by AJ Nuest
A quick sip to wet his whistle, and he returned the cup to the coffee table. “The night I met the senator, Jaclyn told me she loved me and, like a fool, I believed her. I also believed the lies, the excuses, the crazy mixed-up stories she told me whenever she disappeared for hours on end.”
Eden lifted her feet off the floor and he followed the path of her red toenails as she tucked them under her ass. Resting her elbow on the arm of the couch, she dropped her head into her hand, coffee cup resting in her lap. The nondescript composure on her face was as expressionless as a mug shot. Was she processing? Upset?
Maybe he’d bored her stiff. In her line of work, she probably heard tons of sob stories. Still, he’d expected some reaction from her. A snarky comment about his complete lack of professionalism or how he deserved what he got because of his fucked up choices.
She squinted and he got the sneaking suspicion she was already three steps ahead of where this rodeo was headed.
But better to rip off a Band-Aid in one motion than to pick at it all day.
He cleared his throat. “After I moved out, a reporter caught wind of the breakup and wrote an article for the Trib about how the whole affair had been faked in order to move public awareness off the brutality going on inside the Chicago PD.”
A sardonic smirk hitched one corner of Eden’s lips, and he nodded.
“We’d been busted.” And so had his heart. Jaclyn had seemed only too happy to send him packing. Hell, she hadn’t even stuck around long enough to say goodbye. “No one liked that we’d been outed, least of all me, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. Or so I thought.”
Eden smiled, but no pleasure filled her eyes. “If I remember correctly, last year Senator Parsons was up for reelection.”
Yep, she’d nailed it. He nodded again, but the motion morphed into more of a pathetic, bobble-headed shrug. “A couple days later, the captain called me into her office and informed me I’d be receiving a Law Enforcement Commendation from the senator for my work on the case. I declined, of course. The last thing I wanted was to be rewarded for my behavior, but my refusal fell on deaf ears.”
He’d been given a choice—albeit an unspoken one—and he’d folded like a cheap suit. Either put up and shut up or say goodbye to his years on the force.
Standing on that dais, smiling into the face of a lie while the cameras flashed and his embarrassment was caught on film, had to be the epitome of every humiliating moment in his life. “Everyone connected to the case understood exactly what my receiving that award meant and so did I, especially after Captain D’Avella hung it on the wall of the precinct.”
He met Eden’s gaze. “It was a payoff. A way for the senator to kill two birds with one stone. He’d not only defused the article by pretending to show the public there were no hard feelings, he’d also put a positive spin on the whole deal and made sure I’d keep my mouth shut if ever confronted by the press.” Kelly leaned in, elbows braced on his thighs. “I’d broken the rules by sleeping with Jaclyn, and that commendation made it crystal clear Parsons owned my ass. If I ever crossed the line again or said anything derogatory about Jaclyn, he’d ruin me, ruin my career and destroy everything I’d spent my entire life working toward.
“So instead of drawing any more negative attention to the department by issuing a statement, I did as I was told, and it’s a decision I regret to this day.”
Especially now, after finding himself in a similar situation with Eden. Then again, if he’d been kicked off the force, they never would’ve met. At least something good had come out of that clusterfuck of a year.
Lightning flashed, the rain continued pelting the windows, but Eden remained silent. She picked a piece of lint off her robe and flicked it to the carpet.
Kelly arched a brow. “Well?”
“Well, what?” She shrugged. “I’m not sure I see the problem.”
A burst of air sputtered his lips. No way she was letting him off that easy. “Aren’t you the least bit concerned about hopping into bed with me after what I just told you? An eye for an eye, right? Cause and effect?” He raked his hand through his hair. “What about the fact I accepted credit for an undeserved commendation? That doesn’t piss you off?”
Lifting her head from her hand, she dismissed his question with a wave. “Did you solve the case?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Then you deserve the credit.”
