Officer on Duty (Lock and Key Book 4)

by Ranae Rose

  She wanted to. Wanted to do those things, and not stop there. Desire – the sheer force of her attraction to him – had her in its grip.

  CHAPTER 9

  Jeremy shifted in his seat. Just a little, but because Lucia was watching his face, she saw the twinge of pain that crossed it when his foot dragged across the linoleum.

  “Is there somewhere you’d be more comfortable?” she asked, deliberately letting her hand rest over the bulge in his jeans.

  When he was silent, she applied friction against it with her palm.

  He sighed and looked away, his gaze cutting toward the hall. “I can’t think of anywhere I’d be more comfortable than in bed with you.”

  Her heart faltered and skipped as she stood. “Sounds perfect.”

  He stood too, bracing himself with a hand against the table top. She knew he had to be in pain, but he maintained an impressive poker face as he led the way to his room, limping only slightly.

  Once there, he placed one hand on her hip and the other in her hair again, kissing her like he had in the kitchen. Afterward, her head was spinning so quickly she was barely able to take in the white walls, plain dresser and full sized bed.

  There was little in the way of decoration but the room was neat and clean, with an alarm clock perched within easy reach on a nightstand. An ironing board was set up next to the closet, a black uniform draped over it.

  The sight conjured up memories of him coming to her door after his shift. God, what she wouldn’t give to get her hands on him while in uniform.

  Not that he wasn’t devastatingly irresistible now, in jeans and a t-shirt.

  He still had a hand in her hair, and he tightened his hold, pulling gently on a thick handful of curls and making her scalp tingle.

  “You should probably sit down,” she managed to say, side-eyeing the bed.

  He guided her down onto it and they picked up where they’d left off, with mouths crushed together.

  He made an art of leaving her breathless. How he was unattached was beyond her, but she wasn’t complaining.

  Eventually, she stilled her whirling mind enough to concentrate on taking things farther, touching more of him. Sliding a hand up his thigh, she palmed the hard length of his erection, just like she had in the kitchen.

  This time, she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans.

  He sighed and pulled her closer as she finally touched her fingertips to all that hardness.

  He was hot and smooth to the touch. And as enjoyable as that was, the way he responded was even better.

  He breathed in and exhaled slowly, his breath streaming against her cheek and winding into her hair.

  She looked down and experienced a full-body thrill, one that left her hypersensitive.

  He was hard and long against the palm of her hand. Imagining how he’d feel inside her made her want to squirm and fast-forward to the moment it’d become reality.

  But at the same time, the first taste of closeness and the anticipation it brought was mouth-watering too.

  As she slid her hand up and down his shaft, a thought pierced the heat between them with a sharp sliver of hesitation.

  “I don’t have any protection,” she said. “Do you?”

  Another quick-drawn breath, another sigh. “No.”

  The butterflies in her belly kicked up a violent fuss. “Oh…”

  She couldn’t just let him go and pretend like this hadn’t happened. Every fiber of her being was against it, and her mind rejected the idea, sending a pang of agony through her.

  “Well, I guess that limits what we can do. But it doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun.”

  She leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

  After a moment’s hesitation, he responded, and it was a lot like before.

  A lot, but with an edge of regret to the halo of lust that surrounded them. They’d have to hold back, and she’d really been looking forward to charging full-speed ahead, for once.

  She wasn’t usually so quick to trust someone she’d only recently met enough to have sex, but his goodness shone bright. And it wasn’t just a reflection of the shine on his badge, either.

  He was a good man – that much was obvious. An honest, caring and protective person who’d probably been putting his own needs and desires on the backburner for way too long. She wanted to give him pleasure just as badly as she wanted to receive it from him.

  When their kiss dissolved, she sank down into his lap, spreading her knees as she lowered her head.

  “Jesus,” he said as she came near enough for her breath to hit his stiff cock.

  And then she pressed her lips against the rounded head, and he didn’t say anything at all.

  When she rested a hand on one of his thighs, she could feel how tense he was.

  He was thick and heavy against her tongue. Sliding slowly down the underside of his shaft, she felt that tenseness rise and rise, his muscles like hot stones beneath her hand.

  There was a similar tightness deep in her core, where she longed to feel him.

  It wouldn’t happen today, but there was tomorrow to look forward to. And she’d be lying to herself if she pretended she wasn’t enjoying this.

  He buried both of his hands in her hair, holding her tightly as she sucked his cock, lips tight around the girth of it.

  He told her how good it felt, his words echoing what his body had already let her know. After a few minutes, he was so hard inside her mouth she could feel his heart beating.

  He didn’t need to say he was close – she could feel it, and the way he tightened his grip on her hair spoke louder than words.

  She kept the momentum going, expectation heightening her senses. Everything below her speeding heart was a hot mess of longing and excitement. He’d captivated her from the first look, and every encounter since had softened her heart toward him further.

  Now, she was drowning in an encounter that almost seemed too good to be true – the stuff of dreams you woke up from frustrated, because they weren’t real.

  Heat flooded her mouth, and he went rock-hard against her tongue and beneath her palms. The deep, ragged sound he made sent a shiver down her spine.

