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  His weight leaned in, securing her against the wall. He dropped his head and whispered against her ear. “I’m willin’ to make you dance.” He pushed his hand up her thigh, under her dress and stroked a thumb over the front of her lace panties for emphasis.

  Her body did respond by dancing.

  “You want me to get you off right here?” he breathed against her ear. “’Cause I can do it,” he promised. He rubbed his pelvis against his hand, which was caught against damp lace, right on top of her aching need. His thumb stroked her slowly, up and then down.

  “Stop,” she whispered, but her body moved against his thumb.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Not here,” she pleaded.

  “Right here.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “No…just me, Piper.” His thumb slid underneath the lace and lay on top of her tight, damp curls. “Say my name.”

  She bit her lip, determined to stop the insanity, at least until they got inside his truck.

  Vance licked her lips imitating the slow draw his thumb made at the same time. “Naughty,” he said as he kissed her. “Naughty,” he said as his thumb teased just the right spot. “Piper,” he whispered against her cheek. “Say…my…name.”

  “Vance,” she panted. She couldn’t help herself.

  She felt him smile against the corner of her mouth. “Now,” he said, “tell me you want me to finish this right here…” his voice dipped even lower, “in public.” His hips started a slow cant, pressing his thumb even more intimately.

  Piper’s breath hitched, and she laid the back of her head against the wall.

  “Breathe, baby doll,” he said slowly. “That’s why we’re here. To finish what we started. Let me finish this. Let me finish you.”

  She wanted to weep with longing, and although she knew exactly where she was, and did actually care about it, she was too caught up in her own pleasure to stop it.

  Vance pressed his right knee between her legs, sliding them apart. “That’s it,” he said, easing his thumb along her damp center. “Jesus, Piper,” he breathed against her temple. “Do I do that to you? Make you soft and wet?” He kissed her head. “Or is it you, just being so damn perfect?”

  She whimpered.

  “Take all the time you need, baby. I’ve got this.”

  His touch was languid. So soft, so light, yet sooo potent.

  “There’s no place I’d rather be,” he assured her, not only in his whisper but with a slow kiss to her temple, and in the leisurely way his finger tantalized.

  Her jaw went slack and her pelvis eased against him.

  Vance pressed his thigh up and in, giving her leverage. “Whatever you need.”

  She rocked again, and then a breath caught way back in her throat. Vance’s mouth came down on hers, pulling her breath and emotions up and out while his thigh pressed against her. She made a small adjustment, caught his thumb right on the nub of built-up longing and rode his thigh and then the wave as her body shattered against him and against the wall—literally between a rock and a hard place.

  Her arms were around his neck, her mouth frantic under his lips, their bodies locked up tight when she started to come to her senses. When her breathing started to slow, when her muscles started to collapse, when the roaring in her ears started to quiet.

  When sanity returned.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Vance felt her tap his chest. Three times. Three quick taps and then he stepped back. Piper didn’t look him in the eye when she said she needed her purse, that she wanted to go to the ladies’ room. Vance turned around and found Pinks with his back to them about five feet away, leaning against the column, further protecting them from onlookers. He reached out and tapped Pinks on the shoulder.

  “Piper needs—”

  Pinks held up the little clutch without turning around. Vance took it and gave it to Piper. He thought he heard her say she’d be right back, but he couldn’t be sure. The music was loud, and she still wasn’t looking at him.

  Vance watched her go, walking up to stand next to Pinks. He rubbed his jaw, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach.

  “She’s bolting, isn’t she?”

  “Yup.”

  “And you’re sure because…?”

  “The restrooms are that way,” Pinks said pointing in the opposite direction from where Piper headed.

  “And what’s that way?” Vance asked, pointing after Piper’s trail.

  “The back door.”

  Goddamn it.

  “You seem a little relaxed for my wingman.”

