Undertow: A compilation of short beach stories

by Patricia A. Knight

  Cole tensed and took a step toward the idiot as Scott stepped up blocking his way. “Whoa Cole, he didn’t mean anything by it.”

  The drunk gaped at Cole as if he’d been struck. “What the fuck man? What did I say?”

  Cole lurched at the fool. Scott’s solid body blocked his way. The asswipe deserved a beat down. He reached over Scotts' shoulder, taking a swipe to try to reach the waste of sperm. “You stupid son of a bitch, you blatantly disrespect the woman I love, and you expect me to be good with it? You ignorant moron! She’s a cop who’d take a bullet for you. She’d back you up in a deadly situation, and you think it’s alright to harass her and make her the target of your fucking games?”

  Scott leaned his weight into Cole and pushed him back separating the two men further. “No man! Hey, we don’t. Curtis here, he’s one of a few who doesn’t get Logan. Everyone assumed she had someone. She had to, man. I mean she never went out, and she never encouraged any of them. Not after Beau. No one got in her face. I wouldn’t allow it. She’s one of the best. We’d all take a bullet for her, man. Don’t listen to him. He’s had too much to drink and well…damn it, he is a fucking moron.”

  Cole peeled his eyes away from the deputy escaping through the crowd and took a scant second to glance at the man who still held him back. Cole relaxed slightly and lifted his arms up in surrender, stepping back. His eyes latched back on the inebriated jerk who retreated from the gathering.

  Scott handed Cole his forgotten beer and changed the topic. “Minus the drunks, how do you like Mississippi, Cole?”

  A long draw on the beer gave him a moment to cool down. The asshole had lit his fuse and surprisingly he’d acted like a love-sick fool. WTF? Well, it worked for the cover. Yeah, he’d go with that explanation. Cole lifted the beer in a salute. “For the most part I am enjoying it, with the obvious exception.”

  Scott laughed nervously. “He’s a jerk, and he has a lot to learn.”

  Cole glanced toward the house, watching Logan walk down the stairs. Scott followed his gaze. “You plan on sticking around, I mean with her?”

  Cole turned his attention back to his host and let a smile play across his face. “Yeah, I am. Hey, listen, man, I’m sorry about the scene. It’s…well…” Cole stopped when he realized he actually had no idea how to finish his thought without sounding like a chick with a dick. Finally, he shook his head and said, “That shit’s not acceptable.”

  He glanced over at Logan as she crossed the back yard and walked up to him. “I’m here for good.”

  He lifted his arm as she stepped next to him and tucked her close. She ghosted a smile at him and took a beer from Scott.

  “That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard since breakfast this morning.” With her free hand, Logan reached up, fixed his collar and slid her hand down his back, putting her unburned fingers in his back pocket.

  A little pixie of a blonde had followed Logan out of the house to the gathering. She put her arm around Scott, who threw an arm over her shoulder as she asked, “Oh, and what did you hear at breakfast?”

  Cole threw back his head and laughed. “Sorry, I’m not repeating those comments in public.”

  The woman held out her hand and introduced herself. “Since my husband has failed to do so, let me introduce myself. I’m Janie Ladner. Logan and I actually happen to be distant cousins.” Logan stiffened slightly in his arms as Cole extended his hand toward the woman.

  “Good to meet you, Janie. Thank you for inviting us tonight.”

  The petite blonde smiled invitingly and ran her eyes up and down Cole. “You’re most welcome.”

  He caught the sexual overtone and ignored it, instead dropping his gaze to Logan. He lowered his lips to hers, grabbed a handful of her hair and cupped her neck. He lifted his head and considered the little blonde.

  “Since it’s only my second night here, I think we’ll call it an early night. No offense, but having her alone for more than a short weekend? Well, I hope you understand.” He dropped his gaze to Logan. “Isn’t that right, Bella?” Logan nodded.

  “Bella? You haven’t allowed anyone the use of your first name since your momma and daddy died. He really must mean something to you. Guess Cole is someone I should get to know better.” Janie’s double meaning made a few people clear their throats. Cole pretended not to notice and pulled Logan with him as he drifted toward the gate.

