He tipped her chin up with a thumb and kissed her gently without preamble. His slow, gentle approach was appreciated as she wrapped her mind around the notion that she was being kissed by a man after just kissing his business partner. It all felt surreal but wonderful as he melded his lips to hers. She parted her lips when his tongue lightly flicked against them, and Summer slid her hands along his solid back muscles as he took the kiss slightly deeper, stroking her tongue with his. He tasted minty, but definitely different from Ace. She could imagine going to him after a hard day and letting him hold her and kiss her like this. His embrace was comforting and solid and felt so right.
Finally he released her lips and murmured, “That was every bit as sweet as I knew it would be.” He smooched her again and then groaned softly. “If I stay here I’m not going to get anything else done today. Can I have some more of those after we get done?”
“Yes,” she replied in a shaky voice. That, and much more, handsome man.
Kemp chuckled at her monosyllabic response and said, “I’ll get started outside.” He kissed her nose, released her, and returned to work. Summer watched his ass appreciatively as he walked away. Kemp was clad in jeans and a tucked-in button-down shirt, and Summer had to admit he looked just as good dressed casually as he did in a suit.
She turned to find Ace watching her with bedroom eyes, and she knew she was a goner for these two men and quietly asked, “Have you ever done this sort of thing before?”
“The two of us? No. I have with someone else, but it was a very casual thing.”
“You mean a ménage a trois?”
“Yes. A friend and I dated a girl and shared her a few times. It was fun experimenting, but we knew it was temporary. What about you?”
Summer looked away from him and felt her cheeks warm up again. What would he think of her if she answered honestly?
“Yes. In college. A boyfriend and another friend.”
Ace must have seen her hesitation and asked, “Was it not what you expected?” She paused, and he added, “You can talk about it if you want, kitten. I think it’s fine that you experimented while you were in college. I wouldn’t judge you for that any more than I would expect you to judge me.”
Summer bit her bottom lip then said, “It was something my boyfriend wanted to try. I’d read a few erotic romances by that point and wanted to try it, too. We didn’t really know what we were doing, I guess. It…just wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. Could we maybe talk about this when we’re totally alone?”
Ace grinned at her. “Of course, kitten. I’ll want all the details later.”
Oh hell. She shouldn’t have told him anything. Now she’d have to tell him the whole humiliating story.
Showing his intuitive side again, Ace said, “Don’t worry, kitten. I just want to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. I’m going to work now. We’ll try to stay out of your way and work around you. And don’t forget to call the sheriff.”
Summer smiled, thinking this was going to be one interesting day, especially if Ace and Kemp were inside when there were customers filling the store.
With her body still tingling, she returned to her desk chair and picked up her phone. She entered the number, and a few seconds later the man himself answered.
* * * *
Kemp adjusted the wall bracket on the surveillance camera that he’d just installed in the large main room of the boutique. He was currently up a twelve-foot ladder near the vaulted ceiling. Ace was on the back porch replacing the old doorknob and installing a new deadbolt lock.
Hushed conversations were going on at the sales counter and near the jewelry counter as both Summer and Teresa helped customers. Twice, Summer had looked up and caught him as he watched her move around the shop. She’d smiled at him both times and had even blown a kiss to him. Knowing how those lips felt against his had him wishing for another chance to be alone with her.
Summer was just finishing with a customer at the register when a man wearing a county law enforcement uniform walked in. Kemp watched the tall, rather young-looking man as he slipped his sunglasses off and removed his cowboy hat. He nodded and smiled to Summer and the other ladies. The man noticed the ladder and looked upward until he made eye contact with Kemp. Noting the surveillance camera in his hand, the uniformed officer nodded in apparent satisfaction.
The young man’s face looked vaguely familiar. Northup. His name was Northup, and he’d been a Tarkett County Sheriff’s deputy when Kemp had worked his end of the Reese McCoy case for Eli Wolf. Nice enough guy. Polite and efficient when he’d spoken with him.
