The light flipped on, and she threw an arm over her eyes as her eyeballs all but exploded.
“Fuck! Sorry, Reggie,” Sawyer muttered before slapping at the light switch to plunge the room back into darkness.
“It’s okay,” she said groggily. “Turn it back on.”
Instead he walked over and switched on the bedside lamp. Cautiously, she removed her arm from her face and stared up at him.
He looked . . . rough. Like he’d been a few rounds with a guy much bigger than him, though she wasn’t sure there were many of those around.
“What the hell happened to you?” she demanded. “And where’ve you been?”
The corner of his mouth cracked up in what looked suspiciously like a half grin.
“Went and had a few,” he said with a shrug.
Her eyes narrowed. “And you drove home? Damn it, Sawyer, why didn’t you call me? Are you just trying to kill yourself or get arrested?”
He plopped down on the bed, leaned forward then turned his head to look at her. “You stayed up just to give me a lecture?”
“No, dumbass, I stayed up because I wanted to see you. Because I wanted to talk some sense into your thick head.”
“I can see why I came home for such abuse.” His voice was thick with amusement, but shadows still haunted his eyes.
She crawled across the bed, grabbed handfuls of his shirt and yanked him forward. His mouth fell open in surprise about the time she swooped in to kiss him.
She slid around his body like she was a pole dancer on the make. Then before he could so much as blink, she shoved forward, knocking him flat on his back.
She went with him and they both landed with a thump.
Her lips found his again. She kissed him then released then kissed him again. “Don’t.”Kiss.“Ever.”Kiss.“Run.”Kiss.“Off.”Kiss.“Likethatagain!”
His hands slid up her back to cup her shoulders as she peppered his mouth with hers.
“So says the woman who took off like a bat out of hell,” he said dryly.
She raised her head and glared down at him. “And how would you know what I did?”
“Oh, let’s see. A, you’re just like me. And B, Cam left a somewhat frantic message on my cell phone saying you’d run off like a scalded cat again.”
“I came back,” she mumbled.
He moved his hand to her front and tucked a curl behind her ear. His expression grew serious. “Yeah, you did. Dare I read anything into that?”
“I don’t want to talk about me,” she said softly. “I want to talk about you. And Hutch.”
His eyes flickered and became blank. He shoved at her, and she fell to the side as he rolled away from her.
“Nothing to talk about,” he said tonelessly.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
He turned back to face her, his eyes swarming with intensity. If she didn’t know him so darn well, she’d be pretty afraid right now. He bristled with power. It boiled off him like water from a hot radiator.
But she eyed him calmly, refusing to let him intimidate her.
“It won’t work. You’re going to sit here and listen to me or so help me I’ll tie your ass to the bed. Then we’ll see how much you like being atmymercy.”
His lips lifted in a smirk. “I hate to break it to you, honey, but if that’s a threat? Color me not afraid. I can think of worse things than being at your mercy.”
