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“Yeah, I can’t go into details, but I’m acquainted with them.”
Growler couldn’t believe that one of the missions he’d worked with his SEAL team, the mission where Rocket and he had almost gotten blown up, was chasing Astrid.
This was not fucking good.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The timer dinged, pulling Astrid from her thoughts of what was happening Callum. Would Ox fire him for sleeping with her? They had to have crossed a thousand lines, but she couldn’t be sorry that they had.
Not having Callum in her life was something she didn’t want to contemplate. It should freak her out that she was having such strong feelings for a man she’d just met, but it didn’t. If anything, everything about what she and Callum had shared over the last few days was everything she’d ever wanted in a partner.
Had she been looking for a relationship?
No, she hadn’t, but wasn’t that when they always happened? When you least expected it, happiness fell in your lap.
She pulled out the tray of triple choc chip cookies—the third batch she’d baked since Callum had left. There were two dozen blueberry muffins cooking in her other oven.
Worry about Callum’s meeting had her doing what she always did when stressed—she cooked. Maybe when Callum got back, they could go to the shelter and she could drop off the extra baked goods. Even though they never expected her to keep them stocked with food, she had been going there regularly enough that her not showing up for a while would have them wondering about her.
“Something smells good.”
Astrid jumped, her hand going to her throat at Callum’s voice. “Dammit, you scared me.” She studied him, looking for signs that the meeting hadn’t gone well. He was giving nothing away.
“Didn’t mean to,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.
Astrid sighed, resting her head on his chest—she needed this.
After a few seconds, Callum loosened his hold, but didn’t drop it completely. “You good, Comet?”
God, she was beginning to love hearing that name came off his lips. Her dad had called her Asti all the time, and that had been special. But coming from Callum, the big bad SEAL, it seemed extra special.
“I am now.” She leaned back so that she could get a good look at his face. His expression was open, although there was a hint of shadows in his gaze. “How did it go? Do you still have a job? Are you still protecting me? Do I need to speak to Ox and let him know I don’t want anyone but you? Or wait, what if I send Penni a message and ask her to call him and tell him that I don’t want to change protection detail? Everyone always does what Penni says. I know I do. Yeah, I’ll ca?—”
Her flow of words were cut off by Callum’s mouth closing over hers. She melted into the kiss. Her fingers digging into his back to keep him close to her. Everything she’d been feeling since he’d closed the front door behind him dissolved like sugar in hot water.
Desire burned brightly within her, and she wanted him badly. Wanted to lose herself in his kisses. In the way his body moved over hers as it took possession of it. Against her belly, she could feel the hard ridge of his erection. He was as affected by the kiss as she was.
Eventually, the need to breathe to survive had her pulling away, her mind foggy with need and happiness.
“If this is what happens after I ask so many questions, I’m going to do it more often,” she murmured.
Beneath her ear, the rumble of Growler’s laughter did nothing to settle the longing within her.
“You were firing them off quicker than an automatic weapon. How about we sample these delicious cookies and I tell you everything?”
Astrid went up on tiptoe and kiss his nose. “That we can do. Go out on the patio, and I’ll get everything ready. And yes I can do it myself, thank you very much,” she said primly when it looked like he was going to protest.
His laughter rumbled again, filling the kitchen. “Fine. But if you’re longer than five minutes, I’m coming to get you.”
“Trust me, I’ll be there in two.”
“Hmm. I’ll hold you to that.”
“If you doubt me, set a timer,” she joked, as she pulled a plate from the cupboard.
Astrid hummed as she arranged some of the still warm cookies on a plate. She grabbed the pitcher of fresh lemonade she’d made earlier from the lemons in her garden, filled two glasses, and placed everything on a tray. She noticed Callum had left the French doors slightly open so that all she had to do was nudge it with her hip and it opened easily.
The quacking of a duck sounded as she placed the tray on the table. “Is that a duck?” she glanced around her yard, expecting to see one waddling over her grass.
