“Like her father before her.” JJ was laughing as he took her hand and tugged her up the stairs. To his room.
To his bed. Where she belonged.
He and Regan would be sure she didn’t stray again.
To that end, he painstakingly slowly stripped off JJ’s clothes and used his lips and hands to bring her to her first climax.
And, as long as he was about it, a second one, too.
* * *
Coming down from the mind-blowing orgasm, JJ panted for air. Her heart was going too fast, like a high-speed car chase. “You’re trying to kill me.”
As Caz moved up her body, his dark eyes filled with laughter—and heat. “No, mamita. As a medical professional, I assure you that what I have done—and will do next—should bring you no harm.”
Her eyes rounded. Will do next?
Caz stripped, sheathed himself, then got the cushions from the loveseat in the corner. After stacking them on the bed off to one side, he added a bed pillow. To her surprise, he lay down beside her and pulled her up and over him. On her knees, she straddled him, his cock directly beneath her pussy.
“Why did you make a stack of cushions?” She looked at the pile on the other side of the bed. “And why am I on top of you?”
“Me? I am taking a well-earned break from my labors.”
She shook her head. “That innocent look doesn’t work.”
“Not with an experienced police officer, no.” He chuckled and his hands moved over her breasts, teasing the nipples, tugging and pinching until she was squirming on the hard dick beneath her pussy. The cock she needed so badly inside her.
“You want”—her voice came out husky—“me to do the work?”
“Exactly.” He slid a hand under her ass and lifted her up slightly, using his other hand to position his cock at her entrance.
Slowly, she lowered herself onto him. Down and down. He seemed bigger in this position. So big. The flood of pleasure was incredible.
Her eyes burned slightly, because she’d thought this would never happen again.
His gaze softened, and he touched her cheek lightly. “I missed you, too.”
He pulled her down for a long kiss, one that melted her heart.
And then she finished taking him inside.
“You feel amazing. Slick and hot.” With a tight grip on her hips, he smiled at her wickedly. “Move for me, mamacita.”
Just what she wanted to do. She used the muscles of her thighs to rise slightly, seeing his pupils dilate.
His gaze on her was hot. Taking her hands, he guided her palms up and down her breasts, making her rub herself until her nipples were rigid peaks.
“Nice. Now, let’s see how hard you can work.” He pulled her forward and set her hands against his shoulders to brace her weight. Gripping her hips, he pulled her slowly up off his cock and slammed her down.
“Oh, God.” She’d already come twice, but somehow the feeling was rising within her again with his firm hands on her, his thick cock inside, the sudden penetration.
“Repeat that movement, if you would,” he said in a mild tone, although his hands never eased their hold.
“Right, right.” She leaned forward, moving slow, then pushed herself back onto his cock. Amazing. Forward and back. She tried to go slow, but urgency was beating inside her, her clit was starting to throb. Faster and faster, she slammed against him.
When he reached down to rub her clit every time she rose up, the pressure grew. Her body clenched around the thick impalement.
“Oh…oh, I have to…”
“Let it go, mamita,” he murmured. His other hand covered her breast, pinching the nipple. The sensation was a glorious burst of pain—and set everything off. Like the grand finale of a fireworks, pleasure bombarded her in mind-bending explosions.
Her attempts to move up and down turned into completely uncoordinated squirming as she came, drowning in sensation.
He was laughing as he rolled and positioned her on the stack of pillows, face to the mattress, hips high in the air.
Before she could speak, he settled between her calves, and with one shockingly hard thrust, penetrated her completely.
“Caz!”
“I had a nice rest, thank you.” He squeezed her buttocks. “Now I will enjoy my woman.”
* * *
Enjoy her he did. Finally. Since the first taste of his woman this evening, Caz had been fighting for control. Now, he hammered into her, hard and fast. Around his dick, her muscles gave small post orgasmic twitches.
Being JJ, she was trying to push back on him to increase his pleasure. He’d never known anyone more giving.
Slowly, heat rose at the base of his spine and moved into his groin. His balls drew up, the sensations magnificent. Over and over, he buried his length as deep as he could go. The urgency became unbearable until finally, as brilliant pleasure shook him, he emptied himself into her. Gave himself to her.
Running his hands over her back, he stayed on his knees, caught in the beauty of the moment. The softness of her skin. The flush on her face. The slight smile on her face.
As his heart began to slow, he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her off the mound of cushions, and laid her on the mattress.
“Stay there for a moment.” He stroked her hair, and then went into the bathroom to deal with details. In the future, perhaps those details could go away.
When he returned, he lay down beside her, pulled her into his arms, and savored the feel of her warm body against his. Damn, but he wanted to be inside her again.
“Caz.” She snuggled closer, rubbing her cheek on his chest. “About earlier. I’m sorry. I should have told you Regan was upset.”
“You did what you thought was right, mi corazón.” He stroked her back, pleased to feel the tension gone from her muscles. A fretter, his woman was.
“I guess I just… I’m still worried about Regan,” she said as if to confirm his knowledge.
“Tell me.”
“She has enough trouble at school without having me in her life. In your life.”
