Page 45 of Rogue Wave

I was grateful that he beat me to it because I wasn’t sure my temper would survive much more of hearing someone else bothering her.

“I don’t have anything specific, really. He just gave me creepy vibes. Plus, when I tried to end the conversation, he implied that he and my dad would stop by my place later to chat.”

Fuck, no.

She must have seen something on my face because she immediately held up her hand. “I told them no. Besides, they don’t know where I live. The house is still registered under George’s name, so he’s not likely to find me.”

“Hazel, your water bill and gas bill are under your name, and they’re tied to the house,” Dougie reminded her.

Her expression immediately faltered.

“Why don’t you stay here tonight?” I suggested, though I wasn’t sure what I’d do if she said no.

“I’m not staying at your place just because my dad showed up,” she argued. “He may not have been a great father, but I’d like to think he cares enough not to murder me over some stupid reward.”

God, I loved she believed that, but I knew better than that.

I started to speak, but she cut me off. “No, if you’re so worried, you can sleep at my place. I don’t sleep well in other beds. I like my bed. If you’re such a scared sheriff, you can sleep on my couch and keep a lookout.”

Dougie covered his laugh by pretending to cough.

“Zip it, Dougie,” she chided him.

“Sorry. I’m just going to go home. You two kids have fun with your sleepover.”

“You don’t need to leave, Dougie,” she said, her voice softening.

“Actually, I do, hun. I’ll let you two work this out on your own without my interference as a third wheel.” His words seemed polite, but the cheeky smile on his face let me know his comments were anything but sweet.

“Will you let me walk you over to your house and check everything out, then?” I asked in the form of a question, but realistically it was more of an order.

If she wasn’t going to be under my roof, I needed to take extra measures to satisfy my own paranoia.

I would also call one of my deputies and move him so that he was stationed outside her house all night.

“Fine,” she huffed out and walked off my porch in the direction of her place.

Dougie leaned into me as we walked side by side and spoke low enough for only the two of us to hear. “I’m not sure, but dear old dad might have some travel restrictions as part of his parole. I’ll dig into it.”

As cryptic as his words were, I nodded in return, knowing this was Dougie’s specialty, so I’d let him handle it.

He gave me the thumbs-up and walked off to his place.

Shadow by my side, clearly excited to see what adventure we were going on so late at night, we bounded up to Hazel’s front porch as she pulled out her keys.

“Hazel.”

She swiveled toward me with her finger pointed at my face. “No, you don’t get to stand there and give me that sexy look while you try to woo me into saying yes to sleeping at your place. You can scan the inside of my house for bad guys, but then I’m going to sleep…in my own bed.”

Before I could say another word, she spoke in rapid-fire succession, to the point that I wasn’t sure if she took a breath at all. “You think because I had one incredible kiss with you that I’ll just let you get in my pants? No, Hank. Just because I want you in my pants doesn’t mean I’ll let you in that quickly. I don’t go from a kiss to jumping into someone’s bed—I’m not that kind of girl, Hank—well, mostly. Okay, well, not anymore, at least. Especially for someone like you, who would probably ruin me for sex with any other man for the rest of my life. So, not gonna happen.”

There was so much to take in there, but my brain focused on one line and one line only—“I want you in my pants.”

Change of plans.

Did I want her in my bed in the exact way she described? Absolutely. Did I want her to think I was doing it for her protection only? Absolutely not.

I wanted to have sex with her, but I also wanted to protect her, and I needed a clear head to do that—the head at the top of my body, not the lower one.