Whisker burns were such a fabulous thing. How could she have gone so long without feeling the full extent of them?

When Trevor told her to give him a ride, she didn’t really fully comprehend what he was saying. After a moment—after she started to move—she got it.

She wasn’t focused on him at all. Maybe it was selfish on her part, maybe not. But she was centering on her own feelings. Her own emotions and her own actions. And those feelings, emotions, and actions fuzzed out the rest of the world and let her focus on everything building within her.

She’d pulled his head forward just like he’d told her to and put it right between her breasts. Then she started to move and the heat and the burn of that friction with the tenderness on her inner thighs from before was both exciting and liberating. Thrilling and a little bit…dirty. She’d never been that aggressive before in bed and now she was wondering why she’d waited so long.

Her body was sore, slightly abused, and ridiculously turned on.

Sex didn’t have to be soft. It didn’t have to be hard and fast or painful and careful. It could be whatever she wanted it to be. Whatever they wanted it to be.

Trevor understood her enough to know that she wanted something different without being scared. Without being so far out of the box that she was forming a circle.

It could be fun and sexy and exciting, and that was what he gave her. Exactly what she hoped for.

“You okay?” he asked. “You’re awfully quiet.”

“I feel wonderful. My body is all warm and loose and slightly tingly.”

“Too hot?” he asked. He ran his hand down her chest and she jerked a little, then looked down as to the reason why.

“Guess I was racing there for a minute.”

“You could have moved my head back.”

“Hell no. I’m not sorry, either. But I’m wondering if a cool shower would feel good right now.”

“I bet it would.” He picked her up and carried her upstairs and she felt more secure than she’d ever felt in her life.

 

***

 

He’d made her an omelet the next morning just like he said he would. Because he was a man who kept his word.

She’d been so exhausted—so depleted of energy, she’d said—that she didn’t even budge when he slid out of bed this morning.

“You’re getting better and better at this,” she said, covering her yawn, then taking another bite of egg.

“I like that I’m getting a lot of practice.”

“Once a week doesn’t seem like a lot of practice to me,” she said, eating some more. They were sitting at her island now, both of them showered and changed for the day.

“Do you want more?” he asked, hoping. He didn’t want to push, didn’t want to rush, but he felt like time away from each other was more frustrating than he’d ever felt with another person before.

“I could do with some more. How about you?”

“I could always do with more sex,” he said, laughing.

She closed one eye and squinted at him. “That’s all it is, huh?”

He pulled her off the stool and stood up, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “No. I shouldn’t need to tell you that, either.”

“You don’t. But it’s nice to hear just the same.” She kissed his chin, then his lips, and sat back down to finish eating. “So what are the plans today?”

“Ever been on a jet ski before?” he asked.

“Nope, but I’d love to. Do you have one?”

“I sure do. Do you have a sexy bathing suit you can wear for me?”

“I sure do,” she said, repeating his words. “Will I be allowed to drive the jet ski if I wear this sexy suit, or do I just have to sit on the back and hold on? I mean, it’s not a hardship to hold onto you, but sometimes a girl needs a little thrill.”

He laughed. “You’re so full of surprises. I’ll let you drive it. I might even be able to find an extra helmet if you want to take a ride on my bike later tonight.”

“Really?” she asked, putting her fork down. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Then let’s finish up, clean your kitchen, and get your suit. Maybe you wouldn’t mind grabbing an overnight bag and staying tonight? I can bring you back early in the morning for your car before work if you want. Or bring you to work and get you at the end of the day?”

“We can work it out as we go. Let’s get cleaning and I’ll grab some clothes.”

Twenty minutes later, they were in Trevor’s police department SUV and pulling out of the driveway. They weren’t even five minutes from his house when a call came in over the radio. “Shit,” he said. “I need to handle this one.” Of all the rotten timing.

“Okay. Do you need to bring me back to my place?”

“No. There’s no time.” He put the siren on and made a quick U-turn. “Just stay in the car. I’ll be the first on scene, but you’ll be fine. Don’t get out.”

