Accidental Bounty (Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunter Book 4) Read online

  As she stepped out of the shower, the water cut off automatically. She reached for a towel and dried her body off. She put on her panties and her super long t-shirt that reached just above her knees. It wasn’t sexy or anything, but it was comfortable. It belonged to her grandpa when he played football in his early years.

  Towel drying her hair, she glanced at all the hair products. She reached for the leave-in conditioner, put a small amount in her hand and ran it through her hair. The colorful streaks in her hair were starting to fade. She would have to do something about that.

  Done, she grabbed her dirty clothes and opened the door and almost walked into a wall of flesh and let out an audible uumph.

  She glanced up and up at a bare chested Drake. Good gosh he was fine.

  *****

  Drake paced outside the bathroom. He hadn’t spent that much time talking to a woman he wasn’t going to fuck in a long time. It was strange to discover that he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. The more they sat there talking, the more beautiful she became. Why had he dismissed her as simply cute?

  He felt like he could have talked to her for hours more. When she went to take a shower, he felt restless. He checked the doors to make sure they were locked, then he checked his bedroom wondering if he should insist that she sleep in his bed. He pulled off the dirty sheets throwing them to the corner where his laundry basket overflowed. He found two sets of clean sheets, one for the bed and one for the couch. He put the sheets on his bed and pulled out the couch and put sheets on it. The mattress was a bit lumpy for the couch making him frown. He didn’t want her to have to sleep on it. He went to the bathroom door to let her know she could sleep in his bed when the door opened suddenly and he had sweet feminine flesh pressing against him.

  “I didn’t hurt you did I?” Drake stared down at the short woman. He heard her moan in the bathroom and was worried about her. When she opened the door her arousal filled the room and hit him hard. He took a deep breath and his cock immediately reacted. Her hair was longer than he thought hanging down in a long wet sheen. Water droplets soaked her t-shirt molding her breasts with their tight peaks. He licked his lips.

  “I’m fine. I hope I didn’t take too long.” Jinx tried to move around him, but Drake moved closer, making their bodies to rub against one another. That brief touch left him with no doubts that, although she may be short and small, she was all woman.

  Drake put his arm up on the doorframe to keep her trapped in the small space. He deepened his voice and used his sexiest smile. The one that always got a female reaction. “You know, we could share the bed.”

  Jinx blinked up at him and the expression showed surprise. Then she licked her lips as she looked him up and down. She cleared her throat. “Sorry. I’m not interested.” She ducked under his arm and scooted out of his embrace.

  What the hell? He cleared his throat, acting like her response didn’t bother him. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  He shut the bathroom door behind him and wondered why she would refuse him. No female ever had before. Looking into the mirror at himself, he did look a little rough. His hair was a little frizzy because he had run out of conditioner and badly needed a shower. Besides, did he really want to break that rule of his about not having sex with someone he worked with? He was stronger than that.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning

  Drake woke up groaning at the bright sunlight filtering through his bedroom window. Damn, he should have pulled down his blinds. Throwing an arm over his eyes, he just wanted to get a little more sleep. Clanging in the kitchen made him frown. “What the…” Oh yeah, he’d forgotten about his guest.

  Getting up reluctantly, he reached for a pair of boxers. Drake liked to sleep naked, but he didn’t think his shy roommate would appreciate that. Still, he wanted to push her buttons a little by making her uncomfortable. So, he walked out of his bedroom with just the boxer shorts on.

  What he found had him grind to a stop. His apartment was spotless. His carpet was vacuumed. Did he even own a vacuum? The counters were empty of his earlier mess, dishes washed, and there was a pleasant smell like an air freshener. He didn't even know he had an air freshener. He turned to say something, but he forgot the words as soon as he saw her. Jinx was currently standing on a chair in the kitchen, reaching up to put dishes away in the cabinets. Her long t-shirt rose up her legs, a pair of pink panties were poking out.

  “Oh, good morning Drake.”

