Ella’s lips compressed with anger as she watched the men enter the store across the street. “Not again!” she bristled, her body already trembling with fury. “They aren’t getting away with this! It’s illegal!”
She hurried around the tables in her bead shop, only taking a moment to lock her doors as she raced across the street. This wasn’t the best part of London, but she wasn’t going to let it get worse by allowing muscle-bound, smelly, immoral men to terrorize the small shop owners. She’d been here for six months and already, she’d seen the fear enter the owners’ faces.
Not on her watch!
She didn’t care that one of the men entering the shop was bigger than the normal goons who extorted money from the shop owners for “protection”. His ratty green jacket and shifty eyes told her that he was here for one thing. And he wasn’t getting it today! She’d been trying to organize the shop owners to stand up to the goons but now was a perfect way to show them that she would help them, show them that the only way to get rid of the illegal protection scam was to show the “collectors” that the shop owners refused to be intimidated.
“Get out!” she growled as fiercely as she could.
The two men, one looking more clean cut and the other taller, much taller, turned around, facing her with amusement on their faces! The bigger of the two was unusually handsome for a bad guy, she thought. He wore that raggedy jacket and a hoodie as if he were hiding something, and he most likely was. Oh good grief, he even had nice, blue eyes! Darn it, a criminal shouldn’t have nice eyes!
And he shouldn’t smell good either!
Someone should teach this goon how to be a decent criminal.
“Excuse me?” the big guy asked with pseudo-politeness, stepping closer.
“Don’t!” she warned, raising her hands in the air to stop him from approaching. Shoot, she needed a weapon!
Well, she didn’t have one. Not right at the moment. So she’d just have to wing this little confrontation. “We’re not going to take your intimidation tactics any longer. You just get out and tell your ignorant boss that we don’t need you around here.”
“Ella, this isn’t…” Murray, the owner of the small tool shop tried to say, but Ella shook her head.
“Murray, we discussed this already. We’re not letting them do this to us. Just stand back and I’ll take care of these idiots.”
Daniel looked down at the tiny woman with the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. She had soft, blond hair that was currently dancing around her delicate, beautiful features. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at the way she was dancing like a boxer in a ring, prepared to “take down” him and his partner, or if he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her, find out if those pink lips were as soft as they looked.
And damn, but the woman looked mighty fine in those jeans! Soft denim smoothed over her backside while her soft, fluffy sweater hugged her small breasts, making his mouth water to find out more.
He looked at Jim, his partner, and thanked God that the man was married. Because he could tell that Jim agreed, this was a beautiful woman!
“Um…ma’am,” Daniel started to say, holding up his hands to try and stop her from a serious misunderstanding.
“No talking! Just get out of here!” she snapped. She even moved closer, ready to make a jab or two.
Daniel rubbed his hand over his face, trying very hard not to laugh.
He looked at his partner and Jim only backed up a step, actually leaning against the countertop, silently relaying that Daniel was going to have to deal with this tiny dynamo.
Daniel looked back at the woman, trying to figure out how to handle her gently. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she looked ready to do battle.
Damn she was cute! And hot! As she bounced, so did those breasts and he was having a hard time stopping his body’s reaction to that movement. It might help if he could keep his eyes on hers instead of roaming down her delectable body but…well, he was male. And she was hot! And cute! A dangerous combination.
It hadn’t ever been a problem in the past, he reminded himself.
“Just leave,” she warned, “and no one will get hurt.”
He valiantly tried again. “Ma’am, you really shouldn’t…”
She reached out and punched him! It wasn’t hard but it looked as if she’d given her all to the punch. Unfortunately, if she didn’t learn to fight, she was going to break her hand or wrist.
Daniel looked at Jim who only chuckled and shook his head.
“I’ll get to your partner next,” she said and jabbed him again.
Daniel rolled his eyes. She was going to hurt herself if she kept hitting like that.
Ella was getting anxious. She kept punching but this guy wasn’t nearly as lazy as his clothes would suggest. Every time she took a jab, her knuckles hurt. There was too much hard muscle underneath that stupid, torn up hoodie.
