More Than a Lawman

by Anna J. Stewart

  Cole’s romantic attention had done more than throw her off kilter; he’d made her start thinking about the future. Her future. She nibbled on her thumb for less than a second before Cole reached up and pushed her hand down, slipping his fingers through hers. Their future.

  She cleared her throat, wishing she could do the same to her mind. “You cops still have too many rules for me. Allie?” Unaccustomed to her friend’s silence, she transferred her attention between her and Simone. “Everything okay?”

  “She’s upset we didn’t tell her about the flowers.” Simone winced and leaned back in her striped upholstered seat.

  Eden’s excitement over a possible break in the Iceman case fizzled. “We didn’t—”

  “That was my call.” Cole cut her off. “We didn’t have anything to tell you, Allie. We still don’t. But we are looking into it.”

  “You’re reopening Chloe’s case, then?” Allie sounded caught between hope and suspicion.

  “Not officially, no.” Cole signaled to a passing server so they could order drinks. When the waitress left, he continued, “But we’re not ruling it out. It depends what other evidence develops.”

  Allie looked at Eden, then Simone, her stoic silence shifting Eden into alert mode. “Then I guess that answers my next question.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a pink envelope in a plastic baggie.

  Eden sucked in a breath so hard her teeth froze.

  “I found this slipped under my office door this afternoon when I got back from the station.” She slid it across the table as Simone sat forward. “I didn’t realize what it was until I opened it. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about prints.”

  “That’s my stationery,” Simone whispered as she stretched out tentative fingers. “From when we were kids.”

  “It’s the invitation you and Chloe sent us for the campout,” Allie said, tucking her arms around herself. Her skin looked even paler beneath the cap of dark hair, her bright eyes suddenly glassy. “It still smells like—”

  “Cotton candy.” Eden covered her mouth as Cole picked up the baggie and pulled out the invitation. “Chloe’s perfume.”

  “Two of us getting vivid reminders of Chloe’s death is two too many,” Simone said. “Especially in one day. What is going on?”

  “Three,” Eden whispered. “Three reminders.”

  “Three?” Cole pulled the familiar crooked, folded paper free and exposed the lettering in purple marker with the when and where of their camping excursion. The kitty stickers in the corner, the smiley faces with hearts for noses, Chloe’s trademark signature, staring at them.

  Eden steadied herself. “On my way to Simone’s office I bumped into someone, or someone bumped into me.” She couldn’t be certain now. “All I could smell was cotton candy.” She could smell it now, wafting off the paper. Cole sealed the invitation back up in the bag and passed it to Jack, who pocketed it. “I didn’t think much of it, not even after the flowers...”

  “You thought enough to ask me to run the flowers through the lab,” Cole reminded her with more tension in his voice than she would have liked.

  “You already didn’t believe us, Cole. And I didn’t feel like trying to justify something even I was uncertain about.” Clearly whoever said confession was good for the soul had never had to confess to Cole Delaney.

  “It wasn’t as if you could go around downtown sniffing people,” Simone said in a strained attempt at humor that cut through Eden’s familiar wave of guilt. “I’ll have another discussion with my boss in the morning.”

  “As will I,” Cole agreed as the waitress brought them their drinks. “In the meantime—”

  “In the meantime—” Eden wrapped her fingers around the stem of her wineglass and swallowed the admission she should have made years ago “—why didn’t you ever tell me you kissed Simone?”

  “What?” Cole couldn’t have looked more surprised. He frowned at Simone. “I did? When did I do that?”

  “Yes, when did you do that?” Jack leaned forward to glare at his partner.

  “And with those words—” Simone pressed a hand against her heart “—I’m proven right. I told you he wouldn’t remember.”

  “You really don’t?” Eden’s heart swelled.

  “Uh, no.” Cole shook his head. “I swear I— Oh, wait!” He snapped his fingers. “Freshman-junior picnic at the river. Yeah, I remember now. You had on Daisy Dukes and a pink-and-white-checkered shirt.”

  “Daisy Dukes?” Simone laughed as their waitress approached again. “Perish the thought. You’re not even close, lover boy. But that’s okay. My guess is you’ve just saved your own life. Eden doesn’t have a reason to strangle you now. Can we please order? I’m starved.”

  Chapter 15

  “I can’t believe you cut me off after two drinks,” Eden grumbled as they climbed out of Cole’s car at the marina. “And what’s all this about having to get to bed?” She waited for him to come around the front of the car before poking him in the chest with an irritated finger. “I was hoping we’d go back to the station and see how Agent Simmons was coming with the—”

  Cole moved so quick the last of her statement was lost in his mouth as he kissed her. He tasted of beer with a hint of spicy red sauce and more than a hint of promise. She moaned low in the back of her throat, pushing aside any rational thought as his hands moved to her back, up her spine, holding her against him as she curved her arms around his neck.

  “Are you trying to catch me off guard?” she murmured. She drew her fingers across his lips as she looked into his eyes.

  “Depends.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Are we finally on the same page?”

