Page 90 of Keeping Guard
There was nothing for him in Asheville other than a princess who might or might not want him to stay. She’d never given any indication that she did, and he wouldn’t put her in a difficult position by asking. Funny thing, though. He couldn’t imagine ever kissing another woman.
“It was nice of Deke to let me wait until the morning to sign my statement,” Peyton said when they arrived home.
Noah inwardly snorted. There was nothing nice about it. He’d pulled Deke aside and told him flat out that Peyton was done for the day. She, along with him and Jack, had given their statements to Deke and the police officer, which Deke had recorded. What Noah wasn’t willing to do was make her go to the police station today and wait for her statement to be typed up so she could sign it.
Deke hadn’t been happy, but he hadn’t pushed the issue. Deke also hadn’t been happy that he and Jack hadn’t called him as soon as they knew Dalton had taken Peyton.
“And have SWAT show up and escalate the situation?” Noah had said. “Would you have called the police if Heather had been taken and you had someone like Jack and me available to help you rescue her?” When Deke didn’t answer, Noah nodded. “Thought so. Besides, Peyton saved herself without my and Jack’s assistance. So no harm, no foul.”
Deke’s gaze shifted to Peyton. “She told me that Dalton admitted to killing his wife.”
“Seriously?” He was glad he hadn’t known that while the bastard had Peyton. He wasn’t sure he could have kept a clear head with that knowledge.
“Believe me, we’ll be taking a hard look at that. What she managed to do today was pretty amazing.”
It was, and now he had her home where he could take care of her. At the moment, she was still on an adrenaline high, but at some point tonight, she was going to crash. He’d be here to catch her.
He filled her tub, added bath salts he’d found, and stripped her of her clothes while listening to her recount her day for the second time. He didn’t think she even noticed he was undressing her.
“Seriously, did he really think I’d just go along with his plan like a good little girl?” She put her hand on his shoulder and stepped out of her panties when he lowered them to her feet. “At first, I thought my only hope was for you to find me. But I was pissed. Is it okay if I say pissed? Dalton wasn’t okay with it.”
Why hadn’t he killed the bastard when he’d had the chance? He stood, cupped her cheeks, and lifted her face so she was looking at him. “Princess, anything you say, any word you use is okay with me.” She smiled that smile that did weird things to his heart.
“Cool beans.”
He laughed. “Yeah, cool beans. Get in the tub. I’m going out to get us dinner, but I won’t be gone long. Anything special you want?”
“You.”
This girl.“You’ll have me all you want tonight.” He tapped her butt. “In the tub with you.”
“Where’s Lucky? I want Lucky.”
“He’s at Jack’s. We’ll go get him in the morning. In with you.”
“I don’t want to be alone. Take a bath with me.”
The offer was too tempting to refuse. Dinner could wait. “Scoot up,” he said after removing his clothes. He eased in behind her, his legs on the outside of hers. Fortunately, her tub was an oversize Jacuzzi, easily accommodating both their bodies. He turned the jets on low, then leaned back and pulled her against his chest.
“How are you doing?” She’d been unusually quiet on the trip home, and he’d missed her chatter.
“Okay. I just want to forget today happened.”
He rested his chin on the top of her head. “I get that.” He’d felt the same way after his screwup. “You’ll have to talk more about it tomorrow when you sign your statement, but for tonight, just relax and don’t think about anything but how nice this feels.” He picked up a washcloth and poured some of her bodywash on it.
“Will you sing to me?”
“Ah...” No, he didn’t sing anymore.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”
He trailed the cloth down one of her arms, and then the other. She purred when he moved to her breasts, then lower. What would never singing again accomplish? It wouldn’t bring Asim or Snoop back. It wouldn’t change anything, but it would make her happy. He liked making her happy, so he sang.
And as he softly sang “Pretty Woman,” Dr. Meadows’s words came back to him.
“You have to forgive yourself. No one else can do it for you.”
Maybe he could figure out how to do that.
