Page 26 of Before We Were Us

“I can’t stop thinking about you, Brynn.” His words surprise me. “These lips.” He drags his thumb over my lower lip. “So sweet,” he adds, shaking his head lightly as if he can’t quite find the words. “And your eyes.” I’m taken back by the sudden shift in his actions. “We need to get on the same page because this is going to happen, Brynn. You and me, this, baby, it's going to happen.”

“Damn,” Marco says from only a few feet away and it makes my smile widen.

“I’ll see you tonight.” It isn’t a question and it’s time I’m honest with myself, I want to see him too. So instead of trying to find all the reasons why this shouldn’t happen, I simply nod in agreement instead.

Jensen seems pleased, sliding his hand around to cup the back of my neck. Pulling me closer, he kisses me once more, this time dragging his tongue along the seam of my lips. Parting mine he takes advantage and deepens our kiss.

When he pulls back, he closes his eyes for a few seconds and bows his head. I’m just about to say something when he steps back almost like he’s forcing himself to.

“Where in the hell have you been hiding?” He’s not truly asking me this question, it’s nothing more than a whisper before he offers me a smile and turns to walk toward the exit. I’m left staring after him, my entire body humming with desire. My lips tingle from his kiss and other parts of my body wait for what’s to come.

“Girl,” Marco says and I look back over my shoulder to find him fanning his face. “That man is dangerous.”

“Tell me about it,” I confess, flopping down in the chair at an empty table. “Part of me wants to run and hide.”

“Don’t you dare.” Suddenly he is rounding the corner and sitting at the table opposite me. “He has got it bad, it’s almost like it took everything inside of him to leave you. There is nothing about that man that doesn’t scream ‘I will make you feel so damn good you’ll forget your own name.’”

I laugh, he’s not lying.

“Okay so you’ve had some assholes in the past. We’ve all had experiences we wish we could forget. The thing is we can’t let the wrongs scare us so much we miss out on the rights.”

“And how would you possibly know he’s a right?”

“He was practically bouncing off the walls waiting for you. Here he is so deep into a new case, hours off an all-nighter, no sleep, so much happening all around him and in the middle of that, he came here. He needed to see you, felt like he had to, like he couldn’t focus unless he got some kind of fix. It’s all so new with the two of you, yet he rushes over here, when he should be at the station with his partner. For what, a kiss, and reassurance that you aren’t running.”

I take in Marco’s words.

“To me, that speaks volumes.”

The bell above the door chimes as a new customer enters and Marco quickly gets up to join them at the counter.

I gather my phone, waking it as I search out Jensen’s number.

Typing out my message I hover over the send button, second-guessing myself, I look up and find Marco completely invested in the entertainment of his customer. Again I replay his words. For what, a kiss, and reassurance that you aren’t running.

With a deep breath I hit send before I can stop myself and instantly feel a rush of nervousness course through me.

seventeen

. . .

Jensen

Arriving at the station I grab my phone and keys and climb out of the car, immediately checking the unread message that came through only a few minutes ago.

Brynn: I’m not running! I’ll be home tonight. It doesn’t matter the time, call or text.

Her message is exactly what I needed. Confirmation that this thing between us is happening, and she is with me on it. I can’t help but smile.

Everything about her makes me feel alive. The possibilities, the things she makes me want, I never thought I’d ever consider chasing after them again.

“Hey, lover boy.” I glance up to find Connor coming down the front steps of the station holding a paper in his hands. “Got a warrant to search Riley’s girl’s place.”

“His girl?” I ask, tucking my phone in my pocket.

“Yeah.” He slaps the folded warrant paper in my hand. “Seems the neighbors saw her and two guys backing a red Challenger into the garage before sunrise this morning.”

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

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