by Paige Tyler
“Okay, if your hearing is so great, what are they saying now?” Becca asked.
Selena frowned. Becca really did have bad hearing. “The guy to the left of Jayden—I think he’s from narcotics—is saying all the fentanyl on the street must be going into this energy drink. The older guy on the far right is named Ray. He’s from the gang unit and insists the salesman is actually a front man for a local gang.”
Beside her, Becca looked impressed. “You seriously heard all that? You’re not making this up?”
Selena looked at the group of cops standing twenty feet from her and Becca, slowly coming to the realization that maybe it was a little weird she could make out what they were saying from so far away. From the concerned way Becca was regarding at her, it was obvious her friend had seen that thought flit across her mind.
“Are you okay?” Becca asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Selena answered. Suddenly, she didn’t want to talk about her hearing anymore. “How about you? You’re the one whose date OD’d right in front of her.”
Becca shuddered as if reliving the memory of Scott collapsing to the floor. Selena reached out and tugged her friend into another hug, knowing it was a moment neither of them would ever forget.
“Seeing that happen to Scott was horrible,” Becca murmured against her shoulder. “But you want to know the worst part?”
Selena pulled back enough to see Becca’s face. “What?”
“Right before you and Jayden came back over to the table and we all went to dance, I’d been thinking the date hadn’t really been going very well and how I wasn’t sure if I’d want to see him again.”
Yeah, thinking about dumping your blind date only to have him practically die five minutes later was bad. Guilt trip times ten.
“He was really nice,” Becca said, like she had to explain herself. “And cute. But I don’t think I’ve ever met a man so shy. He had to chug alcohol just to talk to me, and I swear he didn’t look me in the eye the whole night. I couldn’t even get him to stare at my boobs, and trust me, I was giving him every opportunity.”
“He got up to dance with you,” Selena pointed out.
“Only after downing a few of those spiked energy drinks,” Becca muttered. “If not for them, I doubt he would have ever worked up the courage.”
Selena sighed. “You probably don’t want to hear this, but there’s a good chance the reason he was so nervous was because he was attracted to you and figured someone like you probably wouldn’t want to have anything to do with someone like him.”
Becca snorted. “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an indication of how shallow I am.”
Selena gave her friend’s hand a squeeze. “Look, I’m just saying there’s a good chance you’re the most attractive woman Scott had ever gone out with, so he was probably a little nervous.”
“There was no reason for him to be nervous,” Becca insisted. “It was just a first date.”
Selena lifted a brow. “I remember you were nervous on the way over here, and you had me flying backup with you. Just think what it was like for Scott, swimming all on his own.”
Becca winced. “So, you think I should give him another chance?”
Selena shrugged. “You’re the only one who can make that call. All I’m suggesting is that you don’t make your decision based on how shy Scott was on this first date or what happened on the dance floor.”
“He did try really hard,” Becca admitted. “And he was cute as hell when he did get around to dancing. Maybe another date would be fun. Besides, I’d feel like crap if I dumped him after one date, especially after everything that happened tonight.”
“So, is that a yes?” Selena asked.
Becca nodded.
Selena smiled. “Good, but maybe for the second date, you might want to try a place a little less intense than a night club. Maybe a coffee shop or a quiet restaurant. Scott might be a lot more relaxed in a different environment.”
Becca thought about that for a moment. “Do you think Scott and I could ever have what you and Jayden have?”
“What do you mean?” She wasn’t sure what her friend was getting at. “It’s not like we’re that far beyond you and Scott when it comes to dating. This is only our second date.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with how many dates you’ve been on,” Becca said. “You two have a connection that’s blatantly obvious the second anyone sees you together. Hell, it’s like watching magic happen. You probably didn’t notice because you were a little busy at the time, but when you and Jayden were kissing on the dance floor, half the club stopped what they were doing and stared, mesmerized. Seriously, you have to know you two are meant to be together.”
Selena blushed at the thought that everyone had been watching her and Jayden make out. Becca was right. She’d been so turned on right then she hadn’t even noticed. But at the same time, she tried to think rationally about what Becca had said.
After only two dates, hearing Becca say she and Jayden were meant to be together should have made her laugh. It wasn’t possible for two people to become so connected that fast. The really crazy thing was she couldn’t say Becca was wrong.
Selena had been tense after her run-in with the gangbangers earlier. She’d felt a little better after talking to Ernesto, but it wasn’t until Jayden had slipped into the booth and kissed her that all the tension had really disappeared. And when they were on the dance floor, he’d made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
“I’m falling for Jayden fast,” she finally admitted. “So fast it’s kind of scary.”
Becca gave her a curious look. “He’s hot, sexy, and awesome. What’s scary about that?”
Selena laughed. “Don’t get me wrong. Jayden is incredible. But when I’m around him, it’s like I can’t control myself. When we were dancing and kissing, it took everything in me to not jump him right on the floor and eat him up. That’s not me. I’m always about being in control, you know?”
