Moments of Trust

by Kat Bammer

  “I wouldn’t suggest anything, officially.”

  “Okay.” This was getting old real fast. What was it Richard was saying?

  “Maybe you guys could pay him a friendly visit.”

  Okay, now they were talking.

  “Maybe remind him it isn’t a good idea to ever set foot into our neck of the woods again.”

  “Our?” Peter’s head jerked to Richard. “So, you bought the place?”

  Richard nodded. “As of today I’m officially the newest resident of Moon Lake.”

  Peter bro-hugged Richard and clapped him on the back. “Well done. Welcome to our little neck of the woods.”

  Blake patted Richard’s back too and Kevin nodded.

  “So, tell him he should stay away from Julie, but don’t do anything stupid, you hear me? No funky business—just talking, boys. Nothing that would get you into trouble, and no uniform. Now I gotta go, get a tree for my new home. See ya.” Sheriff Richard turned and entered the forest of trees. And Kevin caught a glimpse of Dorothy watching the sheriff’s retreat. Her face showed longing and sadness. So that was who she was hiding from.

  “So, I say we do this tomorrow,” Peter said and Blake and Kevin nodded.

  “I’ve got a PT session in the morning—right after would be probably best. I’m invited for dinner at the Brooks’ place.”

  “Oh, Christmas dinner. Aren’t you cute? Already celebrating together with her family.”

  Kevin crossed his arms and stared Peter down until he threw his arms into the air. “Okay, okay. I won’t say another word.”

  “So, Richard is moving here? Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it?” Blake turned to Peter, his arms crossed, as well.

  Peter shrugged. “I didn’t know either. He just told me about a house on the lake that was for sale a few weeks ago. Said he needed a change of scenery.”

  Blake nodded.

  “Why?” Kevin asked.

  “His wife died earlier this year. Cancer. They fought it a long time, but…”

  Kevin shifted from one foot to the other. Even thinking about watching a loved one die made him uncomfortable.

  Silence spread between them for a minute and Kevin’s thoughts wandered. “So, tomorrow then?”

  The other two men nodded, determination turning their faces into stony masks.

  Tomorrow they would pay him a visit, and Kevin looked forward to telling the sorry asshole a thing or two about how not to treat his woman.

  And afterward he needed to buy some presents.

  Kevin searched for Julie’s face in the crowd. When their eyes met, hers lightened up and quite possibly his did too. He forced himself to look away again.

  He was a sucker for this woman. Something he’d never been before. For anyone.

  11

  Julie grabbed the gift she’d wrapped earlier today and left her room. Kevin would come over for Christmas dinner in a few hours, but she didn’t want to give it to him in front of her parents, so she would just drop it by his cottage and he could open it in the morning.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m heading out. Be back in a few.”

  She marched through the snow. Nothing lifted her Christmas spirit more than the pristine white snow turning everything into a winter wonderland. When Julie passed her studio, there were footsteps in the snow. She clapped her hands to her mouth. Had he been here again? She hadn’t heard anything, since her talk with Peter. Well, it was a report, not a talk. If only this area in her life were different. It really would be the perfect Christmas then.

  Julie’s eyes followed the footsteps until she was pretty certain they were Kevin’s.

  Kevin.

  Julie’s stomach fluttered. Just thinking about his sweet smile and to-die-for body made hot shivers run down her body. At least her hormones didn’t interfere during her work as his therapist.

  Mostly.

  Maybe this was the perfect Christmas after all.

  Julie reached the door of Kevin’s cottage and shifted the gift into her left arm. Wow, these things were heavy. She’d forgotten how heavy a pair of these got when they had to carry them all the way to the pond as kids.

  She knocked on Kevin’s door and when Kevin opened and grinned at her, she immediately forgot her discomfort.

  “Hey, didn’t expect you.” He grabbed her at the lapels of her coat and pulled her inside. “It’s still a few hours until dinner at your parents…”

  Julie nodded, the barely concealed lust in his eyes causing her core to clench. “Yes, there’re a few hours left. I just wanted to give you this.” She fumbled with the gift. Kevin’s eyes swiped over the gift then back at her. He didn’t release her gaze, not even when he took the gift and dropped it on a small side table. When he turned back to her, he slowly opened the zipper on her coat. Wow…

  “I just didn’t want to give this to you in front of the parents. But you can open it later.” Julie snapped her mouth shut. She was rambling. Why did she always get nervous when Kevin looked at her like that?

  Then he turned her around and helped her out of her coat—old-fashioned. But when Julie turned back, her breath stopped, and she drew her eyebrows together when she grabbed his right hand. “What on earth happened to your hand?”

  Kevin shrugged his shoulders and snatched his hand back from her grip.

  He moved through the small cottage toward his bed. Most likely to get some distance between them. Julie could see a slight limp in his left leg, as well. Much more discerning than this morning during therapy.

  “And what the hell happened to your knee? What did you do? You were fine in the morning. Did you fall?”

  Whatever had happened to him in between their session this morning and now, it had made him limp and his knuckles were red and swollen.

  “I just overdid it a little. No problem.”

