shoulders. “Unlike my last accident, which involved an air bag to the face and a trip to the ER.”
“Yeah, I guess this one’s a little better than that, huh?” Chuckling quietly, he pressed a slow kiss against her head. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Why ‘Ponch’?”
“What?”
“It’s just weird. Baker was the blond one.”
“Sure.” She tipped her head up so she could look at him, her mouth curved into a teasing smirk. “And Baker was cute, but Ponch…he was the hot one.”
“The—” Brett choked over a snort. “Jeezus, Ellie.”
“You asked.” Laughing at his embarrassment, she just shrugged. “Anything else you want to know?”
“No! God, no.” Actually, yes, but any more answers like that and he was going to lose his freakin’ mind.
Chapter 15
“Book ’em, Danno.”
—Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-0
From the moment Brett put his arm around her on the bench, Ellie refused to waste another second of the evening worrying about Kurt. The only thing that mattered was being right there with Brett, talking about nothing and everything, listening to the way his laughter rumbled up from deep in his chest, and doing everything she could to memorize how damn perfect it felt to have him touch her.
As if the sight of him in her hotel room hadn’t been enough to get her pulse hammering, the first brush of his hand against hers sent need exploding through her: the need to have so much more of him touching her, and the need to prolong it, to savor every last second they had together.
“Are you going to stay tonight?” It had taken her most of the walk back to get the question out, because she couldn’t decide if she was more afraid that he’d say no or that he’d say yes and she’d have to spend a night in hellish torment.
He was quiet for a few seconds before he finally nodded. “Yeah.”
Torment it was, then. Gloriously hellish torment. And for the life of her, she couldn’t stop smiling.
“What time’s your shift tomorrow?”
“I’m not going in; I took a personal day.”
“But—”
“I’m owed about a thousand, so I took one. It’s no big deal.”
“It is to me,” she said as they stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hall. “Thank you.”
His heated gaze lingered on her even after he unlocked the door and pushed it open for her. It was only then that he released her hand and put some distance between them.
“It’s safer if I just stay over here,” he chuckled, blowing out a low breath. “So tell me how this shopping thing works tomorrow.”
“It’s a little bit crazy, actually.” She explained about the appointments she’d set up with a few of her regular distributors, how excited she was to meet with a few of the new ones, and how she wouldn’t actually be buying anything, just taking notes and pictures, which she’d have to bring home and study so she could get the best selection while staying within her budget.
“And you like doing this?” he asked.
“Love it.”
“Okay.” Brett’s slow nod morphed into a firm head shake. “Yeah, this isn’t going to work. You need to go into that bedroom and lock the door. Now.”
“But—”
He stepped away as he spoke, bumping into the corner of the telephone table and the edge of the chair.
“I’m not even doing anything!” Ellie laughed.
“You don’t have to,” he said over a grin. “That’s the problem.”
“Seriously?”
“Yuh.” He couldn’t seem to decide what to do with himself; he went from stuffing his hands in his pockets to crossing his arms over his chest to lacing his fingers behind his neck, and then plunging them back into his pockets again. “It was bad enough out there, but in here…alone…God, Ell, you’re killin’ me.”
“I’m killing you?” she cried. “It ain’t exactly a cakewalk from where I’m standing either, you know.”
That earned her the whole smile, dimple and all, but neither one of them moved; they just stood there grinning at each other until Ellie finally sighed.
“We could pretend you’re not a cop tonight, that we’re just a normal couple doing what normal couples do.”
“Ellie…” His voice was quiet, his smile fading.
“Who’s going to find out?” For the love of God, she’d never had to try to convince a guy to have sex with her before. “It’s just you and me here, Ponch. No one else ever has to know.”
The last remnants of humor gone, he slumped back against the window ledge and wrapped both hands around the wood. “I’ll know.”
There was a part of her that had known he’d