Becca nodded. “Yeah. But what are you worried about? That he’s going to turn out not to be the guy you think he is? Because I have to tell you, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“I know,” Selena said. “Still, I don’t want to wake up naked in his arms one morning and realize I’ve made a horrible mistake because I let things move too fast.”
Becca made a face. “You offered me a suggestion a little while ago, so now it’s my turn. Don’t screw this up by overthinking it. If you close your eyes and try to imagine finding a man more perfect for you than Jayden, I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to do it. So stop thinking so much, and let your instincts and your heart guide you. You’re not making a mistake, and you’re not going to move too fast.”
Selena was still thinking about how incredibly right her friend’s advice sounded when Jayden walked over with the guy who’d helped do CPR on Scott and the older guy she thought might be from the gang unit. Jayden introduced them as Zane Kendrick and Ray Porter, respectively, saying both men were good friends from the force.
Selena wanted to ask a ton of questions about the drug in the energy drinks, the gangs that might have sold it to the club, and whether there might be more of the stuff floating around the city. But she stopped herself, realizing she wasn’t supposed to know any of that stuff.
She was trying to figure out if there was a sneaky way to wheedle out the information, but it seemed Ray was in a hurry, bailing shortly after shaking her hand, saying he wanted to get the unused cans of energy drink to the lab for fingerprinting. That left them with Zane, who was seriously attractive. Not as attractive as Jayden, but still.
“You’re in SWAT too, right?” Selena asked.
The big cop with the British accent looked at Jayden.
“Yeah,” Jayden said. “He’s one of my teammates. It was just coincidence he was here in the club.”
They talked for a few minutes before Zane mentioned he needed to get back to the SWAT compound so he could check on their visitors. Selena couldn’t imagine why there’d be people there at this time of night but didn’t say anything. Then it hit her. Crap. Maybe it had something to do with the prison break. She really wanted to ask but resisted the urge.
Jayden pulled Zane aside before he left, and Selena heard him tell his teammate to be careful. “I don’t think they’d come after us, but watch yourself all the same.”
Selena glanced at Becca, but her friend didn’t look like she’d heard any of that. Okay, this was starting to get freaky.
“You want to hang out with Jayden and me?” Selena asked Becca as she waited for Jayden and Zane to finish up. “We can get something to eat if you want.”
Becca shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but it’s late, and unlike you, I have class to teach tomorrow. Besides, I need to get to the hospital if I’m going to have any chance of seeing Scott tonight. I want to let him know I’d like to see him again. You okay catching a ride with Jayden?”
Selena nodded and gave her friend a hug. “Definitely. Tell Scott I hope he feels better soon.”
“I will,” Becca promised, giving Jayden a wave as she left.
“Did I hear you saying something about food?” Jayden asked as he walked over to join Selena.
She shook her head as she stepped closer to Jayden, breathing in his scent and realizing how glad she was she’d decided to wait for him to get done doing his police stuff. She wasn’t ready for this night to end. Even if it was late as hell. “I just asked that for Becca’s benefit. Truthfully, I’m not very hungry.”
“That’s too bad,” he said. “I make a mean late-night PB&J with the crusts cut off.”
She couldn’t help laughing at that. It wasn’t the line she’d expected. But she was already starting to realize Jayden wasn’t the type to do the expected. “Well, if you’re making them, maybe I’m hungrier than I thought.”
He grinned. “Then let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 12
“You live in a warehouse?” Selena asked in disbelief as Jayden steered his classic Chevy pickup truck into a small parking lot behind a metal-and-brick building with no windows and a distinctly industrial look.
“It’s not a warehouse,” Jayden said with a laugh that seemed to indicate lots of people asked the exact same question. “It was an electronics repair shop about ten or twelve years ago.”
He shut off the engine, then got out and walked around to open her door, lending a hand to help her slide out of the high truck. His gaze immediately went to the length of thigh she exposed slipping off the seat. Okay, maybe she’d done that on purpose.
“Of course, nobody gets electronics repaired anymore,” Jayden continued, dragging his eyes back up to her face as they walked toward the building. “They just replace them. Throw in the fact that this whole area got rezoned into a residential area about the same time, and the owner was sort of screwed. The place couldn’t be used as a business anymore, and no one was interested in buying it for residential purposes, because the lot is too small. It went into tax foreclosure, and I ended up getting it for next to nothing. I got it into livable condition for barely over twenty thousand.”
Selena tried to take that all in as Jayden led her to the back door. The tiny lot surrounding the building was well maintained, with more grass and hedges than one would expect from an industrial building. But still, it was obvious the place wasn’t a normal house. Then again, Jayden wasn’t a normal guy, so she wasn’t surprised.
He unlocked the big metal door, then reached inside to flip on the light switch. Stepping back, he held the door open for her.
