“Roxie?” he whispered, scrambling from his knees and heading toward her.
He turned his cell phone’s light on. She lay on her side, trembling. Her tear-streaked face was eerily blue in its light. “Did I kill him?”
“I don’t think he could see much of you in the dark. You didn’t have anything to do with his death. It’s all right. He can’t hurt you.”
A sob broke through the darkness. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. If I had known his son was sick, I’d have paid all the medical bills.”
Charlie hunkered on the floor, took her in his arms and stroked the silky hairs at the back of her head. “I know you would have. I know you would have.”
She breathed against his ear, soft puffy breaths that told him she had a whole lot of healing to do before she could easily put Rowter from her mind. Tragedy engendered misery.
“Why don’t you get dressed, come downstairs, while I check on Hector and the other man?” he whispered, hating to leave her but, at the same time, worried about the two who had been assigned to protect them.
She nodded. “And there’ll be more questions, right?” Her face was wet with glistening tears.
He nodded. Questions from the police had become a common occurrence as a result of his relationship with Roxie.
The moon was low in the sky before the police left the safe house. Hector and the plainclothes cop had been shot but, Charlie had been assured, were expected to survive. That meant there was only one thing left to do.
Charlie punched speed dial number five. “Kyle, I’m getting us out of here,” he said as relief poured through him. Rowter was gone and would not chase after them anymore, and hopefully, the cops wouldn’t think of more inquiries. Roxie clung to him, her fingers clutching at his shirt.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he lifted her into the waiting car. She held onto him relentlessly.
Charlie hardly dared ask the question. If Roxie decided she wanted to leave him, could he handle that or would the loneliness he lived with, return? “Where would you like to go?” He waited with bated breath.
“I’d like to go back to my apartment and get my bike.” Her expression was hopeful.
That was a simple enough request. “We can do that. And then what?”
“And then I’d like to make love to you under the stars.” She pressed her nose against his cheek. “To fuck you real good.”
His heart swelled almost to bursting in his chest. He better be careful, or he’d end up like Rowter. “I want that. After that?” he prompted, feeling her warm breath against his face.
“I go back to back at Woody’s?”
Her scent was driving him crazy. He didn’t know what to think. “That sounds more like a question.”
“After that what I decide depends on you.”
He kissed her earlobe. Marriage was a possibility, but he didn’t think she was ready, and he didn’t wish to frighten her away. “I want you with me, but you might not want me because you want to be free.”
Off in the distance, crickets chirped and a lone owl hooted.
“I can be free, work at Woody’s and make love to you when you come to L.A.”
“What if I want to stay here?” The notion had never before entered his head, but suddenly he found the possibility intriguing, especially if Roxie, or Elizabeth, was with him.
“Then I’ll make love to you much more often,” came on a drawn-out sigh, as she pressed her breasts against his chest. “On one condition.”
Charlie suspected he knew what it was. “What would that be?”
“You don’t tell my father where I am?” Her voice sounded expectant.
“He’ll find out sooner or later,” he warned, “considering all the action you’ve been through and that you might appear in the media.”
“We’ll take that as it comes, but let’s get my bike. I think we have an appointment with the stars.”
He laughed with a resounding heartiness. Life was good, and somehow, Roxie would find her place in it, as she already had in his heart. He had no doubt about that.
About the Author
Aurora Rose Lynn lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and conure. She enjoys writing romance with a sensual twist, but first and foremost, her stories must be about love. When she isn’t writing romance, she writes young adult and fantasy stories under a pen name.
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Handcuffs and Lace
Resplendence Publishing’s Erotic Romance Line of
Law Enforcement Themed Stories
Shadow Hunter by Aurora Rose Lynn
A menacing shadow lies over Evan Fox, a NYPD detective. Months earlier, he believed his job was done. The terrorist who almost took countless lives on a subway train is searching for the beautiful woman who foiled his attack. Evan needs to get into her apartment to protect her, but will his actions be seen as simply a way to get her into bed?
Although she’s moved on with her life, Grace Baxter, a former FBI agent, endures life under the shadow of her troubled past. Once she opens the door to the handsome police officer who stood by her when she needed someone to care, there is no turning back. She thought she knew him, but she was wrong. The shadows of the past merge with those of the present. Who is the hunted and who is the hunter?
Sexy Lexy by Aurora Rose Lynn
Amber Wyeth returns to her hometown of Cedar Ridge aiming to take revenge on an old high school flame who jilted her on prom night, only to discover the sexy sheriff might haul her off to jail for being naughty. When one erotic game leads to another, will Amber’s quest for revenge leave her wanting more?
Sheriff Joey Hansen’s fantasies are about to come true in a way he never expected when he meets the owner of a red Porsche with SXY LXY license plates on a deserted highway. She has car trouble but the driver’s spicy games and scanty clothing are revving his engine up. How can he quench his longing for the beautiful woman? He decides turnaround is fair play.
