“I guess that depends on how well they clean up the kitchen.”
Four hopeful sets of eyes looked at Kayne for a response. Apparently they expected him to help.
Kayne was looking for a tactful way out of spending any more time with the kids when he heard his call sign among the relentless chatter coming across the police scanner sitting atop a kitchen cabinet. “Eleven-three-eight, copy traffic.”
Saved by the dispatcher.
Jessica gave him a knowing smile as she stood. She stretched up on tip-toes to turn down the scanner, giving him a peek of creamy white skin just above her waistband when her shirt lifted up. With the scanner turned down, he could respond on his portable radio without feedback. He learned the call was a disabled semi-tractor-trailer blocking the highway.
Kayne rose to leave. “Sorry, kiddos, you’re on your own this time.” As if there’s going to be a next time, Dobrescu?
“Kiss, kiss, kiss!” Gracie struggled desperately to climb out of her high chair to reach him.
Kayne eyed the syrup-covered cherub. “You sit still, and I'll hug you.”
She nodded once, tilted her head toward him, and puckered her little lips. Kayne felt as though his heart was being squeezed by a giant fist. He hugged the little girl from behind, bombarded by the smell of baby-shampoo and innocence. His throat was tight with emotion when he whispered, “Be good for Mama, baby.” They were the last words he'd ever said to his own children.
He brushed his lips across Isabelle's downy head. “You too, sweetheart.”
Maddy jumped up and gave him a hug, and he bumped fists with Ash, before he tossed a quick goodbye to Jessica. Then he got the fuck out of there before he truly embarrassed himself by breaking down and bawling like a baby.
He missed his children more in that moment than he had since the day he’d watched their bodies lowered into the ground next to their murdering bitch of a mother.
THREE
Jess and the kids spent several hours at the library before tackling other errands. It had been a week since they'd seen Kayne, and the kids couldn't quit talking about him. He'd certainly made a positive impression on them, and on her. He struck her as the last person who'd be comfortable in the kitchen or around children, and yet he'd seemed like a natural. Not that any of it should matter.
Her cell phone rang as she pulled out of the library parking lot. She recognized the ring tone—Del St. Phillips. Del and his wife, Polly, were as close to parents as Jess had. She'd been raised by a step-father and his apathetic wife after her mother died when she was eleven. They’d uprooted her halfway through her senior year, moving her to Chicago. The moment they'd been legally able to sever ties, they had. She'd come home to Payson and Polly, her mother's lifelong friend. And while she didn’t call them Mom and Dad, her children called them Grandma and Grandpa, and that suited everyone just fine, especially Polly, who'd never been able to have children of her own. Something Jess and Polly had in common.
“Hey, Del, what’s up?” As if she didn’t know.
“Just wanted to remind you it's the first Sunday of April tomorrow, Jess.” Each month after church service, a group of friends held a potluck picnic at some designated location. While Jess no longer attended church, she still took the kids to the potluck.
“I know there's only one reason you called to remind me about the picnic—you're afraid you'll miss out on my chicken salad sandwiches.” She always made chicken salad sandwiches for the potlucks. The good kind, made from scratch with roasted chicken, celery, red onions, and seedless grapes in a mayonnaise base.
Del didn't deny the accusation. “It's at Green Valley Park this time, so the kids can sled on the amphitheater hill.”
Jess looked up at the cloud-covered sky. There'd still be snow on the ground tomorrow. Probably some fresh powder added to it. “Don't you work tomorrow?”
“I should be there by two. Save me a couple extra sandwiches. I'm bringing a friend.”
“Ha! I knew it.” Jess bid him goodbye and turned into the grocery store parking lot. Once she'd parked, she added celery to the list of items she was already getting.
“Right behind you,” a familiar voice warned just as Jess turned to open the back door to unbuckle Grace.
Kayne. Jessica felt her nipples pucker and goosebumps race across her skin, but was pretty sure her body’s reaction wasn’t from the cold weather.
“Are you stalking me?” God, he was so ruggedly handsome. All planes and angles and muscle—there was no softness about him. Except when laughed or smiled, like he had last Saturday with the kids.
