“Whatever.”
Hanging up, I ignored the glare Cassidy shot my way, or the way her nostrils flared in anger. She thought she was putting up a big fight, but honestly, her anger just turned me on. And thinking with my dick wasn’t what I needed at the moment.
“You have no right to order people to come watch me like a kid!”
“Until they find?—”
“Do not speak to me anymore about Austin and his stupid threats!”
“He ran you down with a car!” I yelled, grabbing her by the arms and hauling her against me. “You could have fucking died right in front of me!”
“Well, I didn’t! And if this is the way you’re going to act, you can just leave.”
To hell with keeping my distance this morning. If I couldn’t fuck her, I would damn well kiss her until she realized she wouldn’t be getting rid of me that easily.
I crushed my lips to hers, holding her tight in my arms until she started to yield. It took a good minute, but finally, she stopped fighting me and threaded her fingers through my hair, kissing me with everything in her.
“I can’t lose you,” I murmured against her lips. “Not like that.”
“You’ll just walk away instead.”
“Cass—”
“I get it.”
I brushed her hair back, memorizing the feel of her skin under my fingers, the scent of her hair, and those gorgeous eyes staring up at me in sadness. “You know I can’t promise forever, but I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I can’t watch you bleeding out on the ground,” I confessed. “I nearly killed me.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded, finally giving in. When I kissed her this time, she sank into my arms and didn’t fight me for another second.
The bell over the shop rang, and JR’s grouchy voice broke the spell. “Yeah, it really looks like I need to be here.”
When I marchedinto the police station, I was damned pissed, and it had everything to do with the hard-on that damn woman gave me. Every time her temper flared, it spiked my desire. I was supposed to be rebuilding my life, and instead, I was spending every minute of my day worrying about Cassidy—and how to get back in her pants.
“Well, that’s a sourpuss face if I ever saw one,” Bea observed. “Troubles got you down?”
I grunted in response, which only made her chuckle. “Maybe it’s not troubles, but a certain someone.”
“There’s nothing getting me down.”
She glanced around the station, then motioned me over, keeping her voice low. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the woman you’ve been watching, would it?”
“What woman?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Oh, please. Did you two actually think you were keeping this a secret?”
She could be baiting me, searching for information, so I played along. “Not sure what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, of course you do. We all know you’ve been sneaking into Cassidy’s shop and her house at night. You’re not quite as discreet as you think,” she winked at me. “But we’ve all enjoyed playing your game.”
The secret was out. There was no hiding it any longer, which meant I didn’t have to sneak around. It also meant that the gossip would spread like wildfire.
“Well played, Bea.”
“I still have a trick or two up my sleeve.” She jerked her head to the side. “Mav’s waiting for you in back.”
“Pleasure as always, Bea.”
I’d hardly known the woman more than a year, but I was already certain she was not one to mess with. The stories about her were legendary, and I was certain they were not exaggerated.
