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“I was thinking that same thing myself,” he said as he dropped down onto the bed and straddled my thighs.

“Were you?”

“Yes,” he murmured, his hands sliding over my chest. “Perhaps the amount of traveling I’ve been doing won’t really work anymore.”

“Why is that?”

His eyes searched mine.

“Tell me.”

“I wouldn’t want to be away from you for two or three weeks at a time.”

“Me neither.” I exhaled sharply. “I would miss you.”

He cleared his throat as I put my hands on his thighs and squeezed tight. “I was already missing you in that short …”

It took a minute before I realized he wasn’t going to say anything else.

“Aaron?”

He was unsure, and I got that. I lifted my hands to his face, and he leaned just enough so I could touch him.

“You don’t have to hide from me, and you’re not the only one feeling it.”

“No?”

“No,” I promised.

He bent close.

“I have morning breath,” I said, but clamped a hand around the back of his neck anyway.

“That’s okay,” he said weakly and slanted his mouth down over mine.

I had him rolled over onto his back and pinned to the mattress in seconds. He threw a leg over my hip, and I grabbed it tight, savoring the feel of the strong muscles cording under my hand as his arms wound around my neck. No doubt about it; I could stay in bed with Aaron Sutter for the rest of my life.

“Oh.” He was happy about something.

“What?”

He tipped his head to stare up at me. “May I take you to lunch, Detective?”

“We can’t just stay in bed?”

He studied me.

“What?”

“This is going to sound strange.”

I grinned. “I love strange.”

“I’d like people to see you with me.”

Normally, those words meant the end for me and whoever. I had no idea what it was about me that brought out that need in the men I dated. It was probably flattering—the desire in them to publicly claim me—but I had never thought so. Until now.

Aaron Sutter wanted to basically hold my hand and have other people see it, and instead of being terrified like I normally was, just the thought of it felt right, settled. I really liked the idea of belonging to Aaron Sutter.