Center Mass

by Lani Lynn Vale

  His hard cock was making loud, juicy sounds as he pushed in and out of me.

  It started out small. Minuscule, really. But it slowly built until it was teetering on the edge, something massive that I only ever felt with Luke.

  What pushed me over was his hand gripping the meat of my ass, squeezing tightly as he tried with all he had to stave off his own orgasm.

  Seeing the pain of his impending release wash over his face, I detonated.

  Shattering into a million tiny pieces.

  My gag did its job with the help of Luke’s mouth.

  He slammed his down on mine and held it there as we both exploded into orgasm.

  I could feel my sex slicken with his release and my eyes shut tightly as I relished in the new feeling.

  He grunted with each jet of his come that was shot from his cock.

  He jackknifed up, pulling out to watch as the last remnants of his release poured from him onto my overheated core.

  He caught it with his hand before it could get onto the bed, bringing it up with his hand and rubbing it into the lips of my sex.

  He looked up, eyes flashing as he saw the state of my post-orgasm body.

  “Every fucking time,” he growled sitting up to kneel at the end of the bed. “It gets better.”

  I shook my head, shaking the gag from my mouth. “That’s ‘cause you’re going all caveman on me and I’m letting you.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever the reason, I like it.”

  I looked down at his still hard cock and shook my head. “Aren’t you too old to get it up more than once a day?”

  He grinned. “I don’t know. Let’s go to the shower and find out.”

  I was a fucking sucker. And I was fairly positive that I was going to be sore in the morning.

  Again.

  Chapter 18

  My neck. My back. My Netflix and my snacks.

  -T-shirt

  Reese

  “What the fuck?” Luke asked, pointing to the couple kissing in front of the bakery that Luke’s ex owned.

  It took me a few moments to realize what I was seeing, and when I did, my mouth dropped open. He had dropped Rowan off last night. He was still wearing the same clothes. But, the woman he was kissing wasn’t his wife. “No!”

  “Hey, that’s daddy! Stop!” Rowen yelled from the backseat.

  Luke looked to me for guidance and I shook my head. There was no way I was going over there. “Keep driving.”

  “Mommy!” Rowen cried.

  I closed my eyes. I hated it when she cried. Especially when it came to her father. It’d always been the one thing that affected me the most. The one thing I couldn’t fix. I couldn’t be Rowen’s daddy, I’d never be able to fill that void.

  Luke’s strong hand wrapped around mine, possibly noting the thoughts that were sifting through my brain. I looked up at him and he smiled at me.

  Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to ignore the screaming of my five year old in the backseat.

  However, by the time we got home, it hadn’t abated and I was on the verge of screaming myself.

  The moment we pulled into Luke’s house, she unbelted her seatbelt and took off to Katy’s fort in the backyard.

  When I went to follow her, Luke refused to let go of my hand.

  “You’re only condoning that behavior if you coddle her. Let her work it out on her own,” Luke rumbled.

  I wouldn’t have listened to him if we’d been at my place, but Luke’s house was in the middle of nowhere, and there was literally nowhere for her to go.

  Pulling me into his side, he walked with me. One arm was around my shoulders, and the other holding the bag of half the city’s donuts in the other.

  “I didn’t realize that cops actually ate donuts,” I teased, trying to get my mind off of my daughter.

  He gave me a look. Humor mixed with a hint of annoyance. “Do you realize how many donut jokes I get told a day?”

  I held my smile in check. “No, how many?”

  “No less than four a day. I don’t even go into a donut shop with my uniform on anymore. It’s beyond ridiculous,” he said, holding the door open for me.

  Loud men’s voices assaulted my ears as I stepped over the threshold.

  I was surprised to find the living room filled to the brim with large, beefy men in all states of dress.

  I froze with Luke at my back, surprised to see his house filled.

  “How’d they get in?” I whispered in alarm.

  His large hand squeezed my hip. “They’ve got a key.”

  I blinked, stunned.

  I’d have to ask him why when they left. I didn’t want them all hearing me question why they were allowed in whenever they wanted.

  I knew he had a good reason, but my own sister didn’t even have a key to my house. Why would they all have a key to his?

  He must’ve sensed my hesitancy because he halted and turned to me, giving his back to the room as he looked at me.

  “What is it?” He asked.

  “I just kind of thought they’d at least wait until we got back. I would’ve cleaned up or something. I think my panties and stuff were on the couch,” I whispered.

  He snorted. “Honey, we do this kind of thing at least once a week, and most of the time it’s impromptu. You’ll just have to make sure you don’t leave that stuff on the couch in the future.”

  “Why are they here again?” I asked one more time.

  He rolled his eyes. “Because we need to talk about what happened yesterday. Figure out a plan of action. Plus, we missed last week’s team morale meeting. This breakfast serves a dual purpose.”

  I sagged in exhaustion. Would it have been too hard to give me just one day where I didn’t have to worry about anything? “Okay,” was all I could think to say.

  After a quick study of my face, he touched my nose with the tip of his finger.

  Then he grabbed my hand and led me to the only unoccupied chair in the room, which happened to be between Downy and another man with the most beautiful brown hair and blue eyes I’d ever seen.

