Shelter for Adeline (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 7)

by Susan Stoker

  He was a typical guy when it came to his place. Before Adeline had practically moved in, the living area consisted of a large television mounted on the wall with a complicated-looking stereo system and cable box hooked up to it. A sliding glass door led out to a small fenced yard area, which was perfect for Coco to do his business. There was a dark couch, a recliner, and a low coffee table. A small half bath and the functional, but not overly impressive, kitchen completed the downstairs area. It was pretty bare bones and efficient.

  Upstairs there were two guestrooms, a guest bath, and the master bedroom. The master had Dean’s king-size bed—no headboard—a dresser, a bedside table, and another large TV. All in all, it was perfectly bland. Until the bathroom.

  Besides the amazing tub, there was a long counter with two sinks. There were large mirrors over each sink with plenty of space between them for stuff. Tile floor, alcove with a toilet, and a separate shower with two showerheads rounded it out.

  Over time, Dean had begun to pick up small things to brighten up his condo when they shopped together. The first time they’d been out running errands together, he’d stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond, saying he had to pick something up.

  He’d asked her opinion on comforters and sheets and even towels, and had bought every single item that Adeline had said looked nice.

  It didn’t stop there. Over the weeks he’d acquired, both from shopping and from Adeline bringing them over from her house, brightly colored pillows, throw blankets, area rugs, picture frames—which Adeline helped him fill with pictures of his sister, parents, and of the two of them—and even a couple pictures for the walls.

  His place now looked lived in, comfortable…and perhaps most importantly to Adeline, homey.

  “I’ll take care of Coco,” Dean told her, lust clear in his eyes as they roamed up and down her body. “You go start the bath.”

  “I kinda wanted to try that new bath bomb I got the other day…but it smells a bit girly,” Adeline warned him.

  “Don’t care,” was Dean’s response.

  “But you have to work tomorrow. You might work out and start sweating and then the guys’ll make fun of you for smelling like oranges.”

  Dean leaned in and lifted Adeline’s chin. He kissed her hard, deep, and way too quickly before lifting his head. “I could smell like roses and I still wouldn’t give a shit. Wanna know why?”

  “Why?” Adeline asked, breathlessly.

  “Because it means I got that way by sharing a bath with my girlfriend. And to share a bath, we both had to be naked. And when we’re naked, good things happen. And every single one of my friends knows exactly what it means when I come into the station smelling like girly orange, and they might not say it, but they’re equally jealous as hell and happy as fuck for me. So yeah, bomb the hell out of the water, beautiful. Bring it.”

  Adeline beamed from ear to ear. God, she loved this man.

  She froze. Wait, what?

  “What was that thought?” Dean asked, his brow furrowing.

  “Uh…I just…” Adeline looked anywhere but at Dean. Did she want to do this now?

  If not, when?

  Dean looked over at Coco who was sleeping in his fluffy bed in front of the TV. On his back, legs splayed, totally unconcerned and not at all giving any indication that he was about to alert.

  “I was thinking about how much I loved that you didn’t care that the guys at the station knew you’d spent the night with me, and how much I liked the thought of you smelling like me, then I thought about how much I just love you.” Adeline blurted it out, breathing fast and still not looking Dean in the eye. She did. She loved him. Totally loved him. And figured he should know.

  “Change of plans. We’ll both let Coco out, then we’ll go up together to start the bath.”

  Adeline blinked up at Dean. Well, okay. That wasn’t quite the response she’d hoped for. “Uh…all right.”

  He leaned in, wrapping one of his large arms around her waist and plastering her to his chest, then palming the side of her face with his hand tenderly. “If you think for one second I’m gonna let the love of my life walk up the stairs away from me after she tells me she loves me for the first time, you’re out of your mind. I want you right here. In my arms. Next to me. I can’t bear to let you out of my sight for even the couple of minutes it’ll take for Coco to take care of business and to get back upstairs.”

