by Vivian Arend
Mitch laughed. The song ended, and she dragged him to one of the tall tables lining the dance-floor perimeter. Easy conversation followed over a drink. Laughter and dirty talk. All the time, Anna was never so far away from him that some part of their bodies wasn’t in contact.
He was going to explode if he didn’t take a breather soon. Or take her home and bury himself in her sweet body for the rest of the night. “Keep that thought,” Mitch interrupted their discussion. “I’ll be right back.”
He hit the can, more to regain control than anything. After splashing cold water on his face, he dragged his wet hand over the back of his neck. Checked in the mirror only to see proof his expression was as hungry as his gut warned him.
She did things to him he couldn’t control. Hell, things he didn’t want to control, and that was the trouble.
Only three steps outside the door, he slammed into a woman exiting the ladies’ room. Mitch grabbed on tight, familiar soft material gliding under his fingers.
“Shit, sorry.” Anna wrapped her fingers around his biceps as she regained her balance.
It was too tempting. Mitch twirled her, crowding forward until her back hit the wall. “Time to pay a toll,” he quipped.
Then his mouth was on hers, his tongue dipping between her lips. The front of his body pressed her to the wall, his cock nestled over the V of her legs.
She gave as good as she got, writhing against him, her breathing picking up as she tangled her fingers in his hair. Mitch twisted slightly to one side so he could drop a hand to her leg, easing around and dragging his fingers along the soft flesh on her inner thigh.
Anna gasped for air as he brushed her panties, thumb unerringly striking her clit. “Jesus, woman. You’re soaking wet,” Mitch whispered.
“Mitch, oh…”
He closed his fingers on the hard little nub of her clit again, pinching enough that her head fell back to the wall leaving room for him to attack her bare neck. He worked his way up to her ear, speaking quietly but frantically. “Take me home, or I swear I’m turning you around and riding you right here.”
She didn’t get a chance to respond.
“Ahem.”
The shock of the sound pulled Mitch back from the brink of lust.
Anna’s sharp gasp warned him more than the sight of the somewhat familiar man behind them. Mitch blocked the view as much as possible while he smoothed her skirt and allowed her to compose herself.
The extra time to let his cock stop trying to leap out of his jeans was also needed.
The man cleared his throat again. “Anna.”
Her fingers were still curled into the material of Mitch’s shirt, only now not in passion, but in fear. “Stewart.”
Oh shit—Mitch recognized that name. One of her coworkers.
Stewart didn’t look away as Anna stepped from behind Mitch, her chin held high by sheer willpower. The RCMP’s gaze dropped, lingering on the exposed length of legs and the fiery red shoes before returning to assess Mitch. Eyeing the distance between the two of them. It seemed Stewart hadn’t missed the way Mitch surreptitiously slid his hand out of Anna’s skirt, and the visible disapproval in the man’s eyes filled Mitch with unease.
Nothing more was said before Stewart pushed past them into the men’s room.
Anna’s head hit the wall behind her with a far-too-solid thud. “Oh, God.”
Mitch skimmed his hand down her arm and linked their fingers together. “Sorry if I got you in shit.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We got ourselves in shit.” Anna leaned her forehead on his chest briefly before squeezing his hand and tugging him forward. “Come on. One more dance for the road before we go home.”
Holding her chastely in his arms was a huge change after the feverish pitch they’d built up to, but Mitch still enjoyed it, except for the concern over being damn near caught in the act. He trailed his fingers over her back and attempted to soothe out the tension.
Stewart paused on the edge of the room and watched them for a minute before disappearing, and Mitch hoped like hell that any troubles would vanish along with him.
IT WAS TOO MUCH to hope that nothing would come of her and Mitch’s indiscretion the previous night. The phone on her desk rang the instant Anna walked into her office. She stared at it as if it were going to bite her. The coming turmoil was her own damn fault. Time to face the consequences.
Staff Sergeant Max was brief as he summoned her to his office.
She double-checked her uniform before pacing down the hall, the long walk feeling far too reminiscent of the one and only time she’d been called to the principal’s office.
Only this time she feared the consequences would be more than detention.
The staff sergeant stood by the window, his back to her as she entered. “Sit down, Constable Coleman.”
Anna pulled a chair to the side and lowered herself gingerly, fighting the urge to burst out with apologies or explanations. She wasn’t going to leap to conclusions concerning exactly where this conversation would go.
The knot in her stomach wasn’t about to get any smaller, though. Not until she knew.
“Constable Stewart spoke with me earlier today.” No preamble. The staff sergeant pivoted, a stern look set in place, including a furrow between his brows. “I have to admit, I was disappointed to hear what he had to share.”
Her lips hurt from pressing them together.
Max sighed heavily. “The good news is he insists you were not so far out of line that you deserve to receive a formal reprimand, but I’m afraid I’m torn. I don’t want to put anything on your permanent record that’s going to harm your career, but public indecency isn’t the way to make a good impression.”
“No, sir.” The words whispered past the tightness in her throat. This was so not good.
Her superior officer folded his arms. “Even when you’re not in uniform, you’re still being watched. You’re still representing your position. The heat of passion needs to be controlled, Constable.”