“I was about to ask you the same thing. You pulled in right behind me.” He smiled. Yep, that was it, right there, and it had been directed toward her.
“Kayne, Kayne, Kayne!” Gracie shouted, uselessly struggling to get out of her car seat.
“Hey, squirt, quit giving your mama such a hard time.” He laughed, and took the squirming bundle who was still chanting his name, even once she'd been freed from her car seat.
Grace threw her arms around his neck and gave him a slobbery, toddler kiss right on the lips.
Kayne gave her a bemused smile. “Hey, sprite, what was that for?”
Gracie giggled and buried her head in the crook of his neck, suddenly shy. Jess took Isabelle's hand once Maddy and Ash were out. With the doors locked, they started walking down the lane.
Kayne fell into step beside her. “So, shopping with the kids. Brave woman.”
“There's such a thin line between bravery and stupidity,” Ash replied. “At least that's what Mom says.”
“I also tell you to do your homework, pick up your room, and keep your feet off the furniture, but you can't seem to remember those,” Jess pointed out.
“Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you.” Ash laughed and ducked behind Kayne.
She expected Kayne to say something about not protecting him from his mother's wrath, but he simply took Ash's hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
Kayne asked with quiet concern, “Is she always this friendly with strangers?”
Jessica looked up and realized Gracie was just about asleep against his chest. “Here, let me take her.” Gracie was usually very shy around most people, but when Jessica tried to take her from Kayne’s arms, she started crying and clung to him. Jessica tried to not let it hurt her feelings, but it stung a little.
“I'll take her with me.” Kayne grinned. “I'm just getting stuff at the deli. I'll take Ash too, and we'll find you when we're done.”
Gracie had tucked herself into a little ball against Kayne's Kevlar-covered chest, her little fist over his heart, a sign she was content. Jessica knew nothing about Kayne other than he was a police officer, but he seemed like a decent guy, and Gracie, who trusted few, adored him. Besides Ash would be with him too, so she should be okay. The turmoil must have showed on her face.
“Look at me.” He ducked his head to make eye contact. “I would die before I let anything happen to them.”
Jess read the truth in his unwavering gaze and nodded.
***
Kayne should have left once he was done at the deli. Hell, he should have pretended like he'd never seen Jessica in the parking lot and steered clear of her and the kids. For a guy who believed that cuddling after sex implied too much of a commitment, he had no idea what he was doing here. Granted, he sure wouldn't mind having sex with her, but this whole domestic scene was too much.
And yet he stayed.
Kayne took a moment to study her. She was such a pretty little thing with her long curly hair, a dozen different shades of dark-blond. Her eyes were the color of aged whiskey; warm, sexy, and full of secrets. Every time she flashed that shy, dimpled smile his direction, he felt it all the way to his groin. He wanted to lean in and lick that little dimple and work his way down the rest of her body. Shit, he had himself half-aroused over a damned dimple.
Kayne turned his focus on the game Jessica was playing—I Spy with a twist. She'd give the kids c
lues, and the child who figured out what she was looking for got to put the item in the cart.
She was a good mom. Unlike Oksana. Her children not only loved her but respected her, and she them. Kayne knew he had no business here. He'd failed his family in the worst possible way and lost everything that had ever mattered. There was nothing he could offer this family. And sex, no matter how great, wouldn’t be worth hurting them. It was time to get the hell out of Dodge and forget about Jessica Hallstatt and her sexy little dimple.
***
Sunday morning dawned cloudy, but thankfully it had stopped snowing sometime during the night. Kayne studied the ceiling above the couch where he'd passed out again, trying to find the motivation to get up and go to work. Even with the alcohol, he'd had a restless night, his sleep interrupted by erotic dreams involving a whiskey-eyed beauty. Vivid dreams of caressing every square inch of Jessica’s luscious body with his hands and mouth. He'd suckled her breasts, tasted her honeyed core, and nibbled her sweet little clit until she came against his mouth, and then he'd covered her, surged into her, and lost himself in sheer ecstasy.
