by Jen Talty
Not that she’d had a ton of men. Only a couple of long-term relationships, but none of them could ever call her bashful when it came to things that happened inside the bedroom.
Or other places for that matter.
“Wine? Upstairs?” The right side of his mouth lifted a little higher than the left. His brows twitched slightly, and his eyes grew wide.
A sudden pounding of her heart thumped in her chest. She pressed her hands on his shoulders with the intention of pushing away. Rejection wasn’t something she did well. Normally her sarcasm came out and that never ended well, especially when it came to Garret. “I was just kidding.”
“No, you weren’t,” he said with a gruff tone. “But if I had another drop of alcohol, I’d be asleep the second I lay down in your bed and that might not bode well for me.” He arched a brow. “Or you.”
She licked her lips as a warmth spread from under her skin, coating her body like soft lotion. “Yeah, I think I’d kind of like you awake.” His pectoral muscles twitched when she slipped her hand under his shirt, letting her fingers glide through his soft chest hairs. Pressing her lips against his neck, just under his earlobe, she let out an audible sigh.
“Keep doing that and we won’t make it to your bedroom.”
Before she could take another breath, he lowered his head, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He tasted like a hint of cinnamon on warm sourdough bread. His hard body pressed against hers in a promise of what was to come.
A wave of insecurity gripped her mind. She wasn’t sure if it came from the fact that it had been over a month since they had started hanging out. He’d kissed her quickly once, but it hadn’t been as blatantly sexual as the way he molded his hands and body with hers. His hesitancy made her question her sexuality.
Her desirability.
And now, in the moment, she worried she wouldn’t be enough to satisfy a man like Garret.
Swiftly, he unfastened her bra, drifting his large, callused hands to the underswell of her breasts, his thumbs fanning her tender skin just under her tight nipple.
She groaned from deep in her throat, letting it vibrate through her mouth, rattling her teeth. “Oh my,” she managed when he pinched and tugged at her nipples before lifting her shirt up over her head, tossing it to the side.
Standing in her kitchen, topless, she took a step back as his gaze roamed up and down, smearing her body with the sizzle of a fire crackling in the distance. She looped her finger into her shorts, undoing the button.
“Upstairs,” he said with a thick growl, tossing his own shirt to the side.
Trying not to giggle, she turned and raced out of the kitchen. His footsteps rattled the floor right behind her. By the time she’d pushed opened her bedroom door, she’d managed to kick out of her jean shorts.
When she turned to face him, she gasped, gawking at his naked body. He’d accomplished stripping down to nothing, except for holding his jeans in one hand. He fiddled with them, reaching into a pocket, pulling out his wallet.
Her nipples tightened into hard nubs and wetness lined her panties, spreading warmth across her skin.
His abs were chiseled with a clear six-pack. His long legs were lined with defined muscles.
And the rest of him?
She swallowed.
Hard.
He breezed past her, sending a sweet shiver up her spine as she gawked. He winked as he tossed his billfold on the nightstand. “We have a problem.”
“Not from where I’m standing.” She bit down on her fingernail, finding it impossible to tear her gaze away from his body. Specifically, from below the waist.
He laughed, wiggling his finger at her. “You have on more clothing than I do.”
She glanced down, staring at his fingers looping around the string of her thong, tugging them over her hips, his sweet lips kissing from her hips to her toes and back up.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, his tongue running over her lips. Closing her eyes, she gave in to whatever it was that Garret craved.
Normally, she liked to be controlling when it came to sex. She knew what she liked, and the few boyfriends she had never complained, though one taught her a few tricks.
Garret tenderly laid her on the bed after pulling back the sheets. His lips and hands roamed her body like the winds gently rustled the trees, swaying back and forth, tickling every leaf. He teased her by barely touching her, then plunging inside with his fingers or tongue. In minutes, he brought her so close to utter gratification, she thought she might convulse right off the bed.
But then he’d pull back, kissing her inner thigh, taunting her breasts, as if he knew exactly how her body would respond to every single touch, right down to how he breathed on her neck just below her earlobe.
Every time she reached for him, he batted her hands away and went back to giving her the kind of pleasure that she’d fantasized about.
Gripping the longer part of his hair, she arched her back, digging her ankles into the bed. “Garret, please,” she begged as she lifted her hips, hoping he’d dig in a little deeper and circle her tight nub just a little harder.
“Oh God, yes,” she panted out a moan as Garret made her body spasm. Her toes curled, and her calf muscles tightened. She blinked as the room blurred. She tried not to jerk, but she couldn’t stop the violent release.
And he didn’t stop.
He kept licking and stroking until she thought she might scream.
“Garret,” she said, biting her lower lip, hoping to keep her screeching to a minimum. All her nerve endings cried out, demanding more and more.
He kissed her stomach, stopping at her belly button and circling it with his tongue.
Her body shivered again.
“I’m delighted you enjoyed that.” He pressed his mouth over one of her nipples, sucking it, swirling his tongue over the hard nub before letting it pop out of his mouth, glancing up at her with a smile.
“Delighted is an understatement.” She wiggled underneath him, curling her fingers around his shaft.
