LineofDuty

by Sidney Bristol

  “Uh.” Cole coughed and glanced away. “No. No, that’s not what I’m saying. But getting her presents that might put her in the mood, which might get her in the right mindset.”

  Jake paused for a moment, torn between laughing at Cole and trying to figure out what the man was trying to tell him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, and he doubted their tastes in bed ran the same. Cole treated Tanya as if she were a precious, fragile object, and yet Tanya would put on roller skates, get out on a track and knock the crap out of other women in the name of roller derby.

  “Cole?” Jake bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing.

  “Yeah?” Cole croaked out, his face beet red.

  “Just tell me the name of the store so we can stop talking about this.”

  “Oh thank God.” His shoulders slumped and he blew out a breath. “Honey’s. It’s down on the square by where Tanya’s roller derby team practices. So, guns?”

  * * * * *

  Nicole shoved the door shut behind her so hard it felt as if it shook the house. She took three strides to the TV tray she’d set up as an entry table and stopped.

  Where is my cell phone?

  She stared at the empty table. That morning she’d been in a rush to get out the door. Since her car was still at the restaurant, she’d needed a ride. She ran through the frenzied rush to get ready in her mind.

  Tanya had called just as Nicole was trying to leave and Nicole had dropped a file of papers. She’d set the phone down on the tray table to shove everything into her tote as Tanya honked her car horn. She had to have left her phone on the table. She peered under it, but the only residents of the hallway were a few dust bunnies.

  No phone.

  “Where did I leave it then?”

  Nicole could have sworn beyond a shadow of a doubt she’d left the phone right there. The moment was a perfect picture in her head. But there was no arguing that the phone wasn’t there.

  She set her purse down on the shaky table and tried to recall her steps from that morning. Though the memory of setting it down on the table to get the papers and slip on her pumps was crystal clear, she had been quite spectacularly hungover, and she’d had the creepiest dreams about looming shadows and a creaking old house. Maybe she had it all wrong?

  The dining room to the right of the entry was empty, devoid of even a corner cobweb. She walked through it and entered the kitchen, placing her purse on the counter. Except for a roll of paper towels and a stack of dollar store plates, the surface was bare.

  Still no cell phone.

  “This is weird,” she muttered.

  Nicole wandered through the kitchen and stood in the living room.

  Maybe she needed to back up, recall more of her dash out of the house.

  That morning she’d answered the phone while shoving her lunch into the tote in the kitchen, she’d snatched her pumps off the counter and hopped toward the door, pulling on nylons before dropping the file and everything else. She’d had to scramble to get her shoes on and bags together. There was no way she could have put the phone anywhere else. After watching Jake replace phone after phone due to cracked screens, she was ultracareful.

  She could still picture placing the phone on the table as clear as day in her head, but it simply wasn’t there.

  It was perplexing and bothersome. All day she’d wondered if Jake had called at last to fight her over the divorce, if he’d lawyered up and things were about to get ugly. The not knowing ate at her.

  The door behind her squeaked and she whirled, gasping as her dreams shot back into vivid reality. Shadows with grasping hands.

  Instead of an insubstantial figure, Jake stepped through the laundry door, which in turn led to the garage.

  “Jake? What are you doing here?” She frowned at him, not sure what to do.

  Why hadn’t he called her? Did he have her phone? Was he already accepting her divorce terms?

  A part of her mourned that loss. She’d anticipated him fighting her on all points. Jake was very conservative on some things and to him, marriage was forever. Before this year, she’d never thought for a moment they wouldn’t grow old together, hopelessly in love.

  Jake didn’t utter a word. In one direction he tossed a gold bag with matching tissue paper on the floor with a thud and dropped his keys onto the tile with a clash of metal in the other. The way he stared at her made her pulse kick up and an uneasy feeling stir her tummy.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked again and took a step back. Maybe she hadn’t said it out loud?