Summer held out her hand to shake his. “Sheriff Northup. Thank you for coming by in person. You could’ve sent a deputy to take my report. I didn’t mean to make you come down here yourself.”
Kemp listened to the conversation with idle curiosity as he worked. Or perhaps not so idle, as he noticed the way Northup eyed Summer. Summer’s cheeks were rosier than usual as she said, “Why don’t you come with me to the office and I can give you my statement there?”
Kemp thought he saw more than just detached interest on the sheriff’s face. The look in his eyes as he glanced up at Kemp verified it. Northup was there because he wanted to be there.
Kemp installed the camera, consulted his checklist, and moved to the installation of the camera over the staircase landing pointing toward the back door. Installing that one put Kemp in closer proximity to the office door so he could hear some of what was being said. He just wanted to watch over Summer. He wasn’t in the hallway because he was jealous.
Summer gave Northup a basic rundown of what had happened, sharing the same set of facts with him that she had with them earlier. She laughed at something he said when she was finished, and then Kemp had to strain to hear the Sheriff’s softly spoken words. Summer’s reply was equally hard to hear, and Kemp wanted to growl in frustration. Ace had already moved on from replacing the locks on the back door, so he was not there to hear what was being said to Summer, either.
Northup’s words were indistinguishable, but his tone of voice was easy enough to discern. Kemp checked his watch and climbed down from the ladder after making sure the camera was installed securely and racked his brain as he strode the few steps to her office doorway and knocked on the jamb.
Think, think!
“Darlin’, I need to make a run to the hardware store. I’m going to get lunch for us as well. Would you like me to pick something up for you, too?”
She glanced at the clock, which read ten thirty, and said, “No, but thank you, Kemp. I brought my lunch with me this morning.” It was a little early for lunch but the best excuse he’d been able to come up with.
“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes. You sure you don’t want anything?” He leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth. Summer’s eyebrows drew together in the briefest of frowns as Northup’s gaze turned to him, and Kemp had a momentary sense of impending doom.
What did I just do?
She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her expressive eyes and said, “Will you bring me back an iced coffee, dumplin’?” She placed slight emphasis on the endearment, and Kemp felt like she’d just called him a dickhead.
Fucked up good this time, dude.
The sheriff broke the awkward silence with a congenial tone. “Well, Summer. I appreciate you giving it some thought, anyway. You let me know if you need anything at all, okay?”
Summer turned her gaze to the sheriff after giving Kemp a silent look that dared him to spend another second in her office in an attempt to wait for the sheriff to leave first. It was official. His ass was grass. Kemp went in search of Ace to let him know he was leaving.
He found Ace on the front porch, caulking around a wall-mounted camera bracket.
“I think I need to get out of Summer’s hair for a little bit. I’m going to the hardware store and then picking us up some lunch.”
“What happened?” Ace said, the barest hint of amusement showing in his ey
es.
“Let’s just say the kitten may want to lay her claws into my hide. I’m going to give her a chance to finish with the sheriff and cool down a bit. I won’t be gone long.”
The sheriff was still inside as Kemp backed out of the parking spot and drove into Morehead. He couldn’t believe he’d pulled that stupid-ass move without thinking it over more thoroughly.
He’d felt territorial when Northup had followed her into the back of the shop as comfortably as though he’d done it before. Of course he had. They’d had trouble recently, and he no doubt had been in to take her statement previously.
Kemp hadn’t enjoyed the jealousy that had prompted him to act without thinking. That was unlike him. Earlier that morning, Summer had him laughing and smiling, which had honestly felt a little weird to him. He’d even caught a funny look from Ace over it. Being around Summer made him feel…warm, as ridiculous as that sounded. Her bubbly personality made him feel less stiff and serious. She made him want to have a little fun. It was sad that it felt foreign to him to want that. Maybe he’d been on a crusade to right wrongs so long that he no longer knew how it felt to relax.
