Page 6 of Her Secret Wish

Dean gave her a sympathetic look. “Yes, he did, but we have people looking for him. We’re checking the surveillance footage of the convenience store a mile down the road to see if anything’s there. I got a vague description but I was too far back to get details. There was a lady ahead of you that stopped and had more info, so we’re trying to piece everything together. We’ll find him.”

Rachel sank back in the seat, her aches and pains bone deep and with no closure on the accident to help her put it into perspective. Damn it.

Dean pulled into her neighborhood and drove to her duplex without direction. It was nice to have a cop drive you home. No directions needed. As they pulled up in front of her garage door, Mrs. Lightner, the widow next door, flicked her living room curtains and Rachel knew she’d be having company soon, whether she wanted it or not.

Dean parked the cruiser, hopped out of the car, and circled the hood to open her door. Rachel waited, though it chafed her independence a little. But honestly, she didn’t think she’d be able to push up out of the seat without serious assistance.

Or…was she just yearning to touch Officer West again?

Dean opened the door and held a hand out to her. Rachel took it and swung her legs out, then braced herself on his hand to stand. That solid anchor never budged as she gained her feet and she appreciated that more than she could have expressed. “Thank you,” she sighed, waiting for her bones to settle before heading for her door.

“Oh, wait,” he told her, ducking back into the car. The trunk popped and he went around to retrieve a white plastic bag. “Here are your keys from the car and your wallet and cellphone.”

Well, duh… how the hell had she planned to get into the house without her keys?

“Thank you so much, Dean. My head’s been so foggy with the concussion and stuff I didn’t even think about my things.” She flipped open her handy, dandy cell phone case slash wallet. All of her cards were inside, as well as the cash she’d had. She hit the power button on her phone.

“I turned it off to save what battery you had left. It was beeping a lot.”

Rachel cringed when she saw all the messages and missed calls. “Yeah, I work with a pretty protective group of guys. I was supposed to go work out with a couple of them yesterday. I’ll call them back.”

Even as she finished speaking the phone vibrated in her hand with another incoming message. Maybe she shouldn’t have turned it on just yet.

Dean walked beside her as she limped her way up the sidewalk to her door then waited while she unlocked it. Rachel turned a little uncomfortably, wondering how to gracefully say goodbye. “Thank you, Dean. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Really. You’ve gone above and beyond.”

He shrugged away her thanks with a smile. “You don’t have to thank me. But if you’d like to do something for me, maybe you’ll agree to go out to dinner with me?”

Speechless, Rachel blinked, shock coursing over her. With her unclean everything—clothes, hair, face, mind—her heart raced with embarrassment. The man was sex incarnate and she was in the nastiest state she’d been in a long time. Was he hoping she would give in because she was feeling vulnerable?

When she didn’t say anything immediately, he waved a broad hand. “You don’t have to answer now. Take your time. I know I should have waited until you were a little more recovered, but I couldn’t help myself. Just think about it.”

Giving her a look that seemed a little embarrassed, he headed back down the driveway.

Rachel’s heart raced. And just the fact that she had such a physical reaction to his request made her open her mouth and call out a ‘Yes’.

Dean looked back at her and grinned. “I can call you?”

Giving a single tight nod, Rachel tucked her hair behind her ear before backing into her condo.

Gasping, she dropped back against her door and covered her mouth with her hand. What the hell had she just done? There was no sense pursuing this…flirtation.

Chapter Three

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Dean vibrated withexcitement all day, wondering how long he needed to wait before he called Rachel Searles. If he called too soon, she’d know what a geek he was, but he didn’t want to put it off too long because he wanted her to know how interested in her he was.

As he backed into the driveway of a derelict building, one of his favorite spots to catch speeders, he glanced at the empty seat beside him. Though she’d been embarrassed and in pain, he’d loved having Rachel beside him. When he’d touched her, his skin had prickled with awareness.

Rachel had an allure for him that he couldn’t figure out. She wasn’t the prettiest woman he’d ever seen, but she was definitely the strongest. It wasn’t very often that he met a woman who impressed him that way, but she definitely did.

Her face was lean-boned and her golden eyes direct, full of knowledge about a life lived on her terms. She was tall enough that he didn’t feel like he was going to break her if he hugged her, and strong enough that she looked like she could take him down if she felt she needed to. The thought of grappling with her sent a bolt of longing through his cock.

Dean’s shift dragged on. He’d sworn to himself that he would give her a day to recover but as the hours crawled by his determination flagged and he got a little out of sorts. The speeders he pulled over probably wished he was having a more relaxed day because he listened to every convoluted excuse then wrote them out the ticket.

He drove back to the substation, gathered his crap and locked the car. Then he strode into the building. There was only one report to write but several tickets to forward to the courthouse. Killian slapped him on the back as he walked into the building.

“You working out tonight, West?”

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