Lea

“Full-out guts. That’s what I first admired about you. Now it terrifies me.”

For the first time she moved to him, laid a hand on his cheek. Almost as soon as she had, she dropped her hand and stepped back again, embarrassed. “I’ve been a cop for ten years, Roarke, never had more than some bumps and bruises. Don’t worry about it.”

“I think you’re going to have to get used to having someone worry about you, Eve.”
― J.D. Robb, Naked in Death

“I have to go.” With her face averted, she sat up and wondered how she was going to find her clothes.
“I don’t think so.” Roarke’s voice was lazy, confident, and infuriating. Even as she started to get off the bed, he snagged her arm, overbalanced her, and had her on her back again.
...
He lost his breath and with it the words when her elbow shot into his stomach. In the blink of an eye, she’d reversed their positions. That well-aimed elbow was now pressing dangerously on his windpipe. “Listen, pal, I come and go as I please, so check your ego.”
― J.D. Robb, Naked in Death

“I tugged at the collar of my shirt. It was a dark gray color, rolled up at the sleeves; worlds away from my usual football jersey or polo shirt. But I wanted tonight to be perfect which is why I’d called Flick asking her for some advice.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on Hailee’s door, praying to God she opened it and not her mom, or even worse Mr. Ford. It swung open and my heart skipped a beat. Hailee stood there in a denim skirt, a white t-shirt that scooped low on her chest, and wedged sneakers. Her dirty blonde hair was piled high on her head, her glasses keeping the loose strands off her face. It was simple, understated, but I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“Hey,” I finally said, finding my voice. “I got you these.” Thrusting the box of brownies at her, I rubbed the back of my neck.
“Have you been speaking to Flick again?” Her brow quirked up.
“Maybe.” I smiled. “She mentioned you liked them when I came by... but we didn’t get around to eating them.”
Hailee’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, her eyes darkening. I leaned in, unable to resist the pull, and kissed her cheek. “I missed you.”
― L.A. Cotton, The Trouble with You

“Well, this isn’t awkward at all,” Hailee whispered. And even though it was dark, and I could barely see her, I was aware of everything. The soft sound of every breath she took, the warm current flowing between us. The way my skin tingled, and my pulse raced at her close proximity, despite the fact I hadn’t even touched her.
Turning onto my side, I traced the profile of her face. “Get some sleep.” I choked out the words to stop myself from doing something stupid. Like telling her it didn’t feel awkward to me at all.
That it felt pretty damn near perfect.
“Night, Cameron.”
“Night, Sunshine.”
A beat of silence passed and then her sleepy voice cut through the quiet. “Cameron?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
As I felt the pull of sleep, my mind was a jumble of thoughts. Of me and Hailee. Of all the reasons why this was a really bad fucking idea. But one thought stood out above all the others. It was the first time I’d ever fallen to sleep with a girl in my bed.
And I liked it.
I liked it a whole lot.”
― L.A. Cotton, The Trouble with You