Handcuffs and Lies by Bronwyn Green
Sometimes promises to friends are the hardest to keep. Undercover police officer, Michael Tanner, promised his dying partner that he’d take care of the man’s little sister. Trouble is, after her brother’s death, Doctor Tori Spinelli wants nothing to do with Michael—or any other cop for that matter.
Tori has always fought against overprotective men and deception. Forced into protective custody with Michael, she’s now faced with both in the same package. Despite their differences, Tori falls in love with him, but how can she trust a man who lies for a living?
Cuffed Again by Mia Jae
The Chief Financial Officer of the non-profit Cerise Thacker runs has been cooking her books. The DA fears the CFO’s deep family roots will come after Cerise, particularly after the CFO states he will “fucking see to her death.” So she’s whisked away in a Yellow Cab into a short-term police protection prog
ram to keep her safe. The cabbie? Isaac Walker, undercover cop. For the duration, Isaac will be her protector, even though she doesn’t want protection.
Thing is Cerise and Isaac are not strangers. They’d shared a role-play domme/sub encounter about a year earlier—neither of them revealing who they really were. Now they are thrust together in a situation of extreme danger and passion where Isaac must remain in control of the situation at all costs, even though he so very much wants to give it up to Cerise. And Cerise must do everything that Isaac says to the letter, even if she doesn't want to.
That is, if they want to get out of this thing alive.
She’s Got Balls by Mia Watts
What do you do with a “wife” who is more than you can handle?
When the FBI and local law enforcement team up for a mutually beneficial crime-stopping partnership, Rookie Agent Chris Tarpington and Detective Vin Pilk team up to prototype the new alliance. How better to bust a ring of drug dealing suburban housewives than to go undercover—way undercover—as a married couple?
Though Chris reluctantly gets in touch with his feminine side, he quickly finds ways of making his sexy partner squirm. And Vin is definitely squirming, but will he run away from his faux wife, or right into 'her' arms?
One thing is for sure: as the investigation heats up, “inter-agency cooperation” will take on a whole new meaning...
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Checkmate by Kris Norris
For years he’s hidden in the shadows...watching...hunting. His attempts have never been successful, until now. And his game is just beginning.
Kendall Walker and her brother, Trace, share a passion for adventure racing. But when Trace is kidnapped by a psychotic figure from their past, Kendall finds herself immersed in an adventure race beyond anything she’s ever known. And if she doesn’t reach each checkpoint in time, Trace will die. She’ll do anything to get her brother back, even surrendering to a man intent on becoming her lover. Luckily for her, Dawson has other plans.
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Harvest Moon by Janet Eaves
After her sadistic husband is dead, Winifred Butler believes herself finally free of his horror. But he continues to torment her from the grave as his secrets and lies, treason and terror, bring Agent Tom Green to her door. She is as determined to keep her past a secret as Tom is committed to bringing her secrets to light. Only one of them can win. So both must fight the attraction to the other, knowing they have everything to lose...
A Perfect Escape by Maddie James
A changed identity. A secluded beach. A sniper.
Megan Thomas is running for her life. From Chicago, from the mob, from her husband. She runs to the only place she feels safe—a secluded cottage on an east coast barrier island.
Smyth Parker is running from life. From work, from society, from a jealous ex-wife—his only consolation the solitude of Newport Island. He doesn’t need to anyone to screw up that plan. And he sure as hell doesn’t need to complicate it with Megan Thomas.
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Rough Edges by Jannifer Hoffman
When Julia Morgan M.D. miscarries twin girls, she divorces her husband, believing he is to blame. He forces her out of her position at the hospital and threatens her credibility as a doctor if she attempts to practice medicine. Without mentioning her medical degree, Julia accepts a position as nanny on a Colorado ranch 900 miles away.
Dirk Travis is in trouble. His wife has gone missing, and his housekeeper is threatening to quit. He is in desperate need of a reliable person to look after his four-year-old twins. Even though Julia appears to be the answer to his prayers, he can’t help but think she’s a bit too perfect.
Both insist their relationship will be business only. While those plans start to go awry, other things begin to happen. People are getting killed and Dirk is the prime suspect, but that doesn’t stop the heat index from rising between Dirk and Julia, even as she appears to be the next target.
Brilliant Disguise by JL Wilson
An undercover FBI agent in a tiny Iowa town finds you can’t hide anything from a woman who’s determined to find out the truth...
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Pixels and Pain by James Goodman
Explore the dangerous domain of a madman…
Johnny Walker is a FBI agent on a personal crusade to catch a killer. One year ago, his little sister was brutally murdered and the police still don’t have a suspect. Mary Marshall founded a watchdog group to rid the world of online predators after her sister fell victim to a charismatic stranger she met on the popular networking website, HiyaSpace.
As the similarities surrounding their losses draw these two together, they soon embark on a desperate quest for answers—a quest wrought with peril, betrayal, and unimaginable horror. In a virtual world where everyone’s a friend, and everyone’s a suspect, will Johnny and Mary be able to track down an internet serial killer whose unspeakable deeds threaten to destroy them all?
Or will the hunters become the prey, unable to escape a web of Pixels and Pain?
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