Page 105 of Gunner

His face flamed. My lucky guess paid off. Even if the others made fun of me, they taunted me with things I expected. He, however, came off as malicious, like he had a grudge against me for something. Gunner was the only common factor.

“You don’t know shit,” he snarled. “Might as well get out of here. Gunner ain’t around. He at the strip club.”

For a second, I believed him, but then I pushed the thought away. Gunner had gone through all the lengths to be with me. No way in hell would he have gone to a strip club when he knew the day I’d just had.

“That’s fine. I’ll wait for him in his bedroom.”

“I can’t let you do that. You’re a cop. Can’t leave you unsupervised in our clubhouse.”

I grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. “Listen to me, you fuckwit. You don’t want to mess with me and live to regret it, do you? I suggest you find a way to deal with me and Gunner together because you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me around.”

“If I were you, I’d listen to him, Tango.” Gunner stood a few feet from us in the hall, barefoot and wearing only a pair of unbuttoned jeans that showed a hint of pubic hair. “I told you to stay the fuck away from him, didn’t I?”

“I-I wasn’t doing n-n-nothing,” Tango mumbled, his eyes averted.

I released him and took a step back. The knot in my stomach eased. A part of me had been worried Gunner was really at a strip club. Relief flooded through me. With every obstacle we already had between us from my job to who he was, we didn’t need to add distrust. I could always count on him to be honest with me.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Gunner said. “And don’t let me see you hanging around anytime soon.”

Tango pushed himself off the wall and stumbled through the door. I walked to Gunner, needing a minute to get myself together again. He cupped the back of my head and pressed my face into his neck.

“You look like shit,” he said.

“I know.” I wrapped my arms around his waist. “You still want me here, though.”

“Hell, yeah. Come on. Let me see how much damage today did to you.”

“Where’s Zeus?” I asked as he placed his arm around my shoulder, and we set off toward his room.

“Sleeping. I figured you’d be tired when you got back, so I let Chris take him.”

“Why are you so thoughtful? I feel like I’m in a twilight zone with you being this nice.”

Gunner laughed as he shoved me into his room. “You keep making my dick happy, and I’ll be as thoughtful as you want.”

I was so tired I didn’t even have the energy to argue about him reducing what little relationship we had to sex only.

“What kept you so long?” He unbuttoned my shirt. “It’s almost eleven. Don’t tell me you were at the police station all this time.”

“As a matter of fact, I was. Trying to figure out what I was missing on this case. There’s something that’s bothering me.”

“You mean the bodies being associated with me, don’t you?” He dropped my shirt to the floor and started on my jeans.

“Not the way you’re thinking. I know you’re not responsible for any of this. Unless there are two of you, you were right beside me when I got that call today. But why is someone trying to connect the case to you?”

He shrugged. “It’s easy to hate me, so I become the target. As with any other major crime in Smoky Vale, am I not always the first that comes to mind?”

I placed my hands over his to stop the work he was doing of getting me out of my jeans. “Doesn’t it bother you that I thought of you that way too?”

“I’m used to it. Turn your brain off for a few minutes, and go take a shower. I’ll get you something to eat.”

The door closed softly behind Gunner before I could tell him…what exactly? That I was sorry for judging him? But he wasn’t entirely innocent, was he?

With a sigh, I walked into the bathroom. He’d cleaned up. Despite him mentioning how much he hated cleaning, since having me around, he’d made an effort to keep his room presentable. Smiling, I stepped into the shower. A few minutes later, the door opened, and a naked Gunner appeared. I stepped aside to make room for him, but he pulled me back into him and kissed my shoulder and neck.

“Gun,” I said softly. “I’m too tired for sex.”

“I’m just kissing you. Is that a crime?”