Officer on Duty (Lock and Key Book 4)

by Ranae Rose

  The stand was nearby, just beyond the edge of the beach, some forty yards away.

  Paige nodded. “I’ll be fine – I’ll be with Sasha.”

  Sasha’s company wasn’t exactly Jeremy’s idea of ‘fine’. If Paige ever learned to scheme like that woman, he’d be in serious trouble.

  But he only nodded and told her to remember that whatever she chose would melt quickly in the heat.

  No one else expressed any interest in joining Jeremy and Lucia for a walk, so they set off alone.

  They’d reached the edge of the ebbing surf when he began to wonder whether Lucia was really enjoying herself, or only pretending for his and Paige’s sake.

  The thought was like an anchor, dragging him down. He watched tiny clams burrow into the wet sand, then shifted his gaze to the water, where pelicans dove for fish.

  “Paige really is a good swimmer,” Lucia said. “Has she had lessons?”

  “A few years ago.”

  “Where at?”

  He wracked his mind, then shook his head. “Don’t remember, to tell the truth.”

  His mom had taken Paige to her swim lessons while he’d worked. He hadn’t been there for any of them, and all of a sudden, that seemed wrong.

  “Well, it shows.”

  He nodded, and the surf filled the silence with the sounds of surging and receding water. A seagull hopped across their path, probably hoping for food.

  They were almost to the fishing pier when he got tired of guessing at what she might be feeling.

  “I apologize if I made you feel obligated to come out here,” he said.

  She shifted her gaze from the water to him. “What do you mean?”

  “When Liam asked you to come along, you were sort of put on the spot. And I didn’t make it easy for you to say no.”

  “I didn’t feel that way at all.”

  She sounded sincere. But then, she always did.

  Maybe she was. Maybe he was just overly suspicious.

  But he still felt like he’d been presumptuous in encouraging her to join them. The feeling had worsened when he’d gotten to the beach and listened to Sasha and Henry running their mouths. The way Sasha painted it, he and Lucia were halfway to the altar.

  In reality, they barely knew each other. Asking Lucia to go on family outings with him and Paige was probably too much, too soon.

  The worst part was the thought that Paige might make assumptions, much like Sasha. She’d taken such a shine to Lucia – would she also read too much into her presence at the beach?

  God knew what kind of ideas Sasha was putting in her head right now.

  He grimaced. The thought of confusing or disappointing his daughter was even worse than the thought of embarrassing or insulting Lucia.

  She stopped in the wet sand, and he followed suit. Water splashed at their heels, the cool spray hitting his shins.

  “You don’t seem convinced,” she said. “Or is something else the matter?”

  “It’s nothing. I just feel a little guilty, asking you to do things with me and my daughter when we’re just getting to know each other.”

  She frowned. “Did I say or do something to make you think I’m uncomfortable around Paige?”

  “No, definitely not.” That was part of why he felt so guilty: she’d been so gracious about it. It made him feel like he was taking advantage.

  “Then what are you talking about? I’m having a good time, and I thought you wanted me here. I didn’t realize you minded.”

  His heart lurched. “I don’t. I’m just worried that I may’ve guilted you into coming along. I know I don’t have the right to expect you to do things with me and Paige just because we got close the other day.”

  “I wouldn’t have come along if I hadn’t wanted to.”

  He nodded slowly.

  “I guess what this all boils down to is that I’m rusty when it comes to dating,” he admitted. It was an epic understatement. “I’m not always sure what’s expected, or what’s okay. I haven’t been with anyone seriously since Paige’s mother.”

  Her eyes widened, and he saw a flash of pink between her cracked lips. “Really?”

  “I mean, I’ve slept with a few women. But it was only physical. Paige was never involved and it was never meant to last.”

  She nodded.

  For a second he felt exposed, embarrassed – like he’d said too much. But he’d rather be honest with Lucia than hurt her feelings or insult her. The awkwardness he’d dragged along to the beach was his fault, not hers.

  “Is that because you’re not interested in serious relationships, or because the right person never came along?” she asked after a while.

  “I never thought about it much. I know I don’t have the time or the lifestyle that most women want. I have Paige and my job, and then there’s whatever’s left over. It’s not much.”

  “I think you’re generalizing too much. How do you know what anyone else wants unless you ask?”

  Paige’s mother sure as hell hadn’t wanted him, and she hadn’t had a fraction of Lucia’s kindness or maturity. Maybe he was being hard-headed, but it wasn’t easy to have faith in a woman like Lucia wanting him when someone so much less desirable had abandoned him. Not even their baby had been enough to keep her on their side of the country, let alone by his side.

  That kind of thing had an impact – took its toll, no matter how you looked at it or how much time went by.

  “I’ve never wanted to waste time trying to convince anyone that I’m enough,” he said. “So when I first met you, it never really crossed my mind that you might want something more than just a little fun. I felt lucky just to touch you.”

  It wasn’t the whole truth. When it came to her, some part of him had ached for more than just a touch, a kiss or a fuck, from the very beginning. But he’d suppressed it.