JJ wasn’t wrong. There would undoubtedly be problems. “I understand. It’s true that if someone says something rude about you, she will probably plant a fist in their face.” He chuckled. “Genes breed true, apparently.”
“That isn’t funny. She—”
“JJ, she will have any number of difficulties in the future. That’s life. Some trouble will undoubtedly come because of the gossip about you.”
She made an unhappy sound.
“Let’s weigh this out. On one hand, she has a woman who loves her, whom she adores. A role model. Someone who teaches her how a woman can be strong, shops with her, and fixes her hair. She’s never had that kind of attention, never been a treasured child.”
“How could anyone not love Regan? That’s just wrong.”
“Yes.” Caz hugged her. So very sweet. “But she’s a survivor. Years ago, Mako explained how exercise rips the muscles, and the tiny tears force the muscles to grow. That applies to living, as well. Pain forces us to grow.”
“I don’t want her in pain, dammit.” JJ started to sit up.
He gripped her arms, holding her until she looked at him. “She won’t be alone. If there is trouble, Regan will learn how a family holds together and defends each member. And she will be stronger for it, because that’s what a family is.”
* * *
JJ stared down at him, a caring man, as compassionate as he was strong and responsible. He’d lost his mother and sister, survived a horrible foster home…and had become part of an incredible family.
I want a family.
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken the words aloud until she saw the creases at the corners of his eyes deepen. “Mamita, you have a family if you’d only look at what is before you. Accept us.”
She stared at him.
He caressed her cheek. “Te amo, mamita. I love you.”
The words she’d been waiting a lifetime to hear. “You… I
love you, too.” As joy flooded her heart, tears blurred her vision. She choked on a laugh. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”
His smile answered her.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The faster you finish the fight, the less shot up you will get. ~ Unknown
* * *
JJ inched a little closer to the woodstove the following afternoon. The temperature had dropped, and damn, it was cold. The mug of tomato soup she was sipping warmed her hands. And her heart, as well. Noticing she was chilled, Caz had made the soup—and Regan had insisted on carrying it to her.
She swallowed hard…because she’d missed them so very much last week.
Through the window, she watched them. They were both wearing their new matching red-and-black scarves. When she’d brought her gifts over, Regan had stared at the scarf like she’d never received a present before, then put it on and worn it in the house all day.
Caz’s dark eyes had gone all soft, and when she’d given him his, he’d kissed her.
JJ sighed. She could live on his kisses.
The two were taking scraps to the chickens and collecting eggs. JJ grinned as Regan nailed Caz with a snowball.
He put the can of scraps down, swung an arm around Regan, and dumped her on her butt in a pile of snow.
There was a lot of squirming and shrieking—and the little girl was giggling so hard she almost couldn’t get out of the snow. Hands on his hips, Caz was laughing.
God, she loved them.
Thankfully, her cell rang before she could get too maudlin. She pulled it out of her pocket. It was Gene from Weiler. Smiling, she took the call. “Hey, training officer. How are you?”
“Good. I’m damned good.” His rough voice was loud and cheerful. “And so are you. Did you see the news? Those lawyers you and the other female officers sent were damn effective.”
JJ straightened. Bull had mentioned the lawyers had prepared a case. “Really? What happened?”
Gene laughed, long and hard. “It seems like the mayor and city council aren’t real happy about a potential lawsuit and have been stirring things up. To avoid corruption charges, the Chief of Police resigned Friday—and Captain Barlow and Lieutenant Nash Barlow followed him out the door.”
“Oh, God, seriously?”
“Yep. The new chief plans to look real damn hard at what’s been going on, will be recruiting to bring more diversity into the department, and the deterrents for harassment will get some teeth. The guy came up through the ranks in San Francisco, and, as it happens, he has two sisters who are LEOs.”
As Gene chatted about what he’d heard, warmth crept through her. She’d hoped that the bluff of a lawsuit would work.
If it hadn’t…if she’d had to take the bastards to court, Caz and his brothers would’ve been there at her side. She wouldn’t have been alone. And didn’t that feel good?
“So, how is it living in Alaska?” Gene asked. “I saw you had snow.”
“Oh, God, do we have snow.” Laughing, she started to tell him about all the ways Alaska was different from Nevada.
Chapter Thirty
When all else fails, gain fire superiority, move toward the path of the enemy guns, and destroy everything in your path. ~ Unknown
* * *
On Monday morning, JJ parked her car and walked toward the coffee shop. Even though it was overcast and cold, she couldn’t stop smiling. It was so, so good to be back in Caz’s arms every night. For the last three nights, he’d made love to her as if she’d been gone for months. Or maybe all the sex was to celebrate surviving an earthquake.
Admittedly, the quake hadn’t been that big a deal, not even in town. Short days and cold nights meant most of the populace had been inside, many in bed, when the shaking happened. A couple of people had fallen. No power lines were down.
She’d better get used to quakes, since this was her home now.
And how cool was that?
Her spirits soared even higher because…Caz loved her. And so did Regan.
Her step had a decided bounce as she crossed the sidewalk.
