Avoiding the Badge

by Dorothy F. Shaw

  “Great!” Derek smiled so big Rayna wanted to kiss him. “How’s Thursday night? I know it’s a weeknight, but I’m off and also free. Will that work?”

  “I think so, yes.” She smiled as a different kind of heat pooled in her stomach, but then it was as if someone pulled the plug and all her nervous excitement spilled right out of her. Crap! “Wait, no. That won’t work. I forgot that I promised my best friend I’d go out with her Thursday night. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh.” His face fell, and along with it, a block of ice filled Rayna’s stomach.

  Without thinking, she reached for his hand. As usual when her skin made contact with his, a thousand tingles shot up her arm and the ice in her stomach melted into a heated puddle. “Well, wait. What if you met me there?”—Holy cow, what’m I doing?—“I mean, maybe you won’t want to, but it might be...I don’t know, fun?”

  Once more, he smiled. “That could work. Where are you going?”

  “Some place called the Whiskey Barrel? It’s a country bar, so it might not be your speed.”

  “Perfect. I’ve been there before. How about this, is your friend single?”

  Rayna smiled, knowing Tish might kill her for this. “She is, yes.”

  “Fantastic! I can bring my best friend and then...maybe, since you said you haven’t done this in a while, it’ll take the pressure off. How does that sound?”

  “Please don’t take this wrong, but actually, yes, less pressure sounds perfect.”

  “I promise to go easy on you.” Derek reached for her other hand and clasped it in his.

  A bolt of electric lust shot up her arm. Her stomach tightened, and she had to fight the urge to clench her thighs together. “There it is...” Rayna glanced down at their linked hands and then back up to his eyes. “The energy.”

  “Yes. Chemistry. Connection.” He drew in a breath. “I really want to kiss you right now, Doc.”

  Doc...

  Everything inside Rayna went soft as liquefied lust spilled through her nervous system. More than anything she wanted him to kiss her. Which was completely contrary to what her logical mind was screaming at her to remember.

  With anticipation pulsing through her veins, her breaths grew shallow and she licked her lips. Derek’s eyes darted to her mouth then back to her eyes. All at once, Rayna couldn’t recall why she shouldn’t want him. “What’s stopping you?”

  Derek dipped his head, his lips hovering a bare breath away from hers. “Just the anticipation, Doc. It’s too good, almost as delicious as I bet you taste.”

  “Oh.” Heat engulfed Rayna’s entire body, and as her shallow breaths quickened, she swore she felt a trickle of wetness in her panties.

  “I’ll see you Thursday.” He pulled back and let go of her hands. Although she wasn’t expecting him to move away from her, the loss of his heat and touch did nothing to diminish the fire burning inside her.

  “Thursday.” The word came out of her as a bare whisper as she tried to remember how to breathe.

  Rayna was doing this. She was going on a date. With a cop. At that moment, she could no longer remember why that should be a big deal. At that moment, all she really wanted was to feel his lips on hers and feel his hard body cradled around her.

  Oh dear.

  * * * *

  Kiss her...

  As Derek stepped away from the doc, and then turned and walked toward the exam room door that led to the lobby, the voice in his head got louder. Kiss her, you ass! Kiss! Her!

  Fuck it. In one motion, Derek pivoted and took two strides back to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, bent forward to meet her much shorter height and took her sweet lips in a kiss.

  At first she stiffened, but then a low moan came out of her and she softened against him. Lust erupted in his system, sending bolts of desire down his spine and through all of his limbs. In an instant, his cock was stone-hard behind his zipper.

  Tilting his head to the side, he slid his tongue along the seam of her lips. She opened for him, and he felt the tip of her tongue touch his...and that’s when everything changed.

  Derek picked his Doc up, turned her and pressed her back against the wall of the exam room. With a firm grip on her ass—which he now knew was perfect—their tongues collided, tangled and wrapped around each other.

  She gripped at his shoulders, clenching the fabric of his T-shirt in her hands. Derek rolled his hips. She moaned and rocked her pelvis against him, confirming the solid ridge of his cock, through his jeans, struck its mark between her parted thighs.

