Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
"Oh, uh, okay." Scarlett looked over at August and Nicky, faces smeared with chocolate, eyes drooping. "I'd better get August a bath and then put him to bed.” She glanced around the room, brows raised in question. I knew exactly what she was asking. We hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements. She wasn't going to like my answer.
"That couch doesn't fold out, but it should be wide enough for August. Savannah can get you a set of sheets and a blanket."
"And where am I sleeping?" A sardonic arch of one dark red eyebrow, challenge in her green eyes.
"You're sleeping with me." I'd thought that would be obvious. I wasn't expecting the flash of alarm in her eyes, the way she leaned back just slightly.
"You're not… I'm not…" Stalling, she regrouped. "You're not cuffing me again. And I'm not sleeping with you."
Partly to calm her down and partly to needle her, I said, "If you're talking about sex, I'm afraid I don't know you well enough for that. If you're still interested in a few days, we can consider it then." The alarm disappeared from Scarlett's face, replaced by a scowl. She balled up her napkin and lobbed it at my face.
"Smart-ass."
Glad she'd relaxed, I dropped the joke and leaned forward. "Scarlett, I won't cuff you again if I don't have to. And I'm not going to push you for anything you don't want to give, in bed or out of it. But you're staying with me until we have the shooter in custody. That's non-negotiable."
"Then give me my phone," she countered.
"Also non-negotiable." She wasn't getting that phone until I knew what she was up to.
Leaning back in her chair, she leveled a suspicious, assessing look at me for a long, silent moment. "If you try anything, I'll make you pay for it."
I grinned. "I know you would. And I promise I'll sleep on top of the covers. It's a big bed. Plenty of room."
Scarlett let out a harrumph that reminded me of Savannah and Miss Martha. At least she wasn't arguing. Holding on to my advantage, I left before she could come up with more reasons she wasn't sharing a bed with me.
I could have put her in her own room with a guard on the door. We could spare the staff.
I'll admit it had burned earlier when she'd hadn't immediately told me she trusted me. I was over it. It hadn't taken much to understand Scarlett's reservations. I was a strange man who'd basically kidnapped her, West's approval aside. Now, I was demanding she share a bed with me. Sure, I'd said I wasn't going to touch her without permission. That was a line I'd never cross. I knew it wouldn't happen, but Scarlett didn't. Once she was asleep, she'd be defenseless. Of course, she was nervous.
My better nature urged me to let her off the hook. She wasn't going to get past one of Hawk's people if she tried to sneak off in the middle of the night. As I walked down the hall to Royal's room, I thought about it. Almost pulled out my phone to call Hawk to see if he could spare a guard for her.
My better nature was on Scarlett's side, but my gut won the battle. Scarlett was mine. I'd found her, and she'd rescued me when I could have been sitting in a jail cell.
Scarlett wasn't leaving my side. Not yet. Not until I was done with her.
Chapter Thirteen
SCARLETT
By the time he opened the door from the hall, I was tucked into the far side of Tenn's king-size bed, reading a paperback I'd shoved in my duffel and pretending I wasn't stressed out by the fact that I was half-naked in a strange man's bed.
Okay, I was wearing a loose tank top and sleep shorts, and Tenn wasn't exactly a stranger anymore.
Details.
I still wasn't sure I wanted to be there. And wasn't that the problem? I wasn't sure. I should have been running in the other direction. I should have demanded Griffen, the police chief, someone, anyone, give me my own room. This place was practically a freaking castle. It's not like they didn't have the space.
Yet here I was, tucked into Tenn's bed, waiting for him to come back. What the hell was I doing?
Savannah had shown up only a few minutes after Tenn left while I was still working on the boys' chocolate-covered faces with a wet washcloth. She delivered bedding for August and collected Nicky and the food cart. After thanking me for entertaining Nicky, she said her mom would be there tomorrow to watch the boys again.
Just before she headed out the door, she stopped, closing her hand around my arm with a gentle touch. I met her grey eyes, heavy with concern. "Are you okay with this?" she asked. "Hawk is a hard-ass, but he's protective. If I tell him you need space from Tenn, he'll step in."