before turning Suzie toward their car. As they walked away, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Honey, Annabeth is a tired old busybody, fresh off a bitter divorce, mad about having to cut back on her lifestyle. You’re younger, prettier, and all around smarter with your assets. She’s so jealous of you right now, she can’t see straight.”
Suzie giggled. “Hush, you. I’m liable to get a swelled head. Nobody’s ever called me smart. Not even Myron, God rest his soul.”
Eden glanced over at Swain, who continued staring straight ahead. “So, that’s your dad and your new mommy?”
“Hush, you,” he parroted but turned and offered her a pained smile. “Thanks.” As the Tesla pulled out of the lot, he added, “I owe you one.”
“You owe me several, starting with when I didn’t drop-kick your ass for tossing out that ridiculous nickname.” She started walking across the lot. Swain fell into step beside her.
“Everyone gets a nickname, and nobody picks their own, so that doesn’t count. Nor does anything else you’re thinking of,” he said before she could mention the pat-down exercise or the way he’d tried to cut her out of the joint undercover operation in the commander’s office two weeks ago. “Take your one, choux, and let’s not argue.”
“Fine.” She stopped in the middle of the lot, turned to look at him, and crossed her arms. “Back out of the joint op. You don’t think it will work with both of us, so withdraw and let me do it on my own.”
“Choose something else. That one’s beyond my control. I’ve already tried.”
That stung. It stung to realize he disliked their chances of success so much he’d gone to Malone on his own and asked for a pass. “You know what, Swain? I grew up on a steady diet of military tactics. I graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt with a degree in criminology, and…oh yeah…I did pretty well here at the academy. Practically everyone who knows me thinks I was born to be a cop. Except you. Why?”
Despite the shield of the sunglasses, he looked genuinely surprised. “I never said you wouldn’t make a great cop. I’m sure they’ll be pinning commendations on you repeatedly as you rise all the way up the chain of command. You’ll serve with honor and dedication. You’ll be an asset to any department you join.”
Now it was her turn to be surprised. “Well, thanks. I guess. But if you really feel that way, why don’t you think I can hold up my end of this joint assignment?”
He took his sunglasses off and hung them from his shirt pocket. The distracting grin made an encore appearance, but his eyes remained serious. “You don’t have a deceptive bone in that first-class body of yours. You say what you think, but even when you hold your tongue, your feelings show. Your cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink when you’re sparked up. Those big, hazel eyes go to green. And your mouth? Your lips do that thing they’re doing right now. I bet you think pressing them together like that says ‘Don’t fuck with me,’ but I’ll tell you a little secret, choux.” He leaned so close she felt his breath on her ear. Tiny hairs along her neck stood at attention. “It makes me want to fuck with you. Badly.”
He backed off so abruptly she nearly jolted. “I’d play poker against you any day, but no, you wouldn’t have been my first choice of partner to go into a situation where success hinges on our ability to deceive people.” The corner of his mouth tipped up another notch—a red flag for her temper. “Lucky for you, I’ve come ’round to realizing I’m a skilled enough bullshit artist to cover for both of us.”
“What you are, Swain, is full of shit.” Wasn’t he? When the job required playing a role, she would play it convincingly. “Just because I didn’t pretend to like you during training doesn’t mean I can’t pretend to like you, cooyon. I can pretend just fine, when the need arises.”
His lips stretched into the full grin. The cocky-ass grin that worked her last nerve and a few too many of her hormones. Her temper slid out of her control like a nylon rope through a sweaty fist. With a little grrr of warning, she gripped the front of his shirt, yanked him toward her, lifted onto her toes, and sealed her lips to his.
He groaned—a short, reactive sound of shock she found insanely