Kemp had never been big on outward displays of emotion. The seriousness of their job at times demanded that from him.
Very often they dealt with the underbelly of society, and the need to be serious was also bred into Kemp by his background. An abusive father who gave him the back of his hand at the first sign of weakness or defiance had also ingrained his naturally stoic countenance in him. It had paid to learn to hide his feelings and always maintain control.
He knew what he’d done the moment he’d pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth. Laying it on her like that without her permission was nothing short of marking his territory for the other man’s benefit.
She had every right to be pissed off at him. That kiss hadn’t been for her benefit, but for his. Solely for his own pride’s sake.
He picked up what he needed, got them a takeout lunch and her iced coffee, with extra sweetener and creamer on the side. He figured she could make it just the way she wanted it and hopefully be a little pleased with him for making the effort. He hurried back to the shop, knowing an apology was in order.
Ace met him on the porch. “I don’t know what you did, man, but she is pissed. I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”
“Hell. Did she tell you what I did?”
“No. Not much anyway. She has a store full of customers right now,” he said, indicating the full parking lot. “She told me she doesn’t want to talk to you. At all.”
“Shit.”
Ace chuckled and said, “She’s got some spirit. Little sparks were practically shooting from her pretty hazel eyes.”
With a disappointed but resigned sigh Kemp said, “I’ll give her some time.” He handed Ace her iced coffee to give to her.
“Yeah, why don’t you work out here and I’ll finish inside for today. Give her a chance to cool off and think it over. She’s not the unforgiving type.” With a grin, Ace added, “Maybe I can put in a good word for you. What happened?”
Kemp told him, and Ace groaned, shaking his head. “That’s not like you, Kemp. Not thinking things through.”
“I know. She’s got me all wound up. I was jealous. You should’ve seen the way that guy was looking at her.”
Ace went inside to deliver her beverage and finish the camera install and the other items on Kemp’s checklist. Summer’s little boutique was evidently very popular with the local women. Over the course of the next few hours, customers came and went until the number of cars in the parking lot steadily dwindled to none.
Kemp finished his work as the sun slipped behind the tall trees in the wooded area beside the shop. While he’d been upstairs he’d noticed that several different kinds of wildflowers graced the overgrown landscape next door. A privacy fence ran the full length of the property on that side of the shop, but the area near the road wasn’t fenced off, so he decided to get creative in his “sucking up.” He picked her a huge bouquet of wildflowers and assorted colorful greenery.
Rachel Wolf turned the sign on the door and rehung it with the “Closed” side visible. She grinned at Kemp as she walked to the steps and said, “Flowers. Nice touch. Good luck, Whittie. She’s pretty pissed.”
Kemp smiled at Rachel’s use of the nickname she’d dubbed him with over the last couple of years. Through Eli she’d discovered the vengeance he’d taken on her behalf with Reese McCoy.
The man had hurt Rachel and abused her trust before dumping her when she was barely out on her own, going to college. After helping Ace find the guy, they’d let Eli have a little revenge, and then Kemp had taken it upon himself to fit the guy with custom-tailored duct tape underwear. Sick bastards like McCoy walked around free while the victims they tallied up suffered the repercussions for years. It fueled Kemp’s passion to help people feel safe and secure, and it felt good to deal out a little retribution on occasion.
Rachel patted his shoulder and said, “Summer is very forgiving, but get ready to ‘get your grovel on.’ She said she was coming out to talk to you in a few minutes.”
Rachel leaned forward and kissed his cheek then went on her way. At first, Kemp had been reluctant for Ace’s friends to know of his involvement in their cases. He preferred to stay in the background while Ace, social butterfly that he was, became a part of their little group. When Rachel had found out about his revenge on McCoy, she’d singlehandedly pulled him into the group whether he liked it or not. He tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.
