My lips parted open as my heart beat faster. “W-what did you say?” My mind was spinning. The way Grayson was looking at me was as if I was the very thing he needed to survive.
His smile grew over his face as he cupped both hands on my face now and looked intently into my eyes. “I want to spend every moment of every day being yours.”
My hands came up and gripped his arms as I pressed my lips into a smile while trying to hold back my tears. “Grayson,” I whispered as I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. “Nothing would make me happier than to be yours forever.”
Before I knew what was happening, Grayson had pulled me into the shower and had me up against the cold tile while he slowly made love to me.
Grayson
“YOU ASKED HER to marry you?” Derrick said as he shut his driver’s side door.
With a grin as wide as the Texas sky, I nodded my head. “I sure as hell did.”
“Why? You have hot fucking sex with her, anytime you want from the sounds of it. You both have your own apartments for when you need a break from each other, you have women falling at your feet all the damn time. Dude, what is wrong with you?”
I rolled my eyes and looked away as we walked into the jail. “Nothing is wrong with me. I love her and I want to know she’s mine.”
“Give her a promise ring or some shit like that. Don’t do it dude, take it from me. If you do this, you’ll be buying fucking BMW’s for her when all you want to do is take a hunting trip to Canada.”
With a chuckle, I looked straight ahead. “So what you’re telling me is you’d rather go on a hunting trip to Canada than make your wife happy?”
Derrick placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You know, Bennett, I’ve never known a guy to come on to the force, patrol for a few months, take the test for detective and get promoted as fucking fast as you did. Call it a shortage of officers if you will, but I’m inclined to think you’re just one hell of a smart guy.”
“I’m going with I’m one hell of a smart guy.”
Derrick laughed as I reached for the door and opened it. I saw him the second the door opened. Joshua Black. The guy from the murder scene was walking toward the front door. His head was down as he walked quickly.
“Joshua?” I called out as he glanced up and looked directly into my eyes.
“I’m sorry, do we know each other?” Joshua asked as he looked between Derrick and myself.
My eyes narrowed just a bit as something in my gut told me he knew exactly who I was.
“Detective Bennett. This is my partner, Detective Winn.”
Joshua’s face constricted as he thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, the murder outside of my condo. Have you gotten any leads on that? Find out any new information on who it might be?”
Derrick answered. “No, we’re no closer now than we were before.”
“Damn, that really sucks,” Joshua said as he looked between us.
“Yeah, it sucks,” I said. “So what brings you here?”
Joshua stood a bit taller. “I’m a lawyer, work for my dad,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “One of my clients was arrested yesterday.”
It was then I noticed he was dressed in a suit, but he wasn’t carrying a briefcase, which I thought was strange.
“Well, we’ll let you go. Have a good day,” Derrick said as he motioned for me to follow him.
“Um, yeah, good luck on the case, detectives.”
With a nod and tight smile, I said goodbye to him. “Have a good day, Mr. Black.”
The second we stepped into the elevator, Derrick and I looked at each other.
“Something was off with that guy,” he said.
I rubbed the back of my neck as I sighed. “Yeah. I thought so the first time I talked to him. Was it just me, or did it seem like he was fishing for information?”
Derrick laughed. “Oh he was fishing all right. I’m thinking we might need to find out a little more about this Joshua Black.”
An uneasy feeling came over me as I nodded my head and said, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
Walking into Meagan’s office, I was immediately greeted by the receptionist.
“Gray!” Jennifer called out as she jumped up and flashed me a huge smile. “Would you like a cup of coffee or tea? Something to warm you up?”
I shook my head and returned her smile. “Nah, I’m good. Is Meagan busy?”
“I’m sorry, she’s with an appointment currently. They shouldn’t be much longer if you’d like to take a seat and wait for her.”
Clapping my hands together, I sat down in the chair and grabbed a magazine. “I’ll do just that.”
Jennifer giggled and then awkwardly looked around the office before she sat back down. I knew she had been looking for an excuse to walk off before she quickly gave up.
Ten minutes of mindless chatter with the receptionist was broken when a young girl about seventeen walked into the waiting room. Her eyes lit up and her cheeks instantly blushed when I smiled at her.
“Casey, your mom said she would be waiting in the coffee shop across the street.”