First Time for Everything - By Aimee Carson Page 0,3
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closely, Jax.
Blake appeared unimpressed with her explanation.
“Well, according to the police report, the music blar-
ing from your VW Beetle was loud enough to disturb
the peace.”
Inwardly, she winced, hating her defensive tone.
“I told Nikki it’s kinda hard to keep the beat to music you can’t hear.”
He went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “Not to mention
the dance move that landed you on the sidewalk where
you—” he leaned forward to the seat across from them
and retrieved the report, scanning the page “—and
I quote…‘failed to comply with a lawful order to cease from obstructing a public sidewalk.’ End quote.”
His gaze landed on hers again, and heat crept up her
face, but she refused to let him see her blush. So Jax concentrated very hard on brushing away the grains
of sand clinging to her denim cutoffs, remnants of her time spent on the ground.
“I couldn’t hear the police officer’s order to move
because of the music,” she mumbled.
“Precisely,” he said evenly.
She shot him a look she hoped was veiled by her
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first time for everything
lashes, her voice growing stronger. “And I didn’t in-
tend to land on the sidewalk. I just overshot my mark
doing the Worm.”
He raised a brow higher. “I assume you’re referring
to the dance step that involved you undulating along
the ground on your belly.”
He set the report on the seat between them and
went still, as if he couldn’t wait for her to explain further. Somehow she didn’t think further details would
help.
“The maneuver isn’t easy to do,” she said.
“It certainly looked painful.”
She ignored him and went on. “And I unintention-
ally positioned myself in the wrong spot. I didn’t know that I was getting too close to the walkway.”
“In retrospect, a fatal error in judgment,” he said
drily.
The sarcasm was really getting on her nerves.
“There was no time to practice,” she said. “We
needed to react quickly to the budget cuts. While the
news was fresh in the public’s mind.”
He settled a little deeper into the seat. “And you
thought taking the teens you were responsible for out
on a flash mob and risking arrest was a good expres-
sion of your dissatisfaction?”
Jeez, putting it like that made her feel like a crazy
lady. “I told you, I was trying to keep it legal.”
Above the pristine tux and the tanned, flawless
complexion of his face, the two dark slashes of eye-
brows were perfectly schooled into a noncommittal
expression. And despite the sophisticated polish and
the undertones of skepticism, she suddenly got the
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aimee carson
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impression that Blake Bennington was as amused as
he was disapproving of her actions.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Deep down,
you find this whole thing funny, don’t you?”
“Just the part where your carefully planned flash
mob was ruined by a dance move.” His lips twitched,
as if suppressing a grin. “Perhaps next time you’ll plan your routine more carefully.”
The hint of restrained humor was annoying, and
she said, “And perhaps Officer Brown will learn to
lighten up a little?”
His eyebrows shot higher as the gray eyes grew
dark, holding her in their power as he leaned closer.
She’d obviously stepped on a nerve.
“I can assure you, Ms. Lee. When it comes to people
who break the law—” his voice was deadly soft, and
his proximity brought her attraction back in full force
“—both Officer Brown and I take our jobs very seri-
ously.”
Trapped by the force of his gaze, Jax’s heart rapped
harder beneath her ribs. Getting beyond the thickly
fringed, hypnotizing eyes was difficult, but she finally allowed her gaze to skim down the angular planes of
his face, landing on his mouth.
Oh, great…he had lips just the way she liked them.
Full. Sensual. The kind that could kiss a girl senseless and make her forget she’d sworn off men forever. Or
at least until she found one who didn’t think she was certifiable.
And Superman here, with the eyes of steel, clearly
wasn’t the type.
As their staring contest continued, another heated
flush slowly crept up her face, but she refused to feel 9780373207046_txt.indd 19
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first time for everything
ashamed. Because regret would keep her tethered to
the past, unable to move on.
Relying on an innocent expression to tone down
her statement, she said, “Are you lecturing me?” She
lightly scrunched up her face, as if she didn’t already know the answer. “Because this is beginning to feel a
lot like a lecture.”
Amazingly, his lips twitched. “Not at all. But since
you now have several charges filed against you requir-
ing your attention, you should learn to follow advice.”
Advice? Pressing her lips together, Jax turned her
gaze to the window, drumming her fingers against
the leather seat. Advice seemed a tame description for 007’s fetish for control. Not to mention those disturbing shoulders that were so broad