Strip Search (Tap That)

It was absolutely surreal. Yet…awesome.

When did the shy girl ever get busted with a hottie in her room? The answer would be neve

r. It was really kind of perfect. More amazing than it was embarrassing and she felt a certain pride that Axl was with her. She wouldn’t have thought she would react that way, but apparently she was like any other woman when it came to scoring a hot guy.

“Okay, then,” Olivia said. “See you whenever you can drag yourself away from that man of yours.”

“Five minutes, I swear.” Okay, maybe fifteen. She did need to get her hands on some coffee.

She closed the door behind Olivia and sighed. “I can’t believe I slept this late, oh, my God. I need to jump in the shower.”

Axl had found an in-room coffeemaker and was tearing open the packet of grounds. “Don’t I even get a good morning?” He shot her a smile.

“Good morning.” Leighton tried to rush past him to get to her suitcase.

Axl grabbed her, causing her to shriek involuntarily. “What are you doing?” She had to go to her meeting. She never missed meetings and she was skating on thin ice with her job.

“Getting my good morning kiss.”

Leighton wanted a good morning kiss in theory. She wanted to feel like Axl really was her boyfriend, she could admit that. Even if she couldn’t quite delude herself that thoroughly, she still wanted to enjoy a leisurely post-hookup morning together with the sexiest man she’d ever gotten naked with. But the reality was she needed to brush her teeth and her entire career was on the chopping block.

One kiss wouldn’t hurt though. He looked determined.

Leighton shivered and dropped her white-knuckled grip on his uniform shirt she was wearing. “Make it quick, Officer.”

He cupped her cheeks with his big, callused hands and studied her with those deep, amber eyes. “Whatever you say, California.”

It wasn’t a great nickname. But it was better than Amazon Prime.

Axl bent down and took her mouth in a kiss that made her wish they were marooned on a desert island with no clothes, a plethora of pineapples, and nothing but time.

The man could kiss.

And make her feel like she was the only woman in the world.

She pressed against him without thinking, her breasts warm on his hard chest.

Then he was pulling back and giving her a dirty, satisfied grin. He swatted her on the ass, startling her. “Go do your thing. I’ll let myself out and I’ll call you later so we can go to dinner and plan our week.”

Leighton was actually disappointed. If he had coaxed her out of the shirt and up against the wall, she would not have objected. That was so not like her. Work came first. “Perfect,” she lied.

She went to jump in the shower. Axl grabbed her arm again. She looked back at him in question.

“You better hurry before I change my mind and keep you in bed all day.”

God, why was life filled with choices that sucked? Stay in bed, have multiple orgasms with a hot cop, lose your job. Be forced to move back in with your upset parents. Wind up taking some job you hate.

But, orgasms.

It gave her pause.

In the end, paying her rent won and she took the fastest shower possible. When she came out of the bathroom dressed and damp hair braided, face free of makeup, Axl was holding out a cup of coffee for her. Wow, now he really was perfect.

“Cream and sugar?” he asked.

“Cream, if they have it.”

“Just the powder kind.”