CHAPTER SIX
WYATT
Sleep wouldn’t come. Wyatt shifted onto his back, staring at the dark ceiling, listening for any sound of trouble. Letty’s breathing stayed slow and even beside him. Too even. His mind wouldn’t shut up.
An hour ago, she’d been beneath him, warm, unraveling in his hands, and something in his chest had shifted in a way he didn’t recognize. He dragged a hand down his face. What the hell was I thinking? I don’t blur lines. Never mix protection with want.
And yet, he’d watched her come apart for him and experienced something dangerously close to pride. He sighed.It wasn’t ego.He ran his hand along her arm.God help me, I claimed her.
Moonlight slipped through the edges of the blinds and settled across the bed, giving him just enough light to see the curve of her shoulder and the quiet rise and fall of her breathing. She’d fallen asleep as she settled, curling up against his chest like she was made for him.
That undid him more than the sex.I don’t do soft. He closed his eyes to block out the warmth.I don’t do attachment, either.Her steady breath captured his thoughts as his body stirred again at the memory of the way she said his name.
Control. I need control. I’ve spent my life mastering my emotions. How is this one woman peeling away everything?
She snuggled into him and instead of wanting to get up and create distance between them, he shifted back onto his side and pulled her into his body.I should regret this.He waited for the feeling to come to the surface, but it didn’t. “You’re going to wreck me, Doc,” he muttered under his breath, and instead of moving away, he embraced her.
Wyatt woke to the scent of bacon. His mouth watered and for three disoriented seconds, he didn’t know where he was. He sighed as he registered the unfamiliar quiet.Safe house.His hand shifted to the other side of the mattress, expecting to touch her.Cold sheets.His eyes opened fully as his chest tightened in a way he didn’t like.I should have been up first to check…
He bolted out of bed and grabbed his pants.It’s morning. She didn’t flee the state.His thoughts prodded him.I want her here.That irritation annoyed him as he ran a hand through his hair. His mind refocused on the aroma of bacon.
He trudged down the short hall to the scent of coffee, mingled with something sweet.She should have woken me. She shouldn’t be moving around without…He stopped short in the kitchen doorway.
Letty stood barefoot in his t-shirt, the hem brushing mid-thigh. Her hair was loose, falling over one shoulder, earbuds in. Completely unaware she was being watched, she danced. Her hips swayed as she flipped a pancake, mouthing lyrics he couldn’t hear.
She pivoted, did a small spin, and nearly collided with the counter as her eyes found his.
He leaned in the doorway with folded arms, irritation dissolving against his will.
She froze as the spatula hovered in mid-air and an earbud fell free. A blush crept up her neck like a slow sunrise. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough,” he answered.
“I was not doing anything to earn that look on your face, Roper.”
He chuckled.Using my nickname to knock me off guard.“You were dancing.”
She composed herself, quickly straightening. “No…” She huffed. “Well, breakfast doesn’t cook itself.” She grabbed the coffeepot and a mug and filled it. “Here.” She handed him the cup and pointed to the bar stool. “Sit.”
He raised a brow. “You’re a bossy little thing.”
She tilted her head. “You keep saying that. You started it.”
His mouth twitched before he could stop it as he sat, watching her. She moved around the kitchen with easy familiarity, plating bacon and eggs like she had done it a thousand times in a life that looked nothing like the chaos surrounding them now. “You cook often?” he asked.
“When I’m stressed.” The words seemed to surprise her as she said it with a pause.
If this is what stress looks like, she should write a book about coping strategies. He smiled. “You’re stressed?”
“Yes.” She slid a plate in front of him and took the seat at the end of the island in front of her own plate.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few bites as something poked his brain.This is domestic. Shit.He breathed out. “Salt & Steel has a source,” Wyatt said as her eyes lifted.
“At the marina?”
“Yeah.”
“Who?” She set down her fork. “Someone who might know about the boat?”
