Authors: Tessa Bailey
Tags: #police, #Romantic Suspense, #brazen, #line of duty, #erotic, #new york, #Contemporary Romance
could barely handle her fully clothed.
Half naked? It hurt to look at her.
“Bowen, please. I need something to
stop the hurt.”
The fact she didn’t even
know
what
she needed set off an odd burn in his
chest, but it also filled him with hot,
pumping anticipation at the idea of
showing her. “I know what you need, but
that’s not what I’m about to give you. I’ll
always give you
more
than you need,
Sera. Every time.”
He peeled the scrap of underwear
down her legs, his vision fraying around
the edges when he finally saw her
uncovered pussy.
Mine. It’s mine. She’s
mine.
Mine.
His
instincts
were
screaming at him to pin her down,
spread her open, and fuck her. But he
couldn’t let the urges win. After what
she’d given him, he owed her pleasure.
Still, this need to claim her in some
way had him reaching for his thinnest
paintbrush. He dipped it in purple paint
and brought it to her lower belly.
Knowing she couldn’t wait much longer,
he wrote his name quickly, but clearly.
Bowen
.
It
might
be
insignificant
compared to how he wanted to mark her
as his own, but it would have to do for
now.
He tossed the paintbrush aside,
blowing on the drying paint as he ran his
hands up the insides of her smooth
thighs. When they met at the sweetest
part of her, he ran a knuckle down her
seam to find her wet. His cock surged
against his belly, his body begging to be
inside her, to use the wetness to his
advantage. Instead, he pushed his middle
finger into her tight heat, groaning at how
little room he had to move it.
In the hopes that kissing her would
remind him to go slow, he crawled up
her body, sinking into a kiss as he
fingered her. “Let me ask you a question,
baby. What kind of dickless morons
have you been around your whole life
that not one of them made a play for you?
For this?” He added a second finger,
pushing a little deeper than before. “Not
that I wouldn’t want to end their
miserable lives for them right now if
they had.”
Finally, he’d loosened her up enough
that he could massage her G-spot with
his middle finger. “All-girls’ school,”
she gasped, her hips jerking off the floor.
“Do that again.”
Bowen obliged, keeping his fingers
working between her legs as his open
mouth skated across her cleavage. “You
like that, don’t you? I haven’t even
touched your clit yet.”
“Maybe you sh-should?”
“Not yet.” He moved back down her
body, his tongue licking a path along her
shuddering stomach, circling her belly
button. “My tongue wants the first
stroke.”
As soon as the words left his mouth,
he grew impatient to do exactly as he’d
said. Losing his battle to be gentle, he
shoved her thighs wide, taking a moment
to look her over. Memorize the moment.
Her back was arched off the floor, her
eyes on him wide and trusting, hips
shifting with the need he’d built with his
fingers. What had he called her when
they met? A stunner? How fucking
inadequate. He didn’t have words to
describe her. She glowed. She’d
somehow fallen out of the sky and
landed in this unworthy place, with an
unworthy man.
He threw her legs over his shoulders,
lowered his head, and took the first
delicious taste of her. Firming his
tongue, he licked up her center and went
right to work, worrying her sensitive
bundle of nerves. Fast, slow, fast, slow.
She liked it both ways, begging for one,
then the other. Her fingers pulled
frantically in his hair, making him even
hotter to get her off.
“
Bowen
. Don’t stop.
Please
, don’t
stop.”
He worked two fingers into her, never
pausing in the worshipping of her clit.
Already she was beginning to tighten up,
contracting around his fingers. One suck
of her nub into his mouth, a pinch of her
flesh between his lips, and she went
flying, screaming his name in a way he
knew he’d replay every damn day of his
life. He’d never seen anything like her,
the honesty that twisted her body,
blanketed her beautiful face. She
climaxed with every part of herself,
wringing each drop free as if it might be
the last time she experienced it.
Bowen had to laugh at that.
As soon as her thighs went slack on
his shoulders, he pushed them up,
bringing her knees even with her chest.
“More, Sera. I’ll always give you
more.”
His mouth didn’t stop until her throat
was too hoarse to scream his name
anymore.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sera leaned against the kitchen counter,
eating a green apple and trying not to
stare at Bowen’s closed bedroom door.
Even after what they’d done together last
night, he’d retreated to his own room
after depositing her limp body in the
guest room bed, underneath her halo
where he claimed she belonged. His
behavior grew more and more confusing,
and while she should be focused on the
case and not examining his actions, she
couldn’t help it. His huge presence had
taken up permanent residence in her
mind, and no way could she shake him.
He continued to be honorable, sticking
to his guns and not sleeping with her.
Even the nuns at Holy Angels would
approve. She should be grateful. Really.
Even without sleeping with him, she’d
started feeling…an attachment to him. A
dangerous realization if she’d ever had
one.
