Colton (Cerberus MC #14) - Marie James Page 0,2
be better?”
“Get right to the point?” I tease.
“Is there any other way?”
“We’ll have to discuss your class, eventually.”
“It can wait another day, or we could chat while you’re recharging.”
“You assume you’ll wear me out.”
“I know I will.” Perfect teeth dig into her lower lip, and although I’ve never done it before, I have the sudden urge to feign illness and leave for the day.
I shift in my seat, and she gives me a knowing look.
“Besides,” she leans closer, “are you really going to get anything done with a hard co—”
“Matthews!”
Guiltily, I snap my head up, and I want to unleash a territorial growl when Detective Haden Gaffey smiles down at my visitor.
“What?” I snap, but he ignores me.
“Are you serious?” Gaffey asks the woman opposite of me as he draws closer. “I didn’t know I’d be seeing your beautiful face today.”
“Haden,” the professor says with an easy smile.
I nearly come unglued like a psycho when she stands and his arms automatically go around her waist.
“You look amazing. How’s your dad?”
“He’s good. Staying busy with work. You know how it is.”
I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding when she steps back, putting a couple feet of distance between them.
Gaffey has been on the police force for almost twenty years, and he was one of my training officers when I was first hired. I’ve always respected the hell out of the man, and it’s shocking I was ready to chew his face off when he first walked in here.
“Don’t let this one give you a hard time,” Gaffey says, hitching his thumb over his shoulder in my direction.
Oh, I have a hard time for her alright.
She grins at me. “I can handle him.”
“Yeah?” Gaffey laughs. “I don’t imagine it’ll be too bad working with him. I don’t think there’s a man alive that would want to get on the wrong side of your dad.”
She rolls her eyes, making her appear much younger than her attire is hinting at.
“It’s good to see you, Soph.” Gaffey turns in my direction. “That professor from the college is waiting in the lobby for you.”
He walks away, but my eyes snap to the woman in front of me.
Chapter 2
Sophia
“Soph?”
I roll my lips between my teeth to keep a grin from taking over my face.
When I first saw this man months ago at the clubhouse, I knew I wanted to see him again. As a soon-to-be-graduating criminal justice major, I had the perfect in.
Detective Colton Matthews stares at me, confused.
I’m not surprised.
I could tell he thought I was someone else mere seconds after I darkened his office door.
He didn’t look at me like a charity case, like I was a favor he was doing for my dad.
And I reveled in it.
Then his eyes swept down my body as he took stock of each and every one of my features. That has never happened in this town. Of course I get checked out, I’m young and decent looking. I work out often, so my body type appeals to some people, but the fact that he didn’t care who I was when he noticed me standing there meant he in fact didn’t know who I was.
The flirting got out of hand. The suggestions got cruder, and if we weren’t interrupted by Haden, I imagine we’d be sliding into his car and heading for a nice quiet hotel room.
But, just my luck, I’ve been figured out.
“Soph?” he repeats after another long pause.
I know his brain must be working ninety to nothing, trying to figure out who exactly I am and going back over our entire conversation word for word as he prepares for the defense against the inappropriate topic we discussed.
“Sophia Anderson,” I say as I hold my hand out for him to shake.
“Anderson?”
“Yes.” I drop my hand when he makes it clear he isn’t going to offer his.
“Dominic Anderson’s daughter?”
“Correct.” I straighten my suit jacket, growing mildly uncomfortable now that the ruse is over. “I’m here for my internship.”
“You were supposed to be here at the beginning of the semester. I expected you in January, not mid-March.”
“I had another class I had to finish before I could leave campus.” I settle back into the chair across from his desk. “I emailed to let you know I’d be here today.”
“Emailed?” His head tilts as his throat works on a swallow. He drops back into his seat, hands shaking the computer mouse to bring his system to life. He focuses on the screen for a long moment before looking