“I don’t rush off.”
“Right,” he scoffed, almost rolling his eyes. “Look, be careful. Next time, you will get ticketed,” he told her as he started to walk away from her. She didn’t like that.
It could have been the fact that she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and had been nothing but a rushing hot mess that morning, or it could have been the fact that Mr. Sexy Scruff with something up his ass pissed her off, but she stepped forward and grabbed hold of his bicep. Warmth and electricity shot through her, but she ignored it.
“Look, Rex. I don’t know what your problem is—”
“My problem?” he asked, stepping forward. Keira frowned.
“Yes. Your problem.”
“I don’t have one,” he said defensively. She fought from rolling her eyes. What was it about men that made it so hard for them to admit their hurt feelings or being wrong?
“I’m sorry I left that night—”
“You did? I hardly noticed. It wasn’t a big deal.” He took a few steps back while she took matching ones forward.
“Yeah.” She laughed sardonically. “I can see it didn’t affect you one bit.”
“Look—”
“No, you look. You were asleep when my phone rang. It was my sister.”
“Great. Thanks. I feel even better knowing you left me because your sister, what? Broke a nail?” he semi-growled with a roll of his eyes. Keira shook her head, angry and frustrated.
“My mom died,” she blurted out. The look of surprise was evident on his face.
“What?” He took a step forward. Now she took one back. She laughed humorlessly and shook her head then glared at him.
“For two months, I have been doing nothing but daydream about that night. About you. About what I thought I felt that night. Thank goodness I know now what a cranky dickhead you are. I don’t know why I thought there was any chance you were any different than the men I have met in my life. Thank you for clarifying and reminding me men are nothing but selfish oafs!”
“Key…” he called out to her, but she couldn’t care less. She was no one’s doormat. Not anymore. Not for anyone and especially not for sexy police officer Rex Malone.
“Damn it, Key…” he rushed to her just as she reached her door, his body covering hers, his hands on either side of her. She shivered at how great his big, powerful body felt there.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his sexy lips on her cheek.
“Whatever,” she clipped, holding on to the anger she’d felt even if it was starting to dissipate.
“I felt it.”
“You felt horny.”
“That, too.” The tone of his voice was nothing but sheer amusement, and she felt herself start to waver. “But more importantly, I felt a pull to you.”
“I don’t care,” she lied. She did care.
“I thought about you every day and every night, Keira Jennings,” he whispered against her ear. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. “My ego was hurt when you left. I wanted more time with you. When I saw you at the diner, I was hopeful.”
“You saw me?” she asked, turning her face to look at him. With his hands on her waist, he turned her fully. Their fronts touched while her back leaned against her SUV. She looked up at him, watching the storm in his grey eyes waging a heavy war.
“Twice,” he answered, and she knew he was being honest. “You were only going ten over, and I only stopped you so I could talk to you.” His admission took her breath away even further. She wasn’t used to a man being that open and honest with his feelings.
“Why were you such a jerk then?” It was the only thing she could ask.
“I saw you, and the fact that you left me that night reminded me of how bruised you left my ego.”
“I wanted to stay.”
“I believe you.”
“I wasn’t thinking when Jenn told me about our mom, Rex. I was on autopilot to get dressed and meet Jenn at the front of the hotel.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it isn’t. You need to know the moment the plane took off, I realized I didn’t leave you my email or my phone number. We didn’t even tell one another where we lived.” She cupped his face and liked how he moved into her touch rather than away from it.
“When I saw you, I thought I was dreaming,” he whispered. She felt her lips tilt up and opened her mouth to say something, but his radio went off, breaking the haze they were in. She watched him step back, the expression on his face obviously torn about what he needed to do.
“I have to go back to the station.”
“No worries, Officer Rex.” She smiled, pressing her lips together.
“That’s Chief of Police, by the way,” he shared. Glancing down at her, he almost looked shy about his position in the small town.
“Wow. Good for you.” He looked back at his car, then back at her. She could tell he didn’t want to leave her. She didn’t want that either, but he had to protect and serve.
“Go.” She nodded to his car and smiled at him. He was still looking at her, his eyes warming up quickly. Then he stepped forward, and she stayed still hoping he’d touch her.
She was not disappointed when he tucked a hair behind her ear; especially not when he leaned down and kissed her tenderly on her lips. “I’m going to see you again, Key,” he promised, and she nodded shyly. “Slow down, okay?”
“Yes, sir.” She winked at him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Later, Key.”
“Later,” she whispered softly. She stood for almost a minute, watching where his car had been, before she cursed realizing she was beyond late for her first appointment.
Chapter Seven
Rex
He was finally off of work and should go home. Instead, he was parked across the street from Honey’s Spa. They closed in thirty minutes, and he was trying to come up with an excuse to go in there. He wanted to be close to her, talk to her, watch the way her emerald eyes flashed and glittered when she talked.
With a groan, he pulled on the top of his hair and shook his head almost laughing at himself. He could go in there and ask for a haircut. Keira tied him up into such a tight knot, he was sure he was cross-eyed.