  “Well, we’re definitely reading the same book.” To prove it, she kissed him this time, pushing herself forward so he stumbled against the hood of his car. She’d never gambled with her heart before, not with such high stakes, but Simone’s words of wisdom struck deep. The risk to her and Cole’s friendship didn’t matter. Not when compared to the regret she’d have if she didn’t take what she wanted. And right now, what she wanted was Cole Delaney. All of Cole Delaney. “How alone are we out here?”

  “You’d be more comfortable in my bed,” he breathed.

  “Have I mentioned how much I’ve enjoyed working with you?” she teased. He shifted his hold, and the two of them stumbled down the path and onto the dock. “And these fringe benefits you’re offering are simply stellar.” She nipped at the underside of his chin as he lifted her onto the boat.

  “How about we refrain from discussing work for the next few hours?” He unlocked the hatch and flicked on the light.

  “Hours, huh?” She stepped down and turned to find herself staring at his belt buckle. “Sounds pretty optimistic if you ask me.” She grinned up at him, a surge of feminine power washing over her at the primal sound he made. She flexed her fingers in anticipation.

  “Hey, stop teasing or we’re both going to get hurt.” He gripped the railing tighter.

  “I’ve never done it on a ladder before.” She leaned into him. “How sturdy is this thing?”

  He reached for her hand. “Don’t start something you don’t plan to finish, Eden.”

  She didn’t flinch. She didn’t blink. She didn’t hesitate. “I expect you to finish it,” she whispered and wove her fingers through his even as a tiny prickle of fear wove its way up her spine.

  What if she was wrong about this? What if all this between them was nothing more than a brief flash of desire?

  Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him.

  When was she going to accept that thinking got her into trouble? There was no going back, not once this happened. But where it would go from there...

  He closed the hatch behind him and she moved farther inside the cabin. She dropped her purse, shucked off her jacket, pushing asid
e the last of the doubts. He dropped his coat and untucked his shirt. Shoes came next, then socks, hers flying one way, his the other. Only when his hands began to unbutton his shirt did she say, “Stop!”

  Before he misconstrued her meaning, she quickly replaced his hands with hers and drew his shirt up and over his head, stretching up on tiptoe as he let her toss the garment aside. She paused. Until this moment, she didn’t realize how much she’d wanted this, wanted him. Eden drew his arms down and around her. She laid her hand on his chest, felt the ripple of control beneath his skin, the slight dusting of hair against her fingertips awakening every synapse in her body. Her fingers knocked against his belt buckle, hesitating briefly as if she’d discovered the last threshold to cross.

  His breathing quickened. His fingers tightened around her hips as he whispered, “One of us is seriously overdressed.” With barely any effort, he sent her shirt to the floor, landing on top of his.

  “I’m not a fancy girl,” she murmured. His hands cupped her full, straining breasts through the plain white cotton bra. “I’ve never really cared for—”

  “You won’t have it on long enough for me to, either.” He bent down, kissing her right above her navel, trailing his lips up between the valley of her breasts.

  She shuddered and gripped the back of his head. “So what about this bedroom you’ve been bragging about? Unless you want to finish what we’ve started on the kitchen—”

  He shot up and captured her mouth. His hands slipped down to her butt and lifted her so she could curl her legs around his hips. Every step he took had her gasping as she felt him, hard, ready and pulsing against her. She couldn’t remember ever hating clothing before, the only barrier between them, as he walked them down the hall and into the surprisingly spacious confines of his bedroom.

  He clicked on the light, maybe with the power of his mind because she didn’t realize he’d stopped touching her. The enormous bed took up most of the space and she couldn’t wait to explore how much they could cover together. He leaned over and set her on her back, braced his arms on either side of her as she refused to relinquish her hold on him.

  “Hang on, Cole,” she murmured, finally having to let her legs fall away so she could reach into her back pocket. “Just in case—”

  He stood up, reaching into his back pocket. Their foil packets glinted in the light.

  Eden grinned. “Simone wanted to make sure I was prepared.”

  “I sure love that woman. But I’ve been preparing for this longer than you know.” He plucked the packet from her fingers, set both condoms on the nightstand. “Wait!” he blurted. His arms at his side, his hair mussed by her anxious fingers, he stared down at her, his stomach muscles rippling as he breathed. “I want to look at you.”

  He didn’t just look. He devoured. She could feel the heat of his gaze over every inch of her body.

  He was proving her wrong, on so many things, but especially on this. There was more to sex than just sweat and bodies. But this wasn’t sex. This was...more. This was what she’d been convinced hadn’t been for her.

  This was Cole.

  Eden bit her lip. She tried not to think about how her bra didn’t fit properly or the fact that she ate way too many carbs and hadn’t been to the—

  None of that mattered. All that did was that she was here, with Cole, a man who made her feel safe, protected. Wanted.

  “Okay, that’s enough.” He unbuttoned her jeans, lowered the zipper and, with a quick and efficient tug, pulled them and her panties off in one fluid motion. Cool air bathed her bare skin. She arched her back and sat up. Had she any inclination to remove her bra herself, she was thwarted yet again. He knelt on the floor and, using only the tips of his fingers, unhooked the bra and drew the straps down her arms.

