by BJ Bentley
An invitation, it appeared, I would not be receiving. Instead, Boobs McGee looked like she was ready to jump at it the first opportunity she got.
I sighed, disgusted with myself. What was I even thinking anyway? Vance Brody? Heath would have a freakin’ conniption. And, I was sure, Captain Griffin would be none too pleased with any of his officers fraternizing. It was a bad idea anyway.
Still, I couldn’t stop from asking, “Who is that woman, anyway?”
“Dean Martin,” Maxie answered.
“Dean— what?” I shook my head, confused and wondering what a member of The Rat Pack had to do with anything.
“Oh, sorry.” Maxie smirked. “I mean, that’s Lucinda Martin. The dean of the school.”
“Oh. So, I take it she’s smart and beautiful,” I muttered, bitterly.
“Meh,” Maxie remarked, shrugging slightly. “Personally, I don’t think she earned her position with the organ between her ears so much as she did with the ones between her legs.”
I turned wide eyes on my friend and we both cracked up laughing, me sputtering and nearly choking on my last swig of sparkling cider.
“What’s so funny over here?” Vance’s hot breath tickled my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. His hand at the small of my back was a reminder of how much I craved his touch. It both weakened my resolve and irritated me. I wanted to kiss him and knee him in the balls at the same time. Was that a natural reaction to have?
“Nothing,” I said, my smile dropping when I realized that Dean Martin had accompanied him to our little circle. I tried not to glare, really I did.
“Ms. Copeland, your display is quite impressive. You should be very proud.”
“Thank you, Dean, I am.” Maxie’s smile was small and polite and nothing at all like what she had shared with me moments before. “I believe it’s possible to cultivate a sustainable environment that’s both beautiful and functional without completely destroying entire ecosystems.”
Dean Martin hummed her agreement and immediately turned her attention back to Vance. “Maxie here is one of our brightest minds.”
Vance flashed Maxie a smile, and she nearly melted under the wattage. It was understandable; I’d done the same.
“I see her going on to do great things in terms of conservation. Of course, there’s only so far a woman can get on her own, you know.” The last was said in a manner that suggested some sort of unspoken understanding between the dean and Maxie, who clenched her jaw when she met Dean Martin’s eyes.
“Excuse me, I need to powder my nose.” Maxie’s voice wavered slightly, but she held her head high as she walked away. She was upset but hid it well.
I shot a concerned glance at Vance whose face looked to be made of stone. “Excuse me, Dean, but Poppy and I really should be going.”
“Oh? I was hoping you’d allow me to show you the rest of the displays. We have some incredible students here who—”
“Actually,” I cut in, “I promised Maxie I’d stay for a bit. You can go, if you like.” I blinked up at Vance, whose face hadn’t softened at all at my declaration. In fact, it looked harder, if that was even possible.
“I’ll stay with you,” Vance said, interrupting whatever ploy Dean Martin thought to employ next. The lust in her gaze was undisguised as was Vance’s disinterest. That, at least, gave me some bit of comfort.
With the dean effectively dismissed, I relaxed enough to let go of Vance’s arm. “I need to go check on Maxie.”
Vance didn’t care for that idea. He grabbed my elbow and drew me in close. “I think you and I need to have a chat.”
I thought back to the conversation we’d had outside his apartment before coming here and decided that we definitely did not need to have a chat. Admittedly, I was still confused, but I was also still hurt. I couldn’t explain it, I just knew I felt it. “Like you said before, we can talk later.” I pulled my arm from his grasp and went in search of the ladies room.
I saw them before I heard them. Maxie and a man were standing near the mouth of the hallway that led to the restrooms. The man was in Maxie’s face and he didn’t look happy. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but based on their respective facial expressions and body language, it looked like a pretty heated argument. I went on high alert when the man raised his voice. I began weaving through the crowd, walking faster and nudging people aside when necessary.
“Hey, excuse you, lady.”