She wasn’t relenting though. Murray was a good guy. He might try to set her up with all of the eligible men in the neighborhood, but he had a good heart. He just didn’t understand that she wasn’t interested in dating right now.
“I’ll take you down!” she told the tall, handsome man, determined to do just that. She’d started watching self-defense videos online last night and she knew the technique. Okay, so she’d never practiced and the online instructor had cautioned repeated practice to get the moves down accurately so that they were instinctive. But she’d just started to learn and she wasn’t going to wait around for the police to show up! It might be too late by then.
“You’re not going to take me down,” the big guy said. “You’re only going to hurt yourself. If you’d just…”
“Stop!” she yelled when he reached to his back. “Don’t you dare!” She didn’t want to give him the chance to pull a gun on her.
“I’m just going to show you…”
“You’re just going to leave. Murry isn’t paying you any protection money. Not now, not ever. Or are you too stupid to understand small words?”
She glared up at him, wishing that he was smaller, but she supposed one couldn’t pick and choose their criminal of choice. When the man looked over at the lazy one leaning against Murray’s countertop, she moved into place, determined to get rid of the goons.
Grabbing his hand, she twisted around, exactly as the video had demonstrated. Backing into the big guy, she yanked. Hard.
Nothing happened.
Well, something happened. She felt it against her bottom but it wasn’t what she was expecting. In fact, she was pretty scared right now.
“Um...” she looked over her shoulder, then yanked again, determined to flip him over onto his back.
Daniel heard his partner’s chuckle behind him and looked over. Was this tiny woman really trying to flip him? She was a foot shorter than he was and not even half his weight.
He’d give her kudos for trying but…she was doing it all wrong.
“Honey, you’re …”
“Don’t you dare!” she whipped out of his arms and started punching him.
Daniel rolled his eyes, exactly as Brea had done just yesterday. With a sigh, he grabbed the woman’s wrist and gently twisted. If she’d been a criminal, he would have twisted harder, causing a bit of pain. But she was too cute to be a criminal and he understood that she was only protecting a friend.
Unfortunately, he was too turned on and impatient. He was only trying to pull out his badge but she was a mighty little demon. He slapped the metal cuffs on her wrists and pulled her against his chest, trying to hold her still so that she didn’t hurt herself.
“You’re making a mistake, honey.”
She twisted and turned, kicking her feet behind her, trying to hit his legs when the big jerk lifted her higher. She got one good kick in before she was flipped around again, this time, her chest pressed against his, her hands still cuffed behind her back and she was completely, horribly aware of him as a man. A very tall, very muscular man who was now glaring down at her with evil intent in his eyes.
“Be still!” he growled.
“No!”
He did something with his legs so she was no completely incapacitated. “Be still,” he said more slowly.
She glared up at him, her eyes shooting daggers since she couldn’t do more. Couldn’t move an inch. “You’re just a stupid goon and I’ll find a bigger police officer who can teach me to take you down. Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”
Daniel couldn’t stop the laughter this time. A beautiful, sexy blond was wiggling against him, threatening him bodily harm, his cuffs and his body restraining her, and she was still tossing out threats. Priceless.
Looking over at Jim, Daniel knew that everyone at the station was going to hear about this.
“Settle down!” he snapped, squeezing her slightly. “I’m going to pull my badge out of my back pocket!”
“I’m not…” Ella froze. Badge? Huh?
One muscular arm dropped from around her waist but the goon was so strong that he continued to hold her against him with the other arm. A moment later, a detective’s badge was put in her line of vision and she slumped against the strong arm, not sure what to do or say now.
“Ummm….sorry,” was the best she could come up with.
The man sighed, his warm breath tickling her ear and making her hair flutter on her cheek.
No longer was there fear inside of her about confronting criminals who were trying to terrorize her adopted neighborhood. A new fear rose up. One that had her trembling because….well, because this guy was gorgeous! Yeah, she’d recognized that fact before, but she’d been able to ignore those blue eyes and broad shoulders. She’d thought those shoulders were just canvas jacket and hoodie. Apparently not!