  “Morning,” he said, licking his lips. She had great legs, nice and smooth and toned. Images of those legs wrapped around him had his cock waking up and ready to go. “What are you doing?”

  “I thought I would show you my appreciation for your hospitality by cleaning a little.” She turned and was about to jump down but Drake was there his hands to her small waist and picking her up. He slid her down his body and enjoyed the feel of her.

  “Thank you.” His voice was husky with desire. He kept her in his arms, her body trapped between his body and the bar.

  “Drake…” Hwr voice was a whisper.

  He wanted to kiss her. Leaning down toward those soft lips, he was going to put action to thought when the sound of a love song interrupted them. “What is that?”

  She shoved against his chest breaking free. “My phone.”

  Drake watched as Jinx rushed past him to her backpack and pulled out her phone. “Hello.”

  He grabbed a plastic cup and poured him a glass of water trying to pretend that he wasn’t eavesdropping. He sipped the water not leaving from his vantage point where he could watch and hear every word.

  “I arrived just fine last night, Steve. I was kind of tired and hit the sack.” She glanced over Drak’s way and he quickly turned to open the refrigerator. She moved to the window as she continued talking. “I can’t think about that right now. My decision hadn’t changed. No, I can’t give you my address; the place I was supposed to move into isn’t available. It may take a few days or weeks to find a new place. I’m staying with a coworker right now, but I’ll be looking for a hotel room to stay at. Just a coworker, it shouldn’t matter. Steve, we’ve talked about this. I don’t have to explain myself. Look, I’ve got to go to work, it’s my first day. I’m going to be busy, but if I have time I’ll try to call you later. Bye.” She hung up and glanced over at him.

  Drake jerked his attention back to the refrigerator. Who the hell was Steve? He couldn’t hang out in the fridge any longer. Closing it, he looked her way. “Sorry, there’s no food that’s edible. I could stop on the way to work at a little diner.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll be ready in five minutes,” she said, grabbing some clothes out of her suitcase and heading to the bathroom.

  Drake snorted. Five minutes his ass. He’d never met any female who could get dressed in that short a time. Going to his bedroom he pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He slid his shoulder holster on and put his gun in it. He had a knife tucked in his boot and hung his cuffs to hang off his belt loop. The last thing he grabbed was his badge off the dresser and put it on his shirt. Walking out of his bedroom he noticed that the bathroom door was open but the light was off.

  “Man, you took a long time getting ready. I’ve been waiting forever,” Jinx said, standing by the door.

  Jinx had her multi-colored hair up in a ponytail and was wearing a light amount of makeup complimenting her fair delicate features. Her clothes were simple; jeans and a t-shirt with a leather vest over it. Her outfit was more form fitting, and he had to admire the way it emphasized her breasts. They were bigger than he’d thought, much more than a handful. A throat clearing made him realize she had caught him checking her out. He looked up into her sparkling blue eyes.

  “Ready to go?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll call Vic when we get to the diner to see what’s going on at the hospital and where he wants you to start your training.”

  “Sounds good.” She opened the door and went out first.

  When they go
t to the elevator, he noticed that there was a sign on it saying that it was out of order. She frowned and looked at him. “Is there another elevator?”

  Drake shook his head in frustration. “We’ll have to take the stairs.”

  Here it comes, he thought, she would bitch about having to go down six flights, stomp her foot and wail over it. When she simply turned and walked to the stairway without complaint, he was shocked. She wasn’t like any female he had ever met. He didn’t know how to deal with her and who the hell was this Steve?

  *****

  Jinx walked down the stairs humming a tune. She was grateful she had kept herself in shape, or this would have killed her. She glanced back at Drake. He was barely out of breath. His muscles bulged against his t-shirt. She wondered how many weapons he carried.

  Stepping on a weak step, she called out a warning, “Watch it, there’s a weak step!”

  No sooner had she said it than she heard wood cracking and a yelp. She turned around to see Drake was on his back and one foot had gone straight through the step. She rushed back up to his side and squatted down.

