by Tina Bass
“No, I’ve never met them. Don’t even know if they’re still alive,” she spoke matter-of-factly, with not even a hint of sadness. “I loved spending time with my mom and dad. My mom was so sweet and fun, and no matter what the day would bring, she would find ways to make even the most boring chores into a game. My dad was funny. He could tell the best jokes or just make a face that would have you busting out laughing. But, my favorite times were watching the two of them together, when they didn’t know I was watching. Then you knew they loved each other, so very much.” Krista took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, and Kade mentally prepared himself for whatever she had to say next. “I think…I think that’s what I miss most about them, seeing them, being together.” Her voice broke a little, and Kade held her a little tighter, then turned her so she could see his face. When their eyes met, he could see the pain in them.
“Baby, you have that, will always have that. Here…” He touched his forehead with the back of his hand. “Those memories, you’ll have for a lifetime.” He moved his hand to run down the side of her cheek. “And here.” He moved his hand to her heart. “That love they gave you, no matter what, nobody can take that away from you.” He gazed into her beautiful blue eyes as what he said sunk in. Then she smiled her big beautiful smile at him and his breath caught.
“Thank you,” she whispered so softly, he could barely hear her.
“Fuck,” he mumbled and then leaned in to kiss her. He only meant it to be a light, sweet kiss, but when his lips touched hers, he couldn’t hold himself back. At just the taste of her lips, he felt himself get hard again for her. He tilted his head and kissed her deeper. Then she turned in his arms and straddled him. He could feel the heat of her pressed against him. He kissed her cheek, across her jaw, down her neck, then, when he reached her breast, he licked her nipple and felt it harden under his tongue as he sucked it into his mouth. When he heard that sexy moan come from her, he slid his arms under hers, and carried her over to the counter, sitting her on top, him standing between her legs. He took her mouth again, kissing her long and deep. Cupping her breast in his hands, he squeezed and pinched her nipples between his fingers. When he released her mouth, lips still touching, he informed her he was going to try something new. “I gotta taste you, baby,” he growled into her mouth, then he dropped to his knees, spread her legs wider, and dipped his head to her.
“Oh. My. Goodness!” Krista gasped. She had never felt anything like what Kade was doing to her. He was kissing her, there! Right there! She could feel his tongue slide along her in long, slow licks. Then his tongue was inside of her. “Yes.” The word rushed out of her on a breath. Then, he moved, and he had her clit in his mouth, sucking deep while one of his fingers drove into her. “Yessss! Yesss!” she moaned the word, and then she couldn’t speak at all. When he added a second finger and did a twirl thingy, she threw her head back and moaned. Or screamed. She wasn’t sure which, but when she came back to herself, Kade was standing in front of her, looking down at her with a sexy grin on his face.
“You like that, baby?” he whispered, but all she could do was nod her head. She thought she nodded…her world was tilted a little, so she wasn’t quite sure. And that sexy grin of his got bigger. “Yeah, my baby liked that,” he stated rather proudly. Kade looked down at her and watched a big smile spread across those full sexy lips of her. He was hard as granite just from the taste of her, and those sexy as hell moans, but damn, when she’d screamed ‘Irish’ as she came, he thought he was going to lose it right then. “How are you doing, baby?” He had to ask because he still didn’t want to push her too hard or too fast. But, what he really wanted to do was slam into her and take her, right where she sat.
“Are you…I mean…” Krista found herself stuttering. “What about…” She looked down at his erection and then back up at him. “You’re not stopping, are you?” she whispered the last part, a blush on her face.
“Baby, gotta stop now. Don’t got another condom.” Damn it. Next time he came over, he was bringing a whole fuckin’ box with him, ‘cause this shit was not happening to them again.
“I’m…uh…on the pill. And, I’ve been…uh…checked for…you know…before,” she said, but with each word, her voice was getting lower and lower, until she finished on barely a whisper and she ducked her head.
