Page 64 of Cornered

Cassie squeezed the steering wheel so hard that her fingernails pressed into her palms. “Seriously? You want to wait?”

“You have to be exhausted. Right now I think the priority should be for you to get the sleep you need.”

“Fine. We’ll talk next week.”

She disconnected the call. “Next week?” She spoke into the empty air around her. “He wants to talk next week?” She’d been so sure that he was sorry about what had happened between them. So sure he wanted to talk about them.

But a few minutes earlier she’d been desperate for sleep. So why was she upset now?

She slammed her hand on the steering wheel. When would she learn? When would she speak up? When would she stop letting people push her around?

186DONOVAN STAREDat his phone.

What had just happened? Aside from the situation with the deer, Cassie sounded mad. Why would she be mad? He was trying to look out for her.

Or, a small voice whispered,maybe you’re trying to do what you think is best for her without giving her an opportunity to decide for herself. And maybe she doesn’t like that.

He called the fire station nearest The Haven and gave them a heads-up about the deer. Most of the time when a driver hit a deer in the mountains, they would call the police if for no other reason than to document it for insurance purposes. It was weird for the deer to still be in the middle of the road like that.

He turned back to his kitchen counter. He had his report from today’s incident pulled up on his laptop. Gray was picky about reports. He expected them to be clear, concise, and complete within twenty-four hours whenever possible.

But by the time Donovan finally left The Haven, he’d returned to the office and didn’t stop until he’d handled three more calls. Which was why he was sitting at home trying to finish his report, instead of sleeping like a reasonable person.

A sharp rap on his front door had him reaching for his gun.

“I know you’re in there, Donovan Bledsoe. Open up.”

“Cassie?”

Donovan reached the door in record time and pulled it open. Cassie stormed in.

“We are going to talk tonight.” She pulled off her sweater and threw it on his sofa. She kept talking as she entered his kitchen. “I don’t know why you think I can’t talk tonight, but I can.” She opened his fridge and removed a small can of Coke. “And I want to.” She cracked it open. “I’m not going to have this hanging over my head all weekend.” She took a sip. “That’s not fair to me.” She walked back toward him. “I have enough to deal with, and you owe me some answers.”

By the time she stopped talking, she was standing right in front of him. He reached out, took the Coke from her hand, placed it on the nearby coffee table, pulled her against him, and pressed his lips to hers.

For a moment, she blinked at him, clearly confused. Then she pushed him away. “Oh no you don’t, mister. No. Huh-uh. No way. You can’t shut me up like that.” She reached for her Coke, and Donovan was pleased to see that her hand was trembling as she took another sip. “You don’t get to kiss me whenever you want to. You didn’t want that privilege. Remember?”

“I was an idiot.”

“No doubt.” Cassie waved the can in his direction. “But your idiocy isyourproblem. Not mine. Do you walk around kissing women you aren’t in a relationship with?” Her brow furrowed in real concern.

“No! Of course not! I haven’t kissed anyone since the last time I kissed you. I haven’t wanted to kiss anyone but you.”

She frowned. “Well, that’s good, I guess.”

“You guess?” Hmm. Had he misjudged this whole situation? “Do you not agree?”

“Of course I agree. That isn’t the point.”

“That is exactly the point!” Donovan reached for her hand, but she pulled it away.

“No touching.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Yes, ma’am.”

He wasn’t quite sure where this attitude had come from, but he was quite sure that as much as he’d liked gentle, quiet, calm Cassie, he was absolutely smitten with feisty Cassie.

“I want to know why you broke up with me.”

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