Nicole cleared her throat and looked away. “So the deputy, Ted, really seems to have it out for you all, for whatever reason. He’s a bit of a dick in general, but this feels like more than that.”
Joran nodded. He knew their presence made a number of the locals itchy. Maybe it was because they were outsiders, or maybe the humans sensed something different about them deep down inside and were reacting. It was hard to say really.
“Just thought you all should know,” Nicole said. “I’m going to say something to Frank, but Ted can be really stubborn. If he comes by, give me a call. If I’m here, he shouldn’t do anything too stupid.”
Nicole pulled out a business card with her number written on the back. “Day or night, I’ll come.”
Joran stared down at the card. Last night she’d had him on the ground and brought him in to sit the night in jail. Now she was willing to bail them out and was warning them about one of her comrades. Maybe he really was winning her over.
She turned back toward the car. “Well, that’s all I wanted to say. You have a good night.”
Joran stepped forward. “What about dinner?”
Nicole stopped and turned to frown at him. Her soft pink lips formed into a sweet sort of confused pout. “What?”
Joran took another few steps forward until he was standing in front of her once again. Their close proximity was all he needed to get drunk off her sweet lavender scent. It nearly drove him wild.
“Dinner,” he said quietly. “What about dinner?”
Nicole shrugged after a moment. “Sure,” she said. “You could call during dinner.”
A small smile slid across his face. “What about dinner with me? Tonight?”
Nicole’s soft brows shot up in surprise. “Dinner? With me? And you?”
Joran nodded. “That’s the idea.”
“I can’t. That wouldn’t be right.” Nicole leaned forward. “I arrested you last night,” she whispered.
The hybrid couldn’t stop the small chuckle that escaped. “I remember.” He grinned. “You can bring the cuffs if you’d like. I’m not against it.”
Her mouth dropped open, and for a moment, he wondered if that was a step too far.
He shrugged. “You said it yourself. There’s something between us. I know you can feel it, too. I’m not actually a criminal, so why fight it?”
Nicole closed her mouth and nibbled on the tender skin there. It made him ache to take her in his arms.
“Okay,” she said after a moment.
Joran had been so engrossed in her mouth that he’d nearly missed her reply. “Okay?” He blinked.
Nicole nodded. “I just need to go home to change.” She looked down at her uniform. “Meet me at Joe’s Shack at seven.”
Her reply surprised Joran. He’d expected her to say no, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had the perfect amount of time for him to talk to the men about their new buddy Ted and get ready.
“Seven it is.”
* * *
On her way to her apartment, Nicole still couldn’t quite believe she’d agreed to the date. It seemed like such an epically bad idea, but when she stared at Joran, it was hard to feel anything other than the flopping of her stomach. Arresting a man and then going out with him the next day would look inappropriate to say the least.
Still, it did give her a good chance to get to know him in an up close and personal sort of way. If he were hiding something, he might slip up in a more casual setting.
A blush spread across her face as her mind wandered as to just how personal they could get. She only knew how personal he was in her dreams.
Nicole shook her head. Going in like this was a bad idea. If she were going to grill him for some information, she needed to make sure she was in the headspace to do it. This wasn’t about fun and food.
Joran had been right, though. It was hard to ignore the burning attraction, the magnetic draw that came from just being in the same space as him. It was so intense that she hadn’t been able to breathe with him standing so close to her.
Nicole groaned. How the hell was she going to do this date if he had this sort of effect on her? It wasn’t like she was going to be able to interrogate him if her mind was a constant pile of mush, and she was too busy imagining him naked.
A slow smile spread across her face. She’d break out the big guns. If he made her feel like mush, the only way to counter that was to make him think with a totally different part of his anatomy. This sounded like the perfect time for a little black dress and heels.
Lord, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d even tried to dress up for a man. Nicole had always been more of a jeans and t-shirt sort of woman. Still, sometimes it was the only way to win.
For a moment she was struck with how strange the situation was to think it was some sort of war with Joran that she needed to win. But that was exactly what she was feeling. This wasn’t even about the interrogation. It was more like she felt she needed to make sure she had control.
Nicole stopped outside her apartment and sighed.
This really was a bad idea. The fact that her whole body vibrated with excitement only signaled just what a bad idea it was, but she was committed now. Nicole would figure out Joran first and her own emotions second. It was the only choice she really had.
Chapter Ten
Joe’s Shack was a local place the hybrids didn’t really go to much. It was a little outside of town and had always seemed a bit closed off, like some sort of private country club that just happened to serve beer and play loud country music. It wasn’t really the place Joran would have expected Nicole to pick, but he was just glad she was willing to meet him at all.
A date could lead to something more, and at the minimum, it was a chance to interact with her in a non-official setting. No arrests and no worries about rogue deputies.
Several of the men at the bar eyed him. He doubted they would do anything, but it was always a risk being the outsider. Still, the hybrids had managed to establish themselves well enough there. Spending more than a little money seemed to help.
