Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2)

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  She tossed her purse and the dirty key onto a small table by the door. “Of course I am,” she snapped. Then, she appeared to soften a just a bit. “What about you?”

  “I grew out of that,” he lied. He didn’t know why felt like he should keep it from her, it was something he usually kept to himself. He went a really long time before he realized that if you told people about your love of all things nerd, you will never live down that label.

  “Look, David,” Hannah moved into the kitchen as she spoke to him, “I don’t really know why you want to talk about this so bad. That part of our lives is over, let’s just forget about each other and move on.”

  He followed her into a blue and white tiled kitchen. It looked like a room you would see on the cover of Country Homes or something. She opened a cupboard and pulled down a canister of coffee. He leaned against the counter and watched her while she got a pot brewing. “Honestly, I don’t know why, Hannah. I just … I need you to understand.”

  Taking out two large mugs, she sighed and turned to face him. “I do understand. That’s what you don’t get and I don’t get why I’m so angry about it either. But, yes, I do get why you left and I know I’m a selfish bitch, but I didn’t want you to go. I understood that first day you told me. Like I said before though, it doesn’t take away the hurt.”

  “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  Her eyes softened at his words, but she still stood behind a wall she had built. “I’m sorry too. But, here’s the thing. It took me far longer than I ever wanted it to take to get over you. For so long, I hoped you would call, that you would visit, even send a freaking letter … and you never did. That, is why I’m still so mad, not because you left in the first place.”

  How did he explain to her that if he had done that, it would have made it harder on him? In the beginning, he wouldn’t have wanted to go back to L.A. if he had come to visit her. If he heard her voice over the phone, he would have just wanted to see her even more. It had been better with the clean break.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered again, unable to explain the rest of it to her.

  The pot finished and she poured some of it into both mugs and then handed him one. “We can both be sorry all we want, but it doesn’t change things.”

  He poured some of the creamer she set out into the strong black liquid. “We can change things now.”

  “We are not the same people anymore.” She shook her head. “We have spent twelve years apart. I don’t even know if I would want to be your friend. Besides … it hurts to be around you.”

  “I can’t just walk out of your life again. I hate that I did this to you.”

  “But, this time I want you to leave, David.” He told himself that she didn’t mean it, it was the pain talking.

  “Hannah, I’m not leaving again. I will make it up to you.”

  She laughed and then shook her head. He spotted a few tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. “Make it up to me, seriously! How do you expect to do that?”

  Time to spill it. No one else would ever, ever see this side of him. He was a cold, hard detective. But, with Hannah, he was just a man. He set the coffee mug down on the counter and strode across the kitchen to where she was leaning against the counter.

  Her eyes widened as he gently took the mug out of her hand and set that one aside also. Then, he took both of her hands into his. “You … you are the only woman I have ever loved. I’m not just saying this to make you forgive me, I don’t do shit like that. Hannah, you have always been mine, even all this time we were apart and I am telling you right now that I am going to make this right. I want a second chance.”

  The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks, but she didn’t pull her hands away. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.

  “I’m just telling you how I feel,” he answered, bringing her hands up to his heart, which in turn brought her a bit closer to him as well. God, how he had missed having her close to him.

  “You’re just going to leave again. You said this was temporary.”

  He hadn’t thought about that part of it. Would he go back to the city if they let him? Fuck, that probably wouldn’t happen anyway. “I hoped it was temporary, until I saw you again.” It was only partially a lie.

  She stared up at him. “David, this just isn’t good timing.”

  He hated that she was crying, so he reached up and touched her cheek, wiping away the wetness with his thumb. “Is there someone else?” He hoped to God there wasn’t another man in her life. It was hard enough getting her to speak to him at this point, never mind having to fight another man for her.

  “No. No, it’s not that.” She suddenly let out a sob, but still didn’t pull away from him.

  “What’s the matter?” His instincts told him there was something else going on aside from the situation between the two of them.

  “I … I … it’s nothing.” Her eyes betrayed her, there was something wrong, she just didn’t want to talk about it. “I’ll be fine,” she finished.

  David didn’t want to let her go, but he forced himself to release her hands and take a step backward. “All right, I won’t push it, but know that I’m here if you need anything, even just to talk.”

  Using a dishtowel, she wiped the wetness off her cheeks and took a deep breath. “All that stuff you said, about loving me and all that. Well, it’s the same for me.”

  Holy shit, did she really just say that. He had thought that he was going to have to fight for her, to spend months or even years proving himself worthy of her.

  “But …”

  Aw shit, there was a but in there.

  “Like I said before, we don’t even know each other anymore, how do we know we would even like the people we have become?”

  David rolled his eyes and lifted his coffee cup off the counter, “Duh, it’s called dating. You know that thing people do to get to know each other. It’s not like I asked you to marry me or anything. I think we owe it to one another this chance to find what we once had.”