The situation was as bad as having a discussion about sex with her mother when she was a teenager. “Yes, sir. It was inappropriate, and it won’t happen again.”
“I don’t expect my staff to be cookie cutters. I expect you all to have different interests and hobbies. Relationships outside of work.” He met Anna’s eyes and wouldn’t let her look away. “But being involved in legal dirt biking is one thing, lewd acts in public is another. Especially since you’re the liaison for the high school students. There’s an even higher expectation of moral control expected, something I thought well within your capabilities.”
She had to fight to stop from cringing. She’d been surprised how much she was actually enjoying working with the kids. Having unwittingly jeopardized that position increased her guilt.
“Was I wrong about you, Constable?” Staff Sergeant Max demanded.
“No, sir.” She didn’t offer any excuses, because there were none she could give.
He stared at her for a solid minute before nodding. “I’m going to put a note in your file, Anna. A personal reprimand that I will remove after a reasonable amount of time. What do you think?”
She thought she was going to fall over, the relief was so strong. “I won’t disappoint you again, sir.”
“See that you don’t. If there’s another incident, of any sort, I’ll have no choice but to follow official guidelines, including misdemeanor charges if appropriate. I hope I’m making myself clear.”
Anna tangled her fingers together tighter to stop from fidgeting. “You are. Perfectly.”
He dismissed her, and she paced back to her desk, pulling out work and spreading it on the surface. Her eyes barely focusing on the pages before her.
Remorse at her actions rushed her. It wasn’t the relationship with Mitch she regretted, but loosening her carefully held control too far. What she’d done wasn’t horrifyingly wrong, only getting caught was complicated by her job.
The idea of any
thing tearing apart what she’d worked so hard for made her ill. The fact it was her own damn fault was even worse.
A strange numbness set in as she wondered how to deal with this—the next steps. Because while she didn’t want to give up her career, she didn’t want to give up the changes in her life since she’d started seeing Mitch.
Going back would be like closing a part of herself into an icy-cold storage, and she didn’t know if she could do that.
The only good part was that she didn’t have to make her next decision alone. She sent a text to Mitch, asking to meet that evening. Right now she had no idea what even to suggest. She sank into work and let it distract her.
MITCH CRANKED up the heater in his truck a notch and cursed the weather. Early December wasn’t supposed to be this cold, but they were stuck in a hellish deep freeze. Not even halfway through the month, and the cold snap that had set in was breaking records.
In some ways, Mitch didn’t mind. He had the warm garage to work in, and the hotter-than-hell moments with Anna. The moments spent with her were truly becoming the highlights of his week, and wasn’t that the most goddamn, pathetic, pussy-whipped thing.
If any of his brothers had a girl they were this besotted with, he’d be tormenting them night and day. As it was, the guys were too into their own heads at the moment to even notice Mitch’s obsession. Dealing in their own ways with their concern over their little sister, and the missing parts of their lives.
Mitch adjusted the heater again, blasting hot air toward his feet while he considered the truth. For a close-knit family, they were still a bunch of tight-lipped individuals. Not even their regular Thursday-night family dinner seemed to change that.
Of course, some of the secret-keeping made sense. Like after his little incident at the salvage yard. Clay had been the one to grab the company truck from the impound lot, saving Mitch the trip back to the scene of the crime. Between Clay, Mitch and their dad, they’d kept Katy and the younger guys from finding out anything had gone sideways. Just announced Thompson and Sons were using a new yard in the future, and that was that.
Such a simple solution to what could have become a huge deal. He hoped the current cluster-fuck with Anna’s work would settle out as smoothly.
The final stretch of highway appeared ahead of him. The long trip to pick up supplies at the border had eaten up his entire day when all he really wanted was to get back to Anna. Other than the one text message, she hadn’t called, and he didn’t want to interrupt her.
Dusk turned the world around him into a surreal murder mystery, or post-apocalyptic wasteland, painting the snowfields red and grey. Dark clouds hovering above the treetops warned of an approaching snowstorm. Even the strange beauty couldn’t distract him from his goal, though, as his anxiety increased.
He needed to get home to find out what had happened with Anna.
He’d just turned the corner off the main highway, headed toward Rocky, when flashing lights once again showed up in his rearview mirror.
Mitch cursed loudly, eyeing his speedometer. What the hell? He knew it wasn’t Anna pulling him over for a joke, because she was at his place waiting for him, and there was no way he’d been speeding.
If it had been sixty seconds later, he might have been caught with his foot to the floorboards. This section of highway was straight and smooth, and Mitch had a tendency to use it to test his vehicle’s acceleration. But today? Nope—not guilty.
He pulled over to the side and put the truck in park, grabbing registration papers as he waited for the RCMP to join him. The motion was getting far too familiar.
When he rolled down his window and discovered Nick Dowes with flashlight in hand, another curse escaped, only this one under his breath. This couldn’t be good.
“Nick.”
“Mitch.” Nick cleared his throat. “Sorry about the unorthodox method of getting your attention, but I need to speak with you.”
Fuck.
