by J. S. Cooper
As I got closer to the group, I could see that there were three women and two men. One of the guys had his hand on one of the girl’s back. I assumed they must have been a couple as I watched her laughing loudly at something and playing with her hair; obviously flirting with the guy. I watched his hand move to her bottom, and I laughed as she stepped away from him. But then he moved his hand back up to her back and all seemed to be well again. As I got closer to the group, their words became more coherent, and I frowned as I thought I recognized one of the voices. Was that Jules? I frowned and started walking faster. If that was Jules, then she was with Betsy and Stella, and they were with two strange men. What the hell was going on here? I ran over to the crowd, pulled out my flashlight, and pointed it at the group.
“What’s going on here?” I said in a gruff voice, glaring at Betsy as I realized that she was the woman who I’d thought had been a part of the couple. My eyes took in her male companion and his half-naked body, white-blond hair, and surfboard. He stared back at me with a cocky grin and I knew immediately who it was and why he was back. I also remembered the last conversation we’d had in high school when I’d warned him to stay away from Betsy. I could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking about the very same incident. And this time it looked like he wasn’t going to be scared off so easily.
Chapter 8
Betsy
The furious look in Jeff’s eyes as he stared at us was something I’d never seen before. It both scared me and turned me on a little bit.
“Look, Jeff, we’re not doing anything wrong,” Jules said in her usual combative tone, but Jeff didn’t take his eyes off me.
“What’s going on here, Betsy?” He took a step closer to me. I stared right back at him and I could also feel Nick Campbell moving closer to me on my right, his hand still on the small of my back.
“Is there a problem, Officer?” Nick said in that slow drawl that all surfers seemed to have. Jeff gave him a look that would have made a lesser man flinch, but Nick didn’t look taken aback at all.
“Did you know that having open alcohol containers on the beach is a fineable offense?” Jeff was totally in police officer mode. I stared at his waist and saw his gun holster and wondered where his handcuffs were. My mind immediately went back to his comment from the night before. What sort of naughty things would he do with his handcuffs? I stared at him for a few seconds and my eyes went south toward his crotch. My face burned as I thought about the fact that I’d seen him naked yesterday. Oh, God, all I could see in my mind was his dick.
“We only have a few ciders,” Nick replied.
I looked over at him, surprised that he was the one talking. He’d literally joined our group only about ten minutes earlier and he hadn’t even taken a cider when we’d offered him one. I stared at his side profile, and I was surprised at how manly he looked compared to when we’d been in school. He had filled out nicely and had a deep olive tan that made his white-blond hair and blue eyes stand out even more. His face was rugged and scruffy, with a short beard growing in. He wasn’t exactly my type, but I hadn’t been able to avoid noticing the very obvious assessment he’d given me when he’d joined our group. He’d known who I was as soon as he’d walked out of the ocean with his surfboard.
His friend Chad had followed behind him and had seemed quite happy to flirt with Jules and Stella both. I had a feeling that he was hoping that he’d somehow end up in a threesome tonight. He was cute as well, with long, dark, floppy hair and toned body, but I could tell that neither girl was interested in him.
“Ciders have alcohol, do they not?” Jeff’s voice was unrelenting, and I could see Jules rolling her eyes.
“Give it up, Evian,” she answered, and then Nick stepped forward.
“Jefferson Evian, is that you?” he said as he reached his hand forward. “It’s me, Nick Campbell. How’s it going, old man?”
“Good.” Jeff didn’t shake his hand and Jules and I gave each other a quick look. “I’m going to need you guys to pour that alcohol out, please.”
“Wow.” Nick looked back at me and winked. “Who would have thought good ol’ Evian would have become such a tight-ass. You certainly weren’t worried about breaking any rules when you were getting your cock sucked after football games.”
You could hear the collective intake of gasps as Jules, Stella, and I waited for Jeff’s response. My face was burning, and I couldn’t look at Jeff’s face. I didn’t want to think about him getting blown by other women, especially not when it could also have happened just the night before.