She could hear her uncle now.
You see
all the good in people. Never the bad.
You’re too soft to be a cop.
The familiar
rhetoric was so ingrained in her mind,
she could hear his voice like he stood in
the room.
Originally, she’d justified coming to
stay with Bowen as a way to further her
investigation while finding out if he’d
played a role in Colin’s death. Yet here
she stood days later without even one
attempt under her belt. She’d become too
comfortable and she needed to step
back, view the situation objectively
again. Already this morning, she’d done
a quiet search of the apartment that
yielded no results. Not that she’d
expected much in the living area or guest
room, Bowen being smart enough to
keep
any
possible
incriminating
evidence somewhere safe. Away from
prying eyes. Where, though?
Sera pushed off the counter. It would
only take her five minutes to get to
Bowen’s car and back. She could clear
her head and cross one more searchable
location off her list. It had to be done.
After tossing her apple core in the trash
can, Sera pulled on a light jacket and
went to the door. Unlocking the dead
bolts sent three loud
clank
s echoing
through the silent apartment, making her
cringe. She held her breath and waited to
hear movement in Bowen’s room, but
nothing came. With a relieved exhale,
she gently pried the door open and
slipped into the hallway.
Hands tucked in her pockets, she
moved quickly down the sidewalk,
grateful
that
residents
in
this
neighborhood appeared to be late risers.
Most of the shops hadn’t rolled up their
metal gates for the day. The fewer eyes
on her the better.
Bowen’s car sat parked just around
the corner from his building. She only
felt safe taking five minutes to search,
knowing that Bowen could wake up any
moment. It wouldn’t be a pretty scene if
he found her room empty. Five minutes
wasn’t very long, especially when you
had no idea what you were looking for.
Or in this case, hoping you didn’t find.
Her brother’s case had been labeled
cold—
officially
, anyway—and it had
been years since his death, so she didn’t
necessarily expect to find evidence.
However, she
could
search for a link
between Bowen and Hogan. Weapons.
The one that killed Colin had never been
recovered.
Sera’s hands clenched inside her
pockets. What would she do if she found
something incriminating? As soon as she
asked herself the question, something
became glaringly obvious. She was in
deep
. Into the investigation, yes, but
even more so with Bowen. When
evidence was found, it went to the
department.
There
were
no other
options. In her case, it went to the
department and she vamoosed as soon as
she was sure Hogan was gone. And
she’d go alone.
Why did that make her feel so empty
now?
When she reached Bowen’s car, she
let the slim jim she’d found beneath
Bowen’s sink fall from her jacket sleeve
into her palm. She slipped the tool
between the car window and rubber
seal, making quick work of the lock.
Quickly, she popped the trunk and
retreated to the back of the car, pushing
the slim jim up her sleeve as she went.
Inside, she saw nothing. A brand-new
tire iron, a Brooklyn Nets sweatshirt.
She lifted the lining and felt around, all
the while praying her fingers didn’t
connect with anything except the spare
tire.
After her search yielded nothing, she
heaved a sigh of relief and skirted the
bumper to the front passenger side,
flipping open the glove compartment.
Clean. Not even a crumpled-up parking
ticket. No, wait…a folded-up piece of
paper tucked inside beneath the plastic
manual. The yellow edge jumped right
out at her because it was the only thing
out of place in the clean car, appearing
as though it had been stored in a rush.
She pinched the very corner and drew
out a yellow pamphlet, laying it on the
seat.
Her hand rose to her throat. The
church program. Bowen had kept it.
Along the bottom edge, he’d written
yesterday’s date in heavy script, circling
it once. Guilt swarmed in the air, before
swooping in to break right through her
rib cage. Guilt and…something else.
Maybe she hadn’t gone out there looking
for evidence against Bowen. Maybe
she’d been looking for something to
justify her desire to save him. God, she
wanted to. It had taken this gesture to
kick her in the ass. Make her realize
exactly how vital that additional mission
was to her.
Without searching the rest of the car,
Sera replaced the church program
exactly as she’d found it, locked the car,
and returned to the apartment. To
Bowen.
Bowen drew on his cigarette as he
watched Sera from across the street. She
removed the rolled-up newspaper she’d
used to prop his building door open and
slipped back inside with the grace of an
adorable cat burglar. When the door
closed behind her, some of the tension
lifted from his shoulders. Although he’d
suspected she would sneak out at some
point, watching her knowingly deceive
him bothered him more than it should. A
lot
more.
He’d walked into this with his eyes
open, knowing Sera would be playing a
part. It shouldn’t be driving him out of
his mind she hadn’t confided in him yet.
Why would she? They’d known each
other for four days. Did he honestly think
she would jeopardize all her hard work
on the chance he turned out to be a
decent man?
Hell, he wasn’t a decent man. He’d
been treading water before, but she
finally managed to drag him below the