“Oh, are we allowed?”
“Normally if you were in protective custody then no you can't go out, but nothing about your situation is normal. We want Emmanuel to come looking for you, and we couldn’t be so forthright as to completely leak the address of the safehouse, just a few photos of you being brought here. So, let’s go and give things a little nudge. We’ll go out for a jog, maybe head down to the little shopping mall a few streets over, we can grab a coffee, something for dinner, and maybe some more eggs so we can make more meringues.”
Grace laughed at that. “We wouldn’t need to make more meringues if you weren’t eating five and six at a time, and then sneaking more when you think I'm not looking.”
“You were right, they’re delicious, and addictive. So let’s make more, we can try for four colors this time,” he added, trying to sweeten the deal.
“Okay, we can go out. But do we have to go jogging? I hate running, it’s so awful.”
“It’s a great way to keep in shape.” He’d been a runner since middle school. While he could get up a pretty good speed if he had to, he was more of a distance runner, he could go for miles and had competed in a few marathons over the years. “Nothing feels better than when you push past the pain and get into that zone, then you can go on forever.”
Grace looked at him like he was crazy, and she looked so sweet and sexy in the blue bikini, lying on the hot pink towel, that he couldn’t resist touching her. Reaching out he snagged a hold on her wrist and tugged her over to his towel, where he proceeded to tickle her.
She squealed with laughter and tried to bat away his hands. “Matthew, stop! You’ll never convince me running is anything other than torture.”
“Never, huh?” He kept tickling her and rolled her so she was beneath him, his knees straddling her hips, and all of a sudden he realized this was a bad idea. The playfulness morphed into something sensual, and before he even realized it, his fingers were no longer tickling Grace’s stomach and sides, now they were caressing her petal soft skin.
Desire was evident in her eyes, it burned like a blue flame, and she made no move to stop him, but intuition warned him that she wasn’t ready yet. So even though his body begged for just a little taste of the stunning woman lying beneath him, he knew he had to be sane enough for both of them right now. The last thing he wanted was to take things further than Grace was ready for and have her regret it. While she was still insistent that Emmanuel hadn't raped her, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she was hiding something big from him. Something he needed to know before they did anything more physical than kissing.
Because he was still a guy, and he was insanely attracted to Grace Bennett, he captured her lips in a simple kiss that still managed to zing along his every nerve and settle itself deep in his soul.
Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her up with him. “Come on, curly, let’s go for a jog.”
She studied him curiously for a moment but then nodded. “Fine, but be prepared for me to complain the entire time.”
Matthew laughed. “Thanks for the warning. Go change and I’ll meet you at the front door in five minutes.”
“Oh,” she asked, twirling a curl around her finger, the absolute picture of delicious innocence. “You don’t want me to go jogging dressed like this?”
He growled.
Yep, actually growled.
“No one gets to see this body but me.”
Grace laughed.
Actually laughed at him.
In one of those kind of patronizing aren’t you adorable, sort of ways. “I didn't know you had an alpha streak, you hid that well, Matthew. Don’t forget I grew up with two big brothers. I know all about insanely protective men, but don’t forget I don’t let them make decisions for me and I won't let you. I’ll show my body to anyone I want.” With that, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked off, pausing at the back door. “And, Matthew, just so you know. I don’t want any other man seeing my body. Only you.”
With that, she disappeared inside leaving him staring after her, so hungry for a taste of her he could barely control himself.
But he did.
Because Grace was worth the wait.
While she changed, he quickly threw on shorts and a t-shirt, then stuffed his feet into a pair of sneakers, and texted the cops watching the house to let them know they’d be going out. There was always a chance that Emmanuel would do something crazy, like trying to abduct Grace from a busy hospital, and shoot him in the street to snatch Grace. She was what he wanted, and Matthew didn't think the man would hesitate to take out any threats standing in his way. At least with the other cops following them he could focus more on Grace while the others watched their surroundings.
“I’m ready,” Grace announced.
He groaned when he looked up to see her long legs clad in skintight black capri leggings that stopped just below her knees, and a blue tank top that molded to her prefect breasts and made her eyes shine like sapphires. “How do you manage to look just as sexy in workout clothes as you did in the bikini?”
“It’s a gift,” she said with a giggle.
Sliding his cell phone into his pocket, Matthew hoped the t-shirt covered the bulge of his weapon. No way was he going anywhere unarmed until they had Emmanuel in custody. He locked up and they walked side by side down the garden path. As soon as they reached the sidewalk Grace gave him a smug smile.
“I might have forgotten to mention I'm a really fast runner. I don’t like it but I'm good at it, first one there gets to choose dinner.” Grace took off with a burst of speed he hadn't been expecting, leaving him standing there watching her with his mouth hanging open.