Naughty Wish

by J. H. Croix

  I glanced to the man beside us. I would imagine most women would say he was handsome. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and was impeccably dressed. He was tall with a slick vibe. He instantly annoyed the shit out of me. I didn't know who he was to Jana, but she didn't seem to want him near her. He looked my way, as if sizing me up.

  “Well, I see you’ve moved on,” he commented to Jana.

  Her shoulder tightened under my hand. “Rick, just leave it alone. Have a good afternoon.”

  Rick, perfect name for him. Asshole Rick stared at her for a beat too long, his eyes measuring her. I saw his gaze drop down to her generous breasts, which were showcased in her fitted, bright blue blouse. Tension coiled inside of me. A wave of possessiveness rolled through me, which didn’t make a bloody lick of sense.

  Rick simply nodded and then turned on his heel and walked away. Once he was out of earshot, Jana looked up at me again, her eyes worried. “Thank you.”

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Now that you're here, I'm fine,” she replied, the cheeriness in her tone sounding slightly forced.

  She seemed out of sorts. That bothered me. By nature, she was a lighthearted, bubbly person. I didn't know who Rick was to her, but I didn't like his effect on her.

  “I suppose we should have lunch now,” I added, watching as Rick went to get in line at the counter.

  Jana still didn’t seem quite herself, but she seemed pleased with this turn of events and threw a grin my way. “Perfect. Go ahead and take a seat. The manager is a friend of mine. She'll come take your order. You don't need to go wait in line with that idiot.”

  “I don't mind,” I commented.

  She looked as if she was considering something, and then she finally nodded. “Okay, can you get me a refill?” she asked, lifting her mug.

  When I reached to take it from her, our fingers brushed against each other, sending a jolt of electricity through me. Bloody hell. She made me crazy.

  I returned to the counter, standing in line right behind Rick. As the line moved forward, he glanced back to me, arching a brow when he saw me. “So you’re Jana’s new boyfriend?”

  I didn't respond and simply looked at him.

  “She's a lovely girl.”

  “How do you know her?” I asked because that was the only thing I cared to know.

  “She used to work for me. We had a rather banging affair if you know what I mean,” he replied with a sly grin.

  Anger jolted through me. Not with Jana, but with Rick and the way he spoke of her. I surmised he was the very boss who’d thrown her reputation to the wolves. I curled my fingers tightly around Jana's mug. “Well, it’s bloody obvious why it ended,” I offered finally.

  Rick looked surprised by my answer, his mouth falling open slightly before he snapped it shut. “What the hell do you mean?”

  “You’re a cocky prick and an asshole to boot.”

  At that convenient moment, the person in front of Rick finished their order, and the waitress called out for who was next in line. Rick spun around and ordered his coffee, leaving without addressing me again.

  I returned to the table with a sandwich for myself and coffees for both of us. Sitting down across from Jana, I ate my sandwich and sipped on my coffee while she finished up what she was working on. Her hair was down today. The pink streaks had faded, although the purple was still rich. Her eyes flashed up to me as she closed her laptop.

  “Did Rick say something jerky to you?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Doesn't matter.”

  She shifted in her seat, looking uncertain.

  “He's an asshole and not worth worrying about,” I added.

  Chapter 10

  Jana

  I followed Finn out of the café, flipping my raincoat hood over my head as we stepped out into the drizzle. He glanced down at me. “Did you walk or drive?”

  “Walked.”

  “Need a ride?” he asked, his tone ever polite in his clipped accent.

  I nodded. He slid his hand through my elbow and guided me down the street. I wanted to hug him, which was odd, but his timing had been so perfect. I'd been out of sorts ever since I ran into Rick. He was such a jerk. I couldn't quite believe I’d ever thought he was hot. I could look back and see I’d been in a vulnerable place with everything going on with my mother’s breast cancer, but it still felt awful. I felt ashamed for falling for him, and ashamed for having an affair when I didn't even know it was an affair. Generally, I just felt shitty about the whole thing.

