by Marika Ray
He opened the front door and let it swing open. At my nod, he walked us inside, lacing our fingers together and not letting go. The sight that greeted us took my breath away. I wasn’t sure if I was stepping into a Four Seasons or a private residence. An older woman and Emmeline came around a huge pillar, hopeful smiles on their faces.
“Hello, Oakley. I’m Debra Dolby, Wyatt’s mother.” The woman came forward, her cashmere sweater and flashing diamond earrings making me a bit nervous. My sundress suddenly felt out of place.
She shook my hand and then surprised me by pulling me into a hug full of Chanel Number Five. “It’s so lovely to meet you. Wyatt’s told me such great things,” she whispered, not yet releasing me from the hug.
“Watch it, Mom. Oakley might put you in a headlock,” Emmeline warned.
Debra pulled back, giving me a thorough assessment, especially where Wyatt still had my hand squeezed in his. My cheeks heated under her scrutiny. I had no idea meeting the parents was on the agenda for today and therefore couldn’t have prepared.
“I wouldn’t dare do that. It’s just Emmeline reached for my Taser and it was second nature,” I tried to explain.
“It’s Em, and I’m just teasing you.” She gave me a hug too, a quick one though, like she wasn’t totally sure I wouldn’t body slam her again.
“We’ll let you two have some time.” Debra winked at me and hauled Em out of the room despite her protests to stay.
“This is the house I grew up in, Oakley,” Wyatt said, waving his hand around once we were alone. “My father started a company before he married Mom, and it did well. In fact, he made millions over the years, creating a lifestyle we all came to enjoy and rely on. Me, more than most. I lived a playboy lifestyle, complete with limitless money, women, trips, alcohol, and drugs.”
He winced as if confessing all this was physically painful. I gave his hand a squeeze and an encouraging smile. I felt horrible that I’d made him feel ashamed. Made him feel like he couldn’t tell me about his past. Was I so judgmental that I didn’t leave room for people in my life to make mistakes?
“I’m not proud of those years, Oakley. I don’t like to talk about it or remember them. But for a chance to win back your trust, I will. I want to take you to all the places that make me the man I am today. Ready for stop number two?”
I wasn’t sure what I expected from Wyatt when we talked again, but it certainly wasn’t this. He’d always hedged his answers. Asked me to just trust him without disclosing anything. But this? This was him being an open book. He was letting me sift through his past without objection.
“I’d like that,” I whispered.
His eyes heated, the usual deep blue turning positively vibrant. I wanted to run my palm across his five o’clock shadow and smooth the dark lines beneath his eyes. He’d suffered the last two weeks as well.
And then we were moving, Wyatt tugging me toward the front door again. This time, his black truck was parked outside on the driveway with the doors open and the engine running. At my questioning look, he smiled and I could see the playboy he used to be.
“We have a valet,” he said simply, leaning down to sweep me off my feet. At my yelp, I felt the growl in his chest pressed against me. “You shouldn’t be walking on that leg. Not on my watch, Captain.”
My heart sung and I couldn’t even feel the constant ache in my leg. Turns out I liked Wyatt Dolby. And I liked Wyatt Smith. I loved Wyatt, plain and simple.
He deposited me on the passenger seat of his truck and came around to climb in behind the wheel. He smiled at me and the sun came out again. “Ready to see where I did drugs the first time?”
Our day went like a reverse scavenger hunt, where each stop turned out sadder than the last. I saw where he’d been offered drugs for the first time behind his private high school his freshman year. Where he’d gotten so drunk, he blacked out junior year and woke with a concussion. Then it was off to the cemetery to hear all about the effect his father had had on him growing up. There was a bench right next to his gravesite, and when Wyatt teared up talking about him, I couldn’t help but sit on his lap and hold him tight.
“I didn’t want that to be me one day, so obsessed with the money that I didn’t spend my time with the people who were important to me before I took my last breath. I had to pull the ripcord and launch myself into a new life. I cut off all contact with my so-called friends, officially changed my name, and joined the sheriff’s academy. I cut up the bank card tied to my trust fund and told myself that any penny I spent going forward had to be from money I made myself.”
