Page 55 of Echoes of You

I only snorted.

“Thanks for bringing this up. I got us burrito bowls, and now my appetite is ruined.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing has ruined your appetite in the history of time.”

“This might.”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. Taking Nash’s hand, I pulled him up. “Come on. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

“I’m glad one of us is,” he mumbled.

“Such a drama queen.”

I came to a stop at the picnic table in my dining room. There was a massive bag of takeout with a stack of papers next to it. “Is that the restraining order?”

Nash nodded. “You just have to sign. We don’t have to deal with it now. We can—”

“No. Let’s get it over with. Do you have a pen?”

He fished in his pocket and pulled one out, handing it to me.

I didn’t bother reading what Lawson had written. I trusted him. I simply wrote my signature across the line at the bottom. Staring at the looping scrawl of my name, I just hoped this flimsy piece of paper had a prayer of protecting me.

18

NASH

I glareddown at my cup of coffee. The dark brown liquid hadn’t done anything to me, but it was still getting the force of my rage. It was the only outlet I had. Because sounds of that damn shower had been taunting me for the last fifteen minutes.

Images of Maddie. Naked. Running her hands over slick, creamy skin. One would think her ridiculous, off-key singing would be a downer for my dick, but nope. It just made her more adorable.

I shifted, trying to alleviate some of the pressure behind my uniform slacks. Hell. I needed to get a grip.

The water cut off, and I sent up a silentthank you. But that gratitude was short-lived because then my mind began filling in the happenings going on behind that bathroom door. Maddie toweling off. Rubbing lotion all over her body. Pulling on lacy—I cut myself off.

Think of something else. Anything else.I ran over case notes in my head. SAR procedures. First-aid rules and regulations. Anything but the woman currently haunting my every moment, both while awake and asleep.

It didn’t help that Maddie slept in these tiny sleep shorts that showed off long, silky-smooth legs I could picture wrapped around me as I drove into her. Or the tank top she paired it with that molded to her cleavage in a way that had me imagining everything underneath.

She hadn’t bothered changing out of the damn things as she made us breakfast. Hadn’t put on a robe either. So, I was glaring at my coffee while I cursed myself.

I was so lost in my glowering thoughts that I didn’t hear Maddie emerge from the bathroom. Hadn’t even heard her approach until she pinched my side. “Hey, grumpy Gus. What’s the deal with you this morning? Did you not sleep well?”

My gaze flew from my coffee cup to Maddie, but I should’ve kept my eyes where they were. Hell. She looked so damn beautiful that I couldn’t find a single word. She had that inky-black hair curled in loose waves again, but she’d also woven a thin braid across her crown that held the hair back from her face. It meant nothing hid those haunting blue eyes I could get lost in forever.

But the dress. That would be the death of me. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a simple sundress she’d paired with ankle boots, but it skimmed her body in a way that had me swallowing my tongue.

Maddie’s brow furrowed. “Okay, now you’re freaking me out. What happened?”

I gave my head a shake. “Nothing. I’m fine. Really. Just didn’t sleep great.”

Maddie worried the corner of her lip. “You can go back to your house if you’re not sleeping well here.”

The slight hesitation before she spoke told me everything I needed to know. She wanted me here. Slept better when I was. It made me want to beat my chest like a damned gorilla.

I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against my side. “Not going anywhere. I just had coffee too late in the day yesterday.” If bycoffee,I meant the hit to my system that lying next to Maddie, her body curved into mine, gave me.

She grinned up at me. “Do I need to institute a coffee cutoff time?”

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