  Her stomach knotted and she couldn’t shake the strong feeling that he was feeding her some bullshit lines. He wouldn’t even look at her properly. She sat down at the red recliner, they’d found in the attic when they prepared Kevin’s cottage, and crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m not leaving until you tell me the truth.”

  Another knock on the door made Kevin grumble. “What’s this…open house?”

  He crossed the room in front of Julie. She could see his limp clearer now that she knew what she was looking for.

  Kevin opened the door just wide enough to stick his head out.

  “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey, Kev. We thought a little debriefing was in order.”

  Julie could see Kevin shake his head and then he opened the door wider so the boys outside could see her sitting inside.

  “Shit, I mean, ahem…” Peter’s eyes widened and Blake tried to hide the six-pack of beer behind his back as soon as he saw her.

  “Hey, guys.”

  Peter raised his hand. “Hey, Julie.”

  Julie would have laughed to see those two usually badass men behaving like little boys caught with their hands in the cookie jar… Well, make that three usually badass men who all looked similarly guilty and bent out of shape. “So, guys, what are you up to?”

  It was fun to see them flapping around like fish on solid ground in search for an answer. Kevin rubbed the back of his neck. When Julie saw his knuckles again, somehow, it all fell into place. They were nervous around her; they wanted to do some debriefing; Kevin’s knuckles were swollen and red like after a fistfight.

  Julie jumped up. The sound of her heart thrashed in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut before she opened them again. Her whole body shook. “What did you do?”

  She stood there in the middle of the room, her hands pressed tightly into fists. “Tell me what you did.”

  Kevin shook his head, and Peter and Blake stammered something about maybe doing this tomorrow and left.

  Kevin slowly closed the door of his cottage and turned around but still hadn’t given her an answer. But he didn’t need to. His behavior said it all. He was still rubbing his neck and th
en slipped his hand into his pockets and leaned against the wall as far away from her as possible.

  “Tell me what you did.” Julie couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it must’ve been bad. The tears ran down her cheeks at a faster and faster pace and soon she stopped swiping at them furiously.

  “Julie, it’s okay, baby, stop crying. We just paid him a visit.” Kevin shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t know what else to say.

  Julie cried harder.

  “I think he got the message, loud and clear. So most likely he will not bother you again. He’s with the sheriff right now.”

  Julie fell back into the recliner and started rocking back and forth. A wave of cold shot through her body. They had visited her stalker. All three of them. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She didn’t know what to say. All the feelings from the past six months bubbled up as well as worry, mixed with a bit of relief. She opened her eyes again and looked at Kevin who still stood at the opposite wall, his arms tangled, helpless, next to his body.

  “What happened to your hand?”

  Kevin looked around the room before his eyes met hers again. “There were some things he said…I didn’t appreciate.”

  Julie couldn’t even imagine how this altercation played out. Maybe she didn’t need to know all the details. At least she suddenly didn’t feel afraid anymore. She wasn’t alone anymore. Now someone had her back. She wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks, took a deep breath, and sat up in the recliner. “Are you in trouble?”

  Kevin shrugged. “Don’t think so, but if… I’ll deal.”

  She nodded. Whatever that might mean. “Thank you, Kevin.”

  Silence. There was a long silence that stretched between them when they just looked into each other’s eyes, across the room. How could she be so lucky?

  “Come here,” he said, his raspy voice demanding and deep.

  Goose bumps formed on Julie’s forearms. The vibration of the words, paired with his smoldering look, hit her more than the actual words. She stood up and stepped forward until their bodies nearly touched, but not quite.

  “God, you smell good.”

  She could feel his breath below her ear.

  “Like sunshine, and snow.”

  Julie took his hand and kissed his knuckles.

  His hand went into her hair. His lips met her earlobe.

  She shivered.

  “Is this okay?” he whispered.

  She nodded. She wanted him; she needed him. And the matching need in his voice was impossible to ignore.

  “You sure?”

  Why wouldn’t he just shut up and kiss her already? “Yes, this is more than okay.” Then she pressed her lips against his, which shut him up immediately. She pressed her whole body against Kevin’s. Her body was on fire.

  “God, you’re sexy.”

  Julie felt goose bumps on her neck. This was really happening. The nagging doubt somewhere in the back of her mind just evaporated. Drowned out by incredible feelings.

  Kevin moved his hand down to her ass, with the other hand in her hair. He slowly pushed them toward the bed, all the while not stopping his hot kisses.

  Julie felt the bed on the back side of her knees and sat down. She looked up at Kevin and his smile was so sexy her core clenched again. He bent down and pushed her T-shirt over her head. Then, when he took care of his own shirt, she scrambled back on the bed while she ogled Kevin’s chest and abs. She devoured him with her eyes, something she hadn’t allowed herself during therapy.

  Kevin grabbed her right leg and got rid of her boot before he repeated the same with her left. Her jeans followed in record time.

  Julie felt a little awkward, lying on the bed in her underwear, while Kevin still stood there in his jeans. “You’re overdressed for the occasion, Mr. Reyes.”

  Kevin chuckled and opened the buttons on his jeans in slow motion.

  Julie was hyperaware of every button that released from each buttonhole, and her sex clenched with every pop.