“What’s going on, Trevor?”

“Domestic violence. Backup is on the way, but I’m the closest and I’m going to take care of this once and for all.”

“Is this the same family from court? The guy whose wife changed her mind last time?”

“One and the same,” he said, hitting the gas.

“I hope everyone is okay,” she said.

“Me too.” But he didn’t think so. He wasn’t sure if she’d been paying attention, but the 911 call came from the child in the house. That’s never good. “Grab my holster on the floor behind me if you can. Now open the glove box and get my cuffs out.”

“Do you want your gun, too?” she asked, eying it next to his cuffs.

“Don’t touch it. I’ll get it, just leave open.” He pulled to a stop in front of the house, slipped his holster on, placed his gun in it, and clipped his cuffs to his belt. “Don’t leave the car,” he ordered her.

He didn’t wait around to see if she was listening, just made his way to the door. He knocked once. “Lake Placid Police.”

There was no answer, and no noises coming from inside. He knocked again. “Lake Placid Police. There was a 911 call made. Open the door or I’m knocking it down.”

He heard a noise behind the door, then it was opened a crack and there was Cassie Jones, former cheerleader. Every boy’s fantasy back then, now standing there with a split lip and swollen cheek. “Come on out, Cassie,” he said.

“There’s nothing going on, Trevor.”

“Really? What happened to your face?”

“I tripped,” she said.

“Into Jay’s fist?” he asked, getting annoyed but not letting it show. “Call Jay out here now. A call has been made and I need to investigate it. You know how it goes.”

“He’s busy right now,” she said, her eyes filling.

“If you don’t call him out here, I’m coming in. Those are your choices.”

“Jay,” she yelled. “Someone called the police. They’re at the door.”

“Jesus,” Trevor heard from inside the house. “Can’t even raise my own fucking voice in my own fucking house without a nosy neighbor complaining.” Jay Jones appeared at the door a second later, looking just as angry as he did on the football field years ago. Time and age made him bigger, meaner, and more of a prick. “What do you want, Trevor?”

He ignored the jab at how Jay purposely excluded his rank. It could slip coming from Cassie, she wasn’t in a good state right now, but Jay was just being a dick. “I want you to step outside and answer some questions.”

Jay stared him down. Trevor gave it back just the same. Size didn’t mean a thing when stupidity was involved. And it was stupid on Jay’s part to be using his fist on someone half his size.

“There, I’m on the porch,” he said, one foot out, not actually complying, more like taunting.

“There was a 911 call placed for a domestic disturbance. Since your wife is standing here with a split lip and bruising on her face, I’ve got to find out what happened.”

“She’s clumsy. Always been that way,” Jay snarled.

“Clumsy enough to land on your fist?” Trevor asked, looking down at the red marks on Jay’s right hand.

“I didn’t hit my wife. No one can say I did,” Jay said. “Did I hit you, Cassie?”

Trevor turned to Cassie, saw her eyes fill, then her head shake.

“Yes, you did.”

Trevor turned to see Cassie’s son step between his parents. The kid had to be no more than seven or eight, but his shoulders were rigid and his chest puffed out. Protecting his mama was what he was doing.

“You little shit,” Jay said, grabbing the kid’s arm and throwing him against the wall, not letting go even when Trevor heard the bone break. In a split-second he was behind Jay, his arms in a chokehold, bringing him down, then out, until Jay’s hand slipped from the boy’s arm.

The kid was screaming, Cassie was crying, and Trevor had Jay rolled over and cuffed. Jay was coming around now; the move wasn’t meant to knock him out, but put him down. “Jay Jones, you’re under arrest for assault and endangering the welfare of a child.”

Trevor pulled Jay up, then handed him over to his officers that had just run up to the front porch. “Read him his rights and lock him up. He’s not getting out this time. Sorry, Cassie. Too many witnesses, and you can’t lie this one away.”

When he turned his head to see if Cassie heard him, he saw Riley kneeling down next to the boy.