Truth and Consequences: Hearts of the South 1 by Linda Winfree

Author:Linda Winfree
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Police
ISBN: 9781599987712
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Published: 2008-04-28T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“Why the GBI?” Jason’s quiet voice floated on the humid air. They sat on the covered end of Kathleen’s deck, the ceiling fan turning in lazy circles. Below them, frogs croaked a slow chorus along the lake’s edge.

Kathleen shrugged and looked away from his intent gaze. “It was something no one expected me to do.”

Seated on the steps, he leaned his head against the railing and tipped his bottle up, the same beer he’d been nursing all night. “That was important?”

“It was.” She stared into the distance, the lake dark and mysterious under a layer of night. With a sigh, she turned back to him. “I’d always done what everyone expected of me and I’d always messed it up. I thought I’d try the last thing anyone expected me to do and maybe I’d get it right.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “I can’t imagine you screwing anything up. But your plan worked, huh? You’ve done well. You’re a respected senior agent. I bet your daddy’s proud.”

How had they gotten from passion to a dissection of her life? The need had retreated to simmer over the last couple of hours, while they talked about the minutiae of their lives—likes in movies, hobbies, books. Now with the conversation drifting into personal territory…maybe sleeping with him would have been safer.

She glanced away again. “He says he is.”

“You don’t think so.”

“Do we have to talk about this now?” Agitation jerked under her skin. She rose from the lounge chair and walked to the far edge of the deck, her fingernails digging into the wood railing. “What about you? Why the army? Why not a drama scholarship?”

“Scholarships don’t pay everything.” His wry tone didn’t quite cover the edge of bitterness. “I was tired of always feeling like I owed someone. With the army, I was doing something for someone else and getting paid for it, plus college on the GI Bill.”

Kathleen frowned, glad he couldn’t see her face. College? His background file had not shown a completed degree. Or had she overlooked that detail? Her certainty that he was not what he seemed kicked up a notch. Her level of relief over that certainty was scary.

Cloth rustled behind her. “Where’d you go?” he whispered, his arms coming around her, hands covering hers on the railing. Body heat seared her back and his groin brushed against her bottom. Warmth flushed her neck and face.

He made her want him so easily. She shook her head, his chin brushing her hair. “Nowhere.”

“Enough about work.” He nuzzled the curve of her ear. “Tell me about the real Kathleen Palmer.”

Her stomach clenched, nerves this time rather than desire. “Then I’d have to tell you about work,” she said, struggling to keep her voice even. “Tell me about the real Jason Harding.”

“Not much to tell.” Distance invaded his voice, and she shivered despite the muggy air and the combined heat of their bodies.

“Jason.” She turned in his arms, but he was already pulling free.

“I’ve got to go. I’m supposed to be on duty at seven.

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