I ignored the young man’s—probably one of Maxie’s classmates—sarcasm and kept going.
I got there just in time for the man she was arguing with to lay his hands on her. Fight mode engaged, I grabbed his wrist, executed a turn and twist that had him shoved face-first into the wall.
“Hey! What the fuck?” he snarled.
“Oh my god! Poppy!” Maxie gasped.
“Let me go, you freak!” The man bucked, trying to shove me off him, but I had one leg wedged between his and my shoulder planted in his back.
I added a bit more force to where I had his arm torqued and lifted my mouth toward his ear. “You ever lay your hands on my friend again, and I’ll make sure you lose the use of those hands. You get me?”
“Jesus Christ,” he bit out. “Ow! Jesus. Fuck!”
“You. Get. Me?” I asked again, my voice feral, even to my own ears.
“Okay, okay. I get you. I get you!”
I let him go just as Vance arrived and pulled me away from the jackass. “What the hell were you thinking?” he hissed in my ear.
I watched the guy slink away, cradling one arm with the other and shooting daggers in my direction. My narrowed eyes followed him across the room until he exited the gallery.
“Max, you okay?” I had to look around Vance, who was blocking my way, in order to see Maxie’s face.
“I’m fine. But, Jesus, Poppy, was that necessary?”
I blinked. “Are you mad because of what I just did?”
It was Maxie’s turn to blink. “What? No. But isn’t there some law about excessive force or police brutality or something?” She kept her voice low as we spoke, her eyes darting around the room, no doubt cataloging all the speculative eyes that were on us. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“She won’t,” Vance bit out. “Because we’re leaving. Now.”
I allowed myself a moment to sneak a peek at Vance’s face. Big mistake.
“Say goodnight to Maxie, Poppy.” His voice was steel, and I nearly cowered beneath the strength of it.
“Gotta go, Max, but well done,” I said, leaning in for a quick hug. “So proud of you.”
Vance said goodnight to Maxie before palming my lower back and ushering me directly to the door, leaving Maxie chewing her lip in worry.
We were both silent as we walked to the car, Vance opening the passenger door and guiding me in before slamming it shut to walk around the hood. He was obviously pissed, but there was something else in his eyes. Something that told me I was in a different kind of trouble.
Turning the ignition, he glanced at me. “I don’t know whether to tan your hide or fuck you seven ways from Sunday.”
I gasped, both affronted and aroused. It was a peculiar combination.
“Vance, whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably a really bad idea.”
He braked and shifted the car from reverse to drive. “Babe, I’m full of really bad ideas.”
We peeled out of the parking lot and rocketed toward the highway. The air in the car was electric. The blood in my veins was fire. And the moisture gathering between my thighs was slick.
Neither of us had bothered with seatbelts, and I took advantage of our traffic violation in order to scoot closer to him.
“Seat belt, baby,” he ordered.
I ignored the softly spoken command and laid my hand on his thigh, calling his name.
His eyes flicked in my direction. “Right here, rookie. Trust me, you’ve got my attention.”
“Are we really going to do what I think we’re going to do?”
“Baby, your wildest dreams can’t even imagine what I’m going to do to you.”
I chewed what was left of my lipstick off contemplating my next words. “I thought…after…you agreed that we’re different.”
“We are,” he agreed. “But clearly not as different as I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
His eyes moved from the road to the rear view mirror to me. “That stunt you pulled back there? Not exactly in your precious rule book, is it?”
I sank back in my seat. He was right. I’d acted purely on instinct. I’d wanted to protect my friend. I hadn’t been thinking like a cop; hadn’t considered the consequences of my actions. “I screwed up,” I whispered to the window.
“Nah. You’re an off-duty officer acting in good faith when you saw a man lay his hands on a woman in anger. You thought she was in danger, so you intervened. And I doubt you did any lasting damage. At least not to his arm. Maybe his ego.” He smirked.
“Do you think he’ll file a complaint with the department?”
