Officer on Duty (Lock and Key Book 4) (12 page)

Her flat honesty cut him to the quick and left him stunned.

She reached out and took him by the hand.

The warmth of her touch outshone the heat of the sun, and her hand fit nicely inside of his. Their walk back down the seashore seemed to take a fraction of the time their walk out had, and was over too soon.

* * * * *

“Please, dad?” Paige leaned on a kitchen chair, her eyes wide and her gaze intent.

Jeremy sat in his own chair, his spine rigid as he swirled a gritty last sip of coffee in his mouth.

“I don’t know, Paige. It’d be one thing if the party was going to be at her house and supervised by her parents, but there’s no way they’ll be able to watch over a dozen girls in big public places like that.”

“All my friends are going. It’s not like I’d be alone.”

He fought a sigh. “Paige, honey, knowing you’d be surrounded by twelve year old girls doesn’t put my mind at ease.”

“Shannon and I have been friends since third grade. You always let me go to her birthday parties before.”

“Those were normal birthday parties – cake and ice cream at her house.” He frowned. “What kind of twelve year old girl has a birthday party in an old plantation house, anyway?”

Paige shrugged. “Shannon does.”

“Shannon’s a weird kid.”

“It’s not
that
weird. Lots of kids from school have been on the ghost tours they’re doing at Wisteria now. And it’ll go perfectly with the movie.”

He sat up straighter. “That’s another thing – I don’t like the thought of you going to see some horror movie. The real world is scary enough.”

A horror movie followed by a ghost tour. What the hell kind of parents let their daughter celebrate her twelfth birthday with a night like that?

Paige did something she rarely did: pouted. Her lower lip seemed to double in size as she continued to stare him down.

“I’m twelve, dad. Sometimes you treat me like I’m so much younger. I can handle a scary movie; you don’t have to be so paranoid all the time.”

Strong words, coming from Paige. She obviously had her heart set on attending the strange excuse for a birthday party.

“Since when do you even like scary movies?”

She shrugged. “I don’t, really. But it’s Shannon’s birthday and I want to be with my friends.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel right about it. I wish she was doing something else for her birthday, because I can’t say yes.”

Paige deflated. There was no other word for it. With a sigh, she slumped over the chair for a second before turning on her heel and retreating to her room without another word.

He knew he’d made the right call, but that didn’t stop him from feeling like shit. Paige had so many reasons to be disappointed in him – he hated giving her more.

* * * * *

Lucia’s heart picked up pace as she scrolled through her phone contacts and tapped the most recently added name: Jeremy.

Hey
, she typed,
are you busy
?

After hitting send, she gazed out the window, toward his house. Having him so close was a double-edged sword: it was convenient, but also burdened her with the constant temptation to skip across the street and embarrass herself. She’d been fighting the urge for the past fifteen minutes, ever since she’d arrived home from her Monday shift at work.

No. You?

Just got home from work.

She exhaled slowly, remembering walking with him on the beach the day before. Holding his hand. It was funny, but those memories were every bit as exciting to her as the memories they’d made in his bedroom.

Not that she wasn’t dying to make some more of those.

I haven’t been home long either. Another day sitting at a desk and pushing pencils.

How’s your leg?

Fine. They should give me some real work.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. He still had stitches – no way was his leg ‘fine’. She was just about to reply when another message from him flashed on her screen.

You free tomorrow after work?

Yes. Why?
Her heart skipped a beat.

My mom’s going shopping in Wilmington and Paige is going along. She’s almost always out ‘till dusk when she shops.

Her heart beat even faster. She knew Paige came first in Jeremy’s life – as she should – and that his job was demanding. She also knew that he worried about not having enough time to devote to a relationship, and she didn’t want him to feel pressured. But God, was she excited by the thought of getting some time alone with him again.

Do you want to stop by my place after your shift?

Absolutely.

Okay. Do me a favor…

What?

Come straight here. Don’t change out of your uniform.

You got it.

After his last text, she had to turn up the AC.

Jeremy would’ve felt guilty going over to Lucia’s on Tuesday after work, but it wasn’t like he’d pawned Paige off on anyone or asked his mom to take her somewhere just so he could be with Lucia. She’d suggested the shopping trip out of the blue, freeing up the perfect opportunity for them to be alone together again.

It was perfect, and he’d been looking forward to it all day. Each hour behind a desk had ticked by agonizingly slowly, and he’d fantasized about Lucia while watching the clock. Now, he was finally pulling onto Magnolia Street.

