Page 24 of Lock ’N’ Load

Why is he here? If he’d come to apologize again for his mistake, she’d die of embarrassment.

Suddenly self-conscious, she tugged at the hem of her white lounging shorts, wishing she was wearing something that covered more of her backside and upper thighs. For that matter, her snug green knit tank top didn’t do much to conceal anything, either. She’d only worn them because she was stuck at home for who knew how long and hadn’t expected any visitors, not even Bonnie and Kevin. But they were close friends of hers, and Matt was not. And he was far too male for her narrow little comfort zone.

The doorbell peeled again, and she took a deep breath and opened the door. Their gazes met, then his lowered to her legs, then slowly slid back to her face, but not before lingering on her breasts.

To her horror, her nipples had begun to pucker and were now hardening beneath his gaze. She quickly crossed her arms. Talk about embarrassment.

In the ensuing and painfully awkward silence, he cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”

“Wh-why?” Shoot. Not again.

“Because I don’t want to have this conversation out here on your porch.” His gaze flickered again to her breasts, and his jaw went rigid.

“Fine.” Sighing, she stepped aside for him to enter, although she couldn’t stop the zinging in her belly as he brushed past her.

Through the kitchen doorway, Bonnie and Kevin craned their necks to see who was at the door. Bonnie elbowed Kevin, whispered something in his ear, and they both rose and joined them in the hallway.

“Sgt. Connors.” Bonnie offered Matt a megawatt smile. “How nice to see you. Are you checking up on Trista after last night’s, uh, incident?”

“I am.”

“Sgt. Connors.” Kevin held out his hand, which Matt shook.

“We were just leaving.” Bonnie threw Kevin a meaningful look, then hooked her hand around his elbow, practically dragging him out the door.

“Apparently so.” Kevin gave Trista a pointed look that spoke volumes. “Call if you need anything. I mean it. You can stay with either of us if you want to.”

Matt’s brows drew together as he narrowed his eyes on Kevin.

What’s that about?

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine here. Goodbye, you guys. And thanks for stopping by.”

Before she’d closed the door, Bonnie turned at the bottom porch step, putting her thumb to her ear and her pinkie to her mouth, mouthing the words “Call me later.”

When the door closed, Trista turned, and her mind went blank. Matt’s dark brows were still knitted, and a distinct air of disapproval swirled around him. He sure had that scowling cop thing down.

“Can we talk?” he asked, his deep voice sending another delicious shiver through her body.

“Sure.” She indicated the kitchen, and he stepped aside for her to pass. As he did, she breathed him in, catching an all-too-disconcerting whiff of his leathery, rummy aftershave, although now it was mingled with the clean scents of soap and shampoo.

He’d undoubtedly showered after his workout, and the image of Matt naked, water cascading down all those corded muscles, popped into her brain, sending goose bumps parading up her neck and making her nipples even harder.

Grabbing a sweater draped over the back of a chair, she quickly slipped it on and sat, automatically reaching for her glass of Dalwhinnie. He pulled out the chair next to hers and when he sat, she nearly laughed. He was so big, he seemed to take up half the kitchen. Or maybe it was his enormous, brooding presence that only made it seem as if the square footage of her kitchen had instantly decreased by a factor of ten.

“Can I get you a drink? Scotch?” She nodded to the bottle in the center of the table. Wow. Two entire sentences without a stammer. It didn’t matter that they were two very short sentences. It was a win nonetheless.

“No, thanks.”

“No d-drinking in uniform?” She groaned inwardly. So much for my winning streak.

He shrugged. “Something like that.”

Hmm. He’d declined with an air of casualness, but she detected something else, a hidden meaning behind his words.

“You don’t drink at all. D-do you?” she asked, suddenly curious about what made him tick.

His gaze hardened. “No.”