Page 12 of Breaking All The Rules
Bea swore he muttered something about the full moon under his breath as he departed, but she was down to the last two bites of her pie, and that, frankly, seemed more important right now. Thank God for her sweatpants and their stretchy waist.
“Okay.” Austin leaned in again, sliding his arms between the bars. “How about I guess your name?”
“This a slow crime day, Officer Cooper?”
“Humor me.”
“Okay, sure.” This ought to be good…
He regarded her for a moment or two, his eyes roving over her with a thoroughness that led her to believe he was probably very good at taking down descriptions. A good trait for a cop, but it didn’t feel professional. It felt like something just between him and her. Hot, wild, thrilling. And damn if she wasn’t just a little bit out of breath by the time he finished.
That’s what happened after two weeks away from her nemesis—the elliptical.
“I think,” he said, pausing a little, obviously enjoying prolonging the suspense, “you look like a—”
“Beatrice?”
The incredulous female voice coming from somewhere off to the left had Austin grinning big. “Beatrice,” he said triumphantly.
Just then, Jenny Carter appeared by Austin’s elbow. A lot smaller than the last person who had stood there, although no less a presence as she practically vibrated with incredulity and shock. “There you are. Arlo told me you were back here. I couldn’t believe it when Annie called to say you’d been taken away in a police car. What are you doing in a cell?” She turned to Austin, indignant eyes blazing. “What’s she doing in a cell, Austin? Did you arrest her?”
“Nope.” He shook his head, thoroughly bemused now. “She’s not under arrest.”
“Then what are you doing? Let her out,” Jenny demanded. “Since when is this the way we treat a guest to our town? I thought we were trying to attract people to Credence, not drive them away.”
Austin cocked his eyebrow at her, and Bea sighed a little and nodded. This had been a fun, if slightly strange, morning, and she didn’t think Jenny would understand why or how she’d ended up in the town clink.
How could she, when Bea didn’t even understand herself? When the wild impulse that had seen her goad Austin into locking her up still beat its wings inside her chest.
God…maybe she did have a fetish.
Austin reached into his pocket for the key, undid the lock, and pulled the door open. “She’s free to go?” Jenny asked, oblivious to the strange vibe that hummed between Bea and Austin as she brushed by him on her way out of the cell.
Bea felt alive, and she hadn’t realized she wasn’t until just now. A small-town cop who’d taken her ranting in stride and flirted with her had bucked her right up—even her boobs felt perkier. Between Austin Cooper and the Winchester boys—now there was a sandwich—she was riding high.
All younger men, she noted. But that was fine—two weren’t even real people and the other was just a…fleeting distraction.
“You’re not fining her?” Jenny continued. “There won’t be any record?”
“Nope. She’s free as a bird.”
For some strange reason, Bea remembered that totally sappy thing she’d heard once about letting go of something you loved, and if it returned, that’s how you knew it was reciprocated.
Or some such garbage.
Why that was on her mind now, she had no idea, but as she walked out of the station with Jenny apologizing profusely at her side, Bea wasn’t thinking about Dean Winchester anymore. She was thinking about small-town cops, fetishes, and Thursday panties.
CHAPTER FOUR
Pie drove Bea out of the apartment again the next day. She’d pretty much mainlined Supernatural since returning to her apartment after her time in the pokey and had only slept for four hours after being woken by a completely inappropriate dream about a certain Credence police officer. But she was halfway through season fifteen now—the final ever season, sob!—so the end was in sight. And she planned on being totally unsociable until then.
But a girl had to eat, right?
Tomorrow she’d stick her head out of the apartment and do a shopping run, maybe even try meeting a few folks. But for now, it was a pie run, then Supernatural until Dean and Sam drove off into the sunset in their Chevrolet Impala. And if they didn’t? If one of them so much as had a cold at the end, she was going to be seriously pissed!
But when she got to Annie’s—her wardrobe of choice still sweats and a hoodie, with her hair twisted up into another haphazard knot, but no bunny slippers this time—the older woman convinced her she really needed to try the pancakes, as well as taking some pie to go, and, well…who was Bea to rebuff someone who clearly knew quality food?
She was scarfing down a stack of blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, ignoring the probing looks she knew were sailing her way, when Austin Cooper sat his very nice ass down on the other chair at her table.
