There was something about watching Sasha make grilled cheese at midnight in my kitchen that did crazy things to me. She was getting under my skin at a fast fucking rate, and I no longer had any control. After taking her to the lookout and being given the best kiss of my life, we’d climbed back into my car and headed here. I had been ready for a fight, and was even ready to tell her I’d stay at her place, but she didn’t object, she didn’t fight it—fuck, she even encouraged it.

After I brought her inside, I made her sit on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on her cheek. She complained about it being too cold, but once she started getting some relief she ceased complaining. There was no doubt it was going to bruise and mark her beautiful face. It pissed me off that it even happened in the first place. While she sat on the couch, I watched her closely. My mind kept going over what could have happened if she hadn’t been able to get back inside. The fact O’Leary got near her again caused my blood to boil. But I couldn’t let the thought of him tarnish having her here now. She was my priority.

“You should try my pizza toasties one day.” Her voice floated from the kitchen and into the living room where I was sitting. “They will rock your world.”

I looked up from my phone and into the kitchen, and asked, “Toasties?”

“One of my customers was from Australia, and that’s what she called them. It’s basically grilled cheese but with awesome fillings. My personal favorite is ham, mushrooms, pizza sauce and a ridiculous amount of cheese.”

I stood from the couch, and walked toward her. “You want to make me one, I’ll eat it.”

“You’ve got it.” She smiled, before taking a sip of her Coke. “This is hands down the weirdest night ever. I did not expect to be ending the night at your place.”

I smiled, and her eyes zoned in on my mouth. Her tongue darted out and touched her lips, and I felt it in my cock. “You’ve got to stop looking at my lips, Sweetheart, otherwise we won’t be eating Grilled Cheese anytime soon.”

“Well, we can’t have that happen. My Grilled Cheese is pretty damn good.”

“I’m sure your Grilled Cheese is great, but I’m sure what I’m imagining is fucking phenomenal.”

She rested her hip against the cupboard and eyes shimmered with mischief. “You’re pretty awesome at this whole distraction thing. Because I haven’t thought once of what happened tonight, and now I’m considering ditching the Grilled Cheese and getting you to show me what you think will be phenomenal.”

I stepped toward her and caged her in against the counter. “Are you flirting with me, Miss Hamilton?”

She offered me a sexy smile and looked up at me. “Maybe a little, Detective Hunt.”

Fuck, she was going to kill me. I wanted nothing more than to forget eating, and instead feast on her, but there were things that needed to be talked about first. I wasn’t going to let my needs make me forget what was right, and what had to be done. Even if being near her was the best kind of torture I’d experienced.

“You need to feed me.” I said softly, leaning in and lightly kissing the side of her mouth. She swayed toward me, and sighed under my touch. I felt that sigh through my whole body. “Fuck, you’re killing me.”

“I’m innocent.” She declared, putting her hands up. “Okay, let’s eat.”

I refreshed our drinks, led her into the living room, and took a seat beside her on the couch. Silence fell between us as we both ate. Although neither of us spoke a word, there were questions simmering just below the surface, just waiting to be asked.

I was first to finish, and if we didn’t need to talk I would have asked for another grilled cheese. It was that fucking good. I placed my plate on the table and then rested back against the cushion, and waited for her to finish. She glanced at my empty plate, and then back at me as she nibbled on her grilled cheese. I looked at her over the top of my beer. She was the first to break, and I smirked into my bottle.

As soon as she finished, I grabbed her plate, placed it on top of mine, sat back on the couch, and twisted toward her. I didn’t want to bring O’Leary up because I didn’t want him infiltrating my time with Sasha, and I certainly didn’t want him discussed in my house, but it had to be done.

My jaw clenched. “How well do you know Edward O’Leary?”

“He grew up in the house next door and was best friends with my brother, Drew. Every day he was over at our house, and because our parents were best friends, it was just normal for him to be there. When I got a little older, he decided he had a crush on me and he was relentless. I wanted nothing to do with him, and I never led him on, but he just never got the point.”

“And he was who you went out to dinner with the night Sass got broken into?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t a date. I don’t date. Like, at all. But I thought maybe if I went to dinner with him, I could make him realize nothing will ever happen between us. You know, like have an adult conversation. But it clearly backfired on me, and he ended up kissing me and somehow getting it in his head that we had sex.”

“Does Drew have much to do with him?”

She shook her head. “Not that I know of.”

Fuck. “When we picked up O’Leary, Drew was having lunch with him at Missy’s.”

“What?” she gasped, her eyes shooting wide. “I didn’t know they still spoke. After we lost Dad, Drew pulled away from a lot of people, including Edward. I have no clue why they’d be at Missy’s.”

What the fuck was going on?

“I need to ask you something.”

I looked over at her and waited for her question.

“What did you mean when you said you’ve wanted to kiss me since you were nineteen?”

She gave me her gorgeous green eyes, and within them swam intrigue and confusion. I hadn’t meant to say a fucking thing about knowing her since I was nineteen, but kissing her, tasting her, and having her whimper against my lips made me lose all control and next thing I knew I was admitting things that I should have kept to myself.

“The first time I saw you, I was nineteen,” I confessed, then I watched as her eyes shot wide and she sucked in an unsteady breath. “You and Missy were at Hamilton’s, dancing in the middle of the day, with a bunch of families around for Sunday lunch, and you looked like you didn’t have a care in the world. You were laughing, smiling huge, and wearing the smallest shorts I’d ever fucking seen. I was nineteen years old and being overrun by hormones, so I couldn’t take my eyes off you. That vision of you dancing, shaking your little ass, and laughing burned itself deep into my memories.”

She edged closer to me on the couch, stealing the distance between us.

“Three months later,” I said, my voice dropping deep, and my need to protect her from what I was about to say increased, “your mom left.”

Her breathing hitched. “Ben—”

“When I was twenty-one I started working at the PD, and over the years I’ve spent a lot of time away from Monroe, and working undercover around the country. But when I came home, I saw you around. I’d go to Hamilton’s because the beer was cold, the chicken wings were fuckin’ divine, and it was where I’d seen the pretty blonde so many years beforehand. I’d sit in the back, nursing my beer with the hope of getting a glimpse of the girl who took my breath away with one look. I’ve seen you there, but I’ve never been gifted the pleasure of seeing that smile or hearing that laugh again. The girl who took my breath away looked like she was barely breathing.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“After the bullshit O’Leary pulled tonight, and seeing you dancing again at Hamilton’s with your girl, I’m making it my priority to get you smiling again like you did back then, and I sure as fuck want to hear that laugh again.”

Her eyes flashed with disbelief. “You really saw me at Hamilton’s?”

“Yeah.”

“And I took your breath away?”

“You still do.”

Her face went soft, and whether she realized or not, she moved closer to me on the couch. “And now you’re making it a priority to get me smiling and laughing again.”

“I’m making you my priority. And sweetheart, seeing you smile and laugh again like you did before your mom left will be an added bonus.”