He parked his cruiser in his garage – he didn’t like to leave it out in public view. He also didn’t want any of the neighbors to see it parked in Lucia’s driveway and blab to his mother – or worse, Paige.

He’d reveal his new relationship with Lucia on his own terms, when he was good and ready. For now, he was still busy trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Lucia
wanted
to try out
a relationship with him.

A woman like her had every right to ask for so much more than what he could give. He was a lucky bastard.

He was used to roasting in his black uniform, but the heat was especially intense as he climbed her porch stairs and knocked on the door.

She answered right away.

“Hey.” She wore a blue sundress, and the straps left her shoulders all but bare. Her hair hung loose and damp over their slopes, like she’d just showered. And her eyes…

They were riveted to him. He noticed the way her gaze slid slowly down the front of him, from his collar to his boots. Hell, he
felt
it.

“Hey.”

When she stepped aside, he listened for the
click
of the deadbolt sliding home after she shut the door.

He heard it, and a little of the tension went out of his muscles.

“I made some sweet tea,” she said. “Do you want some?”

“Sure.”

“You look beautiful,” he said when she handed him a glass filled half with tea and half with ice. “You could stop traffic in that dress.”

She smiled, and her gaze settled on him again. There was a gravity to it he remembered from their encounter in his bedroom, only now it was stronger.

He remembered what she’d said about liking men in uniform, and his cock stiffened to half-mast. Her looking at him like that was enough not only to make his dick rise, but his chest swell with pride.

After a while, he finally remembered to drink his tea. A couple sips left him with a vague impression of sweetness – a sweetness she surpassed. All he really wanted in his mouth was her, but he drank anyway.

She said she was interested in more than just a physical relationship, so that meant he needed to do more than just pounce on her every time they were alone in a room together.

Damned if he knew what else to do, though. Her allure fogged his brain with desire, and he ached to do all the things he’d fantasized about.

“I stopped at the drug store the other day,” she said, “so we don’t have to hold back this time.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that the meaning might not have registered, had there not been a husky note in her voice.

Truth was, he’d stopped at the drug store that morning too. Holding back had been sweet agony last time, and he didn’t know if he was capable of summoning that much self-restraint again.

“Straight and to the point,” he said. “You damn near made me drop this glass.”

She grinned. “I’ve got more. Break it if you want; I only care about one thing right now.”

There was that look again – the one that made him feel like her gaze went straight through his bullet-proof vest.

He was fully hard and aching for her already.

“Jesus, Lucia. Hold on a second while I pinch myself. Pretty sure I had this exact same dream last night.”

He teased because it was either that or throw down the glass, grab her and press all her soft curves against all the hard edges of his uniform, duty belt and body.

She stepped forward, and he managed to set the glass down on the table. Then her arms were around him, and he could feel the heat of her body despite his vest.

He groaned when she bellied up against his erection.

“You look so good,” she said, breathing deeply. “If I was wearing panties, they’d be wet.”

Her words hit him like lightning. How had he ended up with this woman wrapped around him in a dress and no panties? His mind spun as he tried to make sense of it.

He couldn’t, and so he scooped her up instead, gathering her close against his chest before she could go anywhere.

She laughed. “My bedroom is just down the hall.”

He had her there in a heartbeat, and didn’t put her down until he reached her bed. It was a queen draped with a colorful quilt that creased beneath her as she laid back.

The skirt of her sundress rode up high, revealing nothing but the curve of her hip and plenty of skin.

He couldn’t resist touching, stroking the skin her bikini strap had lain across the other day at the beach. He’d longed to peel it down then, and now here she was with nothing in his way.

When he let his fingertips drift to the edge of the dark hair above her pussy, she twisted, opening her thighs so that he had a clear view of her lips, her clit … everything.

It was beyond hot, and the dress clinging to the top half of her body was a tease, compounding the lust that rushed through him. All this, and he still hadn’t laid eyes or hands on her breasts. The cotton bodice molded to them, and it was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra.

He stroked the seam of her pussy as he leaned in, drawn to the promise of her nipples pressing stiff against the thin slip of a dress.

She sucked in a breath, and he caught himself doing the same as his fingers slipped and encountered a hint of silky heat.

He’d felt it before – tasted it – but it was different this time, knowing he’d soon be buried in it.

