Page 95 of Forced Proximity

‘Besides, you should see the other guy.’ She winks.

And now, I smile.

I hand her butter and syrup. She slathers both on her pancake, pools a little extra syrup on the side and devours like she’s never seen a meal before. God, she’s sexy as hell. With every bite, my anger lifts. The only thing that will make me happier is if she licks the plate clean.

We talk about last night and go through some next steps which are more logistical than anything. Several minutes later, Zane walks in the room accompanied by Erica. ‘Well, shit, Doc,’ Zane says. ‘You look like you were ridden hard and put away wet.’

‘Jesus Christ, Zane.’ I glare.

Zane throws up their hands up and mouths what? ‘If you haven’t realized by now, Doc doesn’t like people worrying about her.’ Zane peers closely at Lexi’s face. A deep frown line forms as they put a gentle hand on Lexi’s arm. ‘I really want to ask her how she is, force her to get weekly massages paid for by you, and hunt down the fucker who did this. But I can’t say that or she gets mad. So, I’ll stick with my crass jokes and bury my feelings.’

Lexi grins and stabs her fork into the final bite.

‘Sounds like you had quite the action-packed night, Doc,’ Erica says as she sets down her briefcase. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘I’m fine. It’s just a small shiner, couple of bruises and the lip is already healing.’ Lexi slides away the plate. ‘I sent you and our base security team the preliminary report earlier, and today I’ll transcribe the voice memo I took post-incident.’

‘Excellent.’ Erica digs out a few documents from her briefcase. ‘The arraignment could be as early as this afternoon, or as late as Friday morning. The judge signed off on the warrant, which is good news. We’ll seize his computer and any other items to help with the case. I’ll be sure to send everyone an email when I know more.’

The next several hours bustle with logistics, meetings and decisions. By mid-afternoon, conversations slow down. As Erica walks me and Lexi through the process of upcoming court proceedings, I steal so many glances at Lexi, I’m worried that she’ll knee me in the ribs. But every time I do, she gives me this quick, sweet, knowing grin. And I completely eat it up.

Lexi loves me.

What a crazy twenty-four-hour period – a third dimension, fogged reality. All day is an endless parade of interviews, lawyers, concerned faces and paperwork. We are so close to putting this all behind us.

Lexi motions me to the den. ‘Hey, I’m leaving to meet the gate security manager. I’ll be gone for at least an hour or two. We’re going to outline the security lapse possibilities and evaluate scenarios to see how this guy entered your property. And I need copies of the hard drive to scour camera footage on my mandatory post-incident week off.’

‘What?’ She cannot leave again. I literally just got her back and they’re making her leave? ‘But you just had time off after the grocery store incident. You got him, right? You can stay.’

The pleading in my voice is nearly unrecognizable, but I don’t care. I’ll call Marcus myself, fire Lexi on the spot, start my own agency, whatever it takes to keep her here, with me.

‘I know, but it’s Marcus’s rules.’ Her lips sink into a sad smile. ‘The last thing I want to do is leave. Trust me. But until the charges are filed, you’re still under our care, so to speak. Like last time, it’ll be the two guys who cover my days off.’

I glance behind my shoulder and lower my voice. ‘But we have so much to talk about.’ Right now, I want nothing more than to have an uninterrupted, sit-down discussion.

Okay, wait. There is something that I want to do more. But, even that can wait until we get everything out in the air. She strokes my arm, softly, the pads of her finger running over my skin, and I almost hyperventilate. ‘I know. But I’ll be back soon. I promise.’

‘Fine,’ I say. ‘But I fundamentally disagree with this.’

Her eyes meet mine, slide to my lips and back up. This look alone makes me hard. I stare at her mouth. Her beautiful, beautiful mouth. What I would do to have just one tiny sample. It’s a good thing she’s leaving because I want to tear off those leggings, kneel in front of her and worship her.

Lexi glances around the empty space and presses the back of her hand to mine. It’s a movement that’s so simple, so delicate, the skin barely brushing mine, but I can read what she’s doing. The electric charge courses through my veins. She hooks her pinky around mine and my breathing stops.

‘How about you call me tonight?’

Her voice is an octave above a whisper, and it takes every ounce of willpower to keep my hands to myself. The image of her in nothing but my T-shirt this morning, her creamy, muscular thighs … ‘I know you’re technically still on duty,’ I say, matching the low tone, keeping my pinkie locked with hers. ‘But when I call, can we talk?’

I know she knows what I mean. I’m in fucking love with Lexi Morgan. I want to know what she looks like when she sleeps, how her head would feel pressed against my chest, if I can hold her again, what she smells like.

A sweet, rose blushes her cheeks, and she nods. ‘Yes, we can talk.’

Chapter 44

Lexi

My apartment feels different. After these types of events there’s a letdown, but it’s less than forty-eight hours since I’ve been here, and it doesn’t feel the same. Maybe darker, more hollow, empty, somehow. But … Justin is safe. This is done. For all intents and purposes, this is over, and I can relax for the first time in months.

But I want Justin here. Or I want to be there. Or I want us to fly away to some remote destination with macadamia nut pancakes and a king-size bed where I can learn everything about him. I want to share our fears and hesitations. I want to taste his mouth, feel his hands on me, grip him, climb on him, inhale him. I don’t care where, I just want to be with him.