Page 26 of Catch
“Oh, fuck, Lox…”
Her face fell for half a second before she realized where my mind had gone. Immediately, she shot up onto her knees, scooting toward the edge of the bed where I stood.
“Stop,” she ordered, her voice firmer than I’d ever heard it. “I’m fine.”
“I was just playing around, I forgot?—”
“Miles.” She grabbed my face, keeping my eyes locked with hers. “It’s okay.I’mokay. That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and I’m gonna kick your ass if you ruin it by worrying.”
I swallowed hard, nodding, understanding her words but still frozen in place. Her hands were warm against my skin, her scent wrapping around me. It was something sweet, something light. That scent had definitely never been in my house before but now I wanted it everywhere.
I turned my head slightly, meaning only to take a breath, to ground myself. But instead, I pressed my lips to her wrist. It was so wrong. But it also felt right.
Her breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away. She understood what it was—an apology, a quiet plea for forgiveness in case I’d hurt her. She nodded, her smile small but real, telling me without words that it was okay.
Her hands dropped from my face, and she backed up on the bed. I took a step back too, needing space before I did something even dumber.
“I left the groceries in the Jeep,” she said, breaking the moment.
“I’ll grab them after my shift. And I’ll pick up some damned allspice while I’m at it.”
“What about your Jeep?”
“I have a spare key here. I’ll figure out the rest later.”
“Sorry,” she said sadly, no longer feeling the joy from the craziness that had ensued. I knew that was my fault. Once I sucked the room dry with my worries, we were no longer in the mood to laugh. I had to get it back, I needed to hear her laugh again. So I pulled my hand cuffs out and slung them around one finger, teasing her.
“I should cuff you to the bed while I’m gone,” I mused, my voice all mock authority.
Her eyes widened. She scooted back so fast she nearly fell off the other side of the bed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“That’stworun-ins with the law, Loxley Belle Anderson,” I teased. “One more strike and you’re looking at a tiny cell, a hole in the ground for a toilet, and worst of all, communal showers.”
She shuddered dramatically but laughed. “I’ll be better,Mr. Officer.Promise.”
I smirked, satisfied. Dammit I wanted to hear that sound every day.
Chapter Fourteen
LOXLEY
“Lox?”I heard the whisper inside my dream. It sounded far away, but also right next to me, like it was being carried by a cloud. I looked up to the sky, but the clouds were empty, floating by peacefully. “Lox?”
“Hmmm?” I grumbled in my sleep, still caught in that fuzzy space between dreamland and reality.
“Wake up, it’s time to bake my pie.” It sounded like Miles, but was he crazy enough to pop into my dream and demand apple pie? “I got fresh butter because the sticks you bought earlier melted in my jeep.”
My eyes shot open like I’d just been splashed with cold water. I blinked a couple of times and then there he was, standing over me holding a grocery bag in his hand.
“What time is it?” I groaned, my voice thick with sleep. My head was still in the clouds, but the weight of my exhaustion was pulling me back to Earth. I reached for my phone on the coffee table, trying to check the time, but quickly remembered I hadn't bothered turning it on yet.
“One in the morning,” Miles nudged me. “Time to bake.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes.
“Does butter smell funky after seeping into the fabric of a passenger seat?” Miles raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer like it was the most pressing question of the hour.
“Yes? So you are kidding me, right?” My voice was an octave higher than usual, a mix of disbelief and pure confusion.
