Curves Ahead: a romantic suspense novel

by Andi Jaxon

  Does he really think I would purposefully cause problems with the kids in his neighborhood? I want to help them. Laying on my bed, my mind is going a mile a minute. Questions and glimpses of things I witnessed. Damn him.

  I don’t know what to do or who to talk too. Ben is biased since Alex literally saved him, plus, he would probably tell Alister. Jane is Alex’s mother, so she’ll be biased as well. Why do I adamantly dislike him?

  A hard knock on my front door startles me. Not many people have my address and they would have messaged me. They probably wouldn’t knock either.

  Looking through the peep hole in the door, my heart drops to the floor. No. This isn’t happening. No. No. No.

  Backing into the wall, I slide down into a ball on the floor. My arms curl into my chest, pressed into the tops of my thighs. How did he find me? Why is he here?

  My phone vibrates in my pocket. I shriek, already on edge and trying not to panic. My hand slaps over my mouth.

  “Princess. I know you’re there. Open the door.” The voice of the devil fills my apartment. Why does he have this effect on me? I barely know him. Why do my childhood nightmares do this to me? I’m an adult, I shouldn’t be afraid of something that never even happened!

  My phone lights up in my hand, Officer Bennet is flashing on my screen. I’m too far down the panic rabbit whole to ignore him.

  “Help me,” my voice is barely a whisper. Hoping the devil at my door won’t hear me while I ask for help.

  “Kristen?” the voice of my savior comes through the line, serious and ready to get down to business. “Kristen. What’s going on? Where are you?”

  I try to tell him but only a whimper escapes, my entire body shuddering. More knocking on my door has me scrambling to get farther away from the door. I find myself in my bedroom closet, shoved in a corner behind some dresses. I can’t see the door but that means they can’t see me either.

  “Kristen!” my name is barked out of the phone that I still have in my hand.

  “He’s here. Please help me. Please.” My heart is pounding in my veins, sweat beading up on my forehead.

  “Where are you? Are you at home?” Alex is using his stern voice like from the other night.

  “Home.” Is all I get out before the banging on my door starts up again. Tears pour down my cheeks as I start to rock again.

  “I’m on my way. Kristen. I’m coming. Stay on the phone with me, okay?” he’s coming. He’ll make the devil go away. He’ll save me.

  Over and over, I repeat the same thing. He’s coming. He’ll save me. He’s coming. He’ll save me.

  The banging on my door stops, it’s quiet. Straining to hear, I peak out of my closet and wait.

  “Kristen. Are you still there?” Alex’s voice in my phone makes me jump.

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  “What’s going on? I’m in the parking lot right now.”

  “It’s quiet.”

  “Okay, I’m coming up the stairs. Stay away from the door until I tell you it’s safe, okay?”

  “Okay,” I sit back in the closet and wait, phone pressed to my ear. Listening as closely as my pounding heart will let me.

  “There’s no one here. You’re 4F right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m outside, open the door.”

  Crawling out of my closet, I quietly make my way to the front door and unlock it. Opening it just a crack, I see the blue police uniform and scream again, slamming the door closed and locking it.

  “HE’S HERE!” a blood curdling scream rips from my throat.

  “Kristen!” he’s yelling my name, banging on the door again. “Kristen! It’s me! Open the door.”

  “No. No. Not again. Please no. No.”

  “Kristen! Open the door.” Alex’s voice comes clearly through my phone.

  I shake my head and drop my phone, no, no, no.

  “Kristen. Can you hear me?”

  “Not again. No, no, no. Please.” I’m sobbing on the floor, rocking back and forth.

  A huge crash has me screaming and running. The light from outside spilling inside. “Kristen!” someone yells but I don’t know who it is.

  Curled into a ball, my arms wrapped around my head, when arms wrap around me, I fight as hard as I can. Kicking as hard as I can, swing my arms out, and twisting my body.

  “Kristen, it’s okay. Look at me. Kristen! Look at me!” Hands grip my face, turning to see the person in front of me. The police uniform has me renewing my fight and making my heart thrash harder in my chest. His face lowers to mine until all I can see his him. Alex.