  It was an unconventional way of saying that he loved her, but Adeline would take it. Being the love of his life was way better than a simple “I love you, too.”

  She beamed up at him, flushed, happy, content. “Okay, Dean.”

  He kissed her then. Longer, harder, and much more erotically than the last kiss. They were both breathing heavy when he finally pulled back. “Thank you, beautiful. For loving me. For being here with me. For letting me in. I won’t ever let you regret it.”

  “I know,” she told him.

  “Now come on. Let’s take care of Coco so I can take you upstairs to that monster of a tub and more appropriately show you how much I love you, and how happy I am that you love me back.”

  Adeline’s mind spun with the possibilities. She and Dean had done a lot—a lot—when it came to sex, but he still never failed to surprise her…in good ways.

  “Coco, time to go out,” Adeline called, not looking away from Dean and not moving.

  He chuckled and pulled back enough so she could walk next to him. His hand pushed down into the waistband of her pants and Adeline felt his fingers caressing her butt as they walked. Oh yeah, she loved it when Dean surprised her.

  How could you be so stupid?

  No wonder she didn’t want to eat with you.

  She’s fucking someone else.

  Letting him touch her hair.

  Letting him kiss her.

  Letting him into her body.

  Letting him feed her.

  Bitch.

  She’d been stringing him along the entire time.

  She’d pay for that.

  Yes…she was definitely going to pay.

  Chapter 17

  “Are you sure Chief doesn’t mind driving me?” Adeline asked Dean for what seemed like the hundredth time on Sunday morning. He’d called to make sure she was good to go for the trip before Chief came by to pick her up.

  “I’m sure, beautiful. He said he had something to do up in Dallas and he was happy to shift his work schedule and do it today so he could drive you. Stop worrying.”

  “He won’t freak if I have a seizure, right?” Adeline asked, biting her lip worriedly.

  “No. Not at all. He stood right behind me at the ballgame last month to watch over you and make sure we didn’t need anything. He’s stoic. He probably won’t say much, so don’t take it personally, it’s just the way he is. But, Adeline, he absolutely won’t freak if you have a seizure in the car with him. Okay? He’ll take care of you, swear.”

  “All right. I just feel bad.”

  “Did Douglas call you again?”

  It was an abrupt change of topic, but Adeline didn’t call him on it because she knew he wasn’t happy, at all, that she was attending the conference with her boss.

  She sighed. “No, Dean.”

  “I don’t like that the prick tried to strong-arm you into riding up with him yesterday, even after you told him you already had a ride.”

  Adeline didn’t have anything to say to that. Her boss had tried to strong-arm her into riding with him. Even going so far as to hint that her upcoming annual review might suffer if she didn’t. But she’d held firm, not even caring that he might be an asshole and lie about her dedication to her job on the review. She’d hopefully not be there much longer so it wouldn’t matter.

  There was a beat of silence on the phone for a moment, then Dean said, “I’m sorry. I know, I know…I just don’t like him.”

  Yeah, Adeline got that. She didn’t like him either. “You’re coming up tomorrow afternoon still though, right?” she asked.

  “Abso
lutely. I get off around noon, an hour or so earlier if I can swing it. I’ll be there anywhere from four to five depending on traffic. I’ll text and let you know for sure.”

  “I put your name on the reservation. If I’m in a meeting or taking a break in the room, you can just grab the key at the front desk without any hassle and come on up.”

  Dean’s voice dropped to the sexy rumble that Adeline loved so much. “Sounds perfect. You know…we haven’t had hotel sex yet. I’ll have to see what I can do to keep you from screaming when you orgasm like you do here at home.”

  “I do not scream!” Adeline protested hotly.

  “Beautiful…”

  One word, and it said so much. “Okay, sometimes I do, but that’s because you’re so good with your tongue. And mouth. And fingers. And cock.”

  He laughed then said softly, “Just hearing you say ‘cock’ has me hard as a rock.”

