nice. And despite the one problem we’ve had, it’s extremely safe.” Chris strode to the elevator. “I’ll take you up to her place and make sure you get in all right. You’ll need your own keycard to move through the building. We have several shared spaces.”
Chris started talking about the gym and swimming pool as they all entered the elevator. The doors closed, and Hutch was forced to contemplate the fact someone who worked for the police, someone who knew a lot about security, was working in the building where Noelle lived.
If someone planted DPD here, Noelle LaVigne could be in big trouble, and this op had just turned more dangerous.
Chapter Four
Noelle tried to focus on the screen in front of her but the events of the day weighed heavily.
She usually worked late because all that was waiting for her was a frozen dinner and the next episode of whatever show she was streaming.
Except tonight there would be two guys waiting for her. Did she have three frozen dinners? She hadn’t bought groceries lately. She had some protein shakes. That might work for Kyle, but she got the feeling Hutch wasn’t a protein shake guy.
He’d kissed her. God, he’d kissed her and she’d melted. It wasn’t like she’d never had sex. She’d had a couple of college boyfriends. But she’d never melted for a guy.
For a guy who was also a Dom.
She wanted to call her Aunt Lisa and ask if this whole body going gooey thing had happened to her. Maybe it was just that he’d been so commanding. Except he hadn’t. Not in the beginning. He’d even asked for her permission to kiss her.
She should tell him it was okay and he had blanket permission. For the cover, of course. The man shouldn’t have to ask every time he thought they should be affectionate to keep their cover up.
The idea of Hutch kissing her often held way too much appeal.
She was horny. That was all. She was a healthy, horny young woman.
A cup filled with Frappuccino was set in front of her and then Pete Moore was settling himself into the chair beside her. Pete was the lead engineer she was working with, an affable man in his late thirties with a husband, two kiddos, and the most adorable Maltipoo. “Hey, I heard you came up with the big boss after lunch. Are you okay? Did you actually go to lunch with her? I didn’t think she ate anything but the beating hearts of her enemies.”
She’d met Pete when she’d hired on and had started working on another doc’s project. He’d helped her write up the proposal that had gotten her this lab. Pete had been fought over by all the lab leads. When she’d won her lab, she’d offered him the job as her head engineer. What she hadn’t known until later was that several others—including Madison—had offered him a job, too. There had been a lot of bitterness tossed her way.
Actually, after seeing all the camaraderie at McKay-Taggart, she was starting to wonder if her office wasn’t a toxic cesspool.
“No, it was nothing more than coincidence. We happened to be walking in at the same time.” It had been an awkward trip up to her floor. She’d actually slowed her stride to give Jessica Layne every opportunity to race ahead of her, but she’d been standing in front of the elevator when Noelle had made it there.
She’d asked a lot of questions about Hutch and Kyle.
“I thought she closed down the elevator when she was in it,” Pete said.
She’d heard that rumor, too. “She invited me in. It was weird.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of weird things today. Tommy from the battery lab said you were making out with some hottie in the parking lot.” Pete took a sip of his drink. “He didn’t actually call him a hottie. He said it was some dude. I went and looked at the security cams. He’s a hottie. Like both of them. Where the hell did you pick up two Greek gods?”
“I told you about my high school boyfriend, right?” She knew she hadn’t. She rarely talked about her hometown except to say she missed it sometimes.
McKay-Taggart had reminded her of the sheriff’s office back in Papillon. She’d answered phones there as a part-time job for years. It had been fun because of how laid back it was. Her stepmom would sometimes show up for lunch and they would sit on the grass under the big oak tree