Crash (Sinners and Saints #1)

by Kathy Lockheart

“Funny, I thought the suitcase implied we were past the negotiation stage.”

“Whether you acknowledge it or not, this is a huge favor, and I need to ...

“Oh?” “Not that.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Morrison. I meant something useful.” “Such as?” “I could clean⁠—” “Have a maid.” “Cook dinner⁠—” “Personal chef.”

“I can’t just … live here. It doesn’t feel right. It’s unbalanced, and that m...

“Give me this.”

“Coming home to lights on instead of darkness. Having you here, in my space, making it feel less like an empty house and more like …”

“Just … be here, Tess. That’s more ...

“Blake …” “Besides,”

“you’re actually doing me a favor. Now I won’t lie awake at night, imagining you breathing in toxic mold.” “You worry about me?”

“Only when you do stupid things. Like moving next door to Norman Bates.” “He’s not⁠—” “And now,”

“I won’t be distracted at work, wond...

creepy neighbor is building a shrine to you i...

“That’s a bit dramatic.” “I’m a doctor. We’re known for o...

“Almost as dramatic as wedding planners who refuse to accept help from t...

“Fine. But I’m at least doing the dishes.” “Touch my dishwasher, and I’m changing all the passwords in this place to components of the periodic table. Now, can we get on with this tour, or do you need to list more chores I won’t let you do?” “A tour.”

“Says the guy who exclusively watches people getting dismembered in horror films.” “Those are educational. Some of us actually need to know where the arteries are.” “Pretty sure The Texas Chain Saw Massacre isn’t included in med school curriculum.” “Shows what you know.”

“And before you start with the guilt spiral, I changed the purchase passcode to your birthday. Figured you couldn’t forget that one.”

“Blake …” “If you’re about to launch into your you shouldn’t have done this speech, remember our deal.”

“Numbers for the personal assistant and chef.” “I didn’t know doctors got personal assistants.” “She’s not from the hospital. I hired her directly. She handles the errands I’m too busy for.” “Like preparing for unexpected houseguests?” “Like making sure said houseguest doesn’t starve to death because she forgets to eat when she’s working.”

“Your ex-boyfriend, or any current or future boyfriend, is not welcome here.”

“Why?” “Because I’ll be tempted to shove his face into my fireplace.”

“And hospital boards tend to frown upon that?” “I don’t want to ruin my perfectly good fireplace. Plus, I need to be able to think clearly; this is my safe space, and I’ll be working after hours on your case here, so if you’re going to meet a man, meet him outside these walls.”

“Don’t worry. My only boyfriend right now requires AA batteries.”

“I wish you hadn’t told me that.”

“Why?” “Because now I’m going to constantly be craning my ears to see if I can hear that coming from your room.”

“Look.” He gestured to the bookshelf. “Had my assistant grab all the best-selling porn from the nearest bookstore.” “It’s not porn!” “Really?”

“Because this blurb implies the monster has two massive cocks.”

“I know what you’re doing.”

“You’re trying to distract me so I don’t feel weird about all of this.” “You seriously think a little food and some books are the most fascinating thing in this penthouse right now?”

“You just admitted to having a vibrator, and you have a porn collection. I’m busy wondering how many of these books have anal.” “I’m sure if I looked at your internet browsing history, your porn collection would be pretty interesting too.”

“Your office.” His hand hesitated on the knob. “You mentioned being on a tight deadline with this wedding planning. I might have asked my assistant to do some research about what a wedding planner needs in their workspace.” “Blake …” “If you hate it, we can undo everything. If we missed something, we can add it.”

“Blake, this is too much.” “Nothing is too much for you, Tessa.”

“That’s why I borrowed it.” He shifted his weight. “Not just to snoop through your medical history.” “Though you definitely did that too.”

“Doctor-patient confidentiality prevents me from commenting.”

“We can change anything you don’t like.” “Bl...

“No one has ever done anything like this for me.” “It was one p...

“I just wanted you to have a space where you could work comfortably. You can have clients come here for meetings, use the chef for dinner presen...

Which was incredibly flattering and dangerously complicated. Because now, every smirk, every laugh, every heated look was making it harder to remember why we’d always kept that line drawn between us. And somehow, I had a feeling that line was about to become very, very blurry.

God bless I hope it does because we're almost 200 pages in

And that’s when the universe decided to test my ability to maintain basic motor functions. Blake strode in, wearing nothing but workout shorts, his tattooed torso glistening with sweat that—you guessed it—made his muscles look even more impossibly sculpted.

“What’s wrong?” I blinked rapidly, trying to reboot my brain. “Oh … nothing … just … you’re here, not at work, and working out, and … I have pancakes.”

I am cackling at her awkwardnesss in this moment.

“That’s a medical-grade, high-absorption multivitamin,”

“Along with vitamin D and a probiotic. I’d like you to take them daily.”

“I prefer my multivitamin. It’s a che...

“It tastes like candy, and I don’t like to swallow.” The words hung in the air for one mortifying second before a smirk played across his annoyingly perfect jawline. He approached slowly, like a predator who knew exactly how distracting his presence was. “Learn to swallow,”

And then he did the most unexpected thing: he kissed the top of my forehead.

My heart.

“The agreement was for me to stay here to avoid potential mold exposure,”

“I didn’t see the page of

our agreement that outlines you taking contr...

“You think this is me taking control?”