Free Rising from the Ashes by Jessica Prince Page A

insist on being your typical stubborn-ass self, that’ll just make proving you wrong even sweeter.”
    I tried to scoot back to put a little bit of room between us. Having him so close was shattering my resolve. “You aren’t going to prove me wrong,” I said with as much determination as I could muster. My words still sounded weak, even to my ears, so I knew he didn’t believe me.
    “If you say so.”
    With that, he leaned into me and kissed me so fiercely that it stole the breath from my lungs. My lips parted on a gasp, and Jeremy took that as an opportunity to slide his tongue between them. The flavor of maple syrup and coffee overwhelmed my senses, and before my brain had a chance to click on, my arms were wrapping around his neck, and I was pulling him to me in an attempt to deepen the kiss. My body heated, and it felt like a swarm of butterflies had been let loose in my stomach.
    Before I was ready for the kiss to end, Jeremy pulled my bottom lip between his teeth and gave it a playful nip before disentangling himself and stepping away. “Have a good day, sugar.”
    My mind couldn’t play catch-up. “What? Where the hell are you going?” I demanded as he headed for the front door.
    “Work. Gotta busy day today, and I’m sure you do too.”
    Before I could formulate a response, he was gone, leaving me aching for him again . I was going to kick his ass the next time I saw him.

    It was inevitable that walking out on Savannah for the second time in only a matter of hours meant that I was going to be stuck with a raging hard on for the rest of the day. But I could tell I was wearing her down, and that was worth every second of discomfort I would have to deal with. I’d watched as the struggle played across her eyes this morning, and after I kissed her, I could see the indecision had vanished and been replaced with hunger.
    It wasn’t going to be an easy fight, but I refused to give up. That girl took pride to a whole new level, but there was no doubt that I was going to win out in the long run, and I was going to savor her telling me I was right.
    I was leaned over the engine compartment of my 1967 Pontiac GTO, working on restoring the engine, when Luke walked in.
    “What are you so happy about?”
    I looked up to see him decked out in his full deputy uniform. “Do you ever work, man?”
    Luke rolled a chair over and plopped down, making himself comfortable. “What the hell does it look like I’m doing right now?”
    I pulled out the rag that was tucked into my back pocket and wiped at the grease on my hands. “I don’t know. Wasting taxpayer dollars?”
    He kicked his feet up on the bumper of the GTO and leaned back. “What can I say? Since I got back, crime has been down. I must scare people straight. I’m a badass.”
    I leaned back against the car and let out a laugh. “I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the fact that Cloverleaf is small and never really had a high crime rate to begin with?”
    “Nope, it’s because I’m a badass.”
    “Whatever.”
    “You still working on this thing? Damn, Jer. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you must be a shitty mechanic.”
    I kicked his feet off the bumper and laughed as he tried—and failed—to keep himself from falling. “It’s a slow process, asshole. I’m just about finished with her.”
    Luke propped himself back in the chair and dusted off his pants. “Whatever. I still say you suck.”
    “Don’t you have a speed trap to set up or underage kids to catch smoking?”
    “Nah, I’ll let the little punks get a few more packs in their lungs first. That way, I won’t have to chase ’em very far.”
    “You’re a disgrace to the badge.”
    He waved off my comment without even a blink and switched topics. “So, you never answered my question. What are you so happy about this morning?”
    There was no way in hell I was going to tell Luke about Savannah. Breaking her walls down was a work in progress, and Luke had a bigger mouth