  She swallowed, her scalp prickling from the tension of his grip.

  Seconds bled together in a haze of gratification.

  When he loosened his hold on her hair, she rose with a wet mouth, the taste of him not just on the tip of her tongue, but all over.

  He barely paused before laying hands on her again, one on each hip. His grip was firm and before she could react, he pulled her to him.

  Every nerve in her body sparked when he unbuttoned her shorts.

  The zipper was next to go, and its sound left her breathless. In the span of half a minute, her shorts were off and he was sliding her panties down.

  Her pussy was as wet as her mouth. She watched his gaze drop to it, felt it there like a physical weight.

  It made her squirm.

  Tossing her shorts and panties aside, he knelt on the bed, right between her thighs.

  When his breath hit her pussy, she gasped.

  When his lips brushed her clit, she couldn’t – no sound would come out.

  She found her voice again when he opened his mouth and pressed his tongue flat against her pussy lips, like he wanted nothing more than to taste her.

  His mouth was hot, and his stubble tickled her delicate skin in a torturously good way.

  Her back arched involuntarily when he dragged his tongue upward, licking the swell of her clit with a deliberate stroke.

  She would come in record time; there was no question about it. Her heart pounded as she gripped handfuls of the bed sheets.

  Her clit was tingling against his tongue when a muffled banging interrupted the near-silence.

  It took her a second to emerge from the haze of her one-track focus on pleasure and realize that someone had knocked on the door. By that time, Jeremy had already risen from between her thighs.

  His expression tight
ened, along with his shoulders. Just like that, and the relaxation he’d achieved was gone.

  “Are you expecting Paige and your mom?”

  “No.” He stood and fastened his jeans. “I’ve gotta see who it is.”

  She nodded, understanding even though her body ached in protest. Of all the times to be interrupted…

  She pulled her panties and jeans back on. If Paige and her grandmother were home early for some reason, the last thing she wanted was to be caught in the house naked from the hips down.

  She heard Jeremy answer the door, heard the low rumble of his voice. There was an answering one, but it was male – definitely not Paige or Meredith.

  Then who?

  She didn’t know Jeremy well enough to guess who might be stopping by.

  Not wanting to risk putting him in an awkward situation, she stayed put on the edge of the bed. Shortly, she heard the door close, then Jeremy’s footsteps in the hall.

  “Sorry about that.” He reappeared in the doorway.

  “It’s okay. Is everything all right?”

  “It was just my cousin. He was in the neighborhood and dropped by to invite me to the beach this weekend.”

  “Oh.”

  His gaze was fixed on her again, and he didn’t blink. “You ready to pick up where we left off?”

  “Yes.” The word escaped her with a rush of breath, and her core tightened.

  “Good.” A devious hint of a smile curved his lips.

  He was so sexy, she could hardly stand it.

  “I’m gonna give Paige a quick text, make sure everything’s okay with her and that we won’t be interrupted again.”

  She nodded, and he disappeared into the hall, presumably to fetch his phone.

  While he did that she stood, stretched and tiptoed into the bathroom.

  After a minute, she exited and saw him standing by the kitchen table, phone in hand.

  “Looks like they’ll be out for another hour,” he said. “We’re good.”

  “Great.” She leaned against the wall, inhaling deeply. She couldn’t seem to quite catch her breath, and looking at him made it worse. Hell, even the sound of his voice did.

  No sooner had the words left his mouth than another knock came at the door.

  He dragged his gaze from her, turning toward the sound.

  When he answered it, a dark-haired, muscular man around his height was standing on the porch.

  “Hey man,” he said. “I forgot to tell you we’re doing a picnic, and we’re all supposed to bring a drink or side dish. Sasha is cooking, but Alicia says she could use some help. Things have been real busy at Wisteria lately. If you could pick up some drinks or food, that’d be great.”

  The man nodded at Jeremy’s injured leg. “If you’re up for stopping by the store, that is.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  And that was when the dark-haired man’s gaze shifted past Jeremy to Lucia.

  “I didn’t realize you had company,” he said. “Sorry.”

  Her face warmed, but only a little – most of her body’s energy was still concentrated in her middle, radiating an intense heat.

  Jeremy nodded. “It’s all right. Liam, this is Lucia. She just moved in across the street. Lucia, this is my cousin Liam.”

  “Hi,” she said, emerging from her post at the end of the hall.

  “Nice to meet you.” Liam held out a hand.

  She shook it and didn’t have to fake a smile. There was a slight resemblance between Liam and Jeremy, a similarity echoed in their height and the impressive breadth of their shoulders. Jeremy obviously came from the world’s most gorgeous family.

  “You too,” she said.

  “You probably heard, but we’re heading to the beach on Sunday. You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like.”

  Surprise hit her, followed by a hint of embarrassment. Minutes ago, she’d been in Jeremy’s bed for the first time. They hadn’t even finished what they’d started, and she was already meeting his family and being invited on an outing.

  It was fast, to say the least. And she would’ve felt presumptuous accepting.