  “Enjoying yourself?”

  Julie didn’t look up from Kevin’s fly. “Immensely.”

  Ripples of laughter ran through Kevin’s body until he finally…very slowly got rid of his jeans. “Scoot up.”

  She did as she was told, and Kevin joined her on the bed. His lips caught hers in a fiery kiss and when Kevin ended the kiss, it took her a few seconds before she opened her eyes again. “So…confession time.”

  Julie swallowed and groaned. What did he mean with confession time? Was he into some perverted stuff? Julie’s sex life had suffered in the last year…actually even suffered was a vast under-exaggeration. Her sex life had come to a screeching halt as soon as the calls and visits and flowers began. At least she hadn’t slept with her stalker. But Kevin couldn’t know any of that or would he?

  “So, you’ve read all the reports about my injuries and treatments and surgeries and stuff?”

  She narrowed her eyes. Where was this going? But she nodded—of course she’d read all of it. It was part of her job to know exactly what she was preparing for. “Yes.”

  “So, sex wasn’t exactly part of my life in the last year or so.”

  Oh, so that was where he was going? Julie nodded. “So, you’re telling me I’m special?”

  Kevin grinned. “That, and I’m telling you that this is the first time since the first surgery so it might be awkward.”

  Julie exhaled a breath she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding and smiled at him. It was the first time he’d given her a good glimpse of the man behind the steely persona he’d built around himself.

  “I like awkward.”

  She could see the laugh lines around Kevin’s eyes deepen. God, the man was sexy.

  “Then we’re good,” he said before he kissed her again.

  They spent the next half an hour kissing and touching each other. It was the perfect makeout session—nothing awkward about it. Kevin knew exactly what he was doing and everything he did do to her made her feel good, really, really good.

  They undressed each other slowly and when she touched him for the first time, moisture flooded her mouth. He was big, heavily veined, and just all-around gorgeous. Julie scooted down to take a closer look at the tattoos on each thigh.

  “What do these say?”

  With her finger, she followed the insanely accurate ink on both his thighs.

  “These are Latin sayings.”

  “So, you speak Latin?”

  “Well, since it’s a dead language, technically you don’t speak it.”

  Julie shook her head. How could this hockey player be so brainy beneath all of his gorgeous body? “So, what does it say?”

  “Well, the one on the left says ‘semper paratus’ which means ‘always ready’ and the one on the right says ‘fac fortia et patere’ which means something like ‘do brave deeds and endure’.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I got these a long time ago.”

  Well, both fit perfectly for his chosen sport, but the endurance part—maybe it said more about his upbringing than he would feel comfortable to admit. She continued to trace both inscriptions with her fingers and kissed them. “You’re a brave man, Kevin Reyes.” Then she went back to in between the tattoos. She kissed his tip and then took him into her mouth and slowly moved her tongue up and down. When he grabbed her underneath her arms and urged her back up, she slowly followed the hard lines of his body and kissed him softly on his jaw.

  He grinned at her, which made his adorable laugh lines deepen again. “My turn.”

  Then he turned her on her back, and seconds later, with his mouth on her core, Julie wondered how he could be that good at everything he did.

  With just the right amount of pressure and the perfect rhythm, he alternated sucking and pressing his tongue against her folds until Julie went up in flames.

  In two seconds flat. World record.

  He grinned at her when he scooted up the bed, and Julie could taste herself o
n his lips when he caught hers in a hot kiss.

  He pulled a condom from somewhere next to the bed. And even though her body was blissfully happy, for a moment she wondered—why would Kevin have condoms handy?

  When Kevin chuckled, Julie snapped out of her thoughts again.

  “You just wondered where these came from, didn’t you?”

  Julie squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. Could he read her mind too?

  “The nightstand came prestacked. Thanks to Peter and Blake.” He chuckled again and Julie joined him. “Those boys sure miss nothing.”

  Julie nodded.

  Situational awareness.

  At least that’s what Peter had called it, when he talked about things she should do, regarding Hank Dowley.

  Hank. Would he leave her alone now that the boys paid him a visit? Julie sure hoped so.

  She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about the asshole right now. What she wanted to think about—well, scratch that, she didn’t want to think at all. Period.

  Julie took the condom from Kevin’s hand, turned him on his back, put it on him, and took charge.

  Easier on his knees this way, was the last coherent thought she had, before she let her body take over and her mind check out.

  12

  Wow, never before was sex this good. Julie’s bones were liquefied. She lay with her head on Kevin’s chest and played absently with the splattering of chest hair. It had been a little awkward at the beginning, but as soon as they got into a groove, it had been—well—magic.

  Kevin’s stomach growled, and she pressed her ear against it.

  “You hungry?”

  Kevin didn’t open his eyes or stop drawing circles with his fingers on her right shoulder. So she closed her eyes again and snuggled her head into the crook of his arm.

  She could stay like this forever—just dozing with him here in their little bubble. In fact, as it was, she wasn’t even sure she was able to move her legs. Kevin lifted his head and searched for her lips. Just the perfect mixture of pressure, tongue, and softness.

  “I think it’s getting late.”