Read Online Irresistible Force by D. D. Ayres - Free Book Online Page A

her, and scratched him behind one ear. “News alert, Officer Cannon. I’m not your concern.”
    “Come on, Shay.” He said her name softly, as if he had used it before, and it sounded wonderfully comfortable in his mouth.
    Shay straightened up, feeling a little shaky from running on adrenaline. “Are you asking as a police officer or a friend?”
    James felt himself shifting onto uncertain ground. “Whichever you need.”
    Shay searched his face for a moment. What she needed was someone to believe her. But she couldn’t explain why without explaining the very things she wanted most to keep hidden. So even the compassion in his expression couldn’t help her.
    Shay snatched her gaze away, searching for her security blanket of hostility. “Why did you come back, anyway? Looking for a little pat on the back to make you feel like a hero?”
    Annoyance jerked at James’s patience. He’d swung by on a hunch. Yet after his graceless entry into her life, what had he expected, a parade?
    “Fine. My bad. I thought maybe since we share a fondness for Bogart that we might become … friends.” James made a business of putting his pad away. “So, who is that asshole?”
    Shay almost smiled at his description. “He’s my ex. Boyfriend.”
    “Your decision?”
    She nodded. “I broke it off a month ago, but he hasn’t taken the hint. I think now he will.”
    “Don’t count on it.”
    Shay pushed a hand up under her bangs, using her fingers as a comb. “Is that why you let Eric believe you had more than a professional interest in me?”
    She caught that, did she?
    “It’ll make him think twice before he tries to force his way in on you again. The least I could do.”
    “Or you just pissed him off in a way that will make him an even bigger threat when you’re not around.”
    Reminded of Eric’s violent actions, Shay moved her hand to the back of her head, probing the place where it had connected with the wall. “Ouch.”
    James frowned. “Are you hurt? Here. Let me look at that.”
    “No, it’s okay.”
    But James didn’t pause. He spun her around lightly and then his fingers were in her hair, parting it carefully at the crown. He wanted to lecture her on the dangers of violent men but he sensed that right now the last thing she needed was to be pressured by a man. He felt her flinch as he revealed a red bruised area. “You’ve got a knot developing back here. You should be looked at.”
    Shay slipped free of his touch and danced away from him, as if being close to him could breach her defenses. “No. I’m fine.”
    “Are you nauseated?” He held up two fingers. “What do you see?”
    “V for victory. Okay?”
    “Has he gotten rough with you in the past?”
    Shay stared at him, not knowing what to say. No one had ever taken an interest in her claims before. Then she realized that no one had ever seen Eric in action before.
    She licked her suddenly too-dry lips before she found her voice. “Once.” She looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Fair enough. But you should think about pressing charges. It’s not too late. I can go after him. You call the sheriff while I track him down. I’ll bring him in and you have him arrested for assault. I’m your witness.”
    “No.” She didn’t even give his suggestion a moment’s consideration. “Eric’s gone. That’s what I wanted.”
    James waited a beat, weighing how hard to push her. He decided he needed to ease up before she shut him down completely. Maybe another approach would work. “Coates doesn’t seem the sort to take directions well. What would have happened if I hadn’t walked in?”
    Shay jerked her gaze up to meet the full impact of his blue eyes. What she felt emanating from them was a genuine interest and something surprisingly like warmth. Then his question boomeranged back through her thoughts. What would I have done?
    The sudden sick look in her expression twisted James’s gut. She was trying to tough it out but