Free Wilde Blue (Wilde Brothers Book 4) by Susan Hayes Page A

back of her hand, making her heart beat faster with every caress. “It would be my honor to watch over you and Casey.”
    “Well, you’re a police officer. This is what you do for a living, isn’t it?”
    “Not like this. This has nothing to do with my duty to serve and protect. I don’t want to see you hurt, Dani.”
    She ducked her head and whispered, “I’m glad to hear that. I don’t want to be anyone’s duty.”
    She heard his chair scrape against the floor. Then he was crouched beside her, his hand still holding hers.
    “Look at me,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument.
    She lifted her head and met his gaze, fascinated by the way the green and golden brown colors of his eyes shifted according to his mood. At the moment, they were deep green shot through with brown, reminding her of the forests back home. “I like your eyes,” she said, nerves making her babble again.
    “I like yours, too, but that’s not what I want to tell you. You deserve to feel safe, to know that you can have a normal life. Tag is helping you with that, and now I will be, too. That isn’t going to change no matter what goes on between us. I’m not doing this because I’m trying to seduce you, and I’m not doing this out of some sense of duty. I’m doing it because I want to help.”
    He paused and leaned in closer so that there was barely an inch between his mouth and hers. “And so we’re clear, I am definitely hoping there’s a seduction in our future. Yours, mine, I’m not fussy on the details so long as I get to kiss you again. It just doesn’t have anything to do with keeping you safe.”
    As far as she was concerned, it was the most romantic thing any man had ever said to her. Words failed her, so Dani found another way to show him how much his words meant. She leaned in and kissed him.
    He groaned deep in his throat, a rumble of male desire that made her pussy ache and her nipples go instantly hard. She wanted him with an intensity that shocked her, and part of her wished that they had the night to themselves. No interruptions, no responsibilities, no reason to stop until she’d gotten to experience at least some of her fantasies about the man kissing her.
    Not a good idea, but still a tempting one.
    Before she could consider further insanity the distinctive rumble of Brian’s beloved muscle car, Rosa, could be heard outside. Their time was up.
    “Is it seven thirty already?” Dave muttered as he pressed one last kiss to her cheek before standing up and glancing toward the front door. “For once, couldn’t he be late?”
    She laughed at the irritated frown on David’s face, reaching up to smooth his furrowed brow with a gentle touch of her fingers. “Next time we’ll have to keep a better eye on the time.”
    “Next time, huh?” His frown melted away instantly.
    “Yes, next time. There is going to be a next time, isn’t there? Or was one more kiss all you were after?”
    His eyes filled with heat and his voice dropped to a barely discernible whisper. “Believe me, sunshine, I plan on having more than just another kiss from you. A hell of a lot more.”
    A heavy car door slammed outside, breaking the spell between them. He gave her a wink before nodding toward the front door. “Munchkin incoming.”
    He stayed right where he was, unconcerned about anyone discovering he was in her home. It was only dinner, after all, but she still felt her cheeks warming as she went to open the door. For some reason, she felt guilty, like a teenager caught kissing on the sofa.
    The feeling lasted until she opened the door and caught her daughter as she launched herself into the air.
    “Hi, Mom! We had so much fun tonight. We made cookies!”
    “Hi, bug. How many did you make? No, wait, better question. How many did you eat? Did you leave any for anyone else?”
    “She only had two, and she brought home two for you, too,” Meg informed her as she and Brian arrived a few seconds later.
    “What, none for me?”