  He was just as tall, and just as big as the others, yet there was something about him that made me feel comfortable sitting next to him, even though I’d never met him before.

  He wore a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Not an inch of skin showed on his entire body except for his hands and face. Even his buttons on the shirt were done all the way up.

  I sat slowly, very aware that all eyes in the room were on me

  Downy leaned forward and withdrew a kolache from the first bag he opened, shoving half of it into his mouth before his back hit the couch.

  The rest of the men did the same, and I realized exactly why Luke had bought so much of everything.

  These men could eat.

  After Downy’s fourth kolache and third donut, I couldn’t resist.

  “How are you not fat?” I blurted.

  His eyes twinkled as he licked his fingers clean. Slowly.

  My face flushed, and Luke, who’d taken a seat on the fireplace, growled. “Downy.”

  I turned and saw him staring at Downy with an ‘I’m gonna kick your ass’ look.

  “AC’s really into you,” the man on my other side said.

  I turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Who’s AC?”

  He nodded his head in Luke’s direction. “Assistant Chief’s too long. We shortened it to AC.”

  I blinked.

  Luke was the assistant chief?

  “What?” He asked, noting my shock.

  I shook my head. “Nothing.”

  “That word’s dangerous,” the man said. “I’ve learned with my first wife that nothing means something. But you don’t have to tell me.”

  “This is Michael. Or Saint,” Downy said from behind me, tilting his head at the man I’d been speaking to.

  “Saint Michael?” I asked, confirming I’d heard him right.

  Michael shook his head in exasperation. “The boys like to make me
out to be a saint. Let me assure you, I’m not.”

  The sexual connotation in those two words was enough for me to be cleared of any and all credence that he was a saint.

  That and the look he gave me.

  The man wasn’t a saint. Far fucking from it.

  “Mommy?” Rowen called from the doorway.

  My head snapped around, and I watched as she walked through the throng of men and crawled into my lap.

  “Yes, baby?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry, mommy,” she whispered.

  I kissed her nose. “I know, baby. It’s okay.”

  “He said as long as I’m with him, nothing will hurt you.”

  Mothers always understood their children. Mothers could understand something that other people would only comprehend as gibberish. And I would’ve thought that that would’ve been the case now, too.

  Her words were garbled, and distorted since she was still crying slightly.

  Yet when those words left her mouth, I felt all the air being sucked out of the room as each and every man surrounding me inhaled deeply, freezing at my daughter’s words.

  “What’d you say baby?” I asked, wanting to confirm what I’d heard.

  “Daddy and ‘Nita fight. ‘Nita doesn’t like you,” Rowen said, looking up at me now.

  “And did Anita say those mean things?” I asked, smoothing her hair out of her eyes.

  She shook her head. “Yes.”

  Luke moved, coming to kneel behind Rowen. His large palm laid against her back, touching her from shoulder to shoulder, where he then proceeded to question her like a suspect. A five year old suspect, but a suspect nonetheless.

  I would’ve objected if she’d acted hurt or scared, but she was nothing but happy to answer every single one of Luke’s questions. As well as a few from the others as well.

  In that half hour Luke spoke with her, I learned everything I ever needed to know about Anita and more.

  For one, she liked sleeping with other men. TMI!

  Two, she was only with ‘daddy’ because she got pregnant. Way too much TMI!

  Three, she had a mouth like a trucker. Something that Weston had sworn to me that he wouldn’t do in front of Rowen. Obviously that same promise hadn’t extended to his wife.

  Four, Anita and her father were loud at night. I hadn’t needed anymore explanation than that.

  Fifty seven, Weston was in love with someone that wasn’t his wife.

  That one hadn’t needed any explanation today, either.

  Not when we’d just seen him sealed in a lip-lock with Lydia less than an hour before.

  Sadly, only one thing kept working through my mind.

  That woman better fuckin’ believe that I’d be talking to her the next time I saw her. And come Monday morning, I’d be filing for custody. Full custody, with no visitation.

  That woman’s vileness wasn’t touching my baby anymore.

  Chapter 19

  Jingle all the way…’cause nobody likes a half assed jingler.

  -Hallmark Card

  Luke

  “Daddy, you’re light’s bothering me,” Katy murmured, her small hand covering her eyes as she kept her eyes glued on the TV.

  I sighed and put the phone down. I didn’t want to watch this. Not again. Although, it looked like I had no choice.

  “My daddy won’t watch Princess Anna and Queen Elsa with me,” Rowen said as she laid her head down on my chest.

  I kissed the top of her head. “I’ll watch it whenever you want, honey.”

  She patted my chest and rubbed her nose on my t-shirt, much the same as her mother did nearly every time I had her in my arms.

  I was watching the girls while Reese bought a few last minute Christmas presents before the holiday.

  I’d learned over the last couple of weeks that Reese was a major procrastinator. As in, she saved all her shopping until today, the day before Christmas Eve.

  She’d been gone for well over four hours now, and the girls had gotten restless. Which was why Downy and I were watching Frozen.