  “Alex!” Launching myself at him, my arms and legs wrap around him and hold as tight as possible. He’s so much bigger than me that I’m entirely enveloped by him. His arms around my hips and back, one hand on the back of my head.

  “You’re okay, I got you. You’re okay.”

  I sob against him. The adrenaline no longer pumping through my system leaves me weak. I hate being weak but I’m so tired there’s nothing I can do about it.

  We stay on my kitchen floor, Alex sitting on his knees with me wrapped around him. I’m not sure how long but my arms and legs are getting tired. My arms relax and slide down to rest at my sides, my feet falling to sit on the floor.

  “How are you?” Alex's voice rumbles against my cheek.

  “Tired.” My eyes close, my body getting heavy.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “Someone knocked on my door. I looked through the peephole and it was someone I’ve met before. I used to have nightmares about him when I was child, but I’ve never figured out why. My parents never wanted me to talk about it.”

  “Hmm…” he leans back and the lack of heat makes me shiver, my arms coming up to rub the chill away. “He used to be a cop?”

  I don’t want to do this, especially with Alex. He doesn’t need to know about my darkest nightmares. “It doesn’t matter, it’s just a stupid nightmare.” Getting my feet under me, I stand. He follows suit, standing in my kitchen in uniform, towering over my minimal height.

  I keep my eyes on my feet, embarrassment heating my face and neck. I hate that he’s seen me like this twice now.

  “Hey,” his hand lifts my chin to meet his eyes. “It’s not just a stupid nightmare. I know real terror when I hear it, when I see it. You don’t want to talk to me about it? That’s fine, but I think you should talk to someone.”

  I don’t say anything, just nod my head in agreement. It’s not the worst idea, though my parents would be horrified. Leaning in, he hesitates for moment before placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’m on duty all night, if you need anything, call me.”

  With that he heads toward the door. My door frame is shot to shit, I barely remember that he kicked it in. He stops and inspects the damage for a minute. “If you don’t feel safe here tonight, you’re welcome to stay at my place or call Ben to see if you can stay there. I’ll get this fixed tomorrow after work.”

  “Okay,” I mumble.

  His head turns to look at me. “There’s a key on top of the door frame or Alister has one. I really don’t mind if you stay at my place.”

  I lean against the wall separating the living room and the kitchen, not saying anything. He steps through the doorway and pulls the door closed behind him. Maybe I should go stay somewhere else tonight, since my door won’t lock.

  With a heavy sigh, I head to my bedroom and grab clothes, my toothbrush, my phone charger, and my laptop, shove it all in a bag and head out of the house. I hate not being able to lock the door. My entire life is in this apartment, but I don’t have a choice.

  In my car, I’m halfway to Ben and Alister’s place when it hits me, Ben is going to ask questions. Why I want to stay with them, why my door won’t lock, what the fuck happened today? I don’t want to answer any of those questions, I just want to sleep.

  Alex

  I CAN’T GET THE panic in Kristen’s voice and on her face out of my head. That kind of sheer terror comes fr
om bad experiences. I’ve seen it before. In a job like mine, you see people on the worst day of their lives. Hurt, scared, desperate. Some days are harder than others to forget, to move past. Car crashes, domestic violence, lost children. Every day I come to work, it has the making of a disaster.

  Mom has talked me off the ledge after a bad night more than once. When the horrors I’ve seen get to be too much, I unload on her and I feel better. It doesn’t make what I’ve seen less horrific, but it helps to talk about it. Sometimes I go for a run, forced to push my body farther than I have before to make my mind quiet. It’s worked so far.

  Finding Ben still haunts me sometimes. It reminds me too much of Erika. When I became a cop, I pulled up the file on her murder. I looked at the pictures, read the coroner’s report. I know exactly what happened to her, what she was forced to suffer through. That haunts me too.

  I know I can’t save everyone. It doesn’t matter how badly I want too, but I can help everyone that lets me.

  My cell phone rings, pulling my head out of the dark place I was in.

  “Hey JJ, what’s up?” he doesn’t normally call me.

  “That pretty girl from fourth of July is at your house. She knew where your key was.”

  “Okay, thanks buddy. I told her she could sleep at my house. Thanks for letting me know. It’s getting late, you guys need to head home soon. Alright?”