Inside, the coffee shop was crowded with people caffeinating up before work. JJ joined the line at the counter, pleased to fall back into her routine.
The weekend had been a healing one. She, Caz, and Regan had spent a lot of time together, just doing simple things that somehow created the strongest bonds.
Later, she’d gone over to Gabe’s cabin.
After collecting a big hug from Audrey, JJ apologized to Gabe and asked to withdraw her resignation. The chief’s expression had stayed totally hardass for a terrifying few seconds before he laughed and said he was damn pleased. He’d been afraid he’d have to beat the hell out of Caz—and those knives were a real problem.
What with Audrey snickering in the kitchen, all JJ could do was laugh.
She’d spent Saturday wondering whether to defend herself against the reputation-destroying rumors, then realized the answer lay with one question: What example did she want to give Regan? So on Sunday, she’d spoken with several Rescue residents—the ones who had an ear to the ground.
She huffed a laugh. In Weiler, informants had kept her apprised of problems in her precinct. In Rescue? Well, small town gossip was simply a different kind of information gathering.
As the line moved forward, Sarah, behind the counter, spotted her and raised a hand with a welcoming smile.
The door opened with a blast of cold air. Chevy entered with his partner, Knox.
Knox nodded with a respectful smile. “Officer.”
Acceptance was a lovely feeling.
The queue was slow, but JJ didn’t mind. The hissing, grinding, and rumbles of the coffee making were pleasant, and she was perfectly happy listening to Chevy and Knox debate the merits of cinnamon buns over donuts.
Until she heard a whisper, a sneering sound.
Stiffening, she turned to look.
Giselle and another women sat in a window booth. Snatches of the conversation were audible. “…Hermitage…officer…fucking…slut.”
Oh God. JJ’s shoulders hunched before she straightened up. She hadn’t planned on tackling the gossip in such a crowded venue, but here she was.
Guess it’s time to be a good role model for a little girl.
She stepped out of the line and moved close enough to the booth to confirm Giselle really was spewing lies about JJ. Again.
JJ sighed. The people she’d talked with on Sunday had offered opinions as to Giselle’s motivation. Apparently the woman had been chasing Caz since she moved to town—and Caz wasn’t interested.
“Excuse me, Giselle.” JJ made her voice loud enough to be heard by anyone who cared to listen. She was done with whispers. “You’re going around telling everyone I had sex with all the men at the Hermitage, and I only got my job because I screwed the Chief of Police. Neither of which is true. So why are you doing this?”
Every conversation in the room went silent.
Face bright red, Giselle turned—and realized JJ’d blocked any chance of getting out of the booth. She tried to sneer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know you.”
“You’re right. We don’t know each other, so I don’t understand why you’ve spread this bullshit about me. And yes, it was you. I asked people who started this gossip, and everyone pointed at you.” JJ paused. “What did I do to you that you’d be so nasty?”
Giselle looked around the room like cornered prey. “It’s not—”
“The Chief of Police loves Audrey, and they live together. Were you trying to break them up by telling lies about me?”
Gasps came from a few people. And…oh shit…Gabe stood up from a booth near the back. Face hard, he crossed his arms over his chest.
But, he had a right to be angry. If the chief and Audrey hadn’t been in a solid relationship, this kind of malicious gossip could have truly done some damage.
Everyone loved Audrey and Gabe. Which meant Giselle was in trouble, and she knew it
. Her mouth dropped open. “No! I would never. Audrey’s a great person. And the chief—” Giselle’s hands went up.
“As it happens, I have a relationship with Cazador, and you’re saying I screwed his brothers. Seriously?” JJ leaned forward. Intimidation 101. “Are you trying to cause problems between the brothers, then?”
Now Caz stood up. He and Gabe had obviously been having their morning coffee together. Caz looked at Giselle without any expression whatsoever.
Giselle’s face went white. “Oh, fuck! I’m sorry!” She turned to JJ. “I’m sorry, okay? I…I’ll tell people I was wrong. Completely wrong.”
JJ wanted to punch her.
No. Police officer, remember? With an effort, she nodded. “All right. You fix it, and we’ll call it even.”
As JJ stepped back, Giselle slid out of the booth, pushed past the line, and fled the building.
JJ closed her eyes, her nerves jangling. Damn, she’d rather be in a fistfight than deal with stuff like this.
Caz chuckled as he joined her. “You’re a holy terror when you get going, Officer Jenner.” His expression held both pride and laughter, and then he tilted his head toward the people lined up at the counter. “Listen.”
What? Tense, JJ listened.
“…some officer we got,” Knox was saying to Sarah. “She’s like a knife, you know, the way she cut that woman right down to size.”
“A knife?” Chevy let out a loud laugh. “Now don’t that just make sense? The doc loves sharp blades—no wonder he fell for her.”
JJ snorted. “You Rescue people are crazy.”
“And wrong.” A wicked glint in his eyes, Caz leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Since I’m the man, I’m supposed to be the blade. You are the sheath.”
There were no words. She punched him in the shoulder. Hard.
“Gabe, my blade hit me,” he whined loudly.
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