  “Are you okay?”

  Drake looked up at her, staring into her eyes. He made her feel like he was looking right into her soul. He surprised her by asking, “Who’s Steve?”

  Frowning she tilted her head. “What?”

  “The person who called you—Steve. Who is he?”

  “My boyfriend...kind of.” She offered her hand to help him up, but he waved it off and pulled himself to his feet.

  “How can someone be kind of a boyfriend?” His voice sounded a little harsh.

  Jinx shrugged her shoulders and started back down the stairs. “We were dating but I didn’t see it going further. I decided that we needed to take a break. He’s having a hard time letting go.”

  “He wants you back?”

  Jinx shrugged, “Yeah, but I don’t think I want him back.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why are you so interested?”

  “I’m just trying to get to know my new coworker.”

  She gave him a doubtful look. “If it matters so much, it’s because I was coming here to train with Vic and Jagger. Long distance relationships never work out in my opinion so I ended things with him. Well, part of the reason I ended things. He doesn’t support my choice of careers.”

  “Ah, he was angry over you leaving for a dangerous job.”

  “No...yes. I mean, yes it’s true he had a problem with me coming here. I wanted to concentrate on learning my new job and he would have been a distraction.”

  “He never should have let you go, especially for such a dangerous job.”

  Jinx stopped in her tracks, whipping around to glare up at him. “It’s my decision, not Steve’s and certainly not yours.” She was furious as she turned and rushed down the last few stairs. It had been bad enough to deal with Steve’s attitude about dream job. She remembered the night she told him what she planned to do. She had made a special dinner, all his favorite foods. Had soft music and candles lit. Steve had come back from a flight and was surprised.

  “What’s this all for?”

  “For you. Welcome back.” She leaned up and kissed his smooth cheek.

  He smiled at her as he sat down at the table. She rushed to put the food on his plate and poured him a glass of wine.

  “I would have used the good dishes but…”

  “They broke somehow?” He didn’t sound surprised.

  “All but one place setting, I’ve already ordered the replacements.” She moved to sit in the chair across from him. Steve began eating and she admired him in admiration. Steve was tall and lanky, with dark black hair and pale blue eyes. He was very attractive, and she often wondered why he was so attracted to her. She had asked him once, and he joked once that it was because she was wild in the sack. It was supposed to be a joke but she sensed that he had meant it. It made sense; she did have a high sex drive. Jinx found that the more sex, she had the less klutzy she was. She had gotten caught up in her thoughts and didn’t touch her dinner.

  “Jinx, is something wrong?”

  She smiled at Steve. “I have something to tell you. I asked my friends Vic and Jagger about training with them and working as a bail bondsman.”

  Steve spat out his wine and looked at her in utter shock. “They said no of course.”

  She frowned at him. “They said yes. I’m moving at the end of the month.”

  “What the hell?”

  “I’ve talked about doing this for years. You know that.”

  “I thought it was just some childhood fantasy. You can’t be serious. This is too dangerous; it’s flat out stupid.”

  She stood up. “It’s not stupid.”

  Steve got to his feet. “I want you to stay here, marry me and start a family. I can’t have my wife working as a bail bondsman.”

  “Marry you?”

  “I was waiting for the right moment.”

  “Well this is not that moment!”

  Steve grabbed the suitcase he had carried in from his trip and started to go out the door. Pausing, he looked back. “You decide, Jane. Either stay here with me so we can start our family, or risk everything, including our future together, by following this foolish idea.”

  She sighed. “Steve, let’s talk about this.”

  “I’ll call you in two days for your decision.” He stormed out of their apartment.

  Two days later, he called, and she told him that their relationship wasn’t working and that this would be the best time for them to take a break. She was going to Fin-Dieskau to train and work with Vic and Jagger. He swore up and down and threatened to not be there when this dream of hers blew up in her face. Jinx told him that was a risk she would have to take. There was nothing else he could do; she had made up her mind.