  Jake still didn’t answer. His gaze was predatory, dangerous, full of heat. There was something about the way he stared at her that made her want to turn and run. Alternating waves of adrenaline, fear of what an unprepared meeting would do to her heart and lust for the man she still loved swept through her. The intensity of the emotions hurt. She’d been numb for so long the sudden ability to feel anything was completely foreign.

  He stalked toward her, never a word passing his lips.

  “Jake?” She hated how her voice quavered, how one glance at him in this house where they’d been happy reduced her to weak knees and knots in her stomach. But there was no denying she still desired him, that he made her feel even when she didn’t want to.

  He wrapped his arms around her and tipped her backward. Her choices were cling to him or fall on her ass.

  She fisted the front of his shirt, gasping, staring into his hazel eyes locked on her.

  He took the opening and sealed his mouth over hers. A jolt of desire coursed through her body, stunning her for a moment. This. God, she’d wanted this from him for so long. The way he kissed her before everything went to hell. As if she was his reason for breathing, as if he wanted to crawl inside her, twine their spirits together so they’d never have to be apart.

  She kissed him back even though the sensible voice in her head screamed No! This was a bad idea. She should stop allowing him to kiss her. She should want to put a stop to this. Allowing it to go any further would make kicking him out harder.

  But being back in his arms felt so good.

  The ferocity of the kiss swept her away. He demanded entry to her mouth, sucking her lips and thrusting his tongue into her mouth. She slid her arms up over his shoulders and dug her nails in, not wanting to let this go. The way they used to blaze with passion for each other.

  His hold on her tightened. In a swift move, Jake swept her off her feet, straightening without ever letting his mouth leave hers.

  Would it be so bad to have one more time with him? Sure, it might devastate her and leave her even more broken, but neither could she fight against the sheer onslaught of emotions battering her for the first time in months.

  Fuck it.

  She’d deal with the consequences later.

  He placed her on the kitchen counter, forcing her knees apart and her skirt up around her thighs. She had her hands up his shirt, roving his skin, reveling in the feel of his hard muscular chest, the wiry hairs tickling her palms. There were a few places where his skin puckered. Wounds he’d incurred while in the line of duty. She hated them but knew they were part of who he was. As much as she wished he’d chosen a safer profession, he was danger and strength, courage and honor and so much more.

  This moment, it was like the beginning all over again. When they’d literally torn clothes off each other, too impatient to wait a second longer than necessary.

  Her nylons gave way with a slight rip, rip, ripping sound. She gasped against his mouth, arousal drenching her panties. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like, the cold slide of satin across her sex, the anticipation of what came next.

  Why couldn’t it be like this again?

  She opened her eyes and her breath froze in her chest.

  Jake stared at her with such raw lust. She’d once quaked under that desire, scared of what he might do to her, but she’d learned Jake would never hurt her. At least not physically. This last year was something else. A dark chapter of their
lives. It was something that for this moment she wanted to forget had happened.

  Nicole was no longer an uncertain twenty-something. Oh, in those early days she’d pretended she had confidence for miles, but she hadn’t earned it until Jake. Every man before him had fumbled around, learning the ropes as much as she was. Jake had matched her phoniness with reality and taught her a few things along the way. He’d nurtured her curiosity, encouraged sexual exploration.

  Jake yanked her ruined nylons and panties down her legs, jerking the delicate fabric until the whole mess ripped further.

  Laughter bubbled up in her chest and she kicked one foot out of the snare. What were a pair of pantyhose? Right now she just wanted him. That was all that mattered.

  She grasped the front of his jeans and slipped the buckle free. He placed his hands on the edge of the counter on either side of her knees and watched. His breath fanned across her cheek as she worked the tab and zipper open.

  Would he be hard?

  Was this really happening?

  This wasn’t supposed to happen. They were splitting up, not getting back together. But even the idea that they weren’t supposed to be doing this made her want it—him—more.

