Jess stopped treading water a second and filled her mouth up with water before spitting it out. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“What? The truth?”
She shook her head. “No. I just . . . You seem so clean-cut and polite. I didn’t expect you to actually get me naked, so that wasn’t a big surprise, but you said ‘fuck.’ ”
This time I laughed. She really had no idea. “Don’t forget who I am. Jax may be taken, but I never have been. I enjoy his life even more than he does.”
Jess was starting to say something when flashing red-and-blue lights lit up the darkness. She looked out toward the gate we had climbed to get in here, then back at me. “Time to run,” she said, before swimming to the edge of the pool and climbing out.
We only had time to grab our clothes before the cop at the gate pointed his flashlight on both our faces. “Jess, I thought we went over this,” the cop said in an annoyed tone before pulling out a set of keys and unlocking the gate.
I watched as Jess’s body language instantly changed. She dropped her clothes to her side and sauntered over to the cop as he stepped inside. “But I got hot, Walt, and I needed to cool down.”
The cop sighed and glanced over at me. “I bet you got hot. I told you that the next time you did this shit I was taking you in.”
Jess moved closer to him and tugged on the front of his shirt. “But then that wouldn’t be any fun. Momma’s working tonight, and I’ll be stuck there all wet until she comes to bail me out.”
It was working. The cop had forgotten my existence as he stared down at Jess in her wet undies. “You shouldn’t have been . . .”
“Swimming, I know. I’m sorry. I really am. But I got all sweaty dancing, and a nighttime swim sounded so good. I was a bad girl. You know I have weak moments.”
Her hand was now lying flat on his chest as he tugged on his collar.
“Who have you got with you?” he asked, still not looking away from her.
“He’s innocent. I begged him to come with me.” She patted his chest. “Why don’t you let him go, and then you can take me in if that’s what you want.”
I wasn’t letting the perverted cop take her in without me. I appreciated the fact that she was trying to get me out of this, but the guy was old enough to be her dad.
“I need to do something to make you stop this,” he said, his eyes looking down at her chest.
“Just let him go. If you promise to give me a blanket so I don’t freeze, I’ll wait in your office until Momma gets off work.”
He was going to take the bait. “You go in and I’m going with you,” I said, jerking my shirt on and walking over to stand behind her.
The cop’s head snapped up and his gaze found mine. The lustful gleam in his eyes turned to annoyance real fast.
“This was my idea. You stay out of it,” Jess said, reaching out to squeeze my arm in an attempt to shut me up.
I looked down at her. “I climbed that gate and got in that pool with you of my own free will.” Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t say anything else.
“You don’t look familiar,” the cop snarled.
I had foiled his plans and made an enemy. Grinning, I lifted my eyes to meet his angry ones. “Jason Stone. I’m staying on the island in my brother’s vacation house.”
Normally, I didn’t use my brother’s name as a way to influence people. But right now I was pretty damn sure that was the only way I was keeping Jess from getting hauled in by the creep.
Understanding lit the cop’s eyes, and he looked back at Jess, who was still staring at me as if she couldn’t believe I was doing this. “You telling me you’re Jax Stone’s brother?”
“You want ID?” I asked, mimicking his annoyed tone from earlier.
He shook his head and stepped back from Jess. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll, uh, let the two of you go, but be wise and stay clear of this one. She’s full of trouble.”
My blood heated and I clenched my fist at my side. The son of a bitch had been molesting her with his eyes only seconds before. Now he was warning me off her. “I’m a big boy,” I replied, disgusted.
The cop turned to leave, then stopped. “Go ahead and get your clothes on. Then get out of here. I need to lock this back up.”
I tried hard not to watch Jess as she wiggled her wet body back into that little leather skirt, but damn, it was hard. She pulled her shirt back on and grinned at me. The amusement in her eyes made it hard not to return her smile.