She laughed under her breath.“I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that.”
“They’ve been blind.”
She shook her head.“You say the sweetest things.”
“I say true things.”
Before she could answer or argue more, I closed the distance between us and kissed her.Slowly.No rush.No urgency.Just enough to feel her smile against my mouth.
Then deeper.Her lips parted under mine, and I took the invitation, tasting her, exploring her with my tongue.She made a small sound in her throat, and it went straight through me.My hands tightened at her waist, pulling her closer, and she came willingly, her body flush against mine.I groaned against her mouth, and she answered by pressing harder, her tongue meeting mine, hot and sure.
I kissed my way down her jaw, her throat, lingering where her pulse beat frantic and fast.She tilted her head back, giving me access, and I took it, trailing open-mouthed kisses over her collarbone, tasting salt and heat.Her hands moved restlessly over my back, my shoulders, like she couldn’t get enough.
I found her mouth again, and we lost ourselves there, kissing and kissing, breathing each other in.Her hips rolled against mine, seeking friction, and I met her, my hands sliding down to grip her ass and pull her closer still.
She gasped my name, and I said hers against her lips, her throat, anywhere I could reach.We were tangled together, hands and mouths and wanting, the maps forgotten, the world narrowed to this, to her, to the heat building between us.
When we finally separated, I struggled to catch my breath.
She rested her forehead against mine, breathing hard, her fingers still hooked in my shirt.“I was trying to solve a mystery, and you do that.I don’t think you’re helping,” she laughed.
“I disagree.”
“Oh?”
“I think your brain needed a reset.”
She laughed again, the sound echoing softly through the basement.“You might actually be right.”
“I usually am.”
“Confident.”
“Very.”
She rolled her eyes before stealing another quick kiss.Then another.Each one a little longer than the last.
When we finally pulled apart again, both of us were smiling.
“Still better than you thought it would be?”I asked.
She laughed outright before pressing one last kiss against my lips.“I’d say that’s the best break I’ve ever had.”
“I aim to please.”
“I thought your job was protecting me.”
I winked and trailed my fingers down her cheek.“That too.”
Before I could say anything else, Hodge’s voice echoed down the stairwell.“Everything good down there?”
Goldie buried her face against my chest with a groan before laughing.“I completely forgot he was up there.”
I couldn’t help laughing with her.“We’re good!”I called.
“Tempi’s makin’ tacos,” Hodge hollered back.“Shouldn’t be much longer.”
Goldie lifted her head.“Well...”She smiled.“I think that means we’re done for the day.”
