Page 6 of Rekindle My Heart

She stood. Her back collided with his front.

“Whoa.” He braced her arms with a firm grasp to steady them both.

Over her shoulder, her gaze darted to his.

Frozen, he was fully absorbed in the feel of touching her. A lifetime ago it was so natural to touch her. A brush of hands, a bump of shoulders. Casually. Friendly… then intimately.

Now?

He waited.

Her focus locked on his hands, then crept back to his face. A brow flung up in question.

“What? You bumped into me. I was trying to keep us from ending up on the floor entwined in a mess of arms and legs.” Well, if that didn’t give him an image that shouldn’t be playing in his head. He released her.

“Sorry.” Her cheeks pinked.

Damn, he always loved the way she blushed. If he touched his lips to her ear, would that sexy blush climb higher? By the flat line of her lips, he doubted it. The hate she had for him ran deep, rooted in years of self-loathing. He should know—his did too.

Erica shoved her computer in her bag. “Listen, I know we have to work together on this, so can we agree to be professional?”

Ryan’s brows furrowed. “What did I say or do that wasn’t professional?”

Stormy eyes glared back at him, but she didn’t answer.

Okay, maybe he pushed the line with his double entendres. Humor was a pressure release for him. But no way he’d do anything to jeopardize a case. He worked hard and had too much respect for his fellow law enforcement officers to do that.

His face wiped clear of any humor, and he nodded.

“I’ll contact you if I find anything.” She had her professional expression firmly on her face now as she slipped out of the room.

Ryan shot her a mock salute and turned to avoid watching that fine ass walk away from him… again.

Don’t run. Don’t run.Erica controlled her pace as she left the Ashwood Police Station. Of course, it had to be Ryan Daniels she was teamed with. The man had always been a computer whiz, even in high school. That was one of the things that drew her, as well as all the other girls, to him. That and his wit. He couldn’t help it. He man could always make her smile with his humor. Even if it was inappropriate at times.

She’d almost forgotten. Almost. Ryan was dangerous to her. The man had a sharp brain, a fun personality, and then there was his body. Erica bit back a groan. Thirteen years and she’d never forgotten that. And how could the man get better with age? Shit. His shoulders were wider, and though she’d tried not to look—that ass. Just as amazing as she’d remembered. She’d bit her lip trying not to imagine biting into him.

Throwing her bag in her SUV, she climbed in and started the engine. Good thing she hated him. She caught movement across the parking lot. Ryan. She waited for the hate she’d mentioned to roll in her gut. There it is, she thought at the feelings tightened her stomach. But it wasn’t alone. Something else fluttered inside. An unnamed emotion.

She dropped her head against the driver’s seat, and she closed her eyes. Sarah. The vision of her sister’s face had blurred over the years. But the hurt and anger that glared back at her that night remained.

“I’m so sorry.” She’d change it if she could.

She knuckled a stray tear from her cheek and pulled out of the lot. It didn’t matter if she hated Ryan or herself, what mattered was the case. She didn’t know who to trust at the fire station after Wyatt’s death, so when she heard about the corruption case in Ashwood PD, she reached out to BCA agent Trey Fenley about her suspicions. Knowing she’d skipped the normal chain of command made her skin itch, but if the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was involved, it made sense to go straight to them.

Erica’s mind tripped through the cases and all the inconsistencies as she drove—a much safer topic to think about than the past. Tomorrow, she would start her two-day rotation at the fire station. She’d dig into more files if she could sneak in the time. She hoped the fire investigator’s report from this weekend’s fire would come in today, but she doubted it.

Her heart fluttered as she slowed in front of her house. Home. She smiled at her mowed lawn and the late blooms on her annuals that flanked the front door. Dad must have been here and cut the grass today.

Her small house had been a labor of love for Erica. After years of nights and weekends renovating, she got dizzy just thinking about paint stripper. From the bright blue door to the new stain on her hardwoods, this was her baby.

She pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. As she stepped from the vehicle, the deep barks of her welcoming committee reverberated through her even before she opened the house door. Her smile grew larger. Her other baby.

“Hey Karma, how’s my boy?”

The fierce barks turned to happy whimpers as Erica cleared the door to the kitchen. One-hundred-thirty pounds of wiggling dog did figure eights around her legs. Her Cane Corso pup was already two and weighed as much as she did.

She dropped her bag on the counter and gave Karma his much-needed ear scratches.