Free Justice for Boone: Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes, Book 6 by Susan Stoker Page B

Boone made her want to put in more effort than she usually did. She brushed out the thick strands until they were relatively tamed after being confined in her usual bun all day, and smoothed it behind her ears. She scowled at the ends, which curled up no matter what she did to try to make them lay flat. Shrugging, Hayden grabbed a scrunchie and put it around her wrist; she’d most likely put it up by the end of the night anyway.
    She went into the other room of her apartment and paced. She wasn’t one to be able to sit still very well, so she stalked back and forth from her small kitchen into the family room, then back into the kitchen.
    What if Boone stood her up? What if she’d misunderstood what he’d wanted when he said this was a date? Shit. She probably shouldn’t even really be going out with him since she’d investigated his case. It wasn’t like her to ever want to date anyone she’d met during the course of her job. She should call him to…dammit. She didn’t have his number.
    Hayden looked at the clock. Seven forty-five. Crud. Fifteen more minutes. She paced back and forth and generally worked herself into a frenzy before the bell rang about ten minutes later.
    Hayden stalked to the door, ready and worked up to tell Boone that there was no way they could go out tonight—or any night.
    Boone could tell the second he saw Hayden that she’d talked herself out of wanting to go to the bar with him. He had no idea if it was him, having him meet her friends, or something more, but there was no way, after getting a look at her, he was going to let her back out now.
    He knew her hair would probably be amazing, but he was so far off the mark as to what he’d imagined, it was laughable. She’d left it down, and the ends brushed the tops of her breasts. It was wavy and looked utterly unmanageable at the moment. Boone wanted nothing more than to shove his hands in it, tilt her head back, hold her still, and devour her mouth.
    “Boone, I—”
    He didn’t let her get anything else out. He took a step closer and put one hand on her waist, and the other he rested on the side of her head, barely resisting the urge to tangle his fingers in her tresses and slam his mouth over hers. Instead, he leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek then looked down into her eyes. “Good evening, Hay. You look beautiful.”
    “Uh…hi, Boone. Thanks. Um, so do you.”
    He smiled. She hadn’t really even looked at him. She’d been looking at his feet when she opened the door, and when he’d kissed her, she’d brought her eyes up to his.
    “Ready to go?”
    “Well…uh…yeah. I guess so.”
    “Do you need a jacket or a purse?”
    Hayden shook her head. “I have my money, ID, and cell in my pockets. I’m good.”
    Boone put a bit of pressure on her waist with the hand he still had resting there. “Great. Let’s get going then.”
    “Okay. Yeah. I do need to grab my keys though.”
    Boone let go of Hayden enough so she could reach over to a key rack hanging over the small table inside the doorway. He backed up to give her room. She closed her apartment door and locked it. She pocketed her keys and turned to him, putting both hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
    It was obvious she was uncomfortable, but Boone knew she had no idea by putting her arms behind her, she was thrusting her gorgeous tits toward him. He took a deep breath. Her absolutely unconscious sexuality was breathtaking. He held out his hand. “Come on, Hay. Let’s get going. I believe I remember you saying you hated to be late.”
    He was pleased to see no hesitation in her actions when she put her hand in his. He led her to his pickup and opened the passenger door. “Need help inside?”
    She looked at him as if he was crazy. “No.” Hayden then proceeded to hop into the truck as if she’d been doing it her entire life. Boone would’ve complimented her, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her ass in the tight jeans she was wearing. He