The Bad Boy Next Door (Kendrick Place)

by Jody Holford

  “Did she know you were a cop?”

  Wyatt ran his hand down Shay’s back and pulled her close again. It was easier when she wasn’t looking at him. “No. Most of the time she was trying to talk me into running away with her, and it seemed like she was telling me all this stuff to give me a reason to go. I was already torn because I cared about her and felt like I was betraying her, but that’s what I was there to do. I just figured that when I got out, I’d find a way to take her with me.”

  Like when she’d slept next to him, Shay wouldn’t stay still. She leaned up again, this time pulling her knees between them and resting her head on them. She waited.

  Wyatt sighed and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “When I talked to my commanding officer, he said to keep my eye on the end goal. I decided I’d tell her the truth. That I actually could save her from the life she was living. I showed up at her place. Usually we hung out in the dive I was renting or at this huge house everyone kind of congregated in. One of many the dealer owned. Anyway, I showed up; she let me in. I sensed she didn’t want to. We were standing in the hallway, and her smoke alarm went off. She kind of squealed and said she had something on the stove, and to wait right there. I wandered down the hall a bit, wired because I wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay.”

  Wyatt stood up and went to switch off the fireplace. He put a hand on the mantel and just stared at the fake logs.

  “What happened?”

  Turning, he met Shay’s stare. “She had family pictures up in the hallway. Turns out the head dealer was her brother. She’d been playing me. She didn’t want out. She wanted to rise up. I have no idea if she knew I was a cop, but she knew I was out to get her brother. She figured serving me up to him would earn her a higher place in his enterprise.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I got out. I left, packed my shit. Hid out for a while and listened to the chatter. Contacted my CO, and he pulled me off the assignment.”

  “Wyatt.”

  He looked down at the rug. Old resentment still burned in his gut. He heard her move and then he was staring down at her feet, her toes touching his. She put her hand on his face and tilted it up, like he did to her.

  “Eventually, you’ll do enough good to make up for what you feel like was failure. You’ll forgive yourself.”

  He scoffed. “You aren’t going to tell me it wasn’t my fault? Nothing I could do? We had no intel on family members. Turned out we had no intel on a number of things.”

  Shay put her hands on his waist. “I agree with it not being your fault, but it won’t matter if I say that.”

  Wyatt wanted to argue. He felt like it could matter.

  “No matter how many times I, or someone else, tell you, you’re going to beat yourself up about it until you’re done. All you can do is move forward. In time, hopefully, you’ll see that you did the best you could. It’s not wrong to have trusted someone.”

  “That’s the funny thing. I thought, how could I be so pissed at her for lying when I was doing the same thing?”

  Shay stepped closer, and Wyatt found himself wishing there was nothing between them at all. No bad memories. No clothes.

  “Intentions matter. You were lying for your job. To make the world a better place. We want to think everything is black and white, but that’s not how things work. She lied for personal gain, and you did it for the good of others. There’s a big difference between selfish and selfless.”

  His chest was tight. Winding his arms around her, he held on. “You might be too good for me.”

  “You’re only saying that because you aren’t seeing what I see.”

  Wyatt touched his forehead to hers and breathed her in. “What’s that?”

  “A man who cares too much and wishes he didn’t. Someone who wants to make the world better but carries that weight alone. A man who shuts people out because he’s scared of letting anyone in.”

  “You’re in. Somehow, you found a way in,” he whispered. It scared him, but he didn’t lie unless he had to.

  “I plan to stay there, just so you know.”

  A strange lump filled his throat and the need to be closer to her made his skin feel too small. Like he might burst out of it at any second. He tunneled his hands into her hair and did his best to distract them both from the heaviness of the conversation. Of his own feelings.

  She met him halfway, going up on tiptoes, even as his hand molded against her body, tugging her up against him. When he kissed her, he felt like everything else disappeared. When she touched him, he wasn’t shrouded in darkness, but part of her light. It was a gift unlike any he’d known.

