Page 157 of Liar's Point

“Probably.”

She met his gaze, and he leaned down and kissed her. It was soft and slow, and she felt him sink into it. She did, too, absorbing his taste and his smell, relieved beyond words to be with him like this. She’d been so worried, frightened out of her mind. And now he was right here, and she could feel him and taste him and assure herself over and over that he was alive and breathing.

He moved from her mouth to her neck.

“Emmet.”

“Hmm?”

“We shouldn’t do this again.”

He stopped and looked up. “Why not?”

“You know why. It’s going to be a problem at work. It’s already a problem. We were in the middle of the op today, and all I could think about was you getting shot. And then you did get shot, and I nearly fell apart.”

He gazed down at her, and the unguarded look in his eyes put a lump in her throat.

“I don’t think we can not do this again.” He watched her for a beat. “Do you?”

She gazed up at him and bit her lip.

He brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “I’ve been wanting this for years, Nicole. And now that it’s happening, I don’t want it to stop.”

“Years?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“When?” He smiled. “You’ve been busting my balls all this time and competing with me. I figured a relationship with me was the last thing you wanted. And you’ve had a thing for my brother.”

She squirmed to sit up. “I do not have a thing for your brother. I have a thing for you.”

He smiled slightly. “Yeah, I kinda picked up on that recently.” His smile dropped away. “But then you started going out with David, and I’ve been losing my mind.”

He’d been jealous. Nicole had sensed it, even though he’d never said anything outright—it was based on his foul mood whenever the subject of David came up.

She leaned back on the cushion. “Well, I’m glad you’re done being clueless. But none of this addresses the real problem. We work together. Our department is too small to keep secrets, and as soon as Brady gets wind of this, he’s going to want to put a stop to it. And with good reason. Emotional entanglements cloud people’s judgment, and it’s not safe. Today was a perfect example. Everything devolved into a shoot-out, and I wasn’t thinking about protocol or Adam or Owen or even the armed subject we were trying to arrest—all I could think about was you.”

He sighed. But he didn’t argue because he couldn’t. She knew that when everything was going sideways, he’d been thinking about her, too.

“Stop worrying,” he said.

“How can I stop worrying?”

He rolled his eyes. “Just... stop, all right? We’ll figure something out.”

“But—”

He kissed her to cut her off. And she let him. He tasted so good, and the heat of his body reminded her of how much she loved the way he touched her.

I’ve been wanting this for years.

He kissed her deeper, harder, and heat rippled through her as his hand slid up her thigh.

“Have I told you how much I like this skirt?”

His hand glided beneath it, and she arched her hips.

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