“I’m going to put you down, okay? No more punching, right?”
She pressed her lips together. Right at the moment, she couldn’t promise anything. Too often, her mother had told her to slow down, to stop charging into situations and think things through.
This moment was a perfect example. She was pressed against a crazy strong man with her hands cuffed. Ella was truly grateful that her mother was hundreds of miles away and couldn’t see her at this moment. Silver lining, she told herself.
“I’ll be good,” she promised. Well, she would try to be good, she amended to herself.
“Fine.” Daniel lowered the woman to the floor carefully, then slowly released his arms from around her. When he straightened, he was shocked by how much he wanted to lift her right back into his arms. She was tiny, but she was perfect, he thought. Every part of her. Well, except for the crazy part of her mind that drove her to stupidly charge into a potentially dangerous situation.
That realization hit him hard and he was barely able to contain his anger. “What were you thinking?!” he almost yelled at her.
Her body stiffened and, because her hands were still cuffed behind her back, he had a perfect view of her small breasts and those nipples pressing against the material of her sweater.
“I was thinking that you were an obnoxious jerk trying to shake down Murray. He has kids in college, you know! He can’t afford to pay off some stupid extortionist.”
“I know!” Daniel growled right back. “But you’re not trained to defend the world.”
She bristled at that. “I did fine!”
He slapped his hand over his forehead. “You’re handcuffed! And your hands probably hurt from the way you were punching me! How can you say that you’re fine? Everything at this moment indicates that you were absolutely not fine!”
She wasn’t backing down. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so strong!”
He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated with her logic. “Oh and the other criminals you tackle are wimps?”
She continued to glare up at him despite his logic. “I’ve never tackled a criminal before!”
“Exactly! Stay out of this! Don’t confront a criminal unless you’re trained to do it!”
Her shoulders shook with her anger and resentment. “I was learning how to take down men larger than me by watching instructional videos!”
Daniel’s mouth fell open and he tried to come up with a response. Unfortunately, he had nothing. Nada. She honestly believed that watching movies would make her experienced enough to step into a violent, dangerous situation?
Daniel pulled back and looked over at Jim. His partner was still leaning against the countertop, barely able to contain his laughter. Murray was openly chuckling, enjoying the afternoon show.
“Come with me,” he growled furiously and grabbed her upper arm. Dragging her out through the back door, he placed her against the brick wall of the store. “Okay, what’s your name?”
“None of your business,” she snapped right back.
Daniel’s eyes widened. Unbelievable! Had she no sense of self-preservation? If he weren’t so stunned, he might actually admire the feisty little woman.
He leaned in closer, placing an arm on either side of her head against the brick wall behind her. “You do understand that I could arrest you.”
That only made her angrier. “What for? I was defending Murray!”
“For assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, obstructing an official police investigation. Should I continue?” he challenged.
“Trumped up charges!” she came right back, but he saw the wariness in her eyes. Finally!
Daniel leaned in, moving his hands closer on either side of her head. “Tell me your name,” he growled.
“Ella.”
“Ella what?”
“Ella none-of-your business.”
Daniel sighed. A change of tactics was needed now. Obviously intimidation only fired up her temper. Cute, but stupid.
“Want to play games?” he asked, his voice changing from demanding to something completely different. He was relieved when her beautiful, blue eyes turned wary. “I love playing games, Ella. But when I play,” his hand moved down her cheek, “I win.”
Ella couldn’t believe how warm her cheek felt. It had been just a simple caress. Nothing to it, really. But the fire! The heat! It was still there and his hand was gone.
His dark blue eyes reminded her that they were in a dim alley. Alone. And he was a huge man with too many muscles. Darn it, her hands were still cuffed behind her back.
“Stop it,” she said, trying to order him again, to show him that he didn’t scare her. But her voice was a whisper, and there was a pleading quality to it.
“Stop what, Ella?” He moved closer, blocking out the sunshine. “Stop this?” he asked as he leaned down to gently kiss her cheek. His lips weren’t soft. Not in any way. They were hard but her cheek felt on fire again.
