Page 72 of Rogue Wave

My brave, sassy little soldier just nodded, causing my chest to tighten as pride in her overwhelmed me.

I didn’t know how long he had been there, but she’d handled herself well from the little I saw.

“You wanna tell me what he said?” I prodded.

“Honestly, not much. He’d only been here for like two minutes, and then you came back.”

Inwardly, I sighed a breath of relief even though outwardly, I was silent.

“He was asking all these questions about Rourke, and then he wanted to know about the break-in. I told him I’d used his trick to tell if someone had broken in. He seemed oddly…proud. Like he was happy he’d taught me something useful.”

I nodded, making a mental note to talk to Dougie and see if I could find out how Carson knew about the break-in to begin with.

“I just wish that meet and greet with my dad had gone better,” she said, disappointed.

“How exactly did you think that introduction would go?” I asked

Without missing a beat, she said, “Hank, meet my father. Craig, meet my boyfriend, Hank.” She clapped her hands together and smiled. “Done. Simple. That’s how.”

I smirked at her because no father, absent or not, ever wanted to picture his daughter with a man. Period.

“Sweetheart, I know your dad wasn’t around much, and when he was, he wasn’t exactly the poster child for a great parent, but I’m pretty sure no man alive ever wants to come face-to-face with a man who’s had sex with his daughter.”

She took in what I said but simply shrugged in response. “Whatever.”

21

“Talk dirty to me.” —Rourke

“There are more living organisms in one tablespoon of dirt than there are humans on earth.” —Hazel

—It’s science

Hank

Today had been an exercise in frustration and patience.

It started this morning when I’d come out to my kitchen to find Hazel standing there in nothing but my white T-shirt, looking as sexy as ever.

“You want some coffee?” she asked, pulling a mug from my cabinet.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “I’d rather have you.”

She giggled but tilted her head to the side, giving me better access. “But then you’ll be late for work.”

“I know the boss… I think I can convince him it’s okay,” I said while continuing to pepper her soft skin with kisses.

“Hmm. I’m not sure. I’ve met the sheriff, and he’s very much a ballbuster.”

I smiled at her description of me as I lowered my hands to the hem of her shirt and slid them underneath. Skimming across the soft skin of her thighs, I found the now wet spot where her thighs joined.

“Is he now? Maybe he just needs a good, sweet woman in his life,” I said, my fingers working their magic as she mewled softly in front of me.

“I’m good, but I’m not sure I’m sweet.”

“You taste awfully sweet,” I told her, feeling myself getting harder by the second.

I was just about to strip my shirt off her and ravish her body when my cell went off. The ringtone was the unique one I’d set for dispatch, so it wasn’t one I could ignore.