“Fixing a leak.”
“Fixing a leak?” Those dark brows lowered. “You were up on the roof fixing a leak? On your own?”
“That’s what happens when you’re by yourself,” she retorted angrily.
“So there is no husband or boyfriend.”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you call a roof repairer?”
“No one is going to come out in this weather, and besides, I can fix the leak perfectly well myself.” She elbowed him aside, more than conscious of his big frame dwarfing her, which was a real novelty but one she wasn’t interested in right at this moment.
He shifted enough to allow her to open the door, but when she stormed in and started to shut it in his face, it stopped. Swinging around, she saw that he had one big hand on the door, holding it open.
“Lady,” he rumbled, “No woman should be going up on the roof in any weather to fix it. Next time, get a roof repairer.” When she scowled, he added, “Or call me.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
“Call me. I’ll go up and fix it.”
She didn’t know what to think. “You’ll fix my roof?”
“If you’re so stubborn as to do it yourself, then yes, I’ll fix it.” He pulled his hand back. “That’s not a lady’s job.”
A turmoil of emotions rioted through her. Dismay, surprise, and outrage. “Not a lady’s job?”
“You need a man to do those things.”
The big lug was digging a deeper hole for himself and seemed blatantly unconcerned about it. Maddy opened her mouth to give him a verbal blasting about what he could do with his opinions, but he foiled her attempt by turning on his heel and stepping out into the pouring rain. Within seconds he disappeared from sight.
Muttering to herself, Maddy kicked off her soaked shoes and placed them outside the door to dry before heading to the bathroom.
Chaz followed her curiously, watching avidly as she undressed and stepped into the warm water.
“I can’t believe it,” she muttered. “He actually told me it wasn’t a woman’s job. What era is he living in?”
Chaz pawed at the pile of wet clothing.
“And if that’s not bad enough, he’s my neighbour.” Pulling the shower curtain aside, she frowned at Chaz. “He lives on the other side of this wall, Chaz. Can you believe it?”
Big blue eyes blinked at her.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.” Maddy resumed her shower.
~*~
The woman next door was a menace to herself. Sipping from the cup of hot coffee, Mike studied the rain teeming down into his backyard and thought about the woman.
Ye gods, she’d been up on the roof fixing a hole. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d been dressed in the most ridiculous pair of shoes for the job, too, pretty little nothings with no grip. He shook his head.
Taking another sip, he squinted at a movement in the yard. Something moved amongst the bushes and disappeared again. Too small to be a human, it must be an animal of some kind. Probably a cat. He made a face.
A flare of lightening lit the sky and he thought again about the woman next door. She’d moved in while he was away on holidays and this was the first time he’d met her. Boy, had that meeting gone down like a rock thrown into a lake. Rock bottom.
Speaking of bottoms, mmmmmm. He took another sip of coffee and half closed his eyes. He could almost imagine that he could still feel the voluptuous derriere that had pressed into his upper abdomen. Soft and full and luscious. Firm, plump thighs that could squeeze a man’s hips while he - Mike frowned and moved closer to the window.
There was definitely something in his backyard. He caught another movement, a flash of mottled grey, and something small hurtled across his drenched lawn and disappeared into the little shed of which he’d left the door partially open.
Hell, some fur ball had just taken shelter in his shed. He just hoped it didn’t piddle all over the place. Maybe he should just go out there and hunt it out. Thunder boomed overhead and he took another sip of hot coffee. No, he’d leave it. He didn’t like cats, but even he wasn’t heartless enough to hunt it out into the storm. He’d just have to check out the shed later and remember to close the door.
He stood gazing out into the drenched garden in the gathering gloom until the rain eased to a stop, and he was just about to move to turn on the light when another movement caught his attention. This time, it came from the side fence that joined his yard to his neighbour’s, and if he wasn’t very much mistaken, it was his neighbour’s head bobbing along behind the fence.
Now what the hell was she doing in the backyard in the rain? And without a raincoat or umbrella? Mike shook his head. He was starting to think the lady a little odd.
With interest, he watched as the top of her head bobbed along. She stopped halfway along the fence, her hands came up to grip the top of the fence and then her face appeared. Cautiously, she peered over to his house. Knowing she couldn’t see him, Mike held very still. She disappeared from sight and his eyebrows rose as the top of a ladder appear. Sure as God made green apples, she came up the ladder and over his fence to drop down into his yard.
Coffee cup forgotten in his hand, he watched incredulously as she gripped the ladder and proceeded, with much effort, to wrangle it over the top of the fence and down onto his side. Leaning it against his fence, she glanced around before walking slowly across his lawn to his shed.
Mike’s mouth fell open. What the hell…? Was she breaking into his shed?
Another glance around and then she was easing the shed door open and slipping inside.
Anger burned through Mike and he slammed the coffee cup onto the sink before storming to the back door. He was going to catch her in the act. Quietly, he opened the back door and stepped out onto the back veranda. Moving stealthily, he went down the steps and, avoiding the path, he crossed the wet lawn to the small building.
