Hooking Him (How to Catch an Alpha #3)(25)

“I’ll tell her, and see you then.” He hangs up, and when I shove my cell back into my pocket, I notice Anna’s body has gone rigid against mine.

I look down and see that some of the pink has left her cheeks, and her eyes have gone blank. “I gotta go.”

“I heard. Was that . . .” She jerks her head from side to side. “I mean . . . are you investigating a murder?” she asks, and I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t heard about the murder in the media.

“I can’t talk about my work.” I rub my thumb across her smooth cheek, curious if she’s soft everywhere.

“Of course. I don’t know why I asked. I’ve watched enough television shows to know that you—”

I kiss her, cutting off her rambling, and then drag my mouth from hers. “I think I like that way of shutting you up.” Her eyes narrow, but before she can speak, I do. “Do you work tomorrow?”

“Maybe.”

I sigh, taking her hand. “I thought we were past that.”

“Then we’re even, ’cause I thought we were past you being a jerk,” she tells me, sounding put out, but something about her tone lets me know she’s joking.

“Kissing you makes me a jerk?” I say with a smile.

She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “No, the ‘shutting up’ thing does.”

I stop and turn her toward me, then dip her back over my arm to touch my lips to hers.

When her eyes flutter open, I smile. “I don’t know. It seems to me that you don’t mind it much.”

“You’re annoying.” There’s no heat in her words.

“And you’re stunning.” I stand to my full height, bringing her with me, and then turn to search the beach for Bane. I call for him to come when I spot him wandering off down the beach with his nose pressed to the ground. He lifts his head to search for me, then runs at full speed, kicking up sand and making Anna laugh as he skids past us and stumbles over his four legs.

When we get back to her stairs, I bend down to put my shoes back on, then look up at her when she asks, “Do you want to rinse your feet off in the shower? I know it’s no fun walking around with sand in your shoes.”

“Yeah, thanks.” I carry my stuff up the steps and grab what’s left of the pizza, along with my empty beer, while she picks up her wineglass. I follow her inside and place the pizza on the table.

“The bathroom’s down the hall. Towels are on the shelf above the toilet.”

I go to the bathroom, surprised by the amount of color packed into the small room. The bright floral shower curtain is the first thing to catch my attention, and it matches the towels, folded neatly in an alternating rainbow of blue, orange, purple, and yellow. I don’t even bother shutting the door. After rinsing the sand away, I put on my socks and shoes, then go out and find Anna in the kitchen, standing with her back to me and watching Bane drink water from a large bowl she set down.

“I know you can’t talk about work, but will you let me know once you get home tonight?” she prompts, not even looking at me as I walk toward her.

“Yeah,” I reply quietly.

“Thanks.” Her head turns, and her eyes meet mine over her shoulder. “And thanks for the pizza.”

“You never told me if you’re working tomorrow.” I get close to her side, and our fingers brush.

Her eyes search mine before she answers softly, “I’m off.”

“Do you like fishing?”

“Fishing?” Her brow furrows. “Do you mean fishing with a pole and worms?”

I can’t stop my smile. “Yeah, fishing with poles and worms.”

“I’ve never been,” she says with a slight shrug of her shoulder.

“You’ll like it. If you don’t have plans tomorrow, you can come with me.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll pick you up at five.”

“When you say five, do you mean five at night or five in the morning?” she asks, looking skeptical.

I turn her toward me and rest my hand on the curve of her hip. “Morning.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’m not really a morning person.”

“I’ll bring coffee.” She stares at me, unblinking. “Lots of coffee,” I amend.

“What about doughnuts?” she asks.

“Coffee and doughnuts.”

“I guess I’m going fishing,” she says with a sigh, making me laugh.

I kiss her lips, trying to remember if I’ve ever been this affectionate with another woman. I don’t think I have. With no time to figure out what’s so different about her, I look at Bane. “Time to go.” He swings his head between Anna and me, then walks to her, nudging his nose into her palm. Once she’s rubbed his head, he wanders to the door, ready for a new place to explore. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning.” She gives me a shy smile as I open the door, and I leave, fighting the urge to kiss her again.





Suggestion 7

ENJOY THE MOMENT

ANNA

Wearing jean shorts that are folded at the hem, plain white sneakers, a T-shirt, and a hoodie, I sit at the end of my bed and stare at the wall while wondering what the hell is happening in my life. Since the moment I moved to town, I’ve been working on acknowledging the mistakes I’ve made in my past and on trying to be a better person. I’ve been honest with those who are close to me about why I moved here and have been able to stand tall and answer their questions. But I don’t know if I will be able to do that if the Seaside Post runs another story about me. I don’t know if I will be able to handle people looking at me differently—especially those who have come to mean so much to me.