Shit.

I felt the little, itty bit of strength I was clinging to start I felt the little, itty bit of strength I was clinging to start slipping away as his tongue moved against mine.

“Open your legs,” he said against my mouth.

“I need you to understand,” I said, and I did. In that instant, I decided that I was going to tel him everything and I needed him to understand.

“You can explain it tomorrow. Now I want you to open your legs.”

I kept my legs firmly closed. “What if I explain it to you tomorrow and you don’t understand?”

In answer, he kissed me until I was dizzy. After the kiss, his lips trailed down my cheek to my ear. “Roxanne, sweetheart, open your legs for me,” he whispered.

I opened my legs.

I was weak and I couldn’t help myself but truly, at that moment, I would have done anything for him.

He rewarded me immediately. Later, I rewarded him.

Even later stil , I’d lost al thoughts about leaving. My back was pressed to his chest, his arm was around me, my arm resting on his and our fingers were laced. I was half asleep when he murmured, “Whatever it is, I’l understand.” I snuggled deeper and prayed that was true.

* * * * *

My hair was moved away from my face and then a finger trailed down my neck. That finger turning into a ful hand as it slid down my side to rest on my hip. “Wake up, Sunshine.”

I rol ed to my back, the hand stayed where it was so it moved across to my bel y as I opened my eyes.

It was the best wakeup cal I’d ever had.

Hank was sitting on the bed, leaning over me. It was stil dark outside although a little light was coming through the blinds and there was also light coming from some other part of the house through the doorway. I could see he was dressed in a Rip Curl t-shirt and pair of dark track pants that had a wide stripe running down the side.

“You’re dressed,” I mumbled.

“Shamus and I are goin’ for a run. We’l come back, shower and I’l take you out for breakfast.” I blinked.

“Run?” I asked.

“Run,” he answered.

“As in, exercise?”

His lips twitched. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I take it you don’t run.”

“Only when chased by men wielding chainsaws.” The lip twitch turned into a grin. “That happen a lot?”

“No, but Al y says there’s one at the Haunted House she wants to take me to.”

The smile died and his brows drew together.

“Christ, don’t go to the Haunted Houses with Al y and Indy. A few years ago, Indy went berserk and broke through the hay bales they had set up to make the haunted trail and headed into the cornfields. Al the employees chased after her but since they were dressed like monsters, Indy lost her mind. They had to cal the cops to settle her down.” I lost him at “cornfields”.

“Cornfields?” I whispered.

“Yeah.”

“They have a haunted trail through cornfields?”

“Yeah, up in Thornton. Best Haunted House in Denver.

Indy and Al y go every year. Why?”

“Cornfields freak me out,” I admitted.

Hank was silent.

Then, he said, “You’re from Indiana. How in the f**k can cornfields freak you out?”

“Cornfields don’t freak me out. Cornfields at night freak me out. Haunted cornfields at night freak me out.”

“You been to many haunted cornfields?”

“Dude,” I said low. “Al cornfields are haunted. Trust me. I know.” Then I came up on my elbows so I was closer to him and I said quietly, “They whisper to you.” Then I gave a shiver because, wel , the memory of whispering cornfields freaked me out, indeed, whispering cornfields should freak anybody out.

His arms came around me and he pul ed me ful y up and pressed my torso against his. I knew he was laughing. I didn’t hear it I felt it. After his body quit shaking he said,

“Did you just cal me ‘dude’?”

“Yeah. So?”

His hand went into my hair at the side of my head, his fingers sliding through it. This made my scalp tingle pleasantly. He watched his hand move, then his eyes came back to me.

“What’s wrong with ‘dude’?” I asked when he didn’t answer.

“We don’t have enough time to get into al that’s wrong with ‘dude’, especial y when we have more important shit to talk about. And if I stay here any longer, I’m gonna want my exercise in an entirely different way, a way that isn’t going to help Shamus keep fit.” He gave me a light kiss, which made my lips tingle even more pleasantly than my scalp.

“There’s coffee beans in the freezer, grinder in the cabinet over the coffee maker. Help yourself but I’m takin’ you to Dozens for breakfast so don’t eat anything that’l spoil your appetite.”

“Okay,” I said, staring at his lower lip, fascinated with watching it move while he talked.

“Roxie?”

“Hmm?” I was kind of not paying attention. What could I say? His lower lip was fine.

“You keep lookin’ at my mouth like that, after I’m through with you, and since I’ve been doin’ most of the work, you’re gonna have to take Shamus for a run.”

My eyes moved to his and then they narrowed.

“You’ve been doing most of the work?” He grinned but didn’t answer.

“Wel ! Do I have to remind you, Hank Nightingale, that you wouldn’t let me touch you the first time and the second time I tried to climb on top but you flipped me over –” He kissed me quiet.

“You don’t have to remind me,” he said softly when he was done kissing me. “I remember every second.” That shut me up, mainly because it took my breath away.

He went on, “I’l be back in forty five minutes, an hour at the most. Wait for me, we’l shower together.” I nodded my head. Although somewhere in my psyche it was registering that he was being supremely bossy, I didn’t care, not even a little bit.

“I think I might go back to sleep for a while,” I told him.

“Wake me up when you get home.”

At my words, his eyes got lazy and his arms tightened, bringing my body deeper into his. I got the feeling he was losing his motivation for the run. I looked to the side of the bed and saw Shamus sitting there, impatiently, tongue lol ing out, tail starting to wag when he caught my gaze. I looked back to Hank.