Kayne shoved down his boxer-briefs, fisted his throbbing cock, closed his eyes, and let the images wash over him. He could picture her above him, her firm breasts bouncing each time he rocked up into her. Her soft, silky hair would curtain them as her lips met his, their tongues mating in time with their bodies.
She'd touch herself, he decided. She'd play with her nipples, toying and teasing. Were they a sweet peach or a rosy berry, he wondered? He figured they were small and rosy, the color of her lips, slightly upturned like her pert little nose.
Kayne stroked his length from root to tip, letting his thumb brush across the sensitive head before stroking back down. In his mind, Jessica made sexy little kitten noises as she rode him, and he felt her body tremble with impending orgasm.
God, he was so close to the edge, but he fought it, wanting it to last, wanting to watch her orgasm first. And then she was whispering his name, a plea, a prayer, to make her come. Her hot core clenching tight, she sobbed his name. He shouted hers, and the waves dragged them under.
***
Jess woke with a gasp, her face instantly flaming hot as the images slowly faded. She'd never had an erotic dream in her life, but that one had been Technicolor vivid. She'd been skin to skin with Trooper Dobrescu, straddling him, her hands braced on his chest as he surged up into her again and again. Whispering hot, dirty words in her ear, encouraging her to touch herself, to touch him as his hands settled on her hips and guided her up and down his thick shaft, slowly withdrawing to the tip, only to plunge back into her. Stretching her, stroking her clit with each thrust, until she came.
Embarrassed by the dream and her body's uncharacteristic response, Jess shoved it to the back of her mind and climbed out of bed to start her day. Someone like Kayne would laugh if he knew she was having any dream about him, much less one of those. He was way out of her league, and she wasn't foolish enough to go down that road again.
FOUR
Kayne had just checked on duty when Del asked to meet before he headed south to his own district. Arriving first, Kayne pulled over into the empty parking lot behind the county complex. A moment later, Del pulled up alongside, facing the opposite direction so they were driver’s side window to driver’s side window. “I wanted to invite you for lunch, today.”
“Sure, where?” After last week’s blow up at the restaurant, he figured the other officer would avoid him. Since he was offering an olive branch, Kayne decided no matter how awkward he'd feel, he needed to mend some fences.
“Green Valley Park, by the amphitheater.”
Seemed like a strange place. “What time?”
“It starts at two, but we'll be there a while, so come by whenever you can.”
“What starts at two?”
“A group of us get together and have a picnic the first Sunday of every month, right after church.”
Kayne balked at the mention of church. “I'm not really the church-going type.” A hell of an understatement—he and God weren’t on speaking terms.
“Trust me, you aren't the only one. We'll feed you anyway.” Del didn’t give him a chance to argue further. “See you at two.” With that parting statement, he drove off. Rumor had it the man would give his own mother a speeding-ticket, yet he seemed a good sort. Certainly someone Kayne would want at his back in a fight.
When two o'clock rolled around, Kayne pulled into his driveway. He logged off duty with dispatch and went inside. Due to the snow, it had been a day full of traffic tickets and stranded motorists. He quickly stripped off his wet uniform, beyond glad his shift was over. He was very tempted to stay home, but one look around the quiet little house, with its sparse furniture and depressing atmosphere, made him realize he didn’t want to spend the afternoon alone. He quickly changed into a sweatshirt, jeans, and hiking boots. Grabbing a jacket and the keys to his truck, he headed out the door.
He knew where the park was, and finding the picnic wasn't a problem. There weren't many people out today, and those that had braved the cold were all under a central ramada. He realized immediately why they'd chosen the amphitheater—it doubled as a sledding hill for the kids. Several hiked up the side and sledded down the center.
“Hey, glad you could make it,” Del said, appearing next to Kayne as he stepped into the ramada. “Come, let me introduce you around.”
“Here are a few guys you might want to get to know.” Del introduced him to Officer Nick Astenbeck, and Detectives Trace St. Moritz and Rafe Chatham, all from the local police department, and two doctors, Mark Oberly and his partner, Stephanie Heywood.