As he neared, he heard a quiet murmur and froze. Was there someone else in the shed after all? Someone who had slipped in while she was on the roof next door? An accomplice perhaps? Maybe she wasn’t the neighbour after all.
Easing forward, he stood next to the open doorway and listened, but he couldn’t make out the words. It was dark inside the shed, indeed he could only just make out his backyard in the gathering evening, so he waited.
Something streaked out from the shed and shot past him to disappear into the night.
A thump sounded followed by a curse, and the woman stumbled out the door.
Mike grabbed her arm, she gave a shriek and swung to face him. Panic showed in her wide eyes and she struck out with her knee. He managed to avoid what would have been a crippling blow to his manhood and made a grab for her other hand. It wasn’t easy in the dark which had now fallen. She struck out at him again.
“Stay still!” he ordered.
“Let me go!” she yelled. “Help!”
“This is the-” was all he managed to get out before she took him completely by surprise.
Her full body weight hit him, making him stumble backwards. His boots skidded in the wet grass, and he went over onto his back without releasing his hold on her.
She cried out as she fell on top of him. Mike only had a couple of seconds to register just how warm and soft she felt against him, before she started to struggle and he remembered why he was lying on the wet grass.
In a practiced move, he flipped her off and over onto her belly and had her hands in a tight grip behind her back.
“Help!” she shrieked. “Help!”
“I suggest you be quiet and tell me who the hell you are and why you’re in my backyard,” Mike growled. “And quit yelling. I’m a cop and you’re about to get arrested.”
She froze beneath him before turning her head to try and glimpse him out of the corner of her eye, but it was too dark. However, she obviously recognized his voice because she suddenly groaned and relaxed back into the grass. “You!”
“Yes, me,” he replied gri
mly. “Now are you going to stand up quietly, or do I handcuff you?”
“Handcuff me?” She lifted her head again. “What the - are you out of your mind? Let me go!”
“Lady, you were breaking into my shed. I have serious doubts that you’re my neighbour. You might have been breaking into her home as well.”
“With a freakin’ silicone gun? Are you nuts?”
“Stand up and let’s-”
A rumble of thunder through the night drowned out the rest of his words, and then the rain burst from the heavy clouds.
“Oh for - what the hell did I do to deserve this?” the woman shrieked.
Swearing, Mike hooked his hands around her upper arms and dragged her to her feet as he stood, and then continuing to keep his hand firmly around her arm, he ran for the back veranda with her behind him. Once under cover, he stopped and she ran right into the back of him.
For several seconds that warm, lush body was pressed against his back, and he felt the twin mounds of generous bosoms flat against him. Twin mounds of warmth that heated his skin right through his shirt. And, Lord above, a soft stomach that nestled snugly against his buttocks. Hell, he could feel that even through his jeans.
The lady was one hot piece of - possible thief.
Scowling, Mike jerked his thoughts back into cop mode and pulled away to swing around on his heel and glare down at her. Reaching back, he flicked the switch and the light came on. Now he could see her clearly.
One brow arched, arms folded in front of her - causing those generous bosoms to lift enticingly - she gazed back up at him belligerently. “What the hell do you mean, you’re going to arrest me?”
“Lady, you’re trespassing.”
She had the gall to shrug. “Sort of.”
“Sort of? You were on my property without permission, and on next door’s roof. You have some explaining to do before I decide what happens from here.”
“Listen, buffoon-”
Mike took one step closer, deliberately intimidating her with his size.
She didn’t look one bit impressed, nor did she take a step back. The curvy witch was all hot curves and sass, and he liked that…except in a possible thief.
“What’s your name?”
“Madeline Rosemary Lovett,” she responded promptly. “Born on the 6th April 1981.” A little sneer appeared on those lush lips, drawing his gaze. “That’d make me thirty years old, in case you find that hard to figure out without a calculator.”
The lady was hostile, no doubt about it. Normally he’d find that a reaction to observe closely, but on her he found it intriguing. But it didn’t mean he forgot why they were on his back veranda with her ladder against his side of the fence.
“And I live next door,” she continued. “Want the address?”
“Am I supposed to take your word for that?”
“I’m sorry, my mother forgot to have it tattooed on my forehead. Dad suggested micro-chipping me, but they never got around to doing it.” Those big grey eyes snapped fire. “So yeah, I guess you’ll have to take my word for it.”
Hands on his hips, Mike kept his gaze locked with hers. “Care to explain the ladder and what you were doing trespassing on my property? Not to mention in my shed?”
“I was trying to catch the kitten.”
“Kitten?”
“I saw it go into your shed.”
“You saw it?”
“From my kitchen window.”
Okay, he’d seen that streak of mottled grey fur disappearing into his shed. It was a plausible explanation, and his gut instinct told him she was speaking the truth. But it still didn’t explain one thing. “So why go over the fence? Why not knock on my door?”
“Are you kidding me?” She replied scornfully. “After your attitude earlier? You really think I’d come knocking on your door after that?”
“Yes.”
“Funnily enough, your behaviour then sort of turned me off asking you for anything.”
Oh, that was sobering. Mike’s frown deepened.
“You’re not pleased,” she observed. “Going to yell orders at me again?” She held up her wrists. “Handcuff me? Arrest me?”
