And he wanted it.
All of it. The good, the not so good. He wanted what his parents had made with him. A family of his own.
She answered on the first ring, as though she’d been waiting for his call. Sounded excited when he told her he was outside.
If she wanted him over that badly, she could have invited him.
He’d debated what to wear—such a dramatic thing for a guy who lived life on the sidelines—but he was getting more used to the other man who’d been lurking in his skin all these years. Guiding his life.
In black jeans, a button-up shirt and leather slip-ons, he knocked on her door. He wasn’t sure about spending the rest of his life living alone. But knew that, for her, he had to try.
Drama had a way of showing you the truth. About yourself. About life—and about those in it.
He didn’t get a chance to knock. She was there, pressing her lips against his, her hands on his hips, as though steadying herself. He ached to pull her against him, beneath him, on top, next to him, just to have all of her touching all of him.
And didn’t want to hurt her. Those ribs. They were going to have to talk about them.
“You smell so good,” she told him. “So...you.”
So did she. Smell good. He wanted to take her to bed, even just to lie next to her, and smell that scent all night. Kissing her back, hard and wanting her, he thought about ways they could have sex without hurting her.
Her on top, for sure. Naked. His hands on her hips. Or her nipples. Nipples were good. Not attached to ribs...
He broke the kiss.
They had some details to get through first. Because he was, after all, the guy who took care of things...
Taking his hand, she led him back toward her bedroom. He knew he should stop her. That there was serious business ahead. But watching her move in those leggings, the long shirt hiding most of what he knew was beneath it...wanting to be in bed with her won out.
Wanting to be in her bed.
“I’ve never had a relationship with a child in the house,” she was saying. “I told Bella that if she ever wakes up in the night and Auntie JJ’s door is closed, then she should just knock and Auntie JJ will answer right away. We practiced and made a game of it. She waited until I opened the door and then laughed and squealed when I made a big deal of her being there.”
She was speaking softly as they made their way down the hall. And shut her bedroom door behind them as they arrived.
The suite was opulent. Off-whites. Some gold. Roses. Maroon and darker green pillows propped up against an entire wall of pillows, some with shams that matched the comforter. Off-white with rose prints. He could see into the bathroom from two steps into the room. Could see the garden tub, at least. He knew she had a walk-in tiled shower from a conversation they’d had late one night. And double sinks.
She always only used one—the same one.
“And there’s the monitor,” she said now, pointing to the speaker on one of the two nightstands. The right one. She’d said she slept on the right side of the bed. He was a middle, take-up-the-whole-thing guy. When he slept alone.
“Can you stay?” she asked him, reaching for the top button on her blouse. And it occurred to him that she was trying too hard.
Talking too much, but not about anything they needed to discuss.
Walking toward her on the thick carpet, thinking he should have removed his shoes, praying they didn’t leave marks, he took both her hands. Sat on the end of the bed with her.
“We need to talk.”
Everything about her stilled. Her energy. Her breathing. The way she’d been looking all over the place. Head bowed, she nodded.
“I expect you’re going to tell me that you’ve had a change of heart...”
“I have.”
“I don’t blame you. At all. My family... Josh and I, we’re messy. That whole thing with Heidi. I know it was over-the-top out there. Who does that? What kind of family continues to care about a person like that? How can I understand Josh still loving her? It’s just...until you’ve lived it...”
He listened. It was what he did. He was good at it.
When it seemed like her pause was more than just that, he said, “My change of heart has nothing to do with your family. Or what happened.” He thought for a second. “Or rather, it does have some to do with what happened. But then, I realized that as much as I want to be married, to have a traditional home and family life, I want, no...I need you more.”
Not looking at her, he pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. “I just need you to know, before I say any more, that I will agree to whatever relationship constraints you need. I just have to try...”
He handed her the envelope. All sealed, with the contents notarized.
“What’s this?”
“I know it’s way too soon to discuss marriage between us,” he said. “But I’d like it to be on the table. For the future. I’d like it to be where we’re headed. To that end, I’ve drafted up a pre-confession and had it notarized.” He nodded toward the envelope. “It’s yours, to keep someplace safe. Someplace I can’t get to. In it I admit to being fully at fault for the demise of our relationship.”
She sucked in a breath. Dropped the envelope like it burned her. “Is this some kind of joke?” He supposed, from the outside looking in, he was out on a serious limb here. But he knew her. He trusted her.
“I agree to give you our home. To take only my personal possessions when I leave. And to split with you whatever we’ve earned together. The rest of your money is your own. And...Bella, even if I were to adopt her, too, you’d get full custody.”
Jumping up, hands on her hips, she stared at him. “Have you lost your mind? I don’t get it. What on earth are you doing here? Because if you think...”
He took one of her hands. As gently as he could with her all het up. Held it between both of hers. “I’m a big man,” he started.
She pulled her hand away. Kicked at the envelope with her foot. “I’m not the least bit bothered by your size. I don’t really even notice. It’s just you.” The kick might have been more effective if the envelope had actually moved.
Taking her hand again, he looked her in the eye long enough for her to take a deep breath. She was still blinking more than normal. Something he’d noticed she did when she was pissed. “Hear me out, please?” he asked.
She nodded. Kept looking him in the eye.