“I'm actually a nurse practitioner and midwife,” Stephanie clarified before exchanging some ribald banter with one of the detectives about playing doctor.
The guy manning the grill introduced himself. “I'm Joe Sutton, fire-medic. I’m assuming you’ve met Buck Johnson,” Joe motioned to the man standing next to him. “Our illustrious Superior Court judge.”
Kayne nodded. “Nice to meet you.” He hadn’t had any cases adjudicated by the man yet, but he’d heard the guy was unwaveringly fair.
Judge Johnson gave him a genuine smile. “You too, son. Sorry I can’t stay and visit, but I’ve got a wife and sick granddaughter at home. My Evie insisted I bring the dishes she made for the picnic so they didn’t go to waste.” He patted his slightly rounded stomach. “Not that they would have, but I learned long ago never to argue with a woman.”
Joe pinned the judge with a look. “You know your wife sent you down here with the food hoping you’d stay out of her hair for a while.”
Judge Johnson gave a hearty chuckle. “You may be right. I’m gonna grab my phone out of the truck and give her a quick call. Save me a burger.”
Kayne tuned into the bantering conversation between the detective, Rafe, and the female doctor, Stephanie.
“...I'm amazed you even remember her, since you've slept with every available woman in town.”
Kayne had no idea who they were talking about.
“Not every one of them.” Rafe looked toward the sledding hill.
Rafe and Stephanie continued to argue, but Kayne's sights locked on the woman in a pink ski jacket and matching beanie walking towards him, the one Rafe watched with undisguised interest too—Jessica. Kayne tensed, his hands reflexively curling into fists at his side. He wanted to wipe the undisguised lust off the guy’s face. Oblivious to the attention, Jessica and Maddy trudged through the snow side by side, Jess holding Gracie and pulling Isabelle behind her on a sledding disc. Jess and Maddy appeared to be deep in conversation. Kayne didn't realize he'd been staring until she looked right at him and faltered in her step. She obviously hadn't known he'd been invited. After this morning, he felt more than a little embarrassed being here.
Jessica stopped in front of him but didn’t make eye contact. “You know there are anti-stalking laws in this state.”
“Stop picking on the boy. I
invited him,” Del scolded affectionately.
Kayne already felt awkward enough seeing her face-to-face after letting her star in this morning’s fantasy. By her comment, she was feeling uneasy too. “You know, I really should go. I have—”
“No, no! Stay!” Gracie launched herself at him without warning.
Kayne lunged forward and caught her before she could earn herself a trip to the emergency room.
Jessica frowned. “I was kidding.”
Yeah that made two of them, he thought even as he hugged the little daredevil close. He'd only known one other child who behaved like Gracie, but Natalia lay in a tiny white coffin, under six feet of earth.
“Pease? Pease!” Gracie pleaded with those big, blue eyes of hers. She reminded him so much of his daughter Natalia that his heart ached. Hell, Natalia had even pulled that dive bombing stunt a time or ten, and like the little imp in his arms, she'd been wholly unrepentant about it.
“Burgers and dogs are ready,” Joe announced.
“Grab a plate, dig in.” Del tried to take Gracie, who was determined to stay right where she was.
“I'll wait.” Kayne snuggled the little sprite closer, though he knew he'd regret it later. “Let's get the kids fed first.”
“Maddy, grab the wipes and get everyone's hands clean while I start filling plates.” Jessica walked off without waiting for a reply. Her tone left Kayne wondering if she was that unhappy with his being there.
Managing to extract himself from Gracie by distracting her with his keys, he stepped into line behind Jessica. “Let me help you.” When the alarm to his truck started beeping off and on, Kayne cringed. He was going to end up regretting handing her those keys.
“Thanks, but I've got it.”
He noted Jessica blushing, the way she wouldn't make eye contact. Had he done something to embarrass her? Something she knew about, he amended, thinking again of her debut role in his fantasy.
“Hey, the least I can do is be your slave,” he teased.
Razing Kayne Page 3
