Page 122 of Cuffed (Everyday Heroes 1)
He pulls me in tighter against his chest. “Where do we go, Emerson? First of all, you’re not going anywhere. I love that you’re a gypsy and free spirited—I wouldn’t change that for the world. I’d never take that away from you. Though, I’d appreciate it if you keep the taking off without telling anyone where you are to a minimum. It makes the cop in me want to track you down to make sure you’re okay.”
“You wouldn’t . . .”
“Don’t tempt me,” he teases but with a hint of an edge that tells me he’d do just that if need be.
“I won’t. Remember, we’re working on trust here,” I say dryly.
“I’m aware.” He plants a noisy kiss on my forehead. “Since you’re staying put, then we keep doing what we’re doing. You get your loan despite how much I’d like to punch that slimy fucker you’re getting it through. I get my promotion despite the asshole trying to take it from me . . . and we . . . move forward. Together.”
“This is all a huge change for me.” I try to wrap my head around how two months ago, I was thinking about the next flavor of the month, and now, I’m sitting here discussing tomorrows with Grant.
“What is? The having someone care about you part or the feeling settled in one place?”
“Both. None. All of it.” I laugh as I hook my leg over his. I meet his eyes and find myself admitting things to him I haven’t yet digested myself. “I’ve survived this far by closing myself off and not allowing myself to feel . . . and then you enter my life with your lights and sirens blazing, and it’s as if you’ve handcuffed me so that I can’t escape from you. So that I’m forced to feel. So that I think in wants and needs. So that I wonder how I ever lived without it. I love it. I hate it. It’s overwhelming, and it’s just . . .”
“Well, get used to it because I’m not going anywhere and neither are you, even if I have to handcuff you and your gypsy ways.” There’s humor in his voice, but there is also an earnestness that tugs on my heart. It makes me just that much more thankful that he showed up today.
“Better make sure you bring them next time,” I tease as my body reacts to the memory of earlier in the hangar.
“I’ll make sure to put my extra set in the nightstand.”
“Promise?”
He leans forward and presses the most tender of kisses against my lips. “Promise.”
Our eyes hold for a moment. “You’ve pretty much obliterated my rules, you know that, right?”
He makes a non-committal sound. “I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to realize that.”
I shrug. “I have a selective memory.”
“Is that what it’s called these days?” The way he says it makes my body become all too aware of how thin the towels wrapped around us are and how easily we might be able to slip out of them. He kisses me again as my fingers reach for the towel at his waist. “There is one thing I forgot to do earlier—you know, proper police protocol.”
“Falling down on the job again?”
He chuckles against my lips. “Only if I’m falling on top of you.”
“Cute,” I say and then sigh as his fingers find their way between my thighs. “We were talking about following proper police protocol.” It’s hard to get the words out.
“Then I guess it’s time to get this strip search under way,” he says before his lips meet mine.
And just like that, we slip into something beyond my rules.
It should terrify me after the past week I’ve had, which was filled with doubts and questions, but there’s something so comforting about the moment.
About being with someone who sees my scars and still thinks I’m beautiful.
Roll your eyes all you want, but I’m breaking the rules again. Have a good day. – Grant
I look at the card in my hand again and then back to the arrangement of dahlias that were just delivered to Blue Skies. It’s strange and sweet and crazy that he’s sending me flowers on the day of his interview. Shouldn’t it be me who is taking care of him today?
I smell them again. I want to be mad and say they’re ridiculous, but I find it hard to stop staring at them. My cheeks actually hurt from smiling, and I know by the side-glances Leo keeps giving me, he’s noticed.
“Did someone die?”
I look up to see Travis standing in the open doorway, ball cap in hand and eyes curious.
“Seems to me someone has taken a liking to Em,” Leo says.
