Page 155 of Hot Cops

“That couldn’t have been easy.”

Blake shrugged as he recalled the near-rape in the bar parking lot. In some ways, putting his dad in prison had been a hell of a lot simpler than he would have thought. “My dad and I had parted ways several years before the arrest. He’d been a criminal, on some level, for my entire life. Stealing, drunk driving arrests, drugs—selling and using—assault, you name it, it was on his rap sheet.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that when we were dating?”

Blake wasn’t pleased with his answer, but it was the only one he had. “Pride.”

She frowned. “What?”

He released a long breath. “You weren’t like any other girl I’d ever dated, Chloe. You didn’t come from the same place I did. When I was with you, I could pretend I wasn’t that guy.”

“What guy?”

“My life wasn’t all that different from Zac and Noah’s. Only I was dealing with a drunk dad instead of a strung-out mother.”

“I wish…”

Chloe’s whisper faded away, leaving Blake to fill in the blank. What did she wish? That she’d known? That Mama Lewis had shown up in the middle of the night and draggedhimout of hell? That he hadn’t been such a prideful, puffed-up idiot?

He smiled. “There are a lot of things I wish too. But none of that matters. I’ve done a lot of things I regret, Chloe, but I can’t let my mind linger on that too long. Everything that’s happened has made me the man I am today.”

She studied his face in silence, glancing away briefly. Then her eyes lifted to his once more. They were shuttered, closed and he knew she was finished with this conversation.

The waiter brought their meals and they allowed the conversation to drift to safer realms. Chloe talked about her experiences putting together her book and he shared some of his more humorous arrest stories just so he could hear Chloe’s laughter.

Once he’d paid the bill, he took her hand, offering to walk her back to her place. She didn’t refuse.

When they arrived, she invited him inside, giving him a tour. The studio apartment was a large, wide-open space, filled with sunlight and color. It suited Chloe perfectly. Near the front door, she’d set up her portrait area with lighting and backdrops, tripods and cameras. Then, they walked farther into the room to her living area. A plush couch and ottoman flanked by two recliners all faced the large-screen television.

Blake whistled. “Damn. Man cave.”

She laughed. “Yeah. My brothers and I are huge hockey fans and I was tired of all of us trying to cram ourselves into Jett’s shoebox apartment on game nights.”

“Why not go to Justin’s? Didn’t he mention something on Sunday about his house?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, but he lives too far out of town. The trek there and back in a cab is a pain. And Caliph’s work schedule changes all the time.”

“So you put a hockey haven in your apartment.”

She grinned. “Yep. Between October and April, you can find at least a couple Lewises here almost every night, depending on the match-ups.”

“Sounds like fun. I’m a Maple Leaf fan myself.”

Chloe looked horrified. “Dear God. I didn’t think anyone rooted for Toronto unless they were forced to because they lived there. You must be a glutton for punishment.”

He narrowed his eyes. “They aren’t that bad.”

She shuddered, clearly enjoying the opportunity to push his buttons. “Yeah, well, they aren’t that good, either.”

“You and I are going to make a wager once the season starts back up.”

“What makes you think you’re still going to be around come October?”

Blake reached for her before she could read his intent. He tugged her body flush against his until he could feel her hot breath on his face. “I’m going to be here.”

She opened her mouth to chastise him, but there was only one way he’d accept her tongue-lashing and that was literally. He kissed her, holding tightly—partly out of fear she’d try to stop him and partly because there was no way he could resist the feeling of her body pressed against his. The last decade melted away—all the pain, anger and loneliness fading until there was nothing left, but this moment. And them.

Chloe wrapped her hands around his neck, the action lifting her breasts higher against his chest, capturing his attention. Keeping one arm around her waist, he brought his left hand up to cup her breast.

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