CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Violet
You know that moment in time when you realize a situation you thought was handled, no longer is? It’s a moment that takes your breath away, that makes your hand fan your face as heat rises up your neck. It’s the flush of awareness when you realize the man who’s been living next door to you is so hot he should be on the cover of a calendar.
Typically when I see Anthony after shift, we’ve both changed and gotten comfortable. Nine times out of ten, he’s knocking on my door wearing a pair of sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt. Not that he’s not a good-looking man when he’s dressed for lounging, he’s hot then, too.
Tonight though, as he climbs out of his squad car, he looks different. On the one hand he looks dangerous. Like a badass no one would dare to cross. On the other hand, he looks all buttoned-up, too-well put together, and I want to muss the control he seems to have on himself. A bullet-proof vest rests over a black t-shirt, down into a pair of black pants. A thigh-holster wraps around muscle I haven’t really paid attention to before, but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t not look at it.
“How’s it going?” his southern-tinged voice asks as he reaches into the car, giving me an unobstructed view of a perfectly shaped ass. I never got the aspect of ogling an ass before, but dear Jesus, the way those pants cup the firm cheeks of Anthony’s backside? I think I finally understand. Standing up straight, he turns around, lifting an eyebrow. “You okay?”
I realize I never answered his first question. “I’m good, I made us dinner.” I clear my throat. “If you want to go get changed…or not, I mean, however you’re comfortable.”
His eyes narrow as his gaze rakes over my body. I’m sure he can tell what I’m thinking just by looking at me. Since the night at his house, all I’ve thought about is getting him beneath me again. Or him on top of me – I’ll take whatever I can get. “You sure you’re okay?”
My eyes have landed at a spot they shouldn’t have landed. The paradise where his vest meets his belt buckle, which only emphasizes the bulge hidden beneath the zipper. This time he clears his throat, and my gaze travels up, taking note of the yellow letters on the vest – they read MTF – and I spot his badge hanging around his neck. Speaking of the neck, I get stuck staring again when I encounter his Adam’s apple. It’s bobbing as he swallows.
“I’m good,” I finally squeak out. “Hope you’re in the mood for homemade pizza.”
The smile that slowly spreads across his face tells me I’m not fooling anyone. He knows exactly what I was looking at. He knows exactly how he’s affected me, and if it were up to him, he’d use it to his advantage.
Luckily for me, Anthony isn’t the type of man to flaunt much in anyone’s face. However, he does like to tease. So as he climbs the steps of the porch, he squats down so that we’re eye-level. He dips his voice low, whispery enough that it could be confused with the rumblings of a lover on a dark night, instead of a guy coming home from a long shift.
“I hope you made that pepperoni and pineapple I love.”
Clearing my throat again, I answer, “I did.”
“Tell me, Vi. Would you prefer I kept the thigh-holster on, or nah?”
I close my eyes, count to ten, and hope that the entire ground opens up and takes me with it. My words stutter the first couple of times I try to say them, but eventually I push them past heavy lips. “Whatever’s more comfortable for you.”
“Sweatpants with the thigh-holster.” He grins as he unlocks his door and ducks in. “Got it – see ya in five.”
After he shuts the door, I lean back in my chair, hands over my face, as I allow myself a moment of complete and total embarrassment. “Get it together, Violet,” I whisper as I get up and quickly shuffle to my side of the duplex. I’m gonna need to throw some cold water on my cheeks – otherwise I will never be able to face this man again.
Ace
I’d have to be blind not to notice the way Violet was looking at me. She apparently loves the way my thigh holster looks, and I’d be stupid not to use that to my advantage anytime I can. Tonight, however, is not that night. I’m not really in the mood for any kinds of games – especially not after what happened with Caleb. Not to mention I want her too much, and there’s only so many times we can stop each other. Quickly, I shower, throw on a pair of sweatpants with a t-shirt, and run over to her side of the duplex.
“God, I can smell that out here,” I praise her cooking abilities as I enter her side.
She’s bent over the stove, and being the man I am, I take a minute to appreciate the picture she’s presenting to me. For a minute I allow myself to imagine I’m coming home to her after shift, that her ass is mine to grab, her lips are mine to take.
“Hope you’re hungry.” She gives me a smile. “I have cookies too, made them just for you today.”
Mother fuck I am, but not for food. Since having a taste of her the other night, I’ve spent more time than I care to admit imagining what it’s like to taste her again. Woken up hard remembering her sleeping beside me in that bed. “Starving.” I give her an answering grin.
She pulls the pizza out of the oven, before she carries it over to the table, putting it on a trivet. Within minutes I’ve gotten us drinks, while she’s cut the pizza and served it up on plates.