  Finn was so matter-of-fact and gracious. He didn't even know who Rick was, but his comment that Rick wasn’t even worth worrying about had helped. It had been nice to just have coffee and a sandwich with Finn after that. He led me down a side street and into his police cruiser.

  I flipped my hood back and brushed my damp hair away from my eyes. “Oh perfect. I love this car,” I announced once he closed the door on his side. “I can’t believe I get another ride in this. It’s not even official business.”

  He chuckled. “Only because it's raining.”

  “Oh, so you'd give anybody a ride in the rain?”

  He looked out the side window into the rain and then back at me, a sly grin on his face. “Probably not. You push my limits.”

  I was feeling restless and reckless. I liked Finn. A lot. There was plenty of lust in the equation, but it was more than that. Running into Rick made me feel small and vulnerable, and I wanted to erase that feeling. Conveniently, or so I thought, the small computer monitor that had been in between the seats wasn't there today.

  I glanced out the windows. We were on a side street, and it was pouring. No one could really see us. I climbed over the seats and straddled Finn, moving fast before he could dissuade me. I settled down onto his lap, my knees on either side of his hips. I could feel his cock hard against me. His eyes whipped up to mine.

  “Jana,” he said, his tone low. “What are you doing?”

  “I'm sitting on your lap,” I explained with a grin, stating that quite obvious fact. For good measure, I rolled my hips against him. Oops. Bad plan. His hard cock rubbed against my clit. I was wearing a skirt again, as I almost always did. I was a skirt girl. Even in the chilly, early December weather, I wore skirts with knit stockings to ward off the chill.

  “I love your uniform,” I said, running my hands down his shoulders and tracing the embossed label on his shirt.

  His eyes darkened. He held my hips still against him, his fingers curling tightly around them. “We can't do this.”

  This was the good Finn, not the one that I knew when he was out of uniform. He sounded so proper, and I just wanted to ruffle him, to nudge him to be naughty with me.

  “Oh, Finn. Let's just play around a little bit. Nobody can see.”

  His head fell back against the seat with a thud before he shook it slowly back and forth.

  I ignored him. I traced my fingertip along his jaw, savoring the rough stubble prickling along my skin. I dipped my head and kissed him. If he meant to resist me, he didn't try very hard. He growled into my mouth, his hand coming up to tangle in my hair, gripping it tightly as he devoured my mouth. I had been the aggressor, but he took over right away, and I loved it.

  My nipples were tight, my panties were wet, and this was delicious. We kissed and kissed and kissed, deep sweeps of his tongue tangling with mine, his teeth catching my bottom lip, kisses dusted down along my jaw and behind my ear. I shivered all over, rolling my hips over the hard, hot length of his shaft. We got so heated, I forgot where we were until I lifted my head to catch my breath.

  The windows were fogged. No one could see a thing, and the rain drummed on the roof of the car. We were in our own cocoon. I reached between us and unbuttoned his shirt quickly, gratified to find he wasn't wearing an undershirt because I wanted to feel his skin. I made quick work of my own buttons. Again, if he meant to stop me, he didn't try very hard.

  I cupped my breasts in my hands, rolling my nipples with my fingers. “I wan
t you.”

  “Bloody hell, Jana. You're killing me. We can't…”

  I cut him off. “Yes, we can. Come on.”

  He shook his head, keeping his hands at his sides, balled into fists. He might be trying to keep his hands to himself, but the feel of his cock against me told another story.

  “Let’s make a deal,” he bit out. “I'll make you come, but we save the rest for later.”

  Considering that I wanted him—every hard, hot inch of him—inside me, I felt slightly let down, but I would take whatever he was offering.

  The second I nodded, his mouth was on one of my nipples. He swirled his tongue around it. I cried out when his teeth scored it lightly, a sharp streak of pleasure chasing away the vulnerability inside of me. His hands slid up my thighs, past the tops of my thigh-high knit stockings, the cool air outside a balm to the heat between us. He reached between my legs, dragging his fingers over the wet silk and then shoving it out of the way. Then, his fingers were inside of me, driving deep.

