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If they had ever given her any indication that they wanted her, she wouldn’t be here now. She would never have left. But when she’d told them she was moving out, they hadn’t protested. In fact, they’d helped her pack. If that wasn’t an indication of their feelings then she didn’t know what was.
She cleared her throat. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Clay’s in the hospital,” Colin told her. “We’ve come to bring you home.”
Laken’s Surrender
Haven, Texas, Book Three
“Morning, sugar.”
Laken ground her teeth, telling herself it was annoyance and not pleasure she felt bubbling through her stomach.
Without looking up, she snapped back. “Don’t call me that.”
“Now, is that any way to greet a man bearing gifts?” he chided softly.
The old Duncan would have pulled her up for her tone of voice. The old Duncan would have bent her over the counter, scolding her as he smacked
her butt. Or he would have ordered her to her knees and given her mouth something to occupy itself with.
That was something she did not miss.
So why do I keep goading him on? Why do I keep pushing, hoping for a reaction? Is there a part of me that wants him to take back control?
She squashed that voice as she glanced up. He was holding a brown paper bag and a large coffee. Her stomach growled. She knew what was in that bag. An apple turnover.
Her favorite.
“I’m not hungry.”
His dark gaze narrowed as he looked her over.
“You’ve had breakfast?” he asked.
It entered her head that she could lie, but she’d never managed to successfully pull that off with him. He’d always known when she was lying.
“I’m not hungry,” she repeated. “You know, you might want to get your ears cleaned out. I’ve heard wax build-up can make you really deaf.”
Duncan placed the bag on the counter and leaned closer. Laken forced herself to stand her ground even as his scent surrounded her. Hot, molten male. Her insides quivered.
“You’re losing weight you didn’t have to lose, Laken. You need to take better care of yourself.” He ran his thumb under her eye. For a brief moment she leaned into him before pulling back. “You have bags under your eyes. Your light was on late last night, can’t you sleep?”
Her gaze shot up to meet his concerned one. She blushed, remembering how she hadn’t bothered to pull down her drapes last night. Most evenings she was so worn out by the time she got to bed that she barely managed to find the energy to brush her teeth. She worked all day in her store, then spent hours at night working on new designs. Some days she didn’t even leave the building.
“Spying on me, deputy?” She winced at the breathy tone of her voice as she glared at him.
He winked, giving her a quick grin. Her breath caught. He didn’t smile often, but when he did… well it would take a stronger woman than her to resist the appeal of that smile.
“I was on duty last night. I just happened to be driving past.”
That was not disappointment she felt. It was not.
“Well, go stalk someone else,” she sniped, inwardly wincing at the acid in her tone. “I don’t need or want you looking out for me.”
“You’re wrong, Laken,” he said in a deep voice. “You need me more than you realize. Something’s wrong and I want to know what it is. You’re not eating or sleeping. You’re snapping at everyone, even those just trying to help you. Keep up this heavy workload you’re subjecting yourself to and you’re going to end up in the hospital.”
She snorted. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit overdramatic? Plenty of people work long hours, Duncan. Do you go around lecturing all of them?”
