Page 104 of Cautious Love

“No problem,” I mumble and sit down at one of the barstools.

She’s still standing, but we keep staring at each other. Everything has changed now, and it’s not just the sex.

The issue of her ex is like a tick burrowing under the skin, irritating and sucking the life out of the possibility of arealmarriage.

I want his ass in a jail cell, but I have to find him first. It has very little to do with what he did to my house, though I am pressing charges. It has everything to do with what he’s done to Shiloh and this town.

But through all of this, I realized something, and it feels fairly obvious when I look at the actions he’s taken and his disappearance. She was with the son of the head of the Kensingtons for a long time. She was with Grey as their operation grew. I’m willing to bet she’s seen or heard plenty, and the more I learn about her, the more I wonder if she’s holding something back.

Shiloh slips her arms around my waist, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I stare down at her, consumed by her beauty and worried that it will all fall apart. I can’t control her, nor do I want to. But I want to protect what’s growing between us — desperately.

She tilts her head up, silently asking for a kiss, and I give it to her. It’s wild to me how we’ve begun to communicate silently to each other. My chest lifts at the thought.

She hums, and I pull back. Her eyes are still closed, then she opens them, but her expression drops, making my stomach go with it.

“What?” I ask her.

She makes a funny face. “I … uh, don’t know. But I don’t know what to do with you most of the time, anyway.”

I huff. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her hazel eyes brighten. “It means you’re so tight-lipped that steely face is nearly unreadable most of the time,” she says, dragging a finger over my lips.

“That’s just my face,” I mumble against her finger.

She snorts. “Then change it.”

I raise a brow. “How should I go about that?”

Her small smile splits into a wide grin. “Because I love it when you smile.”

“Then give me something to smile about, criminal.”

She laughs and then leans forward, pushing her chest into mine. “Or I could give you something to moan about.”

I chuckle darkly as a flame lights my blood.

She licks her bottom lip, watching me intently.

“Well?”

“Maybe I should find me a woman who could do both?” I say and leave her standing there.

She gasps in offense, and before I cross into the living room. She leaps onto my back, and I grab the back of her knees to keepher from falling as her arms wrap tightly around my neck, and I don’t care one bit that she’s basically choking me.

“You severely underestimate me,” she mumbles into my neck.

I laugh and her thighs tighten on my sides. “Damn, that’s beautiful,” she whispers.

With my back to the sofa, I set her down on the arm and spin around so I’m standing between her legs and my hands at her lower back.

“No, Shiloh, I don’t bother trying to estimate you at all because I can’t seem to anticipate a single thing you do.”

“I like to keep you on your toes,” she says, smiling and drawing her hands through my hair.

“Yes, you do.”

She sobers for a minute, spotting the new couch and coffee table.