Some Like It in Handcuffs

by Warner, Christine

  “I was never forced into helping you. I wanted to.”

  With Sunny still in his arms he stepped toward the table, pulled out a chair, and tugged her into his lap.

  They were face to face, only a nose apart.

  He cupped one of her cheeks in his palm.

  She pressed into it, never taking her eyes from his face.

  “Before this goes any further, I have something for you.”

  Judson slipped his free hand into the front of his jacket and pulled out a box.

  ****

  Sunny followed his hand. It reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a long red velvet box. She glanced at the box, then him. Her lips trembled when she reached out to touch his hand, her fingers curling over the rectangular box. A shudder ran up her arm.

  When she revealed the golden heart pendant and necklace glimmering inside she gasped. She blinked several times to clear the tears from her eyes.

  “Jud…Judson, how—when did you find this?” She looked at the necklace again and ran her fingers over the smooth heart pendant. Relief ran through her, she’d never expected to see it again. Judson not only had it repaired, but he added another pendant to the chain. The second one was two hearts intertwined together.

  “I watched how you played with it whenever you were nervous, upset or scared. I knew it was important to you. Hell, I was downright jealous of it sometimes.” He chuckled. “After things calmed down I went back to the store and searched for it.”

  “You have no idea what this means to me.” A tear trickled down her cheek and she brushed it away with trembling fingers.

  “Tell me.”

  Sunny pulled the necklace from the gift box as if it were the most expensive jewel in the world, draping it across her thigh her fingers glided over it lovingly. “This was a very special gift given to me from my mom.” She twisted the gold heart between her finger and thumb. “The weekend before she was killed in a car accident we went out for a KGW.” A broken chuckle escaped from her lips.

  “KGW?”

  “Kennedy girls weekend.” Another tear rolled down her cheek and Judson wiped it away with his thumb. “Since we were the only girls in the house, we’d get away at least once a month and go out to a movie, shopping, lunch. Sometimes we’d splurge getting our nails and hair done. Girly things.” She felt her skin heat. “That last weekend mom bought us matching necklaces. She’s buried with hers.” Sunny’s voice thickened. She looked into Judson’s eyes and noticed they were watery as well.

  Judson moved his lips against hers in a soft kiss. “I’m glad I found it. How old were you when your mom died?”

  “Eight. Paxton’s old Chevy broke down on the side of the highway for about the millionth time. Mom headed out to give him a jump. She pulled off the shoulder, got out to get the cables from the trunk, and a group of rowdy kids lost control of their car and hit the side of her car. The impact threw her off the road.” Tears stuck on the ends of her lashes and again he brushed them away with his thumb. “She was killed instantly.”

  “I’m sorry, babe.” Judson pressed his lips to hers in a light caress.

  “Me too.” Her voice trembled.

  “I love you.”

  She felt his words and how much he meant them by his touch, his caress, his hug.

  “Thank you for finding my necklace…and for loving me, Judson.”

  “My pleasure.” Judson held her tight, his gaze caressed over her face and butterflies took flight in her stomach to release throughout her body in tiny spasms of excitement. She pulled his face down toward her for a kiss. It didn’t seem possible she’d ever get enough of him.

  They sighed in unison as heat flared between them. Their soft kiss grew in force and Sunny pressed into him, not caring that her shoulder ached as it squeezed against his firm body. She missed him and needed to feel him. His quick intake of breath assured her he was there and she wasn’t dreaming.

  Sunny balled her fist into the hair at the nape of his neck and he groaned into her mouth, thrusting his tongue farther inside. Her body tingled, heat burned across her flesh. When they pulled apart, their breathing was shaky.

  “How about we get out of here?” Judson’s breath tickled her ear.

  She grinned. “I say what took you so long to ask.”

  Judson bent to pick Sunny up, cradling her in his arms as he strolled through the door. They made their way down the corridor, eyes only for each other.

  As soon as they emerged into the stark white room that housed the detectives, which was suddenly full to capacity, they were greeted with several shouts, whistles and clapping.

  Placed on solid ground, Sunny yelled out. “This is for all you hard working guys.” She blew them all a kiss before turning to face Judson. “And this is for you,” she whispered, pulling his head toward hers.

  A word about the author...

  Christine Warner lives in rural Michigan with her husband. She has three terrific children and an assortment of much-loved four-legged pets that follow her every move.

  Christine loves to read, cook, laugh, and spend time with her family. Her love of reading has always fueled her desire to want to write her own stories. Stories filled with scrumptious heroes and sassy heroines. She finds inspiration in everyday activities and enjoys traveling with her husband because of his ability to make her laugh after hours trapped in a car, where he has a hard time deviating from his travel itinerary.

  She’s enjoying her challenge of learning the craft of writing, creating characters, and sharing her stories.

  Come visit her at

  christine-warner.com.

  She loves to hear from readers and share ideas.