That she could handle.
But could she handle everything Noah would demand of her? She had a feeling she’d barely scratched the surface of what the man was capable of, and not just the stuff that was SAR-related.
He had depth he’d only barely begun to show her, of that she had no doubt. The roller coaster still had screamingly steep drops visible on the horizon, and the train had barely left the station.
Good thing she liked thrill rides.
CHAPTER 8
Noah stared at his phone, thumb hovering over the messaging app where he’d opened the text thread with Sabrina. Then he closed it again and threw his phone on the bed near his left leg.
It was nearly midnight. Only a horribly insensitive person texted a girl at midnight.
Or one who had zero game and might as well let the girl write her name on his forehead. It wasn’t like he’d fooled anyone, least of all Sabrina, about how hard she’d hooked him.
What a great word for the riot of sensation in his chest.Hooked.Yeah, he’d done his fair share of flopping around on the dock, gasping for air as Sabrina’s laser-sharp blue eyes pierced him like a harpoon.
Somehow, the phone ended up in his hand again, just like it had the other dozen times.
Maybe he could check in with her really quick and then he could sleep. She’d kept pace with him on their date night and then popped up at Peavine bright and early. Maybe she wasn’t the type who needed a lot of sleep either.
Wouldn’tthatbe a great thing to have in common?
Miss me yet?he typed and immediately backspaced. How old was he, fourteen? Geez.
Did you get the SAR application link I sent you?Delete. That made it sound like he was checking up on her as ifshewas fourteen and couldn’t tap a link.
Dancer lifted his head from his bed in the corner of Noah’s bedroom, ears cocked at a sassy angle. Even his dog knew something was up.
“Don’t judge me,” Noah muttered. “I lasted six whole hours after she left the evidence scene. That shows remarkable restraint.”
He typed again:Can’t stop thinking about our case.
Innocuous. Easy to ignore if she didn’t want to talk. Definitely not a lie. Well, it was not even remotely the extent of what he’d been thinking about, but she didn’t need to hear that she’d dominated his thoughts as he ate dinner alone, because even he knew you didn’t push to have dinner two nights in a row.
He hit Send before he could second-guess himself.
The message status changed to Delivered, then Read almost immediately. Three dots appeared as she typed back.
Sabrina: Took you long enough.
A grin spread across his face as he replied:You’re thinking about it too?
Sabrina: Among other things.
He sat up.Like what?
Sabrina: Where I want to sign my name in Sharpie.
Something extremely dangerous knifed through his midsection—the urge to grab his keys and hightail it over to Sabrina’s house so she could try out a few places until she found the right one.
Dangerous, because he didn’t want to mess this up.
And he had a very bad feeling it could tip either way. As if the slightest wrong move might send Sabrina scampering off, and he very much wanted to play his cards exactly right. Only a fool would blindly rush ahead without mapping out the lay of the land first.
Noah: Officer West, are you flirting with me?
She replied with a laughing emoji. And then:A girl doesn’t get an offer to sign her name on a hot guy every day. You can’t blame me for taking the suggestion and running with it.