“Or do you want me to not do this?” he asked, his lips moving over to her neck, kissing and sending shivers of desire racing through her body.
Ella wasn’t sure what to say. She bit her lip, trying to keep herself from asking this man to continue. Continuing would be bad! Oh, but his lips felt so very, very good!
“This isn’t right,” she whispered, but bent her head, trying to feel more, wanting his mouth to tease that sensitive area once again.
Daniel pulled back, looking down at Ella. Her eyes were closed and her lips open, as if begging him to kiss her. “Tell me you’re not going to charge into dangerous situations, Ella,” he said as his calloused fingers trailed down her neck.
“I will if I want to,” she told him and took a deep breath. Opening her eyes, she wished he would go back to doing that thing against her neck. But with her rejection of his command, he’d lost that sensuous look and she knew it was over. “Are you going to uncuff me?” she asked, trying very hard to focus her mind again.
“I haven’t decided.”
She shifted slightly, her eyes moving to his shoulders, not wanting to look at his eyes any longer. Dangerous eyes. Sexy eyes! “I’m thoroughly chastised, officer. You can release me.”
“Detective,” he corrected, knowing that the fool-woman was completely unrepentant.
Ella looked up at him, not sure she understood.
“I’m a detective. Not an officer,” Daniel explained as calmly s his fury and fear for this woman would allow. “And I seriously doubt that you’re chastised in any way.”
Ella shrugged, defiant once again. “Well, then arrest me for lying.”
He laughed softly and his fingers trailed down her neck, resting against the pulse beating at the base of her throat. “I might just have to do that if it is going to keep you safe.”
She glance dup at him, hearing that strange tone. “My safety isn’t your concern,” she argued.
He pulled back. “I’m a member of the police force, Ella. It’s my job to protect you.”
“You’re being a bully,” she came right back, her eyes flashing defiance. “I don’t like bullies.”
Daniel was at a loss for how to deal with the slender beauty. He could arrest her for assaulting a police officer, but if he did that, he would be laughed out of the police station once the other guys caught sight of her.
He might just do it though. It would keep her in jail, safe from the Dan Morgans of this world.
In the end, he couldn’t do it and she knew it. He wouldn’t arrest her and subject her to the dangers of jail any more than he was going to allow her to confront any of the mob characters trying to intimidate the neighborhood.
He grabbed her arm and turned her around. “Promise me that you won’t do anything stupid like this again.” Why he was demanding that promise was anyone’s guess. He knew from the look in her eyes that she was going to do it again and again. He’d just have to step in and figure out how to keep her safe.
The idea appealed to him.
She glanced over her shoulder at him as he pulled a set of keys out of the pocket of his jeans. “I promise.”
Thankfully, he unlocked the cuffs and she pulled her arms forward, rubbing her wrists. “Thank you,” she said and moved towards the door of Murray’s shop.
He grabbed her arm. “I mean it, Ella. We’re working this case. I don’t want you getting hurt because you charged in without any experience.”
She looked up at him, still rubbing her wrists. He really was a handsome man, she thought. But still too tall. “Fine. I’ll be good.” And without another word, she jerked the door open.
Daniel knew that the woman was lying through her pretty, white teeth. But he enjoyed watching her walk away. Her butt really was a work of art.
They reached the front of the store and Daniel looked up, realizing that he’d been caught staring at the adorable body part of the neighborhood’s dragon lady.
Murray glared at him furiously, almost like a papa bear protecting his young. And Jim…well, Daniel would have groaned at Jim’s knowing expression but he didn’t want to alert the feisty blond woman to his transgressions.
“We’ll talk to you later, Murray,” he told the bulky man and followed the blond out the door. He stood on the sidewalk as Ella almost ran across the street, obviously trying to get away from him.
Not likely, he thought as he saw her enter the store across from Murray’s.
He noticed that there were several beautiful necklaces on display in the bead shop. He’d have to come back, he told himself. He was fairly sure that his sister and niece needed a pretty bauble for Christmas. He now knew just the place to find something!