Free Burnout (NYPD Blue & Gold) by Tee O'Fallon Page B

most was the effortless ease and competence about him. With his starched navy blue uniform outlining his incredible physique and that gun strapped to his side, he was as intimidating as a cop should be. A poster boy for the NYPD. So how did a guy like him end up in a quiet place like Hopewell Springs? And where did he get that doggone confident sexuality? The man wore it like a second skin.
    “You know,” he said, “if you let me help I could save you some time and you wouldn’t risk breaking a nail. I am here to protect and serve.”
    Cassie dropped the wrench and it clattered onto the hot road. She choked down the urge to flip Mike off and shoot back, “Yeah, service this .” Instead, she straightened stiffly and answered in a civil tone, “Like I said, no thanks.”
    “Suit yourself.” Mike hooked one of his hands on his duty belt and leaned against the Trail Blazer, sporting an irritating, masculine smirk on his way-too-handsome face.
    Cassie snatched up the wrench, fitted it onto the topmost nut, and yanked with all her might. She felt something give.
    Finally. Nope. Oh, shit. The nut hadn’t given way.
    She had.
    Her sweaty hands slipped off the wrench handle, and she felt herself flying backward. When she expected her ass to hit the pavement, a pair of strong arms slid around her bared waist, catching her in midair.
    Mike turned her in his arms but didn’t release her. She clung to his forearms for balance. When she looked up, their faces were close together and Mike’s warm breath blew across her forehead. Why does the man have to smell so freaking good all the time? Her throat constricted, and she swallowed.
    Raven’s nails clicked on the pavement as she bounded to where they stood. Cassie expected the dog to interpret Mike’s nearness as an attack and launch straight at his chest. She didn’t. Her K-9 was merely curious and sat dutifully beside her.
    “You okay?” He gave her a look of concern.
    The air around them seemed to spark and sizzle. Every place his fingers touched on her bared waist skittered with goose bumps. She’d thought him handsome before, but… Oh, man. He had about as perfectly chiseled a profile as she’d ever seen. All hard, masculine angles, planes, and tantalizing shadows.
    “Uh, fine. Good catch, Chief. Thanks.” Her breathy voice didn’t sound like her own, dammit. God only knew how long it had been since she’d reacted to a man this intensely.
    Try never.
    “My pleasure,” he said, backing away. The suggestive tone of his voice and the hot way he looked at her made her heart dance like sizzling bacon on a hot skillet.
    Several young boys on bicycles raced along the road, laughing and waving as they flew by. He smiled and waved in return. It really did seem like every kid in town liked the guy.
    Without asking, Mike picked up the lug wrench and with one yank, the nut gave way with an ear-splitting screech. He made embarrassingly quick work of unscrewing the remaining nuts.
    The heat rising in her face had nothing to do with the blazing sun. She wasn’t helpless, she was a New York City detective, for Christ’s sake. So it was a little hard getting the lug nuts off. She could change a tire.
    Annoyance turned to fascination as a light sheen of sweat covered Mike’s forearms, making them glisten in the blazing sunlight. As he maneuvered the jack beneath the car, the muscles in his arms rippled and bunched, making Cassie want to run her fingertips over the hard ridges. The guy could have been a cover model. On second thought, he was too raw and too much man. Everything tempting and everything she should stay away from.
    He gave her a sideways look as he cranked the jack. “So how long you figure on staying in town?”
    Mike eased the flat tire off the wheel hub and rolled it to the back of the Trail Blazer. He lifted out the spare, carrying it effortlessly, then shoved it onto the lug screws.
    “Don’t know.” She watched as he screwed on the nuts. “Maybe ’til