The rest of their dinner conversation went along the same lines. JJ would presume to know him; she would get it right about fifty percent of the time. Baz allowed her to steer them so she didn’t have to talk about herself, something he could tell was a touchy subject for her. Considering he intended to be with her for the long haul, there would be plenty of time in the future.
“You didn’t come here to talk about the case, did you?”
“We can if you’d like. I learned a few things tonight,” he informed her as he carried the dishes to the sink.
“Baz?”
For the first time since he walked in the door, she didn’t refer to him as Detective, he noticed.
He set the plate in the dish drainer, turned to face her.
“What is this?” she asked.
“What is what?”
“This. You. Me.”
“What do you want it to be?”
“You know I don’t have time for a relationship,” she stated firmly.
“That’s your automatic response.” Stepping forward, he closed the gap between them. “Relationships don’t take any extra time if they’re the right ones.” He leaned down, ran his finger along her jawline. “I’m not gonna press this, JJ. I like you. You know that. And you like me. If you wanna play hard to get, I’ll chase. I don’t have a problem with that.”
Those stunning green eyes bounced over his face as though she was trying to read every expression to determine if he was telling the truth or not.
“But know this…” He tilted her chin back. “I will catch you, Jessica James. Of that you can be certain.”
He expected a rebuttal, but it appeared he’d stunned her silent.
Being an opportunistic man, he leaned in, pressed his lips to hers.
He hadn’t expected it to ignite, but it did. Like a match to jet fuel, it exploded into heat and light when JJ’s arms wrapped around his neck, her tongue darting out to greet his. For a second, he was caught off guard. Enough that he didn’t let the kiss consume them. The last thing he wanted was for this to go somewhere she wasn’t ready for.
As much as it pained him, he pulled back and smiled.
“I will catch you,” he repeated, softer this time. “No matter how long it takes.”Chapter SevenFriday, November 13, 2020“We never did get back around to talking about Trey last night,” Reese prompted when Brantley walked into the kitchen the following morning.
Rubbing a hand down his face, Brantley attempted to wake up his groggy brain to remember what they’d been talking about.
Oh, right. Hiring Trey.
“Coffee first,” he grumbled.
“You act like a man who didn’t get any sleep last night,” Reese said, a teasing tone in his voice.
Brantley shot a look at Tesha. “I prefer not to share a bed with a dog.”
Reese peered down at the dog. “I tried my damnedest.”
Brantley knew he had. To the point they’d both been up half the night attempting to get Tesha to snooze on the brand-new dog bed they’d put on the floor. Of course, Tesha would have none of it, insisting she be snuggled up between them. As much as Brantley liked that dog, he was not willing to go that route.
“If we had a couch, I could’ve relocated,” Reese said, holding up a plate.
“Nope. Nuh-uh.” Brantley shook his head. “I ain’t givin’ up my bed partner. Nor am I lookin’ for a third. She’ll have to figure it out.” Following the heavenly scent of bacon, Brantley took a seat on a stool, picked up the fork. “Is this your guilt breakfast?”
Two eggs over medium, four pieces of bacon, and hash browns. On a good day, Brantley couldn’t get the man to let him eat microwave bacon. Then again, it was microwave bacon. Who really wanted to eat it?
“It’s my way of gettin’ your day started off better.”
Brantley took a sip of coffee, looked up into those beautiful brown eyes. “I can think of a better way for you to do that. And it involves you naked. In the shower.”
“I’m game. But eat first.”
He took a bite, then another, taking advantage of Reese’s guilt. It took no time at all to finish off his food and get a second mug of coffee. He gulped it down, ignoring the burn in his throat as he got to his feet, marched around to the sink. After dumping both plate and mug into it, Brantley clasped his hand around Reese’s wrist and dragged him toward the bathroom.
“We do have to talk about Trey. And the dog,” Reese reminded him.
“And we will. After.”
“After what?”
Rather than answer, Brantley stopped at the nightstand, retrieved the lube, then made a beeline for the bathroom. He managed to get the shower turned on before he pounced on Reese.
“Do you know how fuckin’ bad I want you right now?” He yanked Reese’s shorts to his knees.
