Criminal Temptation : Enemies to Lovers Romance (Love in Unexpected Places Book 1)

by Ella Arden

  Detective Reeves seemed like a complete disaster at first, but maybe I can use the detective to my advantage. With his help, I might be able to still get what I came here for. If Wilcox and Banks get arrested and I manage to convince the police that Peter’s case is worth looking into again, there’s a chance that his charges can be dropped and we’ll both be free to go home.

  It isn’t great, but it’s all I’ve got at this point.

  “That sounds fair,” I say, meeting Detective Reeves’s eyes briefly before looking away. “But if anyone even suspects that I brought you in, they’ll kill me. Realize that you’re playing with my life.”

  He wraps his hands around the bars, his gaze burning into me like a brand. “You have my promise; I won’t let anything happen to you. As long as you keep up your end of the deal.”

  “I already told you I would.”

  “And I’d have to be a fool to trust a criminal to keep their word.”

  “Yet here we are,” I shoot back.

  Rather than snapping back as I expect, he just gives me an indecipherable look. “Yes, here we are,” he murmurs, almost to himself.

  He studies me intently again, heating my skin with his gaze.

  “You should go to bed,” he finally says, turning and leaving the room without a word.

  I gape after him. Rude. Though what had I expected, a good night kiss?

  The thought of his plush lips—lips that really should be illegal on any man—flash through my mind and I pinch myself hard on the thigh. The last thing I need is more impure thoughts about my jailer.

  Thoughts like how I’d let him rip off my clothes and fuck me against the cell, his huge hands engulfing my own where they wrap around the bars while I hold on with everything I’ve got. Or let him bend me over this cot, fisting my hair as he pounds into me from behind with his cock until—

  I pinch herself harder.

  No, no, no.

  Jesus, I need to get a grip. Sure, I haven’t had sex in months and Detective Reeves is disturbingly magnetic in a way that I’ve never felt before, but damn it, I can control myself.

  To my surprise, he comes back into the room, a blanket draped over his arm and a pillow in hand.

  “Here,” he says gruffly, shoving both through the bars at me. I take them, my fingers brushing against his own for a brief second.

  Giving them a skeptical look, I wrinkle my nose. “No offense, but I don’t think I want to use the community bedding. It’s bad enough sleeping on a mattress that’s no doubt had numerous drunks and bloodied-up people on it.”

  His mouth gives the tiniest twitch and just for a second, I think he’s going to smile.

  “Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to break the law,” he tells me. “But those are mine anyway. From the couch in my office.”

  “Oh.” The wild urge to shove the pillow into my face and inhale his scent shoots through me and my fingers tighten around the fabric. “That was…kind of you. Thanks.”

  He shifts from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with my gratitude.

  I glance down at his bedding. He said he got them from the couch in his office…

  Peeking up at him through my lashes, I ask, “Do you sleep here then? No wife or girlfriend to go home to?”

  He visibly stiffens. “I only sleep here when I need to, like tonight. And not that it’s any of your business, but no.” A muscle in his jaw jumps.

  He isn’t taken. What a surprise. I can’t help but smile.

  Detective Reeves frowns at me. “Go to bed,” he growls, stomping out of the room and closing the door roughly behind him with a loud bang.

  I toe off my shoes, eyeing the bed with distaste. As much as it grosses me out, I’m exhausted. What a night.

  So, I climbed into the bed, wrapping Detective Reeves’s blanket around me and nestling my head on his pillow. A dark, masculine scent lingers on both, filling my nose and I swear, I can taste it on my tongue. It’s the same scent that I got a whiff of earlier, when he had me pinned against the wall, strong arms caging me in.

  It takes me forever, but eventually, I fall asleep with the smell of him around me and an ache between my thighs.

  CHAPTER THREE

  BLAKE

  I groan quietly as I sip my coffee, feeling the sweet rush of caffeine flowing through my body. Last night had been rough. Sleeping on my couch while knowing that Rose was just a few doors down had been torture.