“Baby, look at me.” He waited until her eyes met his before he finished speaking. “I’ve never, not one time, ever, had sex without a condom.” And, he wanted her to be his first. He knew as soon as those words left his mouth, he wanted her bare. Only her. But, before he could open his mouth to tell her this, he heard her.
“Oh. Oh, that’s okay then. I get it.” She dropped her head back down, staring at the floor, so he took the opportunity to explain.
“You didn’t let me finish, baby. I want you to be my first.” And my last, he thought, but he didn’t voice that out loud. Yet. He watched her head come back up, slowly, and looked into her wide eyes.
“You do?” She sounded amazed.
“Yeah, baby, if you are good with that?” Hell yeah, he wanted to shout!
“Yes.” She sighed happily, and that’s when he lost it. That one sexy sigh, and he could take no more. He slammed his mouth down on hers while one of his hands went straight back to cupping her, pressing his palm into her sex.
“You’re so wet,” he groaned against her lips as he slipped a finger into her and felt her hips tilt up to his hand. He pulled his finger back, grabbed himself, and positioned himself at her entrance. He wanted to take this slow. He wanted to savor every fuckin’ second of this with her. He tried. God help him, he tried. But, when his dick felt her draw him in, her taste still on his tongue, his hands on her ass holding her to him, he lost all control and slammed into her.
Krista gasped. She couldn’t speak. She could not have uttered a word if her life depended on it. Kade slammed into her and pumped hard, faster and faster, and as she could feel it coming, she was powerless to do anything but let go. When she did, she threw her head back and screamed her release. Then she felt him shooting into her, which caused her to come again, or it was the same orgasm that kept going and going and going. When she came down, she felt Kade’s arms wrap around her back, holding her to his chest, his cheek on the top of her head, him still inside of her. “Damn, baby, I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. She wrapped her legs around him and her arms around his chest.
“Don’t. Please. Don’t be sorry…you…me…just don’t be sorry,” she spoke into his chest. Did he regret being with her? Staying with her? Dang, she did practically throw herself at him, so who could blame him? He rose up, took a step back and she felt it when he slipped out of her. She looked up at him and wanted to say something, anything, to make him stay, but then he got there before her.
“Baby, I was rough with you. I lost control…” He sounded contrite.
“You lost control? With me?” Wow! She could do that? She could make a man like Kade lose control? Krista wanted to laugh and shout at the same time.
“Baby?” He had a puzzled look on his face.
“I…me…you lost control. Because of me?” She had to ask to make sure she understood what he was saying. Then she watched that sexy grin of his appear on his face.
“Damn Right!” he exclaimed.
“Wow.” She just breathed, then smiled. “I can do that? To you?” She stated it like a question, but it was said more as a statement of wonder.
“Yeah, baby, you can, but I didn’t want that for you. I didn’t want to be rough.” He looked at her searchingly.
“I liked it,” she mumbled, looking over his shoulder, a little embarrassed. He cupped her face, rubbing his thumb back and forth across her cheek.
“You’re okay then? I wasn’t too rough? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
He was worried that he had hurt her. Not that he didn’t want to be with her. Now sh
e understood. “Did you like it?” she asked, instead of answering him.
“Yeah!” he answered with a smile and then it fell away as he looked into her eyes. “I didn’t hurt you?” he asked again, never taking his eyes from hers.
“No, Irish. It was F-en phenomenal.” She smiled. That was when he wrapped her into him and busted out laughing.
“That’s my girl!”
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you sure you want grilled cheese and tomato soup?” Krista felt the need to ask again. Kade was sitting at her bar while she was fixing something to eat. He was a big man, and it seemed like he was the kind of guy who ate big meals.
“Baby, that’s fine,” he answered, glancing up from his phone and then back down at it again. After the bathroom, they’d gotten dressed, and Kade pulled out his phone and noticed he had a few texts. So, he was texting on his phone while she fixed them both something to eat. “Shit” he mumbled out loud. She looked over at him and if she thought the scary pissed look she’d seen on his face before was bad, the look he was giving his phone…well, let’s just say that if the phone disintegrated in the palm of his hand, she wouldn’t be surprised.
