Page 65 of Ink and Ashes
“Morning, Rhodes,” I tell her, my voice still raspy with sleep.
She swallows roughly, her eyes finding mine. “Morning, Lieutenant.”
“How’d you sleep?” I ask, taking a step toward her and letting the door shut behind me.
“Oh, um…” Holland flinches at theclickof her door shutting too, glancing back at it before finishing her thought. “Fine. How about you?”
I smirk at the nervous lilt in her tone. She’s been so damn flustered around me in the past twenty-four hours.
“I slept fine too,” I tell her, though it’s a lie.
There’s a reason I slept in almost two hours later than usual, and it’s because I was tossing and turning until nearly three a.m., thoughts of Holland filling my mind. It was one thing for thoughts of her to keep me up when I was sleeping in my own bed, either at home or the station, but knowing she was right across the hall was pure torture. All night, I couldn’t stop wondering what she would do if I opened her door and snuck into bed with her.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that urge. But damn if Holland hasn’t screwed all of my plans since the moment she arrived.
I know she’s attracted to me—I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at me, just like I’m sure she can see my attraction for her in mine. But like my hatred toward her has outweighed that attraction for the past month, she’s ignored hers in favour of doing the same. I don’t blame her—Ihavebeen a total ass. I just can’t help but wonder if, now that I’ve stopped resisting, she will too.
“Good. That’s good.” Holland clears her throat. “We should, um…” she trails off awkwardly, pointing in the direction of the dining room.
I gesture for her to lead the way. “After you.”
The blush in her cheeks returns as she takes a step forward, and I fall into step behind her—shamelessly checking out her ass in those shorts as we walk. I follow her into the dining room, findingMary and Emmett already seated at the table as we enter.
“Good morning.” Mary’s smile is wide and knowing as her gaze flashes between the two of us. “I trust you both slept well.”
“We did. Thanks, Mary,” I tell her, glancing at Holland as she takes her seat. She averts her eyes from mine as she loads food onto her plate, but the pink in her cheeks never leaves. I take the empty seat next to her and do the same, then make small talk with Mary and Emmett as we eat. The whole time, Holland stays quiet, her attention focused on her meal.
When we finish eating, Holland is the first to excuse herself. Mary and Emmett share a glance before moving to clear the table, so with a quick thank you, I rush after Holland.
I catch her just as she reaches her door, calling her name. She freezes with her hand on the doorknob.
“Is everything okay? You were awfully quiet during breakfast,” I ask as I approach.
She pauses for a beat before spinning around to face me. “I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Understandable with what happened yesterday.
“Any word from Jimmy yet?”
She shakes her head. “He said he’d need a few days to determine if it’s even salvageable.”
I nod. Based on the state of it when we got the fire out, I highly doubt it will be. But she doesn’t need my negativity right now, so I don’t say anything.
“Did you need something?” she asks, gently crossing her arms over her chest.
I swallow, trying to think of something to keep her here. I didn’t need anything when I followed her, but now that she’s asking, a thought enters my mind.
“I was hoping we could go over the investigation. I looked at your files, but I’d like to talk it through with you if you don’t mind. You can fill me in on what you know so far and any leads you have.”
“Right, of course.” Holland stands up straighter. “Let me just freshen up and then we can meet in the dining room. Let’s saytwenty minutes?”
“See you then.”
With a soft smile, she turns to open the door, disappearing behind it.
Twenty minutes later,I enter the dining room to find Holland already there with information from the investigation covering every inch of the table. There’s a map of our fire jurisdiction laying in the middle, with files and articles surrounding it.
I may have second guessed Holland at every turn so far, but based on the view in front of me, it’s clear she didn’t come to play.
