The incredibly hot Jo Lupo had a secret.
She also had my grandmother's engagement ring…and that was just plain weird.
And I'd kissed her, and that was even weirder.
I won't be shy about this – I kiss a lot of women. Whatever, it's pretty much the easiest way to figure out if I'm going to get any. A fast slap and I'm gone for good. And yeah, my cheek's been bruised once or twice. But most often, I can tell right then if a date or two is worthwhile. Grab the girl, pull her toward you – either she kisses you back or she doesn't.
Lupo kissed me back.
Yeah, it was random. And pretty damn unexpected.
I'd made the average casual pass at the Enforcer off and on for months. Well, why not? Hot is pretty much an understatement: Lupo's got legs that go on forever, a killer ass, perfect handful breasts and a mouth that – well, let's just say that the thought of those full lips wrapped around intimate parts of a male anatomy would keep any red-blooded guy awake for hours.
But the casual passes went nowhere. My "Anytime you want, Lupo," got nothing more than a glare and an eye roll, and I didn't expect more. Lupo was as uptight as girls got. Yeah, yeah, women. Whatever.
Which is not to say that I didn't like her. I mean apart from the hot – did I mention how hot she was? – there were moments when she actually seemed like a pretty decent human being.
Okay, way too law-abiding. Like, laws were made to be broken, babe. But apart from that…well, let's just say that every once in a while, I got a feeling about her. Like maybe we could be friends.
In some alternate universe, that is.
'Cause in this one, we were natural enemies.
Except…then I kissed her. And that…yeah, that was just damn weird. Like I said, I kiss a lot of women. A kiss is no big deal. But that kiss?
It was wrong. On so many levels.
A first kiss? There's a pause. There's a moment, maybe one second, maybe three, maybe five, where you're figuring each other out. It's kinda awkward, kinda stiff. You don't know where your hands go, you don't know how far you should push, what the right moves are.
With Jo, there was no pause.
I kissed her and it was like falling.
Like gravity had just taken over and dropped me into a universe where the natural laws were about kissing Jo Lupo, that this touch was right and that touch wasn't, that a hand around her waist would lead to the light tingle of her fingers stroking my cheek, that the touch of our tongues would be almost explosive, that the air would practically evaporate from the room until I could barely catch my breath.
And then she pulled away.
And that – yeah, there was just no way that was right.
I don't remember what I said. To be honest, I think I was kind of pissed. I mean I'd already figured out that there was a secret. Well, the ring kind of gave it away.
That and Andy's comment – what had he said, exactly? Oh, right, that given Grant's "unique circumstances" his file would be stored in the town archives. Now what the hell did that mean? I didn't know.
But I was damn sure going to find out.