“I know you aren’t ever going to have cause to use the contents of that envelope, Jasmine. And I trust you so completely I can give it to you knowing that you would never use it without cause. But I also know that it’s the only way I can make you feel safe about contemplating a live-in relationship with me. The very first time you feel in danger of being abused, you pull out that envelope. It’s your get-out-of-jail-free card.”
“Oh God, Greg...” She picked up the envelope, taking a bit of extra time standing back up with it. And then ripped it. Again and again and again. “I don’t need this,” she told him. “I don’t even want it. I want a healthy relationship, not one with escape cards.”
Watching the pieces of paper fall to the floor, he was a bit irritated. His plan had been a good one. The only one he could come up with...
Moving her legs around his, she slid onto his lap, facing him. Her hands on his shoulders.
“I want you to have the envelope,” he told her, not one to give up easily. “I’ll make another copy.”
“Make a hundred of them,” she said. “A thousand. I don’t care. Paper the entire house with them. I’m telling you, I don’t need it.”
She was looking him right in the eye. Paper the house? As in one? Hers? Or his? Or...just one house?
“I love you, Greg Johnson. So much I can hardly believe it’s possible. This is all I’ve ever wanted. To love and be loved. In my home. Or yours. Or where
ver we end up. The others... I was so anxious to have that home I wanted that I jumped too soon. Yeah, I’ve got a pattern. I am attracted to a certain type of person. And some of it might have to do with my growing up. But that’s true for pretty much everyone. What I know now is that I’m a survivor of domestic violence, but not a victim of it. I’m not that person. For whatever reason, I get myself out. I survive. And if I ever find myself in danger again, I’d get myself out again. Or die trying. There are no guarantees in life, but I know myself. I trust me, Greg. Which allows me to trust my feelings for you. And to believe in the trust I feel for you.”
That was a whole lot of stuff in a very short time. While the woman of his dreams was straddling his thighs.
Greg wanted to sit right there and savor every bit of it.
“You’re saying that you want to move toward...”
“Everything. All of it. One house. One family. Hopefully more than one child.”
Well, that pretty much said it all. His heart pounded. His penis shot up beneath his fly in celebration.
“There are some other things we need to talk about,” he remembered before he did something foolish, like throw caution to the wind and just...
“I know. Josh, for one. And the whole rib thing. It’s been taken care of, but I promised him I’d run it by you...”
“Promised him?”
“Yeah. He wants me to press charges, but I’m not going to. Assuming you agree, of course.”
Just damn it to hell. He and his big mouth. His details. Afraid she was going to slide right off his lap and maybe even out of his life, he said, “He did do it, then? Your brother physically abused you?” His voice rose. He tried to temper it. To remain calm. But...
“Yes,” she said, putting a finger to his lips. “But hear me out. Please?” She mimicked his earlier request.
And so he did. He sat there and listened to her far into that night. On his lap. And as the conversation continued, propped up on pillows in the dark. He asked questions. Hard questions. She had answers. Some that made him sick to hear.
Sometime in the small morning hours, they both fell silent.
“So...Detective, what do you think about pressing charges?”
He was tired. And yet not exhausted. Sleepy, and so alive. And thinking clearly. “I think I want you to write down everything about that cabin night. Then we have Josh sign it...”
“And have it notarized,” she said, a glint in her eye as she turned to him in the darkness.
“Just to be safe.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“So, can we lie down and let me hold you for a bit?” He’d prefer sex, but he understood about her ribs.
“This is as lying down as I’m getting right now,” she told him. “But I’d love to sit up a while. If you can think of anything I can sit on...”
The woman was going to keep him on his toes. And on his knees. But he knew she’d be right there, kneeling beside him.
He’d been left as trash on a bathroom floor, but he’d been picked up by angels and was destined to spend the rest of his life with one.
“I love you, Jasmine Taylor.”
“Not as much as I love you, Detective Johnson.”
For once, he knew she was wrong.
* * *
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Danger. Passion. Drama.
These heart-racing page-turners will keep you guessing to the very end. Experience the thrill of unexpected plot twists and irresistible chemistry.
4 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
Love Harlequin romance?
DISCOVER.
Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks
Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks
ReaderService.com
EXPLORE.
Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at
TryHarlequin.com
CONNECT.
Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!
Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection
ISBN-13: 9781488071546
Falling for His Suspect
Copyright © 2021 by TTQ Books LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at [email protected].
Harlequin Enterprises ULC
22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.Harlequin.com
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Danger. Passion. Drama.
These heart-racing page-turners will keep you guessing to the very end. Experience the thrill of unexpected plot twists and irresistible chemistry.
4 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
Love Harlequin romance?
DISCOVER.
Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks
Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks
ReaderService.com
EXPLORE.
Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at
TryHarlequin.com
CONNECT.
Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!
Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection
ISBN-13: 9781488071607
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Colton 911: Guardian in the Storm
Copyright © 2021 by Carla Cassidy
Colton’s Covert Witness
Copyright © 2021 by Addison Fox
Close Quarters with the Bodyguard
Copyright © 2021 by Lisa Childs
Falling for His Suspect
Copyright © 2021 by Tara Taylor Quinn
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
1 Box Set
Harlequin Romantic Suspense July 2021 Box Set Page 87