Wyatt stood up and swung me back into the truck, his gaze sliding over to his father’s grave one last time. There was such sadness there that his joking had covered up when I first met him.
“We don’t have to keep going, Wyatt. I understand now. I really do.” I reached for him, but he backed away like he’d decided already.
“Make sure you put your seat belt on. We have one more stop.”
We didn’t talk the entire drive, just held hands with Wyatt’s thumb sweeping back and forth across my skin. It was enough. Just being with him was enough while I processed all he’d told me. The sun started to set when we reached Auburn Hill. If he was taking me home, I needed him to understand one thing first.
“Wyatt, I’m sorry for making you feel like you couldn’t be honest with me. I know I see things as either right or wrong, but someone important to me recently said I need to bend the rules a bit more. I can see now how you’ve changed and want to leave the past behind.”
Here he was trying to apologize to me in a big way and yet I’d been the asshole who made him feel bad for who he’d been. He couldn’t change the past. None of us could. Regret bloomed in my chest.
The truck bounced as we turned into the parking lot of the sheriff’s station. I frowned. This wasn’t where I expected we’d go next.
“Hold that thought, beautiful.” Wyatt put the truck in park and hopped out. Once again he opened my door and carried me.
I smacked his shoulder. “Put me down!” I couldn’t be seen walking into the station in Wyatt’s arms like this.
Wyatt only squeezed me tighter. “Will you give me one more chance to earn your trust?”
I looked deep into his eyes and dropped all the walls I’d built over the years to bolster a big, bad lady cop reputation and nodded. “I trust you.”
He swung open the door with a big grin on his face, the place mostly empty at this time in the evening. The old janitor poked his head out of the back office, a broom in hand, and nodded hello to us before going back to his work. Wyatt didn’t put me down, just held me there in the middle of the station.
“I wanted to bring you here because this is where I first laid eyes on you. You didn’t see me when I came in to interview with Sheriff Locke, but I certainly saw you. When I was hired and assigned as your partner, I figured it was fate stepping in. Then you barked at me in that voice of yours and I nearly swallowed my tongue. I’ve wanted you ever since that first day, but now it’s so much more than that. Seeing you on the ground, covered in blood, stopped my heart. Just like my dad dying was a wake-up call for me, seeing you hurt was another one. I love you, Oakley.”
My eyes burned as my heart swelled in my chest. “I love you too, Wyatt. Doesn’t even matter what your last name is. I see you.”
I put my hand on his cheek, wishing he’d hurry up and kiss me, but Wyatt had other ideas. “I came clean to the sheriff. Next Monday is my last day here before I transfer to the San Mateo office.”
I gasped. “What?”
“Sheriff already knew about my prior last name. He said he’ll put in a good word for me. They won’t hold my millions against me as long as the paparazzi thing dies down, which I’m sure it will. I’m kinda boring now.”
I barked out a laugh, speechless that he’d done all the things I’d asked of him before. He was leading with honesty and I would too.
“All that honesty is sexy as hell, Lieutenant
.” I lifted my head and grazed my lips across his. I needed him kissing me in the next half a second or I might just have to put him in a headlock.
Music came on suddenly, startling the hell out of me. Wyatt chuckled as my head spun around, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. It was an upbeat song I’d always loved, Someone To You by BANNERS.
“Hold that thought, sweetheart,” he mumbled, putting me down.
The lights flipped on and people jumped out from behind every surface, shouting “surprise!” Betty, in her usual sweater set, pulled a ribbon and a banner unfolded from the ceiling over her desk.
Get Well, Oakley
Charles walked out of the break room with a cake in the shape of a cast. These knuckleheads were throwing me a party for getting my ass shot.
A smile split my face, even as I gripped Wyatt at the surprise of seeing every deputy I worked with clapping me on the back and pulling me into hugs. Sheriff eventually pushed a deputy out of the way and grabbed me by the arms.
