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Her head swimming, Noelle welcomed his body with open arms as he settled over her on the bed. The contact was a balm, extending the high she’d experienced, a way of connecting even more with the man in a silent dialogue of two sated bodies.
Brandon was the first to emerge and push himself to the side. Tendrils of blond silk had escaped his bun, catching in his beard. One by one, she untangled them, pushing them behind his ears as he finally opened his eyes.
So much could’ve been said, but instead, Brandon gave her a kiss of sweet perfection. It was so easy to settle in his embrace when he pulled her closer. She indulged gladly.
Noelle must have dozed off because a weird noise insinuated itself into her dreams, one that became a reality when the man lying beside her stirred and spoke.
“Phone.” Noelle didn’t recognize her tone, so it must have been Brandon’s. He rolled away, but not before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
Her mind still blurry from sleep, Noelle stirred and stretched, remembering through her sore muscles the memorable night of lovemaking. With a smile, she looked around to see light streaming through the window, indicating that a new day had begun.
She would’ve welcomed it with a smile if not for Brandon’s somber expression when he returned to the bedroom, cell phone in hand.
“What’s going on?”
Brandon winced. “Sorry to end the best night of my life this way, but I need to go. And I need you to come with me. I’m not leaving you alone without protection.”
Even as she agreed with him, Noelle was already rolling out of bed, looking for fresh clothes. “No problem. What’s happened?”
“Someone broke in my apartment and tried to set it on fire. Same MO as Dominique’s boutique.”
Noelle nodded and moved fast. When she went to pass Brandon, he caught her in his arms. “I’m sorry it’s ended this way. Believe me when I say last night was amazing, and I’m praying you’ll agree to do it again soon. Very soon.”
His eagerness made her smile. “How about we close this case for good and take a few days off? I remember you saying you wanted to worship my body, and I’m curious to experience that all night with you. Only with you.”
CHAPTER 15
Noelle refrained from opening the door to her lab to check if the cop guarding the entrance was still there. Since Brandon had received the call about his apartment, it was as if she’d watched her life being directed without her intervention.
Just as she got dressed in a comfortable A-line dress with delicate blue flowers and a pair of flats, he ordered her to follow him to the station and made sure she wasn’t alone. Even worse, he’d sicced a young officer on her who immediately turned into a guard dog as soon as she crossed the lab’s threshold. He became her shadow, even following her to the bathroom and back, never more than six feet away unless she was working.
Brandon had sent her a quick text telling her that he was with Callan at his apartment and checking things out.
She should’ve fought to go with him instead of staying behind, but she’d still been in a sexual haze. That must have been the cause for her yielding so far, but she couldn’t fault Brandon for that.
It’s just that she felt useless and a bit ridiculous waiting for Brandon to come back, holding on to a potential threat that seemed less and less viable.
Once her pacing threatened to wear the shine off the surface, Noelle focused on work until her phone rang.
“Hey, girlfriend! Tell that damn gorilla I’m not going to kill you!”
“Rosie?” Noelle sprinted to the door to see her bold, blonde, and outraged friend giving a poor boy in blue a piece of her mind and scaring the living daylights out of him in the process. In the fastest rescue of her life, Noelle pulled her inside before she had the chance to shed blood.
“Easy tiger, he was just doing his job.” Adorable in pink, with probably the same look on her face as Jack the Ripper had before a kill, Roseline wasn’t about to calm down, so Noelle diverted the attack. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t you answer your phone? I’ve tried several times to get hold of you!” Roseline stopped mid-rant. “What’s wrong with your face?”
Hands-on her cheeks, Noelle frowned. “What about my face?”
“How come you’re glowing? You never glow!” Taking another step closer, her eyes came alight. “You got laid! With that Viking hunk!”
If she hadn’t been blushing, there was no doubt that the mounting heat she felt on her face would be a dead giveaway. “Come on, Rosie! That’s so not relevant.” Noelle might have had a chance of convincing her friend if she hadn’t sounded like she was on the defensive.
“From enemies to lovers... I love that kind of story!”
The conversation was taking a slippery turn. “There are no enemies here.”
“So there is a lover! I knew it! Even if I don’t have all the deets as to why we don’t hate him anymore, I trust your judgment. Especially with such a fine specimen.”
