One Taste of Love
By Amanda Siegrist
Copyright © 2017 Amanda Siegrist
This ebook may not be re-sold or re-distributed to another person unless consent is given by this author. If you wish to share this book, please purchase an additional copy. It may not be re-produced in any format for your own rights. If you did not purchase this book, please return to the retailer to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All characters in this book are a product of the author’s imagination. Places, events, and locations mentioned either are created to help inspire the story or are real and used in a fictitious manner.
Warning: This novel contains a sexy detective. There is insta-love. If you don’t want to read that kind of book, turn back now! But you know you wanna.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
More Books
About the Author
Chapter 1
A gentle hand landed on his shoulder, making his torture the past few months escalate to the point of pain. He tried not to cringe from the pain, or groan from the longing. He didn’t need to turn to know who it was. Her touch always made him ache for more. Not that she’d ever give him more. Just little touches here and there that made him want to cry, and he wasn’t a man who cried. Turning around seemed inevitable, but he didn’t want to.
“Ben, would you like something to drink?”
He finally swiveled his head and glanced at her hand. She jumped back immediately in her calm, collected manner she always displayed. She never got riled up. Not once. He was waiting for the moment, any moment, when Rina would display any sort of anger or frustration. Even in anger, she spoke softly, calmly, and stood with poise. Sometimes he just wanted to provoke her, provoke her to the point of breaking that anger out. Like, now. Because he was breaking inside.
“I’ll have whatever Zeke’s having.” He pulled a smile from nowhere, sighing inside as she nodded once and walked out of the living room. He could never bring himself to provoke her, no matter how many times he wanted to.
“Oh, man. Come on!” Zeke threw an irritated hand at the TV. “Did you just see that move? He should’ve caught that.”
Ben turned his attention back to the TV where they were watching football. He grinned, for Zeke’s benefit, and laughed. “Yeah, he’s been missing catches all season. What the hell do you expect?”
Zeke slapped his knee as he laughed. “Dude, they didn’t even throw the ball, they ran it. I was just seeing if you were paying attention. Clearly, you weren’t.” A huge smirk emerged. “You were glued to Rina, like you always are. When are you finally going to ask her out? Don’t you think it’s time?”
“Please, Zeke, talk a little louder. I’m not sure if Rina heard you,” Ben said through clenched teeth.
“Oh, someone’s grouchy. I don’t need two babies in the house. One is plenty. Plus, she’s cuter than you.”
Ben smiled, despite himself, as Zeke lifted his little baby girl closer to his chest, kissing her forehead.
“I can’t believe she’s sleeping so peacefully with you yelling at the TV like that.”
“Zabrina can sleep through a lot. Except at night. She loves to keep mommy and daddy up. I’ve been taking a lot of the night feedings lately. Zoe goes back to work soon and I want her to get plenty of rest before she does.” Zeke kissed his daughter’s head again.
“Zoe’s one lucky lady. You spoil them too much.”
“Na, I don’t spoil them enough. You’ll see when you finally ask Rina out. Love does something to you.”
Ben jerked. “I don’t love Rina. I’m not going to ask her out. Just drop it already.”
Zeke raised a brow, his smirk widening even further. “I’ve known you a long time. I see the look in your eyes. You can lie to me, but you really shouldn’t lie to yourself. I can help—”
“Just stop.” Ben held his hand up, cutting Zeke off. “Please, just stop. Not a conversation I want to have when that very person is in the house and going to walk back into the room at any moment.”
“Fair enough. I’ll bug you later.”
“Oh, joy,” Ben mumbled under his breath, suddenly sitting straighter when Rina walked into the living room holding two bottles of beer.
She handed one to Zeke first, even though she had to walk past Ben. Then she approached him and slowly held out the bottle.
“Sorry it took so long. Zoe’s trying to make a grocery list and she needed my help. How’s the game?”
Her sweet voice rocked him to the core. He could listen to her speak all day, just saying nonsense. He loved her voice. A shiver rippled throughout.
Love.
No, he just loved her voice, not actual love.
Heart pounding, he grabbed the bottle and tried not to display the trembling he felt through his entire body.
“Great. Wanna watch some?” He scooted over towards Zeke to make room for her. The invite spilled out before he could stop himself.
She eyed the spot he cleared and then swiftly lifted her eyes to his as she bit her lip. “Zoe still needs my help. Just shout out if you two need anything else.”
“Thanks again,” Ben said, lifting his bottle slightly and turned back to the TV. He refused to watch her walk out like she did every single time he saw her.
Always walking away from him.
“Well, that’s a start.”
Ben glared at Zeke. “A start? I asked her to watch the game with us and she said no. Imagine if I asked her out on a date.”
“So you do want to ask?” Zeke grinned. He nudged Ben in the shoulder when he refused to remove his glare. “It’s football. Zoe’s not big into it either. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love me. And it doesn’t mean Rina would say no if you asked her out. Baby steps. You can do this.”
“Shut up.”
