulled the zipper down.
“You’re very good, Captain.”
He attempted to do a sexy little dip, at the same time he tried to kick off his shoes. He stumbled and landed face first in her lap.
Phil couldn’t help it—her laughter rang out, mingling with Ty’s deep chuckles.
He looked up, her laughter faded, and she took his face into her hands and pulled him toward her lips.
He rose to the occasion.
“I see, Captain, you still have some learning to do.”
His lips pressed against hers. “Teach me,” he whispered.
“It could take years.”
“I predict decades.”
She melted against him. “I’ve been told I’m pushy and overbearing.”
“I’ve heard.”
“I can’t cook.”
“I know.”
“And I have commitment issues.”
“We’ll work through them.”
“You may be sorry.”
Ty smiled and backed up just enough to pick her up. Her arms slipped around his neck and she gave him a coy glance.
“Are you sure you’re up to the challenge, sir?”
He pressed her hips against his erection. “I’m up for it in more ways than one. Now shut up and kiss me.”
Happily, Phil obliged.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE Three years laterCounty Task Force HQ, vice squad office “I ask for one lousy female and I get another grunt dug up out of who the hell knows where!” Lieutenant Ty Jamerson slammed down the file he held on the nearest surface, which happened to be his desk. Glaring at Jase, who’d had the misfortune to hand him the file, Ty grunted in male understanding. He wouldn’t kill the messenger. After years of working together, Jase knew it, too. He grinned back good-naturedly. “Maybe we can dress him in drag,” Jase offered. “Get him some falsies and get him up onstage.” He laughed heartily. “Now that’ll draw every creep outta the woodwork.” Ty ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair. He’d be glad when this assignment was over. The last three years in vice had taken its toll on him and his team. They needed to come up for air soon, or they’d morph into the seedy underworld counterparts they sought to put away. “Serious up, Jase,” Ty chastised. “We’ve lost one of our own. It’s
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO “H ow do you know for sure these girls didn’t willingly check out of their current lives for something better?” Phil moved closer to the storyboard, examining the faces of the two missing dancers and Officer Marten. The dancers looked barely old enough to be out of high school, and Officer Marten, twenty-two and just out of the academy, looked like a poster child for Teen magazine. Maybe she’d had enough, but hadn’t had the balls to face her quick-tempered lieutenant. Phil eyed Ty and swallowed hard. She’d never admit it, but the man pushed her buttons, causing her to react, instead of respond in her normal, carefully reined demeanor. “Young people are impetuous, they throw caution to the wind to chase silly dreams.” Something Phil would never do. When you lost control you gave the winds of fate latitude. Follow the plan, play by the rules, and keep focused. It worked so far and she had no intention of changing. “Here’s a few facts, Zorn.” He leaned his fists on the desk an
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE “H ere’s your paperwork. Have it turned in before you start tonight.” Phil nodded to Bud. Just like that, she filled out a sorry excuse for an application and she had a job as a cocktail waitress in a strip club. “The house rules are printed on the back of the yellow sheet, but I’m gonna tell them to you so there isn’t any misunderstanding.” Phil nodded again. “Twenty-five percent of your cocktail tips go to the house, thirty percent of extracurricular happenings go to the house.” Bud opened his mouth to continue, but Phil held her hand up. “Um, what exactly are extracurricular happenings?” She was afraid of the answer. “Lap, couch, or table dances.” She swallowed hard. “I—ah, that’s not what I was told. I was told—” “You want this job or not?” ”Yes, I do, but—” “Then understand the bottom line of the club is to please the patrons. Which brings me to another house rule. If a guy wants to buy you a drink, you let ’im. Don’t backtalk, and don’t piss them off. If you have a