  Pinks held up a key fob. Vance grabbed it out of his hand, smiling. In its place popped a laminated card that looked a helluva lot like—“Piper’s license?” Vance said in wonder, grabbing that up too and studying the picture and the birthdate, memorizing it all. “Best fucking wingman ever,” he said, clapping Pinks on the back. “I’ll give her a few minutes. Let her clear her head.”

  “You gonna tell me why she left you holding your dick?”

  Vance smirked. The kid was not wrong.

  “I’m serious,” Pinks said, finally looking at him. “Do I need to defend her honor? Because I will take you down if you took advantage of—”

  “Simmer down, Bruce Lee. She’s fine—we’re fine. She’s just a little frazzled, that’s all. Bad Cop coaxed out Naughty Piper. And trust me, Naughty Piper had a very good time. But once the fun was over, I’m pretty sure The Lawyer Beaumont started shouting a whole lot of ‘What the hell is going on here?’ inside Perfect Piper’s head. So…you know…all three of them bolted.”

  “Do you hear yourself?” Pinks questioned. “Do you have any idea of what you’re talking about?”

  “God, I hope so,” Vance said. “Come on, I’ll buy you a beer.”

  Piper stood beside her car digging around in her clutch, unable to find her key fob. She took everything out and put it on the hood of the car, but still no key. She huffed and closed her eyes, trying to remember exactly what happened when she'd parked hours before. She'd been late and in a hurry. It was possible that the key fob somehow got left in the car, although she was pretty sure the car wouldn’t have locked if that were the case. Still, with the parking lot so dark, she couldn't see much as she peered into the driver's side window. She yanked on the door handle over and over, desperate to get in her car and drive out of here. She needed to put a little distance between herself and insanity, although the way she was starting to shout at her precious little TT, it seemed insanity had surely taken root.

  Trying to remember a trick to get into locked cars, she sought out a credit card and shoved it between the window and the edge of the door, hoping somehow, someway that would trigger the lock. If she could just get inside the damn car—

  “Ma’am, step away from the car.”

  Piper twirled, startled, and then breathed deep when she saw two police officers approaching. “Oh, thank God,” she said relaxing back against her door. “Do either of you have one of those long, narrow thingies that can pop a lock? I think I may have left my key in the car,” she explained. When they weren’t immediately forthcoming, she took the time to focus on their faces.

  “Officer Millhouse, Officer Kreber.” Even Piper noticed the immediate change in her tone—abrupt, condescending. “I didn’t recognize you in the dark.”

  “Step away from the car,” the taller officer repeated.

  “This is my car.”

  “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. We’re going to need some ID.”

  “As if you don’t know who I am.”

  “Oh, Ms. Beaumont, we know exactly who you are.”

  “And what is that supposed to mean?”

  “That we have no idea whose car this is. I’m afraid we’re gonna need some proof.”

  “Then help me get into the car so I can show you my registration.”

  “Let’s just start with your license for now,” Officer Millhouse said, taking a slow step into her personal space. “Officer Kre
ber will run a quick check, and we’ll see what’s what.”

  “What’s what? You mean if there are any outstanding parking tickets or anything you can use to detain or humiliate me.”

  “Look at that, David, she’s smart even outside the courtroom,” Officer Millhouse said over his shoulder. “Ms. Beaumont, your license.”

  “Fine,” Piper said. She scooted out to the side to avoid touching Officer Millhouse or having to suggest that he step back. She moved toward the pile of debris on the hood of her car, going through her wallet first and putting things back into her purse as she sorted through the rest of it. She stopped for a moment trying to remember if she’d had to show her ID to get into The Charlie Horse.

  She had not.

  Suddenly she knew exactly where her key and license were.

  She turned around to the two cops and said, “I’ve been robbed. My key and my license have been stolen. If you’d be so kind as to follow me inside, I’ll point out the perpetrator and you two can slake your bloodlust and make an arrest.”

  “You’ve been robbed?”

  “I have.”

  “Is your wallet missing?”

  “Ah,” Piper stalled as she looked into her purse and stared at her wallet. “No. No, thankfully my wallet has not been stolen. Only my key and my license.”

