Good Girls Don't (Donovan Brothers Brewery 1)

Tessa kissed his shoulder. He closed his eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked. He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about Eve. She had no place here.

“Where were you shot?”

“In my back, across my shoulder blade. It was minor.”

“Another arrest?”

“Yeah. It was my first week on the job.”

“You’re kidding.”

He felt a smile tug at his lips. Thank God he could laugh about it now. “I’m not kidding. I wasn’t even supposed to be in danger. I was in the hallway of an apartment during a big bust. One of the dealers fired his gun and the bullet came right through the wall and grazed me. You can’t imagine the kind of shit I took for that. My nickname for a while was Magnet.”

Tessa’s head popped up. “Magnet?”

“Bullet Magnet. They joked that I wasn’t safe to stand near. It was no big deal, but I was a rookie, so it took a while to wear off. Hurt my pride.”

“Oh,” she said. He cracked an eye open to find her frowning down at him.

“Really, it wasn’t that bad. After a while.”

She smiled and laid back down. “Poor baby,” she crooned, and Luke chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head.

“I had to work hard to prove I wasn’t a bad luck charm.”

“Well, you make me feel safe,” Tessa said softly.

“Safe from what?”

“I don’t know. Safe from myself.”

He drew his chin in to try to look down at her, but she shook her head.

“I feel like I don’t have to think with you.”

“I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

She smiled against his skin. “It is. I’m glad I came over.”

He squeezed her closer. Her mouth brushed a kiss to his shoulder. He was sinking again. Tingling with relaxation. “Me, too,” he whispered, then as an afterthought, “Maybe we should do it in the bed sometime.” She was still chuckling when Luke closed his eyes and slept, the sound of her laughter nothing more than a soothing dream.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

TESSA SMILED AS LUKE kissed her again. The big cottonwood in her backyard shaded them from the dim morning light. She didn’t want to get out of his car. Didn’t want to go into her empty house. They’d finally managed to have sex in the bed that morning, and she would’ve spent all day there if she could, curled against him, lying under him.

But there was work. And family. She groaned and reached for the handle of her door.

“I’ll call you later,” he said.

“Be careful today, all right? No shootings or stabbings or anything.”

“I’ll do my best.”

She started to get out, but he touched her arm.

“Come by tonight? I’ll make you dinner.”