He growled, reaching toward the nightstand. “It’s been a really long time for me, and honestly, I’m terrified if you keep doing that, that’s how this will end.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”
As he rolled to his back, she took the condom from his hands and put her lips on the tip of him, taking him in slowly.
His fingers dug into her scalp as he gathered her hair. The way he touched her made her want to devour every inch of him, but instead she teased him with her tongue, gliding it up and down, staring up into his adoring, smoky eyes. His chest puffed out in a quick inhale, then lowered as he exhaled with a groan.
His soft skin tightened under her touch. Tearing open the condom, she rolled it over his shaft.
“Christ,” he said with a throaty moan. He grabbed her hips as she rolled herself over him, taking him all in with purposeful motion.
She pressed her palms on his chest. Feeling him inside her sent off tiny electric pulses from her toes to her throat. The faster she moved over him, the stronger the build-up. Digging her nails into his skin, she bit down on her lower lip, trying desperately to control her body before she exploded like a volcano.
But she did so in vain.
Garret reached up, cupping the back of her neck, drawing her mouth to his. Their tongues met in a wild frenzy as he pumped his release into her body with long, strong strokes.
His groans filled her mouth like he filled her body.
Collapsing to his chest, she tried to take in a deep breath. Her lungs burned, and her heart pounded erratically.
His strong, powerful hands ran up and down her back, gently massaging her shoulder blades. Their labored breathing filled the room like the mist from a hot steam.
He rolled her to the side, pulling the covers over them, and wrapped his arms around her body, kissing her cheek.
“You’re not planning on sneaking out of here soon, are you?”
He laughed. “I do
have to leave by five thirty. I have a meeting on base at seven.”
“Don’t leave without saying goodbye. I hate that.” Actually, she didn’t like to have men sleep in her bed. Even when she’d been in a relationship, she preferred to sleep alone.
But not with Garret.
What the hell did that mean?
She kissed his chest. It was a question she wasn’t even going to consider. Instead, she snuggled up against him, closed her eyes, and for the first time in a long while, let herself relax.
Chapter 5
Garret hated waking Tabitha. She looked like an angel with the white sheet wrapped around her sexy, naked body. Her tanned skin glowed in the moonlight, and her raven hair covered her flawless face. She’d barely peeked her eyes open before reaching up and giving him a good morning kiss that had he not overslept, would have led to the best morning he’d had in a long time.
Though waking up next to her had been a good way to start the day.
Garret pushed open the doors to the station house on the base just a little before seven in the morning. Becca Rivers sat behind the big desk to the right and greeted him with a smile.
“How’s the baby doing?” he asked.
“She’s a daddy’s girl, that’s for sure.” Becca had married Declan, a fellow senior firefighter less than a year ago. He missed working with her on the team, but after she had a baby, she opted to stay on administrative duty, versus going back to running into burning buildings. She currently worked as Ace’sassistant, and the station wouldn’t run smoothly without her organizational expertise and her ability to keep everyone in line.
“I bet she’s got Declan wrapped around her tiny little finger.” Garret always enjoyed seeing his friends with their families. Watching their kids stumble around, learning how to walk, or ride a bike for the first time. He’d be lying if he didn’t feel a pang of jealousy every time he went to a family barbeque.
Becca laughed, turning the frame on her desk around. “The latest picture says it all.”
In the image, Declan held his daughter, kissing her chubby little cheeks, while her arms were wrapped around his neck with a big smile.
Out of the corner of Garret’s eye, he saw Declan step from the conference room.
“I see my wife is showing off the cutest little girl in the world.” Declan slapped Garret on the back before taking the frame in his own hands. “I do make good-looking kids.”
“One kid and I think I might have had something to do with it.” Becca snagged the picture and placed it back on her desk. “She does look just like her mother.”
“But who does she call for in the middle of the night?” Declan asked with a grin.
“I trained her to do that,” Becca said, laughing. “I swear, Garret, I think if Declan could, he’d breastfeed.”
Garret burst out laughing, bending over, resting his hands on his knees. “That is an image I never needed in my head.”
“Are you attacking my manhood, honey? At work, no less.” Declan planted his hands on his hips.
She batted her thick eyelashes. “Not at all. I’m just letting our friend know what a great daddy you are.”
“Good to know.” Declan leaned over the desk, kissing his bride on the cheek.
Garret enjoyed the banter, but his mind kept wandering back to the woman he’d left this morning. Tabitha had been through the ringer the last couple of weeks, and now she was trusting him to help her find the truth behind her brother’s death and the story he’d been working on.
Garret worried he wasn’t up for the task.
“I’ll see you in the conference room.” Declan turned and headed back down the hallway.
Becca shook her head. “He’s all ready to have another one.”
“And what about you?” Garret asked.
“Oh, I want more. But I can wait another year. Just seeing Brodie and Harper with the twins is enough birth control anyone needs.”
“Those two are rambunctious.” Garret peered down the hallway, just as his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Fletch’s number flash across his screen. “I’ve got to take this.”
“Ace isn’t here yet, so you’ve got time.”
