Page 14 of The Detective's Secret Santa

“Let me make it up to you,” he says, those intense eyes pleading. Making parts of me that should be freezing warm to life. Damn the man. How am I supposed to be left alone with him and not sleep with him? This is a really bad idea.

“I’m not sleeping with you.”

“Okay.”

I’m almost too shocked to speak. I expected him to try a little harder to change my mind. But the firmness in his tone is oddly reassuring that he’s not just after sex. Maybe he actually…cares. I shake the notion away. It won’t do me any good to fantasize about something that can and will never happen. “We should call in this tree.”

“Already handled.” He nods to a truck parked next to his. One of Mom’s neighbors is standing in the bed of it on his cell phone. It’s the best way to get reception on this road. “We’ll call your mom when we get back to the house.”

The way he takes charge so easily, so effortlessly, makes me want to throw my arms around his neck and melt into a hug. I bet he gives really good hugs. If I had any sense, I’d go to a neighbor. Mrs. Baker always has a surplus of cookies and coffee. She’d take me in no questions asked.

“Brook?”

The gentle plea in his tone does me in. I make the riskiest decision I’ve ever made. “Okay.”

10

BASH

When I first spotted the downed tree and Brook’s Mustang stopped right in front of it, my heart plummeted into my stomach. I couldn’t tell that her car was unscathed until I reached her window. The relief I felt was indescribable. I’ve never known fear to clutch me so tightly. Which only cements what I’ve already known: A life lived without her by my side isn’t an option.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she snaps, collecting discarded clothes as she marches through the house.

“I couldn’t tell anyone.”

“Mom doesn’t know either?” It comes out as an accusation.

“I planned to tell you both tonight.”

She yanks a red lace bra from the back of a recliner in the basement, nearly whipping me with the end of it. I have to fight my inappropriate smile. Opening my bedroom door and finding Brook propped topless in the frame is an image that will live with me forever. “Is that why you’re really in town?”

“One of the reasons, yes.”

She spins around to face me. “What other reasons are there?”

“I was overdue to check on you and your mom. I promised your dad—”

The slamming of the front door startles us both. I’m on the move before Brook can register what’s happening. “Stay down here,” I order, creeping up the staircase to surprise our intruder. No way Molly made it home with that downed tree. It’ll take a while to clear. My erratic pulse calms as instinct takes over. I tap into my law enforcement training as I search the upstairs for signs of an unexpected visitor.

Nothing.

“Who is it?” Brook demands from the top of the basement staircase.

“I thought I told you to wait downstairs.” I don’t mean to snap, but dammit, how the hell am I supposed to keep her safe if she won’t listen when it counts? It reminds me of following her home after late nights out with her coworkers. She had a tendency to veer off course and potentially put herself in more danger. I lost count of the number of times I nearly exposed myself to keep her safe.

She folds both arms over her chest. She’s shed her coat and replaced it with a thin red sweater. I can’t help but notice the absence of a bra. “It was the wind, right?”

“Yes, but—”

We go to each other, me in concern, Brook marching up to face off. We end up toe-to-toe. She’s glaring at me hard as she pokes a finger into my chest. “I don’t need your protection, Bash.”

“Too bad, sweetheart. Because you’re going to get it whether you want it or not.”

I don’t realize my hands are on her shoulders until I feel her palms flatten against my chest. Our gazes lock. A flare of heat ignites in her eyes. Half a second later, we’re fused together. Lips locked. Tongues tangling. Hands desperately roaming. In a tangle, shirt and sweater are ripped away and we fall onto the sectional.

Her tits press against my bare chest. “Christ these are perfect,” I growl.

“Less talking,” Brook pants. “More getting naked.”

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