  Riding a wave of confidence she’d never felt before, she got rid of the plain cotton and leaned back, exposing herself—throat, breasts, stomach and lower—to him completely. “Now who’s overdressed?” she asked. In the blink of an eye he was naked, and the flush in her cheeks was part anticipation, part pride when she saw the effect she had on him.

  Never in her life had she trusted enough to dare. Now she couldn’t have turned away from him if her life depended on it.

  She hadn’t any particular interest in how men covered themselves, but watching him slide the condom on had her anxious to have him put his hands—and other parts of him—to good use.

  “Cole,” she whispered. And he placed his knee on the mattress between her legs, nudged them apart so he could settle himself. She held his face, wanting to see him, wanting to look at him as they surrendered to each other. She kissed him, luxuriating in the sensation of him drinking her in as if he couldn’t get his fill.

  “I wanted to make this last,” he said, as his fingers wandered.

  She smiled, the pressure building.

  “Next time,” he said, and he pressed inside her, slowly, as if to draw out every moment of pleasure.

  She groaned as his searching mouth found her breasts. Eden traced her fingers along his spine, lower, grasping him and drawing him in.

  “Next time,” she breathed as he began to move, “but not this time.”

  She enveloped him, sheathed him. Every cell in her body alive as she matched him, thrust for thrust. She stared into his eyes, deeply, losing herself in the barely veiled determination she found there. They were moving together, no longer two beings but one, becoming something more.

  Her body burned where he touched her; felt cold where he didn’t. She shivered and moaned in equal measure, wanting nothing more than to stay like this, with him, for as long as possible. Where nothing other than Cole could ever touch her again. For now, for these moments with him, she let herself believe.

  “Eden,” he whispered, and his body tightened under her hold. The tiny explosions he set off inside her erupted to life as she locked her legs around him, kissed him and closed her eyes as they soared together. Longer and harder than she ever dreamed possible.

  * * *

  “And to think we could have been doing this for years.” Eden stretched against him, threw her leg over his hips and nestled into his side. Cole drew the bedspread up, still unable to relinquish his hold on her. He sank his hand into her hair, pressed his lips against her sweat-damp forehead and reveled in the bliss he’d been waiting years for.

  “We might never have gotten anything else done.” He tilted her chin up with his finger and kissed her, the sated passion he’d surrendered to reawakening as her hands slowly skimmed over him. “You were, however—” another kiss, this one almost erasing all thoughts from his head “—definitely worth the wait.”

  She’d inhabited his dreams for years, but nothing prepared him for the reality of Eden St. Claire in his arms. In his bed. If he’d thought tonight would purge her from his system, he’d never been more wrong. If anything, he’d only become even more addicted to her.

  She grinned against his lips. “We’re definitely onto something with this whole friends-first thing.” Eden’s fingers tangled in his hair as she rolled onto her back and pulled him on top of her. “Mmm. That’s perfect.” She linked her arms around his shoulders and closed her eyes. “I was getting chilly.”

  “I’m too heavy for you.”

  “No.” She looked at him, eyes heavy lidded, passion sparked, and drew the tip of her tongue across his mouth. “Never. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

  “Not lost.” He trailed kisses down her nose, landing on her mouth. “Postponed. Only one thing has ever terrified me, Eden.” Cole stroked her soft skin as he uttered the admission he’d kept secret for so long. “That this would never happen.”

  Her laugh was throaty and rich, thrilling him from head to toe. He filled his hand with her breast, teasing her nipple to a tight peak as desire soared through every inch of his body.

&nbs
p; “How long has this been on your mind, Detective?”

  “October fifteenth, your sophomore year of high school. You, Simone and Allie snuck into the junior-senior prom thinking no one would notice.”

  Another laugh, this one tinged with surprise. “And all these years we thought we’d gotten away with it. You saw us?” She moved against him and had him biting back another groan. “Prove it,” she said.

  “You were wearing a red dress, thin straps.” He traced a path over her shoulders down to the swell of her breasts. “Draped neckline and a solitary diamond pendant.” He pressed his lips to the place he remembered so vividly. “Your hair looked like spun gold with hints of fire. All I wanted to do was sink my hands into it. Like this.” His nearly eighteen-year-old self awakened as he dived deep, the feel of her silky hair in his fingers fulfilling a long-suppressed dream. “And kiss you. Like this.”

  She kissed him back, proving that it was she, and never him, who held all the power.

  “My brother would have tackled you on the spot,” she teased. But he saw tenderness in her eyes.

  His prom had ended the second he’d spotted Eden laughing and dancing with her friends. Cole stopped his machinations, recognizing the opportunity he’d been waiting for. “I think Logan knew.”

  “He—what?” Eden gasped, her legs falling away from him. She gripped his shoulders. “He knew what?”

  Cole took a deep breath. He’d gone this far. “That I was in love with you.” He couldn’t stop staring at her, naked, in his arms, in his bed. “He knew before I did. I think him asking me to watch out for you was his way of giving me the okay.”

  “You’re—in love with me?” Eden’s brows knit.

  “Why do you look as if I just told you the worst thing possible?”