A Tiger's Treasure (Tiger Protectors Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

her. She struggled slightly and then pouted.
    He couldn’t believe he was dealing with a grown woman at this point, even if she was drunk. Then she relaxed and threw an arm over her head and huffed out a sigh.
    “People think female cops are all business. That we have no drive.” She shook her head. “Not true. We have needs too…” She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in close. She smelled of whisky and something else. Her own unique scent of cloves and vanilla. Spicy and cool and smooth.
    Her hands were on his collar, and he frowned as he considered their position.
    Then before he had time to move, with surprising strength, she pulled his mouth onto hers.
    He was too shocked to react as her tongue swept aggressively into his mouth. Sure, there had been sexual tension between them as partners. But this? It was wrong. It was…
    His tongue joined hers, just for a moment. It was hot. It was electric.
    Summoning all his strength, he finally pulled back. He had to.
    She looked up at him with a glare. “Fine,” she said, slumping back in the sheets. “I got what I wanted anyway. Wasn’t that great.”
    “Sorry,” he said, suppressing a grin as he ran his hand through his hair. Kissing her had been amazing, but she would no doubt be embarrassed the next day. It was all because of the alcohol; he was sure. She couldn’t really be interested in him.
    He was all work, no play, just like she’d said. A total stick in the mud. He knew everyone said that about him.
    But as he tucked her in, ignoring her mumbles, he knew he had one thing to offer her.
    He might be a stick in the mud, but he was ever dutiful, and as long as he was her partner, he’d never let anything happen to her.
    He settled in a chair at the side of the bed and put his feet up on the windowsill.
    It was going to be a long night.

3
    A my didn’t know which was worse. The hangover or the vague, painfully embarrassing memories of what had happened with Carter after her ill-planned drinking game.
    She’d woken to see him asleep in a chair by her bed. It was bad enough he’d had to bring her home, but to know he’d stayed? Luckily, he’d been willing to leave and give her some time to get ready, but he seemed oddly reluctant.
    What the hell had happened between them?
    He was currently talking to the captain, and she couldn’t make out anything between the slits in the blinds.
    She sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. Trent walked up, and her head pounded. She had no desire to talk to him.
    “So how’d the drinking game go with Mr. Stick up his—”
    “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.
    “No?” he asked, leaning one hip on the edge of her desk. “How about you go out with me tonight, then? For real.”
    “A real live date?” she asked sarcastically. “No thanks. I’m sure I’ll be staying late with Carter, doing paperwork and tying up loose ends. Or taking my work home with me.”
    He frowned.
    “And Trent, no offense, but I already said I wasn’t interested in you, and—”
    “And you should get lost,” Carter said flatly, walking up to the desk and making Trent jump.
    Trent just scratched his head and took off, either because of her flat rejection or because of Carter’s harshness and the rigid position of his body.
    He stared down at her, making her feel small. “We need to talk.”
    She shuffled papers and pretended to be focusing on them. “What’s there to talk about?” she asked. “Whatever happened last night was a result of being drunk. I shouldn’t have suggested that game, and it was wholly inappropriate between partners—”
    “No, not about that. Something else,” he said, and she felt her ears flush with heat and embarrassment.
    She looked over at him as he sat at his desk across from her. He pulled photos out of a drawer.
    “I think it’s just my instincts, but then again, my instincts have never been wrong,” he said. “But I can’t help thinking yesterday’s case has something to