I shook my head, smiling. “I’m sweet enough.”

“Of course you are, I should have guessed.” She heaped two spoonfuls in hers.

“And you obviously need more sweetening to take off that hard, defensive edge,” I noted.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, flirt, let’s go sit down.” She headed into the lounge and plopped herself onto the two-seater sofa. I could have sat on one of the chairs, but I decided just to go for it, so I sat on the opposite end of the sofa to her, making her shift slightly and turn towards me a little more, tucking her legs up under her body. “So, did you make it to work on time the other day? You obviously got the train okay,” she asked, sipping her coffee, watching me.

“Yeah, but I had a pretty bad day that day so I kind of wish I’d missed the train,” I admitted.

Her head cocked to the side curiously. “Yeah? What happened?”

“I killed someone,” I answered, waiting for her reaction.

She gasped and set her mug down onto the side unit, looking at me intently. “Really? How?”

“It’s a long story that I don’t want to bore you with.” I shrugged.

She shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Sorry, you probably don’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t have asked; you just looked a little stressed about it…” she trailed off, wincing apologetically. I could see the worry on her face and it actually made her look adorable. I’d never really had anyone that wanted to listen to me talk about my day before.

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it,” I assured her. “It’s just that I don’t want you to think I’m a bad person because of my job,” I explained, watching for her reaction.

She frowned and shook her head. “Nate, I won’t think you’re a bad person. Someone has to do that job, and you just so happen to be the guy with the stomach, the guts, and the determination to be able to see and do horrific things every day. I’d never look at that as a bad thing. People like you keep the streets safer. How could anyone possibly think that a bad thing?” she asked, her eyes not leaving mine.

I smiled gratefully. This girl was incredible, unlike any other girl I’d met before.

“It’s not a bad thing, but sometimes it just feels like one.”

“Because you had to kill someone?”

“Yeah. I needed to do it otherwise he would have killed one of my team, but that doesn’t stop me thinking about it after. It’s hard because the guy was a drug dealer and all round bad dude, but I was the one to kill him, and part of me still feels bad about it. That’s the worst part of my job.” I frowned down at my cup.

Her hand moved across the sofa slowly and took mine. My heart sped at the casual touch. This was actually the first time she’d willingly touched me, and it made me feel a little strange inside.

“Nate, not everyone can do a job like yours; most people just aren’t strong enough. I don’t know what to say to make you feel better about it, and maybe there’s nothing I can say, but you did the right thing. You might not like that part of your job, and you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel guilty, but don’t ever lose sight of the fact that you’re one of the good guys. You took a life, but you saved at least one life because of it. Who knows how many other people that guy might have killed in his lifetime, even just by accident because of the drugs he sold. Don’t ever forget that your job is important. It makes people like me feel safer to know that there are people like you out there in the world,” she said fiercely.

My mood and guilt lifted instantly at her words. That was the most perfect thing she could have said.

“Thanks, Rose.”

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she looked at me, and I desperately wanted to lean in and kiss her, just to see what she’d do. Would she push me off and scream at me to get out, or would she kiss me back now that she’d started to get to know me? She was just looking at me, as I was at her. Neither of us spoke, and I didn’t want to be the one to break the silence. I could almost feel the little sparks of electricity in the air. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up on end, and my whole body was trying to force me to reach out and touch her.

It seemed like an age that we sat there in silence, but in reality was probably only a few seconds. She cleared her throat nervously and looked away from me. “It’s getting late, you should probably go. Thanks for the ride home. I had a really nice time tonight,” she said quietly, pushing herself up off the sofa.

I nodded, getting to my feet and not even mentioning the fact that I hadn’t even had time to drink my coffee before she was asking me to leave. I had a feeling that the little silence after that heavy discussion had made her feel a little uncomfortable, so I didn’t want to make it worse.

“So, how are you celebrating your first day on the job tomorrow? Going out with someone?” I asked, mentally crossing my fingers that she’d say no. This was the last time I was asking her out. I couldn’t keep being rejected by this girl.

She shook her head. “Nope. I don’t know that many people. Anna’s got Cameron, so I can’t ask her, and my sister’s busy, so…” she trailed off, shrugging.

My spirits lifted instantly. “Great. I’ll pick you up at around seven thirty.”

She looked at me, shocked, and then a sarcastic smile spread across her face, as if she thought it was some kind of joke. “Okay, player, I’ll see you then,” she replied.

“Yeah? Sweet.”

Her smile faltered as a frown lined her forehead. Before she had a chance to take back her acceptance, I strutted to the door. “Wait, Nate, that was a joke, right?” she called to my back as I reached for the door handle.

“No way, muffin, you’ve agreed now. I’ll be here at seven thirty on the dot,” I answered, grinning over my shoulder.

“Nate, I can’t.” Her mouth carried on moving after she spoke, but nothing else came out.

“Sure you can. You said you have no one to go out with tomorrow. You need to celebrate your first day at work. Your man’s still in Barstow; you’ll be eating alone. I’ll be eating alone too, so it makes sense for us to go out. Just as friends if you want to.” I shrugged, giving her my puppy dog face, girls literally went crazy for it, so I didn’t pull it out very often, but then again, I wasn’t used to not getting my own way.

She sighed, looking a little pained before she finally nodded in agreement. “Okay, yeah, sure. I can’t let you eat on your own, can I? But just as friends though. This isn’t a date.”

I bit back a growl of victory. I actually wanted to fist-pump the air chanting she-said-yes over and over, but I resisted the urge. She said it wasn’t a date, but hopefully by the end of the night tomorrow, I’d be able to convince her that it was a date, and not just a friendly dinner.

