“I wouldn’t have moved you, but your neck...” He trailed off. Blake moved slightly to one side, blocking her view of the sitting room, successfully erasing everything except Blake and his intoxicating energy. “How are you feeling this morning?”
She forced a tight smile. “I’m fine. My neck’s a little stiff. Thank you for the breakfast and aspirin.”
His lips curved into a prideful smile.
“I mostly feel lucky. I’ve had a lot of prayers answered these last two days.”
“You’re about to get one more.”
“Why? What’s going on?” She glanced past Blake toward the map and men in the next room. Something big must have brought them there and gotten Blake so wound up.
“Dispatch got a viable tip on Nash at dawn. Someone saw a man fitting his description at the national park. He said the man appeared sick or hurt.” His eyes lit with the final report.
“You think it’s really him?”
“West is there now. Park rangers checked it out first and found a pretty heavy blood trail on the forest side of the lake.”
Marissa pondered the reasons Nash would return to the lake, but only found one. “He’s dying. I bet he wanted to be with the women again.” But they were gone now, no longer his sick trophies in an underwater tomb. Now, they would be laid to rest properly, given the peace and respect they deserved. “Would he drown himself to be with the women?” Wouldn’t he know they were already gone?
Blake rubbed his palms against her arms, then curled long fingers around her biceps. Excitement pulsated off him. “I don’t know, but I told West I’d meet him. I’m leaving a deputy with you. He’ll be outside, so you can take your time having breakfast and getting ready to go home.” He smiled at her. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
Marissa rocked onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She’d miss Blake terribly when he returned home to Louisville, but capturing Nash was all that really mattered now.
“Moving out,” a man barked from the sitting room, and the area burst into a flurry of activity. Papers rustled and chairs bumped against the floor.
Marissa turned her mouth to Blake’s ear. “Go get him,” she whispered.
The front door opened and closed with a thud. “Let’s go, Garrett,” the same deep voice from her sitting room, now bellowed outside.
Marissa rested her palms against his chest. “This is it, Agent. Your time to shine.”
Blake was motionless. His grip on her tightened, and the look in his eyes nearly stole the breath from her body.
“Kiss for luck?” he asked. His gaze moved hotly from her eyes to her lips.
“Yes,” she breathed.
He raised his warm hands to cradle the back of her head, and he lowered his lips over hers. “Yeah?” he whispered against her mouth.
“Yeah.” The heat from his touch moved through her bones, electrifying her skin and pooling in her core. She curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and melded herself to him in confirmation. Blake deepened the kiss with a rumbling exhale, engulfing her in his strength and making delicious promises that he couldn’t stay long enough to keep. She reveled in the taste and feel of him, trailing her hands over his shoulders and winding her fingers into his hair.
Blake ended the kiss far too soon, leaving her weak-kneed and woozy. A haze of desire lingered in his eyes. “We should probably talk about that when I get back.”
She brushed careful fingertips over still tingling lips. “Then, hurry.”
A broad smile spread over Blake’s handsome face. “Yes, ma’am.” He grabbed his black jacket, then Marissa once more. “I’m finally going to put this devil in handcuffs.” He kissed her nose and forehead. “Don’t go anywhere.”
In the next moment, he was gone. Marissa watched as he strode through the door and joined a caravan of waiting cruisers and black government vehicles in the parking lot.
As promised, one deputy remained outside her door.
Marissa collapsed on the bed, reliving the perfect moment. Her heart had pounded so hard, she was sure Blake could feel it in his own chest. She’d waited all her life to be kissed like that. It wasn’t awkward, or polite and uncertain. It was passionate and comfortable and confident. Blake had kissed her with ease and familiarity, as if they’d kissed a hundred times before. As if he already knew what she wanted and how to give her exactly that.
She closed her eyes to savor the precious thought, but slowly, reality set in, raising her eyelids and putting her back on her feet. Nervous energy filled her mind with every form of worst-case scenario. She checked her phone for missed texts, then sent a few to her mom and sister letting them know that all was well. Nash was in the cross hairs, and she’d tell them more as soon as she knew something.
Both women responded within seconds, sending return texts of love and gratitude, complete with heart emoticons. Kara was clearly rubbing off on their mother.
With nothing to do but wait, Marissa finished her breakfast and helped herself to two cups of black coffee, then cleaned up. The clock seemed to stand still as she made the bed and returned the spare blanket from the couch to the closet. How long did it take to track a dying man through the forest in broad daylight? Blake and the team had been gone more than an hour already.
An ominous feeling crept over her, and she peeked between the curtains to be sure her detail was still standing guard.
She was overthinking. Worrying. Confusing the awful things that she’d experienced over the past few days with what was happening now.
She carried her loaner phone into the bathroom and climbed into a raging hot shower hoping Blake would call before she finished getting ready. The pulsing water and thick steam slowly unknotted tension in her neck and shoulders, but the temporary escape from her thoughts
