Free Undercover Attraction by April Rankin Page B

who to
come after.”
    Hearing him say it like that dissolved her
curiosity. Her face paled. “Do you think they are going to come
after me? How did it get in the bag anyway? Should I hide out
somewhere? What about my sister and friends?” she rambled,
instantly nervous over her safety and that of her family.
    He got up and came around the counter
towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders, looking into her
eyes. “Calm down. Take it slowly. No, I don’t think they are coming
after you because they would have to know who you are and where you
live first. I saw one of the guys slip it into your bag last night,
the one who was hitting on your friend Mackenzie. I think we should
at least warn them about going back there until this is cleared
up.” He felt her panic rising, and pulled her to him, doing the
only thing he could think of to distract her.
    The kiss wasn’t intense. More like a sweet
caress to coax her to trust him. And even more surprising was that
she thought she really did. Granted, one night wasn’t enough to
learn if someone was trustworthy, but he was a cop, and that should
say something, right?
    His mouth moved on hers slowly, taking his
time tasting her, running his tongue along the fullness of her
lower lip, sucking it into his mouth to nibble on the softness. And
just like that he wanted her again. Fiercely.
    He lifted her against him, setting her on
the counter behind her, a squishing sound barely registering
through the haze of heat in his head. He groaned and deepened the
kiss, becoming more demanding, more intensely aware that she was
kissing him back every bit as passionately as he was giving to
her.
    Jenna’s nails raked his scalp, her breath
became an act of sheer will. And then he yelled, jerking back from
her as if he had never been there.
    Jacob flailed around for a moment, cursing
and trying to reach his back, until he turned just enough for her
to see the problem.
    Chuckles was latched on to his back, his
claws digging into flesh, shredding the t-shirt that recently
hugged his body so perfectly. Now it was tattered and angry
looking, hanging in ripped ribbons along his ribs and shoulder
blades.
    And Chuckles had picked the precise spot to
launch. He held on just below those perfect shoulder blades, his
body tucked into a furious ball, low enough that Jacob couldn’t
reach him over his shoulders, and high enough that only his tail
swished within distance at his lower back.
    And the look on Jacob’s face… Jenna started
laughing despite the fact that he was screaming bloody murder, and
loudly announcing that he was going to neuter that 'fucking cat'
himself. He reached back, barely missed catching the tail that
swished back and forth merrily, and she took pity on him.
    She gently detached Chuckles from his back
and cradled him in her arms just in case Jacob decided to make good
on his threats. But he just stared at the cat, and Chuckles stared
back, a grim sort of smile on his furry lips. She could imagine a
silent conversation going on between the two.
    In this imaginary conversation, Jacob would
say: Cat, you are one nanosecond from death.
    And Chuckles would say, Bring it on,
human: to which Jacob would reply, I am going to shave you
bald and dip you in steak sauce, then throw you in a dog pen so I
can watch you run from the big mean canine teeth.
    Of course, to this Chuckles only had a
silent warning: Stay away from my human. She could easily
imagine Jacob laughing to this.
    The imaginary conversation was over and
Chuckles jumped down, leaving them with his tail held high and no
backwards looks. As for Jacob, he was still looking angry, and
well, like the victim of a vicious attack. It was hilarious, and
before she could stop herself, she was laughing again.
    Jacob’s eyes narrowed and he helped her jump
from the counter, watching as she doubled over at his expense. But
then a chuckle slipped from his lips when he saw her ass. He had
apparently sat her on the plate of scrambled