  Closing her eyes, Hannah didn’t respond immediately. After a moment she regained her composure and opened them again. “Listen, David. Under normal circumstances I would say okay. But, I have a lot of issues going on right now at … work.

  “Work?”

  She nodded and turned to face the sink. “Yes, work.”

  Yup, definitely hiding something. Oh well, fuck it, he was hiding something too. He didn’t have any right to invade her personal life.

  What the fuck was happening to him? For the last twelve years he had thought about what it would be like when he saw her again, but he never thought that he was going to turn into a pansy ass who was suddenly professing his love.

  As if the thought just occurred to her, Hannah spun back around and caught his gaze. “The other thing that bothers me is that you hate it here in Summer Hollow, you left me to get away from this place.”

  It was true. “I did,” he sighed, “but, I won’t do it again.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I guess I will have to prove it to you then.”

  She let out a bitter laugh and tucked a renegade strand of hair behind her ear. “I still have my issues to deal with first. Then we can talk about it again … if you’re still around.”

  “Oh, I’ll be around, don’t worry.”

  “This is so crazy,” she mumbled under her breath. “I never thought any of this would be happening.”

  He had finished his coffee so he went to the sink and rinsed out the mug, then set it down on the counter. “Not me, I always knew I’d see you again.”

  She either didn’t know what to say or didn’t want to respond because the room suddenly went silent. After a moment she rinsed out her own cup and then looked up at him. “I’m pretty tired. I need to get to bed.”

  There it was. She was giving him the boot. “I’d better go anyway, I have work tomorrow.” He did not want to leave.

  “Thanks for the ride home.” She assumed the pro
per hostess role as she followed him to the front door.

  He pulled the door open and stepped out onto the porch. “I’m really glad we did this. Thank you for the chance to talk.”

  “Well, it was either that or let my brother pound on you a little bit.” She smiled.

  He let her think that would have actually happened and smiled back. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “You don’t have my number.”

  “I’m a cop, remember.” With that, he backed away a couple steps before turning to jog over to his car.

  CHAPTER

  10

  HANNAH

  David stared at her as he backed away a few steps and then he reluctantly turned away. She watched him jog the last few steps to his car and that was when it hit her.

  She wanted him.

  This might be her only chance to be with him before they found out she killed that guy and she went to prison. All these years she spent longing for him to come to her and say the things he just told her in the kitchen, she deserved at least one night of happiness before things went to shit.

  Bolting off the steps, she hurried across the driveway. “David!”

  He turned just in time to see Hannah running toward him. With a look of surprise he opened his arms for her as she jumped up, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She felt him immediately give in, kissing her back with equal fervor.

  Hannah didn’t hold anything back, she let all those years of missing him come through in that kiss. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her firmly up against his body so that she could feel every hard inch of him through his clothes.

  She moaned against his lips and then whispered, “I want you to stay.”

  He turned with her in his arms and stepped forward so that she was pressed up against the cool metal of the Chevelle’s door. “What about your issues?” he whispered.

  “Fuck the issues. Take me inside.”

  David pulled away from her lips with a hungry groan and then lifted her into his arms.

  Finally … finally after all these years, they were going to be back together again. She looked up into the depths of his icy blue eyes and saw that he felt the same. Unable to help herself, she pulled his head down for more kissing.

  Somehow, he managed to make it up the steps and over the threshold of the open doorway without separating his lips from hers. Once he made it into the house, he kicked the door shut behind them and set her back down onto her feet.

  “Hannah.” He took hold of her waist with both hands, gently pulling her forward. “You’re sure about this.”

  She nodded. “Positive.”

  “Because if this goes any further …”

  “I want it to,” she cut him off and pulled her hands from his and reached up, touching both his cheeks and then brought him down for another kiss.

  Indeed, she was sure about being with him, what she wasn’t sure about was what was going to happen afterward. Forget about it Hannah, live for now, she told herself. With that thought in mind, she pushed everything else to the back of her mind except him.

  In a move bolder than she had ever been before, she slipped his jacket off of his shoulders and pushed it down off his arms. She wanted him naked, like right freaking now. Her nerves tingled as she thought about how their bare skin would feel against each other.

  He helped her with the jacket by wiggling out of it and dropping it to the floor. Then, he swept her up off of her feet again, carrying her in both arms, and headed down the little hallway to her bedroom.

  She watched his gaze sweep the room and then focus on the bed. Before she knew it, he tossed her down onto the fluffy comforter and remained standing, staring down at her. She ran her eyes down his body, wanting to rip that shirt off of him if he didn’t take it off soon. But then, for a moment, her attention settled on his gun. He had a holster on, which she hadn’t really noticed, but the gun was just a reminder of what was going to happen soon and most likely he was going to be the one who arrested her.

  Push it back Hannah.

  He didn’t smile down at her, instead, the look he wore as he reached up and took his holster off, was one of longing and intensity. She wanted to help him, but after the holster and gun dropped to the floor, she kicked off her shoes and then wiggled out of her scrub pants, leaving her in only her lacey white panties and white tank top.

