by Maren Lee
Justin kicked off his boots and socks, then pulled his vest straps and lifted the heavy piece over his head. Damn, that feels better. He unclipped his duty belt affixed with 25 pounds of gear and hung it on the rack next to the bathroom door. He untucked his shirts from his pants, unbuttoned his uniform shirt, and dropped it to the ground. Looking into the mirror, he saw the sweat clinging to his undershirt. He peeled it off over his head, picked up the shirt he’d dropped on the floor, and tossed them both into the laundry hamper. See? I’m a catch? Justin chuckled to himself. He grabbed the button on his pants, popped it, and slid his zipper down. He kicked off his pants and his boxer briefs, freeing his cock and allowing it to breathe.
Justin stepped into the shower. The hot water cascaded down his muscled back and his rock hard pecs and abs. It only took seconds before his cock was standing at attention and begged for release. Justin leaned against the shower wall, pressing his left forearm on to the cold tile, his head resting on his forearm. He took his cock in his right hand, strengthened his grasp, and began stroking it in long, slow pulls.
His mind wandered to Chloe and the passionate kiss they shared last year. God, that woman’s lips blew his mind. The way her tongue slowly teased his while she made quiet little groans of satisfaction. It was the hottest kiss he’d ever had. He pictured Chloe’s ass pouring out of her tight little cut off shorts and felt the need to pull faster on his shaft. Fuck, the woman was built like a brick shithouse. She had a trim waist that was topped by perfect, round, milky white breasts. He again wondered what color her nipples were. What he wouldn’t give to put his hands on her once again and show her how he felt. How she made him feel inside and out.
As he kept stroking, he imagined her moaning his name while he sucked on her nipples. He visualized her the apex between her thighs. Tickling her clit with his tongue. Driving into her pussy. Hard. Hot. Wet. Tight. There it is. That image sent him over the edge and he found himself moaning, “Ahh…Fuck!” as hot spurts of come shot out of the tip of his cock and funneled down the drain. God damn, that felt good. But not nearly as good as it would feel for real if he didn't screw things up with Chloe again.
Justin finished his shower, downed the remainder of his drink, and got dressed. He was on a mission. He needed to get to Brenden’s before there were too many people there to distract him from what he wanted to say to Chloe. On his way out of the door, he patted Avery on the head and ran to his truck. He was surprisingly nervous about how Chloe might respond. But he was more fearful that he would end up living with regret if he didn’t at least try to mend the situation with her. He was 35 years old, for Christ's sake. Maybe it’s time to get my shit together.
Justin climbed in his truck and headed toward the Ramey household.
➰
The house was lit up and the yard swarmed with people; most of the partygoers he knew on a first name basis. Imminence was a small town, after all. He knew it was going to take a while to get through the sea of people before he would be able to find Chloe. Brenden was on the front porch talking with a few of his friends from high school and college. Justin made quick eye contact with him and gave him a signal to let him know he would be back around to chat with him shortly.
He entered the house and walked up to the landing. Justin scanned the crowd. As he turned the corner into the dining room, his eyes zoomed in on the brunette with the gorgeous curls touching halfway down her back. He looked down at her perfectly rounded ass and knew it was Chloe.
Unfortunately for Justin, she was standing with a group of four men -- all of whom he worked with. Of the four, two of them were single and obviously flirting with her. The other two...not so much.
Lawrence Leslie was about to retire. He'd been with the department for 25 years. He'd experienced everything, knew everything, and had a story for everything. No threat.
Clay DeWitt was early forties but didn’t look a day over thirty. His Adonis build, black hair, and blue eyes had the ladies running red lights to jump at the chance to talk to him...but it didn’t do them any good. Clay was head over heels for his wife of thirteen years, Leah. He didn’t give a damn about other women. No threat.
On the other hand, Jake Hamilton and Dillon Yates would jump at the chance to take Chloe for a ride. And it was clear by looking at her that she would not mind that one bit. Fuck.
Jake was thirty-seven, single, and a ladies' man...and he was known all around town (literally, all around town) as one. He was a mess when it came to women, but he didn’t care. He also happened to be one of Justin's best friends. He wasn’t quite as tall as Justin, but he wasn’t that much shorter either. He wore his thick black hair a little longer on top. It had a slight curl that the had the ladies swooning. Justin didn’t get why Jake wanted to wear his hair like a god-damned hippie, but to each his own. Justin could compete with the hair, but damn if Jake didn’t have the physique of Superman. Lucky bastard. No fucking way is Jake putting his hands on Chloe.
Dillon was the latest rookie in the department. He had a mile-wide smile and dirty blonde hair. He was only 23, so he was still learning how to do his job. But he was a good cop. Pretty dumb and naive when it came to women, though. He was not smooth. At all. He had a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth, too. Yet for some damn reason women loved that about him. He was always being propositioned or offered a phone number, even on traffic stops when he wrote tickets to the women he pulled over. Justin liked the guy, but he would stick Dillon on the night shift if he thought Dillon was even thinking about asking Chloe out. He was too young for her anyways. Right? Chloe wouldn’t want someone so young and inexperienced, right? He heard himself growl involuntarily as he watched Dillon put his arm around Chloe’s shoulders. She looked up at him and giggled, her eyes sparkling. He was eating that shit up, too. Oh. Hell. No.
