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“That looks better on you than it does on me,” he murmured as he closed the distance between them.
Sleeping with her hadn’t cooled his ardor for her, if anything, it only increased it. He wanted more of her. More of her kisses. More of her hands tracing the ridges of his body. More of her sighs and cries of completion.
He placed his hands on her hips, and hers immediately went to his chest. Could she feel the way his heart raced at her simple touch? Feel the way his body was hardening with her being so close to him? Feel his desire, which was threatening to sear his soul?
Needing that connection, he lowered his head and captured her lips with his, tasting the hint of mint on her tongue. Like him, she’d cleaned her teeth when she’d gotten up.
Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. “Good morning, Comet.”
“Morning, Callum.”
Damn, he really did prefer it when she used his given name, something he honestly never thought he’d like.
“How about you take a seat, and I’ll get you your breakfast? We don’t need to go to the studio today, do we?” He’d already consulted the schedule she’d given him, but that had been a few days ago so anything could’ve changed. Not to mention he hadn’t gone with her to the studio the previous day, Angel had.
“Nope. I’m free until Monday.”
Growler placed the plate in front of where she sat at the small table in her eat-in kitchen and sat opposite her. “You up for a road trip?”
He wasn’t sure when the idea to take her to see his former teammates had fully taken possession of his mind, but the more he’d thought about it, the more he liked it. It would be good for Astrid to get away from Los Angeles. Away from the trouble that had been hanging around her like a rotten potato.
“I could be. Where are you thinking we should go?”
Swallowing his mouthful, he took a sip of his water. “I was thinking that we could go down to San Diego. The guys from my old team have been hounding me to go see them. Well, Fort mainly. But you can visit with Penni and the other women. If you feel like it would be too much, we can go somewhere else. Take a drive to Palm Springs even.”
Palm Springs wasn’t a place he went to often. In fact, he’d only been there once, but he knew that there were a lot of spas down there. If Astrid would prefer that location, he’d find out which was the best place and make a booking for her.
“I’d love to go meet your former team. And I will never say no to seeing Penni. She’s become a good friend, and I need to thank her for what she’s done for me—you know, in helping me with this situation.” A light pink hue colored her cheeks.
Was Astrid trying to say she had to thank Penni for introducing them? If it was, then he needed to thank Penni too. Although maybe it was a bit too soon for that. Plus, he didn’t want Ox to find out he’d slept with a client. His first client on his first job. Not the sort of reputation he wanted to have.
But that was a problem for another day. Today, and the next few days, were going to be about him and Astrid.
“Perfect. I’ll need to check in with the office and let them know that we will be going away for a few days. I don’t think Ox will have any issues with it. He’ll probably think it’s a good idea to get you to a place with a little bit of a different scenery for you.”
At least that’s what he hoped his boss would think.
“If it would make it easier, you can tell him that it was my idea,” Astrid offered as she pushed her clean plate away.
“No, that’s fine. I won’t have you lying for me. I think it’s a good idea anyway. I also need to let them know that you said the victim had the same tattoo as the guy who chased us. Us being away will give Cass some time to look into it.”
The more Growler thought about it, the more he liked the idea of them going away. Also, while they were away, Cass could arrange for the new cameras and a new security system to be installed in Astrid’s house.
“Okay, I’m excited. I’m going to run upstairs to shower and pack.” Astrid came over to him and kissed him softly on the lips. He kept his hands firmly in his lap so he didn’t reach up and yank her onto his lap so he could deepen the kiss. “Thank you for looking after me, Callum.”
She gave him one last peck before sailing out of the room.
Growler blew out a breath and collected the dishes. He had a lot of planning and calls to make, but for the first time in his life, he felt some hope that things were about to go in his favor.
“Penni lives here?” Astrid admired the house that Callum had pulled into.
She wasn’t sure when she’d decided in her mind that she was going to refer to him by the name he’d been given instead of his nickname. She just had. For her, he was more Callum than Growler.
Although if he annoyed her, she might call him by his nickname.
“Yep. Apparently when Fort bought it, it was a dump, but over the years, and with the help of his interior designer mother, he renovated it until it looks like it does now.”
“He did a great job. It belongs in a magazine.”
