The sense of relief that washed over me in that moment when I just gave myself to Harrison and let him take over stunned me. In the strangest of ways, it was liberating to not always want to be in control and to just allow a man to take care of me.

Harrison inserted the key and opened the door without any of the trouble I seemed to have experienced. Maybe I was just too tired and drank too much red wine so that the smallest thing had become difficult and overwhelming.

He carried me inside and straight to my bedroom. He inspected the grazed palms I’d used to break my fall and then gently brought them to his lips one by one and kissed them.

“I know it hurts, but you’ll live,” he said, his eyes warm and kind.

That look completely undid me. Gruff and moody Harrison I could deal with. But when he showed his caring side, I did what I always did and threw caution to the wind.

“Thank you.”

He swallowed hard and just nodded. “I think I remember where you keep the first-aid kit. We need to disinfect that graze.” His voice was laced with concern. I loved that he took control of the situation.

Luckily I hadn’t packed that away yet. He left the bedroom and I could hear him open and close kitchen cabinet doors as he searched for the kit. A few minutes later, he returned to the room with a glass of ice water and the kit.

I like this Harrison.

Thoughtful. Caring. Sweet.

Words I didn’t normally associate with the tough cop image he fought so hard to preserve. Harrison was an expert at hiding his softer side from the outside world.

Ice cubes tinkled against the glass as he placed it on the nightstand and came to sit on the edge of the bed while opening the small plastic container with the big red cross on it.

Chapter 9 — Harrison

“Wow, there are a shitload of boxes everywhere. You seem to be ready for the big move.” I made small talk in the hope that Eva would feel more comfortable with me being there and taking care of her.

“Yeah, isn’t it strange? I haven’t tripped over a single box yet.”

Chuckling at the irony, I took her hands in mine. Luckily she wasn’t bleeding, so I wiped her palms with an antiseptic solution I’d shaken onto a sterile piece of gauze. She flinched from the burn, but didn’t pull away.

“I bet your ass hurts most where you connected with the ground, huh?”

She just nodded as color rose to her cheeks.

I shook two painkillers from the bottle and handed them to her, along with the glass of water. She drank the pills and the rest of the water and laid back against the pillows with her dark hair fanning out around her face. Her eyes were big and round, and a faint smile adorned her mouth.

She’s so fucking beautiful.

“I should go now.”

“No, stay. Just hold me.” Her voice was soft and her eyes inviting.

She slipped off her jeans and moved to the middle of the bed so that I could lie beside her. The black boy-shorts she wore were different to the underwear I was used to seeing her in, a touch masculine and yet sexy as fuck. I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly closed it before I said something stupid and she changed her mind about the invitation. I smiled down at her and pulled my shirt over my head, not missing the way she sucked in a breath as she watched me toss the bundle of fabric into a corner.

“Thank you for staying,” she said in a husky voice.

“I thought you’d never ask,” I said, as I crept onto the bed and held my arms open for her to cuddle into.

Her arms and legs intertwined with mine as she gave up the fight and simply placed her cheek on my chest with a pleasurable sigh.

Fuck, I loved when she did that. Gently, I stroked her hair, my whole body humming to the tune of her. There was simply nowhere else I would rather be than there. Her breath still smelled of alcohol, and for once I wasn’t the one who was going to have a massive headache the next day.

I held her tightly until I heard her breathing even out minutes later as she drifted off to sleep. Just being near her brought peace to my troubled heart in ways I’d never experienced with anyone else.

As bad as I am for Eva, she is that good for me.

Chapter 10 — Harrison

I woke a few hours later with Eva still wrapped around me. I’d given her what she needed, but now my own need had taken over my body. It was impossible to feel her tits as she breathed in and out against me and not be aroused.

I’m only a man.

Her hand snuck up to my cheek and rested there, but she didn’t open her eyes or change her breathing pattern. I leaned into her palm and closed my eyes, just savoring her closeness for a long moment.

How the simple things are also the best things.

Tracing her lips with my fingers and caressing down her throat with the back of my hand, I marveled at how deeply she slept, and how fucking gorgeous she was when she relaxed completely.

Running my hands lightly over her breasts and down her ribcage, I sought the warmth between her legs. I pushed her thighs slightly apart and moved the boy-leg panties to the side before caressing softly over her smooth mound and slipping a finger in to find her clit.

She moaned softly in her sleep and opened her legs wider.

That’s my good girl.

Lazily, my fingers strummed her tiny bundle of nerves and I felt her pussy swell and become drenched with her arousal. Christ, I wanted to taste her so fucking badly, but I didn’t want to wake her yet. I slipped a finger inside her, then another, and slowly fucked her while my thumb kept up its work of circling her clit.

A soft moan escaped her lips and her hips moved slowly and rhythmically as her pussy rode my fingers. My dick hardened and strained against my jeans, and I cursed myself that I hadn’t removed them too. There was nothing I wanted more than to slip into Eva and fuck her slowly with no rush to orgasm or perform, just to enjoy her closeness and feel myself grow harder as I moved inside her.

As if she read my mind, Eva’s hands went to my cock and squeezed. Her eyes were still closed, and she spoke in a sleepy voice. “I want your cock inside, baby. Please.”

Jesus. I wasn’t denying her or turning her invitation down.

I undid my jeans and slipped them off, sending them to join my shirt in the corner. In that time Eva had rolled onto her stomach and was drifting back to sleep again. Gripping the panties, I pulled them down her legs and threw them onto the growing pile of clothes.

Fuck. I’d forgotten how gorgeous her ass was. Round and soft, it was the most erotic part of her, and my cock jerked with desire. On closer inspection, her ass cheeks felt a little hot from where she’d fallen earlier. I caressed the globes softly, then mapped them with my tongue, licking and kissing every square inch of her delectable backside.

She writhed and moaned with pleasure and then surprised me by rolling onto her back just as I was getting to really enjoy her.

A flash of disappointment washed over me but disappeared as quickly as it had come when she opened her eyes and all I could see in their dark depths was lust for me.

“Tie me up, Harrison. Own my body. Do to me whatever you want. I need to feel pain, and I want to feel pleasure. Fuck me until I pass out.”

She wants me to take control.

Fuck. My cock throbbed, and my brain went into a spin. She fumbled with the buttons of her shirt until I leaned over her and gripped the ends and ripped the shirt so that buttons scattered in all directions. I was getting good at this.

“Naughty cop. That’s the second shirt you ruined in a week.”