I continue because, truthfully, I’m enjoying this just as much. “I still want to kiss you.”

Her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of pink, and her arms tighten, showing the crease of her breasts peeking out of her shirt perfectly. My tongue darts out, wetting my lips.

I shouldn’t be here, and surely should not be dreaming about fucking her on every surface of my apartment, either.

I lean back in my chair, my thumb running across my jaw, and I shake my head; disappointed in myself.

“What?” she asks, noticing the change between us.

Knowing that I can’t tell her what I was vividly dreaming about, I think of something else. Except, just as I go to speak, my eyes shift over her shoulder out the glass window. My stomach flips, and my lungs squeeze at the sight of Officer Raleigh walking toward the entrance to the coffee shop.

My fingers tap against my knee, praying he hasn’t noticed us sitting here together. It’s too soon for him to know about us. Even though there isn’t an us yet, if my plan goes smoothly, there will be.

I keep my focus on his movement. My eyes follow him as he walks through the door. Suddenly, my body grows tenser the second the bell rings.

“Are you OK?” Summer asks.

I nod, but the metallic taste of blood hits my tongue from how hard I’m biting the inside of my cheek.

The sound of Raleigh’s boots shuffles closer. I shift in my seat, my blood rushing to the head. Summer’s eyebrows crease and, her mouth opens, ready to say something else, and I want nothing more than for her to, but her father’s deep voice cuts through the air.

“Summer.”

My muscles tighten, feeling his warm breath reach me from where he’s standing.

It takes every cell in my body to avoid looking at him. It’s certainly easy when Summer’s expression drops and the color drains from her face.

“Hi, Dad,” she says, putting a smile on her face and looking at him.

From the corner of my eye, I can see him staring at me. I can feel it.

“Go home, Summer.”

The crease between her eyebrows deepens. “What?”

Raleigh’s head turns to hers slowly. “I said. Get. Home. Now.”

I watch the roll of Summer’s throat as she swallows, her eyelashes fluttering. “I’m having coffee with my friend.”

His mouth forms a thin line, and I’m officially highly uncomfortable but oddly amused. When he looks back at me, I finally make eye contact and smile.

I wish I could explain to myself why I smiled.

I lean back a little as his arm reaches around his back, but I am relieved to only see him pull out his wallet. Though, I wouldn’t put it past him to grab his gun. He flips his wallet open, pulls out a few bills, and drops them on the table.

“This is a family matter. Home. Now.” His voice became increasingly louder, and my jaw twitches at how he is speaking to his daughter.

Summer takes a deep breath and looks at me apologetically before standing, leaving her coffee on the table. She smiles, and then she’s gone within the blink of an eye. It makes me feel some way, and it’s not anger.

Raleigh waits a few minutes, making sure Summer isn’t in sight. When he knows she isn’t, he adjusts his belt and cups his hand over his gun, making sure that I notice. Then he dips his head low enough that I can smell his breath. My teeth clamp together, cringing.

“Alec Sokolov.”

I turn my head slowly, my lips pinching together. “Officer Dickhead.”

He chuckles, coming closer. “Stay the fuck away from my daughter.”

Chapter Eight