Joran’s gaze shot over to the front door as it opened. The scent of lavender was already filling the air around him before she’d even stepped inside. But when his gaze landed on her, Joran nearly shot out of his seat, his eyes widening.
Nicole’s long blonde hair hung in waves over her bare shoulders, cascading down over the black strapless dress that hugged her curves in ways that made the lower half of his body swell with a need he hadn’t expected. His pants felt too confining.
His mouth went dry, and his palms started to sweat as she stepped over to his table. He’d wanted a date, but he hadn’t expected anything like this.
Joran took several deep breaths. Even if every part of him weren’t already drawn to her as his Vestal, he’d have a hard time looking away.
“Hope you weren’t waiting long,” Nicole said softly, and took a seat next to him.
For the first time, Joran had trouble even thinking of what to say back. His gaze roved over her barely clad body. Several men who had been eyeing him at the bar now had their eyes focused on a very different person.
Jealousy sparked inside of him, and the hybrid took a deep breath to stop from growling.
“I got a couple beers.” He fumbled as he pushed her beer over. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Nicole reached down and picked up her beer from the table. She pressed the bottle to her lips and swallowed several times before setting it down. Even a simple act like that was just as erotic as watching her walk into the room.
Damn it. Joran groaned inwardly. This was bad. He was too wrapped up in her and couldn’t even get his head straight. Nicole wasn’t the sort of woman he could just hope she wouldn’t notice. She would, and he knew this all too well.
A smart woman like her would use that against him. Her gaze landed on his, and he could see the wheels spinning there.
“So…” Nicole smiled at him. Her red lips scr
eamed to be pressed against his own. “I don’t really know much about you. Where do you come from?”
Joran tore his eyes from her mouth and concentrated on his beer. He needed to keep control. “A bit of all over,” he said. “My friends and I served together, so to speak.”
She quirked a brow, and he knew she wanted to know more. He took a drink quickly.
“So you all just decided to build houses together? You must be close.”
Joran set down his beer and stared straight at her. “We all went through some tough stuff together so our bond is about as close as you get.” He shrugged.
The smile fell from her face. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean—”
Joran shook his head and held up a hand. “It’s fine. I get that it might seem a bit strange. We all just wanted a fresh start. Life hasn’t always been the easiest for us, and so we figured the best thing was to go somewhere rural and reconnect with the land together.”
He was skirting the line. Joran wanted to tell her all about their past and the Horatius Group. Just who the hybrids were. But this wasn’t the time. Not at some hole-in-the-wall bar with a bunch of people watching them.
“I get it,” Nicole all but whispered. “I guess it’s just easy to think of you all as whatever we want seeing as you aren’t from here. We forget that you have an actual past.”
Joran glanced around the bar. He could see the men were watching them once again, their gazes darting between the two of them, the looks just as unpleasant as before. Maybe that xenophobia was what was motivating Ted as well.
“Maybe we should go,” Joran said quietly.
Nicole glanced to where he had looked. She narrowed her eyes, and the men turned away.
“You have just as much a right to be here as they do.”
Joran opened his mouth to say something but stopped when a large man walked over to their table.
“Well, look what we have here.” The man sneered.
The hybrid gave him a cool look. He didn’t want trouble.
Nicole frowned at the man. “I’m on a date, Ted.”
Joran’s face twitched. He’d not expected to run into the infamous Ted so soon.
The man glared down at Nicole. “No wonder you didn’t want me to say something. You’ve gone soft. Knew Frank shouldn’t have let a woman on the force. You’ll just drag us all down.”
Joran took a deep breath, anger coursing through him. He needed to be careful. He wasn’t wearing his contacts, and if they figured out what he really was, there was no telling what the townspeople might try.
“Walk it off, Ted,” Nicole ground out.
Ted leaned in closer to her. His looming stance fueled every protective instinct in Joran. How dare the bastard get near his Vestal. Joran gripped the table so hard that he thought it might crack under the pressure.
“Why don’t you shut your slut whore fucking mouth?” Ted said with a sneer.
That was it. Joran was going to flip the asshole upside down and punt him through a window. No one talked to his woman like that. He let out a low growl.
But it was Nicole who was the one to move first. Her fist moved so quickly, Joran nearly missed it. The blow landed hard against Ted’s face. The large man reeled back and sprawled on the ground.
Nicole stood and towered over the very surprised man. “Listen here, you piece of shit. You even think of coming at me again or anyone else for that matter, I’m going to put my foot so far up your ass, you’ll be coughing out my heel for weeks to come.”
The men who had once been sitting at the bar giving Joran the stink eye turned back to their beers as if nothing had just happened. Maybe they didn’t want anything to do with two cops fighting.
“You’ll regret this you, bitch,” Ted said as he struggled to stand his drunk ass back up.