  Jake slid his hand between her thighs and found her clit. He thrummed the nub with his fingers and she felt the touch straight down to her toes.

  She bit her lip and forced her hands to move, pushing his jeans and underwear down, freeing his penis and balls. Her hold faltered as his fingers delved into her pussy.

  Heat crawled up her neck. Yes, she was wet for him. But she wasn’t the only one turned-on. He was hard and ready. She stroked him, adding the flick of her wrist he liked at the end. His hips flexed in time with her strokes and his fingers faltered in their rhythm. She could still make him crazy, that touch she hadn’t lost.

  Jake growled and pushed her back on the counter until she lay spread out on the granite. The marble was cold under her bottom but her skin was hot. He flipped her skirt up and grabbed her knee, folding it up against her chest and spreading her open. There was nothing she could do to stop him, not that she wanted to.

  People did this, didn’t they? Fuck their soon-to-be-ex spouse?

  Were they really going to do this? Without saying a single word?

  It was like some kind of naughty tryst, some sort of secret desire revealed. The lust hadn’t died.

  His lips coasted down her stomach, his breath warming her. She arched her back, knowing what was coming and wanting it.

  Jake thrust his fingers into her pussy and she groaned. She gripped the edge of the counter behind her and wrapped her free leg around his waist, urging him closer. Jake didn’t disappoint. He planted a kiss on her mound before licking her clit with the flat of his tongue.

  Her spine arched and she moaned.

  So. Good.

  He pumped her with his fingers, holding her body hostage to his will. A single digit pressed against her anus. Nicole inhaled sharply and willed herself to relax as he thrust past the tight opening. The first time had indeed been a shocking experience, but now she knew the pleasure of being touched everywhere.

  In and out, his fingers played her body while his tongue stimulated her clit. Vibrators and her hands were no substitute for the fire he ignited.

  He curled his fingers, rubbing her G-spot as he sucked her clit and her body spiraled out of control. She moaned as the sensations coalesced into an orgasm so deep it shook her very soul.

  Jake didn’t wait for her to catch her breath. He gripped her ass and pulled her toward the edge of the counter. She pushed up, forcing her muscles to work.

  He positioned his cock at her entrance and his gaze flicked to her face. They stared at each other as he thrust into her. They gasped in unison, clutching each other as their bodies joined. She gripped his shoulders and moaned as he pushed in farther.

  She dropped her hands to the counter, grasping the edge and tilting her pelvis until he hit that perfect spot. The kitchen echoed with her moans. Warmth spread through her abdomen.

  Jake yanked her shirt up over her breasts and pulled the cups of her bra down. Her breasts slid out of the satin restraints. She pried her hands off the counter and found the drawer knobs below her with her toes. She pulled her shirt up over her head and tossed it on the ground as Jake swooped down and latched on to her left breast. He flicked her nipple with his tongue and a zing of arousal shot from her breasts to her pussy and back.

  Nicole groaned and threaded her fingers through his hair. She rocked her hips back and forth. She was so close to orgasm she could taste it.

  He switched to her other breast and she gave in, planting her hands on the counter behind her and arching her back. He grasped her knees and forced her legs open wider. He levered himself in and out while his mouth traveled up to her neck.

  She dug a hand back into his hair, pulling at it as the orgasm erupted inside her. She tossed her head back and moaned. Pleasure shot through her body, curling higher as his thrusts continued. Her mouth worked, muttering incoherent words as a spray of colors like fireworks went off behind her eyelids. The climax just kept going, so intense the pleasure of it ripped her apart. She screamed as a second wave washed over her. The house echoed with the raw, intense pleasure spiraling her higher.

  Jake flicked her clit and she came apart a third time, dropping forward against his shoulder and sobbing, curling her toes around the drawer knobs. His motions grew jerky until he shoved deep and froze. He grunted and rested his head on her shoulder, sweat clinging to their bodies, breathing labored.

