A knowing warmth softened his expression. “You see the problem.”
Goddess bless, I walked right into that one.
“Cultural practices,” I grumbled, unhappy in the extreme that no one had told me. “How does it work?”
“They don’t interfere on cases, if that’s what concerns you. They challenge me on my own time.”
“Yes, Asa, that’s exactly what concerns me.” I rolled my eyes. “Not that you might die, or that you sound fine with it, but that it might impede an ongoing investigation. What else would I care about?”
Springing to my feet, I was done sharing space with him and all these feelings.
Hearts were good for one thing.
Dinner.
I should have remembered that.
“Rue.”
Ignoring him, I yanked on the doorknob until it yielded to my temper, but Asa reached over my head and slammed it shut before I could escape into the hall. His warm front pressed against my back, and his chin came to rest on my shoulder, his breath hot on my skin as he nuzzled under my ear.
Purring, he brushed his lips over the column of my throat. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
The casual defeat in his acceptance of his fate reminded me too much of how I always pictured my end. I had known my own legend within the Bureau only made other black witches salivate in my proximity. All of them viewed me in much the way as I had seen them: as a treat I might one day pop into my mouth.
“Why bother with the bracelet if you’ve already given up?” Forehead pressed against the cool wood, I called myself ten kinds of fool for not forcing him to let go.
“I didn’t have a reason to fight.” He took my earlobe between his teeth. “I didn’t have a reason to care.”
Voice as tight as my lower stomach, I asked, “Has that changed?”
Oh, yeah.
I should have sunk an elbow in his gut and bolted before he gave an answer I couldn’t escape.
“What do you think?” He leaned in slowly, pressing my hips flush against the door, letting me feel every inch of him. Every hard inch of him. And there were a lot of them. “Do you think I would give up on this? On you?”
“I should have my head examined.” I shivered as his fingers traced the bracelet. “You’re a lot to handle.”
“You can handle me any time you want,” he breathed against my jaw. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I don’t.” He tugged the bracelet to make his point. “I won’t.”
About to combust, I yelped and sprang backward when a single hard knock landed on the opposite side of the door, right between my eyes.
I hit Asa just right, and he fell. His arms came around me, hauling me down with him. I landed on his lap with a grunt, unable to hold in a manic laugh when he hissed between his teeth as I squashed his, um, mood, flat.
The thud brought Clay into the room, fists clenched, ready for battle. That made me laugh even harder.
“I have regrets,” Clay said, after assessing the situation. “So many regrets.”
I attempted to roll off Asa, but he held firm, using me to hide the hardness poking me in the butt.
“You two look like turtles who got stuck on their backs.” Clay offered me a hand. “Don’t let the kid see.”
“Thaaanks.” I smothered another laugh at Asa’s expense. “Can you maybe distract her for a minute?”