  I’m not a fool, I see the way she looks at me. She’s obviously trying to play a game, mess with my mind… and fuck, it’s working. I’d gone to sleep last night, my cock hard at the thought of her smirking lips wrapped around it.

  The things this woman is doing to my body were ridiculous and I needed to just shake it off. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so tempted but there was something special about Rose, something irresistible.

  Rather than heading straight to her cell, I go and grab a few coffees and a donut, thinking maybe Rose would be less of a pain if I bribe her with sugar and caffeine.

  Sure enough, when I enter the room, I’m immediately met with a scowl that rivals my own as I set the coffee and donut on the table.

  “Where have you been?” she practically snarls. “I’ve been stuck in here all morning.”

  “Calm down.” I can’t help but devour her with my eyes as I cross the room and dig the cell key out of my pocket. “Or I’m not giving you your coffee.”

  She actually moans, the sound going straight to my cock, which perks up in interest. “You have no idea how good that sounds right now.”

  If it makes her moan like that, I can only imagine.

  I open the door to her cell and she brushes past me, her light, floral scent wafting behind her. I want to weave my hands into her luscious, brown hair, and guide her head back so I can taste the sensitive skin of her throat. Instead, I just close the cell door with deliberate gentleness.

  She snatches up the coffee cup, nearly inhaling its contents. “Is this mine too?” she manages to get out between gulps, grabbing the donut.

  Before I can respond, she takes a huge bite of it, crumbs raining down on the table.

  “It is now,” I mutter, watching her lick the sticky glaze off of her bottom lip. I shake myself. “Grab it to go. We’re leaving.”

  A worried furrow appears between her eyebrows. “Where are we going?”

  I grab the second cup of coffee and firmly guide her out of her chair while she clutches her drink and donut to her chest like they’re made of gold.

  “We’re going to your place.”

  To my immense surprise, Rose doesn’t argue, just follows me out to my car and gives me her address. It’s in a decent part of the city, though I guess that crime must pay well.

  The brownstone building is clean and well maintained, with lots of parking available when we pull up. She has to punch a code into the entrance door to open in, something my place doesn’t even have. How ironic that the criminal is living in a more secure building than I am.

  As we ride the elevator up in silence, she fidgets nervously. Something is clearly up with her. Something she’s worried about in her apartment.

  Sure enough, as she leads me to her door on the third floor, she hesitates with her fingers clutching around the key so tightly that her knuckles are stark white.

  “Could I go in and clean up first?” she asks. “I wasn’t expecting company and—”

  “No, you can’t,” I cut her off. “I’m not giving you a single chance to slip off today. Get used to having me as your shadow.”

  I can tell that she’s grinding her teeth, desperately searching for a way out.

  “Just open the door.”

  Rose gives me a contemptuous look but does as I say, unlocking the door with a click and stepping aside.

  I’m not sure what I’m expecting, with her acting so anxious. But as I enter her apartment, the colorful, distinctly feminine and light-filled space is definitely not it.

 
It smells like her, something soft and sweet, with a hint of floral. Which makes sense, considering all the plants and flowers she has all over her place. Little flower pots on stuffed bookshelves, succulents lining the windowsills, green plants draping down from hanging containers.

  This is the apartment of a young woman who clearly loves watching things grow and live. It isn’t what I expected at all.

  Rose is nearly wringing her hands with nervousness. “Yes, this is my place. Why don’t you go in the bedroom while I just grab something really—”

  “What are you hiding?” I demand.

  She opens her mouth right as a huge, orange monstrosity hops onto her counter with a little chirping noise.

  Eyes widening with obvious panic, Rose glanced back and forth between me and the cat, who just chirps again.

  “Wow,” she finally gets out. “How did he get in here? I must have left a window open. Oops.”

  I glance around the apartment. There are no windows open. This ugly cat is the thing she’s so afraid of me seeing?