Justin attempted to remain calm while he made his way through the crowd. But as he approached the group, he saw Jake looking right at Chloe while hollering, “What I wouldn’t give to paddle that ass!” Nope. Not happening. Enough! Chloe was his.
Before he even thought about the words coming out of his mouth, Justin barged into the circle and and pulled Dillon’s arm off of Chloe, pushing him away. Everyone looked at him, surprised to see him barge in like that. It just wasn't his usual, quiet style. Before anyone could even say hello to their intruder, Justin shouted, “What’s up guys? And gal,” he added as an afterthought as he looked at Chloe. “You all can stop discussing whose dick she's gonna suck first tonight. Back. Off. This one is mine.”
The shocked look on the faces of his coworkers and fuming pissed off look in Chloe's eyes indicated that he'd said something out of line.
Shit. He hadn’t just put his foot in his mouth, he’d shoved his whole damn leg in there.
Chloe was shocked. Offended. Enraged. She shot daggers at him with her eyes. If she could have done it literally she would have. She’d never met someone as hot and cold as this guy. What an asshole! She was enjoying getting to know Brenden’s deputies and tossing witty banter back and forth. Jake and Dillon were both totally hot and funny; she wasn’t planning anything with them, but so what if she was? Such a dick, Justin. She wished she had a poker face, because she was sure it was obvious that his words hurt and she was pissed. Whatever. He won't get away with that comment unscathed.
Chloe looked Justin directly in the eye and said calmly and much more quietly than she’d anticipated given the amount of anger coursing through her body, “Fuck off, Justin. You have no claim to me. Your pecker didn’t rise to the occasion last time I saw you. So sue me for keeping my options open. A girl’s gotta look out for her own orgasms.” She took a deep breath and muttered, “Dick,” in her exhale as she turned and huffed away.
She could not believe he would talk like that about her in front of other people. He didn’t even know her. Based on the time they'd spent getting to know each other last year, she knew he had some issues with the filter on his mouth. But she didn’t believe he would cut her so deep at t
he first social opportunity.
Screw this. Find Sierra and tell her what happened.
Chloe knew she had to tell Sierra about it before Brenden found out first. She took another deep breath and kept walking. She needed a drink.
➰
Clay was looking at Justin with bewilderment, “What the fuck, Hunt? You know that’s Brenden and Sierra’s cousin, right?”
Shit. Justin knew he was in for it. “I know who the fuck it is! I claimed her last summer and I’m claiming her again tonight! I came up here to see you dickheads hanging all over her and all I heard was Jake talking about paddling her ass...and I lost it. I just wanted the conversation to stop.”
“Well, you achieved your goal, dipshit,” Jake snapped.
“Don’t fuckin’ touch her, Jake!” Justin bit right back.
“We were talking about the new public defender, asshole! Her ass is the one I’m dying to paddle. So I should be the one telling you not to talk about Chloe like that, you prick,” shouted Jake. “I think you really hurt her feelings.”
Oh man. That whole display was unnecessary. Yep, he was dead. Jake leaned against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. He knew he'd have to accept defeat. Sierra was gonna start gunning for him.
Lane Bennett was the town’s new public defender. She was smoking hot, sassy, and infuriating. She had the entire department tied in knots because she was both gorgeous and determined to discredit their work at every opportunity. They didn’t know much about her, but she came from Chicago and she certainly dressed like it. To. The. Nines.
Word on the street was that Lane was tired of the big city and needed to reduce her stress levels. Apparently, she decided to do that by moving to a small town. Justin didn’t know how she was in Chicago, but if Lane Bennett had actually succeeded in reducing her stress levels, the woman must have been a heart attack waiting to happen before she moved to Imminence. She took the phrase “zealous representation” to a whole new level. She put her whole life into her work. It was exhausting for everyone involved.
But it wasn’t nearly as exhausting as it would be to be on Sierra’s naughty list if he didn’t make this right with her cousin. Lawrence looked at Justin, shook his head, and let out a laugh, “Well, if you want to survive the night, you better go apologize and kiss some ass before it’s too late. Sierra is going to have your balls if you don’t.”
He was right. Justin needed to find Chloe and fast so that he could apologize and explain his rude behavior. He took a deep breath and prepared to enter the gauntlet. All right, you can do this.
Justin walked slowly through the house and began to physically and mentally prepare himself for an ass chewing.
➰
He could hear the women laughing and carrying on as he walked up to the kitchen.
Maybe Chloe hadn’t said anything yet?
He peaked his head around the corner of the kitchen and saw Chloe sitting at the table with Sierra and Sierra’s best friends, Molly Mooney and Aubrey Dixon.