Stepping out, he walked to the salon, a bell chiming overhead.
“Hey, Chief!” Hailey smiled at him from the front desk. “What can we do for you?”
“Umm…” he cleared his voice. “Haircut, please.” Hailey tilted her head as she looked at him with her assessing, brown eyes.
“You feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, Hailes,” he snapped, and she laughed.
“Okay. Well, why don’t you go to my chair…” she started to suggest, but he shook his head.
“Actually, I was hoping if, uhh…”
“Rex?” Keira came out to the front. Her red, silky hair was piled up on top of her head, and black, thick-framed glasses that made her look even more like a pin-up model than the night they’d met adorned her face, making his mouth Death Valley dry. She was wearing a black apron over a white sweater that hugged her tightly. His eyes roamed lower to see her pencil skirt and cherry-red, sexy kitten heels.
“Hh…Hi,” he stuttered like an idiot, and she smiled.
“Rex is here for a haircut,” Hailey shared. Keira looked at him, her eyes warm with something that looked a lot like affection.
“Oh.”
“Yeah…” he ran his hand through his hair, realizing his hair wasn’t in need for a haircut. No wonder Hailes asked if he was okay, he’d just been in a week ago.
Fuck. She probably thought he was an idiot.
“A cute idiot. Don’t you think, Hailey?” Keira said, and he closed his eyes. He’d said that out loud.
“Umm, that’s gross. Rex and I grew up together,” Hailey said, making him laugh.
“Thanks,” he answered dryly. Hailey smiled.
“I guess I could see someone being attracted to you.” Hailey shared, smiling then looking at Keira. “Can you take h
im, hon? I need to finish payroll.”
“Sounds good. Come with me.” He licked his lips at the idea of Keira taking him as long as she never threw him away.
***
Sitting in her chair while she stood so damn close, not able to touch her the way he wanted to, was a sweet kind of torture. She smelled even better than he remembered. Reality was better than the daydreams he’d been jerking off to for the last two months.
When she’d washed his hair, he had been glad it was only them out on the floor of the empty salon, and thankful for the long cape that hid the way his pants tented from his erection. The way her fingers ran over his scalp as she massaged and stroked had made him rock hard. Especially when her big tits brushed up against him here and there.
Sitting in her chair, her sweet tits in his almost in his face, her soft sweet womanly scent filling every sense he possessed, he was afraid he’d come in his pants like some randy teenage boy.
“There we are.” Her voice was slightly hoarse. She cleared it, and he opened his eyes to look at her.
“What?” he asked, not realizing she’d even started to cut his hair.
“Your hair.”
“Oh.” He pretended to look at himself in the mirror, his eyes quickly going back to her.
“It looks great.” She could have dyed his hair neon green and he wouldn’t have cared. “Go to dinner with me.”
“Umm…” she fixed her glasses, bringing them up off the bridge of her nose. “Rex…”
“Dinner, Keira. Please.”
“I have a daughter,” she blurted, her cheeks turning that sweet shade of pink that bordered on red.
“Bring her,” he added, unfazed.
“What?” she scowled.
“Bring her.”
“Umm… Look… I’m divorced.” He liked her being the one caught off guard. The sweet pink tint to her face reminded him of what she’d looked like beneath him, pinned down and at his mercy.
“I’ve never been married,” he shared, smiling. He stood, again thankful for the cape so he could adjust himself slightly before taking it off completely.
“Rex…”
“Dinner. Tomorrow. I’ll pick you guys up.” He had no clue why he was insisting on it being a group thing. He only knew he didn’t want to miss out on seeing her.
“You’re not listening to me. I’m not sure…” while she spoke, he glanced around, making sure Hailey wasn’t looking, and pulled her close to him. Their fronts were so close together he doubted a sheet of paper would fit between them.
“I’m sure.”
“Of what?” He liked the way she trembled in his arms. The way her breathing was off and shallow. He knew it was because she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
“Of whatever we’re feeling. I like you.”
“You don’t know me,” she whispered. He let himself smile.
“I know you.”
“You don’t!” She shook her head. He could see the fire in her eyes.
“We had a one-night…”
“Don’t degrade what we had by calling it a one-night stand, Key,” he said earnestly. She looked up at him with wide eyes that reminded him of a deer caught in headlights. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Rex, I don’t think Megan is ready for something like that…”
“Fine, I’ll bring dinner to you. You can say I’m your friend.”
“My friend?” she asked. He fought from smiling at how fucking cute she looked.
“Yeah. You can tell her that or whatever you want. Either way, we are going to sit together, talk, eat, and maybe even drink a beer. I will definitely be holding your hand darlin’, and I’m sure as shit going to kiss you goodnight.”
“Kiss me? But…”
“Not in front of her if you think that’s not cool. I’m okay with that, but I am going to kiss you.”
“But…” she wasn’t able to say another word because his lips were on hers.
Talking about kissing her made him hungrier than he’d already been and he needed a taste. He needed so much more, but a kiss was all he could take right then.
