He’s infuriating…

Dempsey Jones has been a nuisance my entire life, the straight-laced Boy Scout grown up to be a firefighter, of all things. He was the one helping kittens out of trees and old ladies cross the road while I was lighting cherry bombs with my best friend in abandoned buildings, and now that we’re all grown up—even if my Dad doesn’t agree—he’s still just as annoying.

She’s impossible…

Taite Ridley has been a constant my whole life, the curly haired mischievous daughter of the police chief, charming and devious and alluring. She was wild in ways I never dared to be and too big for our little town. But she’s here, a small town cop, and I can’t avoid her, even if I wanted to.

And I don’t want to.

It’s like mixing fire and gasoline and when these two collide, someone is gonna get burned…

Excerpt

“I’m fine,” I call, waving, wincing when the move tugs at the gouges the demon kitten left behind.

Dempsey’s lips twitch and I glare at him.

“Does the Chief know?” I ask.

He inclines his head and says, “It’s protocol to inform the department if there’s an officer down.”

I curse and huff, “I’m going to shoot Miguel with his own service weapon.”

Dempsey lifts an eyebrow.

“Fine, you win,” I sigh, “Check me out. Might as well get it over with. The Chief will make me when he gets here anyway.”

I’m a little surprised he isn’t already here, except I know he was checking out a call about vandalism over at the River Bridge. It means Daddy’s only twenty minutes away, or less by now. I’m pretty sure Dempsey will be done with me by the time he gets here and I’ll look less like a drowned rat in the light of his flashing blues.

God willing, anyway.

Dempsey follows me up the three steps and into Mrs. Rudolph’s den. It’s cozy, floral, and hot enough that I’m absurdly grateful for the lack of coat.

“Would you like some coffee?” she asks, directing the question firmly at Dempsey. I want to bitch—I’m the one wet and bleeding—but I know better. I snarl under my breath and Dempsey wisely chooses to shake his head.

“If you could just point me to your bathroom?” he says, the usual charming inflection in his tone that grates against my skin.

And because she’s a traitor, Mrs Rudolph smiles, this girlish thing that looks weird on a face that’s pushing eighty, and points him down the hall toward a fucking pink bathroom. I had to rescue her damn cockatoo from that monstrosity when I was a rookie, and I’ve never gotten over the hideousness.

Miguel says I have issues. I maintain that they are well earned.

“Coffee sounds fantastic,” I say, digging my heels in.

Dempsey’s hand clamps down on my arm and he hauls me along behind him like I’m some kind of errant child. I’m a cop. Being manhandled like this is not a good look for me. It makes me want to hiss and scratch at him until he lets me go.

It makes a completely different—idiotic—side of me want to purr and arch under his touch.

He pushes me against the pink counter until I take the not so subtle hint and hoist myself up.

“You gonna be good or a pain in the ass about this?” he asks, opening up his first aid kit.

I flash him a cheeky smirk. “You wouldn’t know what to do with me if I wasn’t a pain in the ass,” I answer as he snaps on a pair of rubber gloves.

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About the Author

Nazarea Andrews (N to almost everyone) is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. Which means she writes everything from zombies and dystopia to contemporary love stories. When not writing, she can most often be found driving her kids to practice and burning dinner while she reads, or binging watching TV shows on Netflix. N loves chocolate, wine, and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, spoiled cat and overgrown dog. She is the author of World Without End series, Neverland Found, Edge of the Falls, and The University of Branton Series. Stop by her twitter (@NazareaAndrews) and tell her what fantastic book she should read next.

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