Lifting her up, I carried her over to one of the bottom bunks, gently dropping and pinning her to the bed. It took only seconds for me to get her naked, then I stripped.
“You’re in a hurry,” Kendra said, breathless and with that tone in her voice that told me it definitely turned her on.
“Another call could come in at any minute,” I pointed out. “And I promised to get you off.” Kendra laughed, and I made my way down from her lips to her chest, bringing each of her dark nipples up to my mouth to suck and lick. She moaned. I’d learned fast just what got Kendra hot. I worked the firm little nubs with my mouth for what felt like ages, even as my cock grew harder. Reaching between her legs, I felt how wet she was and moved from her chest to her stomach, breathing in the tantalizing scent of her skin and pussy.
I buried my face against her pussy, licking and sucking. Sliding my tongue up and down along her folds, tasting her as thoroughly as possible. I stroked my tongue over her clit, knowing exactly what she liked. I gently sucked the little bead of nerves between my lips, swirling the tip of my tongue around it in wide circles to get her used to the sensation and then zeroing in on it.
Kendra’s hips bucked, and I pinned them down, careful to avoid doing anything that would hurt her injured leg. I worked Kendra hot and heavy, teasing her just enough to get her more turned on, feeling the changes in her as she got closer and closer to getting off. She moaned, and then I looked up when I heard a more unusual sound and saw that she was covering her mouth with one of her hands—the other tangled in my hair—to keep from being too loud. I almost broke away, laughing, but I hadn’t been lying when I’d said a call could come in at any moment. Time was absolutely of the essence.
I decided not to tease her too hard, to do what I knew would get Kendra off instead of waiting my turn. I sucked harder on her womanhood, flicking my tongue against the little bead between my lips, and Kendra’s hand tightened in my hair, almost pulling it from the scalp. I moaned against her skin, working her as hard as I could, feeling the tension in her hitting the high point. I knew the second she came, her fluids starting to gush on my tongue as her legs tightened around me, as her whole body shook for just a few seconds in between moments of tensing up. Kendra moaned long and low, and even her hand didn’t muffle the noise—at least, not to me.
I kept her coming for as long as I could stand and then pulled back, not even giving her a chance to come down from the climax. I got a condom out of a drawer in the table next to the bunk, sheathed my cock, then covered her body with mine again. “Next time,” I told her breathlessly between kisses. “Next time, I’m making you ride me.”
“With my leg? That’d last all of a minute,” Kendra told me.
I laughed. “Excuses.” I didn’t have any patience to make it last—my balls were aching and, besides, I wasn’t about to answer a call with my dick hard. I pounded into Kendra’s pussy hard and fast, kissing her neck and then up to her lips as I pulled out and slammed back in again. I set a pace that was just short of brutal, hauling Kendra’s legs up by the knees and wrapping them around my waist to get a better angle. She felt good, tight, hot, and built just for me. Her muscles flexed around me, tightening in little post-orgasmic spasms, and that just fueled me to go faster, to take her harder. Kendra had no complaints, pushing her hips up to meet mine, kissing me hungrily as we moved together sensually.
It didn’t take me long to feel my balls starting to tighten, to feel that ache in my groin hitting the point where there was only one way to get rid of it. I held on to Kendra as tightly as I could and pounded into her a few more times, moaning as the tension broke. I came hard, going only a little while longer, and I realized that Kendra had reached her second climax while I was on my first, that she was gripping me with all her strength as we both finished.
“God, I needed that,” I said, kissing her lightly on the lips.
“Who you telling. Damn, that was better than a Xanax,” Kendra told me.
I laughed, rolling off her just long enough to dispose of the used condom in the bin. Whoever tossed out the bio-waste would have questions, but I could guarantee he wouldn’t ask anyone why there was a used condom in among the bloody bandages and gauze from treating different work-related wounds. I climbed back onto the bed at her side, pulling her close and loving the feeling of her body against mine.
“I kind of doubt doctors can prescribe orgasms,” I pointed out.
Kendra grinned at me, looking so beautiful, so sweet in the crook of my arm. “They used to, actually,” she said. “And I guess PTSD would count as ‘hysteria,’ so you getting me off is just good medicine.”
I laughed and cupped one of her breasts in my hand, enjoying the heavy, warm feeling of it. Before I could get up the energy to go for round two, though, the alarm blared again, and I was on my feet, out of the bed, and pulling on my clothes in an instant. Kendra got up almost as quickly, pulling on her clothes.
“Do you want to hang out here?” I asked her as the chief announced the fire location. It wasn’t too far away. “I probably won’t be more than two hours, tops.”
“No. I’ve got to head home,” Kendra said. “Grandma doesn’t know about me helping the sheriff, and she’s expecting me for dinner.”
“I’ll text you once I’m done,” I promised, kissing her again once we were both fully dressed.
“And tomorrow, we have the photo shoot,” Kendra said. “Maybe we can compare sex in an SUV to the on-call beds.”
I chuckled and unlocked the door before anyone could come looking for me. “I’d be down with that experiment,” I said before kissing her hard and fast.