“No problem. Okay if I join you out there?” Because the last thing he needed was to be sitting in his truck like a schoolboy while being lectured by the man.
In answer, Nick stepped to the front of the vehicle. Mitch opened his door and followed him. Nick shifted uneasily in the headlight’s beam, his breath escaping in puffs of white.
Mitch eased a hip against his truck bumper, ignoring the cold soaking through his jeans. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.
Nick faced Mitch straight on. “This is awkward, and I’ve thought hard if I should even say anything, but in the end I feel it’s only right for Anna’s sake.”
What the hell had gone down at the station today? Mitch chose his words with caution just in case this was about something else. “Are you warning me off dating her because you think you’d be better for her?”
Nick looked stunned for a second before blinking, a hint of amusement twisting his expression. “You think I’m jealous that you’re seeing her? Oh, no. Anna’s not my type.”
The near lighthearted response was totally unexpected. Mitch’s brain struggled to keep up, because now so much of Nick’s behaviors made no sense. “If you’re not angling to get together with her, then what’s the issue?”
“I think you’re a decent enough guy, and I figured since you are a decent guy, you’d like to know something. Chances are she’s going to lose out on a big promotion because of you.”
And with one statement, Nick knocked the wind from Mitch’s sails. “Is she in trouble at work?”
Nick looked sheepish. “Someone messed up their filing, and I ended up with papers that weren’t supposed to be on my desk. I think you’re trustworthy enough, and you’re smart enough to hear what I’m telling you. Anna’s been shortlisted for a promotion, one that would push her up the ranks, and could possibly mean not only an advancement but a chance to head up her own division.”
The wintery air seeped through Mitch’s jacket. That had to be the reason his blood had gone cold. This wasn’t about him and Anna, but about her getting to shine in a job he knew she loved. “Not a better job right here in Rocky, but headquartered somewhere else?”
Nick nodded. “We usually transfer fairly often as it is, although up to now Anna’s remained stationed in Rocky for longer than most. She’s far enough down the radar she’s skipped being reassigned.”
Mitch dragged a hand through his hair as he thought through this new revelation. The dilemma made his brain ache. Only he glanced at Nick with reservations. “Why are you telling me this? You don’t even like me. You’ve been on my ass since before I started dating Anna.”
“I don’t dislike you. I think dating you makes Anna look bad, and that in turn makes our entire department look bad.”
Jeez. “That’s blunt.”
The RCMP shrugged.
“When do you know more about the promotions?” Mitch asked.
Nick stared over Mitch’s head. “The spring is when they’ll make the announcements. For the next six months our commander is supposed to gather all kinds of information regarding her work, and her personal situations, and all of it gets sent off to the main office to be considered.”
The implications were clear enough. Someone else would be making the decisions. Someone in an office far away, which meant the words on the page would be read as stated. There’d be no considering the situations, or the settings, if there were anything unusual listed like being caught in the middle of a wild Friday night party. Or that her boyfriend had been arrested under suspicion of grand theft auto. Or any of a number of crazy situations he’d led her into over the past months.
Nick hadn’t mentioned anything specific regarding him and Anna’s incident the previous night at Traders. Mitch hoped that meant no one knew, but the fact remained…
If Anna was going to make the promotion, she’d have to have a squeaky clean record. Her job that she’d worked so hard to achieve, and all the privileges it afforded her. The respect.
Mitch wanted to throw something. He wanted to use his fists, bu
rn off the rising frustration.
He was trapped.
Nick glanced at him, concern etched onto his face. “You can’t mention anything about the promotion. No one but you and I know, and the staff sergeant, of course.”
Getting away from Nick to deal with this became more urgent by the minute. Mitch stood and nodded curtly. “Thanks for the info.”
Nick patted Mitch’s arm as he passed, pacing back to his cruiser.
Yet long after Nick had driven off Mitch still stood in the headlights of his truck at the side of the highway. The icy-cold December wind picked up, but he seemed unable to move, allowing the freezing gusts to stroke his cheeks, to tangle his hair.
His heart frozen as cold as the landscape around him.
Chapter Ten
SHE WENT TO HIS HOUSE. Let herself in and waited for him to return.
They needed to figure out what came next, but the options seemed so limited. All she knew for sure was he’d made a difference in her life, and she wasn’t about to bail on him. He’d proven he was more than a town bad boy, just like he’d said he would.
He deserved her respect for that. Respect, and maybe more.
The lights of his truck shone through the window, bouncing slightly as he drove the narrow approach and parked. Anna smoothed her sweater over her hips, nervously pacing to the front door to greet him. Stepping back before he could open the door so as not to be too needy.
The instant he was through the door she wanted to blurt everything out, but she held on. Waited until he stalked across the room and took her in his arms.
Somehow being held gave her hope. Anna slid his zipper down and buried her arms under his jacket, nestling in tight to his rock-solid chest and resting her cheek on him.
She found both warmth and comfort in the position. Maybe if she stayed like that for the next month, the nightmare hanging over her would vanish.
All too soon, though, Mitch kissed the top of her head and tugged himself free, stripping off his jacket and shoes and bringing her into the living room with him. He settled her close and kept her fingers in his hand. “What happened?”