  I rolled into his touch as he fucked me slowly with his fingers. I was so close to the edge, I was unraveling inside.

  “Jana,” he murmured, my name a guttural growl.

  I opened my eyes, gripping the door handle with one hand and the console in the other.

  “Look at me,” he commanded.

  I watched his face as he finger fucked me to insanity. I finally came when he pressed his thumb over my clit. He steadied my hips as pleasure radiated through me in a forceful burst. I fell against him, my body echoing from the force of my climax. Before I came out of my haze, he was helping me put my clothes back together and buttoning his shirt. I slid into the passenger seat, temporarily sated, but knowing I wanted more. I rolled my head to the side.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, referencing his insistence only he would make me come just now.

  He cut me off. “Later.”

  “But you said we weren't having dinner until Friday.”

  “I didn't say that. You did,” he countered.

  “Oh.”

  “You can have Friday, you can have Saturday and you can have tonight if you want.”

  “Oh my.”

  Chapter 11

  Finn

  I drained my coffee, glancing up as Eli rounded the corner into my office. He sank down in the chair across from me. “So I hear Becca got the charges she wanted,” he said by way of greeting.

  “Of course. Did you expect anything less from her?” I countered. Though I’d been confident, I was relieved Becca had gotten what she was after. After my brief interview with Lynne Sutton, I’d felt we’d let her down and needed to protect her. A no contact order wasn’t much, but it would help.

  Eli chuckled. “Usually I wouldn’t, but this one’s got a lot of pressure. How did the interview go with Sutton’s wife?”

  “Much better than I expected. We got everything we needed. Because she was willing to talk, we were able to increase the charges. She's waiting here with a family friend until her parents come get her.”

  “They have kids?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Not yet. I'm guessing that's helping make it easier for her to leave. Gonna be a media firestorm the next few days though.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it will be. Good work.”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t really do anything. She came in ready to talk. I'm still pissed about the original charges, but we’re moving on. Becca did the heavy lifting on this one. Anyway, what’s up with you?”

  “Stopped by to see if you wanted to grab a beer after work.”

  For a beat, I was tempted to say no, if only because I had impulsively made plans with Jana tonight. I was seriously second-guessing myself now. I'd lost my bloody mind earlier. I didn't do things like what I had just done with Jana. Oh, don't get me wrong, I had plenty of casual sex. That was all I’d had since Kristen and I had broken up. But I didn't get hot and heavy in my cruiser with anyone. Ever. I was thinking it would be wise if I kept some distance between us, so I met Eli's gaze and nodded. “Sure. Tell me where and when.”

  “Harry's?” he asked in return.

  Harry’s was a pub nearby, a place we often frequented, if anything because of its proximity to the police station. Harry's also had good beer and good pub fare.

  “Meet you there. Say 6 o'clock?”

  He nodded and stood from his chair, exiting my office with a wave. I made a rather pointless attempt to focus for the remainder of the day. It had taken an enormous amount of discipline not to bury myself inside of Jana this afternoon. It wasn't just that she was sexy as hell. Oh, that didn't bloody help matters, but it was more than that. She felt vulnerable after lunch. The softness to her had hooked on a thread in my heart, unraveling it.

  I’d stitched it up tight after everything that happened with Kristen. I hadn't considered that anybody could get to me like that again. Yet Jana had—so easily and with so little effort, it was slightly terrifying.

  ***

  Late that evening, I leaned back into my chair at Harry's, taking a drag of my beer and chuckling at Eli's latest comment. There was an American football game on the telly behind the bar, and Eli was a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. For the most part, he was a rational man, but like most anybody who had a sport they loved, he wasn't rational when it came to this.

  “I can't fucking believe that interception turned the whole game around,” he commented, glancing to the screen and shaking his head in disgust. His eyes flicked back to me. “Oh well. I think this one's a loss.”