“Nick, is that really inappropriate talk in front of ladies?” Jeff’s voice was angry, and I looked up into his eyes then.
“Are you really one to be talking about appropriate and inappropriate?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow at him. He looked taken aback for a few seconds and I smiled to myself. “We were drinking ciders, Jeff. Not straight gin from a bottle or anything that’s going to get us drunk and unruly. Can’t you let it go?”
“If I let this go, who’s to know what you’re going to want me to let go next time?” His lips were thin as he stared at me. “It’s a slippery slope. I’m a police officer, I have to uphold the law.”
“Gimme a break!” Jules burst out, and Nick chuckled.
“Please, Jeff?” I asked him, wondering what his problem was. He had caught Jules and I on the beach drinking wine many times before, and he’d never been an asshole like this.
“Let me talk to you privately for a moment.” He grabbed me by my elbow and led me closer to the water. “What the hell is going on here, Betsy?”
“What do you mean what’s going on? We’re hanging out drinking ciders.”
“With two strange men?” He glared down at me, his blue eyes glowing in the moonlight. It looked like he hadn’t shaved. As he stared at me, I thought about how much he resembled a werewolf, and I giggled. “What’s so funny?” He looked taken aback.
“Are you going to bite me?” I asked him, wanting to reach up and pull his face down and kiss him hard.
“Bite you? What?” He touched my forehead as if to check if I had a fever. “Are you high? Were you guys smoking weed or something?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes at him. “You just remind me of Jacob.”
“Who the fuck is Jacob?” he asked me with a growl, his lips coming close to mine.
“The werewolf from Twilight.”
“The who from what?”
“You know—Bella’s other love interest. Edward Cullen was the vampire, and Jacob was the werewolf. I feel bad because I can’t remember his last name.”
“Who the hell is Bella? And Edward? A vampire? Betsy, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Did you never read or watch the Twilight series?” I stared at him in shock. How could he not have even heard of them?
“Nope, never heard of it.”
“You never heard of Twilight? The girl who has two men wanting her?”
“Oh wait, was that the glowing vampire movie?”
“You could say that.”
“What the hell does that have to do with our conversation?”
“You don’t need to keep saying hell, Jeff. I was just thinking that right now you look like a werewolf in the moonlight with your facial hair and stuff …” My voice trailed off as the frown left his face and was replaced by a silky, sexy smile.
“Oh, I do, do I?” He licked his lips. “Are you saying you want me to bite you, then?” He winked at me. “Where?”
“No, no …” I stumbled over my words. “I was just, I don’t know …” I ran my hands through my hair and then blurted out. “So did Veronica spend the night?”
“Veronica?” He said her name slowly and deliberately as he shook his head. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m just curious.”
“Would it matter to you if she had spent the night?”
“No, no, of course not. She can do what she wants. So can you.” I looked over his shoulder and s
aw that Nick was staring at me and was starting to head our way. “You’re a single, eligible bachelor, why shouldn’t you go around showing your privates to women and hooking up with whomever you want to?”
“I didn’t—” Jeff started but was interrupted by Nick joining us.
“Everything okay here?” Nick walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. His gave me a small smile. “You’re even prettier than I remembered you being, Betsy,” he said, and I smiled back at him.
“You’re too sweet, Nick.”
“What good fortune it was seeing you here tonight. I was going to drop by your coffee shop tomorrow—”
“It’s a bakery.” Jeff cut him off, and I looked over at him in surprise. He was glaring at us both and his voice was stiff. “Betsy owns a cupcake shop, not a coffee shop.”
“Bet you wish it was a doughnut shop, eh?” Nick laughed at his own joke, and I smiled to myself at Jeff’s scowl.
“Yeah, that joke never gets old.” Jeff rolled his eyes. “However, Nick, I’m going to have to ask you to step aside and rejoin the other group. I’m not done talking to Betsy here.”