  She held his gaze, and he struggled to read the look in her eyes.

  “I felt lucky too. You don’t have to prove anything to me; that’s not what any of it was about. I’m interested in you, Jeremy. And not just physically.”

  Her flat honesty cut him to the quick and left him stunned.

  She reached out and took him by the hand.

  The warmth of her touch outshone the heat of the sun, and her hand fit nicely inside of his. Their walk back down the seashore seemed to take a fraction of the time their walk out had, and was over too soon.

  * * * * *

  “Please, dad?” Paige leaned on a kitchen chair, her eyes wide and her gaze intent.

  Jeremy sat in his own chair, his spine rigid as he swirled a gritty last sip of coffee in his mouth.

  “I don’t know, Paige. It’d be one thing if the party was going to be at her house and supervised by her parents, but there’s no way they’ll be able to watch over a dozen girls in big public places like that.”

  “All my friends are going. It’s not like I’d be alone.”

  He fought a sigh. “Paige, honey, knowing you’d be surrounded by twelve year old girls doesn’t put my mind at ease.”

  “Shannon and I have been friends since third grade. You always let me go to her birthday parties before.”

  “Those were normal birthday parties – cake and ice cream at her house.” He frowned. “What kind of twelve year old girl has a birthday party in an old plantation house, anyway?”

  Paige shrugged. “Shannon does.”

  “Shannon’s a weird kid.”

  “It’s not that weird. Lots of kids from school have been on the ghost tours they’re doing at Wisteria now. And it’ll go perfectly with the movie.”

  He sat up straighter. “That’s another thing – I don’t like the thought of you going to see some horror movie. The real world is scary enough.”

  A horror movie followed by a ghost tour. What the hell kind of parents let their daughter celebrate her twelfth birthday with a night like that?

  Paige did something she rarely did: pouted. Her lower lip seemed to double in size as she continued to stare
him down.

  “I’m twelve, dad. Sometimes you treat me like I’m so much younger. I can handle a scary movie; you don’t have to be so paranoid all the time.”

  Strong words, coming from Paige. She obviously had her heart set on attending the strange excuse for a birthday party.

  “Since when do you even like scary movies?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t, really. But it’s Shannon’s birthday and I want to be with my friends.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel right about it. I wish she was doing something else for her birthday, because I can’t say yes.”

  Paige deflated. There was no other word for it. With a sigh, she slumped over the chair for a second before turning on her heel and retreating to her room without another word.

  He knew he’d made the right call, but that didn’t stop him from feeling like shit. Paige had so many reasons to be disappointed in him – he hated giving her more.

  * * * * *

  Lucia’s heart picked up pace as she scrolled through her phone contacts and tapped the most recently added name: Jeremy.

  Hey, she typed, are you busy?

  After hitting send, she gazed out the window, toward his house. Having him so close was a double-edged sword: it was convenient, but also burdened her with the constant temptation to skip across the street and embarrass herself. She’d been fighting the urge for the past fifteen minutes, ever since she’d arrived home from her Monday shift at work.

  No. You?

  Just got home from work.

  She exhaled slowly, remembering walking with him on the beach the day before. Holding his hand. It was funny, but those memories were every bit as exciting to her as the memories they’d made in his bedroom.

  Not that she wasn’t dying to make some more of those.

  I haven’t been home long either. Another day sitting at a desk and pushing pencils.

  How’s your leg?

  Fine. They should give me some real work.

  She smiled and rolled her eyes. He still had stitches – no way was his leg ‘fine’. She was just about to reply when another message from him flashed on her screen.

  You free tomorrow after work?

  Yes. Why? Her heart skipped a beat.

  My mom’s going shopping in Wilmington and Paige is going along. She’s almost always out ‘till dusk when she shops.

  Her heart beat even faster. She knew Paige came first in Jeremy’s life – as she should – and that his job was demanding. She also knew that he worried about not having enough time to devote to a relationship, and she didn’t want him to feel pressured. But God, was she excited by the thought of getting some time alone with him again.

  Do you want to stop by my place after your shift?

  Absolutely.

  Okay. Do me a favor…

  What?

  Come straight here. Don’t change out of your uniform.

  You got it.

  After his last text, she had to turn up the AC.

  CHAPTER 12

  Jeremy would’ve felt guilty going over to Lucia’s on Tuesday after work, but it wasn’t like he’d pawned Paige off on anyone or asked his mom to take her somewhere just so he could be with Lucia. She’d suggested the shopping trip out of the blue, freeing up the perfect opportunity for them to be alone together again.

  It was perfect, and he’d been looking forward to it all day. Each hour behind a desk had ticked by agonizingly slowly, and he’d fantasized about Lucia while watching the clock. Now, he was finally pulling onto Magnolia Street.

  He parked his cruiser in his garage – he didn’t like to leave it out in public view. He also didn’t want any of the neighbors to see it parked in Lucia’s driveway and blab to his mother – or worse, Paige.

  He’d reveal his new relationship with Lucia on his own terms, when he was good and ready. For now, he was still busy trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Lucia wanted to try out a relationship with him.

