I winced, but Blake’s mouth twitched.

“I always knew she was worth more, Ms. Lyons. I just wasn’t sure I could give it to her.”

She lifted a brow. “And now you are?”

“Now I am.”

She eyed him in silence for a few moments. “You should both come for dinner on Sunday. It’ll be nice to talk more with you, Blake.”

Mouth curving, he said, “I’ll be there.” He tugged me down the path and, to my surprise, easily slid into the passenger seat of my car.

Climbing inside, I clicked on my seat belt and said, “You handled her well.”

“I only said the truth.”

I gave her one last wave before pulling onto the road. “I’m surprised you didn’t insist on driving.”

He linked his fingers behind his head. “If I have to watch the road, I can’t watch you.”

And he did watch me. The heat of his gaze made my blood thicken, and I was incredibly aware of him sat so close. Close enough to touch and taste and—

I saw red and blue flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. Taking one look at the driver, I groaned. “Oh, here we go.”

Blake tensed. “What?”

“It’s just Joshua Buchanan,” I said as I brought the car to a stop. “He likes to pull me over, just to be a dick. Does the same thing every time—asks to see my license and registration, and peppers me with questions. Although he did go off-script last time. He asked me to take a Breathalyzer test to be sure I wasn’t drunk. He never charges me with anything. Just does it to fuck with me for his own amusement.”

“Does he now?”

The silky menace in Blake’s words had my head whipping to the side to look at him. But there was no anger in his expression. In fact, there was nothing at all there. Just a blank mask.

I almost jumped at the tap of a finger on my window. As I lowered it, Joshua grinned and said, “Well, Miss Lyons.”

Biting back the soul-deep urge to tell him to come back when his balls dropped, I said, “Office Buchanan. Lovely night, isn’t it?”

“It is. And it seems you have someone with—” Joshua cut off as he peered inside the car. “Blake?” He said the name with a familiarity that told me he knew Blake. Really, really knew him. Joshua licked his lips, losing some of his bluster. “I didn’t realize you knew Miss Lyons.”

“I’m surprised Libby didn’t tell you,” said Blake. “There something we can do for you?” Again, there was a hint of menace in his tone.

Joshua’s mouth tightened, and I could almost see him wrestling with his pride. When he lifted his chin, I knew that pride had won. “I just need to ask Miss Lyons some standard questions.”

“That was the wrong answer.” Blake opened the passenger door. “Stay inside, Kensey.”

Eyes wide, I reached for him. “Blake—” But he was already out of the car. Shit.

Joshua backed away from my window and turned to face Blake as he rounded the car. “Look, I have a job to do—”

“What you have is a problem with Kensey.” Blake stepped into his personal space. “Which means you now also have a problem with me.”

Reading the situation accurately, Joshua gaped. “You’re with her? Do you even know who she is? God, Blake, her father is a goddamn serial killer.”

“Maxwell went on a killing rampage? When did this happen?”

Cheeks reddening with rage, Joshua clenched his fists. “She’s not Maxwell’s daughter. She’s nothing to do with my family.”

“So why in hell can’t you and your ex leave her the fuck alone?”

Joshua’s mouth snapped shut.

“You have the same problem that the rest of your family has—you think you’re fucking special. To me, you’re nothing. No one. Kensey, however, is someone to me. She’s mine. And if you think you can pull stunts like this, you can think a-fucking-gain. You have ten seconds—no more, no less—to get out of my goddamn sight. If you don’t, I’ll put you through a world of pain so you don’t ever make the mistake of repeating this shit. And believe me, Buchanan, you don’t want that.” Then he whispered something. Something too low for me to catch.

Swallowing, Joshua looked from Blake to me … and then he stormed to his patrol car and was gone in a screech of tires. As I watched him drive off, I wondered what the hell had just happened.

Blake returned to the car, eyes hard as ice. “You okay?”

“What in the ever-loving fuck was that?”

His brows drew together. “What?”

“You just threatened a cop. A whiny-ass bully of a cop who takes great joy in abusing his position of power. But he didn’t arrest you. Didn’t even give you a warning. Why?”

“He knows better.”

What did that even mean? I just stared at Blake, hoping he’d elaborate. He didn’t.

His hand rubbed my knee. “Drive, baby.”

“How does he know you?”

“Lots of people know me.”

I ground my teeth. “Why is he so afraid of you?”

Blake sifted his fingers through my hair. “As you said, he’s a bully. Bullies are cowards at heart. They know from experience when they’re dealing with someone they don’t have a hope of taking on. You think if he arrested me I’d ever get charged with anything?”

Considering he could afford shit-hot lawyers, probably not, but … “It’s more than that. You have something on Joshua, don’t you?”

He squeezed my thigh. “You know there are things I can’t tell you.” The gentle reminder held an edge that told me to drop it.

“Won’t tell me,” I corrected. “You haven’t known me long enough to trust me with any secrets—I get that. I would never expect you to share things with someone you don’t fully trust. But I can’t say it doesn’t hurt that you keep secrets when I’m an open book to you.”

“I would never describe you as an open book. You’re very good at hiding what you’re thinking and feeling. You continuously surprise me to the point that I’ve given up trying to understand how your mind works. But your body … that I can read very well. Read and manipulate and control.” The hand on my thigh slid all the way up to my pussy. “Fuck, I wish you had a skirt on right now instead of these jeans. I’d be able to finger-fuck you all the way home.”

“Now you’re trying to distract me.”

Leaning toward me, he brushed his mouth over mine. “I told you, I’ll lay everything out for you one day.”

“How far in the future are we talking?”

He pursed his lips. “I don’t know.”

Well, at least he wasn’t trying to appease me with platitudes and excuses. I faced forward, wondering if he’d ever be ready to tell me, and said, “Let’s just go.”

He curled his hand around my chin, turned my face back to his, and kissed me. Hard. Deep. Demanding the response he wanted. At first, I was just too pissed to give it to him. But his tongue and teeth melted all the resistance and tension out of me, and soon I was kissing him back just as hard.

“There she is,” he said. “My good girl.” He bit my bottom lip and then laved it with his tongue. “I know nothing about me is easy, Kensey. I can’t change who I am. But I really do think you’d be bored with easy.”