“Really?” Nick raised an eyebrow at Jeff and then at me. “Hmmm,” he said after a few seconds and then took a step away from me. “You’re not going to scare me off so easily this time, Evian,” he said as he walked away and I frowned. What was that about?
“I can’t believe you’re interested in that jerk,” Jeff said with a frown. “You never mentioned him to me.”
“You never mentioned Veronica to me,” I said, and he pursed his lips.
“By the way, I wanted to say that I was completely out of line last night.” He grabbed my hands. “I wanted to apologize.”
“For the kiss, the rude comments after the kiss, or for flashing me?” I raised an eyebrow at him, and he laughed.
“Touché.” He nodded. “All three were out of order.”
“So, you regret all three?” I asked him, anxious to hear what he had to say.
“I don’t regret kissing you, no,” he said. “I do regret flashing you, but only because it wasn’t in person and it couldn’t have led to what I wanted it to lead to.”
“What did you want it to lead to?”
“What do you think, Betsy?” He brought my hand up to his mouth and he took one of my fingers and brought it to his lips and slowly sucked on it. My entire body froze, and I could feel my belly swirling with heat and lust. He only sucked it for a few seconds and then let it go. “That would have been a nice end to the evening.”
“Maybe I would have wanted to be the receiver,” I responded, and it was his turn to look shocked. I’m sure he never expected sweet and innocent Betsy to make those comments.
“We can make that happen right now, if you want,” he said as his arms went around my waist. His body felt warm and hard next to mine, and I shivered slightly before pulling away.
“I’ve heard that sexual encounters on the beach go against the Canyon Beach City ordinances,” I said with a smirk as I looked at him through veiled eyes. “I’d hate for both of us get fined or arrested, Officer Evian.”
And with that, I walked away with my head held high. I could hear his low chuckles behind me and it took everything in me to not look back and run into his arms and beg him to do whatever he wanted to with me.
Chapter 9
Jeff
I stared at Betsy’s retreating back, and all I could think was if I saw Nick touching her again, I would arrest him. Maybe not the most ethical way to welcome him back to Canyon Beach, but the boys at the precinct would understand, and we’d eventually let him off with a warning. I headed back toward the group determined to speak to Betsy again. I had been able to tell from her facial expression that she’d been upset with me, but I wasn’t sure if it had just been because of Veronica showing up or if she’d been disgusted with my little peep show. I’d fully intended on stopping the crude jokes with her, but hadn’t been able to stop myself at the end and when she’d made that insinuation about going down on her. I’d wanted to pull her down to the ground with me, place her legs on my shoulders, and show her just how well I could work my tongue. Thankfully, I wasn’t drunk tonight and was able to stop myself from acting like a fool, but a part of me was still hoping she would take me up on the offer.
“So, did you guys pour the cider away?” I asked as I approached the group. I was thankful to see that Betsy was standing between Jules and Stella now. She had an obstinate look on her face, and I stifled a laugh. “I’m going to have to ask you all to vacate the beach now. Do you all have safe ways of getting home?”
“Yes, officer.” Jules saluted me. I kept my mouth shut as I knew she was deliberately trying to get another rise out of me. She’d been doing it my whole life. It suddenly struck me that Jules was like the sister I’d never had. I’d always considered Betsy to have that role, but that wasn’t really correct. I was close to Betsy as well, of course, but I had sexual thoughts about her. You didn’t have sexual thoughts about your sister. And I’d never looked at Jules as anything more than an annoying pest. Yes, I loved her as a friend if I ignored almost every word that came out of her mouth, but our relationship was definitely platonic.
“I’ll see you off of the beach, then.” I gave them a curt nod and headed toward the boardwalk. I looked back to see the girls following behind me while the two guys picked up their surfboards and headed out behind them.
I stared at my watch screen as I walked out of the precinct, 11:02 p.m.
“Wanna go for a beer, Evian?” Max Fernandes came up to me as I headed for my car. “First round’s on me, maybe we catch some chicks.”