  “So where are you staying now that you and Beth broke up?” I asked.

  Eli let out a sigh. “Crashing at my brother’s place for a few weeks until I find a new one. I love my brother, but damn, babies don't sleep well.”

  I flashed a grin. “So rumor has it.”

  Eli's brother was also a friend of mine. He got married about a year ago and now had a newborn baby. “I'm sure you'll find a place soon enough.”

  “Oh, I could find a place now. It’s just everything’s so damn expensive.”

  “Bloody right,” I added.

  “Seattle’s housing market sucks,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Anyway, let me know if you hear of anything.”

  “You looking to buy or rent?”

  “Probably rent, but if I could find the right place, I would buy.”

  “You might want to talk to the realtor I used when I bought my townhouse a while back. She handles rentals and sales.”

  “Perfect. Give me her name,” Eli replied.

  I pulled out my phone to look up her number, reciting it quickly while he punched it into his phone. Our waitress swung by the table, picking up our plates and serving another round of beers. My eyes caught on my screen where Jana’s last text flashed. I’d sent her a text earlier to cancel. She replied with a sad face and a picture of a sad looking puppy. I wondered what she was doing instead.

  I didn't have to wonder long because the door to the pub opened, and Liam Reed came walking through with his wife, along with Ethan Walsh and his wife Zoe. Lo and behold, Jana was with them. Bloody hell.

  I knew Liam and Ethan in passing from my days as a footballer during university. They were Seattle Stars players, and our paths crossed back in university before I got injured. They were both good blokes, and I was glad to see they had done well for themselves. What I didn't know was why Jana was with them. She appeared to be friends with Zoe Walsh who I knew in passing from her work as a criminal defense attorney. Her relationship with Ethan had been a mini scandal at first because she had once been his attorney.

  Jana’s hair was damp from the rain, and she looked bloody gorgeous. From all the way across the room before she'd even seen me, my body tightened. I watched as she laughed at something Zoe said and then brushed a damp lock of hair off of her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. I wanted to walk over and kiss her.

  Liam threaded through the tables. Considering that he hadn’t even noticed me yet and could have no clue about what had pass
ed between Jana and me, it was pure coincidence he commandeered the table directly beside the one I was sharing with Eli. Jana had yet to see me, and I wasn't sure whether I wanted her to see me or not. I had no good reason for canceling dinner with her, yet at least I was with a friend. Next thing I knew, Ethan glanced my way with a slight grin.

  “Eh, mate. Long time no see,” he said by way of greeting.

  “Good to see you. How are things?” I asked as Liam pulled out a chair for his wife, a well-known orthopedic surgeon around Seattle.

  Zoe sat down beside Ethan. Both Ethan and Liam were smitten with their respective wives, and it was rather amusing. They knew me back when I was engaged, at a time when both of them we're busy playing the field and rather amused that anybody would settle down young.

  “Right as rain,” Liam offered as he sat down. “You?”

  I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Fine.”

  I couldn't say I didn’t still experience a pang when I thought about my truncated football career. My car accident and host of injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time. If my recovery hadn’t taken so long, my window to return to play would've been shorter. It was what it was, and I had largely accepted it, but it didn’t mean I didn’t have some regret. I was blessed in the sense that money wasn’t a problem for me.

  Ethan glanced my way once they were seated. “I knew you were still in Seattle, but I haven't seen you in a while.”

  “It’s usually a good thing when people don’t see me,” I offered.

  Liam chuckled. “So true. Have you met Olivia?” he asked, gesturing to his wife.

  “Can't say I've had the pleasure.”

  Liam winked. “Oh, and it’s definitely a pleasure.”

  She nudged him with her elbow. “Nice to meet you. I’m Olivia. You are?”

  “Finn Connors. I know these lads from back in our university days.”

  Olivia was quite lovely with her dark curly hair, bright green eyes and fair skin. She appeared to be a good counterpoint to Liam who’d been quite the tease when I knew him before.