“How was your night?”
I sigh as I try to lessen the tension in my shoulders. Do I tell her about what happened with Caleb? I mean she knows how upset he’s been, she was with me the last time and she cares about him. Maybe she can help steer him in the right direction. Lord knows Menace needs all the help he can get.
“Pretty shitty. I pulled over a car with four teenagers, they had weed, moonshine, paraphernalia, and the driver had been drinking. One of the teenagers was Caleb.”
She gasps. “Oh my God, is he okay?”
“He will be.” I swallow the bite I’ve taken. “I think him and Menace are gonna go home and have a long talk. They were both pretty upset when I left, but they were talking. Mason had called in and gotten someone to cover the rest of his shift.”
“Caleb’s been hurting for a while. I just don’t think he has the emotional capability to handle it. He’s a kid who didn’t have a mom growing up, and now he’s lost a friend. It’s got to be confusing for him.”
If anyone realizes that, it’s probably Violet. “I’m thinking the entire community is hurting silently, the way Caleb’s been. We need to have an open discussion, if we can. I’m not sure how that could happen, maybe Blaze could help us. We found moonshine in the car too, so that’s something else we have to worry about. We think it’s coming from inside the high school.”
Her eyes soften as she gazes at me, taking a bite of her slice. “You wanting to save the whole town? You’re such a good man, Anthony. You wanna fix everybody.”
“Nothing like that, I just want everyone to live their fullest life.”
“Why is that?” Her eyebrows narrow.
The question hits a little too close to home for me, and I rely on my smile and carefree attitude. “Because what’s life if we don’t live it to the edge? Push on some boundaries and say that was a crazy ride, but damn we made it?”
I don’t think she believes me, not the way she’s eyeing me. Maybe I laid it on a little thick. But I can’t open myself up to her – not yet, I’m not ready. Not sure when I ever will be, and maybe that makes me a bastard, because I’m trying to get her to open up to me.
Instead of questioning me, she goes back to her pizza.
* * *
“You sure you don’t want to stay and watch a movie?” Violet puts the last of the dishes in the dishwasher before standing up and facing me.
“Nah.” I shake my head, exhausted. “I better go, but I appreciate the offer.”
She comes to stand beside me, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “What are your plans tomorrow? I’m off.”
“I really wanna go out on the boat. This is gonna be one of the last free weekends we’ll have before things start getting crazy with football Friday nights. My turn to work the games starts next week. Then it’ll be fall, and then the holidays. Tomorrow, it’s supposed to be mid-eighties. I’ll invite the crew if you’re interested.”
“I’ve heard about this boat of yours, and I hoped you’d invite me over the summer, but we just never seemed to get around to it.”
“You did, huh? We were kinda busy living life.” On instinct, I lean forward, cupping her chin in my palm, and place a kiss softly on her lips. It’s meant to be a peck, a thank you for having me for dinner and agreeing to hang out with me. With one swipe of her tongue, it turns into something much more.
I bend at my knees, lean down, cup her ass in my hands and lift her onto the countertop. Her hands are in my hair, my fingers are tracing up her thighs, cursing the cut-off shorts she’s wearing. And then Violet does something that shocks me. The woman who’s been so very shy with me? She pulls back, licks her lips, tilts my head slightly, and takes my earlobe in her teeth, nipping enough to make me stand on my tiptoes.
“Vi?” The question is in my tone, a growl pulled from my throat when she smears her lips down to my neck, nipping the tendons there with enough force to leave a bruise.
“I don’t want to stop,” she whispers heavily against my skin.
And neither do I. But I know I should, because neither one of us wants to do something that will jeopardize how far she’s come. “Violet,” I gasp to get air into my lungs, as I grab her hands and hold her close to me. “You wanted to wait until the divorce was final. I don’t want you to make a snap decision on how you’re feeling right now. I don’t wanna ruin what we’re building.”
She’s struggling to regain her composure. “You’re right.” She rests her forehead against mine. “You’re absolutely right. When I come to you, I want it to be completely free and clear of him. For once in my life, I wanna do things the right way, not the easy way.”
I pull back from her, breathe deeply, and then place a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” But as I’m helping her off the counter, and I turn to leave, I give her a wink. The right way never sucked so bad. “One request? For the love of God, please wear a one-piece tomorrow. I’ve had a hard-on since the first moment I saw you, and I’m about sick of fighting it.”
The way her cheeks redden give me a thrill in my stomach. I wave at her as I make my way across the porch to my part of the duplex. Tonight is going to be a fucking long night.