“Nah, not tonight.” I shook my head. “Got to call it an early night, I’m on shift in the morning.”
“That sucks.” Max gave me a sympathetic glance. “Chief has me off for the next couple of days as he wants me to go to some conference in Denver next week with Potter and Eccles. Snoozefest.”
“I heard about that.” I laughed. “I pulled the ‘I’m doing the Bachelor Auction so you can’t rope me into it’ routine.” He told me that’s no way to get promoted, but whatever.” I shrugged. “You and Potter will have fun. Eccles will be on his phone to his wife the whole time.”
“Tell me about it.” Max grinned. “Man, did I tell you about Betsy Montgomery?”
Immediately, I felt my back going stiff. I sure hoped he wasn’t going to say anything about Betsy that was going to make me upset.
“That chick wants to bang me.” He grinned. “She dropped off this sexy pair of panties on my desk. Crotchless, baby. Easy access for the win.”
“Dude, I don’t think those were for you. Betsy isn’t like that.”
“I know she’s your best friend’s sister and most probably like your sister, as well, but that girl is banging. I’d have those panties off her so fast that—”
“Dude, enough.” I gave him a warning look. “You don’t talk about Betsy like that.”
“I wonder if the carpet matches the drapes” he went on. “I always wondered if she was a natural blond.” He paused. “Or maybe she has no carpet, and that’s why she’s going crotchless.” I glared at him and he stopped. “No need to be so sensitive, man. She’s not actually your sister. In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t hit that already.”
“Max.”
“Shit, I’d eat my cereal from her ass.”
That was crossing over the line for me. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t talk like that about Betsy.”
“What?” He looked at me in confusion and pushed my hand off of his shoulder. “What the hell, dude?” He looked into my eyes and at my face for a moment and then started laughing. “Oh, hell, no. I don’t believe it.”
“You don’t believe what?” I glared at him as he continued laughing. “What’s so funny? You won’t be laughing if you feel my fist in your face.”
“Dude, we’re cops. We can’t just go around hitting people.” He continued laughing as he sh
ook his head. “I never thought that this day would come.”
“What day?”
“The day that Jefferson Evian was sweet on a girl.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re sweet on Betsy Montgomery, aren’t you?” He threw his head back. “I suppose I can’t convince you to go to a strip club tonight, either?”
“Max,” I growled at him as his words hit me hard. “I’m going home. I’ll see ya around.”
And with that, I headed to my car. Sweet on Betsy Montgomery? Yeah, right. She was beautiful. With a sweet smile, and an amazing body, and she knew how to make cupcakes that could have melted the devil’s heart. But I wasn’t sweet on her. I just wanted to bang her. Hard. And then soft. And then maybe in between. I wanted to hear her screaming out my name. I wanted to see her eyes rolling back in her head as I brought her to orgasm. That was all I wanted. And the only reason why I was feeling angsty and pent-up was because I knew I couldn’t have her. I couldn’t just fuck Nolan’s sister and walk away like I did with all the other girls. One, because I knew he would kill me and it would end our friendship, and two, because Betsy wasn’t like other girls. She was sweet and good-hearted, and she wasn’t the sort who could handle a casual relationship.
I jumped into my car and was driving home when my phone beeped. I looked down at the screen and saw that Betsy had sent me a text message. I immediately pulled over to see what she had written and my jaw dropped when I stared at the photo she had sent me. It was a selfie taken from the side. She was lying back on the bed in a pair of cheeky panties that showed her ass cheeks, her long, tan legs spread out in front of her. She had on a loose V-neck white T-shirt that hung down slightly on one shoulder and exposed her collarbone. I took a deep intake of breath as I realized that she also had no bra on. What the hell? Sweet, innocent Betsy was sending me a sexy selfie? I chewed down on my lower lip not knowing what to do. I was honestly shocked. This was not a Betsy I recognized … but it was a Betsy I wanted to get to know a hell of a lot better.