  For several long moments neither stirred. If Nicole kept her eyes closed, she could lose herself in the memory of before. She’d gone from falling for the idea of a man in uniform to seeing the person in it. There was so much about him that was special. Everything she’d wanted. The love, the fun, the excitement and endless possibilities. He even smelled the same, like soap and man.

  The emotions she’d found once more bubbled up in her chest. She’d loved and been happy once before with him. Why did things have to end? Tears she didn’t want to shed pricked her eyes. She tightened her grip on his shoulders, clinging to his strength.

  Jake moved first, pulling out and grabbing one of the few dish towels to wipe up their mess. He cleaned himself first, washing his hands and pulling his jeans back up. There wouldn’t be any cuddling after this. No snuggling in bed. And the kisses were gone.

  He ran part of the towel under the tap and used that to gently clean her thighs. She held her breath and watched him, their gazes never crossing.

  If he hated her she couldn’t tell. He’d be within his rights, though. But would he treat her with such care if he was that angry with her?

  She sucked in a deep breath to stave off the tears, helpless to do more than watch him finish the job and toss the towel in the skink. Without saying a word, he scooped her off the counter and carried her into the master suite, straight to the bathroom. He placed her on the counter and turned his attention on the tub, plugging the stopper in the drain and turning the tap on. He even waited, testing the water until it was the right temperature for her.

  Jake rose and turned toward her, their gazes finally meeting. She couldn’t read him, not like this. He was too determined, set on some path she didn’t know. He took her hand, tugged her to her feet and stripped her of the rumpled clothing. Hand in hand, he helped her into the tub and waited until she’d relaxed.

  Nicole held her breath. What next?

  He folded his legs and sat next to her on the floor.

  Tears prickled her eyes so she stared up at the frosted light fixture.

  Whenever she was sick or had a really rotten day, Jake used to draw her a bath and sit with her just like this. He’d listen to her bitch or was ready to hand her a tissue. Whatever she needed, he was there for her. They hadn’t done this for a very long time.

  The memory of the last time was a searing-hot poker to her heart. Jake had drawn the bath and left her to cry her tears alone.
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br />   Jake placed his hand on the edge of the tub, fingers extended toward her. This was a bad idea, they didn’t need any more emotional entanglements between them, but she wanted his touch. She joined their hands, lacing their fingers together on the ledge. She studied his big palm wrapped around hers because she couldn’t bring herself to look at him yet.

  There were so many words that needed to be said, but she didn’t want to break this spell. Not now when she felt this close to how things used to be. A little comfort would go a long way, especially when she was alone again.

  A siren blared from Jake’s pocket and he groaned. Her heart fell a little.

  Of course, duty called.

  She squeezed his hand and let him go, as she had to. Her husband was a hero, and with that came the ugly parts. Like leaving her alone, tearing him out of bed or away from social engagements. It was part of the job. She didn’t begrudge it. Being a cop was part of who Jake was at his core, but the calls always came at the most inopportune times.

  He pushed to his knees and leaned over the tub, pressing a kiss to her brow, a sweet brush of skin on skin, and got to his feet.

  She listened to his footsteps retreat until the sound of the water covered his movements.

  Was she doing the right thing? Doubts assailed her from all sides. If he could kiss her like he meant it could he love her again? Could they rekindle what they’d lost? Did she want to go that route?

  For a while she’d thought they could do it, but he’d rebuffed or ignored her at every turn. And now this. Did she want to be married to someone who abandoned her when things got tough? And returned only when she left? If she returned to their brick home what would happen next time things got bad?

  Nicole turned off the tap when the tub was full and lay in the water until her fingers and toes weren’t the only things wrinkled. She stayed in the bath until the water turned cold and she shivered. Only then did she rise, dripping, and carefully get out. A bath mat went on her mental list of things to get for her stay. The one towel she’d brought with her wasn’t nearby, so she dried off with her discarded clothing and left it on the floor.