  They spent the next twenty minutes saying good-byes and extracting themselves from the gathering. When he finally opened the backyard gate, Scott followed them.

  “Cole, I want to apologize again for earlier. The kid’s a moron, and I know he’ll regret what he said when he sobers up.”

  Logan stopped short and whipped her head around. “Who? What? Who said what?”

  Scott snuffed out a laugh and shook his head nodding toward Cole. “He’ll tell you after you leave. I don’t want you going back there and kicking anyone’s ass. I know you.You would.”

  Scott pushed her up into the SUV, shut her door and leaned against it ignoring Logan’s irritated mutterings.

  “The sheriff asked me to be your training officer for the next couple weeks. I know you don’t need any law enforcement training, but I can show you the ropes in the county. Naturally, you can’t ride with Logan since you’re involved. We’re all working the same shift so you can ride with me until you’re comfortable with the patrol area and our routine.”

  Cole nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Tell the drunk asshole to steer clear of me. It’ll take a while for me to get over being as pissed as I was tonight. I don’t think I’ll be sharing a beer with him for quite some time.”

  Scott nodded and walked away. Cole maneuvered the SUV away from the curb. Logan turned her head toward Cole. “What did he say?”

  Cole shrugged. “Said everyone thought you were a lesbian and it was fun to watch you bust balls on the guys who tried to ask you out. Scott said he knew you had someone on the side.”

  Logan turned toward the passenger window as they traveled, and Cole wondered if her co-worker had hit the nail on the head. Cole glanced at her. “Did you? Have someone on the side?”

  She shook her head, continuing to gaze out the passenger window and replied, “Nope. No one. Not a flippin’ soul. Nadda, zip, zilch, no.”

  Cole laughed. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

  Logan turned and smiled. “You believe what you want. By the way, the jealousy thing…telling whichever asshole it was to stay clear? The possessive attitude will sell well down here, but in case you get the idea I need a knight in shining armor…I don’t.”

  “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind you can take care of yourself.”

  Chapter Six

  Cole popped a beer and settled in to spend some quality time in with Logan’s seventy-inch flat screen. The only problem with this scenario? At ten o’clock on a Saturday night, there isn’t shit on television. A quick run through the channels left half a bottle of beer and absolute boredom. A couple swigs later, he headed up stairs. The sound of a shower running removed any doubt about what Logan was doing.

  Cole’s insides itched. He was strung tight. Screw it. A shower might relax him enough to get some rest. A quick right turn put him in the bathroom. The shower wasn’t huge but better than a lot of accommodations he’d used while undercover.

  The hot water felt good, and the shower massage pulsed with fair to decent pressure. White noise blanketed out the rest of the world. Images of the stupid fuck who’d insulted Bella flashed, sending another jolt of pissed off through his body. Not like him to be a caveman. He’d worked tight undercover operations with what…at least four other female officers. He’d never reacted to a situation emotionally, and he’d been in plenty of tense situations before. What the hell was his issue with her?

  She’s a cop working a case. It shouldn’t matter if she’s female. A smoking hot female, granted. He palmed a handful of body wash. Those kisses and touches tonight had smoldered with a sizzling heat.
His cock twitched and came to life thinking about the woman’s scent, the way her body fit perfectly against his side. Damn he’d bet she was a hellion in bed. He imagined she’d be wild to fuck. She wouldn’t—shit!

  The falling water turned from fantasy warm to arctic cold in less than a second. Cole rinsed hastily and practically fell out of the shower. Note to self, do not shower at the same time as Logan. The freaking hot water heater couldn’t handle it. When his heart finally started beating at a normal tempo, and the icicles that hung from his flash-frozen balls melted, he dried and wrapped a towel around his waist. Halfway across the hall he stopped, remembering his dirty clothes.

  Turning to retrieve them, he paused at an indistinct sound. What had he heard? He held his position listening to the unfamiliar creaks and groans in the little house. There…there it was again. Cole padded back toward the end of the hall. The small sound beckoned him farther. A stilted moan drifted toward him from Logan’s room. He lifted his hand to knock on her door but stopped short when he heard a hissed intake of breath.

