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“I’ve written down a list of tasks here,” I said, handing her the notebook I’d prepped last night while watching the Reaper game.
She took the list and quickly read over it. I didn’t bother asking her if she could handle it, I knew she could. After a few seconds, she glanced up at me. “How long is this program again?”
“Six weeks.”
She visibly swallowed, her eyes churning with something I couldn’t quite place.
“Is that okay with you?” she asked. “Working with me for that long?”
Her question made the reality of the situation sink in.
I’d see her every single day. Work with her. Listen to her. Smell that delightful perfume she’d always worn, the floral and spicy scent hitting me as we spoke.
Fuck me.
“Yes,” I finally managed to say. “As long as you’re comfortable with it?”
She smiled, coming around the desk, stopping so close I could’ve reached down and captured that grin between my lips if I wanted to.
Which I didn’t…couldn’twant that.
“If you are, I am,” she said.
“Good,” I said, then just stood there staring down at her because I could. She didn’t squirm under my gaze, didn’t try to back away. She met my eyes with the unabashed strength that had always drawn me to her in the past. She’d changed a little, but she was still the same in so many ways.
“Jim,” she said, her lips poised on the tip of a question.
“Officer Harlowe,” a female voice said from the doorway, stopping whatever Anne had been about to say. I took a casual step away from Anne, facing one of the new hires. “Is there anywhere in particular we need to sit?”
I shook my head, gesturing to the tables in the room. “Sit wherever you’d like.”
Another four new hires filed in behind the first one, all spreading out throughout the room since it wasn’t packed. Sweet Water was a small town, so it wasn’t like we’d hired twenty or more officers like some bigger cities did.
Either way, the room felt about ten times smaller with Anne directly behind me. Her presence filled the room in a way nothing else ever did, and I swear I could feel her gaze on my skin as I started the first lecture.
After a full day, separated only by a small lunch break, we finally reached the end of the first class.
“That was impressive,” Anne said after the new hires had left the room.
I blew out a breath. “You think?”
“Absolutely,” she said, hooking her bag over her shoulder. “You had them captivated.”
I smiled, pride swelling in my chest the way it always did whenever she complimented me. Damn, my body responded to her in exactly the same way as it had ten years ago, how was that possible?
“You did great too,” I said, giving her credit where it was due. “We would’ve lost two hours if you hadn’t saved the day with the tech-savviness.”
She laughed, equal parts warm and wild and fuck me it was one of the best sounds in the world. I wanted to kiss that smile, wanted to drag other sounds from her lips like moans and whimpers and listen to her say my name in that breathy, blissful way only she was capable of.
“I’ve managed to keep up on the trends,” she said. “New software and apps have always been easy for me to figure out.”
Thankfully too, because I didn’t have a clue when it came to the presentation app I had to show to the new hires earlier.
“Well,” she said, glancing around the empty room. “Have a good night.” She headed toward the door.
Have a good night.
See you tomorrow.