“See now, that wasn’t so hard, and I didn’t even have to embarrass you for you to agree. We really are on the up and up,” I teased, winking at her and pulling open the door, wanting to run away as quickly as I could before she could change her mind.

She laughed and leant against the doorframe, pressing her forehead against it, closing her eyes. “Hmm, well I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Try not to dream about me too much tonight, huh? I don’t want you having hot, inappropriate dream flashbacks while you’re teaching tomorrow.” I smirked at her as she laughed and shook her head.

“I’ll try, but it’s gonna be hard,” she answered sarcastically.

“Oh, it’s always hard, but maybe that’s just around you.”

She groaned. “Just leave, slut, before I change my mind. You really are talking yourself into reheated lasagne for one tomorrow.”

I practically skipped back to my car. For the first time since I met her, I felt like I could properly relax. I didn’t realise how on edge I’d been all week. I actually couldn’t wait for tomorrow night; she’d finally conceded, well, slightly conceded because she insisted it was a friendly thing. I had all night to work on her tomorrow; at least there was a slight chance I’d be getting some tomorrow night. Once I’d had her, my life would fall back into place, and I’d be able to go about everything as business as usual. I sighed confidently and drove home with a smile on my face.

Chapter Six

Throughout the following day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It annoyed the hell out of me that she was so hot and unavailable. I’d always wanted what I couldn’t have.

My mind flicked to Rosie again, and a strange excitement resided in the base of my stomach. I knew tonight was just a friendly dinner, of course, but I was seriously hoping to sweep her off her feet and make her change her mind by the end of the night.

My preparations were already made. A table had been booked at a fairly nice and romantic restaurant, the flowers and chocolates had been bought – I was all set. All I needed before I went was to get my game back, and then I’d be able to charm her straight into bed.

A punch to my shoulder made me wince, and I looked up at Russell, frowning. I’d been off in my own little world thinking about her again, and forgotten I was in the middle of a training, sparring session with one of my teammates. Shaking my head to clear it, I brought my hands up to protect my face again. A black eye wouldn’t help my chances of bedding Rosie.

As his gloved fist came at me again, I jumped back and scowled at him. “Not the face, dude, I have a date tonight.”

“When don’t you have a date?” he teased, blocking another of my punches.

I smiled at that. “True, but I really want this one. She’s a total fox. Man, you should see her. She’s going to taste good.” I winked at him, laughing at his disapproving face.

He dropped his guard and shook his head. “You need to learn how to respect women, Nate. You’re never going to get a girlfriend if you only see women as sex objects.”

“I don’t want a girlfriend.” As I said the words, my mind settled on Rosie again and how we looked in the mirror together, and how she’d held my hand when I was talking to her about the worst aspect of my job the other day. For some reason, I liked that.

Russell sighed and dropped his guard, pulling off his training gloves and throwing them into a pile in the corner. “You’ll grow up soon. I can’t wait to see the girl who makes the player settle down. Damn, you’re in for a serious shock when you meet the girl who turns your head. You won’t know what’s hit you; it’s gonna be hilarious to watch.”

Three hours later, I pulled up at her apartment. Before climbing out of my car, I picked up the flowers and chocolates from the passenger seat. As I got to the external door of her apartment, I pressed the buzzer.

“Hello?” Her voice crackled through the intercom.

“Hey, pumpkin, it’s me.”

The door buzzed, and I heard the lock click so I pulled it open and practically ran up the stairs to her door eager to see her again. I’d made a conscious effort tonight, so was decked out in black dress pants and a blue short sleeve shirt.

When she opened her door, I fought hard against myself not to drop my jaw on the floor. She looked so damn hot that my mouth watered and my dick was doing a little happy dance.

Rosie was wearing a lacy, sleeveless, black dress that clung to her in all the right places and cut off about her mid-thigh. I could barely breathe. Now I didn’t even want to go out. I wanted nothing more than to strip that gorgeous dress off her because I had a feeling that it would look even better in a pile on the floor.

“Shit, you look… damn… you bring a whole new meaning to the word edible,” I said before I could stop myself. My eyes raked down her body, greedily drinking in every inch of her.

A subtle blush covered her cheeks. “Do you need a few more minutes to complete that fantasy or are we good to go?” she asked, leaning on the doorframe.

“No, I’m done for now. I’ll finish my fantasy later when we can both enjoy it.” I grinned at her as she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, really? You’re pretty confident I’d enjoy it. Not overestimating your skills there are you?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at how cool and calm she was being at the moment.

“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” I replied, winking playfully.

She smiled and shook her head before turning to walk off. As she strutted away from me, my eyes dropped down to her pert little derriere. A little groan escaped my lips. The back view was just as good as the front. She grabbed her purse from the side, and I silently congratulated God for creating something so f**king breathtaking. I’d never longed for anything more in my life. She was beautiful.

“So, where are we headed tonight? I’m not overdressed, am I?” she questioned, looking down at herself and nervously smoothing down her skirt.

Wow, she walked straight into this!

“You’re extremely overdressed. Take off the hot little black outfit, go to the bedroom, and then we’ll be closer to what I had planned for tonight,” I replied.

“Jeez, you’ve only been here two minutes and you’ve already made me regret agreeing to this.”

Ignoring her comment, I brought my hands from behind my back and held out the flowers and chocolates to her.

Her face softened instantly. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she looked up at me through her eyelashes. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to be sexy, but she was totally pulling it off.

“You bought me flowers?” she whispered, seeming both grateful and shocked as she took them from my hand and raised them to her nose so she could smell them. I frowned, wondering why she was so grateful for a stupid bunch of cheap flowers. Did her man not treat her nicely?