  “Maybe,” she said. “Thanks a lot for the invitation.”

  “No problem. I’ll get out of your hair, now. See you Sunday, Jeremy.”

  “See you then.”

  Seconds later, Liam was gone and the door was closed and locked.

  “Sorry if that was awkward,” Lucia said. “I didn’t mean to butt into your family plans.”

  “Liam and his wife are the only ones who are family. Other than that, it’ll be a couple friends and their other halves. Paige and I go to the beach with them every now and again.”

  “I see. That’s nice.”

  “You up for joining us on Sunday?”

  She hesitated. “You really want me there? Don’t feel like you have to invite me just because Liam did. I—”

  “I’d be glad to have you there. I’m sure everyone would, including Paige. She thinks the world of you, especially since you pointed her in the direction of that salon.”

  Her smile was sudden, involuntary and embarrassingly wide. “Okay, then. I’d love to go.”

  “It’s settled, then. For now, though…”

  His gaze slid slowly down the front of her body.

  They returned to the bedroom, where he pressed her down onto the bed, removing her jeans and panties just like before.

  This time, the anticipation was even more sweetly agonizing – the interruption had been a cruel tease.

  She couldn’t hold back a gasp when he knelt and his breath hit her skin, and definitely not when his lips made contact with her pussy.

  He picked up right where they’d left off, like they’d never been interrupted.

  It was all so good: the press of his open mouth against her sensitive skin, the slide of his tongue against her clit and the gentle scrape of his teeth. She was powerless to decide what she liked best, until he sucked on her clit.

  The sensation – the slick pressure – was incredibly direct and absolutely unyielding. It pushed her over the edge faster than she’d anticipated.

  Pleasure pooled in her belly and rushed forward in the same second, flooding every inch of her, a single wave of sensation that broke when she hit a climax. It forced all the air out of her lungs and all thoughts from her mind, except for the ones that centered on Jeremy and what he was doing.

  Every bit of her was frozen, except her mouth and hips. Her lips parted wider by the second, while her hips rolled, generating extra friction between her pussy and his mouth. So good, she could hardly stand it.

  Eventually, she couldn’t. Lowering her hands between her thighs, she placed her palms against the top of his skull and gently pushed.

  He backed off and rose, meeting her eyes.

  All at once, she was aware of the way her chest was rising and falling, of the way her breathing was the loudest sound in the room.

  There was a question in his eyes, though she was sure he already knew the answer.

  “That was so good,” she said. “Thank you.”

  He laughed, the sound low and soft. “I was only doing what any man would kill for a chance to. No need to thank me. Especially not after what you just did for me.”

  The memory of his hard cock filling her mouth swept over her, causing her mouth to water.

  “Then I guess we can both agree that this was good for both of us.” She felt herself blush, though she wasn’t sure why.

  Maybe because even after what they’d just done, she was still in awe of how attractive he was. Physically, and otherwise. Now she knew that his appeal was more than just skin deep. In fact, he seemed just about as close to perfect as anyone could get.

  The sense of awe deepened as he stood and reached for her hand.

  His fingers were warm and solid against hers, a shelter of strong flesh and bone around her smaller hand. She liked the feeling.

  She also liked that she could see he was still hard, his cock a stiff rod be
neath his jeans. It turned her on, and even if she knew they couldn’t take things any further tonight, it was gratifying to know he was that attracted to her.

  If they’d had more time, she would’ve suggested a trip to the nearest drug store so they could return with protection.

  But they didn’t. What they’d just done would have to be enough, for now.

  Even if she was already looking forward to the next time.

  CHAPTER 10

  The aquatic center was swamped. The packed parking lot made it look like a big swim meet was happening, but the pool was empty, save for a small physical therapy class being held in the shallow end.

  The real activity was all happening in the fitness room adjacent to the gym. Lucia had never seen it busier. Dozens of women had shown up for the women’s self-defense class.

  Her usual teen fitness class had been cancelled for the occasion, and she’d tried her best to convince her students to attend the self-defense session instead. She smiled when she saw several of the girls filter in, dressed in shorts and t-shirts instead of their usual swimsuits.

  Her heart skipped a beat when Paige and her grandmother arrived.

  Her face warmed too. It’d been three days since she’d spent time alone with Jeremy while Paige had been at the movies. She still felt hot and slightly dazed when she thought about it.

  Since then, she’d spoken to him briefly. He’d caught her on her porch once after arriving home from his shift, and had come by to tell her that Paige and Meredith had registered for the self-defense course.

  They’d also exchanged phone numbers, and she’d asked about his leg.

  He’d claimed it was feeling much better, but she’d noticed his slight limp. Somehow, he’d talked his boss into allowing him to return to work after just two days off, even if it was only to sit at a desk.

  The short conversation had been sweet torture. In the days since their encounter, she’d had plenty of time to ruminate on how challenging it would be to get time alone with a single dad – especially a busy one like Jeremy who was so devoted to his job.

  She had the beach trip to look forward to in a couple days, and she was looking forward to it. A day of sunshine and sand with Jeremy, Paige and his friends was bound to be fun.