Locked In Temptation

“No. Dead serious.”

She stared at him. Felt a tightening in her stomach while watching him slide a piece of the cake between his own lips. When a bit of icing clung to the lower part of his mouth, he used his tongue to swipe it away. That same tongue he’d used to mate with hers earlier. The memory had every hormone in her body sizzling. “Why would you go out of your way and do something like that?”

He sliced the fork into the cake again, and when he extended another piece to her, she automatically opened her mouth to him. “Because it was our official first date, and I wanted it to be as special as I think you are.”

She didn’t know what to say. His compliment had rendered her speechless. And then there was that warm feeling that washed over her she just couldn’t ignore. The last thing she wanted to think was that he’d merely given her a line to score, although maybe she should think it. She couldn’t let anything Stonewall—or any man—said go to her head. Her career was front and center in her life. She’d worked too hard to get where she was without letting anyone, especially a man with flowery words, deter her focus.

But still, a part of her couldn’t help saying, “Thank you for the compliment. But do you honestly think I’m special?”

He chuckled again, and the sound was low and seductive. “Hell yeah. You’re a beautiful woman who’s smart and intelligent and who can also kick ass when you have to. What man wouldn’t think you’re special?”

“Plenty of men. You want a list?”

* * *

STONEWALL SLOWLY CHEWED another piece of the cake while looking at her. It was not what she said that concerned him but basically what it implied. He recalled that first night when she’d told him she wasn’t seriously involved with anyone and cited her lack of time as the cause. Was that the only reason?

“You want to tell me about that list?” he asked, slicing his fork into the cake again.

“Not really. It was their problem, not mine.”

“Well, just so you know, kick-ass women turn me on.”

He watched as a sensuous smile touched her lips. His groin tightened in response. “Do they?” she asked.

“Yes. Nothing stirs my blood more than a confident woman. A woman who knows how to take care of business and doesn’t mind doing so.”

She stared at him, as if trying to decipher the truth of his words. There was something ultrasexy about the way her hair tumbled around her face when she tilted her head. “Why?”

“Why what? Why do I admire such a woman? Why would I find such a woman sexy as hell, hot, a total turn-on?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure why I like strong women. I guess the main reason is that most of the women in my life are strong or have been. Including Mom. She was my father’s partner in all things. He was a dentist, and she was his office manager. He would always say she ran his office like clockwork, which allowed him to concentrate on his patients.”

He paused before continuing. “Then there’s Granny Kay. After my grandfather died she became the one in charge. The one who had to protect her family, namely me and my sister. My grandfather owned several guns, and Granny Kay sold them all and bought one she could handle. She even took classes on how to use it. When decent people began moving out of the neighborhood and thugs began hanging about, word got around that she was an old woman who would shoot first and ask questions later. Just in case they got the mind to test her.”

“Did any of them try?”

“I understand a few did. They soon discovered she was as serious as a heart attack.” He paused a minute and then added, “I’m glad she was able to protect herself and Mellie since I wasn’t around to do so.”

“During your stint at Glenworth, right?”

There was no need to ask how she knew about that. She was a cop, after all, and had access to any information she needed to know. “Yes,” he said, “it was during that time.”

He offered her the last bite of cake, and when she shook her head and said, “No thank you,” he slid it into his own mouth.

“Tell me about it,” she said softly.

He usually didn’t talk about this with women. And yet... “What can I tell you that you probably don’t already know? There’s no way I’ll believe you haven’t looked at my file. After all, you’re a cop.” He knew she must have heard the bitterness in his tone.

“I take it you have something against cops?”

“Depends on the cop. Let’s just say I have a reason not to have a favorable impression of the few I’ve come into contact with.”

“Sorry to hear that. I would be a liar to say all cops are good. There are some who give the rest of us a bad name,” she said with bitterness in her tone, as well. “But I believe most of us do what we’re paid to do and uphold the law while being fair to everyone.”

All he had to do was remember how the cops had worked to get that assassin off the street to know what she said was true. And when Striker’s and Margo’s lives had been threatened, the cops had shown up ready to kick ass.

“And another thing, Stonewall,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “I agreed to go out with you before researching your history. The reason it took us six months to finally have a date wasn’t for lack of trying on both our parts, and it had nothing to do with you once being a convict.”

“I never said it did, Joy.”

She’d spoken matter-of-factly, self-composed, while trying to maintain her cool. There was something sexy about the way her lips curved in a frown and the way she’d tilted her head as if to make sure he fully understood what she’d said, because she had no intention of backing down. The thought that such a gorgeous-looking woman could hold her own made him feel good inside. She reminded him of Mellie, who didn’t take foolishness from any man.

“I merely pointed out that I’m aware you know everything you’re asking me about,” he added.

“But not your side of the story.”

He shrugged. “Does my side matter?”

“Yes, it matters to me.”

He weighed what she’d said, deciding not to read too much into something about him mattering to her. Leaning back in his chair, he said, “Tonight I wanted to impress you, not depress you.”

“You could never depress me. You’re too strong a man for that.”

He shook his head. “Strong? There was a time I was weak. Acceptance meant everything. I lost my parents, and within the same year I lost my grandfather. My father and grandfather were the two most important and influential male figures in my life. I was angry. Madder than hell. My life was a mess. Nothing anyone said or did mattered. I rebelled and began hanging with the wrong crowd. I deliberately got into fights, played hooky from school and gave my teachers grief. I was the quintessential pain in the ass.”

He paused, remembering that time. “Then one night, less than a month after graduating from high school, two of my friends talked me into driving them to a convenience store for cigarettes and beer. Said they would only be a minute. I didn’t know they’d robbed the place until the police pulled us over a short while later. The money they’d stolen was stuffed in their pockets. Stupid me, I’d been clueless that they’d used me as the driver of the getaway car.”

He couldn’t believe he was telling her all of this. “Granny Kay used the money from my parents’ life insurance policy, money that was meant for my and Mellie’s college, to hire a lawyer. He was able to get me a lesser sentence since I hadn’t participated in the actual robbery. I got five years and they were given ten.”

“You ended up doing eight years because you kept getting into trouble while in prison. Three more years were added on to your original sentence,” she said.

“Yes, I kept getting into trouble. But all that changed when Sheppard Granger came on the scene.”

“Why?”

Like he was certain she’d known his story, he was just as certain she knew Sheppard Granger’s. “Shep was a convict who was wrongly accused of killing his wife. He didn’t fit. He didn’t belong. But even worse, he didn’t accept our bullshit. He refused to do so. I tried hating him but ended up admiring him. Especially when he began doing good things for the prisoners, starting educational programs for us and becoming our advocate. He made me realize getting more time added to my sentence was a total waste of my life and my value as a human being. I began believing him and began believing in myself. I got out, went to college, got a good job and have tried to give back to society. I feel good about that.”

“And you should. I’d read the news articles about Sheppard Granger and the differences he made in the prison system. Because of him, a lot of changes have been instituted.”

“Yes, they have. I owe him a lot.” Moments like this, sitting across from a remarkable woman like Joy when he could still be wasting his life getting into trouble, always made him appreciate the day Sheppard Granger came into his life.

Stonewall checked his watch and then glanced at Joy. His pulse kicked up at the thought that their evening wasn’t about to end but was truly about to begin. “You’re ready to leave?”

She held his gaze and nodded.