  “Jinx.” Drake called out to her.

  She walked into the lobby and ignored the stares she got from people as she stormed by them. Once outside, it took a moment for her to remember where he parked his truck. Drake grabbed her arm gently jerking her to a stop.

  “Jinx, I’m sorry.”

  She yanked her arm free. “I make my own decisions, and right now, I just want to get to work.” They both turned at the loud screeching sound of metal being crushed. “Oh...my...God.” Drake’s poor hover truck had been taken out by a large crane from the construction company next door. It was a nearly unrecognizable piece of blue metal, squashed into the concrete.

  “My truck!” Drake groaned in pain.

  Jinx bit her lip and winced, feeling sorry for him. Things like this happened to her all the time. Yeah, welcome to my world big guy. “I’ll call us a taxi.”

  Chapter 5

  Drake knew he was being an ass. He had ignored Jinx’s every attempt to talk to him on the taxi shuttle ride to the bail enforcement agency. It wasn’t her fault that he had to park in the spot under the construction site, nor was it her fault that his treasured 350 hover pickup truck was totaled. The construction owner said that their insurance would cover the damages, so it would be a few days before he would receive the necessary credits to go in and get a replacement vehicle.

  He glanced over at the petite woman. She had stopped trying to talk to him and settled for staring out the window. Drake had been caught up in shock and despair over his truck that he had completely ignored Jinx the whole way to work. The freak accident hadn’t been her fault. This probably wasn’t the first day on the job she was looking forward.

  “Jinx I…” he was about to apologize for his attitude, but the hover taxi stopped at the bail enforcement agency. Jinx leaned forward and swiped her credit card through the slot in the back, paying for the ride. His hackles rose. He could have paid for it.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Jinx said to the driver and gave him a wink.

  “Sure thing honey. Word of advice, he’s too old for you.”

  She laughed, “Everyone’s too old for me.” Jinx opened the door and got out, not waiting for him.
/>   Drake reached for the handle, but the driver spoke to him. “Another word of advice, that little girl was nothing but sweet to you and you sat there like an ass. If you don’t treat her right, someone else will.”

  Drake growled and got out. Jinx had been there less than one day, and she had a perfect stranger being protective over her. Hell, he was protective of her less than thirty minutes after meeting her.

  Taking long strides, he easily caught up with Jinx before she reached the entrance. She hesitated, stopping right at the door. He knew she was nervous; it brought out those protective instincts. He put her hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

  “Come on Jinx. Time to get to work.” He opened the door for her.

  Entering behind her, Drake pointed to his desk. Five of the bounty hunters were already there, the rest must be out on the hunt. He passed by Shy, who gave him a wide smile. “Drake, you’re kind of late this morning. You must have had one wild night last night. Want to tell me about it?”

  “Don’t you wish you knew.” He winked at Shy. All part of his usual sexually charged commentary. He checked out Shy’s outfit, short skirt and skin tight vest with no shirt underneath—sexy.

  He had almost forgotten about Jinx until Shy glanced at her and asked, “Who’s your little friend?”

  Jinx answered for herself, holding out her hand to Shy. “I’m not his friend. I’m the new bounty hunter. Jane Jean Alexander, but everyone calls me Jinx.”

  Shy shook her hand and looked Jinx up, down then smiled. “Finally! Someone I’m taller than.”

  Drake snorted, “Not by much.” He sat down in his seat and looked at the files on his desk. He was still tracking a perp who had been eluding him for months. The guy was wily and smart. Glancing up, he expected that Jinx would have sat at the seat across from his desk but she wasn’t there. He turned around and he watched as she went around the room, greeting each bounty hunter. The males looked at her too closely, which bothered him. Isaac, their IT guy, was holding on to her hand a little too long. Drake stood up ready to go pull her away from all the attention, when the main door to the office swung open, and Vic and his fiancée Lexi walked in.