  As she kissed him, his sweet Doc rode him. God, she was perfect, and she was giving him more than he’d ever dared to hope, and only dreamed he’d ever get from her.

  Goddamn, he’d needed this. So much more than he’d even allowed himself to think.

  Fucking, yes! Derek had just found heaven.

  Chapter 4

  Rayna stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection in complete and total fear.

  Make no mistake, this wasn’t any sort of real fear, meaning the kind where she was concerned for her safety. No, it was more the kind of fear where self-doubt called the shots. No matter how much she’d tried, Rayna couldn’t understand what a man like Derek Hansen could or would ever see in her.

  Her chest and face were in what she was starting to think was a permanent state of splotchy pink. Definitely not the pretty kind of flush and shine a person got from being out in the sun or among nature on a hike. No, Rayna’s was the kind that looked like she was one allergy attack away from needing a massive dose of Benadryl.

  Mouth gone dry. Nervous tension centered in her palms, making her hands sweat. She kept clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to relieve the ache, but it wasn’t working. Her stomach was in a knot. And her heart beat so hard she could hear it in her ears.

  Totally ridiculous. Rayna leaned closer to the mirror. What does he see in me? She’d always been told that she was pretty, and Rayna didn’t entirely disagree. More that she felt her looks fell on the plain, low-maintenance side of the female populace. Unlike her best friend and many other women, Rayna rarely wore makeup, though she’d planned to put on a little for her date tonight.

  Regardless, Derek was the type of good-looking she would expect to be paired with some exotically gorgeous, super-fit, athletic woman...with long, flowing blond hair, maybe, and a perfect body.

  Definitely not freckles, red hair, a fairly decent figure—meaning a little too soft in places that wouldn’t be so soft if there were time in her life for the gym—nothing special for sure.

  But good grief, he’d kissed her and touched her like she was the hottest thing on the planet. It was crazy, and Rayna could not make heads or tails of it! So, for the past three days, she’d been a train wreck of anxiety.

  To make matters worse, the kiss—or rather, the out-of-this-world kiss, which turned into an out-of-this-galaxy make-out session—had left her in a state of the most intense sexual arousal she’d ever experienced in her life, a craving she’d been unable to satisfy on her own, either.

  After their dry-humping marathon against the exam room wall had gone down, and she’d gone home, Rayna had brought herself to orgasm at least three times, maybe even four, in bed that night. God help her, she’d masturbated every night since.

  But considering she hadn’t heard from him the rest of the week, Rayna was convinced he’d changed his mind. And why wouldn’t he? Except then he’d called the office this morning, requesting she call him back.

  When she did, she was so rattled with nervous anticipation her hands were shaking and she had to dial his number a few times before she finally got it right. He asked for her cell number and told her he couldn’t wait to see her.

  So, there it was.

  He still wanted to see her.

  He still wanted to take her out on a date.

  Ray
na thought he was freaking nuts.

  However, the one thing that trumped all of that was the fact that she was breaking a vow she’d made to herself as a child. At the tender age of ten, thanks to her father, who was now a retired police officer, Rayna had vowed she’d never, ever, no matter what, date or be with a cop.

  Her father had excelled in his career with a badge but had failed miserably, thanks to that badge, at being a husband. And here she was breaking the very rule she’d sworn to heaven and hell she’d never break.

  With a sigh, she pulled open the top drawer in the sink vanity and pulled out the copper eyeliner Tish had made her buy a few months ago but Rayna had yet to wear. Leaning forward and doing her best to steady her hand, she drew a line on the top lids of her eyes, then another along the lash lines on the bottom.

  She blinked and swallowed. Not too bad. Next up was mascara. After coating both the upper and lower lashes, making them look twice as long as they looked naturally, she tossed the tube aside. After adding just a hint of blush to her cheeks, she closed things up and studied her reflection again. With a curt nod, Rayna decided this was as good as it was going to get.

