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Sitting beside her, just enjoying her nearness, everything became crystal clear. My mind finally stepped out of the haze it had been in since meeting her. Life without her wasn’t an option. Nothing I’d achieved in my career mattered if I wasn’t coming home to her. The home I’d purchased this year, and had been so proud of, had felt cold since meeting her. I would rather sleep on the floor inside her apartment than spend another night alone in my house. Could I handle another night away from her?
As a cop, I knew the signs of addiction, and there was zero doubt that I craved her in a way that wasn’t normal when a boy met a girl. After touching her skin and tasting her lips in the hall, things had gotten worse. I wasn’t being dramatic when I questioned if I could survive losing her. It made no sense that I didn’t know she existed a week ago, and last night I’m not sure I would have found the strength to stop if Zon and Rez hadn’t separated us. I knew with certainty that I would risk my entire world for a chance with her.
“Arizona?” I turned, taking in her elegant profile and windswept hair. My heart clenched painfully. I wanted her, but I needed to know she trusted me.
“Hm?” Her gaze stayed on the sea.
I decided to spit out the thought that had been running through my mind since I’d awakened this morning. “At the restaurant last night, when we were making out, your eyes glowed.”
Her breath hitched, and she closed her eyes.
Why was she acting so weird? Her bubbly personality was almost flat. I’d thought it was fatigue, but maybe it was something else…
“My eyes are weird. In certain light, it makes them look like they are glowing,” she said it with confidence, but refused to meet my eye.
“I’m not an idiot, Arizona. Your eyes weren’t just reflecting the hallway light; they were radiating light. I know what I saw.” The ache in my chest deepened. I knew she had no reason to trust me, but her lame lie hurt.
“I stopped by the restaurant this morning and asked the owner, who’s a friend of mine, to let me check out the security cameras. I wanted to see your eyes and confirm what I saw.” I didn’t tell her that I wanted to make sure they didn’t accidentally see her eyes or see us going at each other like rabbits. “The footage showed us kissing, and then we disappeared. There was no glitch in the recording, no editing, nothing. We were there, and then we were gone. When your guys came to find us, they walked down the hall and disappeared as well.”
She fidgeted with a broken seashell, spinning it around and around between her fingers.
“I wish you trusted me enough to tell me what is going on.” I spoke the words that I shouldn’t, letting the wind carry them away.
This time Arizona met my eyes. “I wish I could too, but let’s be real. You’re a cop. No matter what feelings you have for me, you will feel obligated to do your job. For all I know, you are recording this conversation right now and this is all a trap to get me to let down my guard and spill my secrets. If I had secrets, I mean.”
Tears swam in her eyes, but she didn’t look away. Instead, she allowed me in, letting me see her raw emotions. Her eyes flickered, glowing for a second before the light faded away, leaving behind a hollow sadness.
Come what may, I made my decision. I scooped her off the sand and carried her out into the cold sea. She yelped at the shock of icy water, and I winced as wave after wave soaked us, but I didn’t stop until we were neck deep, and she clung to me like a life vest.
“Hold your breath,” I ordered before dunking us both beneath the waves.
When we both surfaced, Arizona sputtered. “Are you insane?”
At this point, I was pretty sure I was. “Maybe. But I wanted you to know that you can trust me. We are up to our necks in water. Even if I was wearing a listening device, no one could hear us now.” My eyes dropped to her lips, remembering her sweet taste, but I stopped myself from giving in to temptation.
“Nothing you tell me is going to be in a report. Not that it matters, since my partner is planning to file a report on the case today and then file it away, never to be seen again,” I added.
Her arms circled my neck, and she rested her head against my neck for several long minutes. The waves rocked us gently, and I tried to not think about how cold the water was against her skin.
“I wish I knew what you were thinking about so intently.”
No, she didn’t. She didn’t want to know how much I craved to be with her and how much hearing the truth from her lips meant to me. I wanted her trust, just as much as I wanted her gorgeous body.
“It’s only because of the magic.” Her words were whispered, and I nearly missed them.
“The magic?” I asked.
“My magic.” She lifted her head, glowing eyes meeting mine. “Last night you tasted my magic, and that’s why you are ready to do whatever you can to be with me.”
I laughed. “Last night’s make out in the hallway was far better than any sex I’ve ever had, but I wanted you before that. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I felt like you were the one since you opened your front door wearing that sheet. So yeah, last night certainly escalated things, but it wasn’t when I fell in love with you.”
“I didn’t believe in love at first sight.” Arizona’s words were hollow. She wasn’t being completely honest.
“Neither did I.” I made a move to put her on her feet, but she clung tighter to me. “But crazier things have happened, right?”
She laughed. “That’s an understatement.”
I pressed my lips against the wet skin of her neck, needing to touch her, taste her. “Seriously though, Arizona, I didn’t believe in it either. Not until I met you.”
