Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

be right? “I was thinking—”
    “It’s about damn time you started. The attacks you’ve had are serious. The person behind them isn’t playing games. Your grandfather could have been killed.”
    She turned away from his accusing eyes, breath catching in the back of her throat. He was right. It had been a long time since she’d been ashamed of her actions. Made to feel like an irresponsible child. She didn’t like it.
    “Sonya—”
    “No.” She held up her hand, not turning around. “You’re right. What I did was stupid and childish.”
    She felt more than heard him come up behind her. He laid his hands on her shoulders. “And brave.” He turned her to face him. “Stupid, but brave. From what I’ve been able to gather, Kendrick has bullied everyone in this area for years. Nobody has had the guts to stand up to him. Until now.” He smoothed the loose hair that had come out of her ponytail, behind her ears. “You scared the hell out of me tonight. Seeing Kendrick hit you took years off my life.” He gently brushed the swelling on her cheek.
    At least Kendrick hadn’t hit the side of her face that had been cut. The force of his fist would have reopened the healing wound.
    “You need to be more careful with this face.” His fingers lingered. “How bad does it hurt?”
    “I barely feel it.” She felt something all together stronger. There was a different heat flaring in his eyes now. It warmed her to the very core and had her backing up out of his reach. “You need to leave, Garrett.” She swallowed at the intent in his eyes.
    Garrett reached for the pistol she’d tucked into the waistband of her jeans and pulled the gun free. The sharp plinking of the bullets ricocheted in the small room as he unloaded and deposited both the gun and the bullets in the small sink behind her.
    “I’m not going anywhere.”

C HAPTER T WENTY- F IVE
    “You can’t stay,” Sonya said.
    Garrett steeled himself against the flare of unease in her eyes. “We both knew the moment you sent Peter off with the 4-wheeler, I’d be staying.” He reached up and released her ponytail, his gaze captured by the strands as they flowed like expensive silk through his fingers.
    “The tide is still out,” she said then moaned as he ran his hands through her hair and rubbed the tight muscles at the base of her skull. “You can walk back to the cannery,” she whispered, her eyes closing as he moved his hands to her neck and massaged the knots he found.
    “I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated, loving the way she melted in his arms. One minute she was the hard, bust-your-balls fisherman, the next, a soft, seductive woman. “We’ve been waltzing around each other long enough not to finally dance.”
    “This is really a bad idea, Garrett.”
    His hands cradled her face, and he tipped her head back and firmly took her mouth, silencing her objections. She stiffened and raised her hands as though to push him away, but then her fingers curled into the jacket of his uniform and pulled him closer.
    “Garrett.” She backed away and gazed into his eyes. She wet her lips and he almost hit his knees, ready to beg. He didn’t know if he could leave her this time and didn’t want to put it to the test.
    “I haven’t danced in a long time,” she said, her expression soft and hesitant, “and I’ve never been much of a dancer.”
    He breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t saying no, she was nervous. Hell, so was he. He couldn’t remember a time when making love with a woman meant so much. “Just follow my lead.”
    “Wait.” She retreated, and he almost groaned when she shook her head. “I can’t make love to a trooper.”
    Not the damn job again.
    A flare of anger intruded and mixed with his desire. “Sonya,” he warned, his tone strained. There was only so much he could take.
    A wicked glint entered her deep brown eyes. “Lose the uniform.”
    His world turned upside down. Who was taking the lead now? If it got him inside her, he’d gladly let her take control. For a little while anyway. Without a word, he stripped out of the jacket and tossed it on the bunk. Her eyes followed the flick of each button he released on his shirt. He’d never had a woman watch him strip with such obvious want before. It unnerved and titillated at the same time. He pulled the shirt free from his pants and yanked it off his shoulders, hurling it in the direction of his jacket. He paused with his hands on his belt. She needed to do