Page 62 of Armed ’N’ Ready

She shivered, wishing he could touch her that way every night for the rest of their lives. “I bet you don’t know why the time period between July third and August eleventh is called the ‘dog days.’”

“You’d win that bet.” His grin morphed into that lopsided smile she’d begun to love.

“Ancient astronomers believed,” she continued, embarrassed by the unsteadiness in her voice, “that the combination of the sun during the day and Sirius at night was responsible for extra heat in midsummer.”

“You’re nervous again.”

“Am not.” She pouted, not willing to admit that he was making her more nervous than when she’d lost her virginity.

“Are, too.”

She’d been about to deny his accusation, when he lowered his head and gave her a slow, sweet kiss, one that had her body quaking with need all over again. He lifted his head, then eased out of her and shifted so they were lying on their sides facing each other. He was watching her in a way that made her insides melt, but she wasn’t a starry-eyed teenager. That look didn’t mean this was anything more than sex to him. Great sex.

“Did you know—”

He rested his finger on her lips. “As much I enjoy hearing you quote astronomical factoids, I’d rather hear something about you.”

“Me?” She widened her eyes. “You ran a complete background check on me. You probably know everything there is to know. My date of birth, my social security number, my employment history, where my bank accounts are located, even my associates for the last twenty years.”

He laughed, swirling his fingers in slow circles on her shoulder. “Not statistical information. Why did you and Myer really split?”

“A lot of reasons.” Ones she wished had been clearer at the time. “Mostly we outgrew each other. Which, I suppose, means we weren’t meant to be together. At least, not meant to be anything more than friends.”

“You broke up with him?”

“Yes.” It had been the right thing to do, and she’d thought he’d gotten over it, until hearing his recent and unexpected declaration of love. “I sensed he was on the verge of proposing, and by that time I already knew we were done.”

“Didn’t you want to have children?” he asked. “I see how much you dote on every baby who rolls into the DPC.”

A warm feeling bloomed inside her at the thought of giving birth to her own child, but it was fleeting. She could still remember the doctor’s words as he told her she’d never carry a child. Swallowing the rising lump of sadness in her throat, she took a deep breath. “I did want children, but I can’t have any.”

“I’m sorry.” He tenderly skimmed his hand up and down her arm.

“Yeah, well…” She averted his gaze. “At least I don’t have to worry about birth control.”

He grunted, and a wistful expression came to his eyes, leaving her wondering as to its source.

“After Joe and I broke up, I tried dating again,” she continued. “I even gave the online scene a whirl.”

He grimaced. “How’d that go?”

“Not well.” She grimaced back. “I know it works for some people, just not for me. Maybe I’m a sucker. My track record for seeing through people’s crap to know who and what they really are isn’t so good.” She sighed. “Even Joe isn’t who I thought he was. Turned out there was a side to him—the criminal side—that he apparently kept to himself. And what he did with my bank account… I never thought he’d use me like that. I didn’t know he had that in him. Although after what happened to me in New York I—”

Woops. She bit her lower lip. Didn’t mean for that to slip out.

His brows lowered, and he got that familiar hard-ass cop look on his face. “What happened in New York?”

“Nothing,” she started to lie. Then again, it had been years, and maybe it was time to get over it. “Someone I thought cared about me—someone I trusted—lied to me. He hurt me, and he undermined my position at the company I worked for.”

Nick’s hand stilled on her arm. “Hurt you how?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s in the past.” Please don’t ask me more about it. The last thing she wanted was to ruin this moment by reliving the most hurtful, humiliating time in her life.

He stared intently at her a moment longer, then, as if sensing she didn’t want to discuss the matter further, nodded. “As for Joe, don’t kick yourself so hard for missing what he was capable of. In my line of work, I’ve seen how good people can be at hiding things. Even from the people they love,” he added.

She wasn’t sure if his last comment related to his job or his personal life. She was tempted to ask but didn’t. “Unfortunately, I don’t have access to complete personal, financial, and criminal histories the way you do.” She touched her finger to his chest. “I prefer getting to know someone organically. Naturally.”

He arched a brow. “You mean the way you and I met?”