His shoulders fell. “What about that shit with Jaclyn? Aren’t you worried someone will find out what we’re doing here and the press will rake us over the coals?”
Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “You planning to blog about our time in bed? ʼCause I’m not. And, as far as I can tell, we’re the only two people here.”
“No, no.” He studied her from the corner of his eye. What the hell? “And you’re not pissed.”
“Well, I can be if you want, I guess.” Her focus danced around the room as if she were searching for a good reason to lay into him. “I mean, you loved her, right? This…Parsons woman?”
If such a thing existed. “I thought I did at the time, yeah.”
“Then I’m not exactly sure why you—”
She jerked upright and his balls seized like he’d taken a header into an ice bath. Shit. Here it came. The pieces had finally clicked into place.
He braced, waiting…
“Oh, my God.” A sour laugh spilled from her lips, and she dropped her forehead into her hand. “Son of a bitch. That’s classic.”
Dammit. What was going on inside that head of hers? Say something, asshole!
But his vocal chords pled the fifth. Besides, what could he say? You’re right? She’d finally connected the dots, and understood exactly what kind of trouble having sex with him could bring.
Easing her cup onto the coffee table, she shoved to her feet and crossed her arms, but nothing could’ve hidden the bright anger, the hurt, the gut-fisting resignation in her eyes. “I would’ve done it for free, you know. In fact, it would’ve been my pleasure. But this…” She shook her head, chuckling. “I do believe we’ve just hit an all-time low.”
Hold up. He scrambled to figure out what hell she was talking about. Do what for free?
“Which one of them would you like me to target, Detective? The senator or his lovely daughter? Just say the word, and I’ll be sure they get what they deserve.”
His jaw dropped, and Eden spun on her toe for the hall.
Chapter 12
What…the…fuck? No way in hell she’d just said that to him.
Kelly shot to his feet. Lightning flashed and a loud crack tore through the house. He stormed after Eden down the hall, snared her wrist mid-swing and hauled her up short. For Christ’s sake, what kind of gigantic asshat did she think he was?
“I do not want you to go after Jaclyn. Or the senator, dammit.” Seizing her upper arms, he backed her into the wall, trapping her in place with his legs as she struggled against him. “Jesus, Eden, do you have any idea how dangerous that would be?”
“Then why tell me that story? What was the point?” She shoved his chest, but the effort was weak. “You could’ve had sex with me without ever saying a word.”
Was she kidding? All the playing cards shuffled in his head, and Kelly nearly popped a vessel right in the center of his hallway. Dammit. Goddamn it, he didn’t know which was worse. How she could believe his only objective was to use her as a cheap lay, or how that type of behavior was exactly what she’d come to expect. From anyone.
God, what kind of sick, twisted relationships had she experienced? Where getting close to someone, being intimate with them depended on striking a deal?
“I wanted you to know. It’s as simple as that.” He held the side of her throat, staring into her eyes. “Because you deserve the truth, Eden. Out of respect. Without any bargaining chips or bribery or fucking ransom held over your head.”
“Backtrack as much as you want, Detective.” Sh
e spat the words. “It won’t change a thing.”
“Good!” His sharp response was underlined by a boom of thunder. “I don’t want anything to change.” He moved his hand to her face, leaned a little more weight against her. “Don’t you get it? I’d go through it all again. I’d relive every embarrassing moment and make the exact same decisions if that meant I could be standing right here, right now, with you.”
There. If that didn’t convince her he was on her side, God only knew what would.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and turned away, lowering her lashes. “No one’s ever. I’ve never had…” She shook her head, the strained muscles in her neck begging him to soothe, calm, kiss.
“Look at me, dammit. I can’t tell what you’re thinking unless I get a clear shot at your face.”
As if fighting some unseen force, she slowly brought her eyes back to his, and the fear, the worry lingering in those sea-green depths made him want to rage against all the dark moments she’d ever known. Hold her in his arms and tell her nothing bad would ever touch her again. Not on his watch.