Garret nodded, stepping back outside. “Hey.”
Fletch and his wife had lived down the street in Garret’s hometown. When he’d gotten the bug to join the Air Force, Fletch had been a great source of information. He would have preferred Garret join the Army, but Fletch had been supportive, and Garret had always looked up to him as a father figure.
Fletch didn’t like that much, balking that he wasn’t that much older, even though he had a good fifteen years on Garret.
“Do you have anything interesting for me?” Garret sat down on the stoop. The morning sun shone bright in the blue sky. Two fighter jets roared overhead, leaving a white trail behind.
“Depends on your definition of interesting. Turns out the cops first on the scene at the Moore party when Ashley died were the same officers that were the first to arrive at Steve’s break-in. But that’s not weird all by itself.”
“No, it’s not,” Garret agreed.
“But Officer Riley was the first on the scene at Sandra Creeco’s car crash. He was off duty and just happened to be passing by. He was injured in the rescue attempt. I did some digging, and it turns out he had some run-ins with the law as a juvenile, but he turned himself around in his early twenties after actually being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.”
“How’d he go from that to being a cop?”
“A diversion program and according to his old case manager, he’s the poster child for voluntary systems. It’s all about reducing harm and risk and creating better relationships between the police and the citizens.”
“All aimed at developing trust.” Garret had heard of such programs and believed them to be a better alternative than simply tossing people in jail. But it didn’t always work. “What do you think about him? His record?”
“I’d say it’s questionable. There are a few marks on his career, but nothing that stands out as a huge red flag.”
“What about his partner? Officer Dani?”
“Boy next door type. On paper, those two are good guys. And based on the few people I got to talk to, exemplary cops, but Riley is a bit of a rebel and it should be noted that Riley is good friends with Assistant District Attorney Jeff Bellen’s wife, Lisa.”
“Why is that important?” Garret asked, rubbing his temple with his free hand. Too many players and nothing made sense.
“Besides being married to Ivan Moore’s daughter?”
“Yeah.”
“Not exactly sure, but I’m digging deeper.”
Garret let the information settle in the corner of his brain. It still didn’t add up to a conspiracy to kill Steve, but it did raise a few more red flags. “Anything else?”
“I’m sending a picture to your email. The image is of Ashley and Steve, but there are some people in the image that I don’t know who they are. Maybe your friend will recognize them and give me other places I can poke around.”
“I’ll be on the lookout.”
“That’s all I’ve got for now,” Fletch said.
“Thanks, Fletch. Say hello to the family for me.” Garret stuffed his phone in his back pocket just as his captain, Ace, pulled in.
Garret sat on the steps, letting out a long breath.
The only motive to kill Steve was wrapped up in Ashley, but so far, her death seemed to be an accident. That said, something scratched the back of Garret’s mind. Nothing added up, but with three people dead who knew each other, that sent up more warning flags with a dozen more unanswered questions.
“You look constipated,” Ace said with a slight chuckle as he joined Garret on the steps.
“My mind is all backed up.”
Ace laughed harder. “Good retort. Now tell me why.”
“My neighbor’s dead brother.”
“Ah, I see.” Ace was ten years older than Garr
et and when he’d first joined the team, Ace had been his crew chief. Now, he ran the station, and Garret couldn’t ask for a better boss.
Or a better friend.
“I hate to ask this, but you’ve got a buddy in IT, right?” Garret asked.
“Yeah. Ex-Navy SEAL, Tex. A good buddy of mine. Why?”
“I need someone to find out who an email address belongs to and maybe do some facial recognition magic. Tabitha’s brother got a threatening email to back off a story—”
“Wait, back up one second.” Ace stood. “I thought you’d gotten her to accept her brother died of an overdose and caused his own house fire?”
Garret shook his head. “I got her to understand if she’s right, and she pushes the wrong buttons, she’ll end up six feet under too.”
“All right then. I’ll get you Tex’s contact information. If anyone can figure out where the email was set up, it’s Tex. Now what about this facial recognition stuff?”
“I’ve got a buddy in Delta Force. He dug up a picture that has Steve, Tabitha’s brother, and his ex-girlfriend, Ashley, the chick who died at Moore’s house, in it, but he can’t trace the other people. Thought maybe Tabitha could, but if not, then maybe Tex can.”
“I’m sure he can,” Ace said.
“I appreciate the help.” Garret took the hand Ace offered and followed him back through the doors to the station.
“So, you really like this woman, I hear.”
“Yeah, she’s cool,” Garret said, trying to act nonchalant about how much Tabitha rocked his world.
“Oh boy. Do you have it bad,” Ace said, slapping his back. “Why is it that everyone on my team has to fall hard and fast and with drama?”
Chapter 6
The last thing Tabitha wanted to do was show a house today. But she’d promised to stay out of trying to find out who had killed her brother. So, she might as well do what paid her bills.
She took the left into the driveway of an upscale home off Pineapple Avenue not far from the Causeway, stopping at the gate. Punching in the keycode, she waited for the gate to open. She pulled in, checking her rearview mirror, making sure the potential buyer followed her onto the property.