“I bet you would,” she chirped before we parted ways, with Kendra headed out to the parking lot to get in her SUV, and me heading for the second truck where we stowed the gear to take care of the fire.
12
Kendra
Grandma set down my plate in front of me before taking her spot at the table. Dinner was one of her classics—Salisbury steak with roasted potatoes, carrots, and green beans. It brought me back to being a teenager, living with her, telling her all about my day at school, back when my problems were much smaller.
Grandma gave me a knowing look before forking a piece of carrot. “So, you’ve been busy for someone who’s supposed to be resting.”
I grinned because she was right. “Are you sure you don’t just resent that I haven’t weeded the garden beds yet?” I asked, cutting into my meat. I’d had many Salisbury steaks in my life, from school cafeteria versions to a diner on Brook Avenue that claimed to make it the best in the city—but none of them were as good as Grandma’s.
“That’s part of it,” Grandma confessed. “But I’m also worried about you. You’re supposed to be recuperating, not rushing off every day to do something else.”
I took a bite of food, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing. “Well, I finished the photo shoot the other day, and tomorrow I’ll have the proofs printed for the chief. That’s one project done.” I’d been back in town for two weeks, and it was almost as if I’d never left. Somehow—probably mostly because of Grandma and her friends talking me up—everyone knew everything about me, and I was anxious at merely the thought of going back to the constant rush of the city. But I could feel it pulling me, reaching for me like a comfortable pair of sweat pants.
“And you’re working with the sheriff,” Grandma observed. “How do you feel about that?” She grabbed her glass of water, sipping.
I picked at a carrot, suddenly not feeling so hungry. “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “He wants me to join the force officially, especially since the press is heating up on the serial break-ins.”
“Are you ready to handle that pressure?” Grandma asked, taking a bite of potato.
“That kind of thing doesn’t bother me,” I stated. “But there’s another issue.” I bit my bottom lip, twirling my fork.
“Lukas?” Grandma asked.
“Partly him,” I sighed. “But mostly, they want me back d
own in the city. Sarge has called twice to ask when I think I’ll be ready for the evals.”
“Are you surprised?” She arched a brow. “You’ve got to be one of the best people he has.”
I laughed. “You’d think so, based on how he’s working me,” I told her. “And obviously, my record was good.”
“Good?” Grandma snorted. “I’ve looked at your record on that devil machine they call a personal computing device. Your record is better than almost everyone else from your precinct.”
“So, you’ve been checking up on me that hard?” I asked. If Grandma had gotten out the computer and used it, she must have been interested.
“Well, you never tell me anything, and I needed to keep everyone up-to-date on my beautiful granddaughter’s career,” Grandma said. “If I didn’t, Mabel might have all the good stories—what with that great-nephew of hers running some fancy club in LA.”
“My record is good,” I muttered, absently spearing two green beans on my fork. “But I’m not sure I want to go back to New York. I’m not even sure I want to be a cop anymore.” I hadn’t told Grandma about the bigger issue. Because of my leg, they’d keep me on desk duty for as long as it took to heal—that would be no problem. But the psychological issue of my PTSD was a whole other clusterfuck.
“And you’re working through the whole PTSD thing,” Grandma countered.
I looked up, surprised. “You know?”
Grandma shrugged. “Your grandfather was in a war. He never said much about it, but he had friends who would get drunk and get—I don’t know—twitchy. Any little thing might set them off. They used to call it ‘shell shock.’”
“But Granddaddy didn’t have it?”
Grandma shrugged again. “He might have, he might not have. I’m just saying, I can see when someone is working through something—especially when that someone is the girl I helped raise.”
She was right. Grandma knew me well. “Lukas’s been helping me with it,” I volunteered. “In different ways. He knows some guys with PTSD.”
“I understand he’s done a lot of work along those lines, though probably not as intensely as he has with you,” Grandma said, smiling a little.
“It’s just…” I began.
“It’s just you reconnecting with a boy you might have had something with, if things had gone differently,” Grandma said, interrupting me. “And now, because you’re afraid it’s got some potential, you want to run.”
“No, I don’t want to run,” I protested. At least, I didn’t think so.
“Kendra, you’re afraid,” Grandma said with sharp eyes. “Terrified of not getting better. Scared of what it would be like if you changed because of getting injured. And you’re petrified that it means you’re too broken for Lukas. But listen here, baby girl, Lukas cut his teeth on issues harder than this.”
“So, what do you think I should do?” Because honestly, this conundrum was shit I’d never dealt with before.
Grandma looked at me for a long moment, then brought a forkful of potatoes and meat to her mouth, chewing and swallowing with her usual perfect manners before she answered me. “You’re grown, so I can’t tell you what you should do. But I can tell you it would be a lot easier to recover from something like what you went through if you’re in a quiet, peaceful place. When you’re not chasing down drug dealers every week or investigating murders all the time. Wampanoag might be this side of boring, but you could do well here. And I think if I had a chance like what you’ve got with Lukas, I’d take it in a heartbeat.”