His lips turned down. “You didn’t identify yourself as a cop, did you?”
“No.”
“Then don’t worry about it. He doesn’t even know who you are, and even if he did, I’d be willing to bet that you’ll never see him again.”
I didn’t know about that. Aspen Falls wasn’t a tiny town, but it wasn’t a booming metropolis either. Paths tended to cross. “What makes you so sure?”
“A man like that takes the kind of hit to his ego that you laid on him…well, he’s not exactly gonna go around advertising it.”
I let a grin break free. “I was kind of a badass, wasn’t I?”
Vance barked out a laugh. “Yeah, baby, you were.”
15
Vance
I’d love to say that I took my time peeling back the silk layers of Poppy’s clothes and slowly worshipping every inch of her satin skin with my hands and mouth. But the stark truth was that I was hornier than a sixteen year old confronted with his first pair of naked tits and my dick was harder than steel.
So, instead of romantic lovemaking, I was riding a savage storm of desire. It was hard, hot, and heavy.
And Poppy was right there with me, riding shotgun.
Her dress hit the floor before my pants ever made it to my knees.
And then we were on each other.
Lips kissed, teeth nipped.
Tongues licked, forging uncharted paths of pleasure.
I had no idea I was so sensitive in certain places. Based on the sounds Poppy was making —a cross between surprise and satisfaction— she was experiencing a discovery of hidden pleasures as well .
I rolled her onto her stomach, intending to taste every inch of skin I could reach, when she froze, her body tense in a way my instincts knew wasn’t coiled lust.
“What’s wrong?” My whole body went wired, prepared to battle any demon. Fight off any threat. Protect her at any cost.
Whatever it takes.
“Nothing,” she insisted, shaking her head. “I just…can I roll over? I want to see you.”
I eased back, giving her the freedom to maneuver herself. I scanned her face, searching for whatever I’d heard in her voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
She withstood my scrutiny with a stubborn chin before telling me something I didn’t know I needed to hear.
“I don’t want to be just a body for you tonight.”
“Poppy,” I said on a gust of air, rubbing my hand over my head. The last thing she could ever be to me was ‘just a body.’ I lowered myself back down over her lithe form, so we were nose to nose. “I’m here with you, Poppy Leighton. I know exactly who you are, and for better or worse, you’re the only one I want to be with.” My wry chuckle punctuated just how fucked up the situation in my head was.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shook my head. “Your dad—“ I began.
“No,” she cut me off, starting to look a little pissed. “Don’t think of me as Fred Leighton’s daughter or Heath Leighton’s sister. Right now, I’m just Poppy. Let’s just be Poppy and Vance, okay?” She wrapped one small hand around the back of my neck and pulled me down the remaining inch for a kiss.
“I could never not see you for who you are, Poppy,” I murmured against her lips. “I know exactly who I’m here with.” If my words didn’t convince her in the moment, I was willing to work for her trust. I had a feeling Poppy was the one woman who had the power to turn my entire world upside down, something I looked forward to with damn near giddy anticipation.
She tilted her hips, cradling me between her thighs, inviting me to make her mine. “Then what are you waiting for?”
The frantic currents fueling us when we’d entered her bedroom hadn’t subsided, they’d only suspended. Poppy’s flirtatious invitation set them back in motion. I touched her everywhere, her body a magnet for my hands, her skin velcro for my lips. I trailed my tongue over her stomach to her navel, dipping in and teasing her before going lower. Once my face was situated at her pussy, I got serious.
“I’m gonna taste you, Poppy, and you’re gonna come on my face.”
A whimper escaped her throat, and I grinned when her gyrating heat bumped my chin. Taking my cue, I dove in and ate up every drop she gave me.
I licked my lips when I was done feasting and smiled up at her. “If Maxie had come home, she would have heard you through the wall.”
She responded to my teasing with a dreamy sigh. “I don’t care if all of Aspen Falls heard me.”