  But maybe it wasn’t so bad.

  “Hey— Wow, you look fucking amazing!”

  A scream punched out of Rayna as every muscle in her body jumped to high-alert attention. With wide eyes she clamped a palm over her mouth and gripped the bathroom counter with her other hand to keep herself from falling on her butt.

  “Shit! Sorry, I called for you when I came in through the laundry room—” Tish reached for Rayna and rubbed her upper arms. “I guess you didn’t hear me.”

  With her hand still clamped over her mouth, Rayna shook her head side to side.

  Tish raised both brows. “Do you need to sit down?”

  Rayna sucked in a breath through her nose and finally pulled her hand away. “No. I’m okay.” She patted her chest. “Sorry, you just really scared me.” She turned and faced the mirror again. “And it’s not like I didn’t know you were coming. I’m just nervous, and I was too busy thinking of the million reasons why I should not be going tonight and then a million more reasons why this man should not be interested in me.”

  “What? Why would you think he shouldn’t be interested in you?”

  Rayna reached for the flat iron. “Because, have you seen him? Oh, wait, you haven’t.” With a frown, she smoothed the iron through a section of hair. “He’s good-looking, like really good-looking. Billy wasn’t exaggerating.”

  Tish sat on the edge of the large soaking tub. “So?”

  “Ugh, so? What do you mean, so? Have you seen me lately?” Rayna pulled another section of hair through the flat iron. “I’m way too conservative. Makeup is a chore, so I don’t bother. Plus, I’m more comfortable in a set of scrubs or jeans than tight skirts or low-cut tops. You know that. A guy like Derek doesn’t go out with women who don’t wear makeup or show cleavage.”

  “When did you become psychic?” Tish stood and moved to the counter. She bent close to the mirror and examined her face.

  “I’m being serious, Tish.”

  “Believe me, I know you are. But so’m I.” Tish grabbed a Q-tip and dabbed the eyeliner at her lower lash line. “So, answer the question. Because if you’re psychic, then I have a lot of other questions to ask you, all about my future, of course.”

  Rayna let out an exasperated sigh and ran another section of hair through the straightener. “No. I’m not psychic.”

  “Damn, I was really hoping.” Tish rolled her eyes. “So, then how is it you know what kind of women Derek goes out with? I mean, if I’m not mistaken, he did ask you out, didn’t he? Plus, the guy’s been stalking you, in all the best ways, for the past six months—the whole time you’ve been in your ‘no makeup and conservative dress code.’ He’s hot, and oh—” Tish gave Rayna a devious grin. “Guess I need to remind you that he pushed every single one of your sexual buttons on Monday. Plus a few you didn’t even know you had.” Her friend wagged her brows then gave her long dark hair a fluff job with her fingers. “It would appear as though you are definitely his type.”

  Rayna put the flat iron on the counter and grabbed the hair spray. “Sometimes I hate you.”

  “Translation: you love me.” Tish leaned over and kissed Rayna on the cheek.

  “I do love you. Now please tell me you have some cover-up or powder or contouring stuff I can’t even begin to figure out in your bag, because I’m really blotchy and I don’t own a drop of foundation.”

  “Stay here, I have something better.”

  Rayna turned back to the mirror and finished up with the hairspray. After she put it away under the sink, she checked her mascara again, and then for the hundredth time, cursed her complexion.

  Blowing out an exasperated breath, she took a few steps back and smoothed her palms down her thin sleeveless sweater, which was blousy on top but narrow in the waist. It created a slimming effect is what the saleswoman had told her in the store today. Good news was, it appeared to be working. So at least she had that in her favor. Plus, it made her boobs look a lot more...ample than her scrubs did, that was for sure.

  “Here is your something better.” Tish held out a shot glass full of clear liquid.

  “Oh dear. What’s that?”

  “Tequila.” Tish smiled. “Bottoms up, buttercup.”

  Rayna eyed the glass. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “It’s not a good idea; it’s a fantastic idea.” Tish nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “Besides, it’s just one. All it’s gonna do is take the edge off.”

