Page 62 of Tough Justice

He skimmed the backs of his knuckles down her cheek. “Feel good?” Cause damn. He sure did.

“Mm-hmm.” She tipped her head to look at him, her eyes sleepy. “I was just thinking that you’re not like any man I’ve ever—” She dipped her head down, averting her gaze.

Clearly, she was hiding something. He tipped up her chin. “Ever what? Made love with?”

“Er, that, too,” she said, giving him a shy smile. “I was going to say dated, but we’re not really dating, so…” A pretty blush the shade of bubble gum blossomed on her cheeks.

“What kind of men have you been dating?” As long as they weren’t in her life now, that was the only thing that really mattered.

She held up her hand, counting. “Aside from the doctor, a financial advisor, a mortgage broker, and a data entry manager… But none of those relationships lasted very long.”

“Why not?”

“They were…” She frowned.

“Boring?” he supplied.

Tori laughed, nodding. “Yes.”

“Am I boring?” He’d never been told that, but who knew?

“Not even close.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re my walk on the wild side.”

“Yeah?” He grinned, liking the idea of being her wild side. “You know, if every part of your life is filled with caution, you might miss out on the good stuff.”

She drew a finger down his cheek. “You might be right.”

“So we’re dating, now?” he asked.

Her eyes shot wider. “No! I mean, not really. Oh, lord. I didn’t mean that, I—” She covered her face with her hands, and the charm bracelet she wore jingled as it slipped down her forearm. “I sound like an idiot. I think I’ll shut up now. God, this is embarrassing.”

He pulled her hands from her face, taking in every inch of smooth, creamy skin, supple arms and thighs, and the most beautiful set of breasts he’d ever seen. “Trust me, you’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.”

She let out an exasperated breath. “That’s not what I meant.”

“No?” He smiled, thoroughly enjoying their conversation. “What did you mean?”

“I only meant that having the letters MD after my name makes everyone think I’ve automatically got every single facet of my life under control.”

“Don’t you?” From what he’d seen, she did like being in control, directing everything like a commando on a raid, and she was good at it.

“Hardly.” She uttered a short laugh. “It’s ironic how you never realize you’re a control freak until things are out of control and you freak.”

“And you’re freaking out why, exactly?” When she hesitated, he knew. Despite the tentative truce with her dad, her family’s history would always be with her. “Because I’m the DEA monster that yanked your dad’s license. That was a pretty big secret you were keeping.”

“It’s not the kind of thing a girl just blurts out, but I am sorry. I saw those letters on your vest in the ER, and it was like a hammer of awful memories coming down on my head. I took all those feelings and dumped them on you.”

He wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger and leaned down to kiss her, grinning and whispering against her lips, “I forgive you.”

A loud crack came from outside the bedroom window. Thor barked. Through the closed door, he heard his dog’s feet scrambling.

“Stay here.” Deck bolted from the bed then shoved his feet into his jeans and grabbed his gun from the holster.

Stepping quietly, he moved through the house into the kitchen. Thor stood at the glass door to the backyard. Hair along his spine rose as he loosed a deep, throaty growl. His dog wouldn’t do that if it were just an animal in the backyard.

Someone was out there.

Deck cracked open the door, then he and Thor padded silently to the edge of the yard. “Thor, seek.”