Spirited 1 Read Online Free PDF

mistake or not, he could have thrown her in jail. Her anger cooling, she found herself more confused than before.
    She didn’t have drugs in her purse. Did she? Panic flickered through her at the thought. Last night she and another guest at the party had bumped into each other in the bathroom. They knocked their purses on the ground and scattered contents everywhere.
    Although the other woman snatched up her belongings in a rush, she had eyed the baggie of oregano on the floor. Sweeping through the exit, she’d muttered under her breath, “Just say no.”
    Her confidence strengthened, Jules lifted her chin and smiled her most placating smile. “What you found in my purse was not drugs.”
    “Right. And prisons are packed with innocent people who were falsely convicted.”
    “Listen to me!” A short burst of laughter escaped from her. Big Jim would have probably found this scene amusing if he were here. “Not drugs. Lavender and—”
    “I know lavender when I see it. There wasn’t any.” He cut her off. “And since you think it’s so funny doing pot, let me show you what would happen if another police officer had found it.”
    He backed her against the wall and clamped a hand around her wrist before she could think enough to react. Fear stole her breath, killing the nervous laughter in her throat. Still, some part of her mind rationalized that while he moved quickly and pinned her in place, his touch hadn’t been rough or painful. Just authoritative.
    Tossing the handbag over his shoulder, he patted her down with his now free hand. “Here’s when he would Mirandize you. Should I continue this demonstration and take you downtown? I’ll be glad to call Ernie to come pick you up at the station, where you can explain to him why you had—”
    “ Oregano in my purse,” she shouted the first word.
    His hand froze on her backside. “What did you say?”
    “Or-eg-an-oh.” She carefully enunciated each syllable to be certain he heard her this time. “The herb you found was oregano. And what kind of rookie cop are you that you can’t tell the difference between pot and a bag of oregano?”
    Jules wished she could laugh again but she was hyperaware of his hand on her behind.
    Surprise and realization lit his expression. He rolled his eyes. “Ah, crap. My mother’s lasagna.”
    “What?”
    “Nothing.” He met her gaze. A stain darkened his cheeks. “Oregano. Brilliant detective work.”
    The last comment seemed to be more to himself than to her. She might have sympathized with him if she weren’t still pinned to the wall.
    Jules rotated her hips and his hand slipped farther down her backside. Go figure! The only time anyone had touched her this intimately in three years had been Seth the Cop demonstrating his search-and-seizure technique. “Hey, are we finished with the pat-down?”
    He jerked his hand away as if touching her burned him.
    Backing away, he propped his hands on his hips. A decidedly distracting position given that the man was shirtless with wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and he’d just been touching her butt. Okay, so he had been searching her for drugs, but her traitorous body was turned on anyway.
    “I guess this is where I’m supposed to apologize.” He rubbed the back of his neck as if it pained him, but didn’t say anything else.
    “And?”
    “And what were you thinking? Normal people don’t carry oregano in their purse.”
    “Sure they do.”
    He shook his head.
    “Oh come on, see the world past the monochrome. The colors are really beautiful.”
    He leveled a glare at her but she was sure the corners of his lips twitched as if she amused him.
    She shrugged. “Normal people carry around spices if they’ve just been to the health food store. April only eats organic. I stopped by the store and picked up some oregano and lavender for her. End of story.”
    The cop cocked his head to one side as if studying her. His stoic expression revealed nothing. Not doubt, not disbelief,