Chapter Three #2
The fact she and Dalton had a fling didn’t need to be common knowledge.
She would ask for his discretion even though he came across as the kind of person who could take a secret to the grave.
The man was honorable, intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous.
The term easy on the eyes applied in spades.
It was followed by hard on the heart because a man this tall, dark and ridiculously handsome was no doubt a heartbreaker.
Had to be, even though her heart wanted to argue against the idea.
Hearts had a mind of their own. Logic kept her from making the same mistake twice—one that could have cost her life at fifteen.
Blakely didn’t survive that horrific incident just to dive right back in and make a similar mistake—one that could end differently this time—no matter how many years had passed.
Chase snored against her chest, hugging his Switch to his chest. She didn’t have the heart to move him when he looked so comfortable. What he’d witnessed might leave mental scars. Blakely knew all about those. She had physical ones, too, as reminders. But the emotional scars ran the deepest.
“I hope he’s young enough to forget all about this night,” she said to Dalton as he took a seat in the chair near the couch.
“Kids are resilient,” he said. Was he speaking from personal experience? She had no idea. He wasn’t married. She knew that much. Which didn’t mean that he wasn’t a dad.
Considering they’d spent time intimately with each other, Blakely figured they ought to know something about each other now.
“Have you been assigned to me?” she asked, starting there first.
“Yes,” he confirmed before diving into what he’d been up to in order to secure her home. “I set up security cameras with sensors on the perimeter. They’ll send an alarm to my phone if something with enough body heat and size to be human enters the property.”
“I probably should have done that years ago,” she said, wishing she’d thought of it.
“You didn’t have a reason until now,” he pointed out.
“Plus, this neighborhood is quiet. You had no reason to suspect a perp would slip past the gate.” His forehead wrinkled as he studied her.
Under different circumstances, his expression would have been part adorable, part sexy.
Right now, all she could focus on was the close call she’d just had and the fact she’d unknowingly put Chase in danger. “How did you fight him off?”
“Krav Maga training,” she admitted with more than a hint of pride.
“That’s good training right there,” he said with a nod of appreciation. She didn’t need it, but the approval was nice anyway. “And most likely the reason you survived the attack.”
An involuntary shiver rocked her body at the last word.
Chase stirred but immediately fell back to sleep.
Between running around on the soccer field, the chicken nugget dinner the medical examiner had brought for Chase—she made a mental note to thank him for it later—and stress, Chase was out like a light not long after his belly was full.
He smelled like grass, dirt and little boy, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Plus, there was no way she would have been able to pry Chase off her long enough for him to take a shower.
As long as he was in her house, though, he was potentially in as much danger as she was. For once, she wished Bethany would break the no-cell-phone-on-date-night rule and check her voice mail.
Sending an officer to her sister’s home would freak Bethany out, causing undue stress.
Plus, she planned elaborate outings involving tents, camping or hotel rooms sometimes.
Blakely wished she’d taken more interest and asked more questions about where Bethany would be tonight.
Since Blakely had emergency authorization to make medical decisions for Chase, a precaution no one ever expected to need, her sister had the freedom to do whatever she wanted.
Blakely shifted her gaze to the sex-on-a-stick marshal. “Should we get to know each other a little better, considering…” Her voice trailed off as heat flushed her cheeks.
“I’m assigned to keep you safe, Your Honor,” he started.
“We’re well past being formal when there’s no one around, don’t you think?” she asked, trying to let some of her embarrassment roll off. The man still affected her. His voice alone was the equivalent of whiskey poured over crackling ice.
Dalton was tall, six feet three inches if she had to guess.
His hair was just long enough on top to curl.
The sides were tighter clipped. Small waves of the blond tips contrasted against dark roots that were almost black.
He had a dimpled chin covered by a day’s worth of scruff and the most piercing set of intense dark eyes hooded by thick black lashes.
For someone so tall, he was built like a brick house. His biceps were stacked. Greek tragedies could be written in honor of his God-like bod and the carnage left behind when he was done with a relationship.
If he wasn’t so damned intelligent, he’d be written off as arm candy. But he was smart, so that was out.
The way he’d looked at her when she was reunited with Chase earlier said he had a soft spot and was kind underneath all those intimidating good looks.
“Point taken,” Dalton finally said with a half smile that warmed places in her that didn’t need to be focused on.
The phone alarm caused both of them to jump. Dalton stared at the screen. “There’s a woman walking up to the front door who looks similar to you.” He glanced over at Blakely and tilted the phone so she could see the screen.
“That’s my sister,” she said, immediately standing up and making a beeline for the front door.
The marshal was half a step behind. A trill of awareness skittered across her skin at his closeness.
But she was about to face her sister, so she dismissed it.
Even after the fact, she struggled to find the words to tell her sister that Chase had gone missing for a couple of hours. Those were words no parent wanted to hear and no sister wanted to deliver.
Based on the look on Bethany’s face, all hell was about to break loose.