by Violet Duke
The kids would no doubt have a blast. She curbed the sudden feeling of loneliness cramping her gut and smiled wide and bright. “I think they’d love that.”
He then handed her an envelope.
“What’s this?” She opened the flap and pulled out the card inside.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he surveyed her reaction. “A certificate for a massage. To use tomorrow while we’re out and about.”
Somewhere in her head, she could hear the SOS alarm blaring for a ship that was starting to capsize. “Caine, no. This is too much.”
“Consider it a belated birthday present.”
“We didn’t even know each other in January.”
“Then accept it as a grateful thank-you for all the mugs of your special brew coffee.”
“I can’t.”
“But I went to all this trouble to make sure everyone at the massage place knew that if an Addison Milan called for an appointment, that only female masseuses were allowed to touch you. Went over with my uniform to drive my point home, and everything.”
Despite herself, she giggled over his wholly serious expression. She had no doubt he probably did just that. “Caine, you don’t need to get me gifts.”
“I know I don’t need to. I want to. Are you going to deny me something I want?”
Holy hell, that was a loaded question.
And judging by the rising heat level in his gaze, he thought so too.
“Not it if it’s something I want as well,” she replied quietly as she tucked the certificate in a safe zipped pocket in her cavernous mommy purse. “Thank you, Caine.”
CHAPTER SIX
HEARING HIS NAME on her lips had a very immediate, very predictable effect on him.
It had taken her about two weeks after they’d first met for her to warm up to calling him Caine instead of Officer Spencer. He still remembered the first time she did it, too. She’d said his name quickly, casually, and accompanied it with a subtle flash of her happy little left dimple, as if simply saying his name was a precursor to a smile.
She’d been saying it that way ever since.
Before, he’d just found it sweet. Now, he found it mind-messingly sexy, too.
He wasn’t quite sure when exactly the full shift in their dynamic had happened, but sometime between her pouring him her ruined-him-for-all-other-coffees personal blend and their exchanging the never-telling-the-guys-about-it Easter egg messages, Caine had come to one simple, but big conclusion.
Nine years wasn’t that big of a deal.
Addison was smart, funny, caring. Far older than her age in maturity, familial responsibility, and kindness toward others. She was as sassy as she was sweet, which always made him smile.
In a word she was perfect.
Of course, his inner caveman’s word choice sounded more like: mine.
Earlier, the very second he’d caught sight of her at the carnival entrance, he’d heard both of those words echo loud and clear in his brain. Even more resoundingly so when he saw her tuck her long golden brown hair behind her ears, away from those espresso rich laser beams she called eyes. It had taken him a minute to realize she was scanning all the faces in his booth. When her visual survey had stopped as soon as her gaze landed on him, he’d tapped in a replacement to run the grill so he could take his break and go over to her.
On his way over to her, he saw her do it again—that curling her hair around her ear thing she often did at the diner. He’d always found the habit freaking cute as hell, especially because she did it as an automatic gesture whenever she was trying to hear someone better. Lately, every time he caught her doing it, he’d have to forcibly stop himself from reaching over to replace her hands with his, stop himself from sifting her hair between his fingers and bringing his lips right up to her ear.
All the better to hear him with.
Hell, now that he’d come to terms with their age difference, it was taking all his restraint not to do something uncivilized like throw her over his shoulder and drag her back to his cave.
Especially when she looked at him the way she was right now.
Evidently, he wasn’t the only one reacting to the changes in their dynamics.
Given the quick-growing chemistry between them, he imagined that if they’d been starring in a movie, the cinematic segue right about now would involve them straight-up jumping each other’s bones.
But in reality, their relationship was transitioning much more slowly. Naturally.
And that worked for him, because he was in this for the long haul.
Just as he was finishing that thought about taking things slow, however, the woman went and placed a small peck on his cheek following her thanks for the gift certificate.
Well, hell.
Eyes now burning a hundred degrees hotter as he stared at her sweet post-peck blush, he gave her a crooked grin—it was either than or a howl at the sky…he went with the more civil. “Now that was just unfair, honey.”
She took in a shaky breath as she felt the back of his knuckles brush the back of hers. “Wh-what was unfair?”
“You throwing down that dare you just did?”
“Dare?” With him looking at her like he could devour her on the spot, her ability to speak was swiftly disintegrating.
“That was a dare alright. A sweet one, but a dare all the same.”
“Wh-what was I daring you to do? It was just a quick little kiss.”
His grin was slow and molten hot. “And there it is right there. You daring me to show you why that wasn’t a kiss at all.”
She gasped.
“I always knew it was going to be like this with us,” he graveled in a low, raspy whisper. “Do me a favor and close those pretty eyes for a bit. Normally, being able to get a glimpse of the thoughts you keep hidden is a good thing. But right now, I’m not sure I can take much more without downright embarrassing myself.”
