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More than anything, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and offer her comfort, support, anything she fucking wanted. But just that damn morning, she’d called off their... relationship... or whatever the hell it was she wanted to call it.
She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear with a trembling hand.
Fuck it.
And fuck her let’s-be-just-friends bullshit. Not now. Not ever.
Without a word, he stormed across the room.
Her eyes went wide, and she let out a tiny squeak as he lifted her off her seat, sat down, and hauled her onto his lap. He pulled her tight against his chest, then caught her chin in his hand and waited until her eyes met his, their faces inches apart.
“All that crap we talked about this morning, baby?” he said, tone fierce. “It’s bullshit. I don’t want to go back to being friends. What we have—whatever name you want to put on it—iseverythingto me. You were breaking my fucking heart, so I lashed out like the asshole that I am. And I’m so damn sorry. I’m not letting you go, Roxanne. I’m not. Deal with it.”
His pulse pounded in his ears, and he held his breath. The slow tick of the clock drove him wild as we waited for some clue as to how she was feeling. At last, by some miracle of miracles, she relaxed in his arms.
“Okay,” she whispered, giving him a tiny nod. “And I’m sorry, too. I said some stuff I didn’t mean. That wasn’t fair.”
He sighed in relief and held her closer. Thank Christ.
A throat cleared. Loudly. “Can we get back to the issue at hand?” Quinn asked, his eyebrows raised.
“Give me a second, man,” Joe said, kissing her forehead. “She broke up with me a couple hours ago, so let me enjoy this, will you?”
“Well, you probably fucking deserved it,” Quinn muttered. “Roxie, I know you said you haven’t had any big issues with anyone in town, but what about any smaller disagreements? Maybe something you see as minor could be something big for this other person? Anyone acting differently toward you?”
She remained silent, but her muscles tensed. Joe went on alert. When she shifted on his lap, he loosened his arms around her. “Roxanne?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, a worry line forming between her brows. “It’s probably nothing, but Eli got a little close the other day.”
Joe’s jaw clenched.Motherfucking shit.He’d never liked that bastard. “Define ‘close.’”
“Jesus Christ, Buchanan,” Quinn groaned. “Can it, okay? I’m the sheriff, soI’llask the questions. You get to sit there with your damn mouth shut.”
Joe bristled. “You were going to ask the same exact fucking question, so what does it matter?”
“Holy fu—” Quinn cut himself off and inhaled. Looking at the ceiling, he appeared to be counting. After about ten seconds, his friend met his gaze. “It matters, Buchanan. Protocol matters, and this is not your fucking show. So, either shut the hell up or leave. It’s your choice.”
Fine. Joe gave a brisk nod. He knew he wasn’t helping matters, but he felt so damn helpless.
Roxie placed her hand on his chest. “Let Quinn do his job, okay?” When he started to protest, she brought her finger to his lips to silence him. “I need you to just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“That’s the problem, Rox. I’m not doing a fucking thing right now and it’s—”
“Stop,” she murmured. “I need you to keep doingthis. Keep holding me. I feel better when you’re with me... You make it better.”
His breath left him. Goddamn, she humbled him like no one else.
Joe took her face in his hands and laid a soft kiss on her lips. “You got it, baby. I promise I’ll keep quiet.”
She arched a brow, and he could see the skepticism in her gaze
He grinned. “Yeah, okay. I promise I’lltryto keep quiet.”
She kissed him quickly, and then they both focused their attention on Quinn, who was shaking his head. “You guys are sappier than shit, you know that?”
Roxie rolled her eyes. “Please. Don’t forget that I see you with your wife on a regular basis, so you can drop the tough-guy routine, Sheriff. But back to business. Like I said earlier, it’s probably nothing, but Eli came in yesterday and got too close. We were talking in my office, and when I tried to get by him to leave, he grabbed my arm. I thought he was going to try to kiss me or something.”
“Motherfucker,” Joe hissed, anger boiling in his gut.
