After Mike’s ridiculously possessive behavior at his parents’ house, he and Cara managed not to cross paths for the next few days. Mike used the time to get himself under control and look into the cold case and the cash left in the evidence room for all these years. He wasn’t kidding when he said they needed to upgrade the computer system. The one they had was shit, and in this day and age, that wasn’t acceptable.

For now, he had to go with handwritten notes and people’s memories, and the only person in Serendipity who knew about the case wasn’t talking. He tapped his pen against the desk, thinking about various ways to approach this case. Why hadn’t the feds stepped in and taken the money? That was one key issue. If they had, the cash wouldn’t have been in the evidence locker for anyone to tamper with.

He frowned and thought some more. Finally it clicked. He had a contact in the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from his undercover ops in the city who’d have access to any database. Too bad she wouldn’t help unless he went to see her in person, which meant a trip to New York. The drive to Manhattan would take only an hour.

Mike had just hung up the phone after arranging a meeting later that afternoon when the sound of familiar laughter drifted through his open office door. His gut clenched at the too-tempting, feminine sound. Mike rose to his feet and walked to the door, pausing to take in the scene in the squad room. A group of officers stood together, all men with the exception of Cara, who was still laughing at something one of the guys had said. Then she turned to Rafael Marcos and patted his cheek, a saucy grin on her face.

Mike wanted to be where the action was, not holed up in an office, and he strode out to join them. As soon as they noticed him, all laughter stopped, and everyone, including his brother, who was still on desk duty, went their separate ways and got back to work.

Mike frowned. Was that what his presence did to people? Was he that much of a hard-ass boss? He didn’t think his father operated that way, and as much as he wanted to make his mark while in Serendipity, a stifling workplace wasn’t something he desired. It wasn’t a healthy atmosphere for his cops—or for him.

“I didn’t see you on the schedule today,” Mike said to Cara, still silently mulling over his dilemma.

She looked up at him. “I’m not. But I didn’t have plans and thought it would be a good time to get some paperwork done.” Her tone was stiff and formal, completely appropriate for work.

Damned if he didn’t hate it anyway. “When you’re finished, what do you say about a trip to New York to do a little digging into your cold case?”

Her eyes lit up at the idea. “What kind of digging?”

“I have a contact I want to hit up for some information.”

“Sweet.” She rubbed

her hands together in excitement. “I’m in!” She glanced at her watch. “Give me an hour?”

“You got it.”

She shot him a quick smile before reimmersing herself in work, ignoring him completely.

It grated on him, how easy she found it to put up barriers here at the station, ignoring the chemistry that sizzled between them when they were alone. Hell, just looking at her, he felt it now. He remembered how she’d looked lying in his old bed, all tousled and well kissed and open. To him.

If he couldn’t hold it together at work, he really had a problem. Maybe he just needed to get her out of his system. After all, he hadn’t had sex with her since his return. All this teasing and foreplay had him on edge. He needed to get her alone, and though that hadn’t been the plan when he’d asked her to go to Manhattan, it was definitely his agenda now. New York City was his turf, and he knew just where to take her for some long overdue alone time, no interruptions.

By the time they came back to Serendipity, Mike had no doubt he’d be satisfied and have had his fill. No more jealousy, no more emotional thoughts crashing into his brain. He’d be his cool, calm, collected self once more.

Since Cara had planned to do some paperwork and head home, she’d worn jeans to the station. When she met Mike at his truck, she discovered he’d changed into denim too, so she didn’t have to worry about being underdressed for whatever meeting they were going to have.

Unfortunately, the worn, faded denim lovingly hugged Mike’s muscular thighs and tight ass. She sighed, knowing she was doomed to be distracted during this work-related trip.

“Ready?” he asked, as he slipped his sunglasses onto his face. Leather jacket, jeans, and aviators were a potent combination on this man.

“Yep.” She pulled her own sunglasses out of her bag and plopped them on, hoping he wouldn’t notice her staring.

He opened the passenger door for her, and she was struck by what a gentlemanly thing it was for him to do. She settled into her seat, buckling in. He joined her around the other side, and soon they were on their way.

Since leaving his parents’ house on Sunday, she’d been on edge and off-kilter. Her mind fluctuated from his intense heated words, While we’re together, you’re mine, to his emotional withdrawal and colder reply of No hearts involved.

She shivered, and he glanced her way.

“Are you cold?” he asked, turning up the heat without waiting for an answer.

“Yes. That’ll help.” The lie slipped easily off her tongue as she glanced at him.

Though it was overcast and looked like snow, the glare forced them both to keep their sunglasses on, and she had a hard time reading him behind the lenses. Still, she didn’t doubt that he desired her. Their sexual chemistry was off the charts, and she’d be stupid to deny herself something she wanted so badly. But she needed to hold on to the stark truth that for Mike, this thing between them was all about sex. And Cara had never been much good doing sex without emotion.

She bit the inside of her cheek and decided to put all those feelings into a little box, shut the lid, and push them aside to deal with when this relationship was over or Mike left town, whichever came first. She was good at compartmentalizing and shutting down emotions she didn’t want to deal with. She’d had an entire lifetime so far to develop the skill.

“So tell me about this contact,” she said to Mike.

Tags: Carly Phillips Serendipity's Finest Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net