“Okay.” She’d try not to, at least for tonight. “Let me grab my purse.” Her one-bedroom apartment was small, and it was only a few steps to the kitchen counter where she’d put her clutch. The only things in it were her cell phone, lipstick, a credit card to hire an Uber to get home if needed, and her gun.
After locking up, he put his hand on her lower back as they walked to his car. For a year, she’d convinced herself that she didn’t miss a man’s touch. It only took a moment of Tristan’s palm resting low on her spine to remember how much she did like it. Or maybe it was just because it was him, only his hand she wanted touching her.
“Oh cool,” she said when she saw his car. “I get to ride in the Mustang.”
He opened the passenger door. When she was seated, he leaned down. “Only special people get to ride in my spaceship.” He chuckled as he closed the door.
Oops. She shouldn’t have reminded him that he owed her a prank. He walked around the front of the car, and she sighed. The man was dead-on sexy. Why did she have to be attracted to a cop? Why couldn’t he have been anything but a police officer? But he was, and this was his town. If they made their relationship public and it ended badly, fair or not, she’d be the one to suffer for it. She wasn’t going to lose another job because of a man, even one who made her feel things no man before him ever had.
He slid into the car, then reached over and curled a lock of hair around his finger. “Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?”
“Not that I remember.”
But he had. The night they’d spent together, he’d told her that several times. He’d been fascinated with her hair, had played with it, and had wrapped it around his fist when she’d pleasured him. Warmth spread through her just thinking about that night, about his hands on her, the places on her body his mouth had kissed.
He let go of her hair. “I’ve dreamed about it, you know. How it felt sliding over my skin, like a teasing feather, how it turned you on when I wrapped my fist around it, taking control. You liked when I took control. Why is that?”
Dear God, he needed to shut up before she combusted.
“Know what I think?” He turned the key in the ignition, then backed out of the parking space.
She waited for him to answer his question, but he stayed silent as they drove away from her complex. Fine, she didn’t care what he thought. She stared out the window. Where were they going? Marsville was the other way. He’d said they had reservations, so the Kitchen was out. There was a steakhouse in town, and she’d assumed they would go there. Since she wasn’t a big fan of steak, she was okay with that not being their destination.
When he chuckled, she kept her attention on the passing scenery. He wanted her to ask what he thought, and even though she was dying to know, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking. Besides, he was entirely too amused.
“Since you’re dying to know, I’ll tell you.”
What, he was reading her mind now?
“This is my theory. You need to be in control in your personal life and on the job.” His gaze darted to her, probably to see if she was listening. She was. “That’s cool. Everyone should have the confidence to take control of the things important to them. Especially if they’re a woman. But in bed—” his gaze locked on hers “—you like it when a man takes control.” He smirked. “If that man is me, anyway.”
“Arrogant much, Chief?”
He was right; she had loved the way he’d taken control the night she’d spent with him. And that was weird now that she thought about it. She had never allowed another man to dominate her in bed. With Tristan, though, it was different.
“No, I just have you figured out, Sheriff.”
“You think so, huh?” He said Sheriff the way he’d once whispered her name in her ear, and goose bumps dotted her skin.
He gave her a wicked grin. “I know so. And, Skye, you ever want to dominate me, just say the word.”
Yes, please. She needed to change the subject before she embarrassed herself by panting. “How’s it going with Melissa and Miss Bauman?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Sure, we can change the subject,” Tristan said. “Or we can talk some more about how much I love—”
“Melissa. Talk about Melissa!” She pulled at the top of her dress. “Does this car have A/C?”
“Getting hot and bothered, yeah?” He laughed when she shot him a glare. “Fine, Melissa it is. Surprisingly, that situation seems to be working out. I think Melissa likes earning her own money and Miss Bauman likes having someone to boss around. As soon as Miss Bauman paid her, Mary Beth took Melissa to the pharmacy and Melissa admitted to stealing the earrings, paid for them, and promised to never do it again.”
“That’s great. Your idea to put the two of them together was clever.”
“I’m a clever guy.”
She punched his arm. “And humble, I see.”
“That’s me. Humble and clever.” He turned on the road leading to the lake, frowning when the car behind them that he’d been watching turned, too. It was probably someone also going to the resort, but he didn’t like that the car had been keeping the exact distance between them. No one drove like that unless it was on purpose.