“Just a little party to let you know we’re thinking of you, Lee. You better get well quick because I can’t stand any more of your pathetic voicemails asking for a desk job.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he pulled me into a rough hug before the words could form. And then I was being pulled away by Wyatt, who brought me back to the center of the room, careful to give me time to limp there in that stupid boot.
The music kept playing, but everyone settled down. Wyatt held my hand, a glint in his eye that made my stomach clench. He got down on one knee and my eyes went round. The whole department went up in shouts. Wyatt turned to everyone and shushed them before turning back to me.
“It’s not what you think.” He winked and I couldn’t stop the nervous giggles. Highly unprofessional of me, but my body wasn’t cooperating with the serious protocol that had been engrained in me. “I want to promise you in front of all our coworkers that I will make you my priority for the rest of our lives. I won’t hide how I feel about you ever again. This promise ring is a symbol of that.” He slid a plain gold band out of his pocket and onto my finger. “And one day soon, when you’re ready, I’ll replace that one with a proper engagement ring.”
I thought I might have somehow drunk a bottle of champagne without remembering. My head was about to float right off my body. The cool metal ring felt foreign on my finger. Foreign, but a welcome change. I knew he’d paid for it out of his pocket when he could have just dipped into his trust fund and bought a damn yacht and named it after me. The little circle of gold meant more to me than all the European vacations in the world.
“Stand up, Lieutenant,” I barked in my best drill sergeant voice, knowing this would be the most important answer in all my life.
Wyatt swallowed hard and stood.
I gazed up at him then, memorizing the moment, the sounds of the party fading away as I looked at the man who loved me enough to be his true self in front of everyone and, most importantly, me. I could only give him the same gift of honesty in return.
There wasn’t much thought, only a heartfelt need to be closer to him when I jumped right into his startled arms. He caught me like I knew he would. My legs wrapped around his waist and I ran my fingers through his hair to press my lips to his. His scent surrounded me and I knew I’d found my home in his arms. The place erupted around us, but I couldn’t have cared less. My tongue swept inside, claiming this man lewdly and graphically in front of my boss and coworkers and anyone else who looked our way.
Because I’d learned something important: loving someone—and showing it—didn’t make you weak. Only refusing to acknowledge that love made one weak. Wyatt would always be my someone, the partner who made us an unbeatable team. The one who mattered to me most…past, present, and future.
29
Oakley
* * *
“Let me look at this gorgeous calf.”
Wyatt held up my leg in his strong yet gentle hands, examining my wound now that they had given me the all clear to quit wearing the boot. The flesh was closed and mostly smooth, with just a hint of pink to show I was still healing.
His head dipped and his lips skated across my calf, caressing my skin like the kiss alone could heal a gunshot wound. My leg felt fine actually, but I’d take all the kisses anyway. It had been a whole week of Wyatt and me being back together. He’d had to go back to work while he waited for the transfer to another county and I recuperated, but every second outside of work, we’d spent together. Usually naked.
His lips trailed up to my knee and then the inside of my thigh. He kissed me through the cotton barrier of my panties, causing the breath I was holding to hiss out between my teeth.
“Got a lot of clothes on, Lieutenant,” I gritted out.
He was still in full uniform, having just gotten off of work. He’d come through the front door and promptly stripped me of my clothes, except for my panties, his blue eyes simmering in that look he got every time his gaze swung my way. I was addicted to it. To him. To what his body did to mine when we were alone.
“I got a call about a bad girl…?” he asked, eyes dancing as he stroked his fingertips across my abdomen.
I pointed at my chest, feeling light as a feather teasing each other. Life had gotten far less serious with Wyatt around. “Who, me? You must be wrong, officer. I’m a good girl.”
“Good girls are actually naughty girls who just haven’t been caught,” Wyatt practically growled at me. He pulled his handcuffs off his belt and snapped one on my wrist before I could ask about where they’d been prior to this interesting role-play scenario. Other than the academy, I’d never been the one in the cuffs.
