“Sounds good to me,” I say as easily as I can, turning away to rinse the dishes. “Just me, you, and a bunch of sexy firefighters with abs for days? My ego will be able to take it.” I infuse just enough comical doubt into my tone that Gracie giggles.
She pins me with a dry look. “Fine, no firefighters.” She waits a beat. “Maybe hot cops will do instead.”
I give her my most affronted look. “Oh, you’ve been sharpening your knives tonight. And you know what? Your serial killer percentage is climbing fast.”
She blinks innocently. “Good thing the dating laws don’t apply to me, hm?”
Gracie gets up and struts out of the kitchen, her swaying hips catching my attention. A low huff of air escapes me before I belatedly call, “That’s not how laws work, you know!”
“That’s howmylaws work.”
Shaking my head, I make quick work of tidying up. Inthe living room, she turned the lights off, except for one warm lamp, and she’s curled herself into a corner of the couch.
I sink into the relief that swells, remembering the distance she put between us this morning, aware she’s offering me more forgiveness than I deserve right now. I take the seat beside her, our sides pressed together.
“You sure you have enough space?” she jokes, but I’ve already got my arm around her shoulders, tugging her even more firmly against me.
“Not at all. I’d tuck you under my skin if I could.”
She narrows her eyes. “Wow, you are really dropping the mask tonight. I bet you have zip ties and duct tape in your truck, too.”
I give her a nonplussed look. “Why would you need both? Zip ties would do the trick all on their own.”
“What an amateur.” She scoffs. “You can’t use zip ties on someone’s mouth.”
I waggle my eyebrows lecherously. “There are better ways to keep someone quiet.”
A surprised laugh bursts out of her, her eyes wide as she stares at me in disbelief. “Maybe we shouldn’t watch cop shows. It might give you the wrong sort of ideas.”
I nudge her head to the side with mine, leaning down to nuzzle my face into her neck. She giggles as my bristles scrape against her sensitive skin, a sigh escaping when I press a lingering kiss to the column of her throat.
“You love my ideas,” I rasp.
“Mmm, you’re not wrong.” But she gently pushes me away, lifting the remote and pressing play on the show she’s queued up. I pull back with a smile, leaning my head against hers, loving that we’ve found our way back to good again.
All the chaos in my head has faded away, and I know it’s all on Gracie. I never should’ve pulled back. Not whenit’s her who quiets the background noise, giving me focus andcalm. After a bad shift, the only thing I want to do is crawl into bed with her and forget everything I’ve seen.
If only I could forget this time?—
“You okay?” Gracie asks softly, leaning her head back against my shoulder. “You went kind of tense.”
I don’t look away from the television, trailing my fingers over her arm. “Nothing, baby. Just happy to be here with you.”
I feel her watching me, but then she nods, turning back to the show, a comfortable silence descending as we watch two suited-up detectives stride up to a taped-off crime scene.
“Why doesn’t Nick wear a suit?” she asks curiously. “He’d be able to wear the shit out of one.”
I turn to glare at her. “No.”
“No?” she asks, eyes wide with faux innocence.
I stamp a firm kiss against her mouth, growling, “No.”
The glarefrom the television drags me out of unconsciousness, and I glance around, disorientated, before it sinks in that we fell asleep in the living room. I’m horizontal on the couch, my legs hanging awkwardly off one end, and Gracie is sprawled over me, one leg pressed between mine.
She sighs in her sleep, and I shiver as her warm breath coasts over my neck. I smooth my hands down her back and up again, her shirt rucking up under my fingers. On the next pass, my hands are on bare silky skin, and I let out a low groan.
She murmurs, her lips grazing my collarbone. “Braxton,” she breathes.