“They might by the time I’m done with you.”
Suddenly, Poppy knifed up. Locking her legs around me, she twisted her lower body, effectively flipping me over onto my back. I cocked an eyebrow. “Impressive moves you’ve got there, rookie.” I planted my hands on her thighs, locking them down where they straddled either side of my chest. “You wanna wrestle?”
She shook her head, but there was a light in her eyes that belied her true feelings. That was something we could explore later.
“I want to taste you, too,” she said softly, though her recent orgasm tinged her voice with a raspy quality.
I ran my hands up her thighs to her hips, giving her flesh a squeeze. “Not gonna stop you, baby.”
Poppy handled my dick like she handled her weapon. With sexy as fuck confidence. Her dedicated mouth and sure strokes brought me way too close to the brink way too quickly. “Stop,” I clipped, desperately trying not to come before I had a chance to fuck her properly.
“Did I do something wrong?” The little vixen had the nerve to ask that question while sporting a knowing smile. She knew exactly what she’d been doing and just how close she’d brought me to coming down her throat.
I executed a move similar to the one she’d used on me and flipped our positions. “Don’t move.” I jumped off the bed to snatch a condom from my wallet and was back on her in less time than it took for understanding to dawn on her gorgeous face. “I’m really hoping this lasts longer than I’m anticipating,” I apologized, working the condom down my weeping cock.
Poppy worked her fingers through my hair, tugging me down and nipping at the corner of my mouth. “Just make sure you don’t hold back. I want it all.”
I groaned, muttering a few choice words at the imagery she was evoking. I spread her thighs, and unable to wait one second more, planted myself in her wet heat.
My grunt mingled with her gasp, and we moved together in perfect synchronicity, chasing after the high I knew I’d want more of as soon as it was over.
I was never going to get enough. And it wasn’t just my own orgasm I was after. Getting Poppy off was a point of pride. The expression on her face, the noises she made, the way she clutched at me. She couldn’t get enough of me, either.
I wanted to give her everything.
I pumped harder, my pace more frantic as I neared the finish line, hoping Poppy got there first.
She found it just in the
nick of time.
I came on a long, loud groan and slumped over her, burying my face in her neck.
Long minutes later, with her head on my chest, Poppy spoke. Frankly, I was surprised it had taken her that long. I could hear her gears turning long before she opened her mouth and gave voice to her fears.
“Did we just make a colossal mistake?” she whispered.
“Fuck no,” I said, a fuck ton of conviction in my answer. We were not going down that road. We definitely had some red tape to navigate, but I wasn’t about to let her use that as an excuse to pull away. There was no going back after this.
We made our bed, and we’d lie in it. Repeatedly.
Come what may, I’d do my damnedest to make sure nothing we did blew back on her, and it had nothing to do with honoring her father’s memory or protecting my colleague’s sister. It had everything to do with Poppy and who she was to me. Not who she was to anybody else.
“Pop?” I called when she remained silent. “You with me?”
Her sigh caused my chest to ache. “I don’t know, Vance.”
I let my arm fall from her shoulders when she moved to sit up, despite how badly I wanted to hold her to me. Going against all my instincts, I forced myself to loosen my grip rather than tighten it. I did it, but I wasn’t happy about it.
“Don’t grumble at me, Vance,” Poppy pleaded, her tone weary. “You know the ramifications of what we just did are going to be completely different for me than they are for you. I need time to sort through my options.”
I sat up because I couldn’t fight this fight lying down. “I love that you just came, spectacularly, I might add, and you’re already looking for ways to sink this ship.”
“Sarcasm isn’t helping.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from snapping at her. It didn’t work. “Tell me you don’t feel something,” I said, not caring that I was putting her on the spot so soon, demanding something I had no right to, even if I had just been inside her.
She kept her back to me while she shimmied into her panties. “Vance—“
“At least give me the courtesy of looking me in the eye when you lie.”
