A lawless man

Chapter one continuation

"I'd give you the registration, too,but I can't get the gloves compartment open, " she reminded him. The policeman drew in a deep breath. "Unlock the passenger side door, "he told her. She got the feeling his statement was pulled from him reluctantly.

As he made his way around the front of the car to the other side, Noah could have sworn he was mumbling to himself. He jerked open the door opposite her, bent forward and struggled with the gloves compartment in much the same way she had done only moment earlier.

"See?" She said, not quite able To keep herself from gloating. "I told you so." Officer Rowan glared at her. At least, Noah thought he Was glaring. It was hard to tell With those dark glasses hiding his eyes. No matter what, though, she could sense without any doubt that he was getting pretty steamed.

He folded himself into the car seat beside her, and suddenly the little vehicle seemed microscopic. She hadn't really noticed how big the policeman was when he was standing outside her window. Everyone seemed tall when one is sitting, especially when one Was sitting in a Volkswagen beetle. But now Officer Rowan was sitting, too,and He still seemed to tower over her. In the close confines of the car, with the sun beating through the windshield, she could feel the heat radiating off his body in the enticing waves. His black leather boot creaked when he pulled one foot inside the car for leverage, And she noted almost absently the silver handcuffs shoved his belt.

An odd thrill of excitement wound through her as she envisioned herself sharing an activity with Officer Rowan for which those handcuffs were never intended

Noah marveled at the waywardness of her thoughts, feelings her skin heat all over as she tried unsuccessfully to push the graphics image away. Clearly she had been too long without the attention of man, she thought. Or maybe she just wasn't getting enough calcium. She'd been reading about it lately.

As she pondered the curiousness of her uncharacteristic fantasy, Officer Rowan gave the gloves compartment one final thump with the heel of his hand, and the door sprang open. Her delight with his success was quickly compounded by her embarrassment when the entire content spilled out into his lap. Amid the occasional necessities like map,flashlight and tissue, there fell seemingly endless cascade of ketchup and soy sauce packets, abstract Lego creation, socks, GI Joe action figures, lipstick and mismatched earrings

Noah grabbed up one of those last items. "Well, would you look at that?" She asked no one in particular. "I've been searching all over for this. "She clipped the earrings into place and shook her hair back so that she could inspect the effects in the rear view mirror. "What else is In there?" She added as she spared a glance at Officer Rowan's lap.

Why did no one carry gloves in their gloves compartment? She wondered idly as her gaze picked absently through the assortment of stuff that had spilled. Her eyes finally settled on a perfectly square, foil wrapped packets that had fallen into a very significant place on the policeman. A condom? She gasped inwardly. Heavens,where had that come from? It must be one of Michael's. But she and Michael had been divorced for more than three years. Just how long had it been since she had cleaned out the gloves compartment?

Noah started to reach for the items in question, until Officer Rowan seemed to realize where she was headed and intercepted her hand before it made contact with its target. He gripped her wrist fiercely with one hand sheathed in black leather and scooped Up the condom with the other hand. Lifting it to eye level, he turned his attention to her more fully, then raised left eyebrow with much interest.

"I......it must belong to my husband, "she stammered. "I mean.....he is not my husband, but ......"

Officer Rowan's right eyebrow joined his left.

"I mean ......uh....." oh, dear. Just what did she mean?

"Never mind, " Officer Rowan said. He dropped the condom Into the gloves compartment and began to gather up the remaining contents and return them to their original resting place.

Richmond Rowan couldn't believe this was happening To him. He picked gingerly thought the assortment of odds and ends on his lap as if they were radioactive, all the while wondering what kind of person would drive around with so unnecessary Accoutrement. He stared at the woman beside him as he tried to figure her out. He had noticed the moment he'd sat down in her car thar she smells wonderful, a strangely floral fragrance he found in congruent with her ragged jeans and Tshirt. Her hair was a riot of blond curls falling over her forehead and spilling down around her eyes, and her brown eyes were as dark and guileless as a beagle puppy.

Absently he realized his fingers still encircled her wrist, and he glanced down at her hand. Strong looking,Rawboned, with nails bitten down to the quick and Band Aids on her index and ring finger. Probably because she had hang nail, he thought. He released her then, and watched as she anxiously brushed her hair behind one ear. Still wearing the one long, dangling earrings, she looked, for some reason, like an abandoned Street waif

Richmond frowned. He did not care for women like her, women who had no concern for their appearance, no control over their nerves. This was just what he needed after the kind of day he'd already had. One more bizarre encounter in a string of bizarre encounters. The condom had been an interesting touch, though. She didn't seem the type to carry something like that around. And who was this guy who was, then wasn't, her husband?

He was still wondering about that when he realized the woman beside him had started helping to collect her things and put them back in the gloves compartment. Nimble fingers skimmed over his thighs in a way that made Richmond hold his breath and swallow hard. She seemed to have no idea of the possible implications behind her activity. When her fingers began to travel a little higher than they should, he jumped up and struggled to get out of the car, spilling the few items left on his lap onto the floor and bumping his head severely. Fortunately he was still wearing his helmet. That didn't help him, however, when he slammed the car door shut and caught the end of his finger in the process