“I come from a family of cops. I’ll be okay.” She cupped the back of his head, making sure his gaze stayed locked with hers. “It’s good you came back, Raze. Whatever else you may think, whatever else is going on, it’s important that you came back. It was the right thing to do.”
He hugged her again, running his hands up her spine to mold her into him. “I’ve got work to do today and I didn’t ask you first, but I gave up my room and brought my stuff here.”
“Good.”
“You say that now, but you don’t know what I am and I can’t tell you until I’m given permission to.”
“You tried warning me off the night I met you, remember? And it didn’t work, even when you were just a seriously prime piece of beefcake.” Kim squeezed him hard. “It’s not going to work now that I’m invested.”
“You don’t know what I do. You’ll need to know. I’ll need to tell you when I can, but I have to leave soon. No later than Tuesday. And I don’t know when I’ll be back. It could be weeks. Months.”
“Just so long as you come back. Promise me that. That’s where we’ll begin. We have the phone and internet. We can video conference. It won’t be the same as touching you, but at least we’re not giving up.”
His head fell back onto the sofa cushion, his eyes trained on the ceiling but not seeing it. “I’m going to be honest and tell you what’s running through my head. Dropping this now would be the best thing for both of us. We’ve had a couple days together. A week from now it won’t seem as intense. A few months down the road, it’ll be a fond memory. That’s the easy way to go.”
“You’re absolutely right.” She took a deep breath. “I was thinking the same thing while you were gone. I was rehearsing what I’d say to you, how to put across that I’d had a great time but the weekend was enough for me. There’s something here, we both know that, but it’s just a spark right now. With a little time and a little distance, it’ll burn out.”
He exhaled harshly. “Yeah.”
“But then I realized I’m not okay with that.” She was staring at him when he lifted his head to look at her. “Because I don’t know if I’ll find that spark again. I don’t if it would be the same if I did find it later. What if this is it? What if you’re the best thing that ever happened to me? Am I going to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have happened if I’d been strong enough to try? I don’t want to live with those questions haunting me.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m the worse thing that’s ever happened to you,” he muttered. “Let’s clear that up now.”
“And I’m pretty sure you could turn into a werewolf during full moons and I wouldn’t care.”
“What?”
“Or maybe a troll on Wednesdays? Maybe you’re a vampire, and that’s why I haven’t seen you eat.”
“Christ.” He couldn’t help it; his lips twitched with the urge to laugh. Which was just part of her magic. He was a different person with her. And he liked being that guy. Liked being her guy.
“Ha!” Kim’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “I spend most days examining bodily fluids, which a lot of people think is gross. We all have our blemishes. And we’re not talking about marriage here. We’re talking about taking a chance. Making a few phone calls. Sending a few emails.”
She nuzzled his nose with hers, a playful gesture that no one else would dare to make with him. His lungs seized with a terrible yearning. Tilting his head, he kissed her, drinking her in. Her lips were soft and sweet beneath his; her returning kiss was deep and slow. Savoring.
“What do ya say, rough guy?” she murmured against his mouth. “Wanna take a chance on me?”
“Yes.” Raze took her mouth again. “Yes. Fuck. But I have to go now. I have to work.”
“But you’ll be back.”
He fisted his hand in her hair and nodded. “I’ll be back.”