  Cole pressed closer to the door, listening intently. A steady humming suddenly broadcast through the silence. Her low groan and the creak of bedsprings froze him. Son-of-a-bitch—a vibrator! Cole leaned his head against the doorjamb. His cock stood at attention and wept at the mental picture of her spread eagle on her bed, naked and using a vibrator. He reached down and gripped the base of his dick through the terry cloth of his damp towel. His hips bucked against the friction. Logan gave a breathy moan and he lost it. The towel dropped and he grabbed his cock with one hand and his balls in the other. The vibrator’s volume rose and fell. She had to be stroking inside herself. Fuck, he wanted to see her sex spread and weeping for him. He wanted to be tasting her, licking and sucking her clit while her body writhed beneath him. His hand jerked up and down his cock aided by copious amounts of precum. He bit his lip when he heard the springs of the bed start to sing in a subtle rhythm. Fuck, her hips were bucking. He could see her tanned body, tight with a slight sheen of perspiration. Her nipples, God what color would they be? Dark rose or maybe light brown and tight. Fuck yeah, they’d be hard as pebbles. Taking those buds with his lips, he’d nibble at them until she arched against him and…

  Her heavy gasp and low drawn out moan pushed him over the edge. He pictured her body in the throes of orgasm, clenching around his cock. His balls drew up and exploded. It was everything he could do to keep silent as his orgasm tore ropes of cum from him. He could hear her panting as he held onto the oak of the doorjamb struggling to keep silent while listening to her gasp for air.

  Finally able to open his eyes, the white streaks of cum dripping down the wall slammed him back to reality with a thud. Damn. Psycho much? Cole drew a quiet breath and reached down for the towel on the floor. He cleaned away the evidence of his audio-voyeurism and carefully crept down the hall. The floorboard outside the guest bedroom creaked under the weight of his foot. Cole bolted into the room. He was under the covers before he heard the door to her room snick open. Fuck! He hadn’t closed his door. Dropping an arm over his eyes, he strove to regulate his breathing. He heard her walk down the short hall and pause at his door. She lingered for a moment before descending the stairs. Small sounds from the kitchen echoed in the stillness of the night.

  Jesus, he’d never done anything like that before. When the cold water blasted him, his brain must have shriveled as much as his dick. Cole rolled to his side and took note of the almost full moon framed by the bedroom window. People did crazy shit during full moons. He’d been a cop long enough to know it for a fact. Yeah Davis, blame it on the moon. Moron. Listening intently to the small sounds the house made as she walked through it, he tracked her until she passed by his room again. Her pause and light sigh brought a smile to his lips, although it shouldn’t have. The chemistry between them was explosive. Like a fricking ten pound brick of C4.

  *

  The last three weeks had been an exercise in patience. The case had been frustratingly slow to develop. The evidence he and Logan followed pointed toward a tie between major drug traffickers and high placed local political and judicial appointees. Right now, all the evidence was circumstantial, but he’d organized a meet with an undercover DEA agent next week. He hoped to tie the players he and Logan had identified to a Federal DEA case. A multijurisdictional effort would increase the chance of their discovery by either the drug traffickers or the dirty politician and judges, but with the amount of evidence he and Logan were amassing it was a risk they’d have to take. They needed more manpower and adding another agency was their only viable option.

  Entering the flow of traffic on I-10 East, Cole chuckled to himself as all the NASCAR wanna-be’s slowed to seventy miles an hour. Blue lights and a shield on a car immediately transformed lead feet into law-abiding citizens. He settled into the far left lane and headed back to the station. He was happy, which was…well, it was strange. He and Bella had developed a friendship while working the case. He didn’t have to act at being her significant other. If it wasn’t for his training and the fact he’d be leaving when the assignment was over, he’d break down the fragile barrier keeping him from her bed. But the barrier kept the public caresses and kisses from becoming a private matter. He wanted her. She couldn’t hide her body’s response to him. She was adept at working out her frustrations behind closed doors. He kept his open and listened for those nights. Damn, he was so screwed.

