“Don’t go yet.”

I was yawning as I replied, “I have to. Otherwise, I’ll fall asleep while we’re talking.”

“I don’t mind. Stay on the line.”

I closed the door to my room. “Okay, well, I’m going to put you on speaker for a minute because I have to change out of my uniform.”

I heard him groan just as I hit “speaker” and placed the phone on my bedside dresser. “Forget talking on the phone. I should come over.”

I laughed. “Nice try.”

“No joke. I can be there in fifteen minutes, maybe less.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Oh, that’s fightin’ talk. Where’d you learn those fancy words, Constable?”

“Lee, you’re flirting again. Quit it or I’ll hang up.”

“Okay, no need for drastic measures. I’ll behave.”

A quiet fell as I pulled off my shirt and tie, then unbuckled my belt.

“So, are you naked yet?”

I huffed a breath. “I thought you just said you were going to behave.”

“I will, but at least give me something. I’m trying to visualise here.”

A second later my trousers were off, and I threw all my clothes in the laundry basket. I was too tired for my usual shower, so I just put on an old T-shirt and climbed into bed. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but nothing even remotely sexy is happening over here. I’ve been working for the past ten hours, and I stink. Go put that in your spank bank.”

Lee groaned again. “You can’t say ‘spank bank,’ Snap. It’ll give me ideas.”

“Don’t you dare,” I warned him.

His laugh was devilish. “For all you know, I could’ve been rubbing one out this whole time.”

“For all you know, so could I,” I countered.

“Fucking hell. Okay, you win that round.” He swore and moved away from the phone for a second. I thought I heard him scratching his stubble while muttering “Jesus Christ” under his breath.

I tried my best to change the subject. “So, have you got any plans for the day?”

“Other than coming over to yours?” he asked confidently. When I left him in stony silence, he added, “Kidding, kidding. No big plans. It’s a friend of mine’s birthday tonight, so I’ll have to show my face.”

“Oh, well, I hope you have a good time,” I said sleepily as I snuggled into my pillow and we were both quiet for a minute. I could hear him breathing on the other end of the line, so I knew he was still there.

“You nearly gone?” Lee asked softly. For a moment it felt like he was there beside me, whispering in my ear.

“Almost,” I answered past another yawn.

“Bet you look a picture right now,” he murmured.

“Mm-hmm,” I mumbled, closing my eyes.

“Go to sleep, beautiful,” he said, his voice a caress.

Seconds later, I was dead to the world.

Six

“Guess how many bras I’m wearing?” Reya asked as she jogged alongside me on the treadmill.

I sputtered a laugh. “Um, I’m hoping the answer to that is one.”

She shook her head. “Nope, I’ve got three of these bad boys on right now. Otherwise, the girls’d be flopping around like an elephant on a trampoline.”

I laughed harder, feeling breathless. “Oh, my God, stop! You’re putting me off my stride.”

“I’m being serious. I bet you’ve never even had to double up, whereas I’m here tripled up and could probably do with a fourth. I curse you, Karla Sheehan, you and your perfectly manageable boobs.”

The guy on the treadmill next to Reya’s cocked his head, clearly listening in to our conversation. I couldn’t blame him.

“You know what?” she went on. “I’m thinking of getting a reduction. I want a pair of Claire Danes–style bee stings. She can probably go around free as a bird day in and day out without so much as a back twinge.”

The guy listening almost tripped over his own feet, and I sort of felt bad for him. Reya was always very chatty when she was around me because I made her feel comfortable. The problem with that was that it often meant she didn’t think to censor herself.

“Why don’t you just get a sports bra, you big freak?” I asked when I finally managed to stop laughing.

“Because I’m broke, but also because sports bras are bullshit. They might give you support, but they barely cover the nips. I don’t want to be going around flashing my headlights at everyone.”

“You have to shut up. Seriously, you’re giving me a stitch,” I complained, laughing so hard I had to reach for the buttons to slow down my machine.

I’d slept until midday and then Reya had called, asking if I wanted to go to the gym for a workout. Since I felt unusually refreshed after being lulled to sleep by Lee, I agreed. Now, here we were. And yeah, I was refusing to think about the fact that Lee Cross’s voice had sent me into the best night’s sleep I’d had in forever.

“I’m going over to the rowing machine. Come find me when you’re done,” I said, stepping off the treadmill and heading to the other side of the gym. I’d been rowing for a couple of minutes when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone take the machine next to mine. I didn’t pay them too much attention, and focused on the music streaming from my MP3. For some reason, I preferred listening to metal when I was working out, and James Hetfield was currently growling in my ears.

It was only when I started to slow down that I sensed a familiar presence, intense and all-consuming. I slowed to a stop, pulling out my earbuds. A second later I turned to see who had my instincts on alert, and there he was.

Lee glanced over at me, wearing workout clothes and a towel draped around his shoulders. I wiped the sweat from my brow and narrowed my gaze at him. After a millisecond of eye contact, I stood, making my way to the water fountain. I knew for a fact that this wasn’t a coincidence. Last night on the phone I distinctly remembered telling him I might go to the gym today.

He followed heavy on my heels, dipping his head and asking, “Sleep well last night, Constable?”

I bent over the fountain, took a drink, then straightened. “Well enough.”

The T-shirt he wore wasn’t exactly tight, but his perspiration had caused parts of it to stick to his chest. I tried not to look and failed. Lee took the opportunity to stretch his arms up over his head, causing his T-shirt to rise and reveal several inches of toned stomach. I knew he’d done it on purpose, but still, I couldn’t stop staring. That was when my gaze wandered to his right hand, where the knuckles had been bandaged.

“What happened there?”

Lee glanced down, then back up to me. “David happened,” he answered casually. “Let’s just say, he won’t be bothering Sophie anymore.”

“You fought him?”

“Had to. No other way of getting through to blokes like him. Words don’t work, but fists sure do.”

I didn’t know how to feel about that, because if David had really been violent with Sophie, a tiny little pixie of a woman, then he deserved some sort of punishment. I just wasn’t sure that punishment was a beating.

“You should have reported him.”

“So your lot could give him a slap on the wrist and then he’d be back hassling Sophie within the month. No, thanks. I told you I’d do anything for my family. Sometimes that means doing things that fall into a…grey category.”

I eyed him closely, a frown shaping my lips. The thing about Lee was that I never quite knew whether or not I agreed with him, and it was disconcerting. I didn’t get too much time to contemplate this further, as he distracted me by nodding over to the boxing ring. “Fancy sparring with me?”

I shook my head and tried to keep a neutral expression. “No, thanks.”

“Worried I’ll show you up?” he asked, a challenge gleaming in his eyes as they wandered over me intently. I felt like he was chronicling every tiny detail, from the way my workout pants clung to my thighs to the sheen of sweat glistening on my neck.

I laughed, trying not to let his attention affect me. “No, actually, the opposite. I wouldn’t want the whole gym seeing you get taken down by a girl.”