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“You have nothing to prove. You’re great at your job and people love you.”
“Do they?” She motioned to the box on the counter. “I have a cow’s tongue that says otherwise.”
Reid stepped toward her, taking her chin in his grasp. An unexpected jolt of electricity shot through his arm and straight to his damn heart. Fuck. He ignored the overwhelming urge to kiss those taunting lips and focused on what he wanted to say. “A few assholes doesn’t mean anything.” He ran his thumb gently across her jaw, and she blinked up at him. He could see a future, a life with her driving him insane while also making him insanely happy, but that was a future they could never have. Not if he wanted to keep her safe. “I should go.”
He turned to leave, and Allison grabbed his bicep. “Reid.” Her voice filled with raw emotion that clawed at his very soul. “Don’t go.”
Chapter 11
Genuine fear lit her eyes, and this time she didn’t push it away. She revealed her true feelings to him, letting him into a vulnerable side of her he wasn’t sure even existed.
He had to get the letter to the station, but he couldn’t leave her. Not now. Not when she looked so scared. “I can stay.”
“Really? Because you don’t have to if you have plans or something else to do. I’d call my sisters, but I don’t want to worry them just yet. And Luna has PTA tonight anyway, then Sammy usually meets up for drinks—”
Reid held his hand up. “I can stay.” He leveled his gaze with hers, not wavering.
“Okay, you’ll stay.” She bit her lip and spun toward the stainless-steel fridge. “You hungry?”
And just like that, the vulnerability was masked, packed back up and shoved away.
“I can always eat.”
“Good, me too.”
“Let me get rid of this first.” He took the tongue out to the trash and disposed of it. He doubted he’d be able to get any fingerprints off of it anyway. He tried to ignore the similarities of the tongue to Louie’s past threats, but the gnawing at his gut wouldn’t seize.
He hurried back into the house, already being gone too long. Allison was genuinely scared, and knowing that not only pissed him off, but made him desperate to make her feel safe.
She grabbed a bunch of containers from the fridge and placed them on the counter. “I have meals delivered to me for the week. Just makes life easier with my schedule. What do you want? We have chicken and mixed veggies, salmon and asparagus, buffalo chicken burger with sweet potato mash.”
“I don’t want to eat your dinner for the week.”
She swatted her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I always order seven and usually only eat five, anyway.”
“What do you do with the leftovers?”
“I bring it to the station and either have it for lunch or give it to someone else. People never say no to free food. Now what will it be?”
“Considering there is no red meat and potato option, I guess I’ll go chicken burger.”
“Good choice. One of my faves.”
“Then I’ll have one of the others.”
Allison rolled her eyes. “Oh please. You’re staying here with me, sacrificing your evening. The least I can do is give you something you want to eat.”
“Want to eat is pushing it,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s healthier. Your body will thank me later.” She froze at her words, and he swallowed the unexpected desire that surged to the surface. She snatched the container and spun with purpose, heading straight to the microwave.
He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the images of his body and hers pressed together, skin to skin, hot and sweaty from working out years of pent-up sexual tension.
It was Marco and his damn comments. Reid was living a perfectly happy life, never thinking of Allison beyond their colorful exchanges, and that all changed after Marco opened his mouth. Next time Reid saw him, he was pushing him in the water.
Though, if he was honest with himself, Marco only brought to the surface what had been there for years. Didn’t matter. He was still pushing the bastard into the water.
He yanked at his collar and tried to focus on anything other than the sweet curve of Allison’s mouth, the way her brow furrowed as she tapped the time on the microwave, or the way her ass looked as she bent over to place the food inside the microwave.