She closed her eyes and felt a warm, calloused thumb graze over her heated cheeks. “Much better. At least I can concentrate on our conversation again. So, is eight too early for me to come by your aunt’s house to pick up the kids?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AND JUST LIKE THAT, Addison felt an icy splash of reality nail her in the face. “Actually, why don’t I drop the kids off to you?”
He frowned. “That defeats the purpose of you getting to sleep in late.”
“I’m an early riser. But my aunt isn’t. The kids and I usually leave the house early so as not to disturb her sleep. Besides, I have a ton of errands to run tomorrow anyway. So I’ll bring them by your place at eight?” She infused a done-deal finality in her question and mentally crossed her fingers that he wouldn’t push this.
He shrugged. “Okay. I don’t want to disturb your aunt. I’ll text you my address later.”
She silently let go of all the air she’d had trapped in her lungs. Close call.
His pensive brow furrow in Kylie’s direction shortly after, however, instantly put her back on alert. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just wondering how many points that sister of yours is going to knock off my test score for not picking her up at the door like a gentleman.”
She chuckled. Knowing Kylie, there was a strong possibility that she’d do just that. Whether the ‘door’ in question in their case was their van door and not a front door. “I’ll tell her not to start rating you until I drop them off.”
He brightened. “I appreciate the assist.” Pulling out the compact cop notebook that bore a striking resemblance to her order pad, he flipped open to an empty page and clicked his ball point pen. “Speaking of. Tell me all the things the kids are allergic to. Or just plain don’t like. I don’t want to risk getting docked over something like that.”
Seriously, the man was already so far ahead in points, and he didn’t even realize it. “No food allergies. Tanner’s not a huge fan of green bell peppers. And Kylie always says she wants chocolate when it comes to sweets, but never actually finishes it because it’s
too sweet for her.”
He jotted the info down as if he were taking a witness statement from her. “Okay, and no meds are inhalers or anything?”
She shook her head.
“What about flowers? Does Kylie have a favorite flower?”
She felt the bones in her knees turn to jelly. “She likes hydrangea. Purples ones.”
“Great.” He flipped his notepad closed. “I already got a Venus Flytrap for Tanner—figured he’d think it was cool—so I’ll be sure to pick up little Miss Kylie’s flowers tonight.”
She gazed at him, her emotions clogged in her throat. “You’re going all out on this.”
“They’re good kids.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Plus, I really, really want to pass this test.”
Before she could tell him that he’d already passed with flying colors, Kylie bounced up to them like a sugared up kangaroo. “Can we go to the game booths next, Addison?”
Tanner lifted his shoulders in a hey-I-tried message. Gah, she loved that little brother of hers. “Of course we can. I’ve been scoping out the ones with the best prizes while Caine and I have been discussing this movie outing he’s taking you both out on tomorrow.”
Even Tanner had to smile at that news. “Yeah? Tomorrow?”
Addison perched her hands up on her hips. “He’s even taking you to the park and breakfast you little extortionists.”
They didn’t even pretend to look sorry.
While they immediately began rattling off the names of the movies they wanted to see and started in on the great debate over which was better, pancakes or waffles, she felt Caine’s fingers finally twine with hers. Just a little bit.
When Tanner took that as his cue to be the best little wingman in the world and tug the still-hopping Kylie over to the throw-a-penny-on-the-star game booth.
But not without doing that I’m-watching-you motion at Caine again,
“You’ve done a great job with those kids, Addison. Seriously. They’re pretty awesome.”
As they watched Tanner empty his pockets and give Kylie all his pennies, only to have her split the bounty in half and give him back a handful so they could play together, Addison felt Caine close his hands over hers fully.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, the kind friends do when words don’t quite get the job done, but still, Addison felt butterflies start to take flight and start knocking around against her ribs.
Sure, she’d been on a few dates back in high school, and she’d even had a few free nights during her senior year—aka, the year her mom discovered she could make psychedelic cocktails out of different bottled pills—to do the things high school kids did in parked cars.
Well, not all the things. But some.
Never, however, had any of those boys ever held her hand.
Frankly, judging by the head over heels cherished way she was feeling right now, if they had taken the time to hold her hand, she might not still be in possession of her virginity.
“I have another shift in the police booth coming up,” he informed her quietly. Come by to see me before you and the kids head out? I’ll make you all my world famous burgers.”
When she nodded, he gave her another gentle hand-squeeze before leaning in to brush his lips against her cheek. Chastely.
And in that instant, she understood what he’d meant about the dare.
Her eyes dropped down to his lips and thought about how daring she could be right now.
Another skin-tingling bump and slide of their hands had her imagination spinning out of control.
“You are just trouble in progress for my good intentions, woman.” It was a rumbling grumble that sounded as amused as it did heated.
“Likewise,” she whispered back.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CAINE EXITED THE BRIEFING ROOM with a thousand things on his mind. Cases involving children always hit him hard. And today’s missing child case was doubly tough because the little four-year boy reported missing—taken right from his bedroom sometime before dawn this morning—had also been the victim of child abuse for years, according to his mother.