He ran his other hand over the front of her dress, brushing soft slopes and hard nipples, until he felt the zipper running up her right side. Gripping the tiny bit of metal, he pulled.

The dress split along her ribs, loosening so that the side of one breast was exposed, soft skin peeking from between the delicate teeth of the zipper.

His vest, duty belt and the sundry items attached to it made it uncomfortable to lean deeper over her, but he couldn’t have cared less. He cupped her breast and withdrew his hand from between her legs so he could peel the bodice down, exposing all of her.

She was beautiful, especially when she arched against the mattress, pressing her nipple against the palm of his hand.

He’d never been hotter, and it wasn’t because of his vest or his black uniform. Finally, he pressed his mouth against the peak of one breast and teased it with his tongue and teeth.

She gasped and pressed a hand against the back of his head, nails biting straight through his short hair and stinging his skull in a way that made his dick throb.

By the time he stopped, he was sure there’d be little half-moon marks on his scalp. Not that anyone would be able to see.

“The condoms are in my top dresser drawer,” she said when he released her and stood up straight again.

Her pose was relaxed, but he could see the tension in the swimmer’s muscles beneath those curves. Her face was flushed, her lips almost ruby. She looked like she wanted him almost as much as he wanted her.

“I’ve gotta warn you,” he said, “I’ve been sweating in this uniform all day.”

He had a feeling that most women didn’t factor the sweating caused by Kevlar into their fantasies.

“I don’t care.” She gripped one of his hands and guided it to the cleft between her thighs.

Succumbing to desire, he stroked her pussy lips.

They were wetter than they’d been just minutes ago.

He had to make himself stop before he buried his fingers to the knuckles inside her.

Turning on his heel, he approached the dresser beside the bed.

The unopened box of condoms was right where she’d said it’d be, in the top dresser drawer. They rested atop an assortment of panties: cotton, satin and lace in all colors. A thrill went through him as the soft fabrics brushed his fingers.

The box was a twenty-four pack. The idea of fucking her twenty-four times hit him like lightning, making him ache from head to toe. For now, he opened it and took out just one, laying it on top of the dresser.

“I can’t keep all of this on,” he said, unbuckling his duty belt.

She rolled onto her side and propped her head on a hand, watching. Lying that way with her long hair spilling messy and damp over her shoulders, she looked like a goddess. Like Aphrodite fresh out of the sea, or however the story went.

He set the belt on her dresser, careful not to nick the wood with his service weapon, cuffs or the other hard things he carried. Then he unbuttoned his uniform shirt, feeling the weight of her gaze on his hands, button by button.

He set the shirt aside before setting to work on his vest’s Velcro fastenings, then finally removed it.

It felt good to have it off. It felt even better to peel off the moisture-wicking t-shirt he wore beneath. It was absolutely disgusting, so he tossed it into a far corner of the room. Then, because it was what she’d said she wanted, he put his uniform shirt back on.

“You don’t have to button it
all
the way back up.” She flashed him a sultry smile.

He left the top three undone, and then he was finally done fucking with his uniform and free to fuck with her.

He moved in and she met him with open arms, embracing him and pulling him close. If the dried sweat on his skin fazed her at all, she didn’t let it show. Right away, she had her hands and mouth all over him, stroking his chest and kissing his neck.

He buried a hand in her hair, gripped a thick fistful and pulled back until her mouth was tilted toward him.

He kissed her deep and hard, his pulse pounding in anticipation.

Then he felt the jerk of her hands at the fly of his uniform pants.

She made short work of the button and the zipper, and it was good to be free. Even better to feel her hand wrap around his shaft in a tight, hot fist.

He flexed his hips and reveled in the sudden friction until he couldn’t take it anymore.

He stilled her hand at the last second, then pried it away so he could put the condom on.

It’d been a long time, but that wasn’t what his excitement was about. It was about her, plain and simple. The sight of her tangled in her hiked-up, unzipped dress and looking up at him had him ready to burst.

“Closer,” he said, his thighs pressing against the edge of the mattress. “Closer, where I can reach you.”

He still had his boots on, and he kept them planted firmly on the ground as she slid to the edge of the bed, her legs bent and spread, right in front of him.

He groaned as he laid hands on her thighs and lifted her knees up onto his shoulders.

The position slanted her at an angle, her shoulders on the bed and her pussy just below his dick, suspended in air. He held her tight with one hand while he wrapped his other around the base of his shaft and guided the head of his cock to her folds.