  “You have a cat.” It’s all I can say as I try to work it out in my head.

  Her face crumples and she reaches out to stroke the thing’s orange fur. “Please don’t tell the landlord,” she whispers. “I know they don’t allow pets in the building but he followed me home one day and he was cold and hungry. I couldn’t just turn him away.”

  She sniffles. She actually fucking sniffles, like she was on the verge of tears. Her pleading eyes peer up at me, practically begging me to keep her secret.

  I don’t know what to say. The thing she’d been desperate to hide from me was a cat. “I don’t care that you have a cat.”

  It’s like I told her that she’d won a million dollars, her whole face lighting up as she picks the cat up and clutches him to her chest. I can hear it start purring from several feet away.

  “Thank you,” she says, her brown eyes so soft. I feel a surge of something in my chest, followed swiftly by anger.

  What is she doing, thanking me like that? Looking at me like that? I arrested her just last night. She has no reason to be acting like this, bringing me in here to her cozy little apartment and showing off her stray monster of a cat, thanking me like I'm her savior. This is business, nothing more.

  “Just get ready so we can leave” I snap, crossing my arms.

  Rose frowns but sets the cat back on the counter. “I need to shower,” she mutters, pushing past me and heading down the narrow hallway.

  I grab her wrist before she gets too far. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. I don’t trust you not to run off the first chance I give you.”

  When she can’t pull her wrist out of my grip, she steps closer instead, crowding me in the tight space. “I already told you, Detective,” she says, sneering at my title. “I’m not going anywhere. Maybe you should start treating me a little nicer before I decide to point you out to everyone in the club tonight and watch your precious little plan collapse around you.”

  Before she can react, I have her up against the wall, her wrists pinned above her head and one of my legs between her own. Her eyes flare in surprise.

  “Let me make something perfectly clear.” I lean in close, desperately trying to ignore how fucking good she feels against me. “If you even think about betraying me tonight, I will make it my personal goal to make sure you regret it for the rest of your life. If you think you can hide from me, you’re wrong. I promise I will find you no matter where you run. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes,” she says. “And let me also make something clear. I’m not going to betray you or try to run. I don’t have anyone to turn to or anywhere to go. I agreed to our deal and I’ll follow through with it. So how about you try giving me a little trust and respect?”

  We stare at each other for a second, the air thick and heavy between us. I can see the gold hints in her eyes and feel the heat between her legs pressed against my thigh.

  Rose shifts slightly, pressing more firmly against me and my self-control is suddenly at risk. I don’t understand why I want her so badly, why she makes me feel like no other woman has. I want to kiss her, I want to fuck her, I want to protect her. I want to make her mine.

  “Although,” she says, in a low, throaty voice, “if you’re that worried about me running away, you could always join me in the shower.”

  I can imagine it perfectly. Taking her from behind while water runs in streams down the curve of her back. Pressing her against the cold tile of the shower while she moans my name. My cock stiffens in my pants, pressing uncomfortably against my zipper.

  It takes every ounce of willpower in me but I let her wrists go, stepping back. Her eyes dip below my waist briefly and a small smirk curls at her lips.

  “Go shower,” I rasp, needing her away from me before I do something I’ll regret.

  Opening the nearest door, she pauses. “There’s no window or way out in here. But I’ll leave the door cracked anyways, so you can make sure I’m not tunneling through the floor or anything.”

  She’s obviously giving me shit but leaves the door cracked anyway. I can hear the rustle of her clothes as they hit the floor and catch a flash of bare skin before I make myself turn away.

  I lean against the wall outside the bathroom, listening to the unmistakable sounds of her moaning and groaning in bliss from her shower. I would bet money that she’s doing it on purpose. Wafts of floral scented steam come through the door, making my mouth water, and I can hear her washing herself, the sound of water cascading off of her naked body.