“I already knew.” She dropped her gaze to his chest and sighed. “Before we met, I researched everything about you.”
He wrenched back from her. “You what?”
A small huff bounced her shoulders off the wall. “Oh, come on, Kelly. Did you really think I’d agree to speak with you, alone, without having done my homework? I knew the whole story about Jaclyn and how she pulled a fast one on you before I ever picked up the phone.”
And still, she’d called. The fingers of his left hand clenched her upper arm. After learning how badly he’d screwed up, Eden had still trusted in his abilities enough, still trusted in him enough, to dial his number and arrange their first meeting.
The hallway widened to a strange blur and snapped back into focus. Sharper. Everything brighter. Clearer than before.
No one. Not his dad, his brother, his colleagues or captain… Not even Archer had displayed that much faith in the oath Kelly had taken when he became a cop. All they’d seen—shit, all he’d seen from the beginning were the mistakes. The errors in judgment. His failure and unwillingness to step back and call everyone out on their bullshit.
But not Eden.
She’d looked past the misconceptions fed to the public by the media to the truth. A truth that had become shaky even to him.
And damned if he wasn’t going to worship her for it.
He yanked her away from the wall, and her eyes widened in surprise as he wound an arm around her waist, palming her ass so he could force her onto his thigh. Christ, her tight little body fit against him better than his own skin. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done to me?”
He was finished.
Finished fighting the attraction between them. Finished fantasizing about her when she was right in front of him. Finished looking at any other woman when everything he wanted was already in his arms.
“No.” She slid her hands up his shoulders, linked her fingers behind his neck. He shoved her higher onto his leg and a breath caught in her throat. “But something tells me I’m about to find out.”
He jammed his hand into her hair and fisted the silky curls. Let her squirm against him as the tension built. Earlier in the kitchen, she’d wanted him to kiss her and, like a dumbass, he’d resisted, too worried one taste and he wouldn’t be able to stop.
Her breasts bumped his chest and he tipped her head back to inhale along the dizzying slant of her throat. Now, all he could think of was her skin coating his tongue. Couldn’t wait to find out if the rest of her would offer up the same sweet sin as her mouth.
She rolled her hips, lips parted, and her eyelids slipped closed. The need to be buried inside her escalated to a steady pounding, and Kelly gritted his teeth.
Fuck Archer’s warnings.
Angling her head, he brought her forward and crushed his lips to hers.
Fuck the department and his past.
Their tongues met and her sultry flavor detonated across his palate. Kelly groaned. Thirsty. She had him Goddamned desperate to drink her in.
The hair at his nape tingled. She nipped his bottom lip and heat flooded the nerves at base of his spine. Shit, yes. She knew exactly how to make him hard.
The material of her robe snagged against his palm as he slid his hand down and jerked the tie at her waist. He needed to see her. Wanted her skin to skin.
The sides of her robe fell open, and she shivered as he brushed them aside. Jesus, she was beautiful. Full breasts topped by tight ripe nipples. Curvy hips and toned thighs that went on all damn day. He ground his back teeth. She totaled the ultimate playground for his greedy hands.
Clutching her ribcage, he lifted and she wrapped her long legs around his hips.
Christ. He braced his hand on the wall behind her. The hot cradle of her sex nearly sent him over the edge. He thrust and his balls hitched and tightened. A second driving thrust and his cock throbbed, flexing and stretching as she shimmied up and down, dragging her damp heat over the swollen head.
Now. He needed full access to her now. One hard shove against the wall, and he stumbled with her in his arms toward his bedroom. A quick toss, and she landed on the center of his bed.
He reached for her hips with both hands and jerked the white panties off her legs. Her lush scent filled the room, and his lungs seized like he’d taken a sledgehammer to the guts.
He’d made her this way. Green eyes glittering. Pale skin flushed. Moisture glistening between her thighs. She teetered near the edge because of him.