  “Okay. Night.”

  “Good night.” I end the call with a smile on my face. She came to my house.

  After my shift is over, I get changed and head to the hardware store for supplies to fix Kristen’s door. All my tools are in my garage. It’s going to take me a bit to get it finished but I’ll make sure she’s able to go home tonight before my shift. Maybe Dad can come over and give me a hand.

  Pulling into my driveway, I park my Jeep next to Kristen’s white Honda. Such a girl car. With a shake of my head, I let myself in and smell the coffee she made at some point. I drop my bag on the couch and check the kitchen for her but she’s not there. Heading down the hallway, the bathroom is empty, and my bedroom door is ajar. Peaking inside, Kristen is asleep in my bed, her head on my pillow and the sheets showing most of one shapely leg.

  Fuck, she looks delicious.

  Slipping my shoes off, I ease inside the room and slide into bed next to her. After the long night on shift, I just want to feel her against me as I fall asleep but as I get settled next to her on the bed she moves toward me in her sleep, pressing her body against mine and murmuring my name.

  A whiff of her hair hits me, turning my cock to steel. She smells like me. I don’t know if it’s from my sheets or if she showered here but my scent on her skin is more than I can take. I want to possess her, own her, claim her. I want her to be mine and only mine. Not just for this moment but for a long time, maybe forever.

  That thought both scares the shit out of me and calms me. Pulling her body flush against mine, she moans when my lips brush against her neck. Her leg hooks over my hip, bring her pussy to my already straining cock. Only a few layers of fabric separate her skin from mine. I hate every layer. My hand runs under her shirt to cup her breast, its weight heavy in my palm. Her nipple pebbles when my thumb glides over it, the pad of my finger rough with callus’.

  Kristen arches against me, her arms wrapping around my neck as her sleepy moan brushes my ear. Rolling on top of her, I pull her shirt up to expose her tits. I’ve been dreaming of them. Their taste, color, texture. I want to know it all. Her alabaster skin turns rosy with lust, her nipples a dusty pink are begging to be sucked.

  Lowering my mouth, I lick the peak before sucking her entire nipple into my mouth with deep suction. Her back arches off the bed, hands reaching out for something to hold on too. Letting it go with a pop, I give the other breast the same treatment.

  “Fuck!” her voice rough with sleep, her body trembling. Looking up to meet her eyes, my teeth drag against the supple skin, her eyes not leaving mine. Moving down her body, my lips caress and suck on her skin. Teeth nip her flesh before my tongue soothes away the sting.

  I kiss her hip bone, my fingers slowly pulling the black silk of her panties down to expose the sweet heaven that lies beneath. My mouth waters for a taste of her, eager to learn every nook and cranny of her and how she likes to be touched. Tossing her panties over my shoulder, I slide back down on the bed to get my first taste of her when her hand on my forehead forces me to stop.

  Shocked, I look up her body to see her face, confusion creasing my brows. This is a first. I’ve never been stopped from eating pussy. I don’t know if I should be insulted or what.

  A different blush blossoms across her chest, crawls up her neck and covers her cheeks. A nervous giggle takes me by surprise. “You don’t… um… you don’t need to do that.” Her legs clamp around me, keeping me from getting any closer to her. Her hands pulling on her t-shirt to cover her body. “It’s fine.” She rambles. “I’m ready.”

  Sitting up on my knees, to give her some space, I take her in. She’s tense, a little shaky, her breathing is elevated, and she’s flushed. These are normally good things, they mean I’m doing my job right and I’m getting laid… but not this time. Maybe she doesn’t want this and just doesn’t know how to say so? I don’t know what to think but my dick throbbing in my shorts is demanding attention and if she’s not interested, I’m going to have a massive case of blue balls.

  “Are you alright?” my hand scrubs down my face, the five o’clock shadow scratching my palm. “If you don’t want to do this, just tell me. I’m a big boy, I can handle it.” I’m not sure why I feel like I need to give her a way out, but my gut is telling me too.

  Dainty hands slide up my arms and cup the back of my head. Lifting my head, her mouth is just a breath away from mine.

  “It’s fine,” her words brush against my lips. “Just kiss me.”