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR T y’s reaction to the revamped IA officer was immediate and basic. He wanted to fuck her. And wouldn’t have been particular about where, but the when part was now. He masked his surprise and chastised his cock for jumping so quickly to attention. She was a looker all right. Long legs, narrow waist, tits sitting way up high. Her hair was now a kaleidoscope of browns, blondes, and reds, hanging long and sexy around her shoulders. Her full lips, painted and pouty, promised all kinds of deviant diversions. Ty checked himself. She was the enemy. Plain and simple, he didn’t trust her. His gaze zeroed in on her stiffening nipples, the wide areolas visible beneath the sheer white fabric of her shirt. His cock twinged hard. He was glad for the boxer briefs he wore, lassoing the buck of his shaft. Candi cut off his view of Phil and he breathed easier. Ty glanced down at the blonde, who clung to him like a vine. While the little dancer was cute and accomplished, Ty preferred longer d
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE “Y ou’re going to pay for that love pat, mister, with a fat tip,” Phil playfully chastised the grinning man who copped a feel every time she passed by with a loaded tray. “You’re going to pay, all right.” Ty’s deep voice cut through the grinding beat of the music. He hauled the man up by the scruff of his shirt. “How many times have I told you, Otis, no grab ass. I’m a floor manager, not a pimp.” “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just wanted to make sure if I was going to pay for a lap dance nothing jiggled.” “That one doesn’t do lap dances,” Ty informed the regular. Otis’s face fell. “Now, that’s too bad. She has a nice ass and I like the way she moves.” Ty eyed Phil as if ascertaining for himself the truth of Otis’s words. Phil winked at her lieu, barely managing to hide a smile when he cocked his brow in surprise. Like a seasoned vet, Phil leaned over, giving him the full Kat show, and served drinks to Jase and two other men at the table next to Otis’s. “Here you go, boy
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX “O fficer Zorn, are you coming on to me?” The heat in Phil’s eyes told the truth, but he wanted to hear it from her lips. He was more than intrigued—he was fascinated. Phil shook her head, sending her hair cascading down her back. Her full breasts bobbed against the confines of her skimpy top. He visualized his hand slipping up and tugging the fabric, spilling her fabulous tits out for his hands and mouth to ravage. His blood quickened. And not for the first time that night he wasn’t picky about location, only about what he wanted to do to her. “No, sir. That would be against general orders.” He inched closer, so close he felt the lurch of her heart against his chest. Dipping his mouth to the smooth skin of her neck, he whispered, “GO doesn’t apply to undercover.” He knew he played dirty the minute he ran the length of his tongue up behind her ear and nipped the soft flesh there. She moaned, arching against him. She tasted warm and sweet, like honey. His cock twinged hard.
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN T y stood rooted to the asphalt parking lot and watched Phil drive out of the lot in her safe, practical, and most uninspiring Taurus. The complete opposite of the woman who drove it. He had a problem, one he’d never encountered in his life. He was torn. Jesus, he felt like he’d been gut punched. The red brake lights of Phil’s car flashed as she came to a STOP sign, then disappeared into the darkness of the early morning hour. Ty’s fists clenched at his sides. When she’d exposed her body parts in the bar, his gut seized. He thought she was different. A woman who had some class and self-respect. His mother’s sunken, sallow face flashed before him. He turned back to the club and cursed out loud. His mother had raised him in the back of every strip joint from Chicago to San Francisco. Hell, she couldn’t tell Ty who his father was. Some nameless, faceless john. To this day he didn’t know why she chose to give birth to him instead of having an abortion. Why, he wondered, had s
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT S he fought for composure. “I’m sure your sexual prowess is legendary, Lieutenant. However, I didn’t like being a notch on a bedpost the first time. I’m sure I’d like it even less with you.” She wondered if he believed she had no interest in him. She didn’t. Ty’s smile radiated promise. Phil tried to ignore it. Warning bells shrilled in her head. She knew damn well the minute she crossed that line with Tyler Jamerson she’d regret it for the rest of her life. “Besides, sir, fraternizing is a big no-no.” Ty nodded. “You’re exactly correct. But as I explained earlier, in undercover we have our own general orders.” Phil smiled. “I know, ‘do what you have to do to survive.’” “Exactly.” She swallowed hard. His shoulder-length hair hung loose around the angles of his face, giving him the sensual look of a dark angel. His voice lowered an octave. “And right now, I think I need you to make it through the night.” “I doubt you need anyone, Lieutenant.” Ty moved closer. His tall fram
