Page 6 of Hot Pursuit

Hmm…not the reaction I was hoping for.

“Guess it’s just us,” Jo said and turned back to the grump with what she hoped was an irresistibly charming smile, offering him a coopie.

He didn’t move.

His gaze flicked back and forth between the coopie and her face, as though trying to decipher some hidden agenda.

To be fair, she couldn’t blame him.

Jo was almost always working some sort of angle. But this one time, no matter how much her words seemed to dance and dart around the unspoken, she really did just want an honest opinion about something she cared more about than almost anything else in the world—her food.

Her smile drooped for an instant.

She stretched her hand a little closer.

“I don’t bite,” Jo commented. His lips softened. His muscles relaxed. He almost—almost!—reached out to accept the coopie, until she couldn’t stop herself from adding, “Unless you’re into that sort of thing, of course.”

She wriggled her brows and flashed her teeth.

A pink flush rose on Mr. Stiff’s cheeks as he jumped to his feet.

Tall, check.

Broad, check.

He stepped past her, reaching down to deftly untie her jet ski from their boat. Jo let her gaze drop for a moment.

Very grab-able ass, check.

As though he could hear her thoughts, he jerked upright and turned, holding the black rope in his more-than-capable hands and offering it to her. “Have a nice day, Miss Carter.”

Jo cocked her hip to the side, staring up at him for a moment before reaching her palm forward. She let her fingers linger on his warm, tanned skin as she took the rope from his hands, loving the way her stomach clenched, how a little flurry of sparks exploded in her chest. Mr. Stiff…hopefully in more ways than one.

He pulled his hand back, but she clenched her fingers and held on, forcing him to meet her eyes.

“You can call me Jo.”

- 4 -

Nate

He didn’t want to notice the perfect O her plush lips made as she said her name, but he couldn’t control it…or the immediate reaction his body had at the sight. Nate froze, jaw clenching as he fought to control the blood rush coursing to a very distinct place.

Jo leaned closer, tightening her grip.

His gaze darted to those jade eyes staring up at him, vibrant and sparkling with hidden mirth. He’d always had a weakness for green eyes. And women in barely there red bikinis…

He jerked back, shaking free of her hold.

Jo folded her lips together for a moment, holding back a smile, before licking them slowly. A single brow arched. “You have a name?”

Nate frowned, cleared his tight throat, and nudged his chin in the direction of her jet ski. “I said good day, Miss Carter.”

“No fun,” she sighed with a pout, then smirked. “You know I can find out if I want to, right?”

She can’t seriously be…Nate shook off the thought and pushed his brows together in question. “You wouldn’t be implying what I think you’re implying, would you?”

Her smile widened with an unspoken challenge. “What if I am?”