  My lips crash to hers. My heart thundering in my chest as I press her back against the bed. While my mouth ravages hers, her hands push at my shorts, freeing my cock from the confines. Her thighs cradle my hips. The heat of her pussy singeing my dick.

  The slickness of her arousal quickly covers me. Slick skin sliding effortlessly against slick skin. Reaching for my bedside table, I quickly find a condom and sheathe myself, then sink into her. The walls of her pussy are so tight, my eyes roll back into my head. I’m on a hair trigger yet I’ve barely started.

  Kristen’s legs wrap around my hips, pulling me farther into her. My mouth rips from hers, gasping for air. “Fuck, you’re tight.”

  Dropping my head to watch myself pull out of her body then force my way back in, Kristen whimpers. “Oh God,” her hips lift off the bed. “Fuck me, please.” She sounds on the verge of tears, I won’t make her repeat her plea.

  Pulling almost all the way out, I slam back into her, not giving her time to adjust to the hard rhythm I’m setting. Over and over I take her, bucking into her like an animal. Her cries are a mixture of pleasure and pain as I make her body take more than it wants to allow, but her nails clawing at my back tell me not to stop.

  “Rub your clit baby, cum on my cock.” One hand disappears an instant before her pussy pulses around me, strangling my dick while waves of pleasure wash over her body. Arching into me, moaning my name, digging her nails into me pushes me over. My balls tighten, the base of my spine tingles and I release into the latex, deep inside her body.

  Completely spent, sweaty, and breathing hard, I drop down on top of her. My head on her chest, her frantic heart matching my own. Her body is loose, completely relaxed. Her fingers running through my hair is lulling me to sleep after the best orgasm I can remember having. I’m too tired to fight it off, before I can speak, darkness swallows me.

  Kristen

  ALEX IS ASLEEP. LAYING on top of me. Shit.

  I shouldn’t have come here.

  I should have just stayed with Ben and Alister, dealt with the questions or just told them I was tired and wanted to crash. I’ve let him get too close already
. I have to put a stop to it. Seeing him with the neighborhood kids, him helping me during my panic attacks, it’s fucked with my head. He’s a manwhore. Lord only knows where his dick has been.

  Pushing on his arm, I realize just how heavy is muscle riddled body is. The tattoos on his arms are a stark contrast to my own pale skin. For the first time, I can really look at them.

  The images on his skin show his pride in his work, in his country, in himself. As my fingers trace the lines, I see a different side to him. A side that I could like, respect, even fall for. There’s more to Alexander Bennet than he lets on.

  That thought scares the shit out of me. I need to get out of here before my vagina makes any more bad choices. I let him fuck me. For the love of all that is holy, I let the man-whore fuck me.

  Struggling to get out from under Alex, I’m barely able to free myself. Searching the floor, I find my clothes, grasp them to my chest and tip toe from the room. Stripping the shirt off that I stole from Alex, I pull my clothes on and reach for my backpack on the couch. A folder peeking out of his bag grabs my attention.

  I shouldn’t snoop. I know I’m legally not allowed to look in that folder. It’s an open case that he’s brought home to work on, and I need to mind my own damn business. If I was good at minding my own business, I wouldn’t have gone to school for journalism. It’s not in my DNA.

  Pulling the file from the bag, I sit on the edge of the couch and open the file on the coffee table. Holy shit. It’s Ben’s case. Pictures of him being rescued, the room he was kept in, reports from the officers that were there that night. Flipping through the pages, my hand covers my mouth to block the sound trying to escape when I come across pictures of Ben’s injuries. That sick son of a bitch. I wish he had died that night. Dan doesn’t deserve a life in prison, not that he’s even gone to trial yet. He’s still sitting at the county jail waiting for his turn in front of the judge.

  Slamming the folder shut, my stomach lurches at the burns that covered my best friend’s body. I can’t take anymore. My stomach is rioting, and my heart is shattering. Thinking back at his time in the hospital, I saw how broken he was mentally. How fragile his body was from lack of sleep, nutrition, and torture. His body was always covered though, the gown or a sheet always covered the burns. I knew they were there, but I never saw them. Even now, he doesn’t go shirtless.