“Is something wrong?” She just had to ask him, but got no response. Krista walked around the bar and laid a hand on his arm. “Irish?” she called. He jumped, swiveled around in his chair so his back was to her, got up, and walked out the door. “What the heck?” she asked his empty chair. She was just finishing up the soup and sandwiches, when Kade walked back in. He seemed to look through her.
“I gotta go.” Was all the explanation Kade gave, and then he turned and walked out the door again.
“Irish, wait!” she called out to him as she went to the door he was already half out of.
“What?” he barked at her, still distracted.
“Is…uh…everything okay?” she asked him, knowing she sounded insecure, but she didn’t know how to ask if it was something about work, or her, or what the problem was, all of a sudden.
“No, Krista. Everything is not okay.” He shot back gruffly.
“Is it…uh…me? Did I do something wrong?” She forced out the words, sounding pitiful, and weak, and needy, and she hated it coming from her, but couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Believe it or not, Krista, not every damn thing is about you,” he impatiently replied. “Do you have any more questions, or can I fuckin’ go?” He finished.
Whatever his problem was, he didn’t have to be a jerk about it to her. “Yeah, Kade, you can go,” she stated as he walked the rest of the way out the door and to his truck. She followed behind him. “And, Lieutenant McKaden,” she yelled, waiting for him to turn back to her. “Don’t bother coming back!” She went back into her house, slammed the door and locked it. She walked over to the stove, grabbed his bowl of soup, and dumped it down the drain. Turning back to the stove, she grabbed his sandwiches, walked out the back door, and tossed them across the yard. “Eat well little critters.” Then she walked to the bar with her food and opened her laptop to work while she ate. And, never once did she answer her phone. Not one of the seven times that she heard it ring.
Kade was pacing in front of the Captain’s desk. “Come on, Cap, I was the one who did his transport. I listened to that sick son-of-a-bitch for a hundred fuckin’ miles, spew sick shit. I should be in on this.” He stopped pacing and looked at his Captain, waiting for the okay to jump in on this case.
“Son, thought you were ready for retirement?” Cap asked instead of answering Kade’s request. “But tell me, why is this a big deal for you? You never got this worked up over a prison escape before.” He stared at Kade, waiting.
“I told you, I did his trans.” And that was all Kade was willing to say at this time. He couldn’t explain it, not in words, but his gut was telling him something, and he just wasn’t quite sure what it was. Yet. But, in all his years, he knew he could, should, and did, trust his gut.
“Kade, you only got that transportation because Lee Velgada asked you to take it for him so he could be with Minga. I granted the request so he could be with his sick wife and you’re only on desk duty.” The Captain’s voice was as steady as ever as he informed Kade of something he already knew.
“I know this, sir, and it wasn’t a problem for me to take Velgada’s trans. I was glad I could do it for him. I know Minga, she’s real sweet. I’m glad to hear she’s doing good now,” Kade said into the empty space, still not trying to put into words what his gut was telling him.
“Yeah, she’ll be going home tomorrow. Think the wife is making something to take her after she’s home and settled. Maybe you should stop by.” Kade knew Cap was trying to change the subject, but he couldn’t let this drop.
“About this case—” Kade tried again, but Cap held up his hands.
“Not sure why you got the text in the first place, since you were already supposed to have been removed from that list, but since you got one, I’ll keep you updated. However, you will not be on this case. At least, not unless you want to postpone your retirement indefinitely,” Cap stated with finality and Kade knew there was no use saying anything more. When Captain Wells made a decision, there was no swaying him.
“Fine,” Kade spoke to Cap’s back as he was leaving the room. “For now,” Kade said to himself. He would keep on top of this case, without being on the case. He had to find out which officers were on this case now. That, he could do. But first, he had to call, or at least ‘try’ and call, Krista—again.