  “That seems odd to me. Does that seem a little odd to you, David?” Officer Millhouse asked.

  “Very odd. Probably should take a drive over to the police station and sort all this out there.”

  “Ms. Beaumont, please, step this way,” Officer Millhouse suggested pointing to the waiting squad car. “We’ll just run a quick check, maybe test your blood alcohol level, see where things go from there.”

  “Look,” Piper scolded as she pushed herself off of her car and stepped forward, “I know what you’re doing, and I don’t find it amusing.”

  “Well, that’s good, because the last thing we’re trying to do is amuse you,” Millhouse growled.

  “No. You’re trying to intimidate me.”

  Officer Millhouse stepped forward, looming over Piper. “And how’s it working so far?”

  It’s starting to work pretty darn well.

  “Hey!” an overly cheerful voice hollered from the back door of the bar. “Piper,” Vance said as he jogged over. “I found your keys.”

  He came up on the scene with eyes only on Piper, immediately raising a hand to gently stroke her cheek as he looked into her eyes. “Sorry about this,” he said quietly.

  His gentle touch, the sound of his voice, just his presence and concern had the lawyer in her standing down, mellowing slowly but surely into Piper—just Piper.

  Vance turned and held out his hand to the two cops behind him. “Hey,” he said with a good-ol’-boy smile on his face. “Vance Evans.” He pulled his own badge out of his back pocket and flipped it open. “Henderson PD and personal friend of Ms. Beaumont’s.”

  “Personal friend?” Officer Millhouse said, his eyebrows shooting sky high. “That’s rather hard to believe. She’s not a big fan of cops.”

  “And you two don’t seem to be doin’ much to change her mind,” Vance said in a light-hearted tone. “What’s the problem here?”

  “We’d like Ms. Beaumont to take a breathalyzer test.”

  “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says her date.”

  “Is this true? Is he your date?” Officer Millhouse looked around Vance to ask Piper.

  She nodded her head.

  Millhouse looked Vance up and down. “She didn’t mention a date when we caught her breaking into this car. Is this yours?”

  “It’s hers,” Vance said.

  “I need some proof,” Millhouse insisted.

  Vance pointed the key fob toward the driver’s side door and clicked the lock. Piper moved around to the other side and rummaged in the glove compartment for her registration. She handed it to Officer Kreber, who took it and asked for her license. Piper glanced over at Vance. Vance pulled it out of his front pocket and handed it over.

  When Officer Kreber started to head back to the squad car, Vance stepped forward and stopped him with a low-timbred disquisition.

  “Trust me, bro,” he said. “You do not want to get into a pissing contest with me because you have an axe to grind with a distractingly beautiful lawyer. Buck up for God’s sake. She can’t possibly win ’em all. Your turn is bound to come soon. But this,” he said, gesturing toward Officer Kreber, “this right here is nothing short of police brutality. And if you think you’ve lost something to her thus far, just wait until she drags your ass to court with the entire Collins & Reese law firm behind her. Not to mention your own Officer Stevenson and the entire Henderson Police Department. We may not have jurisdiction,” he said, with a pointed eye toward Piper, “but we do have Ms. Beaumont’s back.”

  “Henderson? Hey,” Officer Kreber asked, “do you happen to know a guy by the name of Brooks Bennett?”

  “As a matter of fact I do,” Vance nodded.

  Office Kreber stepped in and started poking Vance in the chest to accentuate each word. “Best game ever. The guy threw a no-hitter to win the College World Series for State. I fuckin’ love that guy.”

  “Is that right?” Vance said, a big, broad smile across his face.

  Piper let it go only a couple seconds before she said, “If it wasn’t for Officer Evans making a diving catch of a line drive near third base, Brooks wouldn’t have had that no hitter. So you can thank him for that.”

  “You played third base?” Kreber said, moving to give Vance a high five.

  Sports, Piper thought. She didn’t get it, but it certainly brought men together like nothing else.