  “Aren’t you at all nervous to meet his friend? What if you two don’t get along?” Rayna took the shot glass from her friend. “What if he’s the biggest jerk on the planet?”

  “That’s why I downed two shots in the kitchen.”

  Rayna frowned, jerking her head back. “Seriously?”

  Tish laughed. “No. Just one shot. But look, I’m taking one for the team. If the guy is a jerk, I can deal for a few hours. No biggie.”

  “Thank you.” With a sigh, Rayna eyed the clear fluid and tossed it back. The taste, then the familiar burn, hit, sliding down her throat and into her stomach. “Whew.” Rayna licked her lips and handed the glass back to Tish. “You sure I look okay?”

  “Honey, you look amazing. And that man is gonna die when he sees you. Now let’s go. I’m calling us a Lyft.”

  “Okay.” Drawing in another deep breath, Rayna was tempted to stop by the kitchen and have another shot for the road.

  If one was good, two was better, right? Then again, she was a bit of a lightweight, and considering how nervous she was, the booze would probably hit harder than normal. And being the sloppy, slurring drunk girl on a date was definitely not on her agenda.

  Bypassing the kitchen, she grabbed her small clutch bag from the entryway table and followed Tish out the door. No turning back now. This was happening. She was going on a date—okay, technically a double date, but that still counted—with a cop. A very hot, sexy, muscular cop. But a cop, just the same.

  Dad would be so proud. Ugh.

  * * * *

  “Did she say what her friend looks like?” Jeff nudged Derek’s arm.

  Derek refused to take his eyes off the entrance to the bar for even a second. “Nope. Just that her name is Tish.”

  “Tish? Huh. Sounds snobby. Christ, if she’s snobby, I hope she’s at least hot. And if not hot, I hope she’s not snobby and at least interesting. Hot and interesting, minus the snob, would be preferable. But still. I’ll take hot over just interesting, any day. But snobby and me don’t get along. Just saying.”

  Derek shook his head then took a swig of his beer. “I swear to God, you are the most shallow guy I know.”

  “That’s not true. Did you meet that new guy on swing shift yet? Rob Pacheco or something? Anyway, that
bastard is shallow. Not even kidding, he’s married and already earning a rep.”

  “Haven’t met him. But I’ll take your word for it, because as you know I hate that shit.”

  “Noted. I’ll be sure to never invite him for beers.”

  Derek looked at his best friend. “Seriously, Jeff?”

  Jeff laughed. “Nah, kidding. But I got you to look away from the door.”

  Derek frowned and pointed his finger at Jeff. “Someday this is going to happen to you. When it does, I’m gonna give you so much shit you’re not gonna know which end is up.”

  “What’s gonna happen to me?”

  “You’re gonna meet a woman and be all caught up in her.” Derek picked up his beer.

  “Never gonna happen, Shirley.”

  “It will. Be warned becau— Shit, heads up, she just walked in.” Derek slid back from the table and stood. At the sight of her, his throat got tight and heat spread from his chest outward to his limbs. Wow, she looked amazing.

  “A real ginger?”

  Derek couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Yep.”

  “Holy shit... Wait!” Jeff grabbed Derek’s arm. “Please tell me that the brunette behind her is Tish?”

  “No clue. Stay here.” Derek stepped away from the table and migrated through the crowd toward Rayna.

  She’d stopped and turned away, because apparently the brunette was Tish, and Tish was saying hi to a table full of guys. Now she was introducing those guys to Rayna.

  Uh, no.

  Hell no!

  A coil of rope, braided with undiluted caveman possessiveness, unfurled in Derek’s stomach. He forced himself to slow his steps and draw in several deep breaths before he acted on every alpha male instinct screaming through his veins for him to pull her away from the table of testosterone and make sure every swinging dick in the building knew she was his.

  A mere two feet away from her and closing in fast, Rayna turned and collided with him.

  She let out a little squeak when her face made contact with his chest, and Derek clasped his hands on her arms. “It’s okay, Doc. I got you.”