  ...

  “Wyatt?” Her nose brushed along his chest and he shivered, still high on sensation.

  He kissed her forehead, still trying to regain his breath. He tilted her chin up so he could see her face. “Hmm?”

  She pursed her lips and watched her finger as she traced circles on his chest. He stopped the motion so she’d focus and tell him what was on her mind. “I’m obviously not completely innocent, but I wouldn’t say I’m overly…experienced, either. But for me, that was…” Shay blushed, and he turned on his side so they were facing each other. It fascinated him that she’d just rocked his world like an earthquake and now blushed when she talked about it.

  She bit her lip again but stopped and huffed out a breath. “That was really amazing and wonderful, and I’m falling for you and you’ll probably break my heart and I just want you to know I can handle it. Whatever this is, for however long it lasts, I need you to be honest with me. Don’t back away without warning. Don’t shut me out. Just tell me. That’s all I’ll ask for.”

  With his heart still tapping out an unsteady rhythm, he reached out and stroked her skin. She could ask for almost anything and he’d give it to her. It bothered him that she’d asked for so little.

  “I want this, Shay. I’m going to do my best not to mess it up.”

  “Okay.” She nodded, like his word was good enough for her. She humbled him.

  He stopped stroking and took both of her hands in one of his. Shay’s gaze settled on his and that fast, he wanted her again. He felt like he might never get enough of her.

  “I won’t lie to you. Ever. I’m nowhere near innocent but what I feel for you is nothing like anything I’ve ever felt before, so it was amazing and incredible and really freaking hot for me, too. I intended to stay away from you, but I can’t. It’s been less than two weeks and I’m more wrapped up in you than I thought I could be with any woman. So both of our hearts are on the line here.”

  Wyatt paused, used the time to kiss her slowly, letting his mouth linger until he heard her breath catch.

  Tears shone in her eyes again, and he pulled her face closer, needing to breathe the same air as she was.

  Her voice shook when she spoke. “I really like you, Wyatt Daniels.”

  He smiled against her lips. So simple. So real. “I’m going to try really hard not to change your mind on that.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t see how good you are.”

  His forehead rested against hers. “I spent eight months pretending to be buddies with a drug-dealing pimp. It’s hard not to feel tainted by that, to carry it around.” Though, now that he’d told her the story, it didn’t feel like knives were piercing his sternum when he spoke about it.

  “You know what you call a person who does something for the safety and benefit of others, even if it means putting themselves at risk?”

  Wyatt gave a tired laugh. “An idiot?”

  Shay kissed him and against his lips, she whispered, “A hero.”

  He pulled back like she’d punched him right in the heart. “Shay…I’m not. Please don’t make me something I’m not.” He adored her sweet, somewhat naive, outlook, but he needed her to see who he really was. If they were in this, she had to know who he was and who he’d been.

  She smiled and when
one tear rolled down her cheek, he caught it with his thumb. Taking his hand, she kissed his palm. Her eyes locked on his. “You’re everything I think you are and more.” Then she kissed him so long and hard he forgot what they were talking about. As he laid her back on the tangled sheets, she said, “You’re perfect.” And Wyatt wanted her badly enough to believe that maybe, to her—for her—he could be.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Shay poured a cup of coffee, unable to keep the smile off her face. She’d snuck out of bed, leaving Wyatt asleep on his stomach and tangled in her sheets. Admittedly, she’d stared at him for a few moments, feeling a rush just from the memories of the night before. Because she’d wanted to sleep in pajamas, which Wyatt strongly protested, they’d come back to her place. Before she could put them on, however, he’d made love to her again. They’d compromised, and she slept in a tank top and underwear so he could have his hands on her skin. Which she hadn’t minded one bit.

  As soon as she checked her email, she planned to make him breakfast. Two new emails asking for quotes for her services added to her already excited mood.