Grasping her ankles, he yanked her to the edge of the mattress and dropped to his knees beside the bed.
A lick of her inner thigh, and she moaned, writhing. His husky chuckle pebbled her skin. His cock jerked, and he widened his knees to ease the thick ache. A brush of his lips along her other thigh, and she bucked.
He would give her exactly what she craved and then some. For believing in him. For keeping the faith he would do the right thing. “I’m right here, baby, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Parting her with his thumbs, he licked his lips and dove straight for the original sin.
The first sweep of his tongue and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. Shit, she tasted like the forbidden fruit from the garden after which she’d been named. A second swipe, and she thrashed, her head rolling side to side, hands fisting the blankets.
Hungry for more, he feasted, tonguing her until she panted and reared, clamping her hand on top of his head. Her back bowed, her breathing locked, and she convulsed in his hands. Yes…
It was good. He smiled as she shuddered and convulsed again. So damn good.
Another nibble, a few well-placed flicks, and a limp laugh worked from her throat as she pushed at his shoulders. “Kelly, enough. Stop, stop.”
A final kiss to her trembling body, and he stood. Shit, the drowsy set of her eyelids, the languid splay of her arms and legs. He shook his head as she dragged the tip of her middle finger between her breasts.
Everything in him shouted to sink inside her. To get lost and never come up for air.
Lightning strobed a double flash and rain sheeted against the windows. A tug of the drawstring at his waist, and his flannel pants dropped to his ankles. His teeth clattered as the cool air hit his hot skin. He stepped out of his pajama pants and Eden pushed to her elbows, wagging her eyebrows as he kicked them aside.
He’d be stupid to ignore a part of him had become invested. In her. In the idea they could share…something once the case had been closed. But snubbing his nose at the outside world came at a price. Things worth fighting for usually did, and Kelly wasn’t so brain dead he’d set himself up for the same backlash he’d been through with Jaclyn.
He wasn’t about put those blinders on again.
Eden offered her hand, but he didn’t take it. Before things went any farther, the two of them needed to get something straight.
&
nbsp; Fisting his cock, he stroked up to relieve the persistent throb hammering through the engorged blood vessels. A clear bead wept from the slit, and he clenched his jaw as she swallowed. “I need a guarantee from you, Eden. Moving forward, no more secrets. No more half-truths or lies of omission. In order for this to work, I need to know you’re going to be open and honest with me.”
“Wait a second.” Eyes narrowing, she sat up on the bed. “Are you seriously blackmailing me with sex?”
No. That was exactly his point.
Another stroke, and he blew a slow breath, the last of his control close to snapping. “Not a chance. I’m over the games. I more than learned my lesson the first time. And when everything was said and done, I promised myself, before I got involved with another woman, I’d make damn sure I had my head on straight. So I need to know. Before I’m in too deep. Are you in or are you out?”
He pumped twice and her focus fell to his hand. The tip of her tongue moistened her bottom lip and his hips jerked. Christ, the wait to be balls deep inside her nearly had him back on his knees and begging.
“Do you really think I’d be here like this. With you. If I wasn’t one hundred percent convinced there was more going on between us than your investigation?” She tugged him forward by the hips and, with his next downward stroke, she pried his fingers off and replaced them with her own.
Shit. His head fell back, eyes closed as she squeezed him down to the base. God, her nimble fingers were the perfect torture against his hot skin. “I’m fully aware of what having sex with you means, Kelly. You were right. I’ve never been intimate with someone who knew my real name.”
He rolled his head forward only to be slammed to Earth by the warmth of her tongue swirling a moist path around the rim of his shaft. A shudder wracked his body, and he hissed. One more sweep of that beautiful pink tongue and the thin ice cracking under his feet would shatter.
“The truth is, I want to know what I’ve been missing, and I want to find out with you. So, you have my word, Detective. No matter what happens, I won’t sell you out.”