Page 40 of Taking Root

Chapter Twenty

In the span of a few days, Adrian’s life had vaulted from twelve-hour shifts at the hospital and breaking up family feuds to entrapping a serial killer. Add a hefty dose of helping Danny defy the Feds, and he had accrued enough excitement for the next century.

They returned to his house, both carrying plastic bags filled with the Chinese takeout they’d stopped for. Not like General Tso’s would sit well on his churning stomach. The sight of Danny walking with him still pinched him in the side like he was dreaming. She melded into his life like she’d always been there, at once familiar and brand new. He grew more smitten with each passing day.

After finding out the truth about her past, Adrian understood the lonely pier she’d walked along. The way she’d survived these years by her lonesome with no one to call on a bad day, no one to hold her tight when the fear grew too much to bear—she was the most resilient person he’d ever met. In the hospital, Adrian had seen too many cancer patients showing up to appointments alone. Going through chemo without another soul to share that heavy, devastating weight with. Danny lived and breathed that same unimaginable strength.

“This better be some damn fine sesame chicken,” Danny said as she skipped past him to the front door, even though she didn’t have keys. “I’m not biting the bullet on a stomach full of shitty take-out.”

“Best in the whole state,” he said, opening his door. “At least, that’s what the handwritten sign claimed.” Danny groaned in response, following him inside. If they survived this, he’d get a set of keys for her stat. She could tell him he moved at lightning speed, but Danny knew what she signed up for. Adrian didn’t splash around in the shallow end when it came to dating.

Obi-Wan keened at them, keeping a close distance with his laser focus on the bag of takeout. Danny’s grin reached her eyes as she leaned down to run her fingers through his tan fur, and Adrian’s chest warmed at the sight.

He led her toward his living room, unable to help the glances he stole. Danny’s hips swung while she walked, highlighting gorgeous curves that had him mesmerized. Heat flared through him as her eyes met his with a mischievous smile. The room turned twenty degrees hotter, and he licked his lips before he could help himself. A different hunger curled in his stomach.

“Come on now.” She swatted his shoulder. “We’ve got this high-class takeout to consume. Don’t tell me you’d waste such a quality feast.” Her green eyes glittered as she amused herself.

Adrian dropped his bag onto the carpet as he wrapped his hands around her waist, drawing her to him. She let out a startled squeak in response and let go of the bags. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. The touch was immediate, incendiary, and he slipped his tongue in, turning their connection molten. Danny’s low moan vibrated against his mouth, and he hardened in response.

As fast as he’d swept her into his arms, Adrian stepped back, breaking the kiss. A grin played on his lips as he picked up his bag of takeout. “Well now, we better tuck into this before it goes cold. I’ve been told it doesn’t reheat well.”

“You play dirty.” Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes shone as she shot him a pointed look.

“Only because the thoughts I’m having right now are downright filthy,” he responded, his tone light as he sank into his Prussian blue couch.

Danny sat beside him, draping a leg over his as she nestled in like she marked her territory. “Tease,” she shot back. “Why don’t you put that smart mouth to a better use?”

“Believe me, I’m planning on it.” The wildfire look they shared tempted Adrian to bend her over and take her here on the couch. However, the impatience flaring in her eyes sparked his sadistic side. “Once we finish dinner, of course. Quality feast, remember?”

“Why don’t we throw something on in the background?” Danny suggested as she tugged out her sesame chicken, grabbing the disposable chopsticks included. She treated this like it was an everyday occurrence, comfortable in these surroundings like she’d been meant for them. Adrian never had a relationship that put him at ease like this—with his ex-girlfriends, an underlying tension had always remained.

“All right, but I’m ruling out horror movies,” he said. “Last thing I need is the reminder of the sort of Mike Myers shit we’ll be facing tomorrow.”

Even though she didn’t respond, her stillness gave him enough of an answer. Danny stared ahead at the TV, her expression growing distant. “Do you have the Terminator movies?” she asked, the question dragging him out of his head.

He frowned as he grabbed the remote. “I think they’re on streaming. At least, the ones worth watching.”

Danny lifted a brow. “Tread lightly, Dukas. You start trash talking one through three and we’re going to have a problem.”

“Three?” He leaned forward. “Please don’t tell me you enjoyed the third Terminator movie.”

“First my electronica and now T3?” Danny splayed her hand over her chest in mock horror. “How are we together again?”

Adrian shrugged, popping a piece of General Tso’s into his mouth. “I figured you wanted me for my body.”

Danny let out a surprised laugh, the sound as bright as a bell. Even with the underlying tension and the shadows lingering in their glances, these were the moments he treasured. The way they made each other light, even in the face of the unimaginable. No matter what tomorrow brought, Adrian didn’t regret a second he spent by Danny Reynolds’s side.

His doorbell buzzed.

He shot Danny a warning glance. “Do you think the Feds could’ve tracked you here?”

She shook her head. “We didn’t have any tails. Not like my handlers could know about you either—at least, not if I wanted to stay.”

The doorbell buzzed a second time and then a third. Whoever waited on the other end was impatient, which didn’t seem like her father’s M.O. from what she’d explained. He glanced to his phone, but he hadn’t missed any calls or texts from his siblings, though that didn’t rule out them showing up at random.

Danny pulled her pistol out before he could blink, and she rose on steady feet from the couch. Adrian hopped up, feeling ill-prepared compared to the one-woman battalion. He kept his knife tucked into his pocket, so he slipped it out as they approached his front door.

Adrian was almost positive Kyle Peterson wouldn’t knock. Almost.

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