Page 30 of Speed Trap

The key vibrated so hard in her hand that she couldn't aim it at the door properly.

I swore in my head, cursing myself as an absolute idiot.Should have carried her in.Not just because of what we’d done in the car. The stress of the last hours had set in and I missed it, idiot that I was.

“Let me.” I covered her hand, the chill of her skin sinking in wherever we touched, though I didn’t think it was the cold that made her shake. She’d had a hell of a day. With both of us working the key the lock clicked and we both tumbled inside. “Tell me you don’t have a roommate who saw that. Or a boyfriend. Wait, do you have a boyfriend?”

“I feel like we might have covered this. Yes, and no. No boyfriend. My sister is my housemate. She’s at work until midnight.” Sunny flicked on halogen lights that burned my retinas. I located her as she started to climb a set of stairs. “Shower?”

“Sounds great.” A bone deep weariness sank into me, either from the emotional aspect of the day or from the truly magnificent head job Sunny had given me and our playtime after. Not that I’d ever be able to forget the way she fell apart for me, or want to, for that matter.

Sunny managed a half-dozen steps before she stopped. Her head bowed, she gripped the banister with white fingers, but after a moment her hold failed.

I slipped a hand beneath her legs, lifting her into my arms like I should have done outside. She curled into a ball against my chest without an ounce of protest, her eyes already closed.

“It’s been a big day, Princess. And I did promise to carry you.” I pressed my lips to her forehead as her eyes fluttered open. Well, half open.

Sunny offered me the dozy, wonky smile of an overtired child, though I recognized the exhaustion in the soft lines of her face underlined by a shadow of purple beneath her eyes.

“Thanks, Hawk,” she mumbled into my chest.

I smiled down at her, warmth blooming where her lips touched as I carried her the remaining stairs and stopped at the junction of two bedrooms. Picking around in the darkness wasn’t my style, and though I was loath to wake her, I nudged my chin against her cheek.

“Princess. Coops.” I jiggled her a little. She peered at me through the faintest slit between thick eyelashes. “Which room?”

“The one on your left. Your other left,” she added with a tired giggle when I turned first one way then the other.

“You mean your other left,” I corrected her, grinning ear-to-ear like it was the funniest thing I had ever heard, but she was already out and snoring softly in my arms.

I kicked the blankets off her bed to make space and let her curl into what I hoped was her usual spot. She mumbled something into her pillow as I crept away to flick the lights off in the stairwell, checked the doors were locked and made a tour of the house.

Nothing stood out to me as off but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something I missed. I slipped into the bed beside her fully clothed, intent to sit up against the wooden headboard for the night to keep watch, and pulled the covers over her. My plan lasted all of ten minutes before she threw off the covers in her sleep, reaching for me.

A low laugh escaped my throat as I caught her searching hands. “I’m right here, Coops.”

Tucking her in again didn’t work like I hoped—she only kicked the remaining blankets off. As soon as Sunny found my jean-covered leg, she rolled into me, but that didn’t seem to be enough, either. In the end, I spent the night with her curledagainst my chest, her arms wrapped around my waist. Our legs tangled together in a knot until I couldn’t work out where her body ended and mine began.

Despite my determination to stay awake for the night and play sentinel for the girl who batted for my enemy’s team, the warmth of her body seeped into mine as I held her tight to me and my own eyes drifted shut.

CHAPTER TEN

SUNNY

Someone snored, and it wasn’t me. I rolled onto my side to find the snore came along for the ride too. Arms wrapped tight around my chest and tucked me into the warmth of a weighted security blanket. Leather and denim. A hint of spice of soap or whiskey.

Hawk.

Despite the fact I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the man, I leaned into his hard body, reveling in the security he offered. Safety. Something I hadn’t felt for so long I’d forgotten what it was like to rely on someone else. Someone who cared.

Someone who wasn’t family.

It felt strange, almost like?—

Hold up, Sunny. He’s a driver. Remember?

That was okay. I needed sex. That was the reason for the Hawk inspired dream right? But then yesterday’s events hit me hard—all of them—and lust had little to do with the hours he stood by my side when anyone else would have either taken over or made their excuses and left.

Like always.

So where did that leave me, exactly? And him? I bit back the desire to call it love—we’d only gotten together yesterday. Or atleast we’d kissed yesterday. And some other things. But that kiss had evolved into so much more.

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