  She heard his quick intake of breath and watched him finish unbuttoning his shirt, exposing the most fabulous set of abs she had ever seen.

  My God, they weren’t teenagers anymore. What she was looking at was a man, not the young body he’d had when they were together.

  After his shirt dropped to the floor, he reached for his belt buckle. She couldn’t resist any longer. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she reached for him, running her hands over his stomach and then bringing her lips to the soft skin and hard muscles.

  “Oh, God … Hannah.” He released what sounded like a low growl.

  Unable to wait, she pushed his jeans down the rest of the way, so all he had to do was step out of them. He was more than ready for her. She moved her hand lower, gently brushing over the hardness beneath his boxer briefs.

  He pushed her back down onto the comforter where she immediately ripped the tank top over her head, revealing a modest white bra with no decoration whatsoever. Their gazes locked with each other and she gave him a slight nod. “Stop wondering,” she whispered.

  “I’m not wondering, I’m thinking.” His eyes left hers and drank in every inch of her exposed body. I’m probably dreaming, but I was thinking about how long I’ve wanted this.” He leaned over the top of her, bracing himself with his left hand and brought his lips to hers.

  Without separating their lips, he traced his fingertip up her arm and then downward, finally cupping her breast and grazing over the material with his thumb. Beneath the fabric, he felt her nipple harden and she moaned against his lips.

  Her skin was tingling with expectation as his hand moved downward, continuing his exploration of her body. Over her ribs, tickling her stomach and then she felt his fingertip touch the edge of her panties.

  Son of a bitch, she had never, ever in her life wanted someone to just rip her underwear off and take advantage of her. She didn’t want to go slow, they could do that later. She wanted him now.

  Right. Fucking. Now.

  It was hard to believe only a few hours earlier she had been pushing him away, telling him she didn’t want to see him. Now, she didn’t want anything else. Suddenly, her hips shot up when his fingers moved down and grazed between her legs.

  She sucked in her breath, forcing herself to relax and let him do as he liked. She looked up and once again their gazes locked. Reaching up, without separating from his stare, she tugged the edges of his boxer briefs and slid them down. He helped her get them off the rest of the way and then returned the gesture by helping her with her own.

  Once they were off, he slid his hand behind her back and unclasped her bra with one snap. The material fell away, exposing her average breasts to the man she once loved. He finally broke eye contact with her so that he could get a good look at her entire body.

  Still not speaking, Hannah wrapped her fingers around the length of him. Holy shit, he was so fucking hard. Moving her hand up and down, she stroked him softly until a groan escaped his lips and let his weight fall down on top of her.

  “Holy shit, if you keep doing that things will go a lot faster than you want,” he told her.

  “Who said I wanted it slow?” She wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled her hips a little.

  “Oh really? No savoring the moment for you, eh?”

  She shook her head. “We can do that later, right now, I need you as close to me as possible.”

  He grasped one of her hands in each of his and moved them above her head, holding them in place. Then he held them with only one hand, reaching down with the other.

  He moved one of her legs aside and the next thing she knew he had
found the sweet spot, gently massaging until she was practically dripping on the bed. “David, please…” she begged, moving her hips upward.

  He smiled down at her, then lowered his head to give her a kiss. As their lips met, he slid his fingers inside of her and all of her senses erupted. “I need you now.” She was astounded at the huskiness of her own voice. “Right now!”

  With no further invitation needed, he withdrew his fingers, moved himself between her legs and then slid into her.

  She stared into his eyes the entire time. He kept hold on her hands and murmured something that sounded like “Thank you, God,” as he thrust into her.

  She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist, allowing him to go deeper. He let go of her hands and moved down to kiss her, moving his thumb across her nipple at the same time. Warmth spread throughout every inch of her body as she felt her orgasm building.

  David raised himself up again, bracing an arm on either side of her so that he could stare into her eyes. She saw his love swimming within those deep blue irises.

  She came hard. Her back arched and her fingernails dug into his back as she cried out with pleasure. David watched her with a smile, obviously pleased. She felt him grow even harder within her and he pumped his hips a bit faster. Letting out a soft moan, he threw his head back and she felt his release.

  He fell down on top of her, still inside her, and his lips found hers again. She kissed back, enjoying the taste of him, unwilling to let him go quite yet.

  They lay there for several moments, breathing hard and finally savoring the feel of their bodies against each other. After a while, Hannah placed her hands on his chest. “I’m having a hard time breathing,” she whispered with a laugh.

  “Oh, shit, I’m sorry.” David rolled off of her and lay on his back.

  Hannah turned onto her side and stared at him. “I’m sorry about everything. Like … everything, all the way back to the night you told me you were leaving.” She really was sorry too. Sometime in between the bar and the sex, she realized that it was in the past. She had hurt for so long, and built up the walls so high, that she had been incapable of forgiving him.