  A woman like her had every right to ask for so much more than what he could give. He was a lucky bastard.

  He was used to roasting in his black uniform, but the heat was especially intense as he climbed her porch stairs and knocked on the door.

  She answered right away.

  “Hey.” She wore a blue sundress, and the straps left her shoulders all but bare. Her hair hung loose and damp over their slopes, like she’d just showered. And her eyes…

  They were riveted to him. He noticed the way her gaze slid slowly down the front of him, from his collar to his boots. Hell, he felt it.

  “Hey.”

  When she stepped aside, he listened for the click of the deadbolt sliding home after she shut the door.

  He heard it, and a little of the tension went out of his muscles.

  “I made some sweet tea,” she said. “Do you want some?”

  “Sure.”

  “You look beautiful,” he said when she handed him a glass filled half with tea and half with ice. “You could stop traffic in that dress.”

  She smiled, and her gaze settled on him again. There was a gravity to it he remembered from their encounter in his bedroom, only now it was stronger.

  He remembered what she’d said about liking men in uniform, and his cock stiffened to half-mast. Her looking at him like that was enough not only to make his dick rise, but his chest swell with pride.

  After a while, he finally remembered to drink his tea. A couple sips left him with a vague impression of sweetness – a sweetness she surpassed. All he really wanted in his mouth was her, but he drank anyway.

  She said she was interested in more than just a physical relationship, so that meant he needed to do more than just pounce on her every time they were alone in a room together.

  Damned if he knew what else to do, though. Her allure fogged his brain with desire, and he ached to do all the things he’d fantasized about.

  “I stopped at the drug store the other day,” she said, “so we don’t have to hold back this time.”

  She said it so matter-of-factly that the meaning might not have registered, had there not been a husky note in her voice.

  Truth was, he’d stopped at the drug store that morning too. Holding back had been sweet agony last time, and he didn’t know if he was capable of summoning that much self-restraint again.

  “Straight and to the point,” he said. “You damn near made me drop this glass.”

  She grinned. “I’ve got more. Break it if you want; I only care about one thing right now.”

  There was that look again – the one that made him feel like her gaze went straight through his bullet-proof vest.

  He was fully hard and aching for her already.

  “Jesus, Lucia. Hold on a second while I pinch myself. Pretty sure I had this exact same dream last night.”

  He teased because it was either that or throw down the glass, grab her and press all her soft curves against all the hard edges of his uniform, duty belt and body.

  She stepped forward, and he managed to set the glass down on the table. Then her arms were around him, and he could feel the heat of her body despite his vest.

  He groaned when she bellied up against his erection.

  “You look so good,” she said, breathing deeply. “If I was wearing panties, they’d be wet.”

  Her words hit him like lightning. How had he ended up with this woman wrapped around him in a dress and no panties? His mind spun as he tried to make sense of it.

  He couldn’t, and so he scooped her up instead, gathering her close against his chest before she could go anywhere.

  She laughed. “My bedroom is just down the hall.”

  He had her there in a heartbeat, and didn’t put her down until he reached her bed. It was a queen draped with a colorful quilt that creased beneath her as she laid back.

  The skirt of her sundress rode up high, revealing nothing but the curve of her hip and plenty of skin.

  He couldn’t resist touching, stroking the skin her bikini strap had lain
across the other day at the beach. He’d longed to peel it down then, and now here she was with nothing in his way.

  When he let his fingertips drift to the edge of the dark hair above her pussy, she twisted, opening her thighs so that he had a clear view of her lips, her clit … everything.

  It was beyond hot, and the dress clinging to the top half of her body was a tease, compounding the lust that rushed through him. All this, and he still hadn’t laid eyes or hands on her breasts. The cotton bodice molded to them, and it was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  He stroked the seam of her pussy as he leaned in, drawn to the promise of her nipples pressing stiff against the thin slip of a dress.

  She sucked in a breath, and he caught himself doing the same as his fingers slipped and encountered a hint of silky heat.

  He’d felt it before – tasted it – but it was different this time, knowing he’d soon be buried in it.

  He ran his other hand over the front of her dress, brushing soft slopes and hard nipples, until he felt the zipper running up her right side. Gripping the tiny bit of metal, he pulled.

  The dress split along her ribs, loosening so that the side of one breast was exposed, soft skin peeking from between the delicate teeth of the zipper.

  His vest, duty belt and the sundry items attached to it made it uncomfortable to lean deeper over her, but he couldn’t have cared less. He cupped her breast and withdrew his hand from between her legs so he could peel the bodice down, exposing all of her.

  She was beautiful, especially when she arched against the mattress, pressing her nipple against the palm of his hand.

  He’d never been hotter, and it wasn’t because of his vest or his black uniform. Finally, he pressed his mouth against the peak of one breast and teased it with his tongue and teeth.

  She gasped and pressed a hand against the back of his head, nails biting straight through his short hair and stinging his skull in a way that made his dick throb.

  By the time he stopped, he was sure there’d be little half-moon marks on his scalp. Not that anyone would be able to see.