“That’s exactly how I do know. Every now and then you knock my breath away by doing something incredible for someone else.”

“I’m just doing my job, that’s all. I can hardly take praise for being a good guy.”

“You can fool others, Harrison, but not me. I see through you.”

The scary thing, it was true. I saw what nobody else did. Unless I was so desperate to see something else there other than hatred, anger and retaliation.

The snort he let out made me smile. Of course he wasn’t going to agree with me and I had to suppress the urge to run my hands through his already messy hair.

I glanced at the clock. “It’s two in the morning, and I’m hungry.” I’d eaten plenty of Thai food earlier, but my stomach was rumbling. Lately I had a voracious appetite.

“You didn’t have dinner?” Harrison raised an eyebrow.

“Do alcoholic beverages count as a food group?”

He rubbed his chin. “Still evading my question.”

“When I drink a lot of wine, especially red wine, it makes my metabolism speed up like crazy. Add sex to that and I’m ravenous.”

My stomach rumbled again. Louder this time.

Harrison laughed. “Vigorous exercise like sex can have that effect on a person. We’ll have to fix that problem.”

“What, no more sex?”

“Fuck, you are adorable. And such a tease.” He tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead. “And no, it means I’ll have to see what I can rustle up in your kitchen.”

“Um, I hardly have anything in the refrigerator or pantry. I’m trying to empty it out before I move.”

“You have eggs? And bread?”

“Yeah, I give Miu-miu an egg every couple of days to keep her coat shiny. So there should be some in the fridge. The bread may be a little stale,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “But there is juice and coffee.”

Harrison’s eyes raked my body where I leaned against the top railing of the bed. “You’re getting too skinny, Eva. You need to eat better meals, baby. I don’t want you breaking when I fuck you.”

Slapping his arm, I laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I won’t break. And besides, a girl can never be too skinny, too beautiful, or too rich in this town.”

Grabbing a handful of my ass, he grinned at me. “Just make sure this stays as sexy as it is, and I’m a happy man.”

“You think I’m sexy?” I drawled, tracing my finger along his jaw.

“Fuck yeah. You’re the sexiest woman I know. And I know, um, a few.” He grinned sheepishly. Pulling the sheet around my body, I had the sudden urge to hide my nakedness from him.

“I’m sure you do,” I said, a pain twisting my heart. I wasn’t the jealous type, so it took me somewhat by surprise to find that I hated the idea of Harrison with other women.

Rolling off the bed, Harrison strutted to the doorway before turning his naked body around and gifting me with the sight of his magnificent torso, his perfect smile, strong muscular legs and very needy cock nearly taking my breath away. I’d never tire of looking at him, although in this case I was probably staring more than just looking.

“I’m glad you like what you see,” he said with a cocky grin, “But I’m going to go fix the woman of my dreams something to eat.”

Woman of his dreams? Wow!

“By the way, where is that pesky dog of yours? She hasn’t nipped at my ankles for a while.”

“She’s staying with my father while I pack. She comes to visit on weekends, but during the week I’m leaving her at the mansion until I’ve settled into my own place.”

“Makes perfect sense. Although she is a damn good little watchdog. Her bark and bite can compete with that of any other vicious dog.”

“Are you missing Miu-miu? I can always let you babysit her for a while.” I loved teasing him just to get a reaction.

“No comment. Let me go to the kitchen before my mouth gets me into more trouble.”

I laid back against the pillows and rubbed my wrists. What a crazy ride this had been. When Nolan had cheated on me and I’d kicked his ass out, I’d never imagined it would be one of the best things that had happened to me because in a strange and twisted way, I had the distinct feeling that I would never have ventured out of my comfort zone with him as much as I had since meeting Harrison.

The delicious aroma of toast drifted to the bedroom. One thing was certain—the high and mighty senator would never in his wildest dreams consider cooking anything for me. He’d never made me as much as a cup of tea or coffee after dinner, never mind gone to the kitchen to rustle something up after midnight. My ex’s MO was to turn around and go to sleep as soon as he rolled off me.

I mused over how Nolan had liked to control me, which was far more like manipulation than mastery. I never felt at ease with the way he made me feel lesser than him.

How different my life had become. I loved that I felt empowered enough by Harrison to let him ‘control’ me. In spite of submitting to him, I was, in reality, the one with all the power.

Ten minutes later, the naked cop came back to the bedroom carrying a tray laden with food.

“Sit up, sweetheart. Let’s get you fed.”

“It smells divine. I never knew you were good in the kitchen.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me. I wouldn’t say I was a great cook, but being a sworn bachelor meant I had to learn some basic skills if I didn’t want to live on take-out only. Oh, and the occasional meal at my parents’ house.”

He set the tray in front of me. Soft poached eggs sat on top of hot buttered toast and made my mouth water.

“Thank you. It’s the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time.” I meant every word.

Harrison let out a hearty laugh. “See? I do have uses, other than my amazing talents in bed. Hopefully you won’t send me home ever again.”

Deciding to play along, I grinned at him. “I think you’re right. If you can whip up something this delicious in just ten minutes, you may be a keeper.”

Okay, maybe those weren’t the right words after all. Harrison went quiet for a long moment.

I ate my midnight snack before it got cold, a little embarrassed by the implication of my comment.

“By the way, you never told me if you found a dress for the event? That was what you went shopping for today?”

“Um no, I didn’t find what I was looking for. But I will. I still have time.”

Harrison’s head snapped up, and he raised an eyebrow as he said, “That doesn’t mean you’re backing out, does it? Because I wouldn’t blame you if you decided against being my date.”

I placed a hand on his arm. “No, silly, it means I couldn’t find a dress I liked, that’s all. I’ll be there to see your team win the award, even though I’m not sure exactly what it is that you do. You’re always so secretive; I’d swear you were an undercover agent posing as a cop.”

“You watch way too much television, and your imagination is running away with you. I’m just a lowly cop fighting crime who got a bit of a promotion. That’s all.”

He was trying to reassure me, but there was something in the strained tone of his voice that made me wonder if I hadn’t hit the nail exactly on the head. Harrison never wanted to give me or anyone who asked too many details about his job. All Jade had told me was that it was extremely dangerous, and Ryder saw him as his worst enemy.

I let it go because Harrison had clammed up, his jaw set rigid and his eyes hard.

There was a lot more to the man than what he was willing to admit. Maybe one day he’d trust me implicitly and tell me the whole truth.

Chapter 14 — Harrison

Eva had sent a text earlier that she’d leave the door of her apartment open so that I could let myself in when I arrived to pick her up for our date to my work’s award night. She’d had a crisis at work and was running late. I on the other hand was ten minutes early because I couldn’t wait to get to her place. She hadn’t backed out like I’d dreaded she would, but I wasn’t taking any chances.