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“And yet you were still forty minutes behind schedule?”

“I had to make her coffee when she got here, then shower after she left. It takes a while, okay?”

He huffed. “Well, settle in. The drive will take us at least six hours, then we will see how long it takes to locate the book.”

I did rough math in my head. “What, are we going to spend all night driving back?”

“We could, but I had your deliveries for today and tomorrow rerouted to other couriers, so we don’t need to. If we want, we can spend the night somewhere along the way.”

“From anyone else, I’d think that was a cheesy pickup scheme.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t attempt to pick you up?”

“No, I just think you’d be more upfront about it. Instead of, ‘oops, I ran out of gas and it’s cold out, hurry and climb in my lap to keep my penis warm,’ you’re more the type to just tell me you want me to take my clothes off.”

“You make me sound rather terrible and unromantic.”

“Not really. See, I don’t get romance. That stuff is all weird and confusing to me. I’d much prefer directness. I’d rather people just tell me what they want. Life is so much easier that way, isn’t it?”

“Well then, rest assured I will simply tell you in the future.”

Weren’t those words a nice little promise? I shifted in my seat at the strange tension that sprang up between us, the way it made me wonder if he was serious, if he though there was something more between us. It was a nice idea, right?

And given the way he’d kissed me before, he saw me in that way, too. Especially after the comments he’d made at the party.

However, it was easy to think that and different to address it.

The thought of something more with him was the kind of thing that was best safely relegated to fantasies and badly written porn—not reality. In reality, he was my boss, and also a Justice.

Did Justices have sex?

I thought about the ones I knew, and the idea sent an unpleasant shudder through me. They seemed about as passionate as old wet dog food. I couldn’t picture them getting all hot and sweaty with someone.

Though, a momentary flash of Ruben proved my brain was just fine thinking about him in that way. It didn’t mind it one bit.

I thought about his broad frame, that intense expression, all directed right on me. He was too much, but what if he put all that drive to pleasing me?

Well, I could think of a lot worse ways to spend an evening.

He let out a soft groan, one so quiet I almost wondered if I’d imagined it. When I turned to look at him, he wasn’t staring at me, his gaze locked on the road. To anyone else, he probably appeared entirely focused on driving, on the path ahead, but I knew better.

A twitch of his upper lip, the way he gripped the steering wheel just a bit too tight, the slight tremble in his arm, it all said something had gotten to him.

Justices had excellent senses, after all. Could he have been able to tell what I was thinking? Or at least guess it based on my reaction?

I pressed my thighs together to ignore the wetness there, between my legs, while repeating to myself that I was atwork,for fuck’s sake.

This was going to be one long-ass drive…

* * * *

We went to a very questionable drive-through to grab breakfast sandwiches. Still, I’d eaten at far shadier places through my life. When a person didn’t have much money—which for the vast majority of my life I hadn’t—they get used to eating whatever it was they could get.

For lunch, we actually stopped at a diner, the place quaint and small and in a little enough town that we got a few weird looks from being there and not local. Still, it was tasty.

Through it all, the conversation flowed with the smoothness of sandpaper. Ruben’s every answer seemed to give as little information as possible, like he’d cultivated that skill.

Not like Kelvin, who would just lie, or Galen, who would simply refuse to answer.