  Wyatt stomped into the kitchen, his hair sticking up, wearing only his boxers. He was scowling, and Shay thought she must have it bad if the sight made her sigh with pleasure.

  “Good morning,” she said. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Why is he frowning? Does he regret last night?

  He walked closer to where she sat at the computer, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him. “Are you sharing that coffee?” His voice was rough from sleep, a bit scratchy, and it sent shivers through her body. Heat emanated from his skin, like it had the night before when she’d fallen asleep wrapped in his arms.

  “I can, but there’s some in the kitchen.” She shouldn’t find his morning grumpiness so charming. She had a lot to do today, so when he walked away, she began making a list of what she needed to bring to the library. Wyatt came back in, scowling less with a cup of coffee in his hands.

  “You have the library thing today?”

  It was hard to focus with his abs on display. The thin trail of hair that led into his boxers pulled at her attention. “Uh-huh. It’ll be about three hours start to finish.”

  “I’d like to see you later.”

  She let her eyes move up, over his body, slowly, appreciating the defined muscles of his chest, lightly covered in hair just a shade lighter than on his head. She bit her lip when she watched the strong curve of his biceps curl as he sipped coffee. He had a tattoo on the inside of his right bicep—the date he’d joined the force in roman numerals. Shay had let her lips linger on that spot as she’d taken a slow tour of his body the night before. She’d also kissed the scar on the underside of his chin, which she now knew he’d gotten playing basketball as a teenager. By the time her eyes made it to his, he was watching her with an almost exasperated amusement.

  “Oh.” She wanted that, too, but she needed to get favors made for the party.

  Wyatt set his cup next to hers and leaned over the chair. “Oh? That’s it? Do you have plans?”

  “Not really.”

  “Are you being evasive on purpose?”

  She couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over her face. “I’m trying to see if you’ll kiss it out of me.”

  He chuckled and pressed his mouth to hers. “I could be persuaded.”

  “I have to make party favors for the baby shower. Gabby said she’d come up and help me.”

  Wyatt stood straight and picked up his coffee again, pointing a finger at her. “That reminds me—Gabby has an art show on Saturday. Do you want to go?”

  Shay bit her lip to keep from smiling. Her worries over him not asking her faded into nothingness. She needed to have more faith. Not everyone did things according to her schedule. He stared at her, waiting for a response. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  Swallowing down a drink of his coffee, he lowered it to the desk. “I guess I am. Are you accepting?”

  “Gladly.”

  He nodded and she wondered if he felt even a hint of the level of satisfaction she did. She was all but vibrating with it. If he wasn’t standing in front of her, she might have broken into an embarrassing happy dance.

  “So tonight? How long will that take?”

  Shay shrugged and picked up her own mug. “Couple of hours?”

  “After?”

  Butterflies twirled around in her stomach in a lazy dance. “That sounds good.”

  “All right. We should get dressed.”

  “Weird. I was thinking the opposite,” she said, leaving her cup on the desk and tracing her fingers over the defined ridges of his abs. He shivered and set his coffee down. Trapping her hands, he pulled her in for another kiss.

  “We have a tenants’ meeting,” he told her.

  “We do?”

  “Yes. Aren’t you on the email list yet?”

  “There’s an email list?”

  He laughed and pulled her down the hallway toward her bedroom. “There is. We get to meet Brady’s nemesis today.”

  She still needed to talk to Brady. She didn’t want anything weird between them. “Why do you sound so happy about that?”

  He detoured into the bathroom and released her hands to start the shower. “Because I like seeing Brady flustered? Call it a pastime. Something to amuse me.”

  Shay smiled, liking this side of him. She was so sunk—she liked every side of him. He turned and before she knew it, he’d yanked her tank top over her head.

  “You just said we needed to get dressed,” she said.

  “We’ve got a few minutes,” he answered. He kissed her collarbone, her shoulders, then dropped to his knees and traced his tongue over her belly as he removed her underwear.