He raised the bottle to his lips, wanting to down the bottle in one long swig. Drowning his sorrows with beer sounded like a great idea. Before one wonderful taste could hit his lips, his phone went off at the exact same time Zeke’s rang. They shared a look.
Ten minutes later, they were in Zeke’s car heading to a crime scene. Ben didn’t want to talk anymore, especially about Rina. Resting his head against the window with his eyes closed, he hoped Zeke got the message. When Zeke called about watching the game, he had wanted to say no. Then his empty house stared back, laughing at him. Of course, if he had known Rina would show up, he would’ve never said yes. Probably why Zeke never mentioned it.
“Really, man. Can’t a guy get some rest here.” Ben lifted his head from the window with a frown to Zeke, who just threw a napkin at his face.
“You didn’t eat your cookie. Can I have yours? It’s only two o’clock in the afternoon. You looked tired when you came over. Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”
Did he get any sleep? Sure he did. After he had multiple dreams about Rina that left him aching with pain. Sleep was hard to come by. Talking about it with Zeke would get him nowhere but more teasing. He wasn’t sure how much more of that he could take. Not that he didn’t deserve it. He had been brutal with the teasing when Zeke first started dating Zoe.
He handed his
cookie that he had absolutely no desire to eat to Zeke, who smiled wide with excitement.
“I can’t believe you don’t want yours. Zoe’s been going a little crazy. She’s been buzzing around the house, baking cookies, cleaning, just all this…energy. I think it’s nerves. She’s nervous about going back to work.”
“Why? Is it because she’s going back to work, or leaving Zabrina?”
“I think a bit of both. She’s not sure she wants to be a secretary anymore. She’s contemplating going back to school, or maybe even staying home with Zabrina for a few years. She hates to think about her going to daycare. I’m not too keen on the idea either.”
“Can you swing Zoe not working?” Ben asked surprised. They had a great job working at the St. Cloud Police Department, but they were by no means getting rich off their job.
“I can swing anything for Zoe. If that’s what she wants, I’ll try to get some overtime. It’s not like we don’t get it already.”
“True.” Ben leaned his head against the window again. He worked more overtime than Zeke did. Unlike Zeke, he had nothing waiting at home for him.
“You seem out of it. For a while now. What’s going on, Ben?” Zeke asked, shoving a quick bite of the cookie into his mouth.
“Nothing.”
“Still lying.”
He sat up, then shrugged. “It’s been crazy around the office. It feels like our caseload gets larger every day.”
“You sound like you need a vacation. Those two weeks I had off when Brina was born were the best.” Zeke shoved another bite of the cookie into his mouth, half-chewing, half-speaking as he added, “Or maybe you just need to get laid. Didn’t you have a date with what’s-her-name?”
Ben rolled his eyes to Zeke and watched him shove the remaining part of the cookie into his mouth and snap his fingers as his mind whirled around for the answer.
“Trina…Trisha…no, Tabitha, that’s her name.”
“It was Bethany,” Ben said dryly.
“Well, shit, I was way off.” Zeke laughed. “You guys had a date last week. How did it go? You never did tell me.”
“It’s not going into a second date.”
“I think having some sex might help this,” Zeke said, waving his hand up and down.
“You just pointed to all of me.”
“Yeah, man, you’re a mess. Trust me. A nice, steamy round of sex helps me.”
Ben shuddered. “TMI, don’t wanna hear that shit.”
“Why don’t you just ask out Rina? It’s way past due, like, a year past due.”
Ben closed his eyes to shut out those damaging words. “Let’s drop the subject, Zeke.”
“Come on, man. One little date. Zoe and I will even double date with you, if you want.”
“I don’t like Rina like that. I’ve told you guys this since the beginning.” Could he lie any longer to his best friend? Because that statement was a bald face lie. He liked her so much it hurt to breathe sometimes.
“You’re a horrible liar, Ben. She likes you. Just ask her out.”
“Drop it.” Ben glanced out the window to see if they made it to their destination yet. Was Zeke driving slowly on purpose to torture him about Rina? Next time he’d drive himself.
“Didn’t you see the way she looked at you back at the house? She’ll say yes. Then you two—”
“She’ll say yes? No, she won’t,” Ben yelled, whipping his head toward him.
Zeke smirked. “Yep, too much bottled up tension. She would never say no.”
“You don’t get it.” He shook his head, releasing a tired sigh.
“Get what?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw as the words slowly left his mouth. “I did ask her out. A few months ago. She said no. Why don’t you and Zoe just knock it off already. I’m sick and tired of hearing about Rina and how I should ask her out. Quit the teasing. Quit the nagging. Just quit it.”
He could still hear her soft voice telling him no. He had stood there like an idiot from the beginning, asking dumb questions about her coffee. She had been sitting outside a café with a white mug, sipping coffee and reading a book, looking like a beautiful angel. Every time he saw her, his nerves ventured forth like a speeding bullet. That’s why he never had the courage to ask her out. She just seemed too unattainable. And he had been right. He should’ve never asked.
Zeke’s mouth dropped open. “No, no, that’s not right. She’s got the hots for you. I know this—”
“You don’t know shit. I’m telling you I asked her out and she said she can’t.”
