“Thanks.” She took the pill, swallowed, set the glass on the end table beside her. “Stop looking at me like that. It really isn’t your fault.”
Her injuries weren’t his fault. The men who had attacked her, the men he was supposed to track down and bring to justice, were to blame. But what had happened between them just now…
“I’ll get some more wood for the fire.” Needing distance, he stepped outside onto her deck, a cold wind hitting him in the face, taking some of the heat out of his blood.
He loaded his arms with firewood, the voice he’d ignored earlier coming back in full force. Sasha had been home from the hospital for only two days, for God’s sake. She was still healing. But he just hadn’t been able to stop himself, had he?
What the hell was wrong with him? He knew the rules. He shouldn’t have kissed her. He should never even have touched her. She was a victim in a case he was supposed to solve, not a woman he’d met through a dating app.
Get a grip on your damned self.
Arms full, he drew a deep breath and walked back inside, piling the wood beside her woodstove. Avoiding eye contact, he stoked the fire, then closed the cast iron door, fighting to keep his voice casual. “That ought to keep you warm for a while.”
“You’re leaving.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I wish I could stay, Sasha, but I just crossed a line with you. Police officers, detectives—we aren’t supposed to get involved with the victims in our cases. I broke the rules. I’m sorry for that.”
“I’m not sorry, and I really wish you would stay. Besides, your laundry is still in the machine. I think the washer just finished.”
Shit.
“Right.” He’d forgotten about that. He really had no choice but to stay, at least for a while. “I’ll get the next load going and put the first in the dryer.”
He made his way to her laundry room, furious with himself now, and moved his shirts into the dryer, then started another load in the washer.
I hope you’re proud of yourself.
It wasn’t just that he’d kissed her. Hecaredabout her. In just a handful of days, he’d developed feelings for her, and he knew she had feelings for him, too.
What the fuck was wrong with him?
He’d be lucky if Irving didn’t take his balls with his badge.
He walked back to the living room, hating himself for the vulnerability he saw in her eyes. Fighting to keep his emotions off his face, he sat on the sofa. “Are you hungry?”
“A little. Rain dropped off a pan of lasagna this morning on her way to Knockers. I think all we have to do is reheat it.”
“I’m on it.” He found the lasagna in the fridge, turned on the oven, waited for it to preheat, searching for some way to salvage this situation and pass the next couple of hours. “Do you have any DVDs of your favorite climbs or competitions?”
“Climbing DVDs? You want to watch climbing DVDs?”
He’d rather go back to kissing her, but he didn’t say that. “Yeah. You can tell me all about it, what it was like.”
Chapter13
“He kissed you?”Nicole dropped her fork and gaped at Sasha, Mocha curled up at her feet. “Well?”
“Well, what?” Sasha dabbed her lips with her napkin.
“How was it?”
Sasha wasn’t sure how to answer. “It was…perfect. Until I forgot about my ribs. I guess I kind of arched toward him.”
“Understandable. Who wouldn’t?”
“It hurt—a lot. I jerked away, and he stopped. He apologized and told me that he’d broken the rules. He said he couldn’t get involved with a victim from one of his cases. Then he went out to get wood.”
