Page 46 of Rogue Wave

She and I were going to happen. But if I rushed this, I’d destroy any chance I had before it even started.

“Okay,” I replied simply, recognizing that she needed to have control of this moment and letting her have it. “Let me take a look inside, and I’ll be on my way.”

She stared back at me for a moment like she didn’t believe I would let it go that easily.

She let me inside, and I walked the whole place with Shadow, looking for anything out of the ordinary but also taking the time to come up with a plan.

A plan to make Hazel mine.

I found her in the kitchen when I was done. Shadow immediately went to her side and sat.

“What’s that?” I asked, watching her pull something out of a jar and lean down to give it to my dog.

“I bought treats for her,” she said, very matter-of-fact.

I loved that she had an unconditional love for animals, mine included.

“Find any boogeymen?” she asked, her brows raised in question.

“No, but I’m going to have one of my deputies park outside your place tonight just to be sure.”

She let out a deep exhale, but she didn’t say a word.

“I’ve got to go into the office tomorrow morning for some important meetings, and you work your normal shift, yes?”

She nodded in response, clearly confused by my sudden change of topic.

“Come over to my house after work, and I’ll cook us dinner.”

If I were still trying to process everything that had happened today, I would have laughed at the look on her face.

Her eyes practically bulged out of her face, and her jaw opened wide.

“Are you… Like a date…or just… I’m confused,” she stuttered.

“Yes, like a date,” I confirmed, making it clear how I viewed this. “I would take you out, but every time I do, people stop at my table and always want to talk politics and other small-town bullshit, and I’d rather just have a nice quiet meal with you.”

Her confused face transformed into the most genuine, happy smile I’d ever seen, and my need to kiss her overruled every part of me that screamed to take this slow.

I moved forward and slid my hand around her neck, tilting my head down slowly to give her time to retreat if she wasn’t ready.

Instead, she closed the gap and lifted up onto her toes to get closer to me.

Her lips pressed against mine, and the taste of her overwhelmed my senses. She was sweet, soft, and fucking perfect.

I tilted her head to get a better angle and deepened the kiss to get a better taste of her. Her body pressed impossibly closer to mine, and I could feel all her curves against me.

I didn’t personally know, but I imagined this was what a junkie felt like when getting a fix.

I released her from my mouth and immediately regretted it.

She let out what sounded like a lusty sigh.

Her eyes flared, and her tongue slid out and slowly traced across her lips before she bit down gently on them, and I damn near lost it.

God, she was destroying every shred of self-control I had.

This woman had me completely wrecked.