That’s how Summer found him, smiling like an idiot as he sat on the top step fiddling with the bouquet of flowers. He schooled his grin quickly and looked up at her in apology as she sauntered out onto the porch. With rosy color high in her cheeks and determination in her eyes, she was some kind of gorgeous.
Even though she’d had the hell scared out of her earlier in the day, she still looked ready to take on the world. Her skirt fluttered daintily around her knees as she moved, and he salivated at the way her matching top skimmed her hips and torso.
He wished that he’d had something to wrap the flower stems with as he held out the big bouquet to her. Surely she couldn’t stay mad at him long holding the flowers he’d picked in her hands. She looked at them and held the flowers to her face, sniffing, then patted some of the flowers gently before turning her eyes back to him. Nope. It was obvious from her serious expression that he had more work to do.
His hands itched to hold her close. He could imagine sliding his hands up from her hips to her smooth abdomen then cupping the undersides of her lush breasts. He stifled a groan as his dick hardened in need. His gaze slid over her satiny cleavage to her delicate collarbone and throat. Her chin was set implacably, and she frowned at him. Her eyes spoke volumes, and he knew Rachel was right. It was time to “get his grovel on.”
“I’m sorry. I know I’m an ass. I—”
“Let’s talk about me for a minute, Kemp.” Her voice was low and calm, but he detected a tremble to it. The note of fragility made his heart sick that he’d already done something to hurt her feelings. “I’m not a piece of territory you can mark, like a tomcat pissing on a tire.”
That imagery hurt, but she hit the nail on the head with it. “I’m so sorry.”
“I never gave you permission to act like I was yours.”
“You’re right.”
“I don’t even know where this relationship is going and already you’re getting territorial. You haven’t made a single move to indicate what you want, but you’re already warning men away from me.”
By this point she was standing in front of him, her slim, high-heeled feet and ankles within easy reach. He brushed the fingertips of one hand over her instep and wrapped his hand around her ankle. He smiled up at her when she gasped but didn’t move out of his reach.
“I want you, Summer. That’s all I need to know or can express right now. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.”
His cock sti
ffened further as she bit her full lower lip. He slid his hand slowly up the back of her calf and felt a telltale tremble in the muscle.
“Did he ask you out?” His voice felt gravelly in his throat.
“Y–Yes. He asked me out a couple of days ago, and last week, too. I’m not attracted to him.”
A slow smile crossed his face at her admission. “A pretty boy like him? I would think most women would go for the model-type good looks he has.”
“I’m not attracted to young, pretty-boy types. He’s very nice, but he’s not the type of man I want.” She crossed her arms and then dropped them, evidently noting that the action pressed her breasts up into her neckline. He suppressed a chuckle that she was making him “work for it.”
“What type of man do you want?”
Summer’s cheeks flushed as his fingertips stroked up her silky flesh to the indentation at the back of her knee. He longed to let his hand slide farther north until he reached the hot, slick heat at the apex of her thighs. His mouth watered at the thought.
“I prefer taller, more solidly built men. But you know what I like even more?”
“What?” he asked as he rose from the step so he could look her in the eye, regretting that he had to remove his hand to do so. He made up for the loss of contact by standing close to her.
Sparks ignited in her eyes. “A man who trusts me.” Then she balled up her little fist and punched him in the stomach. He grunted at the impact, impressed that her little clout had as much strength as it did. “If you’d eavesdropped a little longer you would’ve heard me turn him down.” Her chin jutted a little in irritation, and she looked just like an adorable little kitten with her back up and claws out.
Kemp grasped her upper arms and pulled her to him. He wanted to growl in satisfaction as her breasts pillowed against his chest and her scent filled his nostrils, fueling the lust he battled with. He meant to apologize again and ask her permission before he kissed her, but all his good intentions flew out the window when her lips parted to say something and a moan came out instead. That small sound spoke volumes.
Rainier, Heather - Summer's Indiscretion [Divine Creek Ranch 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