“Sorry about that.”
She huffed.
Obviously, he’d ruffled her feathers. He had a feeling it wasn’t hard to do, and that made him grin just a little. Inside. He wasn’t a fool. But right now, he had to do some PR work.
Relaxing, he turned to the back door, opened it and stood aside. “I think we need to start introductions all over again.”
“Because the other went so well?” That bite was there in those tones.
He wanted to grin again but wisely refrained. “After you, Ms Lovett.”
“No need. I’ll go back up the ladder.”
Over his dead body. But before he could voice an objection, the rain suddenly fell from the heavens as though a bucket had been tipped over. Someone up there was watching out for him.
A chill breeze swept around the corner of the house and she shivered.
“Let’s go in and get dry.” Without giving her time to refuse, Mike stepped in behind her and used his body to crowd her forward.
His move was calculated, and she did exactly as he’d planned. Out of the two options - having him too close or removing herself from his immediate vicinity - she moved ahead of him into the house. She came to a stop in the middle of the laundry and turned to face him.
“The kitchen is that way.” He waved his hand at the other door.
“I know. I live in the other half of this place, remember?”
“You’re really miffed, aren’t you?”
“Whatever gave you that idea?”
The snippy tone, the anger making those big grey eyes flash, the tightness of those lush lips. The way her breasts rose and fell beneath that clinging shirt.
Mike averted his gaze from said breasts. “You know where the bathroom is. Get a towel and dry yourself. There’s a bathrobe on the back of the door.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding me?”
“What?”
“I’m in the house of a strange man. There’s no way in hell I’m getting undressed.”
“I’m not in the habit of attacking people.”
She arched one brow mockingly.
“Unless they’re trespassing,” he added. “Ms Lovett, you’re perfectly safe with me, I assure you.” For now. The thought popped unbidden into his head, but he refrained from showing the startlement on his face. Where the hell had that come from?
She looked at him for several long seconds and he could just about see the cogs turning inside her head as she weighed his words, and, no doubt, his expression.
He returned her regard just as steadily.
Some of the stiffness left her body, and the fire in her eyes died down a little. “I don’t even know you,” she finally said.
“Michael Carson.” He stuck out one hand. “Mike to my friends.”
Slowly, she lifted her hand and placed it in his. He closed his fingers around hers and as expected, his big hand completely engulfed her smaller one.
Soft, her skin was so soft, but he could also feel a couple of little calluses on the mounds of her palm as well. This lady was either into some physically hard hobby, or her line of work was physical. Or both.
“Okay, Mike,” she said. “No one calls me Ms Lovett unless I don’t like them. It’s Maddy.”
“Maddy.” The name rolled on his tongue easily and he nodded. “Nice to meet you, Maddy.”
One corner of her mouth quirked. “Really?”
“Well, there could have been other ways, but sure, why not?” And he meant it. This luscious woman interested him. There was something about her that made him want to know her more.
But first things first. “The bathrobe-”
“Not going to happen. Have you got a hand towel?”
“You’re soaked.”
“Still not going to happen. Hand towel?”
Well, he could
n’t’ exactly strip her down - damn shame, that - so Mike reached up to the top shelf of a cupboard and brought down two hand towels, handing one to her.
Taking it, she dried her face and proceeded to rub her dripping hair.
Mike followed suit more slowly, taking the opportunity to really study her while she had her attention on drying herself a little.
Maddy was all lush curves - big breasts that pressed against her thin, wet t-shirt, an indented waist, generous hips that swelled out, and plump thighs. This was no svelte lady, she’d never make the fashion pages and, in fact, was far removed from what was considered the ideal weight for a woman her height and age.
Mike thought she looked just perfect. She was the kind of woman he could crush to him without fear of hurting her. Those lush curves would cradle his hard body so easily. And the way she held herself spoke of a confidence he admired.
Besides, he never judged a person on their appearance. It was what was inside that mattered, though the packaging it came in didn’t hurt. And boy, did Maddy come in a package that interested him.
Rubbing her shoulder-length, dark brown hair, she had her eyes closed, and thick, black lashes lay against her pale cheek. Soft lips had a natural quirk upwards at the corners as though she laughed often, and her small, straight nose balanced her oval face perfectly. The small chin showed a hint of stubbornness, and Mike wasn’t surprised. He’d already had a taste of her tongue - and not in the way he suddenly wanted - and he was a good judge of character, as befitted his line of work. Madeline Rosemary Lovett was a plus-sized, confident, and pretty woman with an attitude.
Wow. His libido perked up. Wow.
Opening her eyes, Maddy dabbed the last of her hair dry. “So what about you?”
“Pardon?”
“You can get into your bathrobe.”
Considering that his jeans were helping confine his physical interest in her, the bathrobe was out of the question. Loose, open robes would showcase his interest, and he just knew this woman would not be impressed.
Yet.
“Not going to happen.”
“What’s good for the goose…”
“This gander is not doing it.”
“Huh.” Handing him back the towel, she fluffed her hair with one hand. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
Cop's Passion Page 2