  Adeline sighed. “I missed you last night.”

  “Yeah, I missed you too,” Dean replied immediately. “The bed here at the station leaves a lot to be desired, but even more so because you’re not in it. I’ve gotten used to you sleeping next to me. Be safe for me, yeah? Stay away from Douglas and hide out in the room if you have to.”

  “I’m not going to hide out, Dean. I need to network. But I promise I’ll do everything I can to stay away from Douglas. I have no desire to breathe the same air as him. Oh, and the person who interviewed me last week is supposed to be at the conference. Even though it’s a little soon, I’m hoping she’ll have good news for me.”

  “God, me too. That would be the best gift ever. I’d love to be there and see that asshole’s face when you tell him you’re quitting.”

  “Drive safe, Dean.” Adeline changed the subject. It made her nervous to talk about giving notice when she didn’t even have the job. Although, she’d love to be able to have Dean by her side when she told Douglas she was leaving. It wasn’t that she was scared of the man, he could just be unpredictable. He’d been a dick, then he’d tried seducing her, and lately he’d gone back to being a dick when she hadn’t fallen in line with his seduction routine. So telling him she was leaving the company wouldn’t make him happy, and she had no idea how he’d react.

  “I will. Text me when you’re on your way, okay?” Dean said.

  “I will. Love you.”

  “Love you too, beautiful. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay. ‘Bye.”

  “‘Bye.”

  Adeline clicked off the phone and tucked it into her back pocket. It was good timing, because just then she saw Chief’s gray Ford Explorer pull into a space outside Dean’s condo.

  “Coco, come.”

  The dog bounded over and Adeline put on his harness and vest. “Be good, okay, boy? No drooling on Chief’s seat, and try not to shed so much. The last thing I want is him getting irritated because your black hair is all over his seat.” She knew she was being ridiculous, not only talking to Coco as if he could understand her, but telling him not to shed. She was still kind of nervous to spend five hours with Chief.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, she did, but Dean hadn’t lied when he’d said the man didn’t talk much.

  He knocked on the door with two short raps, and Adeline immediately opened it. “Hey, Chief. I’m ready, just let me grab my stuff.”

  “I’ve got it,” Chief returned, striding into the foyer and stepping toward her suitcases. She had one larger one with all of her clothes for the conference, then another smaller one with Coco’s food, bowls, a toy, a blanket, and an extra sheet to throw over the hotel comforter to protect it from Coco’s shedding.

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  Chief nodded his head in reply even as he was reaching for the bags. He was back at the door before Adeline could blink. “You okay to lock up?”

  “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Chief’s shoulder went up in a barely perceptible shrug. “Just checking. See you at the car.”

  Okay then. Adeline couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t wait to tell Beth about this. The other woman had been full of questions when she’d heard Chief would be driving her up to Dallas. Mainly because she didn’t know anything about the man other than he was part Native American and was incredibly close-lipped. She’d even admitted that she’d tried to find something about him online, as she was some kind of computer expert, but hadn’t been able to find much beyond his name, Roman Proudfit.

  Adeline picked up Coco’s leash and shut and locked the door to Dean’s condo. She walked down the path to the SUV and headed over to the passenger side. Chief was there to open the back door for Coco. The dog hopped up easily and settled on the seat.

  Chief shut the door and opened Adeline’s for her.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He closed the door when she was all the way in and strode around the front.

  Adeline took the time to examine him. He was good looking; all of Dean’s friends were. But Chief had the whole silent, brooding, sexy-as-hell thing going on. His hair was as black as hers but longer. He’d worn it loose and Adeline could see it came down just below his shoulders. He usually had it back in a simple ponytail at the base of his neck.

  Beth had wanted her to ask him if he ever wore it in a man-bun, but Adeline knew even without having to ask that there was no way in hell Roman “Chief” Proudfit ever put his hair up in anything resembling a man-bun. Even with that long hair, he was as masculine a man as she’d ever seen.