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE P hil checked her rearview mirror diligently as she worked her way through the narrow streets of her quiet neighborhood. Ty’s warnings had made the necessary impression. So did Candi’s confession regarding her dog of a supervisor. Ty. No sooner had her temper subsided than it flared again. He was a dog of the highest order. Making all daddy-daddy with little Lola, and then hitting on Phil. She gnashed her teeth. What was it about male cops not being able to keep it in their pants? With the exception of her father, she couldn’t name one faithful man. Your old man had a beat wife! Ty’s words rang in her ears. “No!” she shouted, pounding the steering wheel. Her father would never do such a thing. He was devoted to her mother and their church. He was one of the proud few who held his marriage vows close to heart. Daddy had the morals of a saint. Frustration and dislike mushroomed inside her for Ty Jamerson. Not only was he a philandering dog, he was a liar, too. She’d be sure
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN A s if she stripped every night, Phil sauntered into the dimly lit dance room, a sultry smile hovering on her lips. The same one she’d practiced for hours this afternoon in front of a full-length mirror. Even while she struggled to portray the vision of a veteran dancer, her stomach flipped so tempestuously that she fought back the urge to vomit. Then, her stiletto snagged on the carpet, and Phil choked back a scream, afraid she would lose her balance and fall flat on her face. With an effort she maintained her composure. Jase sat, arms spread out and looking a bit too comfortable, a shit-eating grin plastered across his handsome face and an amour snuggled in on each side of him. Ty scowled in the corner. Phil’s gaze skittered away from him and she summoned Kat. Trepidation hacked up and down her spine like an ice pick on a block of ice and she prayed her father wasn’t watching from the heavens. Swallowing hard, she forced her feet to move forward. You can do this, Phil; be
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN “M y friend said I’d like you.” Phil stopped her flight from Ty and looked at the man who emerged from a shadowed alcove, her instincts on high alert. Could this be their man? “Oh really? Who’s your friend?” He smiled, the gesture reminding her of a fox. “That little blondie you just danced for.” She stepped closer to get a better look at his shadowed face. Familiarity clung to him. “Have we met?” she asked, sure they had crossed paths at some time. He stepped closer, the flashing strobe of the ceiling lights flickering across his face. He was tall, blond, her age, his face unremarkable, but still it struck a chord. A chill skittered across her skin, the familiar feeling not a warm and fuzzy one. “I think I would remember someone as beautiful as you.” Phil smiled and smoothed back her hair. “Thank you, Mr….?” “Scott, Scott Mason.” That familiar buzz zapped her brain. She knew that name, she knew this person. But how? Where? Her gut told her the memory was not a pleasant
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE H eadlights glowed in Phil’s rearview mirror. For the umpteenth time that night, her emotions collided. To Ty or not to Ty. Her body demanded she toss uptight Phil out the window and take a walk on the wild side named Ty Jamerson. Her gut promised a good time. Her brain? Ah, that stoic practical brain of hers. To do Ty equaled heartache. Yeah, her body said, so what’s wrong with living a little? She damped down her urge to speed away from him. Knowing Ty, he’d chase her until she stopped or the car ran out of gas. Damn him! Why couldn’t he leave her alone, stop pushing buttons she didn’t know she had, stop pushing her physically and emotionally? He had awakened a sleeping tigress in her and while it was easy to let her reign supreme as Kat in the club, she wasn’t anywhere near as comfortable allowing that bitch near Phil. Kat was insulated. Phil was vulnerable. Phil closed her eyes for a moment at a stoplight. She wanted solitude, to figure out just what the hell had hap