  “I can’t believe you have me watching this,” Downy muttered darkly.

  I chuckled. “It was the least I could do.”

  He lifted his hand holding his beer, and tilted it at the screen. “That bitch’s gonna die.”

  I turned my attention to the screen and frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  He nodded his head at Princess Anna again. “In real life it’s the creeps that go after the girl and propose that fast. He wants something from her.”

  I shook my head. “You’re so cynical.”

  He leveled a glare at me. “I’ve earned the right to be.”

  I didn’t dispute that. We were all cynical in our own ways, some more than most.

  My phone rang from the coffee table beside me, and I answered with the sounds of Let It Go in the background. “Hello?”

  “Roberts. I need you down at the station. Now. Bring Downy with you,” The Chief growled into my ear.

  No hello, or fuck you. Only business.

  “Why and for how long? I’ve got two kids with me,” I said, standing up and dislodging the two girls that were at my sides.

  They murmured their discontent, but their eyes stayed glued to the TV, enraptured.

  “Just get down here. Bring them with you, you can set them up in your office. It won’t take long,” The chief said, then hung up, not allowing me to question him any further.

  “Fuck,” I sighed, eyes lifting to Downy. “The chief wants us to come in.”

  He grimaced and finished his beer. “Sounds like I’m not going to like what he has to say.”

  I had a feeling I wasn’t going to, either.

  ***

  “You’re shitting me,” I said, my head all of a sudden pounding.

  The chief shook his head. “No, unfortunately not. They found him this morning after the man’s kids asked if they could get into the room to remove the valuables from the house.”

  Fuuuuck.

  Jesus, this was just what we needed right now.

  And I’d known that that operation stunk.

  I should’ve known it was going to happen.

  Every fucking thing that Pierson Howell worked on went sour.

  And after weeks, I still hadn’t found the connection that I knew was there.

  Instinct was telling me that there was something about that operation that connected to Reese.

  I hadn’t figured out how, yet. But I would.

  “So how’d he die? Was it in the explosion?” Downy asked from his position across the table from me.

  “The autopsy hasn’t been done yet. We’ll know in the next twenty four to forty eight hours,” The chief said, standing.

  We stood, too.

  We weren’t stupid.

  “Try to be accommodating to Pierson. I know he’s hard to work with, but he’s good at his job,” The chief chided.

  We both nodded and walked out of the chief’s office, knowing damn well and good that Pierson fucking Howell was about to become a pain in our asses.

  When the door shut behind us, Downy looked back to make sure the chief hadn’t followed us out before he started. “They’re going to blame us for fucking that op up, then we’ll have to hear about how Pierson was the better man to run SWAT. Then he’ll get his cronies to start in. It’ll be like a fucking soap opera.”

  I agreed. “Yep.”

  We’d just rounded the corner to my office when I heard Katy’s favorite part start to blare through the station’s conference room.

  I found the two girls in the midst of nearly three quarters of the police station, all of them watching Frozen as if they’d never seen it before. Men and women alike, with Rowen and Katy in the middle of it all, stretched out on the conference’s table with their blankets and pillows.

  “That’s not something you see every day,” Downy muttered, a small smile kicking up the corner of his mouth.

  I nodded. “No, it’s sure not.”


  Rowdy, the KPD’s oldest and fattest, sat in the middle of the room, snacking on a donut while he watched Elsa turn the large mound of snow into a massive ice castle.

  Then there was Nico, the last person I would ever expect to see watching a Disney movie, propped up against the back of wall, eyes glued to the TV.

  Michael was at his side, and Bennett’s head poked up over the standing crowd across the room.

  “You think they’ll get pissed when I take the movie with me?” I asked as I walked into the conference room.

  Downy shrugged. “Maybe. Just leave it here.”

  I shook my head. “I’d rather kill myself than not have it just in case one of the two of them wants to watch it. It sits on repeat in my DVD player. All they have to do is turn the TV on now.”

  Downy smiled and lifted the remote, pointing it at the screen and pressed stop.

  Groans and boo’s filled the air as every pair of eyes in the room turned to glare at Downy, even my two girls.

  “It’s bedtime,” Downy said, gesturing to the two girls. “And they have to have their movie to go to sleep.”

  That seemed to console most of them, but I had to promise to bring it back the day after Christmas so they could finish it, which I would.

  “Alright, ladies. It’s time to go home,” I said, gathering dolls, blankets, and cups.

  They came down dutifully, each grabbing onto a hand as we walked out to my truck.

  They waved goodbye and promised to return, making some of the most hardened cops on the force smile.

  “You two girls have my men around your fingers, don’t y’all?” I teased as we got into the car.

  Rowen, the one I was helping in first, smiled. “Mommy says all I have to do is smile and I get what I want.”

  I didn’t doubt that one bit.

  The ride home was quiet as both girls fell asleep as soon as we pulled onto the main road.

  By the time we pulled into my spot in the garage and shut the engine off, both girls were snoring.

  Juggling two girls, instead of just one, was quite difficult, but I managed it as I took each of them to their perspective bedrooms, covering them up, and closing the door.

  I found Reese in my bedroom again.