he really was rather than seeing what she wanted to see.
And where would that leave him? The woman had been a professor at Harvard, for God’s sake. She may not be there right now, but it was evident in everything about her from those sensibly heeled shoes right on up to that bun that drove him insane.
He should end this before it went any further. Get some distance between them. Help her adjust to life here by being her friend. He could do that. Hell, he was a pro at keeping people at a distance by keeping them close.
Emotional distance before things got any more out of hand. That’s what he needed to do.
But she was smiling at him when he got into the truck.
A downright genuine smile that made the skin around her eyes crinkle. The way it had when she’d been laughing throughout dinner.
That laugh, that smile...he was helpless against it.
Fuck distance.
He grabbed her by the back of the neck and slid her over until she was almost in his lap before his brain could warn him of the pitfalls of this plan.
It might have been the least amount of finesse in which he’d ever kissed a woman, but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she crawled closer.
Their mouths dueled with each other—open, messy kisses which were greedy and sloppy.
And the most real, amazing kisses he’d ever known.
When she pulled away from him a few minutes later, both of them breathing hard, he thought maybe she was coming to her senses.
He couldn’t stop the tortured moan that escaped when she crawled into his lap, throwing one leg over his hips so she was straddling him, fitting perfectly in the space between him and the steering wheel.
Every witty, clever, and romantic thing that he could possibly say floated out of his head as her lips made their way down his jaw to his neck and bit gently.
Oh, sweet God, he was not going to survive this. He needed to get her home and into his bed. There were things he wanted to do to her that he damn well couldn’t do in this parking lot.
But his head fell back against the seat as her mouth and little teeth continued their onslaught of his neck and jaw.
Mercy.
The tap on the window startled them both.
Quinn let out a little shriek and dove for the other side of the truck as the light beam shone in the window.
Thank God they’d only been kissing. Another five minutes of her devious little lips on his, and he might have forgotten they were in a restaurant parking lot.
He rolled down his window and saw Gavin Zimmerman standing there. “Evening officer.”
Quinn let out a distressed squeak, but Baby wasn’t worried. Gavin Zimmerman had been part of Linear Tactical since its founding five years ago. When the town’s long-term sheriff had had a stroke last year, Gavin had stepped in temporarily. But now that the sheriff was doing better, Gavin was working part-time to ease the transition back.
“Nobody’s had to give you the PDA lecture in quite a while, Baby.”
Baby chuckled. Gavin had been a good friend for years. “Not since high school.” He held his arm out. “Quinn, this is Gavin Zimmerman. Part-time Linear Tactical, part-time sheriff, full-time harasser of innocent people. Gavin, this is Quinn.”
He deliberately didn’t offer a last name.
“Ma’am.”
Baby winced at the term.
“Are you working or just finding new ways to bother me?”
“Working, actually,” Gavin said. “And I need your assistance with something.”
“Can it wait until tomorrow?”
“It’s important. Let me radio Mercer so she can give your friend a ride home.”
Okay, now this was just getting weird. He raised his eyebrow at Gavin. The guy was known for being pretty serious, but this was stiff, even for him. “Is it an emergency?”
“Not per se...”
“Then I’ll take my date home and meet you at the station.”
“Baby, it’s okay.” Quinn reached out and touched his arm.
Baby wasn’t sure what was going on with Gavin, but he damn well was not sending her to ride home in a squad car if there wasn’t some sort of emergency which needed Baby’s attention right fucking now.
“Fine.” Gavin nodded. “I’ll see you at the station in half an hour.”
A half an hour later, Baby was sitting across from Gavin.
Gavin was an important part of Linear Tactical. He’d met Finn and Zac when they’d all been in the Army together, then followed them to Oak Creek when he’d gotten out of the military, rather than head back to the