“No.” Her tone was harsh, but she knew the importance of making her answer very clear, or he’d be dropping in all the time, acting like her bedroom was his own. “Let’s not say that.”

Despite her denial, he chuckled softly. A pillow collided with the back of her head, and she made a strange squeaking sound of surprise as she automatically caught it. Whirling around, she chucked the pillow back at him, trying her best to not let her gaze slip below his neck. It wasn’t easy.

“Good night, Carmondy,” she said, keeping her voice stern with a great deal of effort, but exhaustion pulled at her, and she gave up the effort. “Or morning, or whatever.”

“Good night, Pax.” He still sounded amused and strangely affectionate, his voice making a happy shiver run down her spine. “I like sleeping with you even more than working with you. This is the start of a beautiful…partnership.”

She wasn’t sure why he’d paused, but her thoughts were bouncing around, refusing to settle down and analyze his motives. Responding with a grunt, she ignored his laugh and got ready for bed for the second time in too short a span.

“I knew this would be fun,” he said, apparently ignoring her wordless hint to be quiet and let her sleep. “Didn’t expect to like it so much, though.”

He went quiet as her thoughts spun wildly. Forget the fact that her house had been burglarized three times in the past few days. The real danger to her—to her heart and happiness—was sprawled on the bed right across the room. All of her efforts to focus on her mom’s case or even just to empty her mind so that she could sleep failed.

It seemed that John Carmondy hadn’t just taken over her bed. He’d seemed to have taken over her brain, too.

Chapter 14

Later that morning, Molly was uncomfortable. She was also annoyed with herself, because the reason she was uncomfortable was that things were too comfortable. Both her sisters were gone and John was already up by the time Molly dragged herself out of bed, and he’d wordlessly handed her a giant mug of coffee as soon as she’d entered the kitchen.

She, in turn, had made eggs and toast, while he’d cut up some fruit with only the slightest wistful mumbling about her lack of protein shakes. Warrant had curled up around her feet as she’d cooked, but she knew it wasn’t because he loved her the best. If John had been making the eggs, Warrant would’ve been cozying up to him instead. After they’d eaten and washed up, moving with the synchronization of a couple who’d been living together for forty years, she was both fully unnerved and grateful for the few moments of peace.

“Desmond’ll be here around noon to install a security system. What’s the plan until then?” John asked once the kitchen was clean.

“We need to pick up your car from the lot by Dutch’s before it’s towed.” Too restless to sit in her usual spot at her improvised desk, Molly leaned against the counter, drumming her fingertips against the lower cupboards while resisting the urge to pace. After a little bit of sleep and a whole lot of caffeine, she was ready to do something physical, like chase down and tackle a skip, but she had to find the guy first. It was frustrating.