But even as she said it, her chest felt tight. In her experience, answers usually came wrapped in more questions, and none of them ever made the danger go away.
Cal slid the pancakes onto a plate and held it out to her. As she reached for it, their gazes locked. He didn’t look away, and neither did she.
“You look…” His voice dropped low, his eyes searching hers. “Interested.”
She was. God help her, she was. For a split second, she almost talked herself out of it, ready to retreat behind the same walls she always used. But the fight crumbled fast.
Alena set her coffee aside, reached out, and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. She pulled him to her and pressed her mouth to his.
The plate clattered softly onto the counter as Cal set it aside, then he wrapped his arms around her and hauled her against him.
The kiss started slow, tentative, like they were testing dangerous ground. His lips were warm, his touch steady, and her heart slammed so hard she thought it might shake her apart. But when he deepened the kiss, the heat surged. Her hands slid up his chest, into his hair, and every bit of restraint burned away.
Years of longing, regret, and everything they’d lost rushed up between them, turning the kiss into something fierce and desperate. She felt it in the way he held her, in the way his mouth moved over hers.
It wasn’t just heat. It was memory. It was them.
The kiss grew hotter, a blaze she couldn’t contain. His body pressed into hers, hard and solid, and she felt the strength in every inch of him. Memories from her dream surged back, tangled flashes of passion that made her ache. She wanted him, just as she always had. It would be so easy to give in, to let herself drown in the heat and forget the wreckage of their past. So easy to shove aside the pain and just feel.
But that wasn’t fair. Not to him.
Because this wasn’t only heat, not for Cal. She knew that. For him, it would mean more, stir up all the pieces of what they used to have. And she couldn’t give him that. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Alena tore her mouth from his, breath ragged. Her fingers still curled in his shirt, but she forced herself to ease back.
“Cal…” Her voice broke a little. “We can’t. Not like this. It’d just be leading you on.” She pushed against his chest and forced herself to step back, her breath still uneven. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Cal’s smile was slow, easy, like he wasn’t about to let her drown in guilt. “Guess I’ll have to settle for feeding you instead of kissing you.” He picked up the plate of pancakes he’d set aside and handed it to her. “Sit. Eat before they get cold.”
Reluctantly, she sat at the table, the warmth of the pancakes filling the air, reminding her of simpler times. He grabbed a plate for himself, stacked it with pancakes, and joined her. For a moment, it almost felt normal.
“To lighten the mood,” he said, pulling out his phone, “let me show you what Mason sent me.”
Curious, she leaned closer as he scrolled and pulled up an image. Mason had drawn him, larger than life, muscles exaggerated, gun in hand, cape billowing like some epic superhero.
Cal laughed. “See? I’m apparently the next action figure hero.”
Alena smiled, warmth tugging at her chest. “He’s not wrong, you know. You are a hero.”
His grin softened into something that reached his eyes. “Right back at you.”
Alena cut into the pancake, the buttery sweetness hitting her tongue. For the first time in days, food actually tasted good. She glanced at Cal, who was watching her with that small, knowing smile. Her chest squeezed, but before she could say anything, his phone lit up on the table.
He glanced at the screen. “It’s Isla.” He tapped speaker. “Morning. You’ve got something for us?”
“Do I ever,” Isla said, her voice quick and animated as if she was running on pure caffeine. “So, I spent half the night goingthrough those photos from Arneson’s PI. Not glamorous, but hey, no one said crime-fighting would be all explosions and car chases. Anyway, I IDed a guy hanging around Keller in several of them. Meet Travis Hodge. They’ve been buddies since their rodeo days, and from what I found, they’ve stayed tight. Guess who still has a working cell number listed?”
“You have his contact info?” Alena asked.
“Already sent it to Cal,” Isla said, sing-songing the words. “You’re welcome. Thought you two might want to give Mr. Hodge a ring before he gets spooked.”
“Thanks, Isla,” Cal said. “We’ll handle it.”
“Handle it,” Isla repeated with a chuckle. “That’s Special Ops code for ‘call the guy and scare the hell out of him,’ isn’t it?”
Alena smiled despite herself. “We’ll see what we can shake loose.”
Cal ended the call with Isla, slid his phone back onto the table, and he looked at her.