I thought about that for a few minutes as I ate my food, weighing what she said against what I had spent so much of the past two weeks thinking about. “I agree about Wampanoag being a place where I’d be able to find some peace and solace, but—” I paused “—as far as Lukas and me, I don’t even know if he wants to be serious. This could just be a fling for him.” Deep down, I was leaning toward trying to see if he and I could make what we had more than just fucking. But turning my back on my job in New York… That bothered me.
Grandma took a sip from her glass of water. “It might be,” she said, her voice skeptical. “But I don’t believe flings are his thing, or he already would have slept with half the town. From what I’ve heard and seen, all the single women and some not-so-unattached females in town have propositioned him. He’s turned them all down. But a man that handsome, not settling down…people will talk. Hell, some folks have even started speculating he’s gay.”
I nearly choked on a piece of meat before finally clearing my throat. “Lukas, gay?” I chuckled. “Believe me, he’s definitely not gay.”
Grandma grinned. “I’m glad you have firsthand knowledge of that. And talk to him about you thinking about staying here and if he’s interested in more than rolling around in the hay.”
I snickered at her “rolling around in the hay” phrase but took her advice to heart.
She continued, “And another thing.” She jabbed a finger at me. “Don’t let your sergeant rush you into a decision, no matter what you do.”
“I won’t,” I mumbled, eating a little more of her delicious steak. “One day, you will need to give me your secrets for this.” I pointed my fork at the steak on my plate. “You will not be around forever, and nobody else makes it like you.”
“Grind your own grass-fed meat and use a Lipton onion soup packet in the gravy,” Grandma said with a grin. “That’s all it is, baby girl.”
I laughed. “No, it’s not. I saw you sneaking tablespoons of your homemade special seasoning into the meat before you cooked it.”
Her eyes widened. “You saw that?”
“I did. I’m a detective.” I pointed my fork at her. “I see everything.”
“You’re too smart for your own good.” She rolled her eyes. “Now, eat your food and be quiet.”
We started eating again, and a comfortable silence blanketed us. It was then that it really hit me how much I missed simple things like eating dinner with her. She was my world and my only family, and I didn’t know how much more time I had with her before she was no longer here. Why the hell did I stay away from her for so long?
“I love you, Grandma,” I blurted out.
Grandma froze, her fork midway to her mouth. “I love you too, Kendra. More than you’ll ever know.” She winked at me before continuing to eat.
I blinked back tears of emotion. I’d sacrificed so much for the sake of my career and making detective and had very little to show for my efforts, all because I’d made a conscious decision that my job came first. There was nothing back in New York but my job. I had no boyfriend or lover waiting for me to return and no girlfriends missing our weekly “Girls’ Night Out” and chomping at the bit for me to come back. Yes, my job as a detective was important. But wasn’t having a life filled with happiness, family, love, good health, and friendship more vital?
My mind whirled with all the life-changing decisions I’d have to make; the most important determination was whether to stay here or go back to New York to my old job and life.
It was ironic how, in just a few weeks back in town, I’d started thinking about the possibility of a new life that included seeing Grandma every day, a less risky, more laid-back job working with the sheriff, and just maybe, something more permanent with Lukas.
But it scared me to walk away from the career I’d built in New York and to try something different.
13
Lukas
I spotted Kendra looking beautiful as usual as she sat at the table she’d taken at McDuffy’s—an old-school diner in town where we’d eaten plenty of meals on Friday or Saturday nights as kids. It smelled like it always had—grease, burgers, and bacon, with a splash of fresh orange juice cutting through it. And as I stepped around the tables to get to the one Kendra had chosen next to a window, I almost felt as if I’d gone back in time.
I leaned down, giving her a quick kiss before sitting. “This was a great idea. I don’t think I’ve been here in months.”
“I figured it would be a good change-up from you cooking for me,” Kendra stated.
I chuckled. “But I love cooking for you.”
“I adore you for it.” She sent me an air kiss.
“This place has one downside. My bedroom isn’t only a few steps away,” I pointed out.
“That’s the truth,” she agreed with a saucy smile.
A waitress, Barb, came to the table, and we both ordered our usual choices from back in the old days, the cheeseburger “Royale” for me, which had a fried egg on it, with cheese fries, and a meatloaf melt for Kendra, with zesty fries for her side. We got beers and settled in to wait for our food to come up.
“So, did you sleep in like you were planning?” Kendra asked me.
I’d been too exhausted after a few emergencies at the end of my shift to invite her over the night before. But we’d texted back and forth, planning to meet up since it was my day off.
“I got a good nine hours,” I told her, stretching at the memory of waking up fully rested. Refreshed in a way I hadn’t been in years—and that, I could confidently say, was almost definitely to do with Kendra coming back into my life and our spending quality time together and getting to know each other again. It was not just on a physical level, but I would never complain about our fantastic sexual chemistry, which was a hell of a bonus. I beamed at her. “Maybe we should go back to my place after this so I can show you all the wicked things I can do to your sexy body when I’m fully charged.” I waggled my eyebrows.
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