“Back to interrupting me. That hasn’t happened in a long time. Don’t do that. She said she can’t. Why the hell not? What does that mean?”
He shrugged. “Hell if I know. If you say one more word about this, I’m going to hurt you. And don’t you dare say a word about this to Zoe. Just drop the subject and forget we ever had this conversation.”
Ben could tell Zeke wanted to say more, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Because he seriously would’ve contemplated punching him in the face. He tortured himself enough. He didn’t need his best friend adding to it.
Before long, Zeke pulled up to the crime scene. Ben hopped out of the car without one word and trudged up the walkway to the front door without glancing or waiting for Zeke.
He walked inside the house, an officer pointing him to a bedroom that held the dead body of a woman. He couldn’t stop the grimace that crossed over his face as he took in the sight. Not reacting had become second nature. But this. The horror in front of him couldn’t stop the disgust from emerging. Halting near the doorway, he almost considered walking out. Something he had never done before at a crime scene.
A woman in her twenties lay on the bed, arms and legs spread wide, naked for the world to see, and a dark red scarf tied around her neck. The sight of her body displayed in such a manner made his stomach churn with unease. The deep bruises covering her arms, legs, and unfortunately near her lower regions gave him a clue he didn’t like knowing. She had been raped.
“What do we have so far, Susan?” Zeke asked, coming up quietly next to Ben.
He heard the disgust in Zeke’s voice easily. No doubt, he was thinking the same thing as him. Just one of the things that made them great partners. Thinking alike.
Susan looked up from where she was bent over the bed collecting evidence from the sheets. “Not a lot. Dr. Everly stepped outside to take a call, but he did estimate time of death last night around midnight or so. As you can see, most likely by strangulation. Obvious signs of sexual assault as well. Her name’s Beth Darlington, age 26, single, and works at a salon, Style Me.”
“How’d you figure all that out so quickly? We just got the call,” Zeke asked, giving the room a cursory glance.
Ben followed the same path Zeke’s eyes took, noting nothing out of place. No sign of a struggle. It seemed better to look at the room than at her tortured body, except he couldn’t seem to help himself. Bile rose in his throat as he gave her another glance.
“Her best friend came to check on her. She found the body. She spoke to the responding officer, who then relayed everything to me. Diane, the best friend, also called her brother, Timothy. She was distraught, almost hysterical. He took her home. Before he left, I think he mentioned to Officer Johnson that he was going to Beth’s house to tell her parents. He wanted to be the one to do it. Diane and Beth were close, really close. I guess Timothy is also really close to her parents.”
“Everyone deals with death differently. Saves us the trouble, but that seems very odd. Was he dating Beth?” Ben barely recognized his own voice, or that he finally found the energy to say something. For whatever reason, this scene was hitting him harder than he ever experienced before.
“I don’t know. Based on the information from Officer Johnson, no,” Susan said, sealing her evidence bag after she placed a light brown strand of hair in it.
“Well, I guess we’ll find out when we talk to him. Sounds like we need to talk to him first.” Zeke g
lanced at Ben, who nodded in agreement.
“Any signs of how the perp got in?” Ben asked.
“Not yet. I started in here. A brief walk around the house showed no signs of anything disturbed. Either she let the person in, or they jimmied a lock open somehow. Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered,” Susan said with confidence and a small wink.
A small frown suddenly formed on her face, her eyebrows dipping into confusion. She slowly lifted Beth’s arm and rolled her to her side. The movement made Beth’s hair that had been fanned out lovingly on the bed, brush over her face covering her features.
Ben’s heart stopped beating as sweat trickled down the middle of his back. The bile rose again in his throat as he took a step back.
Air. He needed air. Lots of it.
The sight of the woman made him want to drop to his knees and scream in agony. Clenching his fists, he focused on controlling his breathing. Drawing in a decent breath just wouldn’t come.
“What did you find, Susan?” Zeke asked, oblivious of Ben’s tortured expression.
“A piece of paper. I thought this was one hell of a scene just by the brutality of her body. Now I’m just creeped out,” Susan said with a shudder as she slipped the paper into an evidence bag and sealed it tightly.
Zeke held his hand out. With a slight shake of her hand, she passed the evidence bag to him.
“Red for the heat, I love so deep,” Zeke said quietly, reading the note. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t even want to know,” Susan muttered as she rolled Beth a little more.
Zeke finally looked at him and puckered his brows. “You okay, Ben? Did you hear what I said?”
Ben tore his gaze from the battered woman to Zeke’s concerned eyes. He had no idea how he managed to do that. Her body. Her hair covering her face. Those bruises. He needed some damn air.
“I heard you.”
Zeke stepped closer to him and whispered, “I’m sorry about what happened in the car.”
Ben pointed to the dead woman on the bed. Her body still on her side, her sleek auburn hair lightly covering her face. “Look, Zeke. Who does she look like? The hair, the body type, just look.”
One Taste of Love (A One Taste Novel Book 2) Page 1
