Free Tattoo My Heart (Heroes of Seaside Point, Book 1) by Mia Dymond

little effort. Muscles tensed under the cotton of his uniform shirt when he lifted the spare onto the rim. His pants creased under his tight ass as he spun the tire into place.
    Annessa quickly glanced away, her blood boiling from sexual frustration. God, the man had sex appeal in spades.
    Her attention was momentarily distracted when a dirty brown sedan approached and hesitated just a moment before accelerating and driving past. Her spine tingled as recognition tickled her brain. That car looked a lot like the one she’d seen parked outside the drugstore. The same one she’d ditched like a scaredy cat. She ran a hand across her damp forehead and willed herself to relax. After all, she wasn’t alone this time and no one in his right mind would borrow trouble with Casey. Still, the driver’s lack of interest bothered her. Granted, the deliciously-hot cop had everything under control, but most locals would’ve stopped anyway. Obviously, the occupant of the vehicle wasn’t a local.
    “There’s a nail in this tire.”
    Lost in thought, she jumped at the sound of Casey’s voice. She looked back to see he was now inspecting the tire in the trunk and joined him at the rear of the car.
    “Where on earth would I have gotten a nail?”
    He gave a lazy shrug. “Did you drive through any construction?”
    “No.”
    “It’s really not all that uncommon. Take it to Pete’s and have it patched.”
    “Did you recognize that brown car that just drove by?”
    “I didn’t see it. Why?”
    “It just didn’t seem like it belonged here.”
    “Did you get the plate?”
    “No.” She shook her head as if she could dismiss her suspicion. “I guess I’ve just been gone awhile.”
    He tilted his head to one side. “It spooked you.”
    “Not really.”
    “Did you see the occupants?”
    “Only long enough to know there were two people inside who didn’t bother to stop.”
    He released a husky laugh. “They probably figured I could handle the tire.”
    “Of course.”
    He studied her for a brief moment, heat still evident in the depths of his eyes. All of a sudden she was sorely tempted to let the air out of all four tires.
    “Are you okay this morning?” she said finally.
    “You didn’t do too much damage.”
    Although she knew he teased, another apology seemed out of place, for the pepper spray anyway. However, she needed to say something about last night. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    “You don’t owe me an explanation, Ness, just don’t ever run from me.”
    “I’m not.” Quite the opposite, actually. Under the circumstances, she needed him right beside her.
    “I kissed you goodbye this morning.”
    “You did?”
    He nodded while he cocked an eyebrow. “And you knew it.”
    “You’re right, I did.”
    She prepared herself for another interrogation but instead, he smiled and slammed the trunk closed.
    “Okay, you’re good to go.”
    “Actually, I think I’ll just head back into Seaside. We can have lunch there.”
    “You don’t want to go to Mourning Dove Harbor?”
    “It can wait. Can I borrow your phone to call the realtor?”
    “Where’s yours?”
    “Relax, I have it. It’s just dead.”
    He unclipped his phone from his belt and handed it to her. “I think you need a new battery.”
    “Maybe.” With shaky fingers, she punched buttons, spoke to the realtor, and then disconnected. “She’s going to pick up a cake from Vanessa this afternoon,” she said as she returned the phone to him, “she’ll leave me a key.”
    He placed a hand to the small of her back and urged her to the front of the car. “I’ll follow you.”
    “No funny business this time.”
    “Hey, I only use lights and sirens when absolutely necessary.”
    “Sure.”
    Her mouth suddenly went dry when he folded his arms across his broad chest and smirked. “You were half naked.”
    “I was not ! You scared Cody to death.”
    “Good.” He reached to open the car door and motioned her inside. “And don’t think I