Seven #3
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, draping his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close to him.
“Okay.” I grinned, patting his rock-hard abdomen as I lifted my head to look at him.
“So move in.”
I groaned and tried to pull away.
His arm was suddenly an anchor holding me beside him. I couldn’t move. “You say we’re in this together, I’ve got keys for you at home… Just move in.”
“Sam—”
“Move in.” He was insistent. “I want you to live with me.”
I shook my head. “If anybody’s moving anywhere, you’re moving in with me. Your place is cursed, Detective.”
A surge of heat fired his eyes. “You’re on. I’ll be happy to move in with you.”
“Wait, that’s not what I said.”
“When can I move in?”
I had a feeling that this was going to be a daily conversation until I relented.
“J?”
I stared up into his eyes.
“I could move in this weekend.”
“No.” I chuckled. “It’s too soon.”
“How ’bout Monday?”
I groaned.
“I wanna kiss you.”
I smiled at him. He was adorable.
“But I’m just not comfortable doing that in the middle of this diner.”
I squinted at him.
“What?”
“I will remind you that you just kissed me right here in this diner.”
His brows furrowed.
“Forgot that, didn’t you?”
He was quiet a moment, all-out scowling now.
“Is this ringing a bell?”
“Hell.”
I laughed at him.
“What is going on with me?”
“I think you find me irresistible.”
“Yeah, but that’s always been true,” he said dismissively, which I loved.
“Has it?”
“What?”
“I’m irresistible?”
“Of course.”
He was lighting me up inside and he had no idea.
“So you’re up for the PDA now?” I baited him.
“Apparently so.”
I chuckled. “Well, just to give you a break, how about we go kiss in the car?” I grinned lazily. “The windows are tinted, after all.”
I watched the muscles in his jaw clench. “Okay. I’ll kiss you in the car.”
And he was as good as his word, even though I was much more than just kissed. I was mauled in the SUV, driven to a secluded spot, stripped naked, and pulled into his lap. It was where I had wanted to be all night.
The thump woke me. I reached for the light beside his bed and the room came into dim focus.
“Where are you going?” I croaked out, finding Sam putting on his hiking boots in the empire chair across from the bed by the window.
“I gotta go to work. Go back to sleep, baby.”
I checked the clock on the nightstand and saw the time. “It’s three in the morning. Come back to bed.”
He smiled suddenly, and his eyes sparkled in the low light. “I would like nothing better, believe me, but duty calls.”
“Just go later,” I pleaded, yawning, barely awake and groggy.
“I can’t, love.”
“But, Sam—”
“I left you a set of keys on the kitchen table.”
“Okay.”
“You know, you could just move in, and then you wouldn’t have to carry two sets.”
“That’s very logical of you.”
“That’s me—logical.”
I stared at him, and when both boots were laced, he got up and crossed the room to me.
“You know, I was thinking…” he said, sitting down beside me, rubbing my arm. “I really rushed you into all this, and I didn’t even think about what was going on with you.”
I squinted up at him. “And?”
“And I’m sorry,” he said softly, leaning down and kissing my throat. “But I can’t have it any other way.”
“That actually makes me really happy.”
“Good, ’cause like I said, I hafta have you with me.”
I stared up at him.
“So you really should move in, ’cause you’re gonna hafta start cooking.”
It took me a second to process what he was saying. “I’m sorry, what?”
He chuckled, then leaned in and kissed me so hard and so deep, I forgot that he was leaving until he started talking again.
“You cook on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I cook on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”
“What?” The kiss had muddled my brain.
“And Sunday my mom cooks.” He went on like I was following him.
“Sam…what?”
“Yep. It’s perfect. We can’t afford to eat out every night, so… I’ll be home between six and seven. I’ll call if I’ll be any later.”
“Sure.”
“So your ass needs to be here.”
“What?”
“Since you need to cook.” He grinned at me.
“I’ll be here.”
He was silent a minute.
“What?”
“Just happy,” he said, trailing his hand down my chest, then lower under the blanket, gently rubbing circles on my stomach.
“Me too.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
The growl that came out of him, pure contentment, made me smile. I understood at that moment how much he loved me, needed me, and truly wanted me around.
“So feed me,” he said before kissing me again, his tongue instantly deep inside my mouth, tasting me, moving lazily because he knew I belonged to him.
I whimpered at the loss when he pulled back. I wanted him to stay.
He rose over me, his hand in my hair before he leaned back down and kissed my forehead. “Stay outta trouble, J. I’ll see you tonight.”
I could only nod. I had no voice.
“You know, moving in would be so much more convenient.”
My smile came on its own. The man was determined to drive his point home.
“Or I can move in with you.”
“Give it a rest.”
“What? I’m just thinking of you.”
“Like hell you are.”
The bed lifted as he stood up, and I watched him go. I stayed awake for a while even after I heard the front door close.