He mindlessly plays with my hair while I rest my cheek on his chest. “Well, yeah, I’m sure a bed is more comfortable than the couch.”
He laughs. “Ellie, it’s because I got to sleep next to you. Hold you.”
My stomach dips at his admission, and I curl my body to him, snuggling closer. “Oh.” I lift my head to meet his gaze. “That was really sweet.”
He smirks, his hand trailing lazy circles on my lower back. “For you, always. Just don’t tell anyone, I'm not trying to ruin my reputation. I play a really convincing bad cop.”
I laugh, pressing my forehead to his chest for a moment to hide the flush creeping up my cheeks. “I would love to see you play bad cop.” My face heats, imagining being restrained by him.
The look on my face must give me away because he grins. “I handcuffed you once, maybe next time we can have somefun with it.”
I try to scowl but fail. “I still haven’t forgiven you for that.”
He chuckles and then presses a kiss to my forehead. I can’t even attempt to act like I’m angry, never knew I was such a slut for forehead kisses.
“Good. Don’t. I would rather spend a lifetime earning it.”
A whoosh of air exhales past my lips. “That’s a long time.”
One of his hands reaches to cradle my jaw. “Yeah.” His palm smooths over my cheek. “Almost like that’s the plan.”
My heart squeezes as I nuzzle into him. “Do you like it?” I ask cautiously. “Being a deputy?”
“Most of the time,” he says quietly. “Last night was hard.”
I angle my face to meet his eyes. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” he huffs. “I just—I got stuck in my head for a bit. Had to climb my way out.”
He pauses, like he needs a second to gather his thoughts.
“I started on patrol in L.A. Not the best neighborhood. There was this kid who used to hang around. Good kid. Didn’t get a lot of attention at home, so I’d keep an eye out for him. Bought him lunch a few times. Nothing major—just small stuff.”
I nod, even though he’s not really looking at me.
“He got older. I got transferred, working my way toward detective. We lost touch.” He swallows roughly. “That night, at the convenience store…”
He looks at me then, eyes distant.
“It was him. He recognized me. And he still pulled the trigger.”
I don’t breathe. I can’t.
“I was so stunned I froze. I didn’t even reach for my weapon. I just stood there. Long enough for him to take the shot.”
He pauses again, sifting through the memory.
“He ended up in juvie, and somehow got his hands on aphone, and managed to find me online. He sent me a message.”
My eyes widen. “What did it say?”
A bitter laugh escapes him. “I don’t know. I haven’t opened it yet. I don’t know if I want to. But last night, the scene just reminded me of that day and it’s not a day I like to think about. Those are the moments that break you a little—make you question why you do the job in the first place. I think my faith in the goodness of people took a big hit after that. I can see why some of the older guys are so jaded.” His thumb brushes softly over mine. “But coming home to you was exactly what I needed. And everything else that followed was more than I could’ve ever hoped for you.”
I smile against him and melt just a little. “It was everything for me. I don’t have any regrets, I promise. But I think we should go slow with this—with us.”
“No,” he shakes his head. “We’re not going slow, querida mía.”
I still, staring back at him with my brow raised. “Dominic?—”
