His voice trailed off, and he took a step back. Acting more nervous than she’d ever seen him, Alex grabbed the muscles at the back of his neck again, his blue eyes becoming guarded.
“I mean, if you don’t want…” he tried again. Finally, after taking a deep breath, he spit out what he was trying to say. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same.”
She couldn’t help it. Eden smiled.
Closing the space this surprisingly vulnerable man had put between them, Eden brought her hands to his rugged face. Using what she’d spent their time apart practicing, she forced the powerful connection away and looked him straight in the eye.
“I feel the same, Alex. I think I always have.”
Relief poured from him as he leaned his forehead against hers. Placing his hands on her narrow hips he whispered, “Thank, God.”
Between their quiet confessions and her willingness to touch him, it seemed Alex finally felt comfortable making physical contact with her. Something she’d desperately longed for.
After giving them both a few seconds to digest what had just transpired, he lifted his head to look back at her again. Brushing some hair from her face, Alex tucked the strands behind her ear before speaking again.
“I really,reallywish Garrett wasn’t outside right now.”
Though she understood what he meant, Eden feigned confusion and asked, “You’d rather he be in here, with us?”
Alex’s broad shoulders shook with silent laughter. One corner of his mouth rose into the panty-dropping half smile she so fondly remembered. “Smart ass.”
She shrugged playfully. “Some things never change.”
Those crystal blue eyes bore into hers as he told her softly, “Thank God for that.”
Wanting nothing more than to kiss him, Eden knew what would happen if she did. The fact that Garrettwasright outside gave her the strength she needed to pull away.
Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms in front of her and said, “You should probably get back to the station. I hear you have a serial killer to catch.”
Just like that, a shadow fell across his handsome face. “I wish I could stay.”
“I know.” She gave him a half-smile. “But, you have a job to do. And I have a decision to make.”
A look of fear flashed over him. “Eden. Please, don’t.”
“I didn’t agree to come back. Not yet, anyway.”
“Damn it, Eden—”
“I have to at least consider it, Alex. Women’s lives are at stake.”
“So is yours.”
“Alex.” Eden went to him. “I love that you care enough to worry about me, and I understand why.”
“I don’t justcareabout you, Eden. What I feel for you…” he sighed. “It’s so much stronger than that.”
“I know.” She smiled up at him. “Which is why I’m not agreeing to Murphy’s ‘request’—she used her fingers to make air quotes— “just yet. I’m only saying I’ll think about it.”
A muscle in Alex’s strong jaw bulged, and though he looked like he wanted to say more on the subject, he didn’t. Instead he cupped her face with one hand and whispered, “God, I’ve missed you.”
His words made her grin from ear to ear. His callused palm brushing against her skin filled Eden’s mind with an array of colors, their warmth reaching deep into her very soul.
Leaning into his sweet touch, she whispered back, “I’ve missed you, too.”
This time, it was Alex who broke away first. “If I don’t leave now, Garrett’s bound to walk in on something he would not want to see.”
Eden chuckled. “Then, you should probably go.”
