“Yeah.” Not soon enough.
Tansy waited while he got it under control.
“He’d holed up in a third-floor dump. Place should have been condemned. We busted through the door to find him holding her like a shield in front of him.”
Even at her age, the baby had known she was in danger. She’d been wailing and reaching out to Sam, those tiny hands reaching for someone to save her.
“He backed up to the window, screaming about his rights to have his daughter. That he’d made her and he could do with her as he pleased.”
Sam closed his eyes, but that didn’t help. He could see the next bit like a slow-motion movie reel. It was what he saw throughout the nights.
“Then he tossed her out the window. Laughing like it was the best trick in the world.”
Tansy’s gasp of sorrow had him looking down. Tears flowed from her eyes and she gripped his hand like a lifeline. “I’m so sorry, Sam. That’s a hideous thing to witness. Hard to believe people like that exist. I’m so glad he’s going to be rotting in jail for the rest of his life. Thank you for getting justice for that little girl.”
This woman floored him. He hadn’t told her the prick was in jail, but she knew. She understood he wouldn’t have it any other way. Killing him might have been a pleasure, but Sam wouldn’t cross that line. Couldn’t.
And she knew that.
Unable to stop his fingers, Sam reached up with his free hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks.
Then he pulled her in for a hug. She always felt just right against him. She filled his empty spaces.
Tansy released his hand and reached around him to hug him back. Her hands offered comfort and for a long minute, he simply absorbed all the good she projected.
Sam leaned down and kissed Tansy’s hair.
And the mood changed in a flash.
He continued to hold her, continued to move his hands over her body softly. He didn’t touch anywhere he shouldn’t, not even when he ached to do so.
But it was different.
The awareness he always felt around her seemed to thicken, to intensify.
Science be damned. This was magic.
He couldn’t imagine she didn’t feel it as well. It was too powerful to ignore.
The motion of her hands changed. A little softer, more of a caress than comfort.
He mimicked her motion and felt the shiver run through her.
Taking a chance, Sam lifted one hand to her hair. He played with the ends of her ponytail and heard her soft inhale.
He kept moving his hand, playing with her hair along her neck, and the shell of her ear.
Her breathing changed, and the atmosphere electrified.
Tansy lifted those liquid eyes to him and he saw the attraction he’d been dreaming of.
Not wanting to risk the moment disintegrating on him, he lowered his head to hers. Slowly enough if she wanted to back away.
Instead, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
And then he was kissing her.
And the magic took over.