  He wasn’t overly muscular. He was lean and sleek. That didn’t mean he didn’t have muscles, he did, but they weren’t bulging out of the edges of his T-shirt. His skin was light brown, as befitted his heritage, and his long nose and soulful eyes made his Native American ancestry easy to see.

  All in all, Chief was hot and mysterious…which made him even hotter. Frankly, Adeline was surprised he wasn’t already involved with a woman. The women he knew must either already be taken or incredibly stupid, because all it took was one glance and anyone could tell if this man focused on you, really focused, that you’d be the only thing on his mind. And boy was that a turn-on.

  Adeline turned her head away as he sat in the driver’s seat and turned the engine. They backed out and headed for the Interstate, all without a word.

  She struggled for something to say. “So…how long have—”

  “You don’t have to make idle chit-chat,” Chief broke in and said, not unkindly. “I’m sure Crash told you I’m not one for chatting. If you got work to do, go for it. If you wanna read, that’s cool too. You can even take a nap. I won’t not talk to you, but I don’t got a lot to say.”

  Adeline tried to hold back her smile. She liked blunt speak. “Okay. I get that. If you honestly don’t mind, there is some stuff I could be doing.” She paused for a moment, then decided that if Chief could be blunt, so could she.

  “Um…you’re okay if I have a seizure, right? And I’m only asking because I’ve been having them more and more frequently, and unfortunately, I’m due. It’s been almost eighteen hours since my last one and that’s pushing it for me lately.”

  “I’m good, Adeline. Don’t worry.”

  God, she loved how he said her name. He somehow made it four syllables instead of three.

  “Okay. And just…I’ll be out of it, and usually when it stops, I’m still disoriented. I have some water just in case, but if you could maybe help me get to it afterwards, that would be helpful.”

  “Sure.”

  “I apologize in advance, I—”

  “Don’t apologize,” he interrupted. “It’s not something you can control. Just relax. Work until you get tired. You can nap before and after if necessary. I’ll get you up to Dallas safely.”

  “Great. Thanks. Seriously, Chief, you saved me from a fate worse than death in volunteering to drive me up there,” she joked.

  He smiled a bit at that, turning his head to meet her eyes for the first time. His black eyes piercing
in their intensity. “Just because you’re dating Crash doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t care about you. He’s a brother, therefore you’re family. I’m happy to save you from a fate worse than death.”

  Adeline chuckled. He was kinda funny under that serious exterior. “Well, I appreciate it. And I’m glad you had a thing you needed to do up there so you could take me today.”

  He didn’t respond, and Adeline squinted her eyes at him when the corner of his mouth twitched up as if he was holding back a smile.

  “You did have a thing, right?”

  He shrugged and immediately admitted, “Nope.”

  “What? But Dean said you did. That’s why you said you would drive me!” Adeline cried out in disbelief.

  “Crash needed you to have a ride, I had some time I needed to use. It worked out.”

  “But—”

  “Thought you had work to do,” Chief interrupted.

  “Well, shit,” Adeline muttered. “Does Dean know?”

  Chief’s lip curled up before settling again. “He will as soon as you tell him.”

  “Yeah, he will. He should know how good of a friend he has in you,” Adeline said firmly.

  “As I said, he’s my brother. He’d do the same for me.”

  Yeah, that was most likely true. “Well, I appreciate it. Doubly now.”

  “Good.”

  It was a strange conversation. Chief didn’t waste words. He said what he meant and meant what he said. “All right, I’m going to get some work done then.”

  Chief merely nodded.

  Taking a deep breath, and trying to push down the warm and fuzzy feeling she had in her chest—not just because Chief was doing her a huge favor, but because Dean meant enough for him to do it—she took out her laptop. She could work on the latest design for her client. If she got it finished, she could email it tonight at the hotel. That would be one more thing off her plate before resigning. She didn’t look forward to telling her douche boss she was leaving the company, if she got the other job, but such was life.