Read Online Dream Huntress (A Dreamseeker novel) (Entangled Ignite) by Michelle Sharp - Free Book Online Page B

different sizes of paper plates practically fell on top of him. There were napkins, plastic utensils, and even paper cups with lids. A virtual smorgasbord of disposable dinnerware.
    Damn . She hadn’t planned on entertaining. How was she supposed to know—or care—they were in there? She shrugged when he shot her a confused look. “The woman in the apartment before me must have left them.”
    She continued to watch him as he set the tiny two-person table. He started a pot of coffee, tossed the salad, and served them both a piece of pizza.
    “Have a seat. I’ll get us coffee in a minute,” he said.
    If the man had a shy or reluctant bone in his body, she’d yet to see it.
    He looked over to where she stood rooted to the floor. “I’m such an idiot. I haven’t even asked how you’re feeling. Are you doing okay?” He walked to her, tilted her head up, and brushed back her hair to inspect the stitches on her forehead.
    A sharp intake of air flooded her lungs. Her skin heated, and her heart thundered so loudly, she wondered if he could hear it. “Yeah, I’m much better.”
    “I had an appointment I couldn’t get out of.” His eyes drifted to her chest before he blinked them back up to her face. “I hated to leave you, but…”
    “It’s okay. You’re not my keeper.” Glancing down to where his gaze had landed, she realized her old tank top was quite thin. She no longer needed to worry if he could hear her heart pound. Her erect nipples took the embarrassment over how her body reacted to his touch to a whole new level. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna grab a sweatshirt.”
    By the time she came out of the bedroom, he’d poured coffee.
    He pulled out a chair for her. “Have a seat.”
    She nodded, deciding it was time to start the business end of the dinner. “I’m beginning to wonder about you.”
    He lifted a brow. “Why is that?”
    “I figured after what I put you through last night, you wouldn’t be back. And here you are, with dinner no less.”
    “Technically, I’m still on duty until about midnight.”
    Confused, she narrowed her eyes.
    “My twenty-four-hour watch over you still has six hours to go. I noticed you only had two apples and a half-eaten yogurt in the fridge. Thought maybe you wouldn’t be up to getting dinner, so here I am. I wasn’t going to let you starve on my shift.”
    “I wouldn’t have starved.” She rolled her eyes defensively. “I have chips in the cabinet, too.”
    “Yeah, well, you’d probably be hard-pressed to find them,” he said. “I’m beginning to think you don’t have a clue about what’s in those cabinets.” He waved an extra paper plate at her.
    Ignoring his comment and the way his eyes sparkled when he teased her, she picked up the pizza and bit into it. “Oh, God, this is good. I think I may be in love.”
    He grinned at her low, appreciative groan. “I try.”
    She laughed. “Not with you, with Antonio.”
    He clutched his chest. “May I remind you that if it weren’t for me, you’d be eating old, crusty yogurt tonight?”
    “And I might have bled to death on Buck’s picnic table,” she added with a smile.
    “You’re right. So you best start stroking my ego better, or I’m taking my world famous cheesecake and getting out.”
    Propping her head on a fist, she watched him eat. He was impossibly gorgeous and very sweet. She desperately wanted to scratch him off the list of suspects. “So, why’d you give up being a cop? I’d think that would be a pretty good living around here.”
    No mistake, the glittering shine in his eyes turned a shade darker. He dropped his crust onto his plate and proceeded to serve them both another piece of pizza. “It’s a small town. When bad blood starts flowing in a police department as small as Longdale’s, there aren’t a lot of ways to diffuse it. You live with it or quit. I quit.”
    “What caused the bad blood?”
    He paused. “A disagreement.”
    She kept her eyes fixed on him and hoped