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That was a well-placed parting shot, and as she disappeared through the door she’d just opened, I was left reeling at what she’d said.
It took a minute for me to get my head together, but once I could move again, I headed out of the conference room, stopping at my desk long enough to grab my keys and wallet from my desk drawer.
“Got an errand to run over lunch,” I said to Sheffield, jerking my chin toward Churro. “Think you can watch her a little longer?”
“Sure thing, boss. Hey, check this out?” She dangled a treat a few feet off the ground and cooed, “Dance pretty girl.”
Churro hopped up on her hind legs and pranced for a second before the weight of being too top-heavy forced her back down on all fours. Sheffield popped the treat into her mouth, exclaiming, “Good girl!”
I chuckled and shook my head as I walked through the bullpen. “Just make sure she doesn’t fall and crack that big-ass head open, would you? The emergency vet is expensive as hell.”
And with that, I headed out of the station, determination coursing through me as I climbed into my truck and started it up. I was going to see my girl. And I was going to make damn sure she knewexactlywhat she meant to me.
ChapterTwenty-Three
LYRIC
It wasa slow day at the library. Deva had swung by earlier for a visit with a coffee from Hot Java like the incredible friend she was, but other than her, and a few of my volunteers, the library was quiet. The gray clouds that hung low and heavy in the sky with the threat of impending storms kept most people in their homes.
Personally, I loved stormy days. I always had. I wasn’t sure what I liked so much about the rain. Maybe that it was purifying in its own way; after a good soaking, everything felt as though it had been washed clean.
With no one around, I was able to catch up on most of the administrative work I had, so I got to get my hands dirty by pushing the cart through the stacks and reshelving books that had been returned this week.
I loved seeing what the townspeople enjoyed reading. It ran the gamut from self-help to autobiographies to fiction of all kinds. I hummed to myself as I moved through the library, returning books to their rightful places.
The chimes above the door let out their musical sound, and I moved through the rows of shelves so I could peek around the corner and see who was brave enough to face the weather. My face split into a wide, giddy smile the moment I saw Holton walk through the door.
“Hey. This is a pleasant surprise.” I moved to him, placing my hands on his shoulders and rising on the toes of my heels to give him a kiss. “You aren’t all wet so I take it the rain hasn’t started yet?”
His arms circled my waist, locking at the small of my back and holding me flush against him. “It’s still holding off, but I don’t think that’ll be the case much longer.” He lifted his head and scanned the library with a furrowed brow. “You here all by yourself?”
“No. Tilda and Ms. Grady are both here somewhere. Why? Is everything all right?”
His expression smoothed out as he leaned in to drag the tip of his nose along mine. “Yeah. Everything’s fine. Just felt the need to see you is all.”
I could sense a hint of desperation in his voice that made me worry. “Hey, if that need ever comes upon you, you’re always welcome here. I love getting to spend time with you.”
He brushed a lock of hair over my shoulder, exposing my neck so he could drag his nose along the slope from shoulder to jaw. “You aren’t sick of me yet?” he asked quietly against my skin, the warm brush of his breath making me tremble as my eyes fell closed.
“Are you kidding? I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of you, Holt.”
He pulled back, something in those mossy green eyes I couldn’t quite get a read on as he stared down at me, but the intensity there made my knees weak. “I need to kiss you right now. There somewhere private I can do that? Because I don’t think it’ll be rated for public viewing.”
Arousal soaked my panties as I took his hand and pulled him with me. I felt the heat of his large body at my back as I guided us around the counter where I usually chose to work. Electricity arced as our palms touched, shooting up my arm and traveling through my limbs before centering right between my thighs. How he could possibly think I’d ever get sick of him was beyond me, because I couldn’t get enough of him. As terrifying as it was to admit, even if it was only to myself, I was in love with Holton Clarke, and that love wasbig. Consuming. I had nothing to compare it to because I’d never felt anything like it in my life.
I led him into my office, a room I hardly used, and as soon as I closed the door behind him, he was on me, giving me that kiss not meant for prying eyes. And it lit me up like a firecracker.
His arm was like a steel band around my back, holding me to him while he fisted my hair with his other hand, guiding my head this way and that so he could take the kiss as deeply as possible.
My breasts grew heavy, my nipples tightening to the point the rigid peaks could cut glass. An ache started between my thighs, persistent and demanding, and I knew we had to stop soon, or I’d be miserably turned on the rest of the day.
We broke the kiss, our foreheads pressed together as we struggled for oxygen, sharing the air between us. “Wow,” I breathed, dragging my palms down the front of his shirt and circling the shiny badge pinned to his chest with my finger. “That was a hell of a kiss. If you let me go right now, I think I might sink right into the floor.”
“Lyric, I love you.”
My whole body jolted, the force of the words Holton Clarke had just said to me nearly knocking me off my feet. “I—what?”
“I’m in love with you, baby. That’s why I needed to see you today. I needed to tell you that.”