“And since I know you’re still pretending to be a good girl, you’ll be happy to know that’s a brand-new pair of handcuffs,” he added wryly.
I rolled my lips in to keep from laughing. He knew me too well. Proper sanitation was important with a job like ours. So sue me. Wyatt backed away and started unbuttoning his shirt. It opened an inch at a time to reveal his rock-hard chest and abs. He unclasped his duty belt and set it aside. Then the shirt came all the way off. Next up, shoes and socks were tossed across the room. He stilled, and I realized I’d been biting my lip in anticipation.
“See something you like, Captain?” he asked, voice just above a guttural whisper.
I nodded, motioning with my hand for him to continue. The handcuffs clanked, and I looked forward to what he’d do with the other end once he was fully undressed. His hand stilled on the button of his pants, drawing out the anticipation. But this wasn’t Thunder Down Under, and I could actually touch the dancers. I sat up and smacked his ass, prompting him to grab me, flip me over onto my stomach, and drop me back on the bed face-first. He got my hands behind my back in a flash, clamping the other handcuff on my wrist, and expertly subduing me.
Any other scenario and that alpha move would have pissed me off, but here, in the bedroom? Hell. Yes. I was here for it.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he crooned. “Guess that bad girl showed up after all.”
I twisted my face in the comforter to see him strip off the pants, his cock bobbing free. Just the sight of it, knowing what it could do to me—had done to me—had me squirming on the bed. Wyatt fisted his length and gave it a good tug before sauntering back over. The man was too gorgeous for his own good. If David was the epitome of male perfection in the Renaissance, Wyatt was the twenty-first-century version of the male ideal.
He reached over me, his body just barely grazing my backside, to brush the hair out of my face. “I love your hair down.”
“I left it down just for you,” I whispered back.
“Mmm. I love when the good girl and the bad girl come out to play.” His finger traced a line down my spine, over my ass, and between my legs. I jumped and trembled, already wet for him. When he felt how ready I was, he smiled smugly and grabbed beneath my hips with both hands. He tugged, and I found myself on my feet, my upper body and face still jammed into the bedspread.
Wyatt nudged my feet apart, like he intended to frisk me. His dick must be doing the exploring though as I felt him stroke the head up and down my crack. He notched himself at my opening, halting there and not letting me move by a strong hand at my hip.
“I want you to ride me, Captain,” he ordered.
And took his hands off me entirely. I groaned, wanting him to push forward and fill me, but realizing even cuffed, he empowered me to do the fucking. So I did, pushing my hips back onto his length, impaling myself. I groaned as I stretched around him and so did he, though he sounded like he was in pain. Without the use of my hands, my movements were slow and jerky, pulling away and then pushing back, creating an agonizing glide I wanted to last all day.
Eventually, he reached down and grabbed my bound wrists, pulling forcefully with a grunt, skewering me on his dick. Wyatt took over setting the pace, his cock ramming inside me as the bed groaned. Flesh slapped together and I could have come with just a few more minutes of his current pace. Instead, he reached around with one hand and found my clit, circling and strumming until my legs began to quake.
My eyes squeezed shut and my core tightened almost painfully. Everything exploded into a million points of pleasure coating my skin and seeping through my bloodstream. The bedspread caught my screams even as Wyatt kept going, giving me no rest, no ease from the onslaught. A few seconds later he roared behind me, emptying himself in me and collapsing on my back in a hot, sweaty mess.
Eventually, he brushed the hair out of my face again to whisper, “I’m going to miss riding with you.”
I knew what he meant. Work wouldn’t be the same without him, but we both knew it was the right thing to do. We’d never be able to give the job full concentration if the other was near.
“I may ride solo at work again, but I’ll never ride solo at night with you here.”
At my promise, Wyatt peppered kisses down my back, slowly pulling out of me and grabbing the key to let me out of the cuffs. He rubbed my wrists and pulled me up against him in bed to cuddle, his fingertips finding patches of my bare skin to skim across.
