Chapter Twenty-Two #3
“I didn’t tell them about the child and the fire,” Elle said to Ronan. “They saw it on TV.”
“Bad move, Elle,” Ronan said lightly.
“Goodbye, Mom. Dad. Love you.”
“We love you, too,” Summer said. “Do not get hurt.”
“Okay. Bye now.”
Elle ended the call and handed Ronan his phone. “I didn’t know I’d worried her so much.”
“You never stop worrying when you have kids.”
One side of her mouth lifted. “I guess you’re speaking from experience there. You realize they have your phone number now.”
“I know. I would have given it to them regardless. They were far calmer than I would have been if this had been Penny.”
“I don’t think they’re all that calm, but they’ll be okay. So will I.”
Ronan pulled her to him again. “You will. First, you need to get some sleep, and I’m selfish enough to want to hold you while you do.”
She pressed a kiss to his jaw. “Thank you, Ronan. I don’t know what I would have done without you through all this.”
“You would have needed to get your morning sweets for yourself, that’s what.”
She chuckled as he’d hoped she would. Then she rested her cheek against his chest, snuggling closer.
This is nice.
He still wanted more. Wanted to run his hands all over her skin. Wanted to slowly strip away every piece of clothing she wore.
Wanted to find out if she had freckles anywhere else.
He wanted to lie down with her, to sleep with her. But if he did that, he couldn’t guarantee his self-control. He was pretty sure that once he had her in his arms, in a bed, he wouldn’t be sleeping, and she needed her rest.
This would have to be enough for now.
“What?” she asked, pulling back to see his face. “You just got tense.”
“I was just thinking about what I want to do when this is over.”
She studied his face, and then, with a tiny smile tipping up her lips, she dropped her gaze lower until she was staring at his crotch. She looked back up at him, her cheeks flushed, her eyes dark with arousal once more. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
So he told her. Every fantasy he’d had while lying in his bed alone since the day he met her.
And then his lap was full of Elle Randolph. She threw her leg over his hips and straddled him, took his face in her hands, and kissed him hard and hot, showing him exactly what she thought of those fantasies.
He slid his hand up the back of her thigh until he clutched her round ass. With a little growl, she pressed herself closer, her hips undulating as she ground against his chest.
His heart was beating hard, a rhythm in his head that drowned out everything but her.
She was perfect.
He didn’t think he’d ever wanted anyone more than he wanted Elle Randolph in that moment.
He was sure of it a moment later when she gasped against his lips, her body going rigid. She’d come with only kisses and petting.
Ripping her mouth from his, she sucked in huge breaths and sagged into him. He let go of her ass and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could.
He wanted her to touch him.
He needed her to touch him.
But if she did, he’d go off like a rocket and then he’d take her to bed and…
And they couldn’t do that. Not yet.
He shuddered hard. “I missed it.”
“What?” she murmured drowsily.
“Your expression when you came.”
She buried her face against his chest, a small giggle bubbling out. “I guess you’ll have to pay more attention next time.”
He laughed, every nerve in his body sizzling. “I will.”
She pulled back, lifting her gaze to his. “You didn’t…”
“No. But I can wait. As hot as that was, I want you in a bed underneath me when I come.”
She inhaled sharply. Oh, she liked that idea. “I feel bad, leaving you like this.”
He kissed her, a light touch of his lips to hers.
“I’ve already crossed too many lines with you.
I don’t want to be removed from this case.
I need this threat to you to be over, and while I trust my colleagues with my life, I’m not sure I trust them with yours.
Not because they wouldn’t protect you, but because I need it to be me.
So I can wait. I don’t want to, but I can. ”
“But when this is all over?”
He grinned. “I think you and I should take a staycation. Like in my bedroom.”
She grinned back. “I think you’re right.” Reluctantly she removed herself from his lap and cuddled into his side again. “Thank you, Ronan, for making me feel safe. For making me feel…wanted. It’s been a long time.”
He said nothing, and the moment stretched into minutes.
Too many thoughts swirled in his mind to choose just one.
He wanted to say that he wanted her, too, but he was trying to calm his body down.
He wanted to say she was safe, but she wasn’t.
Not yet. He wanted to say that it had been a long time for him, too, because it had.
“Then I guess when this is over, I have a lot of time to make up for,” he finally murmured.
She didn’t answer. She’d fallen asleep, her hand clutching the fabric of his shirt, like she didn’t want him to leave her.
There was no chance of that. He was staying with Elle Randolph. Now and later. Hopefully for a very, very long time.