“Which room do you want me in?” Ariel was standing at the top of the stairs, looking every bit as nervous as I felt.

“Mine.”

“Kayson.”

“Don’t go there. I have fewer than four hours until I have to be back on shift. We can talk about this tomorrow. Tonight, just let me hold you.”

She had packed only enough for the night, but I refused to let her go back to her apartment. Something in my gut told me that Brandon was involved, but until we figured out exactly what was going on, I needed to know that she was safe. I needed her near me.

“Where do those go?” she asked about the two doors, one on either side of the king size bed.

“His and her closets.”

“Oh.”

To the right was my en suite bathroom. But she didn’t go there. Instead, she headed straight back to the other side of the bed to the French doors.

“Can I?” she asked.

I hit a switch next to the doors and turned on the lights for the balcony. It was the middle of the night, but the view of the lake was still breathtaking. At night, Florida’s orchestra played. The buzzing of cicadas and the deep, throaty croaks of what most people thought were bullfrogs when in reality they were alligators. New Yorkers liked their street noise; this was mine. It could be just as loud at times, but peaceful in a weird sort of way.

“What does this overlook?”

I slid a small bar on a light switch panel to bring on several floodlights and my backyard lit up like noon on a sunny summer day.

“Ahhhh. Gorgeous.” Ariel’s voice had an awestruck sound.

“Yes, she is,” I agreed.

She touched her cheeks to mask the slight blush, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was beautiful and having her next to me seemed right. Four years ago when my parents gave me the property, Pop sat me down for a talk that I’ve never forgotten. He told me that this would be the house that I’d bring my wife home to and raise my kids in. Before I brought a woman home, whether it be a one-night stand or a girlfriend, I needed to remember this house would be filled with memories that my wife and me would keep for the rest of our lives. He’d warned me not to taint it or give her a reason to wonder if someone else had slept in her bedroom.

“Is this part of the Butler Chain of Lakes?”

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, interrupted in thought.

“I asked if this was part of the Butler Chain of Lakes?”

“Yeah.” I gripped her shoulders and rested my face next to hers. Pointing out so that she could follow the line of my finger. “That’s my parents’ house. And that’s Damon’s, Tristan’s, and Ian’s,” I said as I bobbed my finger from house to house.

“All five of you are on this lake?”

“It’s more of a canal, but yes. Just the five of us, which is why my address is Pente Loop.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Pente is Greek for five.” I turned off the outside lights. “Let’s go to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

She followed me inside, and I shut and locked the door as she grabbed her bag. She pulled out her toothbrush and something red. My mind went a million miles a minute as I thought about her in red as she headed off to the bathroom, and I decided I really liked the color on her.

“Care if I change in there?”

“Makes no difference.” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

My bathroom was an open floor plan. Except for the toilet, everything was open. There weren’t doors to separate the bathroom and bedroom, just an archway. I wondered if she’d sit at the vanity, which Mana had insisted I have because all women needed a vanity.

The sound of rushing water turned on, off, on, and back off. She must have been brushing her teeth. I changed into pajama bottoms instead of my usual boxers. I was trying something different with Ariel. She wasn’t a one-night stand. She wasn’t in a position to feel that connection that I had three months ago. I needed to take this slow. I wanted her to fall in love with me.

I pulled back the covers and fluffed the pillows to give her more alone time. When I figured that enough time had passed, I asked, “Can I come in?”

“Sure, I can come out or move to another bathroom if you want me to.”

She started to move toward the archway, but I was faster. She was in a long red silky nightgown. It dipped down in front, showing off her cleavage. Looking over her shoulder, I saw the back, or more specifically, what little there was of a back. Two little straps crossed from the top to the low-dipping back just above her firm gorgeous ass. I’d always considered Ariel a red head, but in the vivid red nightgown, her hair looked more like a chocolate cherry.

“Something wrong?” she asked as I continued to stare at her.

“Nope.”

I wrapped her hand in mine and pulled her with me as I moved to the sink so I could brush my own teeth.

“Which side?” she asked once we were back in the bedroom.

“Doesn’t matter.” As if I would let her stay on a side, I intended to pull her into me as soon we were in bed. She’d had a scary night. I lost ten years after I saw her text and couldn’t reach her. I’d hit over one hundred miles per hour in my truck, while I called Carter. There was no fucking way we were staying on sides. But she saw my phone on the nightstand and crawled in on the other side. I slid in and didn’t hesitate to move my right arm under the arch of her neck before bending it up around her chest. My left arm wrapped around her waist. With a soft tug, I nestled her against me. Nothing had ever felt so right in my entire life.

“I’ve never spooned,” she whispered.

“Shhh. Sleep.”

“Kayson?”

“What?”

“Thank you.” Her words were soft, but my heartbeat was loud. I could hear it echoing in the still of the room. I lay there not sleeping. Instead, I took in everything going on in my life and where I wanted it to go. I wasn’t sure when I drifted off, but the last things I remembered was of her hand resting on top of my fingers as they caressed her stomach. Her breathing slowed, and the fucking cutest whistle came out with each exhale.

* * *

Four a.m. came too soon. I’d gotten all of two hours of sleep. But I’d wanted to check in on her apartment before shift and grab more of her clothes so she didn’t have to return. Stacking several boxes into the back of my truck, I headed the few miles to her apartment.

I wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted, so I decided to grab as much as I could. I second-guessed myself several times when I realized that all of her clothes, including her shoes, would fit into the boxes. So, instead of trying to figure out what to leave, I packed it all for her. Before leaving, I reached into her nightstand drawer and grabbed the leopard print toy that she apparently enjoyed. She wouldn’t need it with me around, but it might be a fun addition.

When I got back to my place, I left the boxes in the truck for later and headed inside to scribble out a note to Ariel and leave it on the kitchen counter. I grabbed my bike keys and pressed the Bluetooth on my helmet that connected my radio.

Straddling my sheriff’s bike, I called into dispatch as I pulled out of my driveway, “Thirteen-twelve, ten-eight.”

“Orange County copies. 05:58 hours.” Dispatch confirmed that I was logged in and on duty.