Page 66 of Gunner

“Have you ever tried topping?”

“Yeah, and didn’t care for it because, like you, I prefer being the concrete instead of the jackhammer.”

Asher giggled and slapped his hands over his face. “Oh god, I can’t believe I said that. Now that I heard them, those words aren’t sexy at all.”

I chuckled. Thank god we were past the initial awkwardness of him throwing himself at me.

“I think they have a certain appeal to the right person.” Had I said them to Gunner, he would have taken on the challenge.

It’s been almost a week. Either call him, or stop thinking about him already.

He’s a criminal. It’s better this way.

“Man, I busted my pipes for nothing,” Asher said with a wink. “I bet that’s what you’re thinking. Isn’t it?”

“Did you?”

“I won’t tell.” He opened the door and blew Zeus a kiss. “Bye, darling. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Chief Witter.”

“Good night, Asher.” Shaking my head, I grinned. Suddenly, I was Chief Witter. This couldn’t have worked out better, actually. I could finally stop worrying about Asher coming on to me.

I whistled, and Zeus followed me back to our place. While I wiped down Zeus’s paws, his tail wagged with delight. The shared silence between us was a language all its own, punctuated by his soft woofs and my low chuckles. I filled his water bowl to the brim, and he lapped it up as if he’d just crossed a desert.

“Good boy.” I scratched behind his ears. He looked up at me with those big, brown eyes full of trust and love. Good. He’d enjoyed our run as well. I no longer felt guilty for taking him out so late at night.

I gave him a treat, and after wolfing it down, he ambled into the living room. I turned on the television and adjusted the volume to his favorite cooking show.

“That good enough for you, boy?”

Zeus circled his dog bed a few times as if preparing the perfect nest and collapsed into a fluffy heap. Almost instantly, his breathing deepened into the rhythmic cadence of sleep.

I left the television playing in the background and tugged my shirt over my head as I climbed the stairs. I made a mental note to drop in on my sister tomorrow now that she was back home. With working closely with the IT department to figure out the codes in Paddy’s book, I’d had little time to do anything else. We were also still searching for the inmate who’d escaped and interrogating those who had been with her that day.

I entered my bedroom and left the door open. Otherwise, Zeus would scratch and paw at the door until I let him in. The bed—a king-size I had splurged on—looked inviting, but I was sweaty and sticky, so I took a shower.

The hot water pounded on me, and with my eyes closed, I let it beat the tension of the day out of my body. Feeling mellow, I took my time washing up and ignoring the ache between my legs. Gunner, that impossible bastard, had woken up a hunger inside me. Now my body craved sex, but sleeping with someone random didn’t appeal, though maybe I should for a change and get Gunner out of my head.

That cocky grin and knowing smirk of his. Fuck. I wrapped my hand around my cock and stroked.

Nope. Not going to jerk off thinking about him. I attempted to focus on someone else, but Gunner’s face kept intruding each time I tried to conjure up Mason. Disgusted at myself, I let my hand drop and turned off the shower.

I took care of my oral hygiene and rubbed a hand over the stubble on my chin. Shaving would have to wait until tomorrow.I turned the light off and sauntered into my bedroom, rubbing my hair with a towel.

“I’d forgotten how fuckable you are.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Gunner lay on his back on my bed against the pillows with his legs crossed at the ankles and his hands rested behind his head. I glanced at the door, then at him, ignoring the lightness in my chest. From the way he’d left Riverton, I’d thought he was done with me.

“Where did you come from?”

“Watching you from across the street.”

My heart beat slow and steady. “You were watching me?”

“Got here just before you went for your run. I gotta say, Witter, for a cop, you’re not very observant.”

With him constantly on my mind and me trying to make sense of what had happened with him in Riverton, how could I be?

“You should have stayed outside. Now that you’re here, I can charge you for breaking in and entering.”

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