  Cole cranked the air conditioner and floored the accelerator to break through the gaggle of speed-limit-respecting drivers on the interstate. After their shifts, he and Logan worked out together at the county’s gym. He was popular with the other officers, making friends and fitting in. Logan watched quietly and kept her distance, not changing her usual behavior with anyone but him. The sexual tension between them validated their cover story. Not that any intel had implicated her co-workers, but until they knew for sure how deep the corruption ran, he and Logan would be forced to keep up appearances. He wasn’t complaining. Nope, not at all.

  When he entered the gym, three men he didn’t recognize loitered at the door to the cardio room. The men obviously didn’t see Cole walk up behind them. He glanced past them and stopped dead in his tracks. There were two machines in use and the fifty-year-old dispatcher wasn’t the one attracting attention. No, the men drooled at Bella’s heart shaped ass as it rhythmically gyrated while she pumped through her workout. The effort it took to climb imaginary ladder she currently ascended coated her and her sports bra in sweat. The sheen on her skin accentuated the toned muscles of her legs and lower back. Her nipples pushed hard against the damp material leaving nothing to the imagination. Holy shit. Clearing his throat, he caught their attention and nodded. The largest of the three nodded back.

  Cole made a motion toward Logan and asked, “You know her?”

  The officers chuckled and one responded, “Yeah man, she’s a deputy sheriff. You must be one of the new highway patrol hires?”

  Cole’s eyebrows shot up. He wore plain grey workout clothes. They wouldn’t be able to ID his organization.

  The middle of the three added, “Yeah, I could stand here and watch her ass all day. She’s definitely ten pounds of sugar in a five pound sack.”

  The third man elbowed the one talking. “Dude, didn’t you hear? She has a man.”

  The first man pulled his hands through his dark brown hair. “Who, Beau? That fucker’s long gone. Stupidest son-of-a-bitch on the face of the earth. Who’d leave her?”

  “Nah, I heard it was some city cop moved down here to be with her.”

  “Some pansy ass from the city? Like a city boy would be man enough to straddle her wild piece of country ass. She needs a fireman. We have better hoses.”

  The men laughed at the joke. Cole fought down the urge to choke the shit out of them. He pushed past the firefighters and headed toward Bella before he did something he’d regret. Eyes closed, she listened to her iPod. He knew the assholes were watching him. Cole softly tugged th
e wire connected to her ear buds. Beautiful grey blue eyes popped opened. The smile on her face? He hoped he was responsible for it.

  At a crook of his finger, she bent toward him. He kissed her, pulled back and smiled. She winked at him, closed her eyes and continued her work out. Oh, no. He’d missed his workout time, so she needed to be done too. Fair was fair. Besides. Dinner. Damn the woman could cook. Cole laughed at his own motives and walked behind the machine lifting her effortlessly off the apparatus. He tossed her over his shoulder like a rag doll. She shrieked in surprise and every head in the gym swiveled and stared their way.

  “Cole Ryan Davis, put me down this instant!” Logan dangled down his back and slapped his ass when he adjusted her on his shoulder. He laughed at her efforts and held her legs with one hand while he tickled her mercilessly. Her giggles and shrieks echoed throughout the gym. As he passed the men at the door, his gaze dismissed them. “Don’t worry y’all, this city cop is more than enough for her.”

  Cole carried her out of the building still tickling her. Logan had only one option to get his attention and damn him if she didn’t use it. She pulled the waistband of his shorts out, stuck her hand down and grabbed his ass cheek. The shock of her uninhibited behavior momentarily froze him to the spot.

  “Oh hell no! You didn’t do that.” He immediately popped her on her ass and dropped her down, but he didn’t let go. “Naughty girls get turned over a knee for spankings.”

  The smile on her face was radiant. “You wouldn’t dare city boy, no matter how much of a man you are.”

  He leaned against his new patrol car. The completion of his “probationary” two weeks rated him an upgrade from the piece of shit he’d driven previously. He pulled her to him and smiled. “How much did you hear?”