  “Hey, why don’t you and Officer Gang Bang here drive over sometime this week and let Brooks and me treat you to Skippers BBQ. Best damn pork you’ll ever taste. We’ll rehash the win and share a few beers. Call it an interdepartmental meeting. Brooks will love that. Besides, I’m sure you city boys could help us out with a few suggestions on how to keep graffiti from taking over the center of our little town.”

  The two policemen exchanged a look, clearly liking the idea of BBQ, but hesitant to capitulate and let Piper off the hook.

  “Look,” Vance said in an easy tone, “we're all on the same side here. Well,” he corrected with a short laugh, “the three of us are on the same side, and Ms. Beaumont is holding up the constitution by providing counsel to the accused. It’s her job, and she's obligated to do it to the best of her ability.” He held his hands out to the side in a helpless gesture. “She just has a helluva lot of ability. In fact, I bet you didn’t know that besides getting college yahoos off with a hand slap, she makes the world’s best cinnamon rolls.”

  “She cooks?” Millhouse said inside a disbelieving grunt.

  “Swear to God,” Vance said, holding up his right hand. “The most amazing combination of cinnamon and butter you’ll ever sink your teeth into.”

  “Well, who doesn’t like a good cinnamon roll?” Kreber grinned.

  “Piper?” Vance coaxed, tossing a hand toward Officer Kreber.

  “What?” Piper said, shaking herself from the trance Vance’s smooth talking had lulled her into.

  Vance gave her a wide-eyed, get-with-the-program look. “You like to cook, right? Maybe you’d like to ask when King Kong and his buddies Gang Bang and State Fan would be available for you to stop by their precinct with some of your mouth-watering pastries.”

  “Oh! Right,” Piper said, looking over at the men in blue. “A peace offering…not a bribe,” she said, warming to the idea. “I didn’t realize how rough I’ve been on y’all and…well, now that Officer Evans has opened my eyes to a few things, I think I’m going to take some time off and reevaluate my approach in court.”

  She thought she saw them both take a deep breath. Good God, was she really that bad?

  Officer Kreber stepped forward and handed her back her license and registration.
“I’ll look forward to your cinnamon rolls, Ms. Beaumont. Y’all go on and have a good night.” He and Officer Millhouse nodded toward Vance and left.

  Piper watched them go, her head reeling from the obvious truth. Like some ridiculous comic book character, she’d managed to become a hero to the outlaws and an enemy to the crime fighters. How the hell did that happen? She looked over at Vance, the real hero.

  “You saved the day,” she told him. “Swooped in here offering up free donuts to a bunch of overworked cops and just like that…saved all of us a lot of time, money, and heartache.”

  “We men have fragile, fragile egos.” He stepped forward and settled his hands on her waist. “Soothe a few ruffled feathers and maybe the next time they’re faced with a bunch of silly coeds, they’ll think about what you really stand for and insert a little of your common sense.” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “Of course, if it actually works out that way, it’s going to affect your bottom line.”

  She could see Vance’s emotions shift then. Watched his shoulders tighten as his eyes narrowed in on her. She felt him grip her waist a little tighter. “Were you runnin’ out on me, baby doll?”

  Piper allowed her forehead to settle against his chest. She breathed him in and let her arms wrap around him, letting his body support her as she sagged into his strength, and into the truth. “I wasn’t so much running out on you,” she said on a sigh, “as I was running from the ridiculous woman I become when I’m around you.”

  “Hmm,” Vance said, gently stroking the back of her head. “You mean Naughty Piper? That’s a shame really, because as much as the boy in me loves Perfect Piper and the cop in me has mixed emotions about The Lawyer Beaumont, the man in me? Well, that one is really into Naughty Piper.”

  Piper gave a short laugh before bringing her head up and pressing a hand against his chest, creating some space between them. “I’ve always considered myself a serious woman,” she said, as Vance took a step back, letting his hands drift from her. “I mean…I do realize I look like a cross between Goldilocks and a Playboy Bunny, and I admit I’ve played that up so my adversaries misjudge my intelligence. But…in most things, I’ve considered myself a serious woman.”