Selena stepped inside, steeling herself. She had visions of cinder block coffee tables, yard sale couches, and rust-covered walls. She was so ready to be underwhelmed that when she walked through the short entryway hall and into the big open space of the central room, she gasped. This was so not what she’d been expecting. She handed Jayden her coat and purse, barely paying attention as he hung them on a coat rack by the door, then tossed his keys on the shelf above it.
The main room had to be over a thousand square feet. There was still a very industrial feel to the place, with lots of concrete, brick, metal rafters, exposed lights, electrical conduits, and air vents. But the space was put together in such a way, it seemed like it was meant to look industrial instead of left that way by accident.
The concrete floor had been stained different colors as part of the effort to subdivide the big space into different functional areas. It was a creamy terra-cotta off to one side where the kitchen was and a relaxing caramel along the back wall where she saw a king-size bed, dressers, and wall units. The entire middle section, encompassing the living room and a sweet home gym, was a deep, glossy slate blue.
There was a huge TV mounted on the wall near the matching sectional sofas, with the rest of the wall space taken up with football memorabilia and pictures of cop-related activities. She had no doubt that most of those photos would be of his SWAT teammates or, as he called them, his pack. There were big potted trees positioned here and there around the space, and at first, she was sure they were fake. But then she saw the skylights in the roof and thought maybe they were real.
Besides the one they’d just come in, there were only two other doors in the entire place, one that looked like a second exit and the other leading into a walled-off corner area, the bathroom most likely.
“This place is amazing,” she said, turning to face him. “If you tell me you decorated the entire thing on your own, I’m going to cry, because that would mean there isn’t a single thing in the world you aren’t perfect at.”
Jayden chuckled. “No need to cry. My mom helped with a lot of it, but also some of the guys on the team. Zane is really good at decorating, though he’ll deny it if you ever suggest it. How about we head for the kitchen and those PB&J sandwiches before I give you the fifty-cent tour?”
Selena nodded eagerly and followed him through the living room and gym to the kitchen, getting a good part of the promised tour on the way. This place was awesome. She couldn’t wait to spend the night here. She immediately blushed a little at the audacity of that thought but then pushed the silly concern aside. Something told her she was going to be staying here a lot.
It wasn’t until they walked behind the granite counter in the kitchen space that Selena saw the first thing that seemed completely out of place—two doggy bowls on the floor. She looked around, thinking she’d smelled a familiar odor when she first walked in, though she hadn’t placed it as a dog’s scent until now. It was very faint.
“You have a dog?” she asked, gesturing to the bowls as Jayden took the bread and peanut butter out of the cabinet.
“Technically, Tuffie belongs to the entire team.” Jayden reached into the fridge for a jar of grape jelly. “She was shot by one of the men who broke out of prison today. Our team medics kept her alive until they could get her to a vet, and after that, there was no way we could let her go. So we adopted her. Now she takes turns staying with different members of the team each night.”
“That’s so perfect!” she squealed, pretty sure these SWAT guys might actually be angels in disguise and not just amazing cops.
As Jayden made the sandwiches, he talked about how they figured out who Tuffie got to stay with each night. Selena laughed when Jayden suggested some of the guys on the team tried to tweak the Tuffie duty roster so they’d get extra time with the unit mascot.
“They all try to act like they’re big and tough, but when it comes t
o Tuffie, they’re a bunch of pushovers.”
“Might you be one of those pushovers?” she teased.
Jayden chuckled as he poured two glasses of milk. “Maybe. Not that you’ll ever get me to admit it.”
Normally, Selena never ate anything this late at night, but for some reason, she was nearly starving right then. And the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were calling her name.
“Sorry about how the date turned out tonight,” he said as they stood at the counter eating a little while later. “CPR and overdoses weren’t exactly on my mind when I imagined how the evening would end.”
Selena polished off the last of her sandwich faster than she would have thought possible. The scary part was that she couldn’t stop eyeing the big jar of peanut butter, wondering if she should have another.
“While I agree the last part of the evening was something I never want to experience again, I wouldn’t say the whole night was a waste,” she said. “In fact, parts of the night were pretty nice. Actually, better than nice. And as for how the evening ends, I think that’s still to be determined.”
Jayden lifted a brow as he popped what was left of his sandwich in his mouth. “Are you implying our date isn’t over yet?”
The heat in his gaze as he asked the question immediately reignited the fire that had been burning in her tummy earlier when they’d been dancing…and kissing. She gave him a smile while fighting the urge to reach out and pull him close, to press herself tightly to his muscular body and rub herself all over him like a cat.
“You really think the only reason I came here was for the PB&J?” she asked in a husky voice, taking a half step closer to him.
Selena was kind of shocked she was being so bold. It wasn’t like her. She tried to tell herself Jayden was to blame for the change, but at the same time, part of her knew that wasn’t the truth. This was all her…the new her.
Jayden laughed as he took a step toward her, closing the distance between them. She swore she could feel the heat of his body bathing her skin. “So, if it wasn’t my amazing sandwiches that brought you here, what was it?”