Over the past eight years, Caine had seen far too many cases of parents who just shouldn’t have been allowed to be parents, and innocent children hurt beyond comprehension.
Not just in the form of bruises, but in neglect. His own foster brother Drew had been a victim of that. With an alcoholic mother who’d hardly been lucid enough to even make sure he was fed most days, Drew had been raised by his older brother Leo until not too long ago. Unfortunately, not long after Leo enlisted in the army—during the promising two years their mom had been sober for the first time in their lives—he got deployed overseas, where his unit’s chopper went down without any survivors.
Drew and Leo’s mother went into another downward spiral after that, not just in the neglect department, but in the physical abuse too. Caine himself was the officer who went to take Drew out of the dangerous hellhole his home had become.
Drew had only been twelve years old at the height of the abuse, but he’d been taking care of himself for far longer. He was smart as a hell, and socially fine, but emotionally scarred when it came to family figures.
It damn near broke Caine’s heart when he’d first seen Drew struggle with day to day family affection. It had been after Drew had finally gotten tested for his IQ. When Caine and his folks had tried to hug the kid after finding out he tested at genius level intelligence, Drew had nearly jumped out of his skin.
What kind of monster makes it so their own kid can’t make heads or tails of a hug?
Caine felt his hands curl into helpless fists just thinking about it all again.
He was often accused of getting too emotionaly involved with cases involving abused kids. But really, how could he not? They were innocent, just like the kid that had gone missing today.
Little Billy Baker. Just four years old.
God, some days it was harder than others to believe humanity wasn’t totally screwed up.
Caine was so lost in his heavy thoughts as he got ready to head on out that he didn’t even notice her standing there until she cleared her throat to get his attention.
“Addison?” He blinked. “What are you doing here at the station?” He closed the distance between them in half a second. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She pointed to the bags of food and boxes of to-go coffee cups sitting on the table in their break room. “That missing boy case has been on the news all morning so I brought some food and coffee. I figured you guys would be working around the clock.”
A lot of his buddies that should’ve already been heading home were still in uniform, wanting to help with the search. They were all gratefully digging into everything Addison had brought over.
“You’re amazing. I’m pretty sure everyone here worked right through their lunch breaks.”
She gave him a somber smile. “Glad I could help a little. We have more food and coffee ready to bring over if you guys need it. We know the little boy who was taken; he and his mom are regulars at the diner. So even if I’m on break, don’t worry, I’ve already instructed the staff to provide you guys whatever you need.”
Dammit, he wanted to kiss the hell out of her right now. “Thank you, sweetheart. This means a lot to us. To me.”
She handed him a tall to-go cup of coffee and a small brown paper bag. “My special brew, of course. And I packed you a sandwich you could eat in the car.” Stepping back to clear out of his pathway, she made a sweeping motion with her hand toward the door. “Sorry. I know you’re busy. Go on. I’m just going to go back to the breakroom to make sure I don’t need to bring in a second batch of food.”
He gazed at her soulful, empathetic eyes. And wrapped an arm around her to pull her into a hug.
They’d never hugged before this, but still, it felt like they’d been doing this their whole lives. She fit him perfectly. And filled some part of him he hadn’t even known had gone missing until now.
She squeeze
d him tight, and then pulled back slightly to look up at him. Her hands slid out of the bear hug and smoothed up his chest, before settling on either side of his face.
And just like that, she tilted her chin up and pressed a gentle kiss onto his lips.
The whole thing barely lasted a second, but he felt good and dizzy when she was through.
Feeling his heart thudding like a sledge hammer in his chest, and hearing his breathing deepening as if he were changing gears from a job to a sprint, he dropped his forehead down onto hers. “Issuing another dare, sweetheart?”
She gave him one of those soft smiles reserved only for him. “No. Just offering comfort, support.” She brushed another barely there kiss over his lips before taking a step back. “Call me if you need anything. Even if you just need to talk.”
Christ, he really didn’t want her to go. But they both had to get to work. “I will. Thanks again, sweetheart.” Taking a big, grateful sip of the coffee he was seriously in love with, he called out teasingly, “By the way, are you ever going to tell me what makes this coffee so good?”
She hesitated, then walked back to him and quickly recited, “Mix equal parts of two cheapo grocery store brands of coffee grounds, half dark French roast and half plain old American roast, with a handful of salt, a dash of paprika, and…two bags of oolong tea, the smokier and darker the better, and like a teeny sprinkle of saffron that I ‘borrow’ from the kitchen.” She nibbled on her lip. “Buut, to be honest, you could get rid of the salt, paprika, and saffron and still have a really great cup a joe.”
He blinked in disbelief. “So the big secret to your coffee is…tea?”
Nodding, she lifted her shoulders unapologetically, and held her hand up in a quick wave before turning to hustle over to the breakroom, where she immediately pulled out her trusty order pad from her waitressing apron and asked the guys if they wanted her to bring over anything else.
“Holy shit,” whistled Marco, another cop who’d transferred over to Creek Hills recently. “You and Addison? Seriously?”