Chapter Fifteen
Krista sat on the hospital bed, then moved to sit in the chair, then paced the small room back and forth, back and forth. She repeated the process a few times, worried, confused, and still shaken up. After Kade left like he did, she’d tried to work and eat. Giving up on both, she went for a walk, just kind of wandering around, until she found herself in front of Mrs. Worley’s house. Thinking that spending a little time with her might help, she went to her door, knocked, and knocked again, then decided to peek in the window. She had seen Mrs. Worley lying on the floor. She tried the knob then, and, thankfully, the door was unlocked. She ran into the house, checked Mrs. Worley for a pulse, and finding one, she ran to the house phone and dialed 911.
That had been hours ago. Now, she was pacing around Mrs. Worley’s hospital room, waiting. Waiting on Mrs. Worley’s family to arrive, waiting on the doctors to finish running tests on her, just waiting…and pacing. Her mind kept jumping from one thing to the next. What was happening with Mrs. Worley? Why had Kade acted and spoken to her the way he had? Was Mrs. Worley going to be okay? Was Kade sorry he was ever with her? Was Mrs. Worley’s family going to get here in time if something bad happened? Should she call Kade to let him know what was going on? Krista had left her phone at home, but maybe she could call the station and someone there could get him a message. But, did he even want to hear from her at all? The way he’d just walked away, not even saying goodbye or telling her he would be back soon…or never. She’d told him not to come back, she remembered, as she dropped down in the chair. Then the door opened and she jumped back up just as a nurse walked in. “Are you Mrs. Worley’s family?” the nurse asked.
“No, not really family, but a good friend and neighbor. I rode in the ambulance with her.” Krista felt the need to explain.
“Well, the doctor sent me to let her family know they’re running more extensive tests and it will be about an hour before she’s brought back to her room, in case you’d like to go get something to eat, or take a walk, or something.” The nurse informed her, and she could see the indecision on Krista’s face. “If you give me your name, I can have you paged when she’s ready to be brought back to her room, so you can be here when she returns.” The nurse smiled, and took pity on her.
“That would be great,” Krista said with a small, worried smile. “My name is Krista Avery and her family is on the way, but
they don’t live close anymore, so it may be a while before they get here.” Krista was giving the nurse too much information, but she couldn’t seem to stop, and the nurse was taking notes as she spoke. She finally stopped writing and looked back up at Krista.
“Okay, Ms. Avery. I’ll have you paged just as soon as the doctors are done running their tests,” the nurse said and smiled at her again.
“Thank you,” Krista mumbled as the nurse turned and briskly walked out of the room.
Kade pulled out his phone and tried once more to call Krista, only to get the same voicemail, again! He could not believe what he’d done and how he’d spoken to her. He’d been a complete and utter dick. She didn’t deserve that…none of it! He’d lost it when he got the text informing all officers about Price’s escape. It hit him all of sudden what had happened to Krista, the shit that asshole Price spewed. Over and over it ran through his head, and all he could see was Krista at the hands of some sick bastard like Price, and his gut was telling him to stay on top of this. But, he didn’t have to be so hateful to Krista. She’d done nothing wrong, only tried to be there for him. Now, he didn’t even know if she wanted to see him again. She sure as hell didn’t want to talk to him, as he heard her voicemail again!! “Fuck!” He drew back and slammed his phone across the room, then watched it hit the wall and shatter as it bounced off into a million little pieces. “Fuck.” He repeated not as loudly, trying to get control of himself. And that was when Velgada sauntered into his office.
“Hey, Kade. Don’t your girl live out there on Beacon Street?”
“Yeah, but how did you know ‘bout her?” Kade wondered aloud. He wasn’t keeping Krista a secret, but he hadn’t really told anyone about her either.
“So that 911 call out her way wasn’t her then?” Velgada stared at Kade.
“What 911?” Kade was feeling a little confused, and a whole lot worried. Had something happened to Krista? Was she hurt?