Standing in the middle of the salon floor, he cupped the back of her head, as the tips of his fingers touching her soft hair and leaned in letting their lips touch. He liked the way she mewled softly as she melted into his arms. He finally had her where he needed her, but he had to think long term. He couldn’t fuck this up by pushing her too fast. Finding the control to break the kiss almost killed him, but he did it.
“Tomorrow, Key,” he whispered against her lips, loving the way her pink lips were parted and slightly swollen. He kissed her gently once more before he stepped away, leaving two twenty-dollar bills at the front desk and heading to his patrol car.
Chapter Eight
Keira
“Mom! Did you hear me?” No, she hadn’t. God, she felt like a terrible mom! She had so much on her mind—most of it being a sexy police chief—she had hardly gotten any sleep. With a deep breath, she glanced at her daughter sitting in the car next to her as the car warmed up in their driveway.
“Sorry, baby, I just have a lot on my mind.”
“It’s fine. Is work okay?” She looked at her daughter’s beautiful blue eyes, and even though they reminded her of her ex, she still thought they were the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen because they belonged to her baby girl.
“Yeah, honey, work is fine. I had a couple of new clients and two of them booked future appointments, so that’s good. So what were you saying?”
“Volleyball tryouts are today after school at three in the gym.”
“And you want me there?” she surmised. Megan loved sports, and Keira was glad she was trying to be involved in her new school. She knew it couldn’t be easy for her to start a new high school, especially as a freshman, but thankfully from what she could tell, Meg had already made friends and was settling in seamlessly.
“If you want. You don’t have to.” Megan shrugged. Keira bit away a smile.
“I’d like to be there.”
“Cool. Oh, and Katie wants to know if I can go with her and her mom to get ice cream after school tomorrow.”
“Meg, it’s a school night.”
“I know. But Katie’s mom would take me and bring me home. That way she meets me and she’ll be comfortable with Kate coming over this weekend to work on our science project.”
Keira sighed and started to reverse the car.
“Okay, sounds like a plan,” she gave in and was glad, because her daughter gifted her with a bright smile. Hopefully, she’d still be smiling at her when Rex showed up later.
***
“Okay, ladies. Bring it in,” a man said loudly just as she stepped into the gym, heading straight for the bleachers. There was something about walking into a high school gym that transcended you back in time, even if you hadn’t gone to that particular school.
The smells, the sight, and the way the school emblem was painted on a wall and all the previous achievements hung up for all to see. It took you back to a time when you believed anything was possible. Giddiness rushed through Keira as she took her seat in the bleachers, happy her kiddo had that. Then she saw him walk in, and it was more than giddiness that went through her.
In dark grey sweats and a dark navy blue zip-up sweater that looked way too good on him. Rex Malone. Focused and in charge. And sexy as hell.
For the next two hours, she watched him hold tryouts, cheer and encourage not only her daughter, but every single girl in the group. He was good at what he did. Not only did he serve and protect, but he coached. A mom sitting next to her shared that he volunteered his time when the coach was let go two years ago due to budget cuts.
“Mom!” Megan waved her over, and she bid the mom she’d sat next to farewell and approached Megan, her friend Katie, Rex, and the assistant coach, who looked a lot like Rex’s buddy from Vegas.
“Hey, baby!” She hugged her daughter and stood next to her.
“Coach Malo
ne, this is my mom. Mom this is Coach Malone. He’s Katie’s uncle.”
“Key,” Rex said, his eyes warm on her while she smiled at him.
“You know my mom?”
“Yeah, she cut my hair yesterday,” he shared, and she smiled, hoping she wasn’t burning up a bright red as she thought about the real way she met him. God, she was such a slut! She couldn’t even get herself to care, because not once did she regret that night; not even when he momentarily pissed her off when he’d pulled her over the morning before.
“Oh cool. Isn’t that cool, mom?”
“Yeah, really cool, babe.” She avoided looking into his eyes.
“I’ll be right back. Kate, your mom’s here. “
“Bye, Mrs. Jennings.” She fought a wince at hearing her name. She’d kept her married name because it was her daughter’s name and only because of that. Yet, she didn’t like how it made her sound still married.
“Bye, honey, see you this weekend.”
The moment they stepped out of the gym, Meg turned to her with wide eyes. “So, what do you think?”
“I think you did great! Megan, they would be crazy if they didn’t take you.”
“What?” Her daughter scrunched up her face.
“For the team.”
“No!” She rolled her eyes like the teenager she was and turned toward the door where Rex had exited with his niece. “I mean, what do you think about Coach Malone?”
“Wait, what?”
“Katie told me he’s single. He’s never been married. He’s been engaged, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea, so he ended it, but that’s good because that means he isn’t afraid of commitment. He’s the chief of police here. I know he’s a little cleaner cut than Dad, but that’s probably a good idea since dad’s, you know…”
“Dad’s what?”
“Mom!” her daughter groaned. “Dad’s what I’d call a Harry Styles to your Taylor Swift.”
“What?”
“You know, like Harry is a total player and Taylor could have done so much better, and I think she knew that, just like you did. Plus, Dad played you.”
Lucky For You (Never Too Late Book 3) Page 3