Nicole leaned back down. “I don’t think so, sweet cheeks. You say anything else, and my next stop is going to be your wife so we can have a little conversation about infidelity.”
Ted moved forward. Joran stepped between them and glared at the other man almost daring him to take a punch. Self-defense was a valid excuse. A few seconds passed before the drunk jackass huffed loudly and stomped away.
“Let’s go,” Joran said, sliding his hand under Nicole’s elbow and ushering her out the door.
Chapter Eleven
Nicole shook as they stepped out into the warm summer air. That asshole had been asking for it for some time, and it had felt so good to let him have it. Although she was sure she’d hear from Frank later, she doubted he would even care that much. He wasn’t much for his deputies going and stirring up trouble, and given what Ted had been saying earlier about going to visit Joran’s people, the deputy would be lucky if he could escape without a write-up.
Not really paying much attention to where they were walking, she was surprised when she found herself standing beside a car she’d seen around town. Nicole looked over to Joran, but his face was shrouded by darkness.
“Where are we going?” she asked with a frown. She’d lost control of the situation.
Joran opened the door of the car. “To your place.”
A small shiver swept over her body from the authority in his voice. No one talked to her like that, and there was something almost thrilling about it.
“I...took a taxi here. I’ll have to call one.” She’d worried about drinking too much, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Joran pointed to the car. “No need.”
Of course. That make perfect sense, but it was hard to concentrate with Joran so close and everything that had happened.
Nicole pushed down the little voice inside of her telling her this wasn’t such a great idea and slid into the car. Even if she could handle Ted by herself, Joran had stood up to the man, despite knowing the deputy had it out for him and his friends.
Joran got in, started the car, and pulled away from the bar. It took a moment for her to realize that she hadn’t given him her address, and yet they were headed in the right direction. Cop instinct flared again. Something didn’t feel right.
“You know where I live?” she asked.
Joran shrugged. “It’s a small town. Everyone knows where everyone lives.”
He wasn’t wrong, but there was something about it that just seemed a little strange. Like maybe he knew more about her than she did about him, and that didn’t sit well with her.
It didn’t take long for them to end up parked outside of her apartment. Joran hadn’t said much else on the ride over, and the longer they went without talking, the more nervous she grew. Here she’d spent all this time getting ready for the date, and maybe she’d just ruined it all by decking a man twice her size.
Though the question remained of what she’d ruined. Half the point of the night was supposed to be getting more information out of Joran, but now she found herself more concerned about what he thought of her.
Nicole rolled her eyes as Joran made his way around to her. Of course, seeing his date punching someone would be off-putting to any man. No man wanted to see his woman doing something so uncouth. She should have just ignored Ted. The scumbag would have wandered off eventually.
Joran opened her door and held out his hand. She placed her hand in his and hissed. It was already starting to swell. She took some small pleasure in realizing that Ted must be feeling more than a little pain.
Her date frowned a little as he took her other hand.
Nicole slowly made her way to the door and turned to tell him goodnight. They had just started to make headway before she ruined it all. The best thing to do now was to cut her losses before she embarrassed herself more.
“Thank you for tonight.”
Joran frowned and moved past her. “I’m not leaving until we take care of that hand.”
Nicole watched in surprise as he made his way into the kitchen. She closed the door behind her and stepped inside.
A moment later he was back with a frozen bag of peas in hand. Joran motioned for her to
sit on the couch. Not really knowing what else to do, Nicole complied. It’d be petty to complain about him helping her out.
“Put this on your hand,” Joran said gruffly.
After handing her the bag of peas, he disappeared back through her bedroom to the bathroom.
She was confused and left with no choice but to listen, especially now that her hand was starting to throb. On her swelling and bruised knuckles, her skin had split.
Nicole kicked off her heels and tucked her feet under her on the couch. No need for pretenses considering everything that had happened.
Her thoughts drifted back to her date. She couldn’t figure out Joran. He was so intense most of the time, but there was still an almost playful nature about him.
More and more she found herself drawn to him. When he’d held her hand, she had felt the connection, a sort of zing that shot all through her. There was something going on between them, and it was curiosity about something he might be hiding.
She nearly didn’t catch him come back into the room until he was standing next to her.
“Jesus!” she yelled.
Joran knelt by her on the couch and at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m used to being light on my feet. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is like that.”
Nicole stared at him for a moment. It was a strange sort of response. On more than one occasion, she’d noticed the way he answered her only seemed to bring about more questions. What made it worse was that he didn’t even seem to realize just what it did.
Nicole jumped when he reached forward and carefully took her poor battered hand into his own. She winced as he took off the peas.
“Doesn’t look broken,” he said as he moved her hand carefully. “Just want to make sure we clean up the cuts. No telling what that asshole has.”
Nicole noticed the venom that leaked into his voice as he spoke about Ted.
“I really shouldn’t have hit him,” she said quietly. “It’ll probably cause trouble for me. Frank likes me, but he doesn’t like people making waves.”
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