  Her heart was trying to escape her chest. She really should breathe, but it was pretty hard to do that with his breath tickling her naval. “Just what every girl wants to hear.”

  He laughed and kissed his way up her body. Stepping back, he stripped off his boxers. “Smart-ass. Get in there. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

  Shay laughed and did as he said. “Now that’s something every girl really does want to hear.”

  Following her in, he surrounded her as much as the steam from the spray did. “Let me prove I’m a man of my word.”

  Since she was 99 percent sure she was falling heart-first into something a lot deeper than like, she was counting on him being just that, in every way that mattered.

  Shay slapped a hand on Wyatt’s hard stomach, making him wince. “What?” He looked down at her with a knowing smirk. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder, and he had her tucked against his side as they walked into the multipurpose room for the meeting.

  “You sure you don’t want to pee on me? Mark your territory?”

  He laughed and pulled her tighter. The room was crowded, and she spotted Brady at the same time Wyatt did. “Just helping out since I know you didn’t get a chance to talk to Brady yet.”

  She glared at him. “Brady and I are just friends. Like actual friends. Nothing happened between us so you have no reason to”—she gestured with her hand while she tried to find the words—“circle around me making your claim.”

  He was not deterred by her tone. “How about something a little more pleasant with a similar outcome?” His lips touched hers, and she gripped his cotton T-shirt as he made it clear they were together by kissing her senseless. Her nerves and irritation fizzled with his touch. When he pulled back, she sighed, making him laugh roughly.

  “See? Much nicer.”

  “And, as I’ve told you, completely unnecessary.” But she wasn’t complaining. It felt good he wanted others to know they were together. When her eyes locked on Brady’s, it was hard to read him. He looked frustrated, resigned, but Shay didn’t think that was because she’d ignored his advice about Wyatt. The woman standing beside him was talking to him—or at him. She had a clipboard in her hand and her auburn hair was pulled back into a severe bun. Elegant, she wore
a gray blazer with dark pants and a very serious expression. Brady ran his hand over his short, cropped hair and nodded.

  “He does not look like he’s enjoying that conversation,” Shay said. Wyatt dropped his arm from her shoulder to take her hand and pull her to the outer edge of the crowd of people. Shay recognized some of them. Levi, who she waved to. The elderly couple she’d met from her floor were sitting on the loveseat, their hands clasped. Shay gave a wistful sigh as she looked down at her hand in Wyatt’s.

  “You okay?”

  She looked up. “Yes.”

  Wyatt gave her a funny look then glanced past her and gave a small smile. Shay turned to see Gabby and Owen walking hand in hand toward them.

  Gabby embraced her as soon as she was close enough, surprising Shay with her enthusiasm and affection. “Hey. Aw, look at you guys holding hands. That’s so sweet.”

  Shay laughed, but she was pretty sure Wyatt snarled.

  “Hello, Wyatt,” Gabby said in what Shay thought was a terrible attempt at being demure.

  “Gabriella. Owen.”

  Where was the smiling, teasing man she’d walked down here with? Owen smiled warmly at Shay. “Wyatt. How are you, Shay?”

  “I’m good, thank you.”

  “So you two are officially a thing?” Gabby gestured back and forth between Shay and Wyatt. Owen groaned and pulled Gabby closer.

  Wyatt let go of Shay’s hand and when she glanced up at him, he was looking away. Little stitches of pain spread from the center of her heart.

  Owen looked at Wyatt then Shay before addressing Gabby in a stage whisper. “Gabs, maybe it’s better not to put people on the spot. Not everyone is as…exuberant about sharing their feelings.”

  Gabby laughed and swung her long, dark hair over her shoulder. “Right. Sorry.”

  Shay tried to smile, but it was tight. Wyatt leaned against the wall now, his arms folded over his chest, watching the room like he was gauging each person.

  Shay shrugged when she caught Gabby watching her. “I put a deposit on the space for your party.”

  Gabby beamed and looked up at Owen, then back at Shay. “Did you get the date we talked about?”