When he walked into the room, the mood immediately changed. Daggers hit him from all four of the women at the table. He cringed. Before he could say anything Sierra looked up at him and said “Hey, dick! It was really nice of you to come here and insult my cousin before you even brought me a present.”
Justin knew he couldn’t enter into an argument with Sierra right now. He looked at Chloe and saw anger in her eyes.
“Happy birthday, Sierra. Could I speak to Chloe, alone, please?” Justin asked with sincerity.
Sierra glared at him, “Ask her. She can speak for herself! If I were her, though, I’d say ‘hell no’ and go fuck your best friend instead!” Sierra turned to Chloe and continued, “Seriously, Chloe. Jake is hot. You should jump on that.”
Justin knew to keep his mouth shut. There was no winning with Sierra. He bit the inside of his cheek.
His eyes returned to Chloe’s and he said, “Chloe, can I please talk to you in private? I owe you an apology or two or fourteen and I would really appreciate your undivided attention.”
Sierra smirked.
Molly, who hadn’t said anything since Justin walked in, responded with, “I just… I can’t even.”
Aubrey flipped him off. “Suck a dick, Justin.” Okay, yep. Aubrey is pissed too.
Chloe felt immense satisfaction knowing these loyal ladies had her back. She smirked at them and said, “I'll be right back. I’ve heard it doesn’t take long.”
Oh, I’ll fucking show you how long it will take, baby.
Justin walked her through the door of the back patio. It was dark outside and there was enough privacy for them to talk uninterrupted.
Chloe looked up at him. He was so tall, she had no choice. Even at 5’8” she felt so small next to him. Damn, did she love how she had to look up to gaze into his sexy eyes. Focus, Chloe! You're angry, remember?
“What do you want, Justin?” she snapped.
“I want to say I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I don’t know why I came at you like that. I felt the immediate need to get them away from you, because I saw how you were looking at Dillon and Jake and I didn’t want them to have a chance with you.”
How was she supposed to respond to that? Honestly, Chloe, don’t be afraid to show your feelings.
“Justin, you have no right to talk about me like that or claim me in front of people I just fucking met! You don't even know me anymore. That was so embarrassing. I just met them today!" She shouted.
"I'm so sorry, baby."
"Don't call me baby. I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t own me. You rejected me last summer, remember?”
Yes, he remembered How could he not? The one kiss they shared created the most intense and amazing feelings he'd had since before Kristin left him. The emotional connection was off the charts. He wanted the kiss as badly as Chloe had, but the pang of guilt stopped him from taking it any further.
“Chloe, darlin’, if I could go back and undo the hurt I caused, I would. I didn’t know how to react to my feelings for you and it’s taken me a long time to pull my shit together. I acted like an asshole today. I want to make it up to you, sweetheart.”
Chloe heard the sincerity in his voice and she instantly couldn’t wait for him to redeem himself. But he was gonna have to work for it.
“Please,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m not looking for anything serious. You didn’t hurt me,” she was obviously lying, yet added, “But I don’t think I’d mind if you made it up to me. How do you propose you’d do that?” she unintentionally asked with a silky heat to her voice. Shit. Play it cool, Chloe!
“Well,” he started quietly, the sound of his voice sending electricity through her body. “First, I want to put my mouth on your cherry flavored lips and suck every last drop of flavor off of them while my hands grab their fill of your sweet ass.”
She inhaled loudly. Hearing Justin utter those words made her melt inside. Made her ache. She clenched thighs together to try and satisfy the urge between her legs. She was going to need a change of panties. So much for playing it cool.
Justin took his hands and slid them around her waist. Oh yeah. He leaned in slowly and placed a soft kiss on her mouth. And then another. He pulled back and searched her eyes again begging for permission to devour her. Ok, I forgive you. Permission was granted without an exchange of words. He leaned in again to take Chloe in a powerful kiss. His hands slipped down and around her ass and grasped the swells of her cheeks. He was determined to take his fill of her in both his mouth and his hands.
Chloe felt herself falling into the kiss. She craved the connection. His tongue teased hers. His big hands cupped her behind and were so close to the apex between her thighs that it hurt. She wanted him, right here, right now, in this moment. She pushed her hips forward and let out a soft moan when she made contact with his thick shaft through his jeans. They kept kissing, tongues intertwining and hands roaming. They blended together in a blissful moment filled with lust and curiosity. Fuck, her
body wanted him. So badly. But her head attempted to chime in to get her to retreat and give this some thought before caving to his demands.
Chloe could hear her mind screaming to stop; a tiny shout in the distance, really. But the way his hands were rubbing on her, the way his cock felt beneath his jeans, she just couldn't pull away.
Justin's hand went up under her shirt and began to tease the small of her back. Just as he attempted to slip his hand down the waist of her jeans the door to the patio swung open and they heard Jake shout, “Hey guys, it’s time to sing..." Jake quickly realized what he had interrupted, "...Happy Birthday. Shit...sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Justin and Chloe were breathing heavily but she somehow squeaked out, “Be there in a sec. Thank you.”