  My hand is already reaching for the bathroom door before I catch myself, fisting it at my side.

  Her shower turns off a minute later, the sound of the shower curtain being pulled back cutting off my dirty thoughts. She’s humming as she dries off, a sweet, quiet sound that echoes through the bathroom.

  The door opens and Rose is standing there in nothing by a tiny blue towel, droplets of water running down her collarbone and between the swell of her perfect tits. She’s pink faced, her skin deliciously soft looking. I can’t stop looking at her.

  “I’m going to get dressed,” she says, turning to the door at the end of the hall.

  Fuck. That damn towel is so short, it brushes right at the lowest curve of her ass, nearly giving me a peek.

  She opens her bedroom door. “I know, I know, I won’t close it.”

  She barely steps inside and without warning, drops her towel. I get a brief glimpse of tan skin and perky breasts topped with dusky pink nipples before I turn away quickly. My heart is racing, pulse thumping in my ears.

  Her little laugh follows me out. “Sorry, Detective. I assumed you’d seen a naked woman before.”

  “Of course I have.” My response comes out as more of a growl than actual words. She’s so different than any other woman I’ve been around, my attraction for her swift and all-encompassing. And a really, really bad idea. I desperately search for something else to say. “And call me Blake.”

  “What?”

  “Blake. It’s my name. You can’t exactly go around calling me ‘detective’ all night.”

  She hums in agreement, her dresser drawer closing quietly. “Okay then, Blake.”

  It’s shameful how much hearing my name on her lips affects me.

  I wait outside the door as she gets dressed, trying not to give into temptation and take one more look. I won’t give her the satisfaction. She knows what she’s doing.

  “You can come in now,” Rose calls out. “I’m just putting on my shoes.”

  She’s doing just that, slipping on a pair of black pumps that show off her smooth, tan legs that lead up into a tight black dress. A dress that hugs every inch of her body and dips in the front to show off that enticing hint of cleavage.

  “I didn’t realize you needed to dress up so much for a meeting,” I say, watching as she walks over to her vanity and pulls out a tube of lipstick, painting her mouth a vibrant red.

  She freezes, throat bobbing as she swallows he
avily. “Wilcox said our buyer, Banks, likes it when I look pretty for him.”

  A little flame of rage starts to smoulder in my stomach from the careful way she says that.

  “Did he touch you?”

  She won’t meet my eyes in the mirror. “I can handle Banks. Besides, if everything goes according to plan, this is the last time I’ll have to see him.”

  That isn’t an answer, but her discomfort tells me all I need to know. When I catch that bastard tonight, I’m not going to be gentle with him.

  “You know,” I start, looking around her bedroom, unsurprised to find more plants and every bright color possible, from the sunshine yellow comforter to the soft pink curtains. “You’re not what I expected for a criminal.”

  “You don’t know anything about me,” she murmurs. “Sometimes, you don’t have a choice.”

  I feel my eyebrows go up. “Really? Is someone forcing you to steal things?”

  “No, but-”

  Not letting her finish, I cut her off. “Then you have a choice. And you choose to break the law.”

  She looks away, turning back to the mirror, but not before I see the conflicted look on her face. “You don’t understand.”

  I nod. “You’re right. I don’t.”

  She finishes getting ready in silence, avoiding meeting my gaze. Once she’s done, she glances at the red, cat-shaped clock mounted on the wall.

  “We should head over. It will be a bit early but that will give you time to scope out the place while I go check in with Wilcox.”

  I pull the jewelry she’d stolen out of my pocket and hand it over, watching her tuck it into a small clutch. All I can do is hope that she doesn’t run off with it. But I meant what I said earlier; if she runs, I will find her.

  “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ROSE

  Blake finds parking around the back of the club and I feel like my heart is pounding so hard that he must be able to hear it. We get out of the car together and he shrugs on his gun holster and covers it up with a light blazer. I’m grateful he has it, though hoping he won’t need it.