Officer off Limits (Line of Duty 3)

She stared at the contents of the vending machine, chewing her lip in indecision. His teeth sank into his own bottom lip in response, wishing it was hers.

As he got closer, her startled gaze flew up to meet his. Lightning rocketed through his system. Curious blue-green eyes widened on him, flicking away just as quickly. He took a step closer.

Talking to women was like second nature to him, yet he found himself stranded in silence, second-guessing everything that popped into his head. And if he didn’t speak soon, his closeness would begin to alarm her. Say something, idiot.

“I can’t let you do that,” Daniel blurted.

“Can’t let me do what, exactly?”

Her voice slid like silk across his skin and it took him a minute to recapture his train of thought. He tilted his head toward the vending machine. “You’ve got your eye on that healthy cereal bar. It’s a bad selection. Pick something else.”

She smirked at their side-by-side reflection in the glass. “Elaborate.”

“No one buys healthy cereal bars.” He tapped his finger against the glass. “That’s been there as long as the machine itself.”

She peeked up at him, a laugh flirting around the edges of her mouth. “Did you have an alternate suggestion?”

“Of course.” Daniel tried not to stare at her lips. “You see, there are three factors one must consider when choosing a snack from a vending machine. Substance, for one. It needs to hold you over until real food is available. Freshness, which your cereal bar is sorely lacking. And finally”—his eyes dropped to her mouth—“taste.”

His blatant come-on gave her pause, but she played along by turning back to consider her options. “These are strong points you’re making, but I’m going to need you to be more specific.”

“I was getting there.” Using it as an excuse to lean closer to her, Daniel stooped down to peruse the selections, catching her sunshine scent and inhaling deeply. “Ah. Peanut butter crackers. You can’t go wrong there. They’re the best bang for your buck.”

She was already shaking her head. “No. I’d need milk to eat those. It would be a disaster.” Those blue-green eyes met his once more, only this time humor lurked in their depths. “You know, I could have sworn you were going to pick the trail mix.”

“Oh, yeah? Why is that?”

“Because you’re both full of shit.”

As she turned to punch in her selection for the cereal bar, Daniel couldn’t stop his surprised laughter from echoing down the hallway. She’d caught him off guard. A rare occurrence. He liked it. A hell of a lot.

He raised his hands. “Fine. At least we’re already in a hospital if you get food poisoning.”

As she bent forward to retrieve her purchase from the machine, Daniel let his gaze drop to her sweet, heart-shaped ass. One step forward was all it would take to press himself against her, let her feel the potent effect she was having on him. How would she react? Christ, he needed to reel it back a little. They were standing in the middle of a well-lit hallway and he could barely restrain the urge to touch this near-stranger.

She wouldn’t be a stranger for long. Not if he could help it.

As she straightened, peeling the cereal bar from its foil wrapper, she turned to face Daniel. Looking him straight in the eye, she sunk her teeth into it. Slowly. His mouth went dry and he might have groaned out loud at the sight of her pink lips closing around it.

After a few chews, all motion of her mouth ceased. He watched her choke down the bite with what appeared to be considerable effort, eyes tearing slightly. Then she skirted around him and beelined for the water fountain to Daniel’s left. He barely found the willpower to suppress his laughter.

When she’d drunk her fill, she still looked slightly pale. “Okay, fine. I should have gone with the peanut butter crackers.”

Daniel smiled. “It takes a confident woman to admit when she’s wrong.”

Something dimmed behind her eyes. “Oh, I’m frequently wrong.”

His smile disappeared. She’d gone back to looking slightly lost and he didn’t like it. He wanted the teasing smirk back on her face. Closing the distance between them, he didn’t stop until she needed to tip her head back in order to maintain eye contact. That sunshine scent curled around him, drawing him in closer, until he’d firmly breached her personal space.

Her eyes narrowed at his proximity, but he didn’t let it deter him.

“There’s only one way to solve this problem.”

She raised an eyebrow. “The only problem I have is your lack of boundaries.”

“You sure about that?” He felt satisfaction when she hesitated. “You’re hungry. When you’re done here, let me take you to lunch.” Let me take you home.

He caught her sharp intake of breath and knew she’d recognized his intentions. Breaking the spell, she backed away with a disapproving frown. “I’m not here to snag a lunch date, but I appreciate the subtlety of your offer.”

A sudden thought occurred to Daniel then, blackening his mood. For all he knew, she was in the hospital to visit a husband or lover. It would explain the forlorn expression he’d seen on her face. Daniel felt a sharp jolt of jealousy and it startled him. He’d been talking to her for two minutes and already abhorred the thought of her distressing over another man’s health. What kind of man did she prefer? Probably not the kind who propositioned her within minutes of their first meeting, he thought with a flare of disgust. “Why are you here?”

A brow quirked at his harsh tone, but she answered anyway. “I’m visiting my father.”

Relief calmed him, but not nearly enough. “Are you alone?”

Another flicker in her eyes. “Why? Are you planning on abducting me from the hospital and force-feeding me peanut butter crackers, but withholding milk?”

Daniel tamped down the need to smile even though his curiosity was far from satisfied. “No. I was thinking more along the lines of Italian food.”

“Well.” She crossed her arms over her middle. “As long as we avoid seafood.”

“No objection there. I have a shellfish allergy.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

Why such an ordinary fact seemed to delight her, Daniel couldn’t fathom. But he’d take what he could get. He just couldn’t let her walk away. “Is that a yes to lunch?”

She looked incredulous. “No, it’s not a yes to anything. The only thing I know about you is your weird philosophy on snack foods.”

“What would you like to know about me?”

“Nothing. I’m not going to lunch with you.” Blue-green eyes scanned the surrounding hallway. “In fact, being that we’re in a hospital, it just occurred to me that you could be an escaped mental patient. Maybe I should call for help.”

He gave up the battle with his smile. “I’m taking you to lunch, sunshine.”

“Like hell you are, trail mix.”

“My name is Daniel.”

“And who are you here to see, Daniel?” She tilted her head, one elegant hand reaching into his pocket to pluck out Helen’s number and wave it in his face. “Besides the nurses.”

God. Damn. Daniel felt as though he’d been dealt a knockout blow. For the first time in at least a decade, he’d been rendered completely speechless. She didn’t wait for a response, just winked at him as she turned and sauntered toward the front desk, tossing Helen’s number into the trash as she passed. After a brief stop at the nurse’s station, she turned down the corridor without looking back once.

She. He hadn’t even found out her fucking name. Disgusted with himself, Daniel mobilized, catching sight of her just as she stopped outside one of the hospital rooms. Unaware that he watched, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, appearing to steel herself for what lay on the other side. Something foreign clutched inside his chest at seeing her so vulnerable, but Daniel hung back, knowing she would resent any intrusion.

Finally, she straightened her spine and reached down to push open the door. Daniel followed slowl

y